Chapter 183: Obediently Hand Over the Business Cards

The next afternoon, Jiang Qin went to a suit store in the city. At the salesperson’s suggestion, he tried on a gray suit with a black shirt, black trousers and black leather shoes.

He already had a very tall and straight physique. Usually in casual clothes it wasn’t obvious, but after changing into a suit, his previously sloppy appearance instantly became much more dashing.

“So handsome, I’m simply a clothes hanger.”

“This color on me shows both temperament and spirit, with a bit of elegance. Even if Tony Leung came, he wouldn’t be any better than this.”

The salesperson at the suit store was silent for a while, thinking to himself that the customer had already said all the marketing lines, so what else could he say?

Nowadays, are mature customers already helping to promote for themselves?

“Boss, why not buy pure black? A black suit would obviously look more steady,” Su Nai couldn’t help but interject.

“Pure black? These days, even the doormen at hotels wear pure black. I’m afraid they’ll think I’m their colleague.”

Jiang Qin looked in the mirror for a long time, then suddenly turned around and struck a pose, “Isn’t your new phone’s camera quality pretty good? Take a suit photo for me.”

Su Nai took out her phone and snapped a couple photos, “Here, done.”

“Hm? Where’s my head?”

“Didn’t you…want a photo of the suit?” Su Nai looked completely baffled.

“?????”

Jiang Qin was stunned for a while, thinking to himself, are all you programmers like this? “I wanted you to take a photo of my handsome face, what’s the use of just taking a photo of clothes?”

Su Nai gritted her teeth, thinking the boss was really making a fuss over nothing, but held up the phone again and took a couple more photos, “Okay, this should be fine, right?”

“Mm, that’s more like it. Send it to my email tonight using the computer.”

“Boss, you’re really vain, even more so than us girls.”

Jiang Qin chuckled and turned to the salesperson, “I’ll take this whole outfit. No need to package it, just cut off the tags. I’ll wear it out.”

The salesperson nodded, “Alright sir, will you be paying in cash?”

“Yes, Su Nai go pay. Remember to get the receipt.”

“Oh.”

Su Nai followed the salesperson to the front desk to pay, muttering as she came back, “Obviously Lanlan is your part-time secretary.”

“She has more important things to do and already went ahead to make preparations. It’s the tradition at our 208 – the more talented you are, the more roles you take on.” Jiang Qin sounded like an old capitalist as soon as he opened his mouth.

“Language really is an art. Even though I know you’re exploiting us, it sounds so nice coming from you.”

“Well said. Don’t say it again next time.”

Jiang Qin tugged at his tie and looked in the mirror again, feeling a bit dazed for a moment.

Black suits were something he had worn for many years in his previous life when running business, as if welded onto his body.

So deep down he had an aversion to them, feeling suffocated as soon as he put on a black suit.

Gray was better, much more stylish.

“Let’s go.”

“Where to?”

“You head back to school. I’m going to watch others show off.”

Jiang Qin drove Su Nai back to the school, then headed towards Longkai International Hotel in the glow of dusk.

This was a relatively famous star hotel in Linchuan. Apparently it was also opened by members of the Linchuan Chamber of Commerce. They gathered here at a fixed time every year, always using the same banquet hall – Caiyuan Hall.

Just listen to that name, Caiyuan Hall, how simple, unadorned and direct.

Jiang Qin drove in and arrived at the underground parking garage. His Audi A6 was indeed a bit lacking compared to the row of cars there.

But it didn’t matter.

The money is yours, the money is theirs, but someday all this money will be mine.

“Let’s get to work.”

Jiang Qin locked the car and took the elevator to the first floor lobby, instantly feeling a sense of opulent grandeur. The dazzling crystal chandeliers were almost blinding. The lobby walls depicted magnificent rivers and mountains.

On both sides of the front desk, the pillars had a large area of embedded light strips. The warm yellow lights echoed with the gold floor, making the grain shimmer like ripples under the illumination.

Especially the row of clocks on the wall representing different time zones brought an instant international flair.

Jiang Qin stood in the lobby for a bit and saw a vibrant banner hanging overhead that read “Linchuan Chamber of Commerce Year-End Networking Event”.

At the same time, He Yijun waved to him from under the banner.

President He was also dressed in a suit and tie today, wearing a dark-colored tie very fitting for his age group. His hair was slicked back so glossy it could be used as a mirror. He looked extremely distinguished.

“Just as we said yesterday – talk less, observe more. Don’t ask people for business cards.”

Jiang Qin nodded, “I understand President He. After going in, I won’t say a word. I’ll find a corner, cross my legs and pretend I don’t exist.”

The more he agreed so readily, the more He Yijun was puzzled, “What exactly are you here to do?”

“Smell the aroma.”

“I really can’t quite figure you out.”

Jiang Qin waved his hand unhurriedly, “You don’t need to think too highly of me President He. Just treat me as an ordinary, unremarkable college student. This time I came out to broaden my horizons so I can go back and brag to my roommates.”

He Yijun didn’t believe him at all, “When we first met, you tricked Manager Yue with just a few sentences. I absolutely don’t believe you have no ulterior motive.”

“President He, what do you really want to say? You may as well be direct.”

“You helped teach my daughter well. I don’t want you to come away empty-handed this time, so tell me, who do you have your eye on? I’ll go get a business card for you.”

In an era without WeChat QR codes, business cards still had a certain practical value, especially the business cards of company heads. They generally wouldn’t give them out casually.

Unless you were a potential client or potential business partner.

Apparently some impressive corporate bosses even made business cards out of gold, showing how valuable they were.

So holding a boss’s business card didn’t necessarily mean you could successfully negotiate a partnership, but it at least meant you had the qualifications to go in and try to talk them into one. This was what He Yijun meant by helping him get a business card.

Bluntly put, without that business card, you may not find an opportunity no matter how good you were at persuasion. But with that business card, you had a pass to go in and persuade them.

But Jiang Qin waved his hand, declining He Yijun’s kind intentions.

“President He, I really don’t want any business cards, not from anyone. I just came to see the world.”

“Well that’s a first…”

He Yijun glanced at him but didn’t say anything more. He led Jiang Qin towards the designated Caiyuan Hall.

But as soon as they reached the entrance, they saw a large crowd thronging around a table, including several of He Yijun’s acquaintances such as Qin who ran a chain of convenience stores and Ming who sold building materials…

Only after the crowd dispersed a little did He Yijun and Jiang Qin find a gap to squeeze over. They saw two signboards nearly six feet tall placed to the left of the banquet hall entrance.

One read “Linchuan Chamber of Commerce – Banquet Guest Signature Board” and already had over a dozen signatures.

The other read “Linchuan Business Elite – Business Card Display Area”. It had transparent acrylic card slots that were already stuffed with over a dozen business cards, all from this CEO or that chairman.

In addition, there was a table next to the signboards with a sign reading “Check-in” written in red paper. A young woman was handing out pens to the bosses coming and going.

“I remember there weren’t these things before?”

He Yijun was startled after carefully observing for a few moments.

“This banquet is so professional and impressive. You rich people really know how to have fun.”

Jiang Qin also went over to take a look, full of emotion.

“Did you bring your business card?”

He Yijun turned to glance at him.

“Where would a college student like me have business cards? Besides, this is only for top elites. I don’t have the qualifications. Why don’t you go ahead President He?”

Jiang Qin took the marker from the girl and handed it to He Yijun.

He Yijun took it, signed his name, then took out a business card from his card holder. But before inserting it, he couldn’t help but take another look at the girl behind the table.

“Why do I feel like you look a bit familiar? Raise your head and let me see.”

Jiang Qin instantly laughed, “Alright President He, how can you casually hit on young ladies? This isn’t what a good father should do. Come on, I’ll insert it for you. You hurry in and catch up with your old friends.”

“I wasn’t hitting on her. I really think she looks a bit familiar.” He Yijun muttered, handing the business card to Jiang Qin, his face full of doubts as he entered the banquet hall.

“Men are really single-minded. They just like the young ones.”

Jiang Qin made a sarcastic remark and inserted President He’s business card into the display slot, “Where did you send the check-in staff arranged by the hotel?”

The girl raised her head and lowered her voice, “Gave him 100 yuan and told him to go eat a meal nearby and come back in two hours.”

“Lanlan, you’ve graduated.”

“The boss taught well. But how did you know they would definitely be willing to leave their business cards?”

Jiang Qin flicked the signboard in front, “President He said the bosses coming like to show off at this banquet. I figured that made sense. These people must be incredibly bored usually with no one to show off to, unable to find a rival even if they wanted to. Of course they need to take advantage of the networking event to indulge.”

Wei Lanlan nodded, “Boss, you guessed so accurately. Just now there was someone who insisted on putting his card in the first row. No one could persuade him otherwise. The two people behind him nearly got into a fight over who would go first and who second.”

“They’re simply crashing right into the barrel of my gun. When it comes to showing off, who has more tricks than me? Look at our signboard – Linchuan Business Elites, large font, 3D effect, so ostentatious. In this kind of setting where they meet their match, losing to people is okay but they can’t lose in presentation. Everyone came to show off. No one will keep a low profile.”

“Boss, is this what they call ‘every trade has its master’?”

“More or less.”

Jiang Qin handed her the car key, “After collecting all the business cards, wait for me in the car. I’m going in to take a look around.”

Wei Lanlan was a bit confused, “Didn’t we just come for the business cards? It’s a mess in there. What are you going in for?”

“Business cards alone are useless. I need to match them to faces and figure out their temperaments. Not everyone is suitable for partnership. And having their card doesn’t mean a partnership can be negotiated. Knowing yourself and the enemy is how you can be invincible in a hundred battles.”

“Can’t you find that information online?”

“The online information is all fake as hell. Only in this kind of face-to-face bragging environment can you glimpse useful information.”

After he finished speaking, Jiang Qin stepped into the banquet hall. At a glance, he didn’t see many heads of hair but did spot many potbellies.

He found a corner with a wide open view and sat down. His gaze swept over all the faces in the room as he began to silently remember them and observe their manner of speaking and conversation topics.

Among this group of people were his initial target partners selected from online research, so it wasn’t difficult to remember them all.