Breaking the status quo and creating new things, unstoppable
At dawn, Mo Xiaoyu was already sitting in his office, Chen Yongchang's company's application materials spread out before him. Lawyer Li pushed the door open, looking cold, his glasses frosted.
"So early?" Mo Xiaoyu looked up, with a faint dark blue under his eyes.
"Didn't you do it earlier?" Lawyer Li put down his briefcase. "I've reviewed the materials, and there are indeed problems. But this little evidence isn't enough to bring down Chen Yongchang."
Mo Xiaoyu handed over a cup of hot tea: "So we need to change our thinking."
She pulled up the project plan on her computer: "Chen Yongchang is applying for the 'Corporate Mental Health Service Demonstration Project.' If we can come up with a better plan..."
"You're going to compete with him?" Lawyer Li frowned. "The foundation has never been involved in corporate services."
"Precisely because we don't have it, we need to innovate," Mo Xiaoyu said with a determined look. "Employees are also hardest hit by emotional violence. We can't just provide after-the-fact assistance forever."
Shen Que knocked on the door and came in, tablet in hand: "I just received news that Chen Yongchang already knows we are investigating him."
"As expected." Mo Xiaoyu stood up. "Notify the project team to meet at nine o'clock. We need to come up with a complete corporate mental health service plan within two weeks."
In the days that followed, the foundation entered an unprecedented period of bustle. Mo Xiaoyu led his team in researching hundreds of companies, visiting psychological experts, and even consulting with executives from companies they had helped. Every night, the office lights were always on until the last moment.
During this period, Chen Yongchang's counterattack came as expected.
First, the tax authorities unexpectedly audited the foundation's accounts, then several partner companies successively terminated their contracts. Most problematic of all, an anonymous report alleged that the foundation had illegally used overseas funds.
"This is a decoy," Shen Que analyzed during the emergency meeting. "He wants us to be so busy dealing with the investigation that we miss the opportunity to apply for the project."
Mo Xiaoyu rubbed his temples. "We need to cooperate with the account review, but we can't stop the project progress. Lin Wei, you'll be responsible for liaising with the tax department; Lawyer Li will handle disputes with our partners; and Chen Que will continue to refine the plan."
"What about you?" everyone asked in unison.
"I'm going to meet Chen Yongchang."
The next day, Mo Xiaoyu went alone to the office of the Traditional Entrepreneurs Alliance. It was an old-fashioned garden house that didn't fit in with the surrounding skyscrapers.
Chen Yongchang received her in the tea room, wearing a dark Chinese jacket and holding a walnut in his hand.
"It is a great honor to have you, Ms. Mo." He smiled, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle.
"Chairman Chen, you're welcome." Mo Xiaoyu sat down across from him. "I'm here for the demonstration project."
"Oh?" Chen Yongchang said, slowly making tea. "I heard the foundation wants a piece of the action, too?"
"It's not about taking a cut of the pie; it's about providing better options." Mo Xiaoyu looked him straight in the eye. "Chairman Chen's plan is still the same old routine: an annual psychology lecture and a few promotional posters. But what employees need now is systematic, regular service."
Chen Yongchang smiled unwaveringly: "Young people, business is not charity. Bosses care about profits, not the mental health of their employees."
"That's exactly what I was saying." Mo Xiaoyu pulled out the data. "According to our research, companies lose as much as ..."
"That's not necessary," Chen Yongchang interrupted. "I've been in this business for 30 years and I know exactly how to do things. Ms. Mo, just focus on your charity work."
When leaving, Chen Yongchang's secretary "inadvertently" revealed that many important figures had expressed support for Chen Yongchang's plan.
On the way back, Mo Xiaoyu received a call from Shen Que: "How is it?"
"It was harder than I thought." She looked out the window at the passing street scenes. "But he reminded me of something—we're so obsessed with proving ourselves right that we forget to consider what the business really needs."
That night, Mo Xiaoyu called the team together to adjust the direction.
"What we need to do isn't to oppose Chen Yongchang, but to provide value he can't." She wrote down her new approach on the whiteboard. "What do companies care about most? Efficiency, benefits, and stability. We'll approach this from these perspectives."
They redesigned the program, linking mental health services to corporate performance, adding quantifiable evaluation indicators, and even developed a system to help companies prevent employment risks.
Three days before the project deadline, an accident happened.
Professor Wang, a core advisor to the foundation, suddenly announced his withdrawal from the project team, switching his support to Chen Yongchang. As an authority in the industry, his departure dealt a heavy blow to the team.
"Chen Yongchang charged triple the consulting fee," Lin Wei said angrily. "That's despicable."
Mo Xiaoyu was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Is Professor Wang preparing for an academic conference recently?"
"Yes, next month's annual psychology conference..."
"Please contact Professor Zhang for me," Mo Xiaoyu decided. "She just returned to China and is an international authority on employee assistance programs."
"But Professor Zhang never consults for private organizations..."
"Then let her see our value."
That night, Mo Xiaoyu flew to Shanghai with her new plan. While waiting at the airport, she received a text message from an unfamiliar number: "Give up! You can't win."
She deleted the text message, turned off her phone and boarded the plane.
The next morning, Mo Xiaoyu stood outside Professor Zhang's office. After waiting for three hours, he finally got a ten-minute meeting.
"I know your time is precious," Mo Xiaoyu said straight to the point. "Please read the first three pages of this proposal."
Professor Zhang was initially unimpressed, but after flipping through a few pages, his expression grew serious. "Did you develop this data model yourself?"
"Yes. We combined business administration and clinical psychology to create this assessment system."
Ten minutes turned into an hour. Finally, Professor Zhang said, "I'm in."
When returning to Beijing with this good news, Mo Xiaoyu met the person he least wanted to see at the airport - Chen Yongchang.
"Ms. Mo is truly persistent," he said with a forced smile, "but unfortunately, most of the experts on the judging panel are my friends."
"Experts also look at the quality of the proposal," Mo Xiaoyu responded calmly. "Furthermore, I believe true experts care more about project results than social skills."
After boarding the plane, Mo Xiaoyu discovered that Chen Yongchang was sitting diagonally behind her. Throughout the flight, she could feel his cold gaze fixed on her.
As the plane descended, it encountered strong turbulence. Amid the passengers' exclamations, Mo Xiaoyu clutched the handrail tightly. At that moment, she suddenly remembered what Gu Yanshen had said: The more you want to fly, the more wind and rain you must weather.
The plane landed smoothly. She turned on her phone and the first message that popped up was from Shen Que: "The review date has been moved up. A three-day closed review will be held next Monday."
She replied: "Ready to fight."
While picking up her luggage, Chen Yongchang walked up to her again and said, "Ms. Mo, I actually admire your abilities. If we work together..."
"People with different ideals cannot work together." Mo Xiaoyu pulled up the suitcase. "Chairman Chen, the times have changed."
As they walked out of the airport, Beijing saw the first snow of the year. Amidst the falling snow, Mo Xiaoyu saw Shen Que waiting at the exit with an umbrella.
"How about it?"
"Everything is ready." She stepped under the umbrella. "Now, we just wait for the opening gong."
The snow fell heavier and heavier, covering the hustle and bustle of the city. But beneath this whiteness, a war without the smoke of gunpowder was about to begin.
Breaking the old and establishing the new always involves pain.
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