Chapter 116 - 102: A New Cooperation Plan
Chapter 116: Chapter 102: A New Cooperation Plan
Black Panther Company.
"Boss, are we really doing this?" Johnny asked, following Macken toward the conference room. Even though he’d lowered his voice, his words were still perfectly clear. "Won’t we be taking too big of a loss?"
"The itineraries for the next three months are almost all food tours. We need her," Macken said.
Johnny was taken aback, but still reluctant.
"Won’t Uncle Miao be enough?"
"Given Uncle Miao’s health, he can go out once every two weeks at most. Besides, some clients specifically request her for their tours. We have no choice," Macken said calmly. "Between making no money and making less money, which would you choose?"
Johnny was speechless. He finally shut his mouth and walked away, looking dejected.
When Ning He arrived, she was greeted by the starkly different expressions on Macken’s and Johnny’s faces.
The former was his usual calm, expressionless self. The latter had his lips curved into a smile, but his facial muscles were so awkward it was clear he was suppressing his reluctance.
Ning He had long since gotten to know this big goof and knew he was the type to wear his heart on his sleeve. ’He must be unhappy about something.’
After they sat down in the reception room, Macken cut right to the chase and laid out a new proposal for their collaboration.
"Since your time is valuable, we want to show our sincerity. For all future food tours that you lead, you’ll get a twenty-percent commission on the tour fee. What do you think?"
Ning He’s mouth fell slightly open, thinking she must have misheard.
"Twen... twenty percent?"
Macken nodded. "That’s right. A food tour usually has eight people, and the total fee is around thirty-five thousand. You could make seven to eight thousand per trip out of the city. Are you interested?"
’Interested? I’m *very* interested!’
’Seven or eight thousand isn’t in the same league as eight hundred. I’m still short a huge chunk of the capital for my food company. Even with the income from the restaurant and cafeteria, it would take several months to barely scrape enough together. If I could lead two tours a month and earn an extra ten to twenty thousand, it would take a huge amount of financial pressure off.’
But then, Ning He noticed a resentful glare coming from beside her.
It was only for a split second, but she definitely saw the reluctance flash across Johnny’s face.
She quickly swallowed the two words "I agree" that were on the tip of her tongue.
’This was a complete windfall for her, of course, but for the guys at Black Panther Company, it was a really bad deal.’
’After all, all she had to do was show up and work. Black Panther Company, on the other hand, had to deploy Mechas, heavy-duty trucks, and other equipment for every trip—not to mention a crew of at least twenty elite personnel. Those were all considerable expenses.’
’For her to take a twenty-percent cut all by herself... anyone in their shoes would be upset.’
But the offer was too tempting. She decided to ask a few more questions.
"Isn’t... isn’t that a little too much? Wouldn’t it be better to have Uncle Miao do it?" she asked tentatively.
"If I could, I would give all the tours to Uncle Miao. When we first started working together, I never anticipated you’d do such a phenomenal job that several of my biggest clients now insist on you leading their tours. That was my oversight, and now, I have to pay for it. Of course, this is the highest I can offer. If you can’t accept it, we’ll have to terminate our partnership."
Macken was always direct. You either accepted his terms or you refused them; there was never any room for negotiation.
On one hand, Ning He found it refreshing to work with someone so straightforward. On the other, it made her heart tremble a little.
’What did he mean by "pay for my oversight"? Is he blaming me?’
’Is it my fault I accidentally raised the industry standard?’
’Okay, maybe just a little...’
"To be honest, I’m very tempted," Ning He said frankly. "But if Boss Mai, or the other guys at Black Panther Company, are unhappy with this arrangement, our partnership won’t last. When you’re in a partnership, a win-win is the best outcome. If one side benefits at the other’s expense, we’ll probably end up as enemies. And I really don’t want to have a falling out with you all."
Macken glanced at Johnny, who was standing beside him trying to look innocent by staring at the floor, then turned his gaze back to Ning He.
"So, what do you suggest?"
Ning He thought for a moment. "As I recall, there are only two security companies in all of Beiluo City, right? How are their food tours?"
"Besides being expensive, they’re nothing compared to what Uncle Miao makes!" Johnny, who had been silent until now, suddenly piped up. "Their chef was even Uncle Miao’s apprentice!"
"Oh, I see," Ning He said, the realization dawning on her.
’No wonder Black Panther Company seems so low-key but still does good business. It looks like their service quality is on par with that high-and-mighty Vitelli.’
"Johnny’s exaggerating a little," Macken said, "but when it comes to the quality of our food tours, we are indeed their equal."
"Of course it’s true! Other than their Mechas being a bit newer, what have they got? Any one of our guys could take on three of theirs!" Johnny huffed, obviously disdainful of their competitor.