Listening to their conversation, Zhou Wang glanced up.
He had tried many of the Maotai series commonly seen in the market, but it was the first time he had seen this "Purple Sand Treasure." If he remembered correctly, the market price was around six thousand.
However, the entire Maotai "Treasure" series was somewhat awkward, as the value appreciation space couldn’t compare with other series.
Of course, this didn’t deny its quality; after all, the price of Purple Sand Treasure spoke for itself. Manager Zhao’s action clearly gave Chen Hao a lot of face.
Chen Hao couldn’t help but show a smile and hurriedly shook hands with Manager Zhao, "How can I accept this..."
"Haha, you’re Brother Hong’s cousin, so you’re like family—no need to be polite with me!"
"Alright, I won’t be polite then, Manager Zhao. Thank you, and I’ll rely on your arrangements this afternoon..."
Chen Hao replied with a smile, "My cousin happened to be doing business nearby; he might come over later as well."
"Oh? That’s great. I haven’t seen Brother Hong for a long time. Haha, when he comes, make sure to let me know!"
Manager Zhao quickly added.
After exchanging a few more pleasantries and handing out some heavy nine cigarettes, Manager Zhao finally left.
"Hey man, should I pour you a drink?"
After the server set the wine dispenser on the table, Chen Hao, already having unpacked it, made a gesture to personally pour Zhou Wang a drink.
"Thanks, but I won’t drink. I have things to do tonight."
Zhou Wang waved his hand to refuse.
He was going to engage in a battle of wits later with an old hand like Lu Conglin, and it was bound to be another tough fight. Zhou Wang was even considering calling in reinforcements, so how could he deplete his strength at this point?
Initially, Chen Hao didn’t necessarily want Zhou Wang to drink. His original intention in ordering the Flying was to put on a show for his girlfriend and the soon-to-arrive Su Yajing.
His family background wasn’t like that of Zhang Ruifeng. In a star-rated hotel, the Flying was no less than four or five thousand a bottle. Today’s expenses were substantial for him and were somewhat hard to bear. But since Zhou Wang genuinely had no intention of drinking, he inexplicably felt a bit annoyed.
一The side Zhang Ruifeng, thinking Zhou Wang didn’t recognize the drink, smiled and said, "Brother, this is the Purple Sand Treasure among Maotai—the production is quite limited, much pricier than the Flying. Are you sure you don’t want some?"
"I know what this wine is, but really, no need. I’m fine with juice."
Zhou Wang shook his head with a smile.
Chen Hao and Zhang Ruifeng didn’t insist, pouring drinks for themselves, though they couldn’t help but inwardly mock Zhou Wang a bit.
At this point, Zhou Wang took the initiative to bring up the topic, "Your name is Chen Hao, right? Brother Hao, you seem to be quite familiar with the restaurant manager. Do you often eat here?"
Chen Hao was taken aback, then smiled with a bit of restraint, saying, "Not too often, mainly because my cousin has some business collaborations with this hotel..."
Chen Hao stopped there, and the understanding Li Danni took over the conversation, explaining to Zhou Wang and Su Yajing, "Chen Hao’s cousin is in tourism; his business is quite extensive. He’s familiar with most of the hotels in Ming City."
"Today, I initially didn’t plan to make my birthday celebration too grand, but since Chen Hao has connections here, we decided to do it here. It saves a lot of money for the day, which is good value in the end..."
Li Danni smiled with her mouth pursed, with just a hint of boastfulness, though not to an annoying extent.
"I see."
Zhou Wang understood and then redirected the topic to what he wanted to ask, "In that case, Brother Hao, you should have been to many star-rated hotels in Ming City. Objectively speaking, what do you think of the standard of Lishui Yunquan?"
Even though Chen Hao was a bit puzzled, seeing that Zhou Wang was sincerely asking, he pondered for a while, seeking to show off a bit, and said truthfully, "I think it’s pretty good. The predecessor of the Lishui Yunquan Hotel was some guest house, and during its restructuring, since the land cost wasn’t high, most of the investment went into building the hotel’s hardware..."
"Of course, if you compare it to an international five-star, there’s definitely a gap. But among standard five-star hotels, it can hold its ground pretty well. As my brother puts it, because the operating costs are lower, this hotel has a very high profit margin..."
Listening to Chen Hao’s objective evaluation of the "Lishui Yunquan Hotel," and considering his perception since he entered and Su Yajing’s future, Zhou Wang quickly made a decision.
In a fallback scenario, it was just a Basic [Industry Card]. Even if it turned out to be a loss, he could afford it.
Thinking of this, Zhou Wang didn’t hesitate further and directly used the [Industry Card] quietly suspended in the system warehouse.
Ding!
[Host successfully used the "1-Yuan Industry Acquisition Card (Basic)," with 1 yuan deducted from change, acquisition target locked as "Lishui Yunquan Hotel," currently interacting with reality]
[Current progress: 1%...2%...]
The progress bar moved much slower than during the Dianwang Club event, but judging by the rate of increase, it should be completed today, as it was only noon.
While Zhou Wang was thinking about this, his phone rang.
Upon seeing the caller, Zhou Wang smiled, excused himself from the group, and went aside to answer the call.
...
"Mr. Zhou, you made a big move again—quietly going to acquire a five-star hotel..."
The call was from Gao Zhenbang, a lawyer from Yunshangyun Law Firm (Yunan Province), who was also Professor Wang Hongying’s husband. Zhou Wang had dealt with him several times; after some brief pleasantries, they got straight to the point.
Zhou Wang casually broke the cigarette that Manager Zhao had given him earlier, pulled out one of his cigarettes, lit it, and then asked with a smile,