"Ah Yue?"
Ding Yong didn’t immediately realize who Ah Yue was.
He usually called Gao Yue "Xiao Gao."
"It’s Gao Yue. We were old classmates, and I’m just used to calling her Ah Yue. The habit stuck..."
’Old classmates?’ Ding Yong’s eyes narrowed. ’Looks like I’ve underestimated Gao Yue’s role in this financing deal!’
’I can’t afford to downplay her importance in the future.’
"Ah, Xiao Gao. She’s my right-hand woman. I never expected her to be your old classmate. What a coincidence. It must be fate!"
After hanging up, Ding Yong exchanged a look with Li Guoqiang and said, "I never would’ve guessed Xiao Gao had a connection like that!"
Li Guoqiang laughed. "No wonder the process went so smoothly! She had an old classmate looking out for her, haha!"
Ding Yong said, "Brother, it sounds like President Xu holds you in high regard, too. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t been the one to connect us."
Li Guoqiang knew Ding Yong was telling him that he understood and appreciated his contribution.
"Brother Yong, you might want to consider Xiao Gao’s position later on!"
"Oh, right. Wait here a second!"
He called out to his secretary, telling her to get the head of human resources in his office immediately.
"Has the promotion and raise email been sent out yet?" Ding Yong asked the HR head who had just walked in.
"We’re editing it now. It’ll be ready in a moment!"
"Good. Make a change for me."
"Gao Yue has made an outstanding contribution to the company. She is to be promoted one level to Director of Public Relations. I hope the other employees will learn from her example."
"Also, raise her base salary to 40,000 yuan a month. Don’t include that part in the email."
They could announce raises, but they only sent out the list of names receiving one. Salaries were company secrets; employees were not allowed to disclose them or inquire about others’.
The HR head rubbed his ears. ’Am I hearing things?’
The 5,000 yuan raise was already outrageous enough. Now her salary was being adjusted from 20,000 to 40,000?
’Giving her such preferential treatment... Isn’t the boss afraid people will suspect something is going on between them?’ If it weren’t for the fact that Ding Yong had no scandals involving women for so many years...
There were even rumors that he "couldn’t perform." Otherwise, the HR head would have been certain they were having an affair.
When the internal company email was sent out, joyous cries erupted everywhere.
It had been years since so many people had received a raise at once. In particular, almost everyone on the financing team and the Hongmeng Intelligent Selection Car team got one.
But the most dazzling news of all was Gao Yue’s promotion. The company’s raises were usually not that significant.
A promotion, however, was different. Salaries could be set according to rank. A director-level position was already very high up in the company, since all the department heads were only at the Manager Level.
From this day forward, they would have to address Gao Yue as Director Gao!
Gao Yue did her best to remain calm, but her tightly clenched fists revealed just how excited she was.
’When one person achieves success, their whole circle benefits.’ Her old classmate, the beautiful Miss Xu, who had been the object of everyone’s envy since their school days, had now become a figure who could influence major business tycoons.
’And as her old classmate, I’m the one who feels it most deeply and has benefited the most!’
「Yino Jiangzhou Branch」
In the general manager’s office, Liu Haoran, Fang Qiang, and Zhao Hui were gathered to discuss the location issue at Ganglong International.
Following his own suggestion, Zhao Hui had gone to inspect the foot traffic on-site and found that all three retail spaces had similar numbers.
However, the space that Fang Qiang had previously championed had two problems. First, there were too many air conditioning ducts and smoke exhaust pipes in the ceiling, and they were too low, leaving a ceiling height of only 3.2 meters.
A layout like that would feel oppressive and create a poor customer experience.
Additionally, there was a fire escape route running through the space. That route couldn’t be blocked, which meant it would leave a nearly 20-square-meter passageway through the store.
It would hurt the store’s image, complicate the design, and reduce the usable floor space.
When Zhao Hui laid out these problems without holding back, Liu Haoran looked both relieved and pleased.
Fang Qiang’s face, on the other hand, flushed red and pale by turns. He was clearly in an awkward position, but since Zhao Hui’s points were valid, he couldn’t refute them.
With Zhao Hui’s on-site research, the choice of which retail space to pick became clear.
"Let’s go with unit 3030A!" Liu Haoran decided, making the final call.
Fang Qiang immediately said, "The boss’s judgment is always the sharpest. I’ll tell them right away that President Liu personally selected 3030A and have them push it forward immediately!"
Liu Haoran quickly cut in, "Fang Qiang, tone it down. Mr. Huang showed us courtesy because he’s a humble man. We can’t push our luck."
’This fucker will boast about anything. "Personally selected by me"? "Have them push it forward immediately"?’
Fang Qiang didn’t know the full story, but Liu Haoran was crystal clear: if it hadn’t been for President Chen’s phone call, Huang Guangyuan probably wouldn’t have even given him the time of day.
"When you go meet with their floor manager, be respectful. Take them out to dinner if you should, buy them coffee if you should. The company will reimburse you when you get back."
Fang Qiang was just trying to suck up, anyway. He wouldn’t dare act tough with the people from Ganglong.
"Xiao Zhao, come with me tomorrow. I’ll teach you how to coordinate with the mall staff."
For whatever reason, Fang Qiang, who had never wanted to bring Zhao Hui anywhere before, now wanted to take him everywhere.
Liu Haoran had no objection. It was a good thing for Zhao Hui to get more experience; it would be beneficial for his growth.
"President Liu, I need to take a day off tomorrow."
Before Liu Haoran could speak, Fang Qiang interjected unhappily, "Xiao Zhao, the Ganglong International project is so important. How can you take a day off?"
Zhao Hui stammered to Liu Haoran, "My sister’s boyfriend is visiting my family tomorrow. I have to be there."
Fang Qiang couldn’t help but snicker. Oblivious to Liu Haoran’s expression, he said, "That’s such a trivial matter. Why do you need to take time off for that? Can’t they just go by themselves, or reschedule?"
’Heh, you little punk. You have no idea you just walked right into President Liu’s line of fire, do you? Back when I was getting married and my mother-in-law came over to discuss wedding plans, President Liu gave me an earful just for asking for time off.’
’What kind of big deal is your sister’s boyfriend visiting? And the key thing is, you’re asking for time off right when we need to confirm such an important case like Ganglong International.’
Zhao Hui didn’t answer him. This Fang Qiang was always taking digs at him. If he hadn’t turned over a new leaf and started working hard, with his old temper, he probably would have already punched him.
The moment Fang Qiang finished speaking, Liu Haoran said in a very rational and gentle tone, "If Ah Hui has family matters, then take the day off. Is one day enough? Do you want to take them around the area?"
"Don’t worry too much about work. What’s that saying? We need work in our lives, but we work to live better, don’t we?"
’Wow, Liu Haoran is so considerate. So good at consoling people!’
But he didn’t know that Fang Qiang’s entire belief system was collapsing. ’Boss, that’s not what you said back then, was it?’
’When my mother-in-law’s family came over to discuss my wedding, it just so happened that you wanted me to go on a business trip with you. When I asked for leave then, what did you say?’
"Ah, Fang Qiang, since ancient times, it’s been hard to be both a filial son and a loyal subject. Since you’ve chosen your work, you have to give up on family matters! Only with a better job can you take better care of your family!"
’You two-faced hypocrite...’