Chapter 18: The Hardest Meal
Lian Ann is a person who pays great attention to details, her dinner has her own standards, these standards are strict and accurate, and she is meticulous and thoughtful, "Lian's dinner" has become a synonym for word-of-mouth in a certain range, it is not the "small pie duì" of Mulan Mansion, it is not so ambiguous and vague, you can talk here or express your depression here, "Lian's dinner" is always bright. Kriam was still not satisfied, and she always said that one day, it would be nice if there were no such standards.
Lian's dinner is generally divided into three levels, some are for entrepreneurs, some are for the above, and some are for her workplace partners, different lists and different atmospheres require different restaurants, and Lian'an must be so comprehensive, Lin Zicheng also learned for a long time to touch the essentials. But in addition to these three levels, there is another level, Lian'an's idiomatic language is "relaxed", but Lin Zicheng knows that this relaxation is not really easy, it is the ease that Lian wants for other people, and it means that you can arrange freely after many meals at these three levels, but this free arrangement is the most difficult.
Lin Zicheng fell into deep thought after knowing that it was these three people that Lian wanted to invite. He didn't expect that someone would have the ability to invite these three people at the same time, maybe Ren Chengzhi could Su Hualong, Mu Ruoci could be clever, and there was also a way to think about it, but Li'an was just a fashion designer after all. No one would believe that it was just a phone call from Liane and they came.
These are three people in completely different fields, far from each other, but each one can dominate one side, ordinary people can change their lives by eating a meal with them, and getting the three of them together is almost a thing that can be called legendary, not to mention that only one main character in a dinner is Lian's consistent strategy, but today it was broken by herself.
Lin Zicheng thought about it for a long time, and actually arranged the place in an Italian restaurant on Wukang Road. It's not special here, the decoration is very old, some corners have some mottled traces, it looks a little decadent under the light and shadow, and it's unusually small, the whole restaurant has only one table, it's a heavy log with the original annual rings, but it gives the restaurant a spirit, and becomes the backbone of this restaurant. The only special thing about this place is that the hostess only cooks one meal a day for this table of guests, of course, the craftsmanship is still good, otherwise it would not have stood for so many years, but for these three people, it is not uncommon for world-class chefs to cook for them every day.
When Lian An heard that Lin Zicheng was here, she nodded with relief, after so many years, Lin Zicheng really understood her.
Three big people arrived as promised. Qi Shudi didn't bring a driver and bodyguards, just came alone, and sat down freely, even the priority of the seats was not particular, Lin Zicheng's hanging heart let go of a small half, but he became more and more curious, how did Lian do it?
Sitting down, Lian took out the red wine she brought, she wore a pearlescent white soft smock today, looking at it from a distance, as if wrapped in a layer of light mist, more and more dusty.
She raised her glass and smiled and said to everyone: "My first office in my life is upstairs in this restaurant, thirty square meters and two places. I've had a few crises in my career over the years, and each time I've told myself that it's a big deal to move back here. I've been eating this restaurant for almost eight years, and every time it's hard I think it's not closed yet, where is my turn? Are you right? ”
All three smiled.
One of the middle-aged men with brown glasses asked, "Is Lian in trouble now?" ”
Lin Zicheng's heart jumped, this is a well-known wealthy gardener in China's investment community, he is the most famous capital operation expert on Wall Street, and he became the governor of the National Bank of England in his early thirties, which is the youngest president of the National Bank in financial history, not to mention that he served in another country as a Chinese.
"Maybe we can help." The one who spoke was an elegant and restrained lady in her forties, whom Lin Zicheng recognized as the core of the country's diplomatic affairs, and it is said that she was notoriously iron-fisted and did not sell anyone's face.
A man next to him who looked at him with an obvious scar on one eye and a little Jianghu Qi nodded when he heard her say this. This Lin Zicheng had never seen or even seen a photo before, and when he first heard his name, he was also shocked, I heard that he had disappeared for a long time, but his status in the rivers and lakes has not been shaken so far.
How did a little fashion designer like Liane get them? Lin Zicheng was a little unbelievable.
"I've had a problem today," Liane began, "and I'm afraid my little costume studio can't survive anymore. You know that person I don't have the ability to fight against her today, but now I have to fight with her. Today, I, Liane, have the audacity to ask you to do me a favor and use your influence to get her to stop putting any more pressure on me. You must know her character better than I do, she won't listen to you alone, and you also know that her real strength is far more powerful than her wealth. ”
"It's really a difficult person to deal with, but it's man-made, I'll try my best." The elegant lady groaned.
"Okay." The regal gardener pushed down his brown glasses and cut it down.
"I finally have the opportunity to repay you this favor, and after returning your favor, I can spend my old age in peace." The big brother seems to be serious, but there is a naughty look in his eyes.
Lian's eyes flickered a little, Lin Zicheng knew that she had been forced by the environment for so many years, and she generally did not show her inner feelings, which was extremely rare today.
Lian raised her glass and gestured gracefully, "After today, it is destiny whether I succeed or not, if I succeed, I will ask you to celebrate my merits again." ”
The confident light flashing in Li'an's eyes when she said this made Lin Zicheng surging a little, it turned out that Li'an was not defeated, she had the determination to fight against the odds.
After dinner, Lin Zicheng sent Lian back, and today they also came by taxi.
"Are you curious why I was able to get them?" Liane seemed to look very happy, and when she was really happy, she always had a little childlike innocence, and there was a kind of charm that could not be concealed.
"Seriously, this game scared me a little bit today."
"Actually, it's nothing, it was a birthday present I asked for back then."
"Birthday present?"
"Zicheng, you know, I haven't asked him to do anything or ask him for anything for so many years by Chengzhi's side, but in the year when he was the best for me, I asked him for this birthday gift, which is the only thing I asked him to do, I asked him to do them a favor at the right time, and then in the past few years, of course, when they asked Chengzhi, Chengzhi asked them to ask me. They all asked me what I wanted in return, and I told them that they should treat me to a meal when I was at my wit's end. ”
"So you called and they came, it turned out that they were here to fulfill their promises."
"Although I have been soft-spoken for so many years, this love is rare, and I have thought about them for a long time when I first elected them, and it is useless if they are just people who are in high positions but do not keep their promises."
"I understand, but what I don't understand is that Mr. Li, why don't you directly ask them to solve our most difficult financial problems now, even if it is a loan with a high interest rate, this money is nothing to them."
"Zicheng, if there is no pressure from her, I am confident that we will solve this problem, and we must grasp the key points. And they kept their promise to me, and I will keep my promise to them, only one favor at a meal, no matter how small one favor, and they will never treat me as a friend again. ”
"If so, wouldn't there be any contact after this favor?"
"You know what? There is a principle called don't exhaust your affection. They are all struggling on their own, no one will look down on someone who calmly stretches out his hands and asks for alms, don't be divided out of bounds because of a momentary greed, you have to rely on yourself, all I want now is a fair chance. ”
Lin Zicheng couldn't help but nodded, this is Li'an, always know where the bottom line is, whether it is a step forward or a step back, he will not lose his arrogance, did Mu Ruoci use the right Li'an or the wrong Li'an back then?
But no matter what, he knew that today was Liane's official declaration of war.