Passing by in the summer, smelling the strange tea, adding to the afternoon's selfishness
The hazy feeling of being half asleep and half awake was like mushy porridge, which neither satisfied her craving nor filled her stomach. Despite having a full morning's sleep at home and a latte, Xue Jiuyue was still groggy as she lay half-lying on the sofa in the cafe.
"Sister Yue, this is the coffee you ordered." Zhou Ying's sweet voice came.
"Well, thank you." Xue Jiuyue sat up and planned to taste this cup of "summer".
Unlike Xialin's less distinct seasons, "Inch by Inch of Time" uses different limited-time coffees to change seasons. Although it's the shop's signature drink and has been around for a while, Xue Jiuyue, a latte fanatic, hasn't tried it often.
Pick up the cup and blow gently, the rich aroma of coffee dissolves into the faint fragrance of lotus leaves, and instantly the ripples in the cup in front of you are transformed into a lotus pond.
A sip reveals not only the aroma of lotus leaves but also a subtle minty coolness. Although hot, the lingering coolness rivals that of iced coffee, like a summer breeze, bringing even greater comfort.
"Well, black coffee is indeed thirst-quenching and refreshing." The expected taste and unexpected gains made Xue Jiuyue sigh sincerely.
"Black coffee, Xiao Ming loves black coffee." Xue Jiuyue immediately perked up when she thought of this. She quickly walked to the bar and said to Ke Yike, "Ahem, pack me two cups of 'Summer'. I'm going out for a while."
This was the first time Xue Jiuyue visited unexpectedly without an appointment.
"Xiao Ming?"
"Xiao Yue!" Liu Che stood up quickly upon hearing the voice.
"Surprising or not? Accident or not?"
"Why are you here? Come and sit down."
"I was passing by and happened to have two cups of coffee. If you like it, I brought them over." He had been worried about Liu Che's absence before, and hadn't given it much thought. His hasty response was riddled with holes upon closer scrutiny.
Liu Che just smiled gently, "Thank you, please sit down. Let me try it."
"Yeah, not bad, this coffee is good. Is it from your shop?"
"No!" Xue Jiuyue said suddenly, ignoring Liu Che's praise. Liu Che was stunned, "Why?"
"The smell is wrong, Xiao Ming, why does your room smell like ointment?"
Liu Che looked a little flustered, thinking quickly about a solution, "Well, there is indeed an ointment, I've prescribed some..."
"Xiao Ming, what's wrong with you? Where do you feel uncomfortable?"
Xue Jiuyue's anxious concern made Liu Che even more at a loss, "No, it's okay, it's really okay..."
"It's okay, you already used the ointment, what's wrong?"
It was obvious that he couldn't keep up the pretense, so Liu Che had to confess the truth. "The director wanted to see me this morning, and I was in a hurry and accidentally sprained my ankle..."
"Is it serious? Left foot? Right foot? Let me take a look."
"My right foot is fine. It's all healed now after applying the plaster."
"Have you been to the hospital? Sit down and let me take a look."
"I've been to the hospital. You see, I'm really fine now." Liu Che took two steps forward.
"Hurry up and sit down. Let me take a look." Xue Jiuyue lifted Liu Che's trouser leg and looked at his right ankle. Judging from the appearance, it was only slightly swollen, not very obvious. "Is it not broken?"
"The doctor said it was just a sprain, no fracture, and it wasn't the first time it happened. It will be fine after two days of rest."
"You said you didn't call me when you went to the hospital. Why are you being so polite to me?"
"I knew it was fine, and I didn't want to go, but I happened to run into Dr. Li, and she insisted on taking me to the hospital."
"Doctor Li? Jingzi?"
"Well, I feel bad for making her busy all morning."
"Oh!" Xue Jiuyue suddenly felt like she was stepping into empty space. However, her deep worry for Liu Che quickly dispelled all of this. "I'm glad there's no fracture. Is the doctor an expert? What medicine did you prescribe?"
"There are ointments, sprays, and lotions. I'll get them for you..."
"Don't move. Wherever you are, I'll go."
Liu Che just stood up, then sat down again, and said with a smile, "In the cabinet on your right."
Xue Jiuyue found the medicine, looked at it one by one, and took out his mobile phone to take pictures.
"Take good care of it first. I'll go out and see if there's anything else I need." Xue Jiuyue said as she walked out of the room. Liu Che kept shouting "No need to bother", but he couldn't stop her...
In the afternoon, the routine weekend summary meeting went on as usual, with all department heads present.
After summarizing the gains and losses of the week and clarifying the plans for next week, everyone thought the meeting was about to be adjourned when an unexpected event occurred.
"There's one more announcement to make." Qian Jianjun's powerful voice echoed again. "To improve the welfare of our field staff and increase their sense of achievement, starting next Monday, our field staff can enjoy an additional afternoon tea each day. To ensure this benefit reaches the actual field staff, they must order takeout, and the delivery location must not be our group headquarters. The maximum amount is 50 yuan per person per day, and it will be reimbursed based on actual takeout orders. Considering that employees may negotiate cooperation with the store and make false purchases, the company currently stipulates that takeout orders can only be placed from a designated coffee shop. Xiao Gu will send the specific coffee shop information to your mobile phones after this meeting. Is everyone ok with this?"
Qian Jianjun swept his resolute gaze over everyone present. Seeing that everyone agreed, he announced, "Since no one has any objections, let's adjourn the meeting. Rong Xu, please stay for a while."
When there were only two people left in the meeting room, Qian Jianjun gestured for Rong Xu to sit closer. "Rong Xu, Lao Yang hasn't been around these past few days. How are you feeling?"
Rong Xu, a young man, looked sharp in his well-tailored suit, accentuated by a stylish pink tie that exuded youthful energy. Unaware of Qian Jianjun's intentions, he replied vaguely, "Mr. Qian, I was surprised by Mr. Yang's sudden retirement. I thought he'd keep working for a while, after all, our company doesn't have a specific retirement age."
"Old Yang has always said that he would retire this month and go home to 'be a grandson'. I always thought he wanted to go home to be with his old wife, and I even advised him to help the young people get on with their work and give them a ride. Later I found out that his daughter-in-law is due this month, and he is anxious to go home and hug his grandson. He told me that you can do it, and the financial work of our Jianru Group is all in your head, so I let you take on the task. I haven't had time to talk to you for several days. Tell me about your plans today." Qian Jianjun spoke in a kind tone. In fact, he was not older than Rong Xu, but he seemed very calm.
"Don't worry, Mr. Qian. I will definitely live up to your trust. Our group's financial work is the result of Mr. Yang's tireless efforts. He has carefully considered every system and every word. These financial systems have truly withstood the test of time over the years, and have been continuously refined and improved through audits. I now feel they are perfect. Therefore, my plan is to strictly implement the systems that Mr. Yang and you have developed together, ensuring that our group's financial work effectively supports the development of our core business."
"Well, following the old rules is a good move! Good! He didn't make any drastic changes right from the start. He's steady! He's perfect for finance. I trust Old Yang's vision, and I trust mine, too." Qian Jianjun first affirmed Rong Xu before expressing his own thoughts. "But I think our financial work can't remain static. It needs to keep pace with the times. We should focus on the following three aspects. The first is convenience. While ensuring our financial security, we also need to make it convenient for our employees to claim expenses and so on. We can't let employees pay out of pocket to do things. Our previous procedures were designed to ensure security, but now we can leverage advanced technologies to ensure both security and convenience for employee reimbursement processes."
Rong Xu nodded in agreement while taking notes.
Qian Jianjun continued, "This first point may seem trivial, but it's a major one for our employees, so I prioritized it. Secondly, I hope you'll be proficient not only in finance but also in the business. This will help us decide on funding directions and strategies. In the early years, Lao Yang and I were relatively conservative with our use of funds, taking steady steps and making careful decisions. Starting last year, I've been pushing the full industry chain and e-commerce platforms, with relatively aggressive capital investments. You need to understand these and assess the security of our funds in real time. The bottom line is, we can't threaten our foundation."
Qian Jianjun picked up his teacup and moistened his throat. He waited for Rong Xu to digest the tea before continuing. "Third, I hope you can learn more about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and big data. These are the future development directions. Qinshi Group has recently invested in an artificial intelligence technology company. We must actively cooperate with this company to enable AI and big data to empower our traditional industries. However, this company will also need our support in the early stages. You must provide this company with all of our group's non-confidential data, including our financial and business data. A dedicated person will be there to connect with you."
Qian Jianjun paused again, leaning closer to Rong Xu, lowering his voice slightly, and continued, "Do you know why the coffee shop I announced for afternoon tea didn't go through our company's normal bidding or selection procedures?"
Rong Xu just looked at Qian Jianjun, shook his head and said nothing.
"That company is the collaboration that I witnessed Qin Shi's Mr. Qiu negotiate in that coffee shop. Mr. Qiu invited me to participate at the time. Mr. Qiu, you know, his invitation is an honor and an opportunity, we can't refuse. Mr. Qiu has big plans, an old horse still in the stable! He also invited the owner of the coffee shop to participate and contribute catering data as a sample. So the number of takeout orders from our group's field staff, ranging from 1 to 300 people every day, is actually supporting our own future development."
Qian Jianjun has publicly stated on numerous occasions how much Mr. Qiu supported Jianru Group in its early years. Jianru employees, from top to bottom, are all aware of Mr. Qian's gratitude to Mr. Qiu. Rong Xu is no exception, echoing the sentiment, "Mr. Qiu is so courageous, and you value friendship and loyalty. Both are role models for us to emulate."
This flattery really hit home with Qian Jianjun. He smiled contentedly before shaking his head in denial, "No, it's not just about repaying a favor. As I've emphasized, this is also an opportunity for our group! This is a great era. If we don't advance, we'll fall behind. Even in traditional industries, we're sailing against the current. If we don't advance, we'll fall behind. Let me give you an example..."
Qian Jianjun thought for a moment and realized there was no more relevant example than what Xue Jiuyue had said, so he quoted: "The philosopher and psychologist Freud once said, 'I don't know that I know!' In fact, we often don't know our true inner needs. We often need to see the answer before we know it is the answer we are looking for. So how can we provide customers with needs that they don't even know they have? Perhaps AI will help us do this in the future."
"So amazing?" Rong Xu marveled at the development of future technology, while also continuing to praise his boss, "Mr. Qian, your knowledge is truly vast. It's truly worth learning from."
"Hahahaha... That's why I told you to learn more. Don't just specialize; you need to be broad-minded." Even Qian Jianjun couldn't escape the compliment, but after laughing, he explained, "That example wasn't mine. It was the owner of that cafe who suggested it."
"Birds of a feather flock together. You are excellent, and the friends around you are also excellent. In this way, this coffee shop is actually equivalent to our own coffee shop. I think I should hint to my colleagues privately that they must give it a five-star rating, both professionally and privately." Seeing that Qian Jianjun was happy, Rong Xu not only continued to work hard, but also exerted his subjective initiative.
After a conversation, they clarified their goals, encouraged their subordinates, and completed their own private work. Hearing the high-level flattery again, Qian Jianjun was very satisfied. "Haha, you are more pleasant to listen to than Lao Yang..."
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