Chu Shichen has been working overtime frequently since he started working for Xiang Yue. These ten days can be considered a long vacation. He was tired of resting, so he went to the company early on Monday.
The secretary's office was always locked and the air was humid. Chu Shichen opened the window and the dehumidifier, and then tried to save the wilted gladiolus. After all, it was a gift from the president, and he would be embarrassed if it died.
After cleaning up, Chu Shichen logged into the office system. Xiang Yue and Yi Si's departments combined had more than 200 to-do items accumulated.
He skillfully divided the cases into “urgent” and “non-urgent” categories and handled most of them in one go. Just as work started, colleagues from the department arrived one after another.
Chu Shichen was going to the marketing department to get a report, but was stopped by Peng Xin when he passed by the office area.
After spending their vacation in Bali, the project team was tanned. Chu Shichen asked with a smile, "How was your trip?"
Everyone was still excited and the discussion was very lively, but it was a pity that Chu Shichen was unable to attend.
Peng Xin had received a notice from Xiang Mingzhang that he was going to take Chu Shichen on a business trip. He did not dare to object and said sympathetically, "Secretary Chu, you have worked hard. We are all busy with the project. We are going to the island to relax, but you still have to work."
Chu Shichen felt embarrassed because he was on a business trip and it was fake. As for being tired, he was indeed exhausted.
The supervisor handed over a bag and said, "Secretary Chu, I brought you some Balinese specialties, but I can't guarantee they're authentic."
Chu Shichen was a little surprised: "Thank you, I appreciate your help."
Everyone brought gifts to Chu Shichen to make up for his regret of not going, and to return the favor of him bringing gifts to everyone every time he went on a business trip.
After collecting a large box, Chu Shichen put it back in the secretary's office. The door was not closed. Ling Qi came over alone and said, "Secretary Chu, I brought you a gift too."
Chu Shichen said: "Come in."
Ling Qi was holding a box. At first, Chu Shichen was a newcomer than him and they sat next to each other, so they got along well. Later, Chu Shichen became a secretary, becoming more and more capable and busy, so Ling Qi felt distant from him.
Chu Shichen was aware of her delicate thoughts. Interpersonal changes were inevitable. He liked to let things take their own course and said, "Why didn't you give it to me just now?"
There were too many people around to get a word in, so Ling Qi said, "The sweeping robot you gave me is quite expensive. I've been wanting to find a chance to return the gift, but I don't know when your birthday is."
Chu Shichen took the box and said, "I won't accept expensive things."
"It's not expensive." Ling Qi explained, "But I picked it carefully. I hope you don't mind. It's a small gift—"
Outside the door, Xiang Mingzhang passed by carrying a coat and a handbag. Seeing the door was open, he was about to say hello to Chu Shichen, when he happened to hear three sincere but worthless words, "deep affection."
Chu Shichen raised his head, holding a bunch of flying hairy and thorny things in his hand.
Ling Qi stood beside him and said respectfully, "Mr. Xiang, good morning."
"Hmm." Xiang Mingzhang asked indifferently, "What did you take?"
Chu Shichen didn't recognize it either: "What is this?"
Ling Qi said: "This is a dream catcher. It's handmade by an old lady in a shop in Bali. Hang it on the head of your bed when you sleep at night. It will help you filter out nightmares and only have sweet dreams."
Chu Shichen had never heard of it before, and wanted to sigh "romantic", but when the words came to his lips, he changed his words abruptly: "It sounds very poetic."
Xiang Mingzhang coughed and said, "Ling Qi, notify the project team to hold a meeting later. Secretary Chu, give me the documents to be signed as soon as possible."
Chu Shichen hurried to the marketing department. Ten minutes later, with documents in his left hand and coffee in his right hand, he entered the president's office without permission without being able to knock on the door.
Xiang Mingzhang was working at his desk, probably feeling a little anxious. He took off his suit jacket and put on a shirt and a tweed vest, with an antique pocket watch that belonged to him tucked into his lapel.
Chu Shichen put his things down, took out a document and opened it.
Xiang Mingzhang signed with a fountain pen. The ink had dried up after not being used for a few days. He made two strokes, put the cap back on and threw it aside.
Chu Shichen walked around the desk, opened the drawer and took out the ink. He glanced at the side and accidentally got a drop on his fingertips.
Xiang Mingzhang took out a tissue and handed it over without saying anything.
Chu Shichen stretched out his dirty fingers without saying anything.
After a few seconds of confrontation, Xiang Mingzhang wrapped Chu Shichen's fingers with a tissue and wiped them. He had been acting like a CEO for a long time, but was defeated by a secretary who was too good at controlling people.
Throwing away the paper ball, Xiang Mingzhang said, "Don't hang it."
Chu Shichen didn't react: "What are you hanging?"
"That broken net." Xiang Mingzhang said sarcastically, "Why go to Bali? You should have gone to Yiwu in Zhejiang a few days ago. There are plenty of things to do there."
Chu Shichen said: "This is called sending goose feathers from a thousand miles away."
"Okay, the gift is small but the sentiment is great." Xiang Mingzhang said, "If a gift worth 100 yuan is equal to 200% sentiment, then how much sentiment is worth of a pipa worth 200,000 yuan?"
Chu Shichen filled the ink and said, "Sign it."
Xiang Mingzhang signed in a domineering manner, picked up the coffee and took a sip, said nothing, and put it back on the plate.
Chu Shichen hadn't done this kind of work for a long time, so he patiently asked, "What's wrong? Is it not tasty?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "It's sour."
Chu Shichen couldn't help it: "Is the coffee sour or are you sour?"
Xiang Mingzhang closed the folder and had to go to the meeting. Before he stood up, Chu Shichen grabbed his armchair and turned it half a circle. He raised his chin and asked, "What are you doing?"
Chu Shichen said: "If I go off to do some personal things, will you deduct my salary?"
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand, cupped Xiang Mingzhang's cheek, leaned over and kissed the corner of his lips, intending to just touch the water, but Xiang Mingzhang held his hand behind his head, and he immediately lost his autonomy.
"Hmm..." Chu Shichen's lips and teeth were pushed open, and he tasted the coffee on Xiang Mingzhang's tongue. It was really a bit sour, probably because the beans were not roasted deeply enough.
After they separated, Chu Shichen used the tip of his thumb to wipe the moisture off Xiang Mingzhang's lips and said, "Two hundred thousand dollars of love is enough for me to play for you for a lifetime. I'm just afraid you'll get tired of it."
Xiang Mingzhang thought of the terrace between the tree shadows: "Are you kidding me?"
Chu Shichen took away the signed documents. He was so self-respecting and serious, but he did such a thing during working hours. He was ashamed and refused to admit it: "If you don't drink the coffee, I will pour it."
Xiang Mingzhang was not picky at all and drank it all up submissively.
The conference room is full of people, and the project team is ready to go again after the vacation.
Today, the official bidding specifications were officially announced, along with a list of four highly competitive companies. The selection team will conduct an on-site inspection of each company before bidding.
Xiang Yue was among them. Peng Xin said: "The general manager's office will lead the team, which is expected to have no more than ten people. Leaders from Beijing will come over."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "How long will the inspection take?"
Peng Xin said: "From landing to completion, each company can complete the project within half a day."
This kind of inspection mainly looks at the company's technical support. Xiang Ruxu said: "The simulation demonstration we had during the second exchange was very impressive. Should we do it again during the inspection?"
A key member smiled and said, "Mr. Xiang, you said that we should always keep something in reserve until the very end."
Chu Shichen interjected: "It's almost time now."
Xiang Mingzhang nodded in agreement. He was not used to using a notebook, so he scribbled on a piece of draft paper and said, "I'll grab a part of the simulated scene, make some details, and then optimize it, and add a few new themes."
Xiang Ruxu asked, "Will time be a little tight?"
"I'll do it." Xiang Mingzhang said, "You arrange for the staff to check the hardware equipment of the R&D center."
The content of the technical demonstration has been finalized, but there is still a lack of a person in charge of the overall process. After the incident at the promotion meeting, everyone has become more cautious. Chu Shichen glanced around the conference table and said, "I'll do it."
There was a total of three days of preparation time. After the meeting, Xiang Mingzhang went directly to the R&D center.
Chu Shichen began to arrange the inspection process, designing the duration of each link, planning the participants, and also dealing with trivial matters such as controlling the budget and arranging the environment.
He and Xiang Mingzhang were each busy with their own things and both worked overtime until the early morning. Xiang Mingzhang drove him home and discussed the progress and the next day's work on the way.
When they got outside the house, they turned off the engine and lights. Chu Shichen said "good night" first, and then politely asked, "Do you want to have a midnight snack?"
The Chu family is made up of women, so Xiang Mingzhang would not come to their house so late at night, but he refused to leave, saying, "I am very hungry."
Chu Shichen quietly took out the food and ate it in the car with Xiang Mingzhang. He was no longer glamorous, and his image was gone. The next day, he had to endure Aunt Tang's ridicule, laughing at him for eating so much by himself.
On the day of the inspection, the park was not decorated too fancy, and Xiang Mingzhang personally received us, which was sincerity enough.
The general manager brought nine other leaders to the inspection team, all of whom were familiar faces. They visited the R&D center, the laboratory, the front-end and the terminal workstations.
The demonstration session was arranged in the exhibition hall that was newly upgraded last year. Xiang Mingzhang went on stage to operate the simulated scene, which was more detailed than the second exchange and the theme was twice as rich.
The technical content occupied two-thirds of the inspection. The team leader was very satisfied and left the R&D center to the office building, where they continued to visit the pre-sales consulting department and sales department.
Chu Shichen walked from Xiang Mingzhang's side to the front, and exchanged business ideas with the general manager. He was relaxed and tense, and spoke of the bidding with both confidence and humility.
The general manager's office said: "The bidding specifications have been issued. Do you think it will be difficult?"
Bidding is never easy. Chu Shichen said: "It feels difficult at this stage, which means that the previous work was not done well."
The general manager said: "It seems that Xiang Yue is very confident."
Chu Shichen smiled and said, "You have seen from the second exchange and today's demonstration that this time the technical specifications will still be written by our Mr. Xiang himself."
The general manager nodded approvingly and asked, "What about the commercial proposal? I remember you were the author of the document you submitted for the second round of communication?"
The department hadn't decided yet, so Chu Shichen replied, "We will definitely do our best, at least we can't lag behind in terms of technology."
The general manager smiled and said, "It's equally important. Some companies focus more on the business part."
Chu Shichen pondered this sentence, paused, then raised his hand and led the team leaders into the calligraphy and painting exhibition hall. This was the final step of today's inspection.
There was a desk in the exhibition hall, with pens, ink, paper and inkstone ready. Chu Shichen did some research and said, "I heard that you are an excellent calligrapher. Xiang Yue, I wonder if I can take this opportunity to ask for a piece of your calligraphy?"
The general manager waved his hands repeatedly: "I write just for fun, I'm sorry to show off."
Everyone started to make a fuss, and Chu Shichen handed over the brush. The general manager's office smiled reluctantly and wrote a few big words: Innovation drives development.
Applause broke out all around. Chu Shichen looked up at the wall and saw that "Pozhenzi" had been taken down, vacating the hanging space in advance.
Without Xiang Mingzhang's instruction, the people below would never take down that painting. Chu Shichen remained calm, but there was a hint of regret in his smiling eyes.
The inspection ended successfully, and after the team leader left, Chu Shichen returned to the calligraphy and painting exhibition hall.
The staff was packing up their pens and ink, and Chu Shichen asked, "Has the calligraphy that was taken down been returned to Mr. Xiang?"
"No, it's temporarily stored in the warehouse." The staff member replied, "Mr. Xiang didn't tell us what to do with it."
Xiang Mingzhang wrote that calligraphy after Xiang Xingzhao fell ill. One can imagine how he felt. He probably didn't want to hang it at home, but Chu Shichen didn't want to leave it in the warehouse to gather dust, so he asked, "Can you give me the calligraphy?"
The staff did not dare to act on their own. They were struggling when Xiang Mingzhang came in. He was just finishing his socializing with his boss and said, "I looked for you."
The staff member immediately asked, "Mr. Xiang, Secretary Chu wants the calligraphy you wrote."
Xiang Mingzhang was not too surprised because Chu Shichen had mentioned it more than once and even asked him when he wrote it.
Chu Shichen said: "If you don't want to keep it for yourself, give it to me."
Xiang Mingzhang seemed distracted for a moment, then agreed, "Give it to Secretary Chu."
After the staff went to the warehouse to pick up the characters, they were the only two left in the exhibition hall. Chu Shichen asked, "Do you have something to talk to me about?"
Xiang Mingzhang said: "The general manager's office said that some companies focus more on the business part."
"You noticed it too." Chu Shichen thought, "He wouldn't mention other companies' movements for no reason. I guess some companies have made strategic adjustments."
Xiang Mingzhang said: "At this stage, the budget quotation has probably been changed."
Chu Shichen also thought so: "The price war is fought because the product quality is not good enough."
They all agreed that the technology provided by Xiang Yue was good enough, and lowering the price would mean lowering his own value. However, if other companies secretly made joint adjustments, it would always be disadvantageous to Xiang Yue.
Chu Shichen said: "Then we must study our business logo carefully."
Xiang Mingzhang wanted to talk about this matter: "Peng Xin told me that he asked you twice about writing the bid document, but you didn't give a clear answer."
Chu Shichen followed this project from beginning to end and was deeply involved. He was also in charge of the business part, so it was legitimate for him to write the script.
However, he was worried and confessed: "Because according to the previous rules, the same person wrote and explained the bid."
Xiang Mingzhang asked: "You have no experience in giving speeches, are you afraid you won't be able to do well?"
Chu Shichen said: "Yes."
Xiang Mingzhang asked again: "Do you want to do it?"
Chu Shichen had thought about this more than once.
Without waiting for his answer, the staff brought the calligraphy over. Xiang Mingzhang took it and handed it to him, talking about both the calligraphy and the bid.
Even imitating his tone, Xiang Mingzhang said: "Then leave it to our Secretary Chu."
(End of this chapter)