Chapter 76: An Irreplaceable Excellent Candidate
Ping Mei promised to get back to Long Weihe in three days with instructions on how to proceed. True to her word, she called Long Weihe on the afternoon of the third day. She explained how hard she'd worked to coordinate the meeting between Gu Liang and Song Changhe. She had already agreed with Song Changhe that if they reached an agreement, she would formally submit her resignation to the board. She also apologized, saying that while she personally wanted to earn the service fee, for many reasons, she couldn't push the headhunter who was trying to recruit her onto Song Changhe at this point. She had followed Song Changhe for thirteen years, a deep bond built on their shared entrepreneurial journey. After returning from a long vacation to address her father's affairs, Song Changhe expressed deep concern and offered to visit her father in Guangzhou. She agreed, and a family dinner was arranged for Sunday evening, the day after her meeting with Yang Chengkai. She brought her father from the nursing home to the dinner. She personally cooked and opened a bottle of red wine he'd given her on the day the company went public, expressing her gratitude for his years of support and trust. He also recognized the sacrifices she'd made for her family behind her years of dedication. She even joked with him that she would be alone in the future, like his father, in a nursing home. The family dinner provided an emotional buffer. The next morning, she formally discussed her resignation with him, choosing to directly discuss her desire to return to Guangzhou to pursue opportunities and spend more time caring for her father. It was a difficult struggle. She certainly had more cards up her sleeve than the one Long Weihe had thrust upon her, Gu Liang, but she chose to play Gu Liang directly, a card with a high probability of success. Song Changhe's condition was that her resignation would only be considered after a discussion with Gu Liang. Long Weihe arranged for a meeting between Gu Liang and Song Changhe for the following Thursday, and she drove to Shenzhen Airport to pick him up. They chatted extensively along the way. She lamented that she hadn't been able to meet Song Changhe and didn't understand his conversational style. She had seen many photos of him, and he looked more like a scholar than a businessman. He said that besides pharmaceuticals, he also had other unrelated businesses, and that he barely cared about the pharmaceutical business, leaving it entirely to Ping Mei. She wanted to give him some information to aid his negotiations, and she also reminded him not to mention her in front of Song Changhe, but to simply say that Ping Mei had contacted him. Gu Liang jokingly said he owed her a large sum, jokingly remarking that Shi Zhenglin had gone to Tianjin at great expense for this matter, and that her recommendation without a fee was a huge loss, which he would definitely help her earn back if he had the chance. He had a comprehensive understanding of Song Changhe, saying that Shi Zhenglin was well aware of Song Changhe's situation and had already informed him, and that other channels also had some information. If he hadn't considered the boss's factors, he wouldn't have come for the meeting. If the deal was successful, he would move his family to Shenzhen, because he was too...
Ping Mei said she would reply to Long Weihe in three days and tell him what to do next. She kept her word and called Long Weihe on the afternoon of the third day.
She said that she had worked hard to coordinate the interview between Gu Liang and Song Changhe. She had already communicated with Song Changhe. If they met and reached an agreement, she would formally submit her resignation to the board of directors.
She also expressed her apology, saying that she personally wanted her to earn the service fee, but for many reasons, she really couldn't push the headhunter who was trying to recruit her in front of Song Changhe at this time.
She had followed Song Changhe for thirteen years, and they had a deep bond, having started a business together. When she returned to the company after a long vacation to deal with her father's affairs, Song Changhe was deeply concerned and offered to come to Guangzhou to visit her father in person. She agreed, and they arranged a family dinner for Sunday evening, the day after meeting Yang Chengkai. She brought her father from the nursing home to share in the treat.
She cooked for him herself and opened the bottle of red wine he had given her on the day the company went public, expressing her gratitude for his years of cultivation and trust. He also saw the sacrifices she had made for her family behind her years of dedication. She even joked with him that she would be alone in the future, like his father, in a nursing home.
The family dinner served as an emotional buffer. The next morning, she formally discussed her resignation with him, choosing to directly communicate her desire to return to Guangzhou to pursue opportunities and spend more time caring for her father.
It was also a tough battle.
She definitely had more cards up her sleeve than just Gu Liang, the card that Long Weihe had given her, but she chose to directly play Gu Liang, a card with a high chance of winning.
Song Changhe's condition was that her resignation would only be considered for approval after discussing it with Gu Liang.
Long Weihe arranged for the meeting between Gu Liang and Song Changhe to be held on the following Thursday, and she drove to the Shenzhen airport to pick up Gu Liang.
She chatted a lot with Gu Liang along the way. She felt sorry that she could not get to know Song Changhe and did not understand his conversation style. She looked at many of his photos and found that he did not look like a businessman but a scholar. She said that in addition to the pharmaceutical industry, he also had other industries with no related transactions. He hardly worried about the pharmaceutical industry and left it entirely to Ping Mei.
She wanted to give him some information to help him in the negotiations, and also reminded him not to mention her in front of Song Changhe, and just say that it was Ping Mei who found him.
Gu Liang smiled and said that he owed her a large sum of money, and joked that Shi Zhenglin had spent a lot of money to go to Tianjin for this matter, and her recommendation without service fee was a big loss. He would definitely help her earn it back whenever he had the chance in the future.
He had a thorough understanding of Song Changhe, saying that Shi Zhenglin was fully aware of his situation and had informed him long ago, and that other channels also had some information. He wouldn't have come for the interview if he hadn't considered the boss's considerations. If the deal went through, he would move his family to Shenzhen, as his wife attended university there and particularly loved the city.
In a hotel in Futian District, after she introduced him to Ping Mei, she became an outsider.
She found a restaurant and waited alone. Gu Liang called her in the middle of the night and advised her to go back to Guangzhou, saying that the time they were talking was uncertain and there was no need to wait for him.
As he said, he and Song Changhe chatted from noon to night, and continued to chat the next day, and a chemical reaction occurred.
Gu Liang flew directly back to Tianjin from Shenzhen the next day. He called her to tell her that everything was going well and that he and Ping Mei were going to submit their resignations at the same time. He also said that he would bring his wife and children to Guangzhou one day to treat her and Shi Zhenglin to dinner.
She knew that everything was about to be settled.
That night she lay in bed and talked to Shi Zhenglin on the phone for more than an hour.
He was on a business trip to Southeast Asia for a few days. Some problems suddenly occurred in Xingtan's overseas market projects, so he had to sort them out before leaving so that he could hand them over to the next person.
The promised weekend getaway with her and the two kids never happened. It was probably going to be difficult before I left office.
Shi Shi started to stick to her and stayed at her house for the past few days. Aunt Xu also came to stay with her and help her take care of the two children.
He asked her why she didn't negotiate with Ping Mei for Gu Liang's service fee. She said that it would avoid unnecessary trouble and just help him get out of it.
After a long silence, he asked again, "If I become a drowned dog in the future, will you despise me for being unemployed?"
His question strongly irritated her.
Her heart surged, unable to calm down. It took her a long time to reply, "Yes, I will despise you. You, Shi Zhenglin, set up such a big scheme to make yourself unemployed. Yang Chengkai and Song Changhe both got what they wanted and got the people they wanted... Ping Mei and Gu Liang also got what they wanted and have new prospects... I, Long Weihe, made a lot of money... Everyone is happy, thanks to you, Shi Zhenglin... You made yourself unemployed... It really makes people despise you..."
She could no longer speak.
"What's wrong? Huh?" he asked repeatedly.
There was a very long silence.
He said he missed her very much.
At that moment, she couldn't understand why they hadn't been together earlier. If they had been together before he resigned, she would never have approved of his resignation. She would have dissuaded him, she would have helped him, and she was confident that she could help Shi Shi adjust. Shi Shi's condition was actually improving.
How could she know what he went through on the day he made the decision.
Tianjin Huameng and Shenzhen Qimai are in different pharmaceutical sectors and utilize significantly different R&D technologies, so there is no competitive relationship. Ping Mei and Gu Liang's non-compete agreements prohibit them from working with competing pharmaceutical companies for one year, which does not affect their potential future employers.
Shi Zhenglin had considered this at the beginning and only then selected these two people.
This game involves complex personnel changes and a lot of variables. If there is a deviation in any link, the entire plan will fail. No one knows the pressure he is under behind his confidence and how many things he has implicitly considered.
The probability of success is actually difficult to define.
He knew that without her cooperation and practical promotion, the current situation would not be possible, and the price she paid was far greater than his.
A little over a month later, his scheme came to fruition with announcements from two listed companies. The capital market reacted, sending shockwaves through the pharmaceutical industry.
Tianjin Huameng first announced that Gu Liang had resigned and would be replaced by an internal successor. Huameng's stock price fell nearly 8% on the day of the announcement, then continued to decline slightly before recovering slightly ten days later. This is the price the boss paid for eliminating dissidents.
Two weeks later, Shenzhen Qimai announced Ping Mei's departure, with Gu Liang taking over. Qimai's stock price dipped slightly on the first day of the announcement, rebounded the next day, and surged nearly 20% ten days later. This was fueled by Gu Liang's impressive track record and his potential as a manager.
The market is not blind.
After Qimai’s announcement was released, no one except him, Yang Chengkai and Jiang Lingli knew that the starting point and end point of all these changes would be Xingtan, which did not yet exist in the capital market.
Yang Chengkai believes that he is the mastermind behind the scenes and the biggest winner.
His logic for this situation was that Ping Mei had been won over by his personal charm and accepted Xing Tan. She had successfully extricated herself from Qimai, and even managed to boost the stock price even by leaving. She was truly exceptional. He felt like he had found a treasure to acquire such a talent.
His secret joy and sense of accomplishment were directly reflected in his handling of Lin He's service contract. He went beyond the contractual agreement and generously asked Jiang Lingli to apply for a million-yuan service fee, which he paid in full to Lin He in one lump sum. He also called Long Weihe to praise her and said he would treat her to a private dinner.
Long Weihe made an excuse to refuse. She couldn't eat this meal.
Jiang Lingli relieved the boss's worries and made an indelible contribution. She was extremely happy at her highlight moment in the boss's eyes and specially invited the two of them to a gathering at the farm.
She herself was filled with regret, saying that the last time they gathered at the farm, they'd discussed Shi Zhenglin's arrival, and this time, they were discussing his departure. She gave them a high-profile reception, fulfilling her promise to both of them, stating that Xingtan would only cooperate with them in the future and could sign a long-term service agreement.
Lin Yao firmly refused to share Pingmei's service fee. It was not a matter of money. She had witnessed the deep feelings between the two of them behind the operation of this business. She joked with Long Weihe that she did not want to be a superficial "third party" in this matter, and asked Long Weihe not to discuss the matter of dividing the money with her anymore.
On the way back to the farm, she drove, and Long Weihe remained silent. She teased her, saying that the roads in Xingtan were now much more accessible, and that her friends had a new way to make a living. She wanted to thank Shi Zhenglin for this generous gift. Since everyone had food to eat, she would definitely give back in the future by fully supporting their path to happiness and would never stand in their way. Long Weihe smiled at her, speechless.
After Ping Mei left Qimai, she took advantage of the time to have surgery for her father, so her time to start working at Xingtan was naturally delayed. She agreed to start working at Xingtan half a month after Qimai left, and signed the agreement in advance.
This agreement finally came to an end when Shi Zhenglin publicly resigned internally. Without him having to do it himself, Yang Chengkai immediately spread the word to several core members, saying that a skilled person would soon take over Xingtan and asked everyone to work hard to get it listed.
The news spread throughout the company within an hour.
This is explosive news to many people.
Shi Zhenglin's office was always full of people that day, all of whom were confused and lost, chatting with him to seek confirmation.
He was very frank in explaining his resignation for family reasons, and also fulfilled his promise to Yang Chengkai, trying his best to stabilize everyone's emotions and avoid a chain reaction of resignations.
Li Xuan was queuing with the secretary, and it was not her turn until around eight or nine in the evening.
She stood at the door of his office, knocked on the open door, and gently called out "Mr. Shi".
"Come in, Mr. Li."
She sat down, looking puzzled, "Boss Shi, is what everyone is saying true?"
He smiled and said, "Thank you for your assistance during this period. You've done an excellent job and it's been hard work. Who's taking care of your daughter now?"
He asked this question again.
She used to find it strange and disgusting, but now she probably knows why he always asks this question. He has to quit his job for family reasons, probably because he wants to take care of his daughter.
"I'm a dependent, but my parents take good care of me." She smiled slightly, with sincerity in her eyes. "Thank you, Mr. Shi, for your trust and tolerance. If there is a chance to work with you in the future, just call me if you need me. I'm willing to work anywhere."
He was touched and softened his tone, "Thank you. Xingtan is suitable for your stable development and is a very good company. You shouldn't follow someone, but a good company."
"Can I ask you a question?" she asked.
He gave her a questioning look.
"When you interviewed me, you rejected me at first, but later accepted me. What were your considerations?"
The questions that she had not bothered to care about at the beginning, she now particularly wanted to clarify.
He recalled what she said at the end of the interview and was honest with her:
"Because you are a mother and an irreplaceable candidate."
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