Around 7 PM, I met with Jane Wei at a cafe and we ordered our drinks after settling down.
Jane Wei looked very tired. After taking a sip of coffee, she smiled slightly and said to me, “I’ve been waiting for you to come find me these days.”
“Why are you so sure I would come to you?”
Jane Wei shrugged and said, “Anyway, you are here.”
I nodded and also took a sip of coffee, thinking about how to tell Jane Wei that I needed her help.
Before I could speak, Jane Wei continued, “If I’m not mistaken, your guesthouse’s marketing strategy has already been developed, but you encountered difficulties in advertising placement.”
“Yes… It’s unrealistic for a small guesthouse like ours to invest heavily in advertising, but we do need advertising and promotion.”
Jane Wei nodded, “Your guesthouse has many inherent flaws, and the competition among guesthouses in Xitang is fierce, with nearly every one having its own unique characteristics. Without some unconventional methods, it’s almost impossible to stand out.” She paused slightly before asking, “Can you tell me about your marketing strategy?”
I immediately shared my “Perfect Travel” plan with her.
After listening, she thought for a moment and said, “So, your target consumer group is self-guided tourists?”
“Yes. In fact, most people who visit Xitang are self-guided tourists; there aren’t that many group tours.”
“Do you have specific numbers comparing group tours and self-guided tours?”
I shook my head, “It’s hard to collect statistics, but the nature of the Xitang scenic area itself determines that self-guided tours are more enjoyable.”
“If it’s really mainly self-guided tours, then the issue of advertising placement can actually be easily resolved… I have an uncle who is the founder of the largest self-guided travel website in China. If your ‘Perfect Travel’ package plan gets a homepage ad spot on the site, the effect would definitely be great.”
I stared at Jane Wei, stunned. Although she spoke very casually, I was well aware that ad spots on a website of that level were extremely valuable; even a small area the size of a tofu block would cost no less than six figures in RMB.
I finally said to Jane Wei, “I’m indeed very interested in this ad spot, but I don’t have extra funds to invest in such an advertisement.”
“I know you don’t have the funds, but isn’t that exactly why you came to me?”
“Are you planning to front the money for me?”
Jane Wei shook her head, “Based on my understanding of you, you wouldn’t accept that kind of financial support… So instead, I will arrange a meeting between you and Uncle Yang Congrong (founder of Eryi Travel Network).”
I looked at Jane Wei even more puzzled and said, “Why would such a busy and important person meet with someone like me just for an advertisement?”
Jane Wei smiled and said, “Because his Eryi Travel Network has encountered a bottleneck in development. If you can offer some reasonable suggestions, I believe he won’t hesitate to provide an advertising spot.”
“Are you saying that I, an outsider to the industry, should be giving suggestions to an industry insider like him?”
My reaction made Jane Wei frown slightly and she said, “Why not? Why can’t you be more confident?… The reason Yang Uncle is facing a development bottleneck is precisely because he has been in the industry for so long that his thinking has become limited. What he really needs now is a suggestion that breaks conventional thinking, and isn’t an outsider most likely to provide such a breakthrough?”
“There are plenty of outsiders, so why me?”
“Because you have ideas, and you need this opportunity more than Yang Uncle does… Zhaoyang, whether we can succeed or not is another matter, but at least we should give it a try. At worst, we’ll still have expanded our network, right?”
I finally nodded and asked, “When can we arrange a meeting with Mr. Yang?”
Jane Wei thought for a moment and replied, “He will come to Shanghai from Beijing next Saturday, so let’s set the meeting for that day. Tonight I’ll send you some materials about Eryi Travel Network for you to study, okay?”
“No problem.”
Jane Wei emphasized particularly, “This time, I have voluntarily revealed my relationship with Uncle Yang Congrong, and I’m only responsible for introducing you. What happens after that is up to you. Please don’t suspect me of secretly helping you again!”
I was silent for a long time before saying, “I know… I’m sorry about last time. I wasn’t happy, but I shouldn’t have returned the money to you that way.”
Jane Wei shook her head, “Back then, wasn’t it exactly your straightforward and direct personality that fascinated me? I think, for 500,000 yuan, anyone else would have refused, but your refusal was exactly what made you different. In my eyes, this difference is a rare charm of a man!”
I smiled and said, “You could also call it being stubbornly proud and suffering for it.”
“That’s not important anymore.”
A sudden pain stirred in my heart. Indeed, for the current Jane Wei and me, whether it’s charm or stubborn pride, it no longer matters. Because we have torn each other apart, and after regrowing separately, we each formed a romantic relationship with someone else.
Therefore, positioning Jane Wei and me as business friends who can help each other was the right thing to do.
Jane Wei looked absentmindedly out the window. At that moment, the waiter finally brought our ordered dinner. Unaware, Jane Wei simultaneously reached for her coffee cup at the same time the waiter was setting down the tray, causing coffee to spill onto her sleeve.
The waiter kept apologizing, but Jane Wei gestured that it was okay, indicating it was her own fault, and waved the waiter away.
The waiter bowed apologetically again before leaving, while Jane Wei rolled up her sleeve and took off her watch.
Suddenly, I noticed a scar on her wrist. She had already used a tissue to wipe the coffee off her watch and put it back on her wrist.
I grabbed her wrist and pushed the watch up a bit. A one-inch-long scar was thus exposed before my eyes—I hadn’t been mistaken just now.
“How did you get this wound?”
Jane Wei forcefully pulled her wrist back, lowered her sleeve, and calmly said to me, “It was a cut I got during a survival experience program organized by the school in the U.S.”
“Are you sure?”
I furrowed my brow and asked, “Why was the cut exactly on your wrist?”
“A classmate dropped a knife, which just landed on my wrist… Do you have any other questions?”
I stared intently at Jane Wei, trying to find any trace of lying from her expression, but she looked so calm that I could even vividly imagine the knife she described falling carelessly.
Finally, I shook my head, indicating I had no more questions.
Jane Wei picked up her handbag and said to me, “I have some work at the company, so I’ll leave first. Remember to check your email tonight for the materials from Eryi Travel Network.”
“You haven’t even eaten the pastries they just served!”
Jane Wei didn’t respond. She only gave me her back as she quickly drove away in her Cadillac CTS, disappearing into the brightly lit distance.
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