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Knock, knock, knockâ¦
Just as Yang Hao was planning to quickly go through his tasks, someone knocked on the office door.
âCome in.â
Yang Hao slightly adjusted his sitting position.
He then saw Cai Meichen walk in with a stack of documents.
This nominally office director of the president was actually doing the presidentâs job, while Yang Hao, the actual president, was still in the learning phase, constantly absorbing knowledge from this âacting presidentâ through the effects of the Study Card.
âMr. Yang, our self-media accounts have sparked quite a bit of controversy within the group these past two days, along with some critical voices,â Cai Meichen said as she settled down in front of Yang Haoâs desk.
âLet them criticize if they want to. I actually think weâre doing pretty well. Itâs the age of self-media, we need to keep up with the times!â
The self-media center of Jiangcheng Newspaper Group was officially launched last Wednesday. So far, we have registered four accounts: [Jiangcheng Evening News], [Jiangcheng Daily], [Jiangcheng Finance], and [Jiangcheng Observations].
The first three accounts correspond to the three newspapers under the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group, and the last one is the main account of the Jiangcheng Newspaper Group.
Since the operations team consists of post-00s generations, the content published on the self-media accounts since their launch indeed doesnât quite match the traditional mediaâs image, blending in many of the currently popular internet memes and BGMs.
But in an age where many official media outlets are starting to stir things up, this is not a big deal.
The critics are either ulterior-motivated, pretending to be confused knowing full well whatâs going on, or they are the old conservative sticks-in-the-mud, who should be phased out by the times.
âI share Mr. Yangâs view. Our self-media accounts havenât even been operating for a week, and the [Jiangcheng Observations] account has already gained over seventy thousand followers. The results are encouraging,â Cai Meichen continued.
âTherefore, I suggest we increase our investment in the self-media operations center, at the very least to expand the operations team. Right now, we have only six people, which is too few.â
âAdditionally, we should strengthen cooperation between the marketing department and the self-media operations centerâ¦â Cai Meichen articulated her thoughts in an orderly manner.
âHmm, that sounds good,â Yang Hao nodded in agreement.
âJust do as you said.â
After agreeing, Yang Hao then remembered his niece whom he hadnât seen for a few days.
The self-media operations center has officially launched, and I, as the president, should pay them a visit!
So, after discussing work with Cai Meichen, Yang Hao headed straight to the fifth floor, where the new media operations center was located.
Since the self-media operations center was a newly established department, the offices were converted from two vacant storerooms. The working environment was very ordinary. Even the office of Li Manni, the director of the new media operations center, was quite rudimentary, just about eight or nine square meters. After fitting in the desks, chairs, and bookcase, there wasnât much space left.
However, the working atmosphere at the self-media operations center was genuinely good. Yang Hao could hear laughter from the corridor, probably due to the youthfulness of the staff.
âHello, may I ask who youâre looking for?â
A young girl at a nearby workstation stood up and asked politely upon seeing Yang Hao.
And after hearing her voice, the others also instinctively looked toward the door.
âAh!â
âBrother Yangâ¦â
âNo, Mr. Yang, what brings you here!â
Seeing that the person entering the office was Yang Hao, Xu Wenqian couldnât help but feel excited, then introduced him to her colleagues, âThis is Mr. Yang, the president of Jiangcheng Newspaper Group!â
âHello, Mr. Yang!â
âHello, Mr. Yangâ¦â
Since the self-media operations center was full of newcomers, of course, they didnât recognize Yang Hao, the big boss. After Xu Wenqianâs introduction, everyone quickly greeted him with surprise.
Yang Hao waved his hand dismissively, âCarry on with your work, Iâm just here for a look.â
âMr. Yang, youâre here to see Director Li?â Xu Wenqian approached with a smile and asked.
âYeah, is she in her office?â Yang Hao asked casually.
âShe is. Do you want me to let her know youâre here?â
Xu Wenqian pointed to the closed door of the directorâs office.
âNo need.â
Yang Hao waved his hand and walked over with a brisk stride, then politely knocked on the door.
âCome in.â
Li Manniâs voice came from inside the office, and Yang Hao then pushed the door open and entered.
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âBrother-in-law??â
Li Manni had thought it was Xu Wenqian or some other colleague, but to her surprise, the person who entered was Yang Hao, which caught her a bit off guard.
Yang Hao casually closed the door behind him and said with a cheerful laugh, âI heard you guys are doing pretty well, I came to have a look.â
âWeâve just started, there is a lot weâre still figuring out,â Li Manni humbly replied.
âThe group is preparing to increase your manpower, under the current situation, how many more people do you think you need?â@@novelbin@@
Yang Hao pulled over a chair and sat down opposite Li Manni.
âWell, letâs add another sixâ¦â
Actually, these past two days Li Manni had been facing a shortage of manpower because they needed to run four accounts, and with only six people in total, they could only reduce the number of updates.
And now self-media is very competitive, many official media accounts sometimes post dozens of videos a day.
More updates are always a good thing, itâs just like writing online novels.
âThen letâs transfer six more people or recruit directly, you can interview them when the time comes.â
âAdditionally, if you need anything, just reach out to Director Cai, or you can contact me directlyâ¦â
After finishing the business talk, Yang Hao changed the subject, âCome to the house for dinner after work today, Xixi was saying yesterday that she missed you.â
âI miss Xixi too.â
Li Manni gently pursed her lips, then said with difficulty, âBut, I donât think I can make it today. My parents are arriving in Jiangcheng at six, I need to pick them up from the high-speed train station.â
âEh?â
âYour parents are coming??â
Yang Hao looked at Li Manni with considerable surprise.
And when she heard the words âdad and mom,â Li Manni felt somewhat distant.
It used to be fine for Yang Hao to refer to them that way, but now that he had divorced her sister, it was no longer appropriate to do so.
âMom hasnât been feeling well for a while, the hospital in our town couldnât find anything wrong, so she thought of coming to Jiangcheng for a check-up.â
Li Manni explained the sudden reason for her parentsâ visit.
âI seeâ¦â
Yang Hao nodded and asked, âHave you booked a hotel? Or where are they staying?â
Actually, Yang Hao wanted to ask if they were staying at Li Manshuâs place, because he knew she had bought a house, but he didnât want to mention her name.
âThe one-room apartment at my sisterâs is inconvenient for them, so I was planning to have them stay at my place with Wenqian. Wenqian and I can just share a room,â Li Manni shared her plan.
Yang Hao waved his hand, âYour place is too cramped.â
âHow about this, pick up your parents and then head straight to my place to stay. Xixi would probably really miss her grandma and grandpa too.â
Yang Hao always had a good relationship with his in-laws; throughout the years he was married to Li Manshu, he treated them like his own parents.
For the first two years after Xixi was born, his mother-in-law often came over to help with the baby, staying for a month or two at a time, so she had a lot of interaction with Yang Hao and they became quite familiar with each other.
When he and Li Manshu were getting divorced, her parents tried to persuade their daughter not to go through with it, and even called Yang Hao to plead on their behalf, hoping that the couple wouldnât separate.
But Li Manshu had made up her mind, and Yang Hao wasnât keen on living his life on a âvast prairieâ either.
Eventually, they divorced.
Her parents were rather heartbroken over it. Li Manni, the younger sister, told of how her mother had gotten sick because of it, and whether the current illness was related in any way to that past incident was unknown.
âThisâ¦â
âThat doesnât seem appropriate.â
Li Manni hesitated, after all, this man was now her former brother-in-law.
âThereâs nothing inappropriate about it.â
âAlthough your sister and I are divorced.â
âNevertheless, parents are still parents, and they are still Xixiâs grandparents!â Yang Hao said with certainty.
âUhâ¦â
Li Manni looked at Yang Hao. His words seemed fine at first glance because Xixi and her own parents were blood-related, and familial love couldnât be severed.
But how should she interpret âparents are still parentsâ?
Did he feel that divorcing her sister didnât affect his relationship with her parents, or was there another underlying message?
Li Manni couldnât help but think of Fat Pengâs book, âAfter the Divorce, My Younger Sister-in-Law Fell for Me,â which had this line in the synopsis: A divorce might happen, but these in-laws are irreplaceable!