My Lord, you need to stand up!

Chapter 641 It wasn't about showing off, it was about being forced into a corner.

Wei Dong wanted to say no.

He barely managed this place. Two years ago, he came to Beijing with the city to hold an economic work conference. He entrusted Wei Dong with the task of setting up the Beijing office.

As for the government functions, that's none of his business. He just needs to figure out how to integrate the guesthouse's exterior design, hotel-level accommodation, and catering.

Wei Dong accurately found Lao Qin from the military station guesthouse to conduct practical training. Six months later, Wu Shengyun also came to participate in the training. Later, with the rapid development of other industries, he couldn't pay attention to this place anymore.

So Qin Jianjun handled everything himself.

Wei Dong deliberately didn't call beforehand, partly to launch a surprise attack and see how things were going.

As night fell, the riverbank was ablaze with lights and bustling with traffic, a stark contrast to the desolate atmosphere of Beijing that Wei Dong had in mind at night.

Those who got off the bus immediately said that this was a famous restaurant in Beijing that had become well-known in the city in the past six months, and that you had to queue up and get a number to get there.

There weren't many cars around, but the two intersections outside the triangular building were packed with parked cars, and the bicycles in front of the building were even more crowded.

The store was noticeably bustling with activity.

Wei Dong was already thinking of turning around and leaving: "With so many people, let's just find another place nearby. I don't want to join in the fun."

Everyone's already here, so why would we change locations?

As a result, Qin Jianjun, who had a good eye for business, stood by the restaurant door himself. Shen Laosan had said that this was the basic practice of a good restaurant: the manager had to be at the door, keeping an eye on important customers and controlling the whole situation.

Old Zhang used to hang around the entrance of the photo studio, following the same pattern.

Now, just seeing a bunch of luxury cars arrive makes their eyes light up. When they see Wei Dong getting out of his dusty 212 and being surrounded and teased, they quickly come over to save face and bow deeply: "Boss, you're back..."

They were practically kneeling, clapping their hands on their sleeves!
The jeering crowd froze, and even Jin Zhuoqun was surprised. He knew best that three years ago, Wei Dong was a guy who drove a big truck to deliver goods.

This is the kind of grandeur of a wealthy family?
Hey, Wei Dong could tell from that tone that it was definitely something Wu Shengyun had taught him in the two months since the business opened: "Hey Lao Qin, are you full? If there are no tables, then forget it."

Shen Cuiyue and Wu Shengyun's mindset throughout the journey was all about how big their business was; they had absolutely no intention of keeping a low profile.

Qin Jianjun naturally couldn't understand Wei Dong's low-key and unassuming style. In the two years that Wei Dong had been building up his business, the position of military station manager had actually been abandoned.

So, given the rare opportunity to show off, he couldn't let it slip by, and hurriedly nodded and bowed, saying, "Your private room is reserved, it's reserved."

The crowd started to cheer again, but this time they couldn't help but exclaim in genuine surprise.

I've basically eaten here with friends and family, so I know what it's like. It's always packed during mealtimes with long queues unless you call ahead to reserve a table.

It turns out there were tables here that were left empty from beginning to end; they were reserved even though it wasn't profitable.

This was something Wei Dong discussed with the city government at the time, to separate the small restaurants for government employees from the large restaurants for the general public.

Someone like Qin Jianjun, who knows how to handle things, will always leave a table in case the city needs it temporarily, even if it's just a phone call from Jiangzhou asking who should have it.

Those who come from government agencies understand this core principle best: how much money the restaurant makes is a matter for the government. As long as it doesn't lose money, no matter how much it makes, it's not a matter of performance. The most important thing is not to delay the leader's instructions.

Wei Dong couldn't very well say that this was an arrangement made by the city, so he had no choice but to pretend to be someone else's superior.

Who told Qin Jianjun to be considered half of his people?

The group walked through the crowded and noisy lobby to a private room in the back corner, where there were two large tables with a quiet and elegant style.

Once the group sat down, he couldn't help but say, "Dongzi, you're not being fair. You have a good spot and you're hiding it away because you're afraid we'll take it. It's not like we're not paying!"

"You have to save face for us."

Wei Dong could only offer a subtle explanation: "This is the restaurant of the Jiangzhou Liaison Office in Beijing. I helped with the arrangements. It's just a place that's popular for a while because the dishes are a bit unique. It's not a great place. Once the Huanshi Grand Hotel opens, it will have at least three or four high-end restaurants with different flavors. That's what you call prestigious. Brother Xu has six shareholders, right? We just need to sign off on the opening, sign off on meals, and the property company can deduct the amount from your dividends. Isn't that prestigious enough?"

Sitting at the table, he casually signed a virtual bill as he spoke, which immediately drew cheers from the attendees.

Because not far from here, the first domestically-owned five-star hotel in Beijing just opened this year, and the high-end restaurants with more than a dozen cuisines are quite impressive. It's likely that only big shots sign the bills there.

Now that Hong Kong-funded hotels can be built, we can too!
Since things have only progressed to this level of concern, let Wei Dong go all out with his smooth talk: "So we must make sure we have this swagger in our hands. We must always follow the rules and regulations. If just any Tom, Dick, or Harry can sign a contract, how can we be considered swaggering? Only by establishing this reputation can the name and status of this grand hotel be well-known, and everyone will feel more at home."

Wu Xi watched with a mixture of amusement and exasperation as Wei Dong struggled to persuade these people not to ruin the hotel.

But what we are seeing right now is a prime example of what could have happened before.

Wei Dong didn't even need to order any food; Qin Jianjun just kept sending over the prepared dishes!

Previously, Wu Shengyun wanted to take over Jiangzhou Restaurant and asked Wei Dong to stop him from getting involved with the state-owned assets and the municipal catering company. Another reason was that Jiangzhou Restaurant, as a senior chef training center in Southwest China, had gone a bit too far, like the Bodhidharma Academy.

At this point, we weren't wealthy enough to have top-tier international banquets every meal, let alone a large number of tables at once. So, the renowned chefs spent their free time developing sophisticated and exquisite dishes, the kind of amazing dishes that couldn't be made in less than seven or eight hours.

This kind of dish might be sold at exorbitant prices as a top-tier private kitchen dish in 30 or 40 years, but right now, who can afford it except for government officials?

Wei Dong then decided he didn't want to bother with them anymore.

But once the office was set up, the chefs there took turns cooking in Pyeongkyo, and in fact, they had several of their top dishes on hand every day.

Anyway, Jiangzhou cuisine and Sichuan cuisine are not known for their expensive ingredients, so it's not a waste to have them on hand. Chefs just tinker with them when they have nothing to do, and if they don't end up using them, they either eat them themselves or sell them at a discount.

But it's not on the basic menu.

Now, let's serve the candied rice cake and sesame radish shortbread as snacks first, so you can have something to eat if you're hungry.

The candied radish strands were as thin as hair, melting in your mouth; the radish shreds were so thin they could bend sesame seeds; and they had a wonderfully fragrant aroma.

It's not expensive, but it's very labor-intensive. It takes decades of knife skills to make it. You can't do it casually without focusing your attention.

Then the poker-shaped potstickers are neatly arranged, thin and crispy, turning the most vulgar potstickers into a deck of cards that resembles a work of art.

Dried squid and spinach hearts, quite ordinary, right? The soup was as clear as pure water, and the fish was as transparent as glass.

It's just showing off skills.

Now it's like letting Wei Dong show off.

People who have eaten here many times are raving about this hidden dish: "Dongzi, you must be acting. You were prepared from the moment you decided to come here to eat, you had to impress us, right!"

Wei Dong nodded repeatedly, "Yes, yes, yes, I'm just acting, so you guys need to keep that vibe from now on, that kind of cool and sophisticated look. This is my friend, let James handle the arrangements, James... it has to be a foreign name, oh, and we also need to find a few foreign girls to be waitresses, isn't that the right feel?"

The more this is the case, the more everyone nods in agreement with glee.

Anyway, the root of this problem was planted when this group of people went to the Huanshi Hotel to eat and act all high and mighty.

Even the Hong Kong business representative, who could barely speak Mandarin, was amazed by the dishes displayed in this seemingly unremarkable restaurant.

After quietly eating three rounds, he quietly asked, "Could we borrow these chefs to work at our hotel? They'll definitely be paid very well!"

Wei Dong nodded easily: "No problem, there are plenty of experts, no conflict."

The development of a commodity economy means that these artisans can leave the system and earn money sooner, and that so many delicious foods can be enjoyed by the general public.

Although those who can afford these things are no longer ordinary people, it's still better than before when they were kept in seclusion and no one could afford to eat them.

But even at this moment, Wei Dong never expected that he would become so inextricably linked to the hotel.

Having finally managed to appease everyone and resolve the issues surrounding this privately-owned joint venture real estate project, I arranged with Wu Xi to check on the properties along with those developed under the China National Automobile Industry Corporation's real estate project the next day.

As usual, I went to Pingqi first thing in the morning to have a chat and send signals to the college students and technicians on the production line.

Collins responded by asking Weidong's headquarters for the latest feedback: "We just got the results last night. There's an international hotel chain in California that wants to build high-end hotels in mainland China. We have a lot of business dealings with them and we're even a major shareholder. So, is it possible for us to convert our RMB holdings in mainland China into investments?"

In other words, it doesn't matter what kind of deal the hotel company makes with Chrysler behind the scenes, as long as the hotel is built under Chrysler's name.

The money that the automotive joint venture earns in mainland China is naturally spent.

After all, given the current situation, there are very few projects that foreign investors can invest in and make money from.

Building factories is still strictly restricted across various sectors. The entertainment industry is definitely out of the question, and medical and banking sectors are not yet allowed. The hotel industry is one that is both useful and not so unappealing at this stage.

Wei Dong felt that there was no major problem, as Pingjing could afford to maintain so many high-end hotels.

However, this has led to the requirement that these international chain luxury hotels not only be joint ventures controlled by Chinese people in China, but also that the foreign partners must have local partners as major shareholders.

Who should be the shareholder?

Previously, there were already two high-end hotels in Pyeongkol, and the joint venture partners were state-owned enterprises such as the Pyeongkol Tourism Bureau. It seems that after learning something, they immediately opened a purely state-owned five-star hotel.

The Panoramic Hotel is the first privately-owned Hong Kong joint venture hotel.

If this hotel is to be developed, it will be a privately-owned, American-invested joint venture hotel.

This gave Wei Dong the courage to take responsibility.

However, this hotel group proposed to continuously expand its presence throughout the mainland, with the goal of having at least one hotel in every province!
That's something I'm not willing to do.

(End of this chapter)