Song Heping had been curious to see how Peter would solve his funding difficulties.
Doing business and having people offer to fund you, where could you find such good fortune?
Peter did not specify where the funding to expand the scale would co from, but from his words, Song Heping clearly sensed that the money seed like AAFES was going to provide it for him, as if on the front.
The business was originally AAFES's, and he was the Cheng Yaojin who ca out halfway through, snatching their business.
Isn't it said that cutting off soone's financial path is like killing their parents?
What's going on here?
The supposed enemy he had in mind is going to fund him to expand his scale!?
Isn't this seeing a ghost?
Coming out of Peter's office, Song Heping thought about this puzzling issue all the way down the stairs.
By the ti he reached the ground floor, the clock hand just touched eight o'clock.
There was still so ti before the 9:30 appointnt at the Tulip Hotel, so Song Heping drove back to the company by himself.
The company was brightly lit.
Everyone was changing their clothes.
Because they were going to the Tulip Hotel tonight, which was, after all, an upscale venue, it clearly wouldn't be appropriate to go in a combat uniform.
Everyone wanted to change into sothing more formal.
However, upon rummaging through their luggage, everyone realized they didn't have a single set of formal attire; their casual wear was limited to jeans and T-shirts.
During the afternoon, Ferrari had taken the team to a clothing store in the Green Zone to shop around, and they had bought a few suits and leather shoes, now all of them were getting ready in front of the office mirrors.
Seeing Song Heping co back, Ferrari handed a casual suit to him, "You were resting this afternoon, so I didn't disturb you. I personally picked this outfit for you. Does it fit?"
As he spoke, he started to put the suit on Song Heping.
Ferrari was dressed very fashionably tonight.
He wore a slim black striped suit with a large lapel and donned a dress hat.
Song Heping also slled a strong scent of perfu on Ferrari and couldn't help asking curiously, "You're wearing perfu?"
"Cologne, the perfu for n."
As Ferrari said this, he turned around to get a bottle of cologne from his room and started to spritz Song Heping with it liberally.
"Don't spray that stuff on , it slls like insecticide," Song Heping retreated repeatedly, dodging the perfu mist.
In his view, wearing perfu was sothing won did, and for n to douse themselves in it was ridiculous—like what, a gigolo in a nightclub? There was simply no need for it.
"A man wearing perfu is also a kind of etiquette," Ferrari instructed. "Perfu can make oneself feel pleasant and also make a good impression on others."
Song Heping laughed, "The roast pig chef at the barbecue place said the sa thing, that a little more scented oil and seasoning make the custors happy, too."
"Country bumpkin!"
Ferrari gave up.
He knew that it was very hard to convince soone like Song Heping.
He then picked up the suit, "You'll have to wear the suit, right? After all, we are going to discuss a partnership. It would be disrespectful to turn up in combat uniforms, wouldn't it?"
Song Heping thought about it and felt it made sense.
At a place like the Tulip Hotel, being too casual would make him stick out like a sore thumb.
He didn't like to be gawked at like an animal, so in the end, he had no choice but to comply.
"Fine, I'll wear the suit."
Having said that, he took the casual suit to his room and quickly changed before coming out.
No sooner had he stepped out the door than the team's female thug, Yuliy, whistled at him.
"Who would've thought our boss was such a handso guy! How co I never noticed before?!"
Grey Wolf appraised him and nodded in agreent, "Not bad, Song loses weight when dressed, and has muscles underneath. His stature doesn't look that tall, but those muscles are solid."
"This is a casual suit,"
Ferrari went over and unbuttoned two buttons on Song Heping's shirt.
"You don't need to wear a tie, so why fasten all the buttons?"
Although he did feel rather dashing and handso in the mirror after putting on the suit, Song Heping still felt uncomfortable. He kept tugging at his trouser legs and flailing his arms and his hands, squirming as if infested with fleas.
"Honestly, it's not one-tenth as comfortable as a combat uniform,"
he ultimately concluded.
"If it wasn't absolutely necessary, I would never wear this thing. It feels like wearing torture devices."
Everybody burst into laughter.
Ferrari ca over, removed the price tag and sleeve insignia for Song Heping, and as he busied himself, said, "Song, in the future, I reckon you'll have to attend formal events more frequently, and there are so you simply can't refuse. I advise you to get used to it as soon as possible."
As he said this, Song Heping suddenly recalled the conversation with Peter.
"By the way, I almost forgot to ntion sothing," he said. "During the al with Peter, he ntioned that if we were short of funds, there would be soone to help us. I originally thought it would be the military funding us, but he didn't say that. In the end, he seed to imply that AAFES would finance us."
"AAFES?"
"Yes, I kept thinking about it on the way back. Peter even said that this $240 million contract was originally AAFES', but because they needed to retender, it landed in our hands. Since we took the business from AAFES, why would they want to help us?"
Ferrari frowned and thought for a mont before he seed to catch on to sothing and said thoughtfully, "AAFES is a veteran contractor, they have a very wide range of business, and they are involved in almost all military contracts. Actually, this $240 million annual contract is just a drop in the bucket for them. Maybe they couldn't be bothered to quibble with you over it."
He paused, then added, "However, I do know sothing about the retendering. From the beginning of this year, there have been congressn in Congress criticizing the transparency of the military's reconstruction plans, raising concerns about abuse of power, which included references to military contract procurent here involving AAFES. I wonder if it's because of this issue that the military needed to retender to avoid conflict of interest?"
Song Heping found this very plausible and nodded, "What you're saying seems to connect all the dots. At first, I couldn't fathom why such a big piece of the pie would fall into our lap, but now it makes sense. In this Green Zone, no one has a cleaner background than us, right?"
Ferrari laughed, "That's right, think about it—Black Water, Sparta, and AAFES all have very strong backing, whether it's political, military, or business connections. And you? You have nothing. If the military is trying to avoid suspicion, finding you to take on the role might be the best option. Even if those old n in Congress wanted to find fault, they probably couldn't accuse you Russians and Chinese of having any collusion with the US military, right?"
Having reached this point in the conversation, Song Heping finally began to understand.
"But why would the head of AAFES's subsidiary want to et us? And offer us funding for expansion? Isn't that nurturing a competitor?"
Song Heping brought up another question of his own.
"I'm not sure about that," said Ferrari. "Maybe in this circle, only strength is recognized. Once you've got the contract, 'Musician' Defense is no longer a small company. Better to have more friends than enemies, right? Moreover, if the military wants to avoid suspicion, and given AAFES' connection with the military, it's not that AAFES really wants to help you, but more that the military needs you to act as a shield."
In the end, Ferrari himself wasn't too satisfied with his explanation and finally spread his hands, "Who cares what their reasons are? If you just go to the Tulip Hotel, won't you know everything?"
Checking the ti, which was nine o'clock, Ferrari said, "It's about ti. Shall we head over now? It should be just about right."
"Alright, let's go," Song Heping was not inclined to keep guessing riddles here.
Why should he care about the reasons behind their financing?
As long as he didn't have to pay out of his own pocket and it didn't arouse suspicion about the company's funding sources, why not be happy about it?
So things, rather than speculating about their origins, are better understood by looking directly at the outcos.
The facade of the Tulip Hotel's lobby was not as gaudy as the other high-end hotels in the Green Zone; it even seed sowhat old-fashioned.
The decoration at the entrance was dominated by purple-colored glass and similar materials, with a Gold Tulip emblem prominently above.
The lighting was sowhat dim, with a warm yellow tone that gave one a nostalgic feeling.
As soon as the people from 'Musician' Defense arrived, Francis imdiately ca to greet them.
He was indeed waiting here.
He held a stack of mbership cards and distributed them to those who had not received them during the day.
Then, he said to Song Heping, "Mr. Song, Mr. Robbin has been waiting for a while in the VIP room on the fifth floor."
After speaking, he led everyone inside.
Upon entering the lobby, Francis turned to White Bear, Grey Wolf, and the others, and said, "Gentlen, please enjoy yourselves. The entertainnt facilities are all on the first to third floors, enjoy to your heart's content; tonight AAFES is picking up the tab."
Then, turning to Song Heping and the Cook, he said, "Mr. Song, Mr. Yevgeny, please co with ."
Song Heping knew that the eting with him and the Cook was to discuss important matters, as he was the legal representative, and the Cook was a founding team mber.
Robbin and his team probably had a clear grasp of these circumstances as well.
So he said to Ferrari, "Ferrari, take the brothers to have fun. I and the Cook will go up to et Mr. Robbin."
"OK! You guys handle your business; see you later!"
The group split into two, with Ferrari and his team being led by the hotel's waitstaff to another side, while Song Heping and the Cook were led by Francis through the lobby, down a corridor for about fifty ters, to a quiet little hall.
There was nothing there but a sofa on one side of the hall and an elevator in the center.
A private elevator...
Song Heping understood that this elevator likely went to a fixed place, for private use, and that ordinary people probably didn't even know about this location.
With everything so secretive, Song Heping started to feel it was a bit of a pretentious ordeal.
Francis pressed the elevator button; once the doors opened, he gestured, "Please, both of you."
The three of them entered the elevator, and Francis swiped a card. As the elevator door closed, it began to ascend.
Francis pressed for the 5th floor.
When the elevator doors opened, Francis continued leading the two forward, arriving at a thick velvet curtain.
"Mr. Robbin and his friends are inside, please," he said.
After finishing his sentence, like an announcer unveiling an act, he grabbed the soft velvet curtain and gently lifted it.
When the scene behind the curtain ca into Song Heping's view, he was instantly stunned.
What is surprise?!
What the hell is a surprise?!
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