The Self-Cultivation of a Reborn Massage Therapist

Chapter 424 Service Shutdown
The second international female customer followed the same procedure as Foster, but with a more domineering style. She didn't even give Zhao Xiaochui a chance to introduce herself, simply waving her hand dismissively:
"No need for that. Just give me the exact set meal that Foster made earlier!"

As a result, just fifteen minutes after the previous five million US dollars arrived, the account, which had been moving smoothly, was hit by another huge sum of seventeen million US dollars.

Through the earpiece, Shen Yan's voice trembled as he reported. He was a worldly man, but he'd never imagined money could be made like this!
However, what truly shocked him was yet to come. This female tycoon's extravagance far surpassed Foster's; she skipped the selection process for a top-tier technician, demonstrating the true meaning of "money power" in a single sentence:
"Mr. Zhao, I would like to secure all your available dates a year from now. I can pay half of the fee as a deposit now."

These words were spoken by her in an excited tone as she admired her rejuvenated appearance in the mirror after completing the service.

Xiao Chui had mentally prepared himself, knowing these guests were all wealthy and influential. If she had only mentioned a deposit, he could have handled it calmly.

But her next sentence almost made Zhao Xiaochui lose his footing:
“Do you know, Mr. Zhao, that I had already made a will, intending to leave my five castles, the ranch at the foot of the Alps, and some shares in established oil companies to my beloved cat after I pass away?”

She turned around, looking at Zhao Xiaochui with intense eyes, her tone earnest:

“But I’ve changed my mind. If you’re willing to stay by my side, all of these… can be yours.”

"..."

……

A leisurely stroll through the headquarters office building reveals a somber atmosphere.

Director Liu, President Ling, and the tax official who was covered in sweat returned.

Zhou Yaqin did not turn around; her gaze remained fixed on the giant screen in the center of the office lobby.

The screen was displaying a live view of the bustling massage parlor: customers enjoying free trials were coming and going quickly, the technicians looked tired but kept working, and the waitresses were busy moving around.

Zhou Yaqin's gaze, however, bypassed all of that and was firmly fixed on the closed door of the studio in the corner.

Behind that door, the service transaction in progress generated profits in just twenty minutes that exceeded the annual net profit of an average small to medium-sized listed company!

This also explains why the three big shots behind him turned back in such a hurry and lost their composure.

Even Zhou Yaqin broke the rule of 'not asking customers' identities' and made an exception for the first time to ask.

A hush fell over the room. The relaxed and leisurely membership system was designed not to record any customer identity information.

Just then, the quick-witted Ou Xiaokui swiftly picked up her tablet and began searching. Given the unusually high-profile nature of these international tycoons' visit to Beijing, relevant information wasn't difficult to find. A moment later, she looked up:
"A duchess, representing Old Money, whose publicly available information shows that her businesses span a century-old private bank, Eastern European gas fields, and a cluster of hydroelectric power stations in the Alps..."

The moment this identity was uttered, the office fell into complete silence.

Zhou Yaqin stared at the screen, leaned forward slightly, and said in a low voice without turning her head, "...There are three more people behind."

These words caused the three bigwigs behind him, who were already on edge, to hold their breath instantly, leaving only the soft sound of the air conditioner blowing in the office.

Sure enough, in the next twenty minutes, the monitoring system issued two clear alerts in succession—two more huge sums of twelve million US dollars were transferred into Easy Slow Travel's account.

At this moment, the time quietly reached 6:50 pm.

The last guest was a newly arrived international tycoon, Delorme, who won the opportunity after fierce bidding for $180,000.

As usual, Ou Xiaokui searched for information online.

Zhou Yaqin suddenly asked, "What's the estimated annual revenue for that production line that sold out?"

Ou Xiaokui paused in her research. She opened her mouth, her voice slightly hoarse:
"It is estimated that...the annual profit will be around sixteen million US dollars." "..."

Zhou Yaqin shook her head with a wry smile, her gaze returning to the tightly closed door on the screen:

"Behind every production line lies a year's worth of sweat from farmers in thousands of acres of cotton fields, the roar of workers in textile factories working three shifts a day, the tireless efforts of logistics trucks, the endless negotiations of sales teams, and the endless accounting and scheduling in the office area... From land to finished garments, countless workers at every stage toil hard all year round to create the total value..."

She paused, her tone tinged with complexity:
As society has developed to this point, the distribution of wealth has become so distorted that the value of half an hour of work by one person can surpass the total annual labor output of an entire industrial chain.

The three powerful figures standing behind her exchanged uncertain glances, but ultimately none of them spoke. After all, everyone present at the scene, even those who were relaxed and unhurried, were beneficiaries of this distorted system. To criticize the system was to criticize themselves.

Ou Xiaokui shook her head slightly, refocusing her attention on the tablet and beginning to look up background information on the last guest, Delom.

After roughly figuring out the new guest's identity through various rumors online, just as Ou Xiaokui was about to report it, a pop-up headline suddenly appeared in her eyes.

Almost simultaneously, the easy-going member screening system issued an alert.

"What's going on?" Zhou Yaqin frowned and tapped her earphones, her tone urgent.

“Mr. Zhou, it’s a background alarm,” Shen Yan, the system manager, immediately said through the headset, his voice tinged with tension. “The trigger mechanism comes from a special screening channel of ‘a certain company.’ We have no authority to check the specific reasons, but the boss repeatedly emphasized that once a red mark appears, the service must be interrupted immediately and reported directly to him!”

"What exactly is the problem? Weren't we given any warning?" Zhou Yaqin pressed, trying to get more information. "Manager Shen, you should know that the male customer the boss is currently serving pays a 50% premium for additional services compared to the female customer. The losses and subsequent impacts of abruptly interrupting the service..."

Before she could finish speaking, the three bigwigs behind her—Director Liu, President Ling, and the tax official—who had been closely watching the situation, quickly exchanged glances.

Neither Director Liu nor Bank Manager Ling, who were familiar with Zhao Xiaochui, made a move.

The tax official stepped forward and lowered his voice to advise, "Mr. Zhou, please calm down. We're not in a hurry. If that wealthy man also accepted the full range of additional services, that would be a whopping eighteen million US dollars! Things might not have reached that point yet, so perhaps we should... wait and see?"

His meaning was clear: in the face of huge economic benefits, perhaps the rigid rule could be handled "flexibly".

"Mr. Zhou..."

Then, Ou Xiaokui held up the tablet and handed it to Zhou Yaqin.

"Perhaps this is the news."

Zhou Yaqin stared intently, and a line of text in bold came into view:
"H&M Group declares that it does not cooperate with any garment manufacturing plants in China, nor does it source products/raw materials from the region."

"Not this one, it's the smaller print below."

Ou Xiaokui pointed to the last line of the news article.

"At the same time, the head of Yves Delorme issued the same statement."

In my ears came Ou Xiaokui's explanation:
“Yves Delorme is our biggest competitor in Europe for linens. Founded in 1845, it has been operating continuously for 179 years and belongs to the Fremaux Delorme Group. It is a privately owned company.”

“Our new guest is Yves-Henri Delorme, the eldest grandson of the family and the third member of the family’s board of directors.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yaqin carefully checked the news source and, seeing it was an official announcement, immediately pressed the button on her invisible earpiece:

"Manager Shen, contact the boss and suspend service!"

(End of this chapter)