Chapter 104.2: Is the Cake Sweet?
Two days later, Qin Qianyu said again, "The boss's been
acting like that again. He didn't join us for dinner again, insisting he had an
important call and then disappeared to his room. Sigh, this man's heart is as
unpredictable as a leader's."
She felt a little happy listening to this rant. The call, of
course, was for her.
Later, Qin Qianyu told her, "My brother's gossip is
that a beautiful executive at our company is interested in our leader and wants
him to teach her about going public. But our leader, unimpressed by the
situation, simply passed the job on to Liu Lifeng. Old Liu, astonishingly, lent
the executive his insurance agent exam materials, telling her, 'Read it, you'll
understand.' Later, Old Liu told me that this was a tip from President Ren
privately. Don't you think these two are inseparable?'
She smiled at the chat box for a long time, feeling both
sweet and a touch of longing.
But when they spoke on the phone that night, Ren Yan didn't
mention the executive's passionate desire to learn. Instead, he kept asking her
indirectly if the company had any talented young executives. It took her a
while to figure out that he was putting himself in his shoes. Since he had the
admiration of a beautiful woman, it was only natural that she would admire
talented people. He wasn't without a sense of crisis.
She thought that her boyfriend, now less aloof than usual,
seemed to be becoming more down-to-earth. She found him truly fascinating when
he was just a mortal.
She had discovered numerous issues with the private
placement project, such as the independent director's off-site inventory. These
were the kinds of issues that usually slipped under people's radar, the kind
that, whenever she brought them up, would suddenly dawn on them, saying,
"This is a real problem! Thank goodness you spotted it, Manager Chu!"
With her meticulousness, keen sense, and professional
expertise, she gradually identified and addressed the company's hidden
pitfalls.
During the project's life, their agency inevitably
encountered numerous interactions with the company's CFO. Tiantian Food's CFO
was Lu Fang, a woman in her thirties who was incredibly difficult to deal with.
The company reimbursed the agency for food and accommodation
expenses during due diligence trips. Whenever the agency presented these
invoices to the company for reimbursement, Lu Fang was at her most difficult.
She always complained that the agency had spent too much, and when she did, she
would go on to make a fuss about all sorts of things, annoying everyone
unnecessarily.
The lawyers and accountants complained to Chu Qianmiao,
saying their reimbursements were never smooth and easy. Lu Fang would verify
each invoice, asking after each meal how many people were eating, what was
eaten, and why it was so expensive. She said they couldn't waste money and had
to save as much as possible for the company.
Her stingy attitude had even caused the accountants and
lawyers to argue with her.
The accountant came over and complained to Chu Qianmiao,
"What's wrong with Lu Fang? She's spending the company's money, not her
own. She's not even related to the boss, so why is she so stingy? Why would the
boss share the money she saves with her?"
Chu Qianmiao smiled and ignored her.
She had long since learned to avoid superficial
conversations with people she didn't know well in the workplace.
The lawyer, fed up with her, complained to her, "That
Lu Fang, she never fails to hold up our reimbursements, and yet she still wants
to consult me about legal disputes. I really don't understand what's going on
in her head. I've worked on all these projects, but I've never encountered such
an annoying CFO. I think she's doing this on purpose."
Chu Qianmiao simply listened and smiled, not commenting.
Sometimes it's safer to have no opinion, but having an opinion might offend at
least one party, or even both.
After the accountant and lawyer left, Gu Kai and the other
two project managers couldn't help but look at Chu Qianmiao with a different
eye. They always collected the invoices and gave them to Chu Qianmiao, who
would then hand them over to Lu Fang. They didn't know what tricks she had used
to make Lu Fang so friendly with the brokerage firm. So far, theirs was the
only firm that hadn't been offended by the reimbursement issue.
Not only that, but once, Chu Qianmiao was so busy that she
forgot to deliver the invoices due that period, and Lu Fang actually came to
the due diligence office to collect them herself.
Gu Kai and the other three immediately thought Chu Qianmiao
was truly amazing, having managed to so easily smooth over the difficult Lu
Fang.
That time when Lu Fang came to collect the invoices, they
witnessed Chu Qianmiao's eloquence. It turned out that she was not only
exceptionally professional, but also a truly exceptional speaker.
When she chatted with Lu Fang, she maintained the
business-to-business leadership demeanor of a project manager at a brokerage
firm and a financial director at a corporate company. Yet, beyond these
business-to-business interactions, she made Lu Fang feel like a warm and gentle
breeze. Her words appealed to the other person's needs without sounding
flattering, always striking the perfect balance to create a pleasant
conversation. For example, if Lu Fang liked photography, she would chat with
her about it, and she would talk about it with great eloquence; if Lu Fang
liked poetry, she could recite a poem by Yu Guangzhong or Xu Zhimo at any
moment. As a result, after a day of chatting with her, Lu Fang unwaveringly
considered her a confidant.
Lu Fang's respect and deference towards Chu Qianmiao
astonished Gu Kai and the other three. After Lu Fang left, Gu Kai couldn't help
but ask Chu Qianmiao, "How did you manage to be both knowledgeable about
photography and able to recite poetry?"
Chu Qianmiao smiled and said, "I was talking about this
on the phone with a friend. He knows a lot, so he told me, and I took
note."
Specifically, it was her boyfriend. Every night when they
spoke on the phone, her precious boyfriend always had something new to tell
her. Today he'd talk about photography, tomorrow about skiing, the day after
tomorrow he'd recite two poems to her, and the day after that he'd even talk
about Peking Opera. He was her walking encyclopedia. She imagined that most of
his previously uninhibited time was spent learning about this great
encyclopedia of the human world.
"Then how did you manage to smooth over someone as
difficult as Lu Fang?" Gu Kai asked again. The other two project managers
also became curious.
Chu Qianmiao smiled and replied, "Actually, Lu Fang,
while difficult, has a simple personality and isn't difficult to understand.
She's simply emotional. Emotionalism can also be described as genuine and
emotional. There's someone like that in our company and department, and he's
now my junior. If this type of person wants to go against you, they'll do it to
the bitter end, fearless of anything. But if you can turn them into one of your
own, they'll become your most loyal friend."
Gu Kai thought for a moment and said, "That's true. Lu
Fang is such an emotional person. Although she's difficult, she's not
complicated. She's clearly annoying."
His words made Chu Qianmiao laugh.
Chu Qianmiao said, "Actually, everyone's only thinking
she's annoying, and haven't thought deeply about why she's so annoying. They
don't understand why she's so stubborn when the money is company money, not her
own. The reason is simple: she's emotional, and when she's upset, she'll just
be irritating others."
"But why is she always so upset? It can't be menopause,
right?" Gu Kai asked.
Chu Qianmiao said, "Because she's got family
problems."
One question after another piqued Gu Kai and the other
three's curiosity. They simply asked Chu Qianmiao to explain everything.
It wasn't that hard to discover that Lu Fang's family
problems were causing her to be upset and delay her expense reports.
Because the lawyer mentioned something when he came to
complain, and Lu Fang attempted to get legal advice from him.
So, Chu Qianmiao assumed Lu Fang's family must be facing
some legal issues.
She went to ask her about it. Her ability to wheedle
conversation was unbearable for most people, and Lu Fang soon confided her
troubles.
It turned out that Lu Fang was planning to buy a second-hand
house through an agent. She had already paid a deposit, but the seller suddenly
reneged.
"So, she sued the seller, demanding a doubling of the
deposit. While she and the seller were arguing fiercely, the agency suddenly
sued both her and the seller, demanding they each pay tens of thousands of yuan
in agency fees. The agency said that although the sale didn't go through, it
was the seller's fault for reneging, not their fault. They had provided
services, so they had to pay."
Gu Kai and the other three were stunned. "It sounds
simple, but the more I think about it, the more complicated it becomes. So,
what should she do?"
This was Lu Fang's dilemma, and the crux of her emotional
outburst. She was clearly in the right, yet she was being ripped off, which
made her feel incredibly down and overwhelmed. So, she held up everyone's
expense reports, adding to their frustrations and anxieties.
"I'm a law graduate, and while I've been working in
non-litigation cases, I haven't completely given up on litigation. I went back
to the hotel and researched the seller's property online and the local housing
policies, and something interesting happened," Chu Qianmiao said with a
smile.
As she spoke, she exuded the aura of someone masterminding a
strategic plan.
"So, local housing policy here requires that properties
in some areas must wait five years from the date of delivery before they can be
sold. The seller's property is subject to this policy, and their property still
has more than six months until its fifth anniversary. Therefore, the seller is
completely ineligible to fulfill the sales contract."
Gu Kai marveled, "What a brilliant development!"
Chu Qianmiao said, "It's clearly a scheme played by the
real estate agent and the seller."
So, she told Lu Fang to sue both the real estate agent and
the seller, alleging that the seller, knowing the property couldn't be sold,
colluded with the real estate agent to defraud the buyer of the agency fee.
The seller and the real estate agent immediately relented,
privately reconciling and returning the deposit.
"And then, guess what?" Chu Qianmiao said with a
smile to the amazed Gu Kai and the other three.
"Then, Lu Fang's family is actually very wealthy. When
the building was demolished, she got the entire building. She calculated that
she actually had several times more money than the owner of this company. So,
she comes to work just to have fun. When things don't go her way, she doesn't
care about anyone's feelings; she just fights head-on."
"That's not right. Why would Lu Fang buy that
second-hand house when she's so rich?" a project manager asked.
Chu Qianmiao smiled and replied, "Because her daughter
said she wanted to be neighbors with her best friend in kindergarten."
The project manager who asked the question smacked his lips,
almost losing faith in life.
Another project manager gave Chu Qianmiao a thumbs-up.
"Manager Chu, you're amazing! Not only did you manage the project so
clearly, but you also managed to keep Lu Fang, the hidden tycoon, in line. And
while you were at it, you even helped her resolve her lawsuit. Seriously, I'm
impressed."
Chu Qianmiao smiled and said, "Don't say that."
At the same time, she thought to herself, "I've used
you." It seemed she was becoming increasingly respected and loved.
I wonder if her boyfriend, whom she hadn't seen in a while,
would be happy for her if he knew about this.
Thinking about it, it felt like it had been ages since she'd
seen him again. Maybe it hadn't been that long, after all, a day without seeing
someone feels like three years, which doubles the time. But thinking about it,
she missed him terribly.
That afternoon, while Chu Qianmiao was writing materials,
she received a call from Li Si.
Li Si told her, "Qianmiao, your CEO Ren wants me to
help. The feedback from your Liya IPO has come in, and he wants you to return
to Beijing to process it first. So, buy a plane ticket and come back. Once
you've processed the feedback from your Liya IPO, you can return to Tiantian
Food."
Chu Qianmiao hung up and started buying her plane ticket.
Her CEO Ren was waiting for her return.
The author has something to say to Ren
Yan: From now on, I'll eat cake this way. It's sweeter this way. I'm giving it
to you.
0 Comments