"She doesn't drink," Lin Chaoshang said. "Tea will do just fine."
"Mr. Lin, are you not giving me any respect?"
Mr. Wang's phone went off before anybody could answer that.
"What? Can't you see I'm busy? What? It's been approved?" He stood up so fast his chair went over. "That plot of land that was stuck for six months — it's been approved. Assistant Su. What time was it exactly when you spun that abacus at me?"
"Eight. Eight fifteen."
"Unbelievable. The approval came through at exactly eight fifteen. You're a living saint, Assistant Su. You are my lucky star. Your hand gesture just brought five hundred million my way."
"Mr. Wang. Behave yourself." Lin Chaoshang did not look up from his tea. "She is my lucky star."
"Ha. Sign it. Let's sign the contract right now. From now on, any project Assistant Su works on, I'm taking all of them."
I can do it, too. I spilled a bowl of soft-shelled turtle soup and landed a million-dollar deal. The world has finally gone so crazy that I don't understand it anymore.
"Put that away," Lin Chaoshang said in the car afterward. "You've done a great job."
"Boss, do you really think that was my doing? That was clearly just a coincidence."
"The end of science is metaphysics. I'll buy you extra chicken legs tomorrow morning."
The story was around the office before I'd finished the chicken legs.
"Su Jin, you really landed this deal by just using an abacus?"
"Actually, the turtle soup did it."
Not everybody found it funny. Two desks over, somebody was talking to a monitor rather than a person.
"Why on earth? A loser who only waters plants every day gets a million-dollar commission just for spilling some soup. How come that kind of luck never lands on me? Enjoy it while it lasts. There's such a huge error in this contract. Let's see if Lin Chaoshang fires you. Your good luck has run out."
Ten minutes later Shen Miao was standing over me with a printout.
"Su Jin. How did you type up this contract? Why did the down payment change to five percent? This is a major mistake. Su Jin, this counts as serious dereliction of duty. The company is going to hold you accountable."
"That's not right. I definitely entered fifty percent. How did it change on its own?"
"It's written here in black and white. Can the computer change things by itself? Being lucky doesn't cover up your incompetence at work."
Then the lift doors opened and Mr. Wang came out of them at a run, tie over his shoulder.
"Mr. Lin. Assistant Su. That was way too close. Thank goodness you guys hadn't stamped the contract yet."
"What's wrong?"
"I just found out this morning that our CFO has embezzled everything and run off. Our accounts are empty right now. If we had paid the fifty percent down payment as originally agreed, that money would have become a bad debt instantly, and your company, Chaoshang, would have been dragged into the investigation, too. I was just about to beg you for some leeway and change the down payment to five percent. I never imagined you guys would have anticipated this. Assistant Su, you're not just my lucky charm. You're a psychic."
Ha. Even this works. The corrected data ended up saving the company's life.
"The computer has surveillance," Lin Chaoshang said, to nobody in particular and to one person exactly. "Screen recording. Go to finance and settle your accounts. You're fired. Get out now."
Then he turned around with a completely different face on.
"Ha. Mr. Wang, let's talk business. Let's sign it at five percent to calm our nerves."
There was a milk tea on my desk when I got back to it. Milk tea from the boss? Doesn't he only believe in Guan Gong and never drink sweet stuff?
The pantry at Chaoshang Creative has a door that doesn't close properly. Chen Hao has worked here for eleven years and apparently has never noticed.
"Mr. Li, Chaoshang's current quote is way too inflated. Since they're busy being superstitious, we can provide a much, much lower proposal. I guarantee the quality is the same."
"Who's Brother Chen calling? Our side? Isn't he one of Chaoshang's people?"
"He's actively poaching from his own company."
"Don't worry, I've already lined up a new company. Lin Chaoshang is just relying on a mascot to do business, praying to Buddha all day. Handing a project worth hundreds of millions to a company like that? Don't worry, just call him this afternoon and pressure him to lower the price."
By that evening Shen Miao had the whole shape of it laid out on the boss's desk.
"I worked from the inside out and got to the bottom of it. Mr. Li had a private dinner with Chen Hao yesterday. Chen Hao handed over a new quote. It's thirty percent lower than ours. Mr. Li just called a moment ago, demanding to renegotiate the price immediately. It's clearly a pressure tactic."
"Thirty percent lower? Isn't that just malicious undercutting?"
"Chen Hao is even selling out our long-term clients just to screw over the company. Boss, this is a serious leak of trade secrets. I'm going to call the police right now. Get him arrested and make him—"
"Let him keep going."
"We're just going to let him steal our biggest client like that? This is the pillar of our company's profit for the second half of the year."
"Wait until he reveals his hand."
The boss is playing a big game here. How is that side profile calm as a mountain even when things are collapsing? Actually kind of handsome.
Chen Hao passed my desk on his way out, sighing loudly enough to be heard in the stairwell.
"Doing business is so hard these days. Clients are always trying to squeeze us for lower prices. Just watering trees and getting a huge commission — you won't be smug for much longer."
You traitorous ingrate. Just wait until the boss closes the net. Let's see how you cry then.
The office was dark except for one lamp when I finally went back in.
"You're still not off work, boss? Actually, I heard Brother Chen on the phone in the pantry yesterday. He's not only planning to take Mr. Li with him—"
"I know. We don't need to worry about it."
"But Mr. Li's contract is really important to us. What if he really steals it? What will the company do?"
"Tomorrow, you're coming with me to meet Mr. Li."
"I can't even make heads or tails of the proposal. What am I supposed to do if I go?"
"Just sitting there is enough."
You're taking me to meet a major client? Is my lucky charm quality about to be unleashed as a biological weapon again? But what color should I wear tomorrow to really own the room? Red brings good fortune. I absolutely cannot mess this up today.
Mr. Li looks like he's about to blow a fuse. Are you sure we won't get kicked out?
"Mr. Lin, let's be direct. A new company offered a price thirty percent lower than yours. With budgets so tight these days, it's really hard for me to make this work."
"The quality will drop, too. If something goes wrong, are you willing to take the blame?"
"Mr. Lin, don't try to scare me. They swore on their lives that the materials are exactly the same. You guys aren't the only ones in the creative industry. Isn't there a lot of fluff in your pricing?"
Cutting prices by thirty percent while promising the same materials — it's obvious Chen Hao is working with outsiders to pull a scam. Boss, hurry up and yell at him. Use your sharp tongue to expose him.
"Take it easy, please," Mr. Li said, spreading his hands. "Mr. Lin, there's no need to flip the table just because we disagree. If you could just give us a little more leeway, it would make things easier for me to report."
"Mr. Li," I said, "there is a problem with this quote."
Both of them turned to look at me.
"Even though I don't understand the fancy proposal, I spent a full three years working in warehouse management. The tricks in this material list — there is no way they can fool me. This type of new eco-friendly paint had a price hike across the board at the beginning of last month, and it's been out of stock everywhere. Their unit price for this project is twenty percent lower than the wholesale cost. If you actually build it at that price, you are definitely using toxic inferior substitutes. This entire batch is meant for elementary school students. If the formaldehyde levels are too high, who's going to take responsibility?"
Mr. Li read the line I was pointing at. Then he read it again.
"These idiots are actually cutting corners on the essential paint. The nerve of them. They almost got me killed. Mr. Lin, it turns out you and Chaoshang are the most reliable after all. We are changing the order. Let's sign the contract today at the original price. A pleasure doing business with you."
In the lift afterward I couldn't keep my face straight.
"Boss, how did I do today? Did I make a huge contribution? Is there a bonus coming?"
"Not bad. But that red is hideous. Don't wear it again."
Lin Chaoshang, would it kill you to give me a compliment? I went out of my way to dig this battle outfit out. You're the ugly one. Your whole family is ugly.
Across town, in a bar with the lights turned down, Chen Hao was checking his watch.
"Let's see. The negotiations on Mr. Li's end should have collapsed by now. A thirty percent price cut? That stubborn jerk, Lin Chaoshang, will definitely refuse. Once this major deal falls through, the board of directors will definitely come after him. It's finally time for me to take the CEO's seat."
He came into the office the next morning wearing the sad, patient face of a man carrying bad news for somebody else's sake.
"Mr. Lin, I heard Mr. Li was going to force a price drop on you. The market environment really isn't great right now. Don't take it too hard. If things really aren't working out, maybe we should consider laying off some of the staff."
"Mr. Li didn't actually force a price cut," Lin Chaoshang said.
"This — this—"
"Not only did he not lower the price. He even sent over a gift."