Chapter 92: Serious Snow (Part 2)

Shen Youchu broke through her psychological barrier and was the first to remind Chen Hansheng not to drink. However, this was probably impossible since Chen Hansheng had already prepared for a whole jin of liquor tonight.

The "Jiangling Monica Hotel" was the venue for tonight's social gathering. It was located in the center of Jiangling District, opposite Dongshan Department Store. This hotel, with its rural, non-mainstream vibe, was actually the best three-star hotel in Jiangling. It really showed how things were in the suburbs. The name itself was also quite nostalgic, lacking any foreign flair, which didn't reflect much sophistication.

The Monica Hotel had its dining area on the first floor, karaoke on the second, sauna on the third, and accommodation from the fourth floor upwards, fulfilling all the needs of eating, drinking, entertainment, and sleeping in one place.

Chen Hansheng got off the bus, hands in his pockets, and jogged to the hotel entrance. After giving the room name, he was led to his room by a hostess wearing only a cheongsam.

"Isn't it cold wearing this?" Chen Hansheng pointed to the hostess's exposed thighs.

The hostess had a strong temper and, seeing Chen Hansheng's university student look, she just curled her lip, too lazy to respond.

Chen Hansheng smiled and stopped talking. 

Upon entering the dining room, many people were already seated. There were businesspeople in suits, couriers from Jiangling branch, and campus agents who looked like university students. 

The private room was at least 60 square meters, with three tables. If things went as expected, one table was for the senior staff of Shentong Company, one for the couriers from Jiangling, and the last for the student agents. It seemed this "military parade" of a social gathering had achieved the desired number of people.

Zhong Jiancheng was chatting with a few middle-aged men on a nearby sofa, while the couriers were boasting on another sofa. The atmosphere was quite lively. 

However, the university student agents were sitting at the outermost sofa circle, with the table empty. There wasn't even hot tea on the table, let alone water.

No one objected, except for a boy who looked quite displeased, muttering something under his breath.

Chen Hansheng walked over to greet them: "Hello, I'm the general agent for the finance department, Chen Hansheng."

The response from the university agents was lukewarm, not because of their personalities but because they were new to this kind of adult social setting and felt a bit out of place.

Except for the boy who seemed to be constantly unhappy, who stood up and said, "Oh, it's Brother Chen! I've heard of you! The guy who's got agents in four schools. I'm Liu Pengfei from Jinling University of Science and Technology."

Chen Hansheng sat next to him. Liu Pengfei seemed to be a friendly character.

"How come there's no tea here?" Chen Hansheng asked.

Liu Pengfei slammed the table and answered, "The hotel staff is so rude. Once they saw we were university students, they didn't even bring tea, and they didn't even bring an electric heater. My feet are frozen!"

The private room was large, but the air conditioning didn't cover all areas, so electric heaters were needed for warmth. There were electric heaters by the other sofas, but none for the university agents. This was obviously a deliberate act of neglect. However, in 2002, the hotel was just like this. You couldn't expect high service standards from the staff, who generally had a tendency to slack off.

At this moment, a male server approached to ask when the food would be served, and as he passed by Chen Hansheng, he was grabbed by the arm.

"How much do your hotel's teas cost? Bring a cup for each person in this circle. I'm treating my brothers to tea!" Chen Hansheng said loudly, his voice carrying across the room.

The server tried to shake off his arm but finally replied, "The tea is free."

"Free? Then don't hold back. Also, bring over an electric heater! Can't you see the situation here?" Chen Hansheng added.

The hotel staff had clearly been slacking, but they could tell the real VIPs were the ones in the innermost circle, and the couriers were not to be messed with. So, tea and heaters were soon provided.

The university students were all quite reserved, but the server, having dealt with enough people, knew better than to ignore students. Who knew when they might run into someone like Chen Hansheng.

"Okay, okay, we'll go get it. Sorry for the oversight," the male server quickly apologized.

Not long after, the tea and heaters were in place.

Chen Hansheng pulled out a cigarette. "And a cigarette ashtray."

Less than half a minute later, the ashtray was brought over by the hostess in a cheongsam.

"Wow, you're amazing, Brother Chen," Liu Pengfei said as he drank his tea, enjoying the warmth from the electric heater.

Chen Hansheng, now no longer appearing fierce, smiled and shared cigarettes. All the part-time students took one, even though they probably didn't smoke before.

At this moment, Zhong Jiancheng walked over from the innermost part of the room. "Hansheng, come over and meet our Manager Liu and Manager Chang."

Chen Hansheng put out his cigarette and followed him. When they reached the innermost sofa, Zhong Jiancheng introduced, "This is the best-performing student agent, responsible for the courier business for the finance, East University, engineering, and medical schools. His business has been doing well these past two days, so he'll earn over 400 yuan in commissions."

Then, he introduced a few key guests: "This is Liu Zhizhou, the Vice General Manager of Shentong Express, Kong Jing, the Assistant General Manager, and Chang Xiaoping, the General Manager of Jianye Branch…"

Liu Zhizhou, the highest-ranking person here, wore glasses and smiled, saying, "Sorry about earlier. We were so busy with our own tea that we forgot about you."

Chen Hansheng responded, "It's the hotel's fault. They only pay attention to people who look rich, like Manager Liu and Manager Chang."

"Ha ha ha," everyone laughed, with Chen Hansheng smoothly giving a compliment.

Kong Jing, a beautiful woman in her thirties wearing a thick coat and black stockings, with a seductive smile, made an impression on Chen Hansheng.

Originally, Zhong Jiancheng brought Chen Hansheng over just for introductions, but Chen Hansheng, thick-skinned as he was, decided not to leave. After all, being in this circle would help him hear the latest gossip.

Chen Hansheng glanced around the sofas, and the main guests couldn't be moved, but there was one person who could: Zhong Jiancheng and Peng Qiang. 

Peng Qiang was the courier team leader for the Jiangling branch. Chen Hansheng was quite familiar with him.

"Brother Qiang, scoot over a bit. Let me sit down." Chen Hansheng joked.

Peng Qiang immediately stood up. "Come, come, I'll make room for you. Like you'd understand the conversation, huh?"

While Liu Zhizhou and Chang Xiaoping chatted, Peng Qiang sometimes felt like he couldn't keep up with the conversation.

Chen Hansheng didn't hesitate to sit down and then turned to say, "Thanks, Brother Qiang, for giving me the opportunity to learn."

Chang Xiaoping, the General Manager of Jianye, seemed to find Chen Hansheng interesting. He pulled out a cigarette and tossed it to him. "You smoke?"

"I do," Chen Hansheng replied.

He caught the cigarette and glanced toward the university agents' sofa again.

They had their tea, and the heaters were in place, but the communication remained sparse.

"Snow, snow, it's really snowing!" Suddenly, joyful cheers came from outside.

Everyone in the private room looked up, and indeed, snowflakes like cotton drifted down and gently landed on the window, only to disappear.

Ah, a truly serious snow.