It was already three in the afternoon when Chen Pingjiang emerged from the campus radio journalist station.
He had been nodding off during the exclusive interview.
The questions were prepared in advance, and the script was ready-made; he basically just read from it, acting as a mascot.
It was incredibly boring.
Chen Pingjiang walked leisurely across the University of Finance campus with his hands in his pockets.
Occasionally, people who recognized him would pass by, whispering and pointing at his back.
"Look, that's Chen Pingjiang."
"Which one?"
"The one from Renrenwang."
"Oh, I just passed him and thought that guy was a little handsome."
"Hehe, if you like him, why don't you go after him? I have a classmate who works there, getting his phone number would be easy."
"No way, tall, handsome, and rich, he's definitely a playboy."
...
Chen Pingjiang had very sharp ears; he could hear their conversation from afar.
He really wanted to run over, grab her arms, and demand,
"Xuejie, why am I a playboy?"
By the time he arrived at Wangyuelou, Lu Xingzhen, one of her best friends, and Wan Qiping were already waiting in the private room.
Seeing Chen Pingjiang stroll in, Wan Qiping complained,
"You're the one who set up this mahjong game, but you're the last to arrive. The three of us have been waiting for almost half an hour."
Chen Pingjiang shook his head and sighed,
"Don't even mention it. I've been busy as a dog these past few days. The dean and principal came to inspect my place one after another, there were exclusive interviews and TV shows. I just got a moment free and rushed over."
Wan Qiping smacked his lips twice, thinking,
'Why does this sound like he's asking for a beating?'
"You're quite the campus celebrity at the University of Finance now. I've seen your name many times while idly browsing Renrenwang; people are buzzing about you in the posts."
Lu Xingzhen also smiled and said,
"Xiao Chen, this is my good friend Qin Han. Her husband is the owner of Yuanfang Supermarket."
Chen Pingjiang was stunned.
He was familiar with Yuanfang Supermarket; it was considered a local star enterprise in Dongjiang, with four or five large supermarkets across the city.
"Sister Qin, hello, my name is Chen Pingjiang."
Qin Han was similar in age to Lu Xingzhen, but prettier, with a well-proportioned figure and a natural feminine charm.
"I'll call you Xiao Chen, just like A-Zhen. A-Zhen recently told me she met a younger brother who is very capable, and it made me want to meet him too."
Upon hearing this, Chen Pingjiang really wanted to tell Qin Han,
"Sister, saying that will make me misunderstand."
Wan Qiping looked on and laughed,
"The three of us are old enough to be his parents, yet we can still hang out together. My wife found it unbelievable when she heard."
Lu Xingzhen chuckled, reaching out to push the mahjong tiles into the mahjong machine.
"How is Xiao Chen like those other university students? I've never seen a university student so shrewd and mature."
Chen Pingjiang smiled and said,
"Sister, are you complimenting me or criticizing me?"
"Hehe, complimenting your maturity."
Chen Pingjiang's maturity was also evident in his mahjong skills; with a flick of his thumb, he knew which tile it was, astonishing everyone.
"Are you a monster, kid? You wouldn't be this skilled even if you started playing mahjong in the womb. It took me over ten years of feeling tiles to get this good."
"I just played mahjong whenever I had nothing to do during summer and winter breaks,"
Chen Pingjiang picked up a four of bamboo, shook his head, and discarded it.
"Peng!"
Wan Qiping triumphantly took the four of bamboo Chen Pingjiang had discarded, then discarded his own two of bamboo.
"Global Solo Fishing, hehe."
Global Solo Fishing is a mahjong term in Dongjiang, meaning you've paired up all your tiles and have only one left in your hand.
Dongjiang mahjong counts "flowers"; if you win with Global Solo Fishing, you add 50 flowers.
Chen Pingjiang smiled and pushed his tiles forward,
"Sorry, I won."
Wan Qiping annoyedly stared at Chen Pingjiang's tiles for a long time, then slapped his head.
"Damn it, I was too greedy, had to set up a stand."
Qin Han smiled and said,
"You didn't lose unfairly. Xiao Chen had two, two, three, four, four of bamboo in his hand. He probably guessed you had a four of bamboo, deliberately broke a pair to let you peng it, and then you put down the two of bamboo, which completed his pair."
Wan Qiping still didn't believe it.
Could tiles be counted like that? But after checking Chen Pingjiang's tiles, he secretly thought he'd met a ghost.
Chen Pingjiang chuckled and waved his hands repeatedly,
"Sister Qin, I'm not that amazing, it's just luck."
Qin Han didn't speak but gave Chen Pingjiang a meaningful look.
Lu Xingzhen grabbed a tile and said,
"A-Han, call your husband this weekend. Our two families should get together and go play in Jiangbei. A friend of mine there opened a farmhouse, she invited me several times, but I always refused. This time, I can't refuse again."
Qin Han replied without thinking,
"This weekend won't work. My husband and I are attending an entrepreneurs' reception in the district."
Chen Pingjiang seemed to have triggered a sensitive word, immediately turning into a Teletubby, with both ears perked up to listen.
Qin Han continued,
"Isn't your husband going too?"
Lu Xingzhen shook her head,
"He didn't tell me."
After a moment's thought, Chen Pingjiang acted as if he didn't care at all,
"What kind of entrepreneurs' reception?"
"It's organized by the district's Private Enterprise Investment Association, and it's for all the large and small taxpayers in the district."
Chen Pingjiang's spirits instantly lifted.
He turned to Wan Qiping and asked,
"Old Wan, weren't you invited?"
Wan Qiping gave a dry laugh,
"What am I? Only successful people can attend. I just run a broken driving school."
Chen Pingjiang nodded, saying no more, but in his heart, he now had a slight understanding of the scale of this entrepreneurs' reception.
At this moment, Qin Han shouted,
"Hu! Xiao Chen, these tiles were practically handed to me. I thought I couldn't win, but I didn't expect the last tile to be played out."
Chen Pingjiang annoyedly slapped his head and pushed down the mahjong tiles in front of him.
However, Lu Xingzhen next to him was very sharp-eyed.
She immediately saw Chen Pingjiang breaking a pair to let Qin Han win, and smiled, holding back her words.
Back in his dorm that evening, Chen Pingjiang's mind was filled with the entrepreneurs' reception.
Generally speaking, such receptions are organized by business associations or industry associations.
In fact, most business associations are quite useless; an annual membership fee of around ten thousand yuan is just for fun, with little practical use.
But some regional business associations, like those for Zhejiang and Anhui merchants, operate better, introducing clients to each other and providing some help and support during difficulties.
The reason Chen Pingjiang wanted to attend was also to expand his circle and network, to see if there were any business opportunities, preferably to attract some major advertising clients for Renrenwang, meet more people, which might bring some unexpected surprises for Renrenwang's promotion in Dongjiang city after the New Year.
"Yuanfang Supermarket,"
Chen Pingjiang murmured to himself.
Before long, Renrenwang's food delivery platform project would officially launch.
Currently, the marketing department had only secured small vendors, and the regional divisions were distinct.
If they could bring Yuanfang Supermarket on board, integrate it into Renrenwang's food delivery, and simultaneously run some discounts and promotions, it would not only bring traffic to the main site but also revitalize the food delivery project, and even be significant for its next step into the market beyond universities.
(End of chapter)
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