Chapter 15 Bid Event (Part 2)

apter 7: Terrorizing Problem SolvingSu Cen forgot where his seat was. The seating arrangement in junior high had become rather vague to him, so when he asked a classmate, "Where do I sit", Tang Wu, wh...Chapter Fifteen: The Bidding Event (Part 2)

In the end, it's a matter of psychological factors. In specific environments and atmospheres, people's moods and perspectives will change accordingly.

Su Can, who had attended countless business banquets in his later life and was responsible for preparing company events under various circumstances, thoroughly understood the psychology behind gatherings. Especially for city-level meetings like this one, besides having important qualifications, there is another crucial factor – packaging.

In such gatherings at the city level, even those with deep connections won't be obvious before any interactions take place. Moreover, Chinese people value first impressions; regardless of future business forums and gatherings, a good first impression can often confuse and impress those who consider themselves skilled at judging people. According to human psychology, people tend to show respect and attention towards bright and glamorous things.

Su Can wanted to seize upon this point. In events similar to the city's bidding clarification meeting, his uncle Zeng Quanming wouldn't have much say, nor would their family be able to influence the assessment committee. Thus, it was impossible to take an unconventional approach. Since this event had interview-like qualities during the bidding process, the best strategy was to capture the attention of others and make them feel親近from the bottom of their hearts.

This method is similar to the technique in later times of dazzling a crowd with spotlight effects when important figures appear on stage. Packaging and advertising have been proven to be crucial steps in marketing and炒作.

Therefore, Su Can explained the significance of participating in this bidding meeting to Zeng Ke and Su Licheng. Then came the issue of packaging for his parents. During this era, most people dressed rather plainly, and foreign brands hadn't yet flooded into the domestic market as they did later on. In China's clothing industry, "Red Bean," "Phoenix Bird," and "Yage" were among the earliest Western-style suit brands to rise; they also entered Xiahai's market quite early.

However, in Su Can's eyes, while these suits had good quality, their designs fell short of a first-impression impact. They indeed showed some shortcomings compared to domestic brands at that time. Thus, for his father, he chose an autumn suit from "Jinlai" available in the mall because it resembled Hugo Boss suits with its rugged German style, which complemented his father's heroic demeanor perfectly.

Kinglai is a Hong Kong brand, and at that time it was just getting started. Clothes were more about imitating and improving upon well-known international brands. This Hugo Boss-inspired suit, which Su Cen found to be the most suitable for his father's temperament in Xihaishi, exemplifies this trend.

The saleswoman’s eyes lit up as she continuously praised, "Your son has such good taste..." Although there was some flattery in her tone, her genuine feelings were still evident.

For his mother Zeng Ke, Su Cen chose a dark-colored evening gown, which wasn't too expensive but difficult to pair with other items due to its somewhat avant-garde design. After selecting an accompanying bag, scarf, and shoes for her, his mother's graceful demeanor immediately stood out, leaving his father momentarily speechless.

His parents were heartbroken over the three thousand five hundred dollars spent, but considering what Su Cen said about the pros and cons, they reluctantly dug into their savings. After returning home, both of them stared at their new clothes for a long time because in their lifetime, they had never worn such expensive clothing before. In the past, this would have required an entire family to go without food and drink for three months’ wages or save up for half a year to afford.

Seeing his parents' mix of heartache and joy, Su Cen felt a pang in his heart. It turned out that they weren't indifferent to beauty; they had the means to be elegant and瀟灑 (free-spirited), but the weight of life had softened their edges, concealed their allure, stooped their posture, and stolen their youth.

Those who haven't experienced the hardships of those times will never understand how scarce and arduous it was to stretch every penny and ensure a family's nutritional needs.

The expensive clothes now made his parents react just like he did when he got a new piece of clothing as a child.

Turns out, they too had their own desires, only I couldn't see them or fulfill them back then.

Su Can, under everyone's gaze, looked at the sunlight slanting from outside the Carrey Hotel and smiled faintly as he walked with his parents down the corridor. The blinding light made him feel a tide-like sensation swelling within his heart. He noticed that despite her mother Zeng Ke trembling slightly under everyone’s attention, she had reminded him to stay natural, while his father Su Licheng could not maintain a composed expression.

He did not have excessive ambitions; he merely wished that one day, when faced with such scrutiny from others, his parents would be able to smile naturally and converse easily.

The Su family did not greet the shocked Uncle Zeng Quanming and, maintaining a friendly distance, calmly entered the bidding hall, leaving behind a back view for everyone’s speculations.

This mysterious yet glamorous trio had become a focal point, with many people trying to find out their background.

Some said that the man was the CEO of a high-level company in the city; others mentioned that Xiaohai City had a young deputy secretary for party affairs—could it be him Still others speculated that he might have come down from the provincial inspection team or perhaps worked as a secretary in the provincial government complex...

While Jiang Chaoming, who had an extensive network of influence, had never met this family before, Mayor Hong Xiaotian felt relieved when he saw them not interacting with Jiang Chaoming; he wasn't quite sure why but was probably worried that if their background indeed matched what some people were speculating and they were connected to Jiang Chaoming, the resistance against him would only be greater.

Su Can understood that this round of packaging had achieved its purpose, successfully masking any unnatural expressions on his parents' faces. The use of environment, location, and psychological manipulation was key: first, it took place in a conference directly overseen by the mayor with high-ranking officials from various departments present, creating an atmosphere of solemnity and oppression where nobody would act overly conspicuous due to the higher-ups watching.

By making their presence felt in such an environment, they truly had displayed unexpected prowess.

Next is the location. If this were not in Xiahai, a small city, but in Rongcheng, a provincial capital, where people have seen more and are better informed, parents' attire like this would be quite ordinary and wouldn't cause such a stir.

Su Cen used his perspective from the future to utilize Xiahai City's available resources to create an image for his parents. When applied in this small city banquet of 1998, it immediately stood out, achieving unexpected results. At least Zeng Quanming, who never openly showed external preferences or dislikes, now had a mouth wide open, which spoke volumes.

Currently, only two people at the scene knew their true identities: Su Cen's maternal uncle Zeng Quanming and Chen Jun, the former vice president of Zeng Ke’s trading company.

Chen Jun was not unfamiliar with Zeng Ke's family. Back when they were occupying a basement dormitory in the trading company, many people had already expressed dissatisfaction and demanded that the unit allocate housing to them. Although Chen Jun felt unhappy about it in his heart, he still couldn't bear to force them out of their home due to sympathy. Thus, all he could do was grumble on the surface. Later on, when Zeng Ke proactively requested the company to buy out her service years and vacate the house, Chen Jun finally breathed a huge sigh of relief, feeling as though a heavy burden had been lifted off his shoulders.

At this moment, however, he was dumbfounded, unable to fathom what good fortune Zeng Ke's family must have encountered. Nevertheless, he dared not spread the news.

Hong Xiaotian remained composed during the tendering session but secretly flipped open the bidding number code corresponding to Su Cen’s group’s seating position. This was the zone for office supply procurement tenders. He first opened the bid documents and found them detailed and comprehensive, easy on the eyes, with key points highlighted succinctly.

He then glanced at Su Cen’s family again and was surprised to find that despite being local merchants who owned an office supply store, they possessed such a refined demeanor, which was truly remarkable.

Hong Xiaotian gave a thorough review of the bidding report submitted by Su Cen's group and had already made up his mind about them.han those who would flow through their small shop in the future.Looking at his mother's accounting ledger, in just one week, there were already dozens of thick pages filled with records. The daily sal...