sovbooks Chapter 77, The Craftsman's Fate is Tougher Than Others [Please add to your favorites, vote for
Chapter 77, The Craftsman's Fate is Tougher Than Others [Please add to your favorites, vote for
On the third night after arriving in Shenzhen, Zhang Wei dragged his tired body back to the hotel near the company.
The receptionist handed him the room key and asked if his surname was Zhang.
Then, the register was turned to a different angle, and a string of phone numbers was written on it, saying that a Ms. Zhan had just asked him to call back.
Zhang Wei then remembered that on his second night in Pengcheng, he had spoken to He Fan on the phone…
He Fan said that Zhan Yiling had just arrived in Shenzhen…
He quickly borrowed the phone from the front desk and dialed the number.
As soon as the call connected, Zhan Yiling asked abruptly, "He Fan said you arrived in Shenzhen three days ago, why didn't you contact me?"
"I've been busy with prototype data testing these past few days, and today I went to the client's place with Zhao Xiaobo. I just got back to the hotel now. How could I have had time?"
"You're visiting clients now? What? Did Chen Jianghe agree to let you switch to sales?"
"Yes! The R&D department now has Lin Wei and Zhao Lin, and the sales department also needs people."
"What specific responsibilities will you have? Clients or the region?"
"From what President Chen said, he should be in charge of the northern region. He should spend the next couple of days working with Zhao Xiaobo to get familiar with the area."
Zhan Yiling continued, "He Fan said he has already given you the phone number of the hotel I'm staying at, and you can contact me when you have time."
"I waited two days without your call, and you didn't answer my pager when I called you, so I had to ask He Fan for your number again."
"I didn't bring my pager; it's switched off."
"Why didn't you bring your pager with you on your business trip? What if someone urgently needs to contact you?"
"You need to activate roaming to carry it with you, right?"
"Besides, I spend most of my time at the factory, and I've already left the phone number and room number here with everything I need to know."
"Looks like He Fan was right, you old miser. Hey, what hotel are you staying at? I asked the operator to transfer me to your room, but she said there's no phone in your room."
Zhang Wei glanced at the receptionist and whispered, "It's just a small inn, about the same as the guesthouse at our school."
"Huh? A room without a toilet or shower? Is it even safe to stay in?"
Zhan Yiling found it hard to believe: "Why don't you move to the hotel where I'm staying? I'll book a room for you under IBM's name, and the room rate will be heavily discounted."
"How much for one night?"
"It seems to be around four or five hundred. It was ordered by the company's administration department, but I didn't ask for the exact amount."
Zhang Wei tentatively asked, "How much is it after the discount?"
"This is after the discount! This is the most luxurious five-star hotel in Shenzhen, the standard price is much higher than this."
Zhang Wei smiled wryly to himself, "Then let's save our money! Our company's accommodation standard is only 50 yuan a day. Your one day is equivalent to ten days of mine. I can't afford it."
Hearing Zhang Wei say this, Zhan Yiling stopped insisting and instead suggested, "Why don't you come over for breakfast tomorrow morning? It's such a coincidence that we're both in Pengcheng, we should at least meet up."
Zhang Wei was taken aback!
Your accommodation costs several hundred dollars a day, and I don't even know how much a breakfast would cost.
He then awkwardly declined, saying, "I might not be able to make it in the morning, and besides..."
"Oh, my room rate already includes two breakfasts, which are fantastic and you'll definitely love them. The standard price is 68 yuan per person."
Knowing that Zhang Wei was reluctant to spend money, Zhan Yiling added, "You don't need to spend money, it's a waste not to eat."
"It's up to you. Nobody's forcing you. Come if you want, don't come if you don't want to."
"Come! I'll definitely come!"
Upon hearing Zhan Yiling's words, Zhang Wei exclaimed in surprise.
...
The next morning, Zhang Wei was stunned by the sight before him as soon as he arrived at the entrance of the Sunshine Hotel!
Upon entering the lobby, one is immediately struck by the magnificent, golden murals covering the walls.
When he finally found Zhan Yiling at the restaurant, he couldn't help but exclaim, "This trip to Shenzhen has been like Grandma Liu visiting the Grand View Garden for the first time; each visit is more dazzling than the last."
"The first time was at the airport, and the second time was at this hotel that's even more beautiful than a garden."
"Then take a look at this one."
With a smile, Zhan Yiling pushed the Cantonese dim sum menu in front of Zhang Wei: "Let me show you the variety; this is what you call dazzling."
She then pointed to the food stalls around her: "There are many more that aren't listed here. Go take a walk around and just order whichever one you want."
"Uh, do you have stir-fried beef noodles?" Zhang Wei asked while glancing at the menu.
"Of course there is, but that would be too filling. It's better to save room for other things to eat."
Zhan Yiling winked at him: "Do you know why I asked you to come? The two of us can choose more varieties, so I can try them all."
Zhang Wei looked at the dim sum menu and felt overwhelmed by the variety. He wanted to eat everything, but didn't know what to order.
"You order, anything is fine. I've never tried anything here before, and I think everything is delicious."
Then, he lowered his voice and said to Zhan Yiling, "I've discovered that the food in Shenzhen is really delicious."
"You don't know, yesterday at noon, Zhao Xiaobo treated me to a plate of stir-fried beef noodles, it was so delicious."
"Ha! A plate of stir-fried beef noodles will satisfy you!"
Zhan Yiling then asked, "By the way, when you applied to switch to sales, did the company provide you with any training?"
"Training? No, everyone at Tiangong is either from research institutes or universities; they're all technically trained. Who's going to train whom?"
"We all learned through trial and error. Zhao Xiaobo was one of the first to get into marketing and sales..."
Zhan Yiling shook her head with a wry smile: "I have to admit that IBM is indeed very advanced and professional in this regard."
"First, training will cover various lessons learned, pitfalls, and traps in business negotiations and contracts..."
"They even trained us to be aware of the location of emergency exits the moment we check into a hotel."
"Such a profession? But before I came to Shenzhen, Zhao Lin specifically trained me on how to fly."
"But her training method was very special. First, she tricked and played with me, saying that the toilets on the plane were separated by gender."
"Then, after I've suffered the consequences, they'll tell me the deeper meaning behind it."
Zhan Yiling asked curiously, "What does it mean?"
"First, no matter what you encounter, what others say and their opinions can only be used as a reference. You need to learn to use your own brain."
"Secondly, one must be able to read between the lines and not be misled by appearances, nor be too trusting of others."
"Third, we also need to make quick judgments and analyses and come up with solutions to the problems in a short period of time."
"Otherwise, you'll easily be led by the nose by the other party, or even fall into their trap."
Zhang Wei shook his head with a wry smile.
He then chuckled again, and then said seriously to Zhan Yiling, "But have you ever thought about it? The reason you were able to survive is because of vocational training."
"And what enabled the craftsmen to survive?"
"Relying on intuition? Trials and tribulations? Experimentation? Experience?"
Zhang Wei shook his head: "No! It's because our lives are tougher than others!"
After he finished speaking, he laughed happily.