Chapter 53 Chapter 53

"Ren Li, I'm leaving the printing of the materials for the strategy meeting to you. After printing them, be sure to double-check the quantities. Make sure there aren't any mistakes, or you'll get scolded by your boss."

Early in the morning, as soon as Ren Li arrived at her workstation, she saw Cheng Lulu walking towards her in a hurry in high heels, sparks flashing all the way.

The Strategy Conference is an annual exchange meeting held by securities companies. Many important personnel from listed companies will be invited to attend. It is considered a high-level financial forum and also an event that demonstrates the influence of the company.

The entire department has been busy preparing for this two-day conference since two months ago.

From finalizing the invitation list of listed companies in the early stages, to formulating the meeting agenda, arranging transportation and accommodation, and producing promotional materials, there is always a lot to do in a strategy meeting.

As an intern in the department, Ren Li was no exception and participated in it, and was busy for a long time.

She came to this company for internship last June.

As one of the top three securities firms in China, the company is headquartered in Beijing and is well-known in the industry. It is said that even its interns are all graduates from Peking University and Tsinghua University.

However, only those who work here know that this statement is true. This company has employees not only from Peking University, Tsinghua University, Fudan University and Jiaotong University, but also many from famous overseas universities.

Ren Li's university studies were not as good as others, but thanks to countless internships during her college years, she finally got a summer internship at this company by sheer luck nearing her senior year.

She cherishes this opportunity very much, works actively and seriously, and works overtime until late every day.

People around her came and went. Nine months later, the department gave Ren Li's group a HC. Because she was evaluated by the leaders for her hard work, the position to stay fell on her.

After graduating from her senior year in June this year, she will be able to join the company as a full-time employee.

But now, she is still an intern at the lowest level of the company with little experience. She only helps her teaching teacher to process downward research data on a daily basis, occasionally participates in report writing, listens to other people's roadshows and attends morning meetings.

As someone who is also in the internship period and preparing to become a full-time employee, Cheng Lulu has been in the company longer than Ren Li.

She was from the adjacent research group, but because the two groups often had business overlaps and because of the strategy meeting, both of them were assigned by their department boss, Mr. Ling, to do things within their capabilities.

Cheng Lulu was originally responsible for printing the materials, but she was quite cunning, so she transferred the hard work to Ren Li.

After get off work last night, Ren Li received a sudden message from Cheng Lulu, saying that there would be some adjustments to the attendees of a certain listed company, and asked her to reorganize it.

It’s not really a big deal if there are temporary adjustments to the attendees, but it’s rare that they are notified only the day before.

This not only means that the meeting materials need to be revised, but also requires re-contacting the department secretary to confirm a series of things such as the hotel for accommodation.

Ren Li didn't want to delay the meeting tomorrow, so she accepted without hesitation. She worked all night, contacting many people, and finally got the matter done.

Although it was not her job, she did not argue with Cheng Lulu. She felt that she had just arrived at the company and had a lot to learn.

Cheng Lulu handed the USB flash drive containing the materials to Ren Li, and walked away in her high heels.

After she left, Xiaorou, the intern sitting next to Ren Li, could no longer sit still.

"How could she be like this?" Xiaorou leaned closer to Ren Li and whispered, "She always throws all the dirty work at you, but never leaves herself out when taking credit. It's really speechless."

Ren Li smiled and said, "It's okay. I happen to be free too."

Xiaorou looked very disappointed: "You are just too weak. Next time if she asks you to do something unnecessary, just say you have many other things to do and reject her directly. Don't let her push you too far."

Ren Li smiled, said nothing, and got up to go to the stationery room to print meeting materials.

She inserted the USB drive into the printer, tapped the display screen a few times, swiped her work card, and stood aside waiting for a while.

The printer made a clicking sound and spit out sheets of colorful card paper. Ren Lizai carefully collected each sheet, checked it, and bound some of them into different categories with a stapler. Before he could take them back to his workstation, Cheng Lulu came in and took them away.

"Thank you, Ren Li." She gave Ren Li a sincere smile, then seemed to remember something, "Oh, by the way, there's one more thing."

Ren Li remembered what Xiao Rou had said just now and was thinking about whether to find a reason to refuse when she heard Cheng Lulu say, "It wasn't me who asked you to do this. It was President Ling who told you to do it."

"Boss Ling?" Ren Li didn't have much contact with this high-ranking boss on weekdays, and she didn't know what she was going to ask her to do.

"She asked me to tell you that the person in charge from StarWind who's attending the strategy meeting will be arriving in Beijing from North America today. I might have to pick him up tonight. President Ling told you to contact her when you're free for the details. Remember to contact her later."

Ren Li nodded: "Yes, okay, thank you."

For some reason, she felt that Cheng Lulu seemed a little unhappy. After looking at her twice, she turned around and walked away in her high heels.

Ren Li took a deep breath, leaned against the table in the printing room, and took out her cell phone.

The research department she works in is an important department of the securities firm. Her daily work is to study the latest trends and information in various industries and provide investment advice to professional institutional investors.

She was interning in the software group at the research department, and the publicly listed companies she worked with were all top tech companies in the computer and software industries. She had heard of StarWind, also known as SW, a rising star in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector that had only recently gone public on the US stock market.

Because Ren Li's teacher is responsible for A-shares, she doesn't pay much attention to US stocks.

The reason she was familiar with this name was that she heard that Mr. Ling from her department had gone through various connections for a long time to reach a cooperation with the other company, and sent email after email before the other party finally agreed. Mr. Ling was very happy about this and often mentioned this matter at various conferences.

The company's research covers this company for the first time. The advantage of doing so is that it can serve as a bridge for domestic investors and provide them with channels for overseas investment.

In addition, during SW Company's earnings period, the company can act as a domestic contact and organize telephone exchanges with the other party's management to obtain first-hand information for investors and expand the influence of both companies.

Ren Li knew that SW company would come to participate in this exchange meeting, but what does it have to do with her?

Thinking this, she dialed Mr. Ling's number.

The call was connected quickly.

"Hello, Mr. Ling, it's me, Ren Li," Ren Li said. "Are you available to answer the phone? Oh, it's like this, I just heard Lulu say... Okay, okay, Guomao Hotel. I've got that in mind. I'll be there on time at 7 o'clock."

Putting down the phone, Ren Li returned to her workstation.

Mr. Ling spoke briefly on the phone just now, but the task he assigned was very clear.

She asked Ren Li to go with her to receive people from SW Company tonight, and the location was at the nearby Guomao Hotel.

But why did Mr. Ling bring her along tonight? Ren Li didn't quite understand.

She was still young and had no experience in receiving important listed companies. Judging from Cheng Lulu's unhappy expression before she left, she must have wanted to go, but President Ling chose to give this opportunity to her.

Ren Li remembered what she had told her on the phone, that she should dress more formally and preferably change into a dress suitable for attending a dinner party, and she couldn't help but feel worried.

She looked down at her clothes: a standard white chiffon shirt, a black slim-waisted skirt, and high heels, which she had only recently gotten used to wearing.

Apart from the somewhat conspicuous work badge with a crimson rope hanging around her neck, her outfit looked like that of an NPC worker, not at all suitable for a dinner party.

In fact, Ren Li also knew that she was just an intern and President Ling had no special expectations of her.

Mr. Ling just said on the phone that he wanted to bring her out as a front man because he thought she had good looks, and asked her not to be too nervous.

But it was impossible not to be nervous. It was Ren Li's first time to participate in such an activity, and she was with the department's senior leaders. She felt that she had to be more prepared and could not let her leaders down.

She looked at the balance in her internship salary card and finally decided to wait until after get off work, before going to the China World Trade Hotel, to find a store to buy some suitable clothes.

As soon as six o'clock passed, Ren Li put the laptop on the table into her white canvas bag, said goodbye to Xiaorou who was still working overtime at her workstation, and hurriedly punched out.

It was her first time leaving work on time, and she felt a little uncomfortable. While waiting for the elevator outside, she saw Cheng Lulu also walking out of the company's glass door.

"Hi, Ren Li." She stood beside Ren Li naturally and winked at her. "Boss Ling just told me that SW Company has more clients coming tonight than expected. He's worried you won't be able to handle it, so he asked me to go with you."

Ren Li didn't care about the boasting in her tone, she just felt relieved: "Oh, that's really great, thank God, you're going too."

Cheng Lulu looked Ren Li over and said, "You should wear this today. Today is a high-level dinner. President Ling told you today that you should dress nicely, right?"

Unlike Ren Li's formal, workaday attire, Cheng Lulu usually wears a socialite look, favoring tight, hip-hugging dresses and Chanel-style high heels. While this might seem informal when meeting ordinary clients, it was perfectly suited to tonight's occasion.

"I think it's okay," Ren Li said. "Actually, I was just thinking about buying some clothes when I pass by China World Mall."

Tonight's opportunity was rare, and Cheng Lulu didn't want to be overshadowed by Ren Li.

She remained calm on the surface and said deliberately, "Okay, I also want to go shopping and see if LV has any new products."

Ren Li didn't want to spend several months' internship salary on a luxury dress, so she quickly said, "I don't want to buy something so expensive. I remember there are some stores like H&M or Zara nearby, maybe I can find something suitable there."

Cheng Lulu didn't expect Ren Li to refuse so directly. While thinking that she was really unsophisticated, she also agreed, "Okay then. But I haven't been to this kind of store very often. I'll wait for you outside. Come back and find me when you're done shopping."

"No problem, thank you."

Cheng Lulu is actually very familiar with these brands. After all, these are the stores she often visited during sales when she was in college.

But since she started her internship in the financial circle, she has seen many people with wealthy family backgrounds. Other girls often buy the latest luxury goods. After spending a long time with them, she naturally created a "rich girl" persona for herself.

Of course, she couldn't compare with those people, and her internship salary was all spent on some A-grade or second-hand goods that she had painstakingly found, but in front of Ren Li, she still had a sense of superiority that she was proud of.

As they were talking, the elevator arrived. Taking the elevator down from the 42nd floor to the first floor lobby, Ren Li turned on her phone's navigation. On her way to the China World Hotel, she first stopped by the China World Mall.

She went in to buy clothes, and Cheng Lulu sat in the coffee shop on the first floor waiting for her.

After a while, Ren Li came out carrying two Zara paper bags.

"Lulu, can you help me see which of these two is more suitable for today's occasion?"

As she spoke, she took the clothes out of the bag and showed them to Cheng Lulu.

"One is a shorter silver sequined dress with a little shimmer; the other is a black velvet maxi dress that's a bit revealing and has a high slit."

Cheng Lulu had originally planned to see Ren Li make a fool of herself tonight by buying tacky clothes, but she didn't expect that when Ren Li came out of the store, she actually brought out two very nice clothes.

Her expression suddenly turned a little bad, and she pointed at one of them and said, "None of them are very good. If you have to choose one, it's this one. But you still have a good figure."

Ren Li didn't realize the sourness in her words. She was just in the store, having difficulty making a decision, but she didn't want to disturb Cheng Lulu who was resting outside, so she bought both.

Fortunately, the two pieces together cost less than a thousand yuan, which was still affordable for her. Compared to luxury dresses that often cost tens of thousands of yuan, this was already very cheap.

Ren Li, the little money-saving expert, felt that she had made money again today.