On the afternoon of Lin Hui’s resignation, He Jian Shan called the financial director, Wang Kai Chun, and Annie to his office.
“All related companies and associates of shareholders, including those with whom we have business dealings that require payments or contract signings, postpone everything. If anyone asks, just say it’s an internal decision by senior management.”
Wang Kai Chun and Annie exchanged a look.
“President He, the New Year is less than a month away—”
He Jian Shan, while signing documents and not even lifting his head, said, “You’re right, so remind them well. If they want to get paid or finalize contracts before the New Year, they better keep a close eye on their top bosses.”
“Conduct thorough reviews on all financial transactions with related companies and personnel of shareholders, check for any oversights.”
“What do you mean by—‘check for oversights’?” Wang Kai Chun wondered if he had heard wrong.
He Jian Shan looked up: “You know how to nitpick, right?”
Wang Kai Chun, not daring to breathe too loud, still couldn’t help but say, “This will directly affect the group as a whole…”
“You’re right, so next, we’ll revise the annual budget forecast for the group, reduce all projected profits and expenditures, especially for departments closely linked to shareholders. I’ll sign off on it and then circulate it to all shareholders. That’s all for now.”
“Okay, President He, then I’ll leave.” Wang Kai Chun, feeling a headache coming on, glanced at Annie and quickly left the office.
“Annie, all the tasks Lin Hui was handling, transfer them to me.”
“Yes, President He. Also, there’s one more thing,” Annie remembered something the administrative department had mentioned, “Should we adjust Lin Hui’s personnel records right away? HR mentioned the notice only stated that Vice President Lin Hui has resigned, but he also holds another position—Assistant General Manager.”
He Jian Shan stopped his pen.
He paused for a long while and said in a low voice, “Leave it be for now.”
Annie hesitated but couldn’t help but say, “President He, Lin Hui—he really resigned, huh?”
He Jian Shan looked up at Annie, “I remember you joined the company with Lin Hui?”
Annie didn’t understand why He Jian Shan suddenly asked this: “Yes, President He, we joined on the same day.”
He Jian Shan seemed to remember something and smiled, “Then you better not leave Wan Zhu.”
“Huh?”
“Otherwise, you won’t see Lin Hui become the General Manager.”
After Annie left, He Jian Shan called Fan Yu into his office.
Fan Yu, feeling a chill on his scalp and muttering “what now,” admitted his mistake as soon as he entered: “I was wrong, President He.”
He Jian Shan’s expression was unpleasant but still relatively calm, “Set up an interview with a media outlet that has some credibility. I want a front-page headline, pushed across the entire network, but I dictate the content of the interview.”
Fan Yu’s expression changed, and he said softly, “Lin Hui has clearly separated from Wan Zhu Group, at this juncture you can’t—”
“He separated from Wan Zhu, not from me. I know what I’m doing.”
He Jian Shan’s decisions were hard to alter, so Fan Yu could only ask, “When are you available?”
“In three days,” He Jian Shan thought for a moment, “There should be a shareholders’ meeting during these days too.”
“Also, prepare a press release in advance, ready for release after the interview. I’ll send you the details later.”
“Yes, President He.”
As the New Year approached, the streets began to fill with a festive and peaceful atmosphere, but the Wan Zhu building was unnervingly quiet: He Jian Shan was in a bad mood, and without Lin Hui to mediate—the cause of He Jian Shan’s foul mood—mid and high-level leaders were treading on thin ice, aware that holidays were approaching, while those unaware thought they might be fired; regular employees were also irritable, the efficient workflow suddenly jammed, everyone pushing or being pushed, but no results were forthcoming. Only He Jian Shan remained calm, methodically handling his tasks and those of Lin Hui’s. As he expected, the afternoon after he had issued his orders, the shareholders called for a video conference.
When Annie reported this to He Jian Shan, he was looking at his phone.
Lin Hui sent a WeChat message saying he was heading to the flower market to pick out some plants for the New Year. As he walked, he snapped photos of various colorful flowers and sent them to He Jian Shan, vibrant and competing for attention, soon filling up the WeChat screen. He Jian Shan opened each photo to appreciate it.
Lin Hui: [Is this pot nice?] [Photo.JPG]
He Jian Shan: [1]
Lin Hui had been staying at home these past few days. His upstairs neighbor had been away for a long time and forgot to close the kitchen window, leading to the pipes freezing and bursting, with water leaking into Lin Hui’s apartment. Forced to deal with the issue, he didn’t feel like returning to Emerald Cloud Mountain—just as well to avoid some trouble, since He Jian Shan was still upset, Lin Hui feared being hassled, so he told He Jian Shan he was staying put.
He Jian Shan was busy these days too, and just let him be. But he was still a bit angry and didn’t visit him, though he couldn’t bear to ignore him either, so every time Lin Hui sent a WeChat message, he replied with a “1,” indicating he had seen it. Lin Hui understood his thoughts, and couldn’t help but laugh inwardly, but he was at fault first, so he acted as if he was oblivious, enthusiastically like a fire in winter.
He Jian Shan, while looking at his phone, said, “Stall them, just say I’m not available.”
Before contacting the general office, many had already sent him WeChat messages, but he hadn’t replied to any, nor answered any calls.
“So how long should I stall them?”
“Wait until they come to you a third time, then come to me.”
“Okay, President He.”
On the third afternoon, He Jian Shan and all shareholder representatives held a video conference.
Honestly, everyone present was someone of significant status and none were fools. He Jian Shan’s sudden offensive against his own people was clear to everyone, but still, business had to be conducted formally.
He Jian Shan listened to everyone’s concerns and said, “I understand the difficulties everyone is facing, but Lin Hui’s resignation has led to a break in all work nodes, so in the next phase, Wan Zhu’s overall operations will experience fluctuations, and this is something we need to face together.”
One of the shareholder representatives laughed, “President He, it can’t be that serious. Such a large Wan Zhu can’t function without Lin Hui?”
“If I say yes, you might think I’m exaggerating. But in all of Wan Zhu, only Lin Hui knows the ins and outs of every department—including all the work on projects that get summarized to him, allowing him to handle initial processing. It’s because he took on most of the work that I had time to plan properly, which led to Wan Zhu’s rapid development. Why do you think he was paid at a deputy general level years ago?”
“It’s because he took on a massive amount of work beyond his position—”
“He’s not just an assistant; in fact, he’s half the general manager of Wan Zhu.”
It was as if the network froze, everyone’s faces in the video frames frozen.
“I’ve emphasized his importance many times before, but you still think I’m biased due to personal feelings, making Wan Zhu back him at the expense of the group’s interests. Do you know how many calls from the government I received once the news of his resignation was out? Do you know how many Wan Zhu projects he had his hands on? He was someone I personally trained; do you know how many companies are vying for him now?”
“But it’s fine, he’s gone now. So, I hope everyone will actively recommend talented people, quickly select someone who can fill this vacancy, someone experienced who can withstand pressure under me. I’m not omnipotent; without help, I can’t do anything.”
After speaking, he seemed to remember something and added, “Actually, it’s the end of the year now, the impact isn’t that great, after the New Year, many projects will be waiting to connect, then the real test will come.”
The meeting suddenly entered a deadlock.
It’s not that the shareholders didn’t want to push someone forward, but finding someone to meet He Jian Shan’s requirements was tough. After a while, one representative spoke, “President He, after all, we don’t have the same relationship with Lin Hui, but we still have you, right? If it doesn’t work, just bring Lin Hui back.”
This was nearly shameless; basically saying since you two are a pair, family, just call Lin Hui back and it would be fine.
He Jian Shan twirled his pen, looking at the face on the screen, and said gravely, “When talking business, you can’t talk feelings; when talking feelings, then you can’t care about immediate benefits—brothers still settle accounts clearly, no matter my relationship with him, we can’t just take advantage of everything.”
This was basically openly scolding them: initially, when he wanted to make public his relationship with Lin Hui, a bunch of people stopped him, believing he was misusing public resources to the detriment of the group’s interests, but now they were the ones bringing up feelings.
For a moment, everyone’s faces looked terrible.
He Jian Shan took a sip of water and spoke methodically, “As far as I know, since the news of his resignation came out, seven companies have extended him offers, with salaries higher than what Wan Zhu offered, including some of our competitors. Of course, with the non-compete clause, it won’t be that quick.”
Someone started to smooth things over, “Mainly it’s because Wan Zhu has you, President He… Honestly, the fact that Lin Hui stayed at Wan Zhu for so many years shows he does care about the company…”
“Right, right…”
“I remember he came right after graduating from college…”
He Jian Shan couldn’t help but think: That’s because he loves me. Because of this love, he gave up many things readily available to him. Now, I need to help him get them back.
He Jian Shan paused, “Actually, over these years, I’ve always been grateful for the huge contributions all of you have made to Wan Zhu’s development. Wan Zhu wouldn’t be where it is today without the investment and help from all shareholders. We’ve cooperated for many years and understand each other well. To joke a bit, I’d really be unaccustomed without any of you.”
A room of silence.
“Wan Zhu is a massive community of shared interests, whether it’s company operations and management, project expansion, or talent development, I’ve put in a lot of effort. So I also hope everyone doesn’t get too tired, take it easy, I believe the numbers at the year’s end will satisfy everyone.”
After He Jian Shan’s mix of firm and soft words, everyone understood: Don’t point fingers, just wait for the year-end dividend, if not, just roll. In fact, no one wanted to “roll,” despite Wan Zhu’s success, it was still on a stable rise, no one would want to give up such a profitable venture.
“So now that it’s like this, President He, what do you say we do?”
He Jian Shan seemed a bit helpless: “Now that everyone knows Lin Hui has resigned, we certainly can’t just let him come back, making Wan Zhu look like an amateur troupe.”
“This isn’t just going back to square one, huh? Actually, work, coming and going, is quite normal, it doesn’t need to be so rigid. We all know, probably Lin Hui considered your career before leaving, this issue isn’t unsolvable.”
He Jian Shan’s expression remained calm, “Doesn’t necessarily have to be him coming back, right?”
A shareholder got anxious, “Wasn’t it you who said, all these years only Lin Hui could do it to this extent. Clearly, Wan Zhu needs him!”
“And all the Wan Zhu business secrets he carries, it doesn’t feel right for him to go elsewhere…”
“Right, right.”
He Jian Shan finally smiled.
“Since everyone’s opinions are highly unified, then I think Wan Zhu, or I, as Wan Zhu’s chairman and general manager, should handle this matter a bit more gracefully,” He Jian Shan looked around at everyone participating in the meeting, “The deputy general manager’s salary indeed doesn’t reflect the value, I think the only way to express our sincerity from Wan Zhu is—”
“Share dividends.”
While He Jian Shan was holding a meeting with the shareholders, Li Feng Hai was sitting in Annie’s office, clipping his nails.
Annie was disgusted, “Don’t drop them on my carpet, pick them up and throw them in the trash.”
“Got it, got it, the boss’s meeting still hasn’t ended, huh?”
“Not yet, no idea how long it’ll go on.”
Li Feng Hai sneered, “These idiots, usually not involved in actual operational management, just know how to insert relatives to make money, completely unaware of Lin Hui’s importance. If I were them, knowing Lin Hui and the boss are a couple, I’d be praying every day they don’t split up, but look at them, they angered him away. Now they’re the ones looking foolish, just wait, the boss will surely take action.”
“I still don’t get it, according to you, why didn’t Lin Hui just discuss with the boss and pretend to resign, no need to make such a big fuss?”
Li Feng Hai looked up, “Although suddenly announcing his resignation was unexpected, but how do you know they didn’t discuss this?”
“Plus, many among the shareholders are old ties from President He’s time, buy or not, the goodwill remains, the relationships are complex, even if President He wanted to act, it wouldn’t be a moment’s work.”
Lin Hui saw that He Jian Shan was always in a passive position, so he decided to make a decisive move, not leaving any way out, openly resigning. Once he moved, He Jian Shan naturally understood what it meant. Even Li Feng Hai had to admire, the tacit understanding between these two was truly exceptional.
Li Feng Hai put away the nail clippers, “Of course, the shareholders aren’t fools, they probably know this is a play without rehearsals, both sides giving each other a way out, a step back, so work can go on.”
Annie rolled her eyes, “But then the internet is talking nonsense again, saying Lin Hui resigned out of guilt, it’s infuriating to read.”
“Don’t worry about it, Fan Yu said President He has an interview tomorrow, when have you ever seen President He willing to take an interview?”
“I hope Lin Hui comes back soon, I’m about to go crazy, every time the phone rings my head hurts, it’s almost New Year, I was hoping to just relax and take it easy.”
“He might not necessarily stay at the group if he comes back.”
Originally, Li Feng Hai wasn’t planning on coming back, project reports could be done over phone or video, but He Jian Shan had asked him to come in for a bit, Li Feng Hai guessed it must be something to discuss face-to-face.
The two were chatting when someone came to call Li Feng Hai, saying President He had already returned to the office, and Li Feng Hai hurried over.
As soon as he entered the office, He Jian Shan spoke, “After the New Year, Lin Hui will go to the Ninghai project.”
That figures. Li Feng Hai understood, “Lin Hui is indeed the most suitable candidate.”
“Help him out.”
Li Feng Hai felt a bit overwhelmed, “You’re exaggerating a bit, he has you behind him, does he still need my help?”
“It’s still different. In some aspects, I have less experience than you.” As he spoke, he remembered something and smiled, “The house you picked for him is not bad.”
Li Feng Hai coughed lightly, “Buying a house is a big deal, Lin Hui has helped me a lot too, of course, I care—when is he coming back?”
He Jian Shan remembered the photos of flowers on his phone, a smile appearing in his eyes, “Let’s give him a holiday first.”
Thursday morning, Fan Yu arranged a “deep” news interview. “Deep” is now the leading comprehensive media platform in the country, true to its name, “Deep” interviews are indeed profound, with high authority and value. They were thrilled to hear He Jian Shan actively requested an interview: everyone knows He Jian Shan is really low-profile, hardly ever accepting interviews, let alone this wasn’t just a simple text interview, but a televised one!
However, when the experienced host saw the last question on the interview draft, he was shocked and asked Fan Yu twice, “Are you sure? Really want to ask this question? Will President He really answer?”
Fan Yu smiled widely, “Of course. Regarding this interview, our only requirement is that our publicity must be—overwhelming.”
In the morning, just after finishing the interview, “Deep” cut the footage. Perhaps even “Deep” News, used to seeing all sorts, found this interview exceptionally explosive, eager to release it. After confirming with Wan Zhu, He Jian Shan’s exclusive interview began to be pushed across the entire network. So, just five days after Wan Zhu’s official Weibo made a statement, everyone saw He Jian Shan’s first appearance at the center of the vortex: he spoke eloquently in front of the camera, displaying his unique charm as a business leader. But in the last 5 minutes of the interview, the usually professional host suddenly asked a very “inappropriate” question:
“Recently, there’s been some disturbance online, mainly about you, and also about Lin Hui, the recently resigned vice general manager of Wan Zhu Group. I don’t know if at the end of this interview, you’d be willing to respond? For instance, people are very interested in the feelings involved? And the reasons behind Lin Hui’s sudden resignation?”
“These are two questions. Regarding feelings, cough, I’m not really at liberty to respond…” He Jian Shan couldn’t help but smile, his eyes softening for the first time today. He then touched his left hand’s ring finger, as if habitually twirling something there, and said, “As for Lin Hui’s resignation—it actually involves internal structural adjustments at Wan Zhu. With Wan Zhu’s development, Lin Hui really wasn’t suited to continue as Wan Zhu’s vice general, so he resigned from the vice general manager position. Wan Zhu deeply appreciates his years of dedication, so with the approval of all shareholders, we invited him, with his professional experience and capabilities, to deeply participate in the future construction of Wan Zhu. I believe, with Lin Hui joining, Wan Zhu will definitely reach a new level.”
He Jian Shan’s interview stirred up another round of excitement online. Given the limited overall knowledge base of many netizens, some people still had questions about the interview.
[Gossip Chat] Invite him, with his professional experience and abilities, to deeply participate in the future construction of Wan Zhu—what does HJS mean by this?
0L: Did the queen actually leave or not, I don’t understand?
1L: It means—the LH you all talk about as mediocre, climbing up by being kept, then guiltily resigning, is awesome enough to technically invest in Wan Zhu, becoming a new shareholder of Wan Zhu hahaha!
Extra 2 releases for the month of Nov complimentary event @ my Discord
