Chapter 148: Li Xian's New Discovery

Li Daizhao's suggestion to use "caring for women" as a reason was well-received, and all the attending leaders praised it. Wu Shitian immediately approved the plan. Following this, they called to inform Xinbei about the decision.

Meanwhile, at Xinbei Company.

Li Xian was hosting guests from the Forestry Bureau.

Previously, the inspection team from the Forest Industry Group, after evaluating both Xinlang and the Forestry Bureau's tile factory (now renamed Honghui), expressed great satisfaction with the Forestry Bureau's enterprise restructuring plan. They were reportedly considering implementing this reform method throughout the entire Forest Industry system.

This involved a lot of reports and data. To better understand the benefits of Xinlang Paper Industry's integration into Xinbei Company, Xu Chaoyang had sent a commercial statistics team to work with Li Xian.

Li Xian had some experience working with the Forestry Bureau's Commercial Bureau. Though he had only spent a couple of weeks there, it had been enough to establish a good rapport. When the statistics team arrived, instead of jumping straight into work, he hosted a meal in the company's cafeteria.

Xinbei is a local enterprise in Beilin, so the statistics team's data collection required close cooperation with the finance department and other sectors. To ensure smooth communication, Xu Chaoyang had specially assigned Wang Zhihui, someone Li Xian was familiar with, to lead the team.

Previously, Li Xian had thought Wang Zhihui was just a pampered rich kid with a bad temper. However, after seeing her performance at the dinner table, he realized he didn't know her well enough.

"Li Xian, what's up? You've been sipping on that drink for half an hour. Now that you're the general manager of a company with over a thousand people, are you too good for us old colleagues?" 

As she spoke, a cup full of liquor was shoved into Li Xian's face.

Li Xian looked at Wang Zhihui's flushed face and felt a bit of pain. He had simply said that female colleagues shouldn't drink before the meal, suggesting they should stick to non-alcoholic drinks. How had this turned into such a big mess?

Seeing him stunned and not moving, Wang Zhihui continued, "What are you staring at? Are you saving the alcohol for next year's ginseng?"

The young people from the Commercial Bureau, seeing Wang Zhihui's assertiveness, immediately joined in the cheer:

"Yeah, Li Xian, if Wang Zhihui, a woman, can handle two glasses, why are you still hesitant? Hurry up!"

Li Xian was feeling frustrated. His schedule had been packed with events, and every award ceremony left him with a hangover. Although he wasn't encouraged to drink excessively, leaders arranged these events for him, so he couldn't refuse.

As time went on, the drinking continued.

In Beilin, from Liu Wanfa to the reporters, everyone could drink. At a typical dinner, except for the drivers, everyone could handle at least a pound of liquor.

With a pounding headache from the drinking, Li Xian thought he might not make it through the evening. He declined further drinking by claiming he had work in the afternoon and firmly refused more alcohol.

Just as everyone was urging him, Zhang Dagong came into the cafeteria to inform him about a procurement publicity event that district officials would be attending, as directed by Secretary Wu.

Li Xian was initially tired of such events, but at this moment, he was thankful for the timely arrival of Secretary Wu's directive.

He quickly stood up, bowed to the table, and then ran off.

Watching the hurriedly departing back of someone praised by his own family, and hearing the laughter of his colleagues, Wang Zhihui felt a sense of superiority and satisfaction, as if she had outdone "other people's kids."

"Zhihui, let's continue drinking now that Li Xian's gone. You were amazing today. You've shown the Commercial Bureau's spirit. Cheers to you!"

As Wang Zhihui was reveling in her success, a male colleague approached her.

Wang Zhihui rolled her eyes and replied, "What are you drinking for? If you get drunk, you won't work this afternoon. Let's eat."

She then took a large bowl of rice and ate slowly with the barely touched dishes.

Seeing this contrast, the person holding the wine felt embarrassed…

It was clear the district government was very concerned about this procurement, as they even brought in reporters from the city newspaper for interviews.

Although Li Xian didn't fully understand Wu Shitian's intentions, he was happy that the district was supporting Xinbei with a budget of 100,000 yuan, especially given the tight finances.

What was even better was that this batch of procurement was a long-term order, delivering a fixed amount of paper each month to district agencies, without taking up current production capacity.

It was like receiving free money.

After a busy day with photos and interviews, it was already past three in the afternoon when Li Xian finished.

The district's publicity work was handled by Liu Weihua, the director of the district mayor's office. Li Xian had a good impression of him from their interactions. Liu Weihua was calm, well-educated, and his insights on China's economy and future trends impressed Li Xian.

After sending off the reporters, Li Xian invited Liu Weihua into his office to discuss the purpose of this procurement.

Liu Weihua accepted the tea and waved his hand, "Oh, this is just because the quarterly report is due next month. The district wants to package Xinbei nicely and use the company's benefits as a summary of the restructuring pilot experience to send to the city and then to the province. This month is the second natural month since Xinbei was established. While 400,000 and 500,000 yuan might seem similar, this 100,000 yuan difference is crucial for the report. So don't worry, it's just a formality and doesn't directly relate to Xinbei."

Hearing this explanation, Li Xian understood and smiled, "Why not be more straightforward and have Secretary Liu mobilize all city agencies and districts to aim for a thousandfold increase? That would look impressive!"

Liu Weihua almost spat out his tea, "Li Xian, you're being too greedy. Also, it's related to… women's monthly period benefits. It wouldn't sound good if all city agencies did the same."

Li Xian was just teasing him, but Liu Weihua's reaction made him think of something.

After Liu Weihua left, Li Xian was left alone in the office.

"Monthly period… sanitary paper…"

Li Xian's mind was spinning with Liu Weihua's words. He saw potential in this area, though he wasn't as familiar with menstrual products as he was with paper.

Just then, the office door was knocked.

Wang Zhihui, still flushed from the earlier drinks, walked in with a pile of documents, as she saw Li Xian was alone.

"Hey, what's up with your company's accounting? Why is it so complicated? What era is this with such bookkeeping? I can't make sense of it. You…"

As she placed the documents on the desk and began asking about Xinbei and Xinlang's orders, she noticed Li Xian staring at her intensely.

Wang Zhihui had never been looked at like this before. Feeling his gaze wander over her chest and lower, her already flushed face became even hotter.

She quickly buttoned up her coat and took a step back, frowning, "What are you staring at?"

Li Xian snapped out of his daze, grinning, and quickly moved to the door, checking to make sure no one was around before closing it with a thud.

Seeing him lock the door with a mischievous grin, Wang Zhihui wrapped her coat tightly around herself and backed up against the wall.

"Li Xian, what do you want to do?!"