CH 58

Chapter 58 – Bringing a Partner to Work

The general manager of Changfeng Group was called Zhuge Feng. He had been in the position of general manager for over ten years. He liked to wear a white suit. The employees of the group had suspected many times whether Zhuge Feng’s wardrobe only contained white suits of that style. In Changfeng Group, when they saw a glimpse of bright white, it was definitely the general manager arriving.

Now, the people in the marketing department couldn’t believe it. Their new director of marketing was not someone brought in by the human resources department to familiarize themselves with the office environment, but personally appointed by the general manager.

From this, it could be seen that the new director was highly regarded by the general manager.

After a moment of silence, the colleagues in the marketing department had already assessed the situation clearly in their hearts.

After exchanging greetings with Zhuge Feng, Zhuge Feng invited Wei Chen to the office of the marketing department. The manager of the marketing department quickly stood at the forefront of the employees to welcome the arrival of the general manager and the new director.

“Is everyone here?” The general manager scanned the room and said to the manager of the marketing department.

“Yes, we’re all here,” the marketing department manager nodded and bowed.

Zhuge Feng glanced at the marketing department manager and then introduced to everyone in the marketing department, “This is your new director, Wei Chen. Don’t be deceived by Wei Chen’s young age, I’m in awe of his work.” With a simple sentence, Wei Chen was highly praised, enough to give him face.

“Next, let your Director Wei speak a few words to you.”

Wei Chen walked to the front and cast a cold gaze over the marketing department employees. Then he spoke slowly, “I am Wei Chen, and I look forward to working with all of you.”

Without a long speech or praise, with a simple sentence, Wei Chen ended his speech. The colleagues in the marketing department, who were accustomed to the long speeches of the previous director, felt somewhat uncomfortable and looked at Wei Chen in a daze.

Having interacted with Wei Chen a few times, Zhuge Feng knew Wei Chen’s personality. So, while everyone was still recovering, Zhuge Feng took the lead and started applauding.

Zhuge Feng’s applause brought the marketing department colleagues back to their senses, and they also began applauding, welcoming Wei Chen’s arrival.

Every employee didn’t want their boss to give an endless speech, so Wei Chen’s simple sentence had left a good impression on the marketing department employees, and their applause was particularly enthusiastic.

Seeing all of this, Zhuge Feng turned around and patted Wei Chen’s shoulder, with an appearance of entrusting him with an important task. “I’ll go back upstairs first. Later, I’ll have Xiao Gao show you around the company’s environment. I hope you can adapt quickly. I don’t want to see any decline in performance on next month’s report.”

Wei Chen nodded, “Understood.” His words were firm and resolute.

With that, Zhuge Feng left with peace of mind. However, when he reached the door, Zhuge Feng stopped again, turned around, and smiled at the colleagues in the marketing department. “Your gossip wasn’t entirely wrong, but your director isn’t a single bachelor anymore. He’s already married.”

After leaving this remark, Zhuge Feng stepped into the elevator just as it opened. As the elevator doors closed, Zhuge Feng seemed to hear the sound of a broken heart.

Ah, men, being too outstanding is not always a good thing, just like him.

At that moment when the elevator doors closed, there was indeed the sound of a broken heart in the marketing department’s office. This broken-hearted sound not only came from the realization that their new director was already married but also from the fact that their gossip had been overheard by the general manager!

Sigh, life played a huge joke on them again! The colleagues in the marketing department wore hopeless expressions on their faces.

“Alright, let’s get back to work, everyone.” The manager of the marketing department, He Keqiang, who had been in Changfeng for a long time, from a junior employee to the manager of the marketing department, had gone through a lot of hardships. His greatest ability was to read people’s moods.

The former director of the marketing department had been promoted, and He Keqiang thought it was his turn to become the director. However, that dream didn’t last long as the HR department notified him that they had hired a new director for the marketing department and asked him to cooperate with the director’s work.

The duck that was almost in his mouth flew away and ended up in the mouth of a younger subordinate. Naturally, He Keqiang felt uncomfortable. If it were an ordinary person, they would have probably made it difficult for Wei Chen, but He Keqiang swallowed his anger. Now, in front of Wei Chen, he showed a respectful demeanor.

“Director Wei, let me take you to your office.” After sending off his subordinates to work, He Keqiang approached Wei Chen and made a welcoming gesture with a smiling face.

Chen Li had always stood quietly by Wei Chen’s side, with an extremely low presence. He Keqiang also noticed Chen Li, but he didn’t ask Wei Chen who Chen Li was. After all, when the general manager was present, he did not prohibit this young man from entering. Seeing the young man, he didn’t show any surprise on his face, thinking that he had already known the young man’s identity.

Wei Chen nodded and followed He Keqiang to his office.

The marketing department was located on the nineteenth floor of Changfeng Building, and Wei Chen’s office faced the street, with a panoramic view of bustling traffic, presenting a prosperous scene.

“Manager He, please bring me the performance reports for last month and this month from the marketing department,” Wei Chen said as he looked out of the floor-to-ceiling window for a while, speaking to He Keqiang, who stood behind him.

He Keqiang didn’t expect Wei Chen to start working immediately. He had the performance report for last month, but this month was only halfway through, and he hadn’t organized it yet. He didn’t know where to get the report for Wei Chen.

“Director Wei, well…” He Keqiang hesitated, feeling embarrassed about not having a complete report in his hands, not knowing what to say.

Wei Chen’s gaze caught He Keqiang’s expression, and he turned around, giving He Keqiang a cold look, saying, “I hope to see the performance report before we finish work today.”

He Keqiang felt a chill down his spine and goosebumps all over his body. The aura emanating from Wei Chen made He Keqiang involuntarily lower his head and nod, saying, “I will make sure to deliver the report before the end of the workday.”

“Okay,” Wei Chen nodded. “You may go now.”

Relieved like receiving a pardon, He Keqiang quickly left Wei Chen’s office. Once the office door closed again, He Keqiang realized that he was drenched in cold sweat and recalled his behavior in Wei Chen’s office, his face turning dark.

Just a young kid, and he wanted to use his position as the new leader to intimidate him?

Although he thought this way, He Keqiang still went to urge his subordinates to organize the report.

With everyone else gone, Wei Chen’s office was left with only him and Chen Li. Chen Li was somewhat restrained in this new environment, sitting straight on the office sofa, looking into the distance, lost in thought.

Wei Chen didn’t disturb Chen Li but quietly set up an easel for painting and arranged the paints. Then he went to his own seat, opened his computer, and started organizing data.

Once Chen Li felt that this environment posed no threat to him, he got up from the sofa. Just as he turned around, his eyes lit up when he saw the easel and paints by the floor-to-ceiling window. His legs moved involuntarily towards it.

After half an hour, Zhuge Feng’s assistant, Gao Sheng, arrived at the marketing department. He had been ordered by the general manager to help Wei Chen familiarize himself with Changfeng Group.

Although Gao Sheng already knew that Wei Chen would be accompanied to work, when he opened the door and saw another person who shouldn’t have been in that office, his hand paused for a moment.

However, as an assistant to the general manager, Gao Sheng managed his facial expressions well. By the time he pushed the door open and entered, there were no other emotions in his eyes.

“Director Wei, the general manager asked me to help you familiarize yourself with the work environment,” Gao Sheng walked to Wei Chen’s desk and said.

“No trouble at all,” Wei Chen stood up and nodded to Gao Sheng.

Gao Sheng’s expression remained neutral. “It’s my duty.”

Although Gao Sheng said so, Wei Chen knew that it was still Zhuge Feng’s way of showing favor towards him. Without thinking, Wei Chen also understood the underlying meaning behind Zhuge Feng’s actions.

The position of the general manager’s assistant was higher than his position as director. Having the assistant of the general manager guide him through the company’s environment, even personally welcoming him earlier and introducing him to the colleagues in the marketing department, all of it conveyed a message to everyone in the company—that the marketing department director was the general manager’s person.

There is a saying, “Where there are people, there are power struggles,” and even though Changfeng Group is a state-owned enterprise, it couldn’t escape the significance of this saying. The factional struggles within Changfeng Group were also quite severe.

When Wei Chen came to Changfeng Group, he had already studied the composition of the company and understood the intricacies. However, since he had accepted Changfeng Group’s invitation, he would focus on his job.

As for the struggles between factions, Wei Chen never thought that he could be isolated after joining the group. He only considered how to handle the factional struggles, with his own considerations in mind.

Carrying his thoughts, Wei Chen still listened to what Gao Sheng had to say. He already had some understanding of the company’s organizational structure before he came, but he used Gao Sheng’s name to meet other department managers.

By the time Wei Chen finished his rounds and bid farewell to Gao Sheng, it was already noon, and he had acquired several more business cards. The words “young and promising” echoed in Wei Chen’s ears several times. Whether it was insincere or perfunctory, it didn’t matter. Since he had joined the group and taken the position of the marketing department director, Wei Chen would fulfill his duties. As for what others thought of him, it wasn’t that important anymore.

When Wei Chen returned to his office, Chen Li hadn’t finished his painting. Wei Chen didn’t approach to disturb him. He simply stood behind Chen Li, quietly observing the inner world portrayed in Chen Li’s painting.

At that moment, Wei Chen finally felt true tranquility.