How could she possibly give up that glamorous world with wine, meat, and Mu Chen?

On the other end of the video, Song Yunxi adjusted her posture and said, "I'm afraid President Mu will have to miss me for a few more days. Teacher Shen said that going to Taiwan now is just in time for the winter tea picking season, and I'm planning to go with him to join in the fun."

On the third day after Song Yunxi left the Platinum Hotel, Rui Huaisen was going to sign a contract with a tea plantation, so she took the initiative to ask to go with him and solemnly invited Shen Yao, a tea master with whom she had recently had many exchanges.

It wasn't that she didn't trust Rui Huaisen's judgment, but rather that she needed to confirm once again whether Rui Huaisen's tea plantation could produce the tea she needed.

He stayed in the tea garden for nearly two months, which, in Song Yunxi's words, was a period of seclusion for self-cultivation and character building.

If Mu Chen didn't know her well enough, he might have thought she was hurt by the previous cyberattacks, had become disillusioned with the world, and wanted to become a nun.

But that's Song Yunxi. Her "fortunate decision to become a nun" back then was just a joke; how could she possibly give up that glamorous world with its wine, meat, and Mu Chen?

However, for so long, she had indeed lived a life far removed from the world. During the day, she was either watching the workers tend the tea trees in the tea garden or going around tasting tea with Shen Yao. At night, she would sit in her room with her computer, typing away. Shen Yao even teased her: "Are you going to switch careers and become a writer? I'll definitely buy a few copies to support you when you publish one."

Song Yunxi's phone also adopted a minimalist style; almost all apps except WeChat were uninstalled. She kept WeChat only so she could video chat with Mu Chen every night or occasionally send him a few photos. If it weren't for Mu Chen, WeChat might not have escaped Song Yunxi's clutches either.

Mu Chen asked, "Can tea be picked in winter?"

"Yes, that's possible. Many of Taiwan's most prized oolong teas are harvested in winter, and they are even better than spring teas. Actually, Mr. Rui's tea garden can also be harvested in winter, but he's worried that it might affect the quality of next year's spring tea, so he wants the tea trees to rest properly during the winter."

Mu Chen laughed, "So you couldn't bear to pick the tea from your own garden, so you wanted to go and pick the tea from someone else's."

"It seems that the image I have in your heart will never change in this lifetime."

Why do you want to change your public image?

"Lately, I've been thinking a lot about whether I should get rid of all those labels attached to me, like scheming, greedy, and glib-tongued, otherwise it will make things very difficult for President Mu."

"It is indeed a bit difficult. But it's okay, I can handle it."

Song Yunxi knew what Mu Chen was talking about, so she rested her elbows on the table, propped her chin on her palms, and smiled slightly at the camera.

"Mr. Mu, you've worked hard."

*

Today is Platinum Hotels' monthly executive meeting.

Although President Jiang and others often made things difficult for Mu Chen's decisions, every single thing Mu Chen decided to do after careful consideration was ultimately achieved. Whether he used data and plans or forceful methods.

Today's executive meeting confirmed the decision to appoint Song Yoon-hee as the legal representative and general manager of Miss Chi Afternoon Tea, and that decision remains unchanged.

The first to object was President Jiang. In fact, from both an internal and external perspective, Song Yunxi did not make any substantial mistakes when she resigned from ST Group and withdrew from Platinum Hotel a few months ago.

But Song Yunxi, such an flamboyant and cunning woman, was still not the best candidate in their hearts to be the head of Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea.

“If anyone disagrees with Song Yunxi being appointed as the legal representative and general manager of Miss Chi Afternoon Tea, then we will vote by raising our hands as is customary.” Mu Chen finished speaking and raised his hand first.

"Heh." President Jiang snorted lightly. "President Mu, this doesn't seem like a vote by raising hands, but rather that you've already made a decision and are just informing us."

As everyone knows, Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea was established by jointly investing with the Chi Group to create a new company independent of Platinum Hotel – Lancheng Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea Catering Management Co., Ltd.

In the new company, Mu Chen personally holds a 35.7% stake, while Platinum Hotel holds only 24.3%, and Chi Li and Chi Group jointly own the remaining 39.8%.

By the way, because Song Yunxi was the initiator of the Miss Chi Afternoon Tea project, she was given 0.2% of the shares as an equity incentive.

Originally, President Jiang and others did not hold a high percentage of shares in Platinum Hotel. In company projects where decision-making shares are allocated based on shareholding, they have never been in a dominant position.

Moreover, their vote at this moment was a decision made by Platinum Hotel, as one of the shareholders of Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea, on whether to agree to Song Yunxi taking charge of Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea, rather than a direct decision on the operation of Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea.

In other words, if Mu Chen and Chi Li have already reached an agreement, then no matter how much President Jiang and others oppose it, or even if the entire Platinum Hotel opposes it, it will not affect Miss Chi's final decision on afternoon tea.

"President Jiang and everyone present, Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea is one of the most important recent external investments of Platinum Hotel, and it has enjoyed a good reputation and high visibility since its inception. I think everyone should also be aware of the efforts Song Yunxi has made in this project."

"Now, while Miss Chi's afternoon tea is progressing well, we shouldn't stop there." Mu Chen said, gesturing for Pan Zhe to distribute the pre-prepared documents to everyone at the meeting.

"This is Song Yunxi's plan for Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea in the future. We don't want Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea to just rely on the Platinum Hotel's subsidiary brand; it can have a broader stage."

The group received a plan for Miss Chi's afternoon tea, compiled by Song Yunxi. It included an analysis of the current afternoon tea offerings at several well-known five-star hotels in Lancheng, showing that both standalone afternoon tea restaurants like Miss Chi's afternoon tea and open-plan afternoon tea combined with hotel lobby bars have their own advantages and disadvantages.

In Song Yunxi's eyes, Miss Chi's afternoon tea has great potential for development in hotels that seem to have no need for it.

Hotels with a lobby afternoon tea area can also offer guests a quiet and private separate afternoon tea space. Hotels with their own afternoon tea restaurants might also welcome the addition of a Chinese afternoon tea brand.

Moreover, if Ms. Chi's Afternoon Tea operates independently, she can unleash her full potential and focus all her energy on herself, without having to wait for Platinum Hotels to allocate resources to her.

The reason why Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea was so closely tied to the Platinum Hotel before was because Song Yunxi had her GOP (Good Project) to complete. Now that she has broken free from the shackles of the GOP, Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea should also be free.

Once Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea has established a strong brand presence, it will have a large following. At that point, other five-star hotels will appear on Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea's official partner list. This way, customers who enjoy Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea can savor its delicious flavors no matter which hotel they are staying at.

A few days ago, Song Yunxi contacted several five-star hotels she had dealt with before. Although they did not discuss the details of the cooperation in detail, they all showed great interest in Miss Chi's afternoon tea, especially the Chinese afternoon tea.

The final conclusion of the planning proposal is that Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea can be separated from Platinum Hotel and promoted as an independent brand, or it can cooperate with various five-star hotels or clubs of the same level.

One of the minority shareholders closed the proposal and raised his concerns: "Won't this push our customers away? If Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea is well-run, customers will come to the Platinum Hotel when they want to have it. But if we open Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea in another hotel, won't our customers be diverted?"

"Of course, it's not about pushing guests out. Each hotel has its own customer base, and it's relatively stable. Guests who are used to staying at one hotel can go to other hotels for afternoon tea, but it's rare for someone to stay at another hotel just to have afternoon tea."

We can also consider this from another perspective. Although Ms. Chi's afternoon tea is located in other hotels, which diverts some of her afternoon tea customers, it also benefits from the hotel guests staying at the partner hotels. And guests can enjoy their favorite treats conveniently nearby. I think this is a win-win-win situation.

Mu Chen closed the proposal and continued, "Platinum Hotel's main business is the hotel industry. After separating Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea, the resources that need to be provided for it will also be recovered. These resources can continue to be invested in the development of Platinum Hotel itself. In this way, Platinum Hotel's main revenue will not decrease, and the operating income of Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea can become another source of additional income for Platinum Hotel."

Indeed, if Ms. Chi's afternoon tea service isn't outsourced, the hotel would have to source resources from Platinum Hotels, which would limit both parties. However, if it is outsourced, Platinum Hotels could reclaim the resources for its own use.

Even if Ms. Chi's afternoon tea business doesn't thrive outside, at least the restaurants within the Platinum Hotel won't be affected. If Ms. Chi's business truly develops as expected in the plan, then contributing additional profits to the Platinum Hotel while operating independently and assuming its own profits and losses would undoubtedly be most beneficial for the Platinum Hotel.

“Miss Chi’s afternoon tea can operate independently without any problem, but we do not agree to let Song Yunxi be the new manager.”

After going around in circles, President Jiang brought the topic back to itself. And he gave Mu Chen the look that said, "Don't even think about changing the subject."

Mu Chen asked, "Then, Mr. Jiang, do you have any suitable candidates you could recommend?"

"We don't have any recommendations at the moment, but there are many excellent professional managers out there, and we believe we will find one soon."

Mu Chen's tone turned low and cold, just as it always was when he was about to make a firm decision: "Song Yunxi is young and impetuous, and she has many shortcomings. But everyone should be able to see the effort she put into Miss Chi's afternoon tea project and the results she achieved. From the project's initiation to all the publicity and promotion in between, and then to the refinement and adjustment of the product, she participated in and actively promoted it throughout the entire process."

Moreover, since she owns shares in Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea, she also has the responsibility to fulfill corresponding obligations. I think that besides Chi Li and me, she is the only one who can wholeheartedly dedicate herself to the project and do everything in her power for the future of Miss Chi's Afternoon Tea.”

Jiang Hailang, who had been sitting silently to the side, spoke up promptly: "To put it another way, why not give Song Yunxi a chance first? If she does well, then our Platinum Hotel would be happy to see that. If she doesn't do well, we can replace the manager to cut our losses. What do you all think?"

The shareholders and executives sitting in the conference room began to whisper among themselves.

Mu Chen sat quietly at the head of the conference table, waiting. In any case, whatever they discussed, the final result wouldn't change. At worst, Pan Zhe would simply implement the result of the earlier show of hands vote. The most open, fair, and just result would be unassailable.

A few minutes later, Mr. Jiang, representing the minority shareholders, stated: "We agree that Song Yunxi will serve as the new legal representative and general manager of Miss Chi Afternoon Tea. However, the term of office will only be one year. If the expected returns are not achieved within one year, we will select a new manager."