Chapter 593: Song Qingya

After Zhang Jiahui left, two more people arrived.

Zheng Yijian and Chen Dachun.

They were invited because they had both starred early in their careers in the movie “Ancient Rascals.”

The legend spoke of brotherhood and loyalty in the underworld, which highly overlapped with the theme of “Ancient Rascals,” and the target audience was highly consistent.

Since neither of them had released any influential films in a long time, their endorsement fees were only five million.

Back when they were at the pinnacle of their fame, their endorsement fees were over ten million.

Unfortunately, it was no longer their era, so naturally, their endorsement fees had decreased.

Even though they were past their prime, they still lived well.

If they needed money, they could hold a few concerts to earn some quick cash.

After the concerts, they could still make money through appearances.

China is vast, with a huge population.

Even if the top-tier cities didn’t invite them, plenty of businesses in third- and fourth-tier cities, or even county towns, would want to, since they were once incredibly popular.

For a county town’s business, having them would be a significant promotional success.

Just by making appearances, they could live without financial worries, definitely not short of money.

Recently, a certain washed-up male star was reported by the media, earnestly singing for a business on the streets of a prefecture-level city.

Many viewers commented online, claiming he had fallen on hard times, and some even found him pitiable.

It really puzzled me that people thought this way; he could earn hundreds of thousands just by singing a few songs on the street.

Ordinary people couldn’t even find such a good deal if they smashed their heads open.

What was there to pity about him or to say he had declined?@@novelbin@@

People who talked like that were either truly rich, ignorant of the market, or just idiots.

After these two had gone, a number of old stars came to visit, all with endorsement fees below five million.

Xu Yang and Wang Xiaocong had them all sign contracts.

That afternoon, the two executives essentially spent their time meeting with various stars.

Of course, there wasn’t much need to chat with the latter arrivals, a quick meeting to discuss the situation and they were ready to sign.

Zhang Jiahui at least had a chance to bargain, but these people didn’t even have that opportunity.

An old star, upon hearing that Zhang Jiahui had managed to raise his fee by a million, and Xu Yang and Wang Xiaocong had agreed, arrogantly thought he could increase his own price. However, he was promptly driven out by the two executives and missed out on the endorsement opportunity, regretting it deeply.

The next day.

Xu Yang and Wang Xiaocong had intended to leave Harbor City, but Song Jingming, the heir of the Song Family of Harbor City, arrived and invited Wang Xiaocong to attend a gathering of elites in the evening.

Wang Xiaocong had little interest in such gatherings.

However, he had a good relationship with Song Jingming, and the Song Family had been a great help when Wan Da Group entered Harbor City, so it was difficult to refuse.

Upon hearing Wang Xiaocong agree, Song Jingming turned to Xu Yang and said, “Mr. Xu, please join Wang Shao and attend the party tonight as well.”

Xu Yang said, “I don’t know anyone there, would it be appropriate for me to attend?”

Truthfully, Xu Yang wasn’t interested.

Mainly because he didn’t know anyone, and attending would inevitably lead to awkwardness.

He had the system, so he didn’t need to engage in such gatherings to expand his connections.

His network was drawn to him by the achievements he had attained.

As long as his own strength increased, connections would naturally gravitate toward him.

Even Wang Xiaocong had initially reached out to him of his own accord.

People like tycoon Zhang Yimin had also taken the initiative to seek him out and build a rapport.

Song Jingming said, “There’s nothing inappropriate about it, you’re the most famous person in China’s business world this past year, I believe many people would like to meet you.”

Wang Xiaocong also said, “Xu Yang, let’s go together.”

Since Wang Xiaocong said so, Xu Yang agreed.

In the blink of an eye, evening arrived.

The Walden Hotel.

One of the most luxurious hotels in Harbor City.

Tonight, the Weyden Hotel was brilliantly lit, a gathering of celebrities and socialites.

The party was organized by the young people from the prominent families of Harbor City, attended solely by the younger generation.

Its main purpose was to maintain the friendships among the youth of these powerful families.

Xu Yang and Wang Xiaocong entered the hotel in a low-key manner, quite unnoticeably.

However, it wasn’t long before someone recognized Wang Xiaocong.

Being the son of the wealthiest man, many of Harbor City’s young elites were aware of who Wang Xiaocong was.

Soon, quite a few people came over to strike up conversations with Wang Xiaocong.

For the sake of his family’s business, Wang Xiaocong had no choice but to entertain some of them.

Xu Yang, on the other hand, didn’t know anyone and hence was left with nothing to do.

He simply went to stand in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, admiring the night view of Harbor City.

The party was held on the top floor of the hotel, from where one could overlook most of Harbor City.

The dense array of skyscrapers, set against the backdrop of neon lights, each told a story of the city’s prosperity.

Overlooking most of Harbor City like this instilled in Xu Yang a sense of boldness and an ambition to conquer the world.

No wonder many business tycoons preferred to have their offices on the high floors of skyscrapers.

Standing tall allows one to see far.

At such a height, one’s state of mind really is different.

“If my assets reach a certain size, I’ll also buy a skyscraper and set up an office on the top floor,” Xu Yang imagined his future.

“Are you Xu Yang?”

Right then, a sweet voice reached Xu Yang’s ears.

He turned to see a strikingly beautiful young woman approaching.

“You know me?” Xu Yang asked, surprised.

“Of course, I heard from my brother that you were coming to the party with Wang Xiaocong. I didn’t believe it until I saw you here,” said the young woman.

“Who are you, and who is your brother?” Xu Yang inquired.

It seemed that the only people who knew he was attending the gathering were Wang Xiaocong and Song Jingming.

Could it be that this beautiful woman in front of him was Song Jingming’s sister?

Indeed, the next second, the young woman said, “I am Song Qingya, my brother is Song Jingming.”

Xu Yang nodded, “I see.”

Song Qingya laughed lightly, “I didn’t really want to come to the party, but I came because I heard you would be here.”

Xu Yang raised an eyebrow, “You came for me? Why?”

He didn’t believe his good looks alone could attract the attention of a heiress from a major Harbor City family.

Besides, he was married, and anyone with a slight knowledge of him would know this.

Song Qingya said, “I’m very interested in the catering industry, and your Haidilao is the restaurant of my dreams. I want to franchise your Haidilao and bring it to Harbor City, what do you think?”

Xu Yang shook his head, “Sorry, our Haidilao doesn’t accept franchising; we expand through directly-managed stores.”

Song Qingya didn’t want to give up, “You don’t accept franchising because you’re afraid that franchisees won’t be able to provide the supreme service of directly-managed stores, which might affect the reputation of Haidilao, right?”

Xu Yang nodded, “That’s right.”

Franchisees are in it to make money and might cut corners on providing supreme service like directly-managed stores.

This could adversely affect the Haidilao brand.

It might not be apparent in the short term, but over time, it would become obvious.

It’s highly detrimental to the development of the brand.

Xu Yang certainly didn’t want to choose franchising as a quick money-making scheme to expand Haidilao.

In fact, after Haidilao became popular, many people had approached him wanting to franchise, but he had never agreed.

Now that Haidilao was on the right track with a valuation over fifty billion and considerable daily profits, there was even less need for franchising.

Even with the challenges of entering Harbor City’s market, he would not adopt this method.