Chapter 31

Although his heart was full of complaints, before coming here, Xu Xiao had already looked up Qin Fen’s information. The other party was forty-five years old, not exactly young. The fact that he had climbed to his current position truly had been the result of rising bit by bit from the grassroots level.

Some people always liked to say that talent was more important than hard work, but Qin Fen had used his own actions to prove that most ordinary people’s so-called hard work could not even be called hard work. In front of him, it was only a drop in the ocean, one hair from nine oxen.

Qin Fen put away his smile. In truth, he could guess a little of why the big boss had come. Siqin’s performance over the past two quarters had not been good. Employee enthusiasm was low, course sales had declined, and there had also been many complaints about after-sales service. As general manager, he could not escape responsibility.

Ye Xinuo interlaced her fingers and rested them on her knees, her sharp gaze falling on Qin Fen’s face, where beads of sweat had begun to seep out.

“To speak frankly, I don’t like dealing with incompetent people. Compared with those employees outside slacking off during work hours, you, the hardworking general manager, are even more irritating.”

Qin Fen’s throat moved, and he lowered his head without saying a word.

“Of course, I also know that your business ability is very strong. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have been able to sit in this position today.” Ye Xinuo paused. “But President Qin must understand that you are a leader standing at the top of the pyramid, not a worker moving stones at the bottom of the tower.”

She lightly tapped her head with her fingertip. “What you should be using is this.”

“President Ye… I…” Qin Fen stood up and bent at a ninety-degree angle in a bow. “I have failed the group’s trust in me. I will take full responsibility. If you have another suitable candidate—”

Ye Xinuo interrupted him. “President Qin doesn’t need to think of the matter so seriously. You have your strengths, and they are not something others can replace. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come here personally.”

“President Ye.” Qin Fen straightened up and looked at the big boss in surprise.

“According to my understanding, Siqin has the lowest turnover rate among all of Yesheng Group’s subsidiaries. During team building, your game scores are also the highest. This proves President Qin’s team cohesion is very strong.”

Qin Fen felt overwhelmed by the praise. “Th-Thank you for President Ye’s recognition.”

Ye Xinuo suddenly changed the topic. “In our group’s interview process, there is a question. I’d like to hear President Qin’s answer.”

“Please ask.”

“You now need to hold a reception and must send out one hundred invitations. Each envelope must be sealed with wax. What methods are available?”

Qin Fen naturally knew the standard answer to this question and replied, “First gather the envelopes and invitations together, put one invitation inside, seal one envelope, then write one recipient; or write all the recipients first, then put all the invitations inside, and finally seal them in batches.”

“Then which method does President Qin think would be faster?”

“The first one,” Qin Fen answered without hesitation.

“Why?” Ye Xinuo asked. “Many people would think the second method of batch stolen contentprocessing would be faster.”

“Because they overlook the problems that arise with batch processing. After completing the first operation, the invitations will pile up together, which will inevitably require extra time to organize the desk. Moreover, the error rate will be higher. Once rework is needed, the time required will multiply.”

After hearing Qin Fen’s answer, Ye Xinuo said gently, “Since President Qin knows the answer to this question, why don’t you know how to manage a company?”

“President Ye means…” More and more sweat gathered on Qin Fen’s body.

“Siqin’s current departmental divisions are very clear. On the surface, everything looks orderly, with each department performing its own duties. But in reality, efficiency is low, accountability is unclear when problems arise, and communication costs are high. Many of Yesheng’s subsidiaries have already implemented project team systems, where one team is responsible for a project from beginning to end. If something goes wrong, the project manager bears full responsibility. Correspondingly, the project bonuses are also more generous.” Xu Xiao sighed inwardly. This was as much as he could help.

“All right, all right, all right.” Qin Fen nodded like he was pounding garlic. “President Ye is wise. I understand.”

Ye Xinuo took a deep breath and suppressed the impatience in her heart. “I suggest President Qin observe the row of employees near the entrance. Although they have games open on their desktops, in the gaps between games, they are still doing work with their hands, and their speed is faster than the colleagues beside them who only appear to be working while dragging their feet. I’m not saying this to encourage employees to play games during work hours, but President Qin should know that efficiency is more effective than putting on a show.”

“Qin has been taught.” Qin Fen bowed slightly. By this point in the conversation, he sincerely admired this young group president from the bottom of his heart.

Ye Xinuo’s phone vibrated. She lowered her head and handled a few emails, and the office fell into silence.

After a while.

“President Ye… I…” Qin Fen found it difficult to speak and kept rubbing the fabric [bailiantales.com]of his pants with his hands. “I have a bit of private business to take care of, and time is… a little tight. I…”

“Mm, I’m leaving too.” Ye Xinuo put away her phone and stood up. Xu Xiao opened the door for her.

“Then I’ll see you out.” Qin Fen also hurriedly stood and followed.

On the way out, Ye Xinuo suddenly said something without beginning or end. “I wish President Qin’s family a speedy recovery.”

Qin Fen froze for a moment. He was a grown man, yet his eyes instantly filled with moisture.

When they reached the company entrance, Ye Xinuo turned her head slightly. “Please trouble President Qin to replace the receptionist with someone who matches Yesheng Group’s refined aesthetic standards. Only when the storefront is clean will people be willing to visit, right?”

After saying that, she stepped into the elevator in her high heels without looking sideways.

“President Ye, may I ask a question?”

After the elevator doors closed, Xu Xiao hesitated before speaking.

“Mm?” Ye Xinuo slightly raised her brow, signaling for him to continue.

“Even if Qin Fen starts a comprehensive rectification from now on, there will still be a very long transition period. The losses bailiantales.comwill continue for a long time. Why don’t you directly…” Xu Xiao did not continue.

“You want to ask why I don’t directly remove Qin Fen from his position, right?” Ye Xinuo’s eyes carried a hint of trance. “Perhaps because I’m an emotional leader. After all, he has stayed at Yesheng for twenty years. At his age, it would be very hard to start over.”

In her previous life, after Siqin encountered operational problems, Ye Xinuo had directly removed Qin Fen from office. It was only later that she learned Qin Fen’s wife had been in a car accident years earlier and had almost become a vegetative patient, with extremely high hospitalization expenses. His daughter had suffered from motor nerve problems since childhood. Even at six years old, she could only crawl and needed to do an hour of rehabilitation every day, kneeling on the treadmill with twenty-pound sandbags tied to her legs and slowly walking on her knees.

One could imagine how devastating it would be for a family if Qin Fen lost his job at this moment.

Making money was certainly important, but there were some things Ye Xinuo valued even more in her heart. So in this life, she chose to hold compassion and give Qin Fen one chance. Of course, it was not entirely without selfishness. She still needed more loyal employees.

Through their interactions during this period, Xu Xiao sometimes felt his boss possessed wisdom and decisiveness far beyond her age. At other times, he felt she lacked the coldness of an entrepreneur long tempered by the business world and was still a kindhearted young girl.

Ye Xinuo still remembered that the question she had asked Qin Fen was one Qin Moyan had made her answer in her previous life. Only Qin Moyan’s attitude back then had been much harsher. At the time, Ye Xinuo had thought Qin Moyan was humiliating her. Thinking about it now, it seemed more like Qin Moyan had been teaching her how to manage a company.

After Yu Qing returned home, she was distracted no matter what she did. She wanted to read to calm her mind, but the more she read, the more irritated she became.

At some point, she changed back into clothes and went out. As she wandered outside, she somehow ended up at the hospital entrance.

In the morning, she had not really understood that person’s condition and did not know whether she had any other injuries. Nuonuo said Han Jingjin was going to attend a dinner tonight. She should take this opportunity to go take a look. Just this once.

Yu Qing found an excuse for herself in her heart and walked into the hospital.

After getting off the elevator, she suddenly thought of something and immediately took out her phone to make a call.

“Hello, Brother Sen. Please help me check who Director Qin Moyan met at the Municipal Hospital today and how long she stayed.”

“Nuonuo also asked you to check?”

“All right, then you can report directly to her.”

Yu Qing hung up. A trace of doubt flashed through her eyes. She always felt that after Nuonuo woke up, she seemed to have become a different person, excessively mature and experienced. If not for the fact that her behavior and mannerisms were still the same as before, Yu Qing would really suspect some soul had transmigrated into her.

Because it was only a wild, baseless guess, Yu Qing quickly threw the thought to the back of her mind. She took a deep breath and followed the corridor to Han Qiuzi’s ward door.

She raised her hand but did not knock for a long time. Her thumb kept picking at the tip of her index fingernail, and she swallowed several times.

“Is Special Assistant Yu here to help President Ye look for an earring?”

Special Assistant Li Qing’s voice sounded behind Yu Qing.

“Mm?” Yu Qing widened her eyes and turned back. She quickly hid the panic in her eyes and went along with it. “Yes. [read the original at bailiantales.com]How did Special Assistant Li know?”

“Just now, I happened to see something shiny on the ward floor. When I picked it up, it looked familiar. If I remember correctly, it should be President Ye’s. I was afraid of losing it, so I put it in the bedside table drawer. I was just thinking of calling you. Special Assistant Yu, please wait here for a moment. I have to return to the company to handle something. I’ll greet President Han and bring the item out while I’m at it.” After knocking lightly on the ward door twice, Li Qing pushed the door open and went in.

“Thank you.” Yu Qing let out a breath of relief, feeling fortunate that Nuonuo’s earring had fallen at just the right time.

Li Qing handed the earring to Yu Qing, then went downstairs with her.

When they reached the hospital entrance, Yu Qing watched Li Qing walk far away before turning back again to Han Qiuzi’s ward.

It wasn’t like she was a thief. What was she feeling guilty for? Yu Qing looked helplessly at the ward door and sighed.

This time, she did not hesitate much. She knocked directly and went in.

As soon as Yu Qing entered, she saw Han Qiuzi sitting with one leg crossed over the other, using her uninjured hand to stuff snacks into her mouth while watching SpongeBob SquarePants on the television with great interest.

“…” Yu Qing complained inwardly, How does she look like someone who was just injured? She clearly looks like an elementary school student on holiday.

“Ah Qing?” Han Qiuzi’s eyes filled with surprise. “Why are you here?”

Yu Qing used the excuse from just now and said, “I came to help Nuonuo look for her read the original at bailiantales.com earring and stopped by to see you while I was here.”

Han Qiuzi’s eyes were full of confusion. “So Li Qing came in just now to get something for you. Then why did it take you so long to come in?”

Yu Qing thought inwardly, Can’t I just want to walk a few more laps outside to burn calories?!

Before Han Qiuzi waited for her answer, she said again, “Forget it, it’s not important. Peel an apple for me?”