Well, this was indeed a bit surprising.
After a brief pause, Xu Yanxia asked him directly, "Then I wonder, did you seek me out to discuss matters regarding an ingredient partnership, or is there something else you wish to communicate?"
Feng Yiheng smiled candidly and said, "Actually, it is a bit of both."
"Let's start with the first matter. You should know that our brand's main business has historically been in the European and American markets. Recently, we have been considering developing the domestic market, and the feedback for your two restaurant brands has been outstanding across the board."
"Especially your own culinary skills, which are beyond reproach. You are exactly the kind of partner we have been looking for—someone truly worthy of top-tier ingredients."
"Thank you."
Xu Yanxia gave him a polite nod.
Indeed, based on her understanding, a supplier of Meyer's caliber would definitely conduct preliminary investigations before choosing a partner. Moreover, their standards were extremely strict; it was not something money alone could buy.
Therefore, if he joined the show to evaluate her as a target partner, it logically made sense.
However, there were still some things she did not quite understand.
"Please forgive my bluntness,"
she continued, "looking at your company's past partners, they are all restaurants with years of established reputation, and almost all are award-winners. As for our two restaurants, although current customer feedback is indeed quite good, they only opened this year. There are actually quite a few restaurants in first-tier cities that meet your requirements. Why did your company set its sights on us?"
"It seems Director Xu knows us quite well,"
Feng Yiheng smiled at her and said, "Does this also mean you are interested in our brand?"
"Given your company's reputation and status in the industry, whether as a food science major or a professional in the domestic fine dining sector, it would be impossible for me not to know."
Xu Yanxia returned his smile and said, "To be honest, I even used many of your company's case studies and data in my undergraduate thesis."
"I see."
Dr. Feng nodded and continued, "Your earlier question is indeed very important. As for why we chose you, it is because, after our comprehensive evaluation, yours is the brand with the greatest upward potential."
"I will be straight with you. We need a partner we can fully support. Many old-brand restaurants just have big names; their actual capabilities might not be as good as yours. Plus, they usually have mature supply chains and complex shareholder structures, making them unsuitable for us to step into."
Fair enough.
Xu Yanxia nodded in agreement.
His words were actually quite practical. Many established restaurants already had their fixed consumer bases and could survive perfectly well without relying on a partnership with them.
And just like the former Jiushan, there would be many shareholders involved behind the scenes.
Simply put, they were hard to control.
Across from her, Feng Yiheng gave her another smile. "Since you are so professional, you must also know the benefits of partnering with us."
"That is right."
Xu Yanxia nodded candidly.
Putting aside everything else, the brand promotion alone was already incredibly tempting.
One must know, they were the supplier for the majority of Michelin-starred restaurants in Europe and America.
Once partnered with them, they could directly obtain the same grade of ingredients as three-star Michelin restaurants in Europe and America, with a stable supply unconstrained by season or origin.
This was something many restaurants in the country, and even across Asia, found difficult to achieve.
But more importantly, the subsequent brand effect.
Once tied to them, their external brand prestige would be instantly elevated. The effect could be more useful than spending ten million on advertising.
Taking it a step further, even the goal of opening overseas branches would not be hard to realize.
...
"It is indeed very tempting,"
Xu Yanxia smiled but maintained a cautious tone. "However, I must also be frank with you. Between our two current brands, Xu's Teppanyaki takes the route of affordable Chinese cuisine and has absolutely no need for your company's luxury ingredients."
"As for Jiuzhen Zhishan, although it does focus on high-end Chinese cuisine, we have already established a mature supply chain. Furthermore, your company's prices are far higher than those of our current domestic suppliers. Once we partner with you, while we would gain brand elevation, our costs would undoubtedly increase, which carries a certain degree of risk."
"Especially since I am merely a regional director. Such a major decision needs to be reported to the company for a comprehensive evaluation."
Pausing for a moment, she deliberately added, "You should also know that our shareholder is actually Lu's Technology."
"That is correct,"
she saw him nod as well before he said, "They have excellent vision."
Xu Yanxia smiled again and said, "I will say thank you on behalf of my boyfriend."
Changing the subject, she said, "Now that you mention this, I have to bring up another topic. I know that recently, your Meyer Consortium has been secretly obstructing the Lu Group's project in Germany."
"I wonder if your approaching me has something to do with this as well?"
"Yes."
Dr. Feng nodded at her frankly and said, "You probably know where our current conflict lies. Actually, in my personal opinion, our two companies could completely cooperate and achieve a win-win situation."
"But to be honest, there is indeed a faction within our consortium secretly obstructing things out of various interests. However, there is also a faction that supports you."
"For example, my mother."
"Your mother?"
This took Xu Yanxia somewhat by surprise.
After a moment of thought, she ventured to ask, "Pardon my presumption, but are you of mixed heritage?"
To her surprise, Feng Yiheng was amused by her question. He smiled and said, "Do I look like it?"
Xu Yanxia paused. "To be honest, not really. But genetics has dominant and recessive traits, and there are many mixed-race individuals who don't look like their father's or mother's side of the family."
But one thing was certain, the man in front of her was definitely a member of the Meyer family.
After all, for an old European family consortium like this, unless one had very strong connections, how could an Asian without family bloodlines hold such an important position?
He did not deny it. He just smiled at her and said, "My background is rather complicated. I will tell you about it in detail when we have the chance in the future. Anyway, on the issue of semiconductors, there is still a lot of hope for cooperation between our two companies."
"And I came this time exactly to act as this liaison."
"Alright,"
Xu Yanxia smiled and nodded, saying, "I am also very happy to help you convey this message. Shall I pass your business card to our president then?"
It should be known that given his status, such a business card was quite rare to come by.
"Absolutely,"
Feng Yiheng nodded, and added, "I have already registered for a domestic WeChat account. We can also add each other's contact information to make it easier to discuss future cooperation on ingredients."
"Okay."
Xu Yanxia took out her phone and added him on WeChat.
After exchanging a few more words, seeing that it was getting late and she still had a flight to catch, she bid Dr. Feng farewell and returned to her room.
Immediately after, she dialed Lu Jingming's number, planning to tell him about her recent gains.
Unexpectedly, he did not answer.
Figuring he must be busy, she simply sent him a voice message, briefly explaining what had just happened, and took a picture of Feng Yiheng's business card to send to him.
Then she quickly packed her luggage and went to the airport with Ye Shu, who was waiting for her.
Time was a bit tight. By the time they finished checking in and going through security, it was almost time to board.
Xu Yanxia then heard Ye Shu suddenly ask her, "Xia Xia, were you talking business with Dr. Feng at the hotel just now?"
Hmm?
Xu Yanxia found it a bit strange. "How did you know?"
Ye Shu handed her the phone screen she was browsing to show her. "Someone just posted pictures of you two in the show's comment section."
"Really?"
Xu Yanxia cast her gaze over and sure enough, the images showed the scene of her and Feng Yiheng talking in the hotel restaurant just now.
Swiping through, there were three photos in total.
One was of Feng Yiheng inviting her to sit down.
One was of them talking, and it looked like it was taken right when she asked if he was of mixed heritage, as Feng Yiheng's smile was very relaxed.
And the last one was of the two taking out their phones to add each other on WeChat before parting ways.
Xu Yanxia nodded candidly and told Ye Shu, "He is actually an executive of a rather experienced high-end ingredient supplier in Europe. He plans to cooperate with us, so he deliberately waited for me to have a chat."
"So that's how it is."
Ye Shu nodded, and then Xu Yanxia said to her, "Shu Shu, I have one piece of good news and one piece of bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?"
Ye Shu thought for a moment. "The good news?"
Xu Yanxia said, "I have his WeChat now."
"Really!!!"
Ye Shu's eyes immediately lit up. She was just about to ask to see it, but after thinking it over, she asked with a wary look, "Then what's the bad news?"
Xu Yanxia replied, "He already has a fiancee, and it seems to be an arranged marriage by his family."
It was all thanks to her keeping her best friend in mind at all times that she had deliberately taken the liberty to ask Dr. Feng right before they parted, and received a definitive answer from the man himself.
"No..."
Ye Shu visibly deflated at once. "Sure enough, good men are never short of a market, boohoo..."
