Financial Workplace Survival Guide – CH 069

Chapter 69 ☆, A Giant Cauldron Would Fall From The Sky, And So Would People…

No one knew what Fang Keyan’s wife and Chen Lisha discussed.

Two hours after the meeting room door was closed, the two emerged hand in hand, both appearing very polite, smiling, and courteous, creating a harmonious atmosphere.

The company staff passing by all looked very businesslike, but their curious eyes could not help but linger.

Chen Lisha politely escorted the person to the company entrance.

As soon as the person was out of sight, her face darkened, and she hastily convened an emergency meeting.

At the meeting, Chen Lisha made veiled, confrontational, and angry criticisms of Fu Meng’s inaction.

Xin Xin used to hear people talk about “the big picture,” but she never really understood the meaning of that term.

Even today, seeing Fu Meng’s calm demeanor and composed attitude, after enduring Chen Lisha’s furious outburst, she still objectively and rationally clarified that she did not force Yang Manman to use improper means to protect clients and calmly stated the efforts she had made after the incident.

Xin Xin thought that Fu Meng was truly a person capable of great things.

Chen Lisha was an exceptionally intelligent person; she must understand these principles.

But since something like this happened, someone had to take responsibility. She did not want to take responsibility, nor did she know how to handle emergencies, so she could only blame Fu Meng and Yang Manman for everything.

Not only did they have to be unconventional, but they also had to promote the project. The whole process was the same as when Rose had her accident, with the main focus being to remain completely invisible.

“Yang Rui will lead this effort, Fu Meng will be in charge, and Xin Xin will assist. The whole team will go and persuade Yang Manman to drop the case. If the case cannot be dropped, none of you should run away. If the head office is held responsible, we will all be finished.”

Xin Xin knew something was wrong during the meeting, and sure enough, this matter inexplicably fell on her shoulders.

Chen Lisha’s official reason was that Xin Xin was previously the head of the Sales Department, and her team was expected to have a sense of teamwork. Her responsibility was simply to ensure people were safely home, and that was all that mattered. Later, she became the head of the Internal Control and Compliance Department. She argued that such a significant issue as an employee’s private life was part of compliance, so why was she not concerned about the moral character of a Party member outside of work hours?

Xin Xin was furious. If this was all her fault, why was the Human Resources Department the only one who was innocent?

But being under someone else’s roof, she was still rendered speechless by this high-sounding reason.

Then, something even stranger and more absurd happened.

That afternoon, Xin Xin noticed some changes to the company’s layout. For example, a small artificial hill with flowing water near the reception area on the second floor had suddenly disappeared. Also, two potted plants at the entrance to the meeting room had been inexplicably replaced with fish tanks.

Xin Xin asked Mary, “Why are you doing all this at this particular time? Who is so clueless?”

Mary gave her a half-smile, “Chen Lisha.”

Xin Xin was puzzled. With the situation so dire, how could she still have time to deal with these things?

“Rumor has it that she felt she was in conflict with the Tai Sui and that her luck did not match the company’s overall feng shui, so she consulted a master. The master gave her some advice, and she urgently approved some funding, and the logistics center is now working at full speed.”

Xin Xin was furious. She was entrusted with this important task, which was somewhat unethical no matter how she did it. Chen Lisha was spending money to pretend to be a ghost and did renovations. It was simply outrageous.

When Zheng Zaochuan came to pick her up as usual, he heard about the bizarre turn of events and could not stop laughing.

However, considering Xin Xin’s feelings, Zheng Zaochuan still seriously analyzed, “This is not a natural disaster; it is definitely a man-made disaster. If you do not believe me, just wait and see; if you do not change this team soon, the company will have more problems.”

Xin Xin was puzzled and asked doubtfully, “You mean, someone did this on purpose?”

Zheng Zaochuan talked about management: “That is not it. The worst thing for a manager is to be ambiguous in attitude and not take responsibility. Think about it: when you were demoted to a lower level and that young woman had a miscarriage, if she had taken responsibility and given Yang Rui a warning, would this not have been avoided? The same goes for Fu Meng. If Chen Lisha had been strong enough, she would not have allowed Yang Manman to move around and change departments at will, and none of this would have happened. Even with Su Chengjie’s case, if she had been a more assertive leader, she would have ordered you not to investigate, and naturally, none of this would have happened.”

Zheng Zaochuan spoke calmly and methodically, explaining everything clearly.

Xin Xin had not initially connected these events, but now that she thought about it, it made sense. Back when Zhao Xi was around, although he appeared gentle and mild-mannered, he was decisive and ruthless, with a very clear and logical approach; all his instructions were explicit.

The then-HR general manager was a PhD graduate sent from the head office. Since gaining power, he frequently used his limited authority to blackmail people. This power became his weapon, which he used to threaten others at the drop of a hat.

There were four people slated for promotion, and all had been approved by the Party Committee. However, during the final public announcement, the general manager deliberately omitted one of them.

One person caused that other person to miss out on a promotion, but he simply downplayed it as a work mistake.

Anyone with eyes to see could tell that this was his way of making people uncomfortable. It all started when this person said something in the cafeteria: “What is so great about human resources?”

If Xin Xin put herself in Chen Lisha’s shoes, she would definitely have chosen to let the matter drop if this had happened during Chen Lisha’s time.

But at that time, Zhao Xi just smiled gently and said slowly and clearly, “Everyone makes mistakes at work; there is nothing that cannot be forgiven.”

The general manager relaxed, only to see Zhao Xi suddenly become stern. “But every mistake comes at a price.”

Later, although Zhao Xi did not punish him, he ordered him to write a self-criticism and read it aloud at a company-wide meeting. Afterwards, Zhao Xi took responsibility for the mistake and reported to the head office to complete the promotion process for the person who had been overlooked.

At that time, Xin Xin had just joined Zhao Xi’s team and treated Zhao Xi with respect but kept her distance.

He asked her, “Do you think I went too far?”

Xin Xin said, “I don’t think so.”

Zhao Xi resumed his gentle and good-natured smile. “Everyone says that what I did was disrespectful to Liu Yabo and that it will make it difficult for him to carry out his work in the future. What do you think?”

At that time, Xin Xin had not yet learned to hide her thoughts. If it were now, she would just smile and say she supported the Party Committee’s decision.

But at that time, with a serious naiveté, she earnestly replied to Zhao Xi, “I think what you did was right. If anyone with a little power can use it to make things difficult for others, then the atmosphere in the whole company will be very bad.”

“Zhao Xi is your benefactor. Most leaders would not feel too comfortable hearing this,” Zheng Zaochuan commented objectively after listening.

Xin Xin gave a distant and nostalgic smile. “Yes, thinking about it now, that is true. I trusted Zhao Xi completely back then. You do not know, when he first came to our company, he was really charming, dignified, and very popular.”

Zhao Xi and Zheng Zaochuan give off very different vibes.

Objectively speaking, they were both quite good-looking.

Zhao Xi had slightly phoenix-like eyes and a high, straight nose, but he did not look particularly aggressive. His brows held a gentle, ink-wash painting-like quality. He seemed like the type who was not particularly strong in combat but would pull out a wire from his sleeve and kill someone.

Zheng Zaochuan was a different kind of person—perpetually restless hair, a soft and delicate face, and a pair of clear, bright eyes beneath long eyelashes. He was always full of life, like some kind of uncontrollable animal.

Xin Xin had a habit of anthropomorphizing someone after she got to know them.

In her mind, if Zhao Xi was like a white fox, then Zheng Zaochuan was like a husky.

Zheng Zaochuan instinctively disliked Xin Xin talking about Zhao Xi in such a nostalgic tone, but he could also completely understand that Xin Xin did not have any ambiguous feelings for Zhao Xi that one might expect from a man.

Xin Xin described things very objectively; even when she described them with emotion, it was still with an unbiased objectivity.

Zheng Zaochuan believed that if he seriously asked at this moment whether he was more handsome or Zhao Xi was more handsome, she would be able to do so.

Xin Xin could also analyze their strengths and weaknesses from all angles with the seriousness of researching indicators. Besides, such comparisons were extremely boring; whether good or bad, they were the ones together now, and it had nothing to do with Zhao Xi.

However, even so, he had to convince himself of this several times.

Zheng Zaochuan finally asked the question that even he himself despised, “What about me?”

Xin Xin smiled and said, “What, suddenly you’ve got a burning fighting spirit and want to compete with Zhao Xi in beauty?”

“No, I just wanted to hear what it felt like when you first met me.”

Xin Xin thought back for a moment. “Then I definitely think you are handsome; after all, you are someone I think is particularly unreliable, but I cannot help but like you.”

This was not a love confession, because she was not flirting; she genuinely felt that way.

Love was irrational; it did not matter who was better, you just inexplicably end up liking someone.

But Zheng Zaochuan’s mood suddenly improved, and his heart felt as if it were placed in front of a blazing furnace, very warm and comfortable.

“Yeah, me too. I’ve always thought you are super pretty.”

Xin Xin looked at him strangely. “You like me because I am pretty? Not because I have a good temper?”

Zheng Zaochuan wished he could stop the car right now and kiss her.

Who said that a serious, insensitive nature was not endearing?

Love was sometimes chaotic and blind; in the early stages of a passionate relationship, no one could see the other’s flaws.

Xin Xin’s objective attitude was, of course, a flaw when it came to relationships. This flaw was fatal enough; she may understand the facts, but she did not understand human nature.

The day after Chen Lisha’s emergency meeting, Yang Rui took Fu Meng and Xin Xin to visit Yang Manman.

She had been discharged from the hospital and was on leave at home.

Xin Xin noticed her poor mental state almost the first time she met her. Her beautiful, almost domineering face was now tinged with a bewildered sorrow.

This made her look endearing and also gave her a beauty unlike anything she had ever shown before.

Since Yang Rui did not speak, Fu Meng and Xin Xin naturally did not either. Yang Rui gestured several times with his eyes, but seeing that Fu Meng and Xin Xin were sitting there expressionless, he finally had no choice but to take on the responsibility of offering his sympathies.

“How are you feeling? We are all very worried about you.” Whether it was good acting or a natural expression of concern for the beautiful woman, Yang Rui’s words sounded genuine.

Yang Manman replied to him, “I am not okay; I cannot sleep all night long.”

The answer was too direct, and the three of them felt extremely uncomfortable, suddenly realizing that what they were about to do was even more inhumane.