Chapter 43: Chapter 43: The Badmouthing Begins
BUZZ~
BUZZ~
The phone kept buzzing. He picked it up to see a series of friend requests, all from people who had searched for his phone number.
The messages read: "General Manager of XX Yida Department Store."
Among them was Chen Yu, the General Manager of the High-tech Zone Yida Department Store. He accepted them one by one. ’I’ll probably have to find Chen Yu this afternoon and ask for a favor,’ he thought.
He could have gone directly to Wang Qing, but Wang Qing was the chairman, after all. You only went to him when your subordinates truly couldn’t handle something.
Bothering the big boss with every trivial matter would just make him look incompetent. Wang Qing would be annoyed, and so would everyone down the chain of command.
"Zhu Jing, hold off on your store visits for today. Wait at the office for the boss’s approval. As soon as you get the signed form, have accounting issue an invoice immediately. This afternoon, you and I are going to the High-tech Zone Yida Department Store."
’The new manager really is taking my issue seriously,’ Zhu Jing thought. ’He’s even taking me to the department store to sort things out. He’s definitely backing me up!’
She then remembered what Han Ya had just said, and a faint blush started from the roots of her ears, spreading across her cheeks like a drop of cinnabar ink dissolving in clear water.
Yang Hui had no idea why Zhu Jing blushed so easily. Thank God it was an open-plan office, or people might get the wrong idea and think he’d done something to her.
"Go on, get back to work."
「General Manager’s Office」
Li Yang sat in his high-backed executive chair. On the wall behind him, above a bookshelf, hung a piece of calligraphy that read, "The Ocean Accepts All Rivers."
The guest area to the side was furnished with a leather sofa and a coffee table. At his age, he preferred a modern Chinese style.
Just then, Cai Miao was bent over, giving him a report.
From the corner of his eye, Li Yang could easily see the rolling peaks visible through her open collar.
He was probably used to the sight, as he didn’t let his gaze linger.
Cai Miao felt a pang of disappointment. The old lecher’s games were getting less and less frequent. ’Is he getting too old for this?’ she wondered.
"Boss, the new guy in the Operations Department, Yang Hui, had his team submit a request. I’ve looked at it, and it completely violates company policy. They’re just doing this to avoid a penalty."
"Should I reject it and demand they collect the full payment this month as per company rules? Otherwise, we penalize them?"
’Yang Hui?’ Li Yang’s expression didn’t change as he picked up the approval form and read it carefully. Then, he picked up his pen and signed his name.
"I approve this plan, but on the condition that the 1.2 million is collected this month. The remaining 8,000 needs to be resolved by next month. Otherwise, penalize them according to company policy."
Cai Miao was disappointed. How could the boss let that guy off the hook so easily?
After a moment’s thought, she added, "I was looking at this month’s operations report this morning. Over 80% of the Airex team’s stores have a monthly performance achievement rate below 80%."
"Most of the store staff and supervisors probably won’t get a bonus this month. This situation could lead to a mass exodus of personnel."
She wasn’t complaining on behalf of Airex; she was putting in a bad word for Yang Hui. She knew Li Yang’s personality well. In a situation like this, Li Yang would only think the team wasn’t working hard enough to earn their pay, not that the targets he set were too high.
By saying this, she was telling Li Yang that the Airex team had problems with both their execution and their capabilities.
"He just got here. Let’s see how they perform next month."
Cai Miao nodded and left. She knew that since Yang Hui had just arrived, he couldn’t be blamed for this, but she wanted to make sure Li Yang remembered the issue.
’Next month, Yang Hui will be the one leading them. If the results are the same, he won’t be able to escape the blame, will he?’
She was convinced that no one could solve Airex’s problems in a short amount of time. She would keep a close eye on next month’s performance, constantly reminding the boss, and give Yang Hui some special "attention."
RING RING RING~
The internal line rang.
"Yang Hui, come get the approval form. The boss signed it."
"Alright, Rookie, I’ll send someone to get it!"
Cai Miao thought Yang Hui had called her name, and assuming she’d misheard, she didn’t think much of it.
She didn’t dare call him Xiaoyang anymore. She had figured out Yang Hui’s personality: if she called him Xiaoyang, he’d call her Old Cai.
If she used his name, he used hers.
"Zhu Jing, go get the approval form. While you’re at it, have accounting issue the VAT invoice. We’re going to the department store this afternoon."
He had just accepted the friend request from the General Manager of the High-tech Zone Yida Department Store on WeChat and had said hello to all the other GMs.
All twenty-one general managers from the twenty-one Yida Department Stores had added Yang Hui, and they exchanged a few pleasantries.
It seemed Wang Qing had given instructions after he left; otherwise, these people wouldn’t have been so efficient.
He sent a message to Chen Yu, asking if he was available in the afternoon for an in-person visit to discuss a few things.
Chen Yu was also very interested in him. After all, anyone who could prompt the chairman to personally call a meeting and arrange work for him was someone worth getting on good terms with.
[Chen Yu: I’ll be here all afternoon. Once you’ve decided on a time, just let me know. I’ll be waiting in my office for you!]
They ended up agreeing to meet at three o’clock. Before the meeting, Yang Hui planned to visit the store with Zhu Jing to get a handle on the problems so he could discuss and resolve them with Chen Yu all at once.
「1:50 PM」
Yang Hui stood up and packed some documents into his briefcase.
"Zhu Jing, let’s go."
She was already packed and had just been about to urge him to leave. The subway ride from the office to the High-tech Zone Yida Department Store took fifty minutes; if they didn’t leave now, they’d be late.
The two of them went downstairs together. On the way, they ran into the pretty supervisor they had seen earlier in Cai Miao’s office.
She called out to Yang Hui gently, "Hello, Manager Yang!"
You could tell she was thanking him for helping her out of a jam earlier.
He smiled and nodded. "Hello."
"Boss, you know Xia Jie?"
"I saw her once in Rookie’s office. I wouldn’t have known her name if you hadn’t mentioned it."
Zhu Jing smiled, her eyes curving into crescents. "You’ve only just started, Boss, and you’re already acquainted with all the pretty girls."
"Pretty girls? Does that include you?"
Zhu Jing immediately grew flustered, her face turning pink. "What do you mean, pretty? I’m hideous!"
He chuckled and didn’t pursue the topic. Complimenting her further would seem frivolous, especially since she was his subordinate. But he couldn’t agree that she was ugly either—that would be disrespectful to the objective truth, and only a fool would do that.
"Boss, where are you going? Aren’t we taking the subway?"
Seeing Yang Hui heading in the wrong direction, Zhu Jing quickly asked.
"Why take the subway? I drove."
Zhu Jing glanced at his young, handsome profile and felt a surge of admiration. ’The boss is so young and already has a car. He’s truly promising!’
’What kind of car does he drive?’
As they walked to the parking garage, she wondered. ’A Sylphy? A Lavida? Or maybe a new-energy electric car?’
Zhu Jing kept guessing which car was Yang Hui’s.
Then, she followed him to a matte black Mercedes-Benz E300L and found herself captivated by the elegant, stately, and business-like vehicle.
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