Wang Qing didn't recognize Su Mei, but seeing her wearing a white hard hat and surrounded by a retinue, he knew she must be a high-ranking leader.
Without thinking, he quickly said, "It must be because of the heat-relief soup..."
Wang Qing hadn't believed Chen Nan's words before, not thinking the heat-relief soup could be that miraculous.
But as the high-temperature weather arrived, the temperature on the construction site soared even higher. Especially for rebar workers, the surrounding steel bars were scorching hot, and the temperature at their work site exceeded fifty degrees Celsius.
Watching his fellow workers collapse one by one, Wang Qing and the other three who had drunk the heat-relief soup were deeply shocked and believed in its efficacy.
"You mean, a bowl of heat-relief soup can allow people to resist the scorching heat?" Su Mei's beautiful eyes showed a look of shock. The Jinxiu Qiancheng project was on a tight schedule. If all the workers stopped working due to heatstroke, it would surely delay the project progress.
Wang Qing said respectfully, "Yes, the reason we brothers didn't suffer from heatstroke is because we drank the heat-relief soup."
Su Mei glanced at the weather forecast on her phone.
The high temperature above thirty-five degrees Celsius would last for half a month.
It didn't seem like a long time, but if work were to stop for half a month, it would definitely delay the project progress.
If she couldn't complete the project within the stipulated time, she would have to accept her family's arrangement and marry a man she disliked.
Thinking of this, Su Mei looked at her assistant and said, "Xu Bin, follow this elder brother to find the person who made the heat-relief soup. No matter the cost, you must get him to help us make some heat-relief soup!"
"Yes!"
------
Wang Qing had no idea where Chen Nan lived, so he could only take Xu Bin to the entrance of the steel plant's residential area to wait.
It was six in the evening.
In the black Honda Accord, Wang Qing saw Chen Nan's family of three and excitedly said, "They've opened for business!"
Xu Bin's eyes lit up, and he immediately followed Wang Qing to the barbecue stall.
"Brother Wang, why are you here so early today?" Chen Shan said with surprise.
Wang Qing sighed, "Brother Chen, to tell you the truth, all three hundred of my fellow workers have heatstroke, with vomiting and diarrhea. Our construction site has also stopped working."
Chen Nan smiled and said, "Now do you believe in the efficacy of the heat-relief soup?"
Wang Qing gave a thumbs-up, "Your heat-relief soup is truly magical. The temperature at the construction site reached over fifty degrees, yet we brothers didn't feel the slightest bit of heat. It's a good thing we took the heat-relief soup last night, or we would have suffered from heatstroke too."
Saying this, Wang Qing quickly added, "This is Xu Bin, our site supervisor, by my side. He's here to ask for your help."
Chen Shan and his wife looked suspicious.
Chen Nan, however, guessed his intention and asked, "You want me to provide the heat-relief soup?"
Xu Bin put on an air of superiority, "That's right. I heard that the heat-relief soup you make has miraculous effects, and we happen to need it on our construction site, so we want you to make some. Of course, we won't treat you unfairly. We'll buy each thermos for twenty yuan, which is much better than giving it away for free at your barbecue stall, right?"
Chen Nan was displeased with the other party's arrogant attitude, and he sneered, "Twenty yuan a thermos? Are you kidding me? Do you know the cost price of one thermos of heat-relief soup?"
A hint of anger flashed in Xu Bin's eyes, "Are you trying to price gouge? Young man, gentlemen love wealth and obtain it through righteous means. If you're so greedy, aren't you afraid of having the money but not the life to spend it?"
"Are you threatening me?" Chen Nan laughed in anger. Is this how one asks for a favor?
"Threaten?" Xu Bin burst into laughter, "You are just an ant living in the shantytown. If I didn't have something to ask of you this time, we would never have crossed paths in this lifetime."
Wang Qing said nervously, "Supervisor Xu, please don't be angry. Chen Shan also has costs in making the heat-relief soup. Twenty yuan a thermos is too low..."
Xu Bin glared, "Who do you think you are? Do you have a right to speak here?"
Wang Qing looked embarrassed and didn't dare to retort.
"You, surnamed Xu, can scram. I, Chen Nan, will not do business with you." Chen Nan directly dismissed him. Although he was short of money now, he would never do business with such an arrogant person.
Xu Bin took a deep breath and said magnanimously, "Forget it, forget it. You're not having an easy time either. I'll raise the price a bit more. Fifty yuan per thermos. This price shouldn't be low, right?"
"Young man, I advise you not to be ungrateful. If you really provoke me, be careful you can't handle the consequences!"
Chen Nan was completely unfazed, "I am ungrateful. What can you do to me?"
"Fine, you have guts. We'll see!"
Xu Bin drove away in a huff, his car kicking up dust.
"Chen Nan, I'm sorry. I didn't expect Xu Bin to be such a scoundrel." Wang Qing looked very embarrassed. He had intended to recommend Chen Nan's heat-relief soup and help their family, but he hadn't expected things to turn out this way.
Chen Nan asked, "Is your project on a tight schedule?"
Wang Qing nodded, "Yes."
"It's not a big problem. If I'm not mistaken, your project manager will come in person." Chen Nan said with a faint smile.
------
After returning to the Jinxiu Qiancheng project department, Xu Bin told Su Mei about what had happened, adding fuel to the fire. "Ms. Su, that young man is terrible. He's taking advantage of our tight schedule to try and extort money. In my opinion, we shouldn't pay any attention to him. Even if the project is delayed for a while, we shouldn't give that scoundrel any advantage."
"I understand. You may go."
Su Mei's face showed no expression.
After Xu Bin left, a cold glint flickered in her eyes.
She had been suspecting a mole from her family within her company for some time, and now, this mole seemed to have surfaced.
After all, Xu Bin's abilities had always been good, so why did he fail to handle this small matter?
Thinking of this, she left the company and drove a fiery red Ferrari to the night market at the entrance of the steel plant's residential area.
She had privately asked the three workers who had eaten with Wang Qing about Chen Nan's whereabouts, just in case.
As expected.
It came in handy this time.
"Miss, what would you like to eat?"
At the night market, Chen Nan warmly invited Su Mei to sit down.
Undeniably, this woman was very beautiful.
She had a standard melon seed face.
Her bright eyes sparkled with a lively light, as if they could speak.
Especially her graceful figure, paired with a dark blue OL suit skirt, gave her the aura of a strong and indifferent career woman.
Su Mei asked politely, "Are you Chen Nan?"
Chen Nan frowned and couldn't help but ask, "Are you from the Jinxiu Qiancheng project department?"
"Yes, my name is Su Mei. I want to do business with you." Su Mei's eyes were sincere, and she got straight to the point, "We have nearly four hundred workers on our construction site. I want you to help us make some heat-relief soup. The price is not a problem."
Seeing that business was coming his way, Chen Nan's mood improved greatly. "If your construction schedule is delayed, how much will you lose?"