Getting on the right track
Zhiwei and Boss Liang went back to rest after their dance. Youlin saw that they had changed to a different song and thought they could stop dancing, but Qian Dayou continued to lead her around the venue. Had this guy taken the wrong medicine today?
She wasn't unaware of the fleeting look of amazement in Qian Dayou's eyes. Although neither of them was married, they had been with Li Fuqiang for so many years, handling everything from the most desirable to the most undesirable, and they knew better than anyone the messy history behind it all.
If he crossed the line in a moment of impulse, that would be like an old man asking for poison. Besides, for Li Fuqiang, a boss doesn't want people all over him being harmonious and affectionate.
After finishing the next song, Youlin said firmly, "I'm tired, I need to rest."
As Qian Dayou watched Youlin leave, he thought to himself, "This woman! Would she die if she wasn't so shrewd and tough?"
If Lin could understand his inner thoughts, she would definitely tell him without hesitation, "Yes, I will die."
After resting for a while, Zhiwei grew impatient with Li Fuqiang and the others' loud conversation in the VIP room. She asked where Jingnan was, then told Li Fuqiang that she was going out for some fresh air to chat with Jingnan.
Jingnan had dressed up especially carefully today, which garnered her a lot of attention, with several men wanting to invite her to dance. Even her former boss's boss, the legal director of Fu Mao, a man in his forties, politely asked her to dance.
Jingnan, of course, wasn't naive enough to believe that her beauty had won over the big boss. After dancing, she politely said goodbye and went to rest in the booth. A little while later, Zhiwei came to find her, and the two of them went to the buffet to get some snacks, drinks, and chat.
A short while later, Li Fuqiang's assistant came to invite Zhiwei again, but Zhiwei hurried back. Because Zhiwei's outfit was too eye-catching at the entire ball, many people had been staring at them while they were eating and chatting earlier.
After Zhiwei left, even more people came to ask Jingnan to dance. Jingnan knew that Zhiwei was probably just there to back her up, afraid that she would feel uncomfortable there, and also to tell everyone, "This is my person."
Jingnan found her childishness amusing, but was also grateful to Zhiwei for trying so hard to help her. She naturally wouldn't presume to believe that it was her charm that attracted so many men to ask her to dance, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the night.
After the Lunar New Year, Zhiwei's gift shop and design brand online store experienced a surge in popularity because Li Juan capitalized on the fame of the Huixian Yaji Auction and promoted the fact that the designer's handicrafts were auctioned off for tens of millions.
Zhiwei only discovered this when she looked at the end-of-January report: Youlin had purchased a batch of handicrafts from her gift shop as employee gifts for the year-end party. This single purchase was probably equivalent to more than half a year's revenue from the online store.
Zhiwei thought to herself, "The business of nepotism is indeed the easiest to do." Of course, she believed that her products were of good quality, but without this connection, how could she have gotten such a big order so easily?
Moreover, Jubao Pen Services handled all the warehousing and logistics, meaning she essentially reaped a huge profit. Although Lin didn't try to curry favor with her, she couldn't pretend not to hear. When Li Fuqiang returned, she would inevitably have to reminisce about it, half-jokingly, as a way of showing her some gratitude towards Lin.
"Youlin naturally followed company rules in purchasing, and you didn't inflate prices. In the end, it was just me transferring money from one pocket to another."
Zhiwei thought to herself, "This is my own business."
Li Fuqiang knew perfectly well that Youlin had always felt a little insecure around Zhiwei, so she was trying her best to curry favor. However, he couldn't tell Zhiwei the reason directly. Looking into Zhiwei's bright eyes, he couldn't help but wonder, was she truly unaware? Perhaps not.
After the New Year, the council, where Zhiwei held the title of salon chairperson, also became busy. They had to review last year's charitable activities, listen to annual reports from various charitable project management organizations, and decide on the investment situation for the new year.
Zhiwei started attending meetings with Shiya more often. The council consisted of seven ladies, elected every four years. The salon chairperson, as the convener for that year, also had significant voting power. With so many ladies, there was bound to be some competition and vying for attention.
Zhiwei, however, wasn't very interested. Today it was the turn of the charity organization behind the Girls' Project to give a presentation. The presenters were Wang Chengyu, the vice president of the charity, and Li Xiaomei, who was specifically in charge of the project; both were elegant and talented young people.
This was their second year reporting for the conference. They had heard that the salon chairperson had changed this year and were wondering which lady it was and whether they would be easy to communicate with. When they entered the meeting room, they found a very young lady sitting in the middle.
Unlike the other ladies, she wasn't dressed extravagantly; instead, she wore a gray business suit, simply sporting earrings and a ring, without any other accessories. Despite her understated luxury, she didn't resemble a wealthy woman, but rather a young and successful professional.
Throughout the presentation, she listened attentively without interrupting. After the presentation, she politely invited the ladies of the council to ask questions first. Once they had finished, she politely explained that it was her first time participating in this project and she wanted to learn more.
She asked a lot of detailed questions, such as what kind of girls are eligible for funding, how to ensure there is no fraud in the eligibility process, how eligible girls are selected, whether the cost ratio of the foundation's project operations differs from other projects, and whether any problems were found that needed improvement during last year's implementation.
Wang Chengyu and Li Xiaomei hadn't expected her to focus on such detailed questions, rather than the large numbers like how much money was invested or how many people were sponsored, as others had done before. They didn't dare to be negligent and answered her questions in detail.
Through their explanations, Zhiwei roughly understood that Ms. Li was very familiar with the entire operation of the project, while Mr. Wang was probably responsible for the overall execution rules of different projects under the foundation, and not for specific projects.
Since the previous report already mentioned that they plan to maintain a similar scale for this project this year as last year, there isn't much to ask about in this regard.
Finally, Zhiwei asked Li Xiaomei a question: "Your foundation should also have quite a few projects. Ms. Li, have you been working on this project all along?"
Li Xiaomei smiled and said, "I was also a beneficiary of the girl sponsorship program back then. Now that I have the ability, I hope to do my part as well."
This project was the least controversial among all the projects on their council's agenda. After the presentation, Zhiwei even added Li Xiaomei on WeChat, expressing her hope to participate in some funding projects in her own name.
After all the project reports were completed, approximately two projects were deemed unsatisfactory and were withdrawn from funding by the council. They were then tasked with selecting two or three new projects. The council held discussions regarding the direction of these projects.
Many of the previous projects were concentrated in Zhejiang, which is in line with the obligations of the Zhejiang Chamber of Commerce. However, Zhejiang's overall economy is relatively developed, and the need for donations is not particularly strong. The wives of the council members suggested whether it would be possible to increase investment in more nationwide projects.
Zhiwei didn't express much opinion, only suggesting that some unified standards could be established for preliminary screening of projects. For example, the foundation's operating costs should not exceed 10% of the charitable project itself. Additionally, projects submitted by foundations with a proven track record of successful long-term implementation would have priority in selection. After the general principles were set, the board of directors would then hold project presentation meetings. For a moment, Li Fuqiang felt that his young wife seemed to have more meetings than he did.
With March approaching, Li Fuqiang was going to Shanghai for a meeting, which coincided with Zhiwei's board meeting to explain their new project. Since there wasn't any special occasion that required the boss's wife to attend, Zhiwei told Li Fuqiang that she wouldn't accompany him this time.
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