Chapter 8 My Daughter's Puberty Has Arrived
"What's wrong, Guanqun?"
"Mom, I'm bleeding."
She immediately burst into tears: "Mommy, am I going to die?"
Song Yilin quickly picked up her daughter.
"Don't cry, this is our Guanqun growing up."
I then spent half a day explaining physiological basics to her.
Bai Guanqun's period started relatively early. Most girls start their period around age 14, but she started before she was even 13. Since the sex education class hadn't covered that yet, it's normal for her to be flustered and scared.
"Mom, I'm okay, right?"
"Yes, you're fine. Just be more careful about hygiene in the future."
Seeing her daughter's confused expression, Song Yilin lay down and talked to her, trying her best to ease her fear and anxiety.
The conversation unknowingly drifted back to her first love.
Song Yilin thought about it and decided to talk to her daughter. It wasn't a bad thing that she was different. She had started her period, which meant that her youth was about to begin. One day, she would also be attracted to young boys. Instead of being overly protective, she should open the window and let her see.
"My first love was my high school classmate. One day, he was helping someone deliver a love letter to my mother, and she mistakenly thought it was his. Maybe that's where our fate began. After graduating from high school, we didn't have a formal ceremony and just got together without really knowing it. After we got together, he really liked to make our relationship known to the whole world. At that time, I didn't want too many people to know, because I felt I was still too young. Our relationship started out very passionate, but it was also very tiring and mentally exhausting. We didn't go to the same university, and he would take a three-hour bus ride to my city almost every week for three years. Even your grandmother thought that my mother would marry him in the future. But the reality is that no matter how passionate your love is, you may not be able to be together. Marriage is about whether you are compatible."
After hearing her story, her daughter exclaimed, "How romantic! This uncle actually drives three hours every week to see you. He's so persistent! I feel like this uncle really loves you, Mom."
"Yes, it's quite romantic."
Bai Guanqun asked with a bewildered look, "Mom, why aren't you with this uncle? What's wrong with you two?"
"I never questioned his love, but student romances are ultimately immature, so they're destined not to lead to marriage. It's like I was thirsty, but he gave me a truckload of bread. He loved so openly, never asking if I liked that kind of high-profile life. Your mother is just a speck of dust, and that uncle is a dazzling star. If one day you meet someone who adds color to your youth, you can love him, but you must tell your mother when you get home, and you must protect yourself, cherish yourself, and love your body. You must always stay clear-headed and know that no matter how beautiful a student romance is, it's not the one you'll end up with."
I don't know if my daughter understands. She knows that the stirrings of adolescence can't be suppressed. I just hope that if my daughter falls in love one day, she can tell her, treat her as someone she can confide in, and take good care of her body.
The daughter tilted her head and said, "Mom, you're so rational! That uncle loves you so much, didn't you ever have the urge to marry him?"
Song Yilin tapped Bai Guanqun's head: "If I were that impulsive, where would you be? Tell me, putting aside the fact that your father died young, were your mother and father happy together?"
Bai Guanqun's father passed away when she was four years old. She only has a few vague memories of her father. Her mother's so-called happiness was just her own idea of happiness. She only saw her mother's hardships.
"Your father is like a mentor and a friend to your mother. That uncle made your mother experience the bittersweetness of love, but your father can help your mother grow. Your father will teach me how to find a job, how to survive in the workplace, how to speak without offending people, how to choose when there are crossroads in life, and how to cope when I have an emotional breakdown. As for that uncle, he just wants me to be happy every day, to do nothing, and to build a family with him. He doesn't ask for anything, he just wants me to be by his side. He will bear all the storms of this world for me. But in this world, no one knows whether an accident or tomorrow will come first."
Although she never expected Xu Qingmin to be so successful one day, even if an accident happened, she could never spend all of Xu Qingmin's inheritance in several lifetimes. But she didn't want to talk about it. Her daughter was still young, and she didn't want her to start prioritizing money at such a young age.
Today, she only told a part of her long memories of youth, without telling the whole story, hoping that her daughter would have a rational view of marriage and relationships.
She had no choice in her life; she couldn't choose to be with Xu Qingmin, nor could she choose not to marry Bai Ye.
Xu Qingmin loved deeply, loved with all his heart, and loved without regret.
If you can't be together, it means you're not meant to be.
Life's journey is long, and it's not necessarily true that being with someone guarantees a fulfilling life.
In a normal weekly meeting, the order of presentations is as follows: Song Yilin speaks first, followed by the after-sales director, the marketing department, the administration and human resources department, and the finance department.
Today, Wang Xiasheng, the after-sales director, rushed to the stage to give a report before she was about to go on stage. In addition to his department's work, he also talked about the store's management methods in the future.
He spoke as if he were the future general manager of the Jianghai store.
People from other departments looked at each other, not daring to refute Wang Xiasheng. They were all silently speculating whether Wang Xiasheng's willingness to say such a thing meant that the boss intended to make him the general manager.
Human Resources Manager Zhang Ren was the first to fawn over him, saying, "Director Wang is right. This is how we should manage from now on."
General Manager Shao Min said nothing and nodded expressionlessly.
Song Yilin could tell from Shao Min's expression that Shao Min was unhappy. In the month or so that Shao Min had been here, she could tell that Shao Min did not like Wang Xiasheng. From their daily interactions, she could also tell that Wang Xiasheng's abilities were average, not even as good as the workshop manager under him.
Song Yilin didn't argue with Wang Xiasheng; he did his thing, and Song Yilin reported hers.
After Song Yilin finished her report, Wang Xiasheng casually remarked, "These sales figures have declined compared to the previous period."
Logically speaking, this is not Wang Xiasheng's place to say this, nor is he qualified to say it. Only the general manager and the boss are qualified to say this.
Song Yilin observed Shao Min's reaction; Shao Min seemed to want to see how she would respond.
After Song Yilin closed the PPT, she smiled and said to Wang Xiasheng, "My sales this month decreased by 8% compared to the previous month, but my sales this month increased year-on-year. The after-sales department also saw growth both year-on-year and month-on-month, which is commendable. However, it's almost November, and you've only achieved 70% of your target, while the sales department has already achieved 95%. Director Wang wants you to work harder to complete the tasks assigned by the boss by the end of the year."
After criticizing Wang Xiasheng, Song Yilin adopted an attitude of being entirely for the company's benefit: "In order for after-sales performance to catch up with the progress more quickly, all departments should cooperate more. Manager Zhang, especially you, I heard that Director Wang has been short of spray painters, you have to step up your efforts. In addition, our store's live streaming business has not been developed yet, we need to recruit our live streamers as soon as possible."
With Wang Xiasheng's meager performance, how dare he talk to her about performance? Even if Wang Xiasheng achieves 100% of the tasks assigned by the boss, the profitability of after-sales service will never be enough compared to the profitability of sales. No matter what kind of 4S store it is, sales are always the main source of profit.
Then there's Wang Xiasheng's sycophantic HR manager, Zhang Ren, who can't even do his own job properly but just blindly flatters others. The two hardest positions to fill at a 4S store are spray painting and live streaming.
It's been almost half a year, and Zhang Ren hasn't been able to recruit a single person.
When the topic of recruitment came up, Shao Min frowned: "Manager Zhang, you need to put more effort into recruitment. It's been so long and you still haven't found anyone. If all else fails, you can set up a booth at the job market or poach people from other companies. You've been an HR professional for so many years, you should have some connections by now."
Zhang Ren looked like he had just eaten feces, wanting to say something but unable to utter a word. Finally, like a eunuch, he said to General Manager Shao Min, "Okay, General Manager Shao."
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