91. The feel of a bag
When Zhou Zhengwen saw Xinhua enter the office, he closed the door with a cup of tea in his hand, and spoke to her with his usual unique kindness: "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood so early in the morning? It seems you didn't sleep well last night and you're not in a good state." Rong Xinhua sat down with a stern face. She had been Zhou Zhengwen's subordinate for three years and had the capital to be arrogant in front of him. "Mr. Zhou, Shengda's cashier, a woman named Sun Na, just came to me and asked to return the millions that were mistakenly transferred to me two days ago." Seeing Rong Xinhua's aggrieved look, Zhou Zhengwen asked in a roundabout way: "Then what do you think we should do?" Rong Xinhua lowered her head and was silent for a few seconds, then raised her head and said: "I think I'd better not say anything to avoid interfering with daily work because of my personal opinions." "What do you mean?" "Yesterday I took my children to Universal Studios to play, and a woman insisted that I took her seat. She quarreled with me like a mad dog, and pulled me out of the crowd, tore my clothes. That woman is Sun Na." Rong Xinhua finally felt a sense of pleasure in revenge after saying this. Zhou Zhengwen nodded in understanding and said, "Okay, then I'll make the decision for you: the money won't be refunded for now." "But what if Sun Na goes to their boss again? Or what if they all complain to the higher-ups?" Zhou Zhengwen chuckled dismissively and said, "I'm worried she won't tell their boss. I was just about to have a serious talk with them. How could they let someone with such low moral character work as a cashier, guarding the cash safe? And how dare they promote someone after accidentally transferring such a large sum of money?" Rong Xinhua hadn't expected President Zhou to defend her so much. He usually offered her warm encouragement and favoritism in his performance reviews, but she hadn't expected him to be so righteous when things really got tough. "Thank you, President Zhou, for trusting me," Rong Xinhua said gratefully. "Of course I trust you. Just handle this kind of small matter." Zhou Zhengwen stood up and pulled out a paper bag from the closet—one of those ordinary ones custom-made with their group company's logo. He handed it to her and said, "This gift is for you. I hope it helps you feel better." Xinhua opened the paper bag and took a look. She immediately recognized the monogram on the bag. It was actually LV's hina! She quickly declined, "No, no, Mr. Zhou, this gift is too valuable. I can't accept it." But Zhou Zhengwen held her thin shoulders and helped her sit back down. "You've been with me for three years. You've always worked diligently and never made any mistakes. I feel embarrassed to just give you a bag as a reward." "But..." Xinhua still felt something was wrong. "It's really nothing. Take it. You deserve it..."
When Zhou Zhengwen saw Xinhua enter the office, he closed the door with his teacup in hand, his tone as kind to her as ever: "What's wrong? Are you in a bad mood so early in the morning? It seems you didn't sleep well last night, and you're not in good shape."
Rong Xinhua sat down with a stern face. She had been Zhou Zhengwen's subordinate for three years and had the capital to be arrogant in front of him. "Boss Zhou, Shengda's cashier, a woman named Sun Na, just came to me to ask for a refund of several million that was mistakenly transferred to me two days ago."
Seeing Rong Xinhua's discontented look, Zhou Zhengwen asked, "Then what do you think we should do?"
Rong Xinhua lowered his head and remained silent for a few seconds, then raised his head and said, "I think I'd better not say anything, so as to avoid my personal opinions interfering with my daily work."
"How do you say it?"
"Yesterday I took my children to Universal Studios. A woman insisted that I took her seat. She quarreled with me like a mad dog and pulled me out of the crowd, tearing my clothes. That woman was Sun Na." After Rong Xinhua said this, he finally felt a sense of pleasure in revenge.
Zhou Zhengwen nodded in understanding and said, "Okay, then I'll help you make the decision: I won't refund this money for now."
"But what if Sun Na goes to their leader again? Or what if they all complain to the higher-ups together?"
Zhou Zhengwen chuckled disdainfully and said, "I was worried she wouldn't tell their boss. I was just about to have a serious talk with them. How could they let such a person of low moral character be the cashier, guarding the cash safe? After such a large sum of money was mistakenly transferred, how dare they get promoted?"
Rong Xinhua didn't expect that President Zhou would protect her so much. On weekdays, he often gave her warm encouragement and favored her in assessments. She didn't expect that he would be so righteous when something really happened.
"Then, thank you, Mr. Zhou, for trusting me." Rong Xinhua said gratefully.
"Of course I trust you. Just take full responsibility for these small matters." Zhou Zhengwen stood up and pulled out a paper bag from his closet. It was the kind custom-made with their company logo. He handed it to her and said, "This is a gift for you. I hope it helps you feel better."
Xinhua opened the paper bag and took a look. She immediately recognized the monogram on the bag. It was actually LV's hina! She quickly declined, "No, Mr. Zhou, this gift is too expensive. I can't accept it."
Zhou Zhengwen, however, held her thin shoulders and asked her to sit down again. "You've been with me for three years, always working diligently and without making any mistakes. I feel embarrassed to only reward you with a bag."
"But..." Xinhua still felt something was wrong.
"It's really nothing, just take it. You're worth it."
Zhou Zhengwen smiled gently at Xinhua, a smile that held an inexplicable ambiguity. Honestly, this middle-aged man's looks and figure were definitely outstanding among his peers, and coupled with his leadership qualities, he had already gained a group of admirers among his female colleagues.
Seeing how sincere he was, Xinhua was also impressed by his charm and accepted the bag with peace of mind.
After leaving Mr. Zhou's office, the woman named Sun Na came up to her again with an unlucky look. Before she could say anything, Rong Xinhua said to her arrogantly, "I have reported to the leadership. We will not refund the money unless you, Shengda, issue a statement signed by the legal representative and stamped with the official seal."
Sun Na almost died of anger. Her face was pale and she asked her angrily: "You are taking revenge for your own personal gain!"
Rong Xinhua sneered, "If I were truly seeking revenge, I should have asked you to apologize to your daughter. Whenever she sees the Global Parade, she'll instantly recall her own mother bullying others like a mad dog just to grab a spot. Your aggressive behavior that day will forever haunt your daughter's memories of the amusement park. Congratulations."
After saying that, Rong Xinhua didn't delay for even a second. Holding the report and the paper bag, he turned around and walked towards his workstation.
A week later, Xinhua heard that Sun Na was fired because of major omissions in her work and she didn't even get the N+1 compensation.
While walking at the intersection and waiting for the red light, Xinhua's fingertips stroked the LV bag. The delicate leather gave her an incomparable sense of security.
*~*~*~*~*~*~
Adrian had finally officially become the brand director for Hemino Food Group in China. After arriving in Beijing, he invited Lingling to two art exhibitions. During those exhibitions, Lingling subtly mentioned Tuowu's interest in collaborating with Hemino, and Adrian seemed quite interested.
After Ling Ling returned to the company, she immediately told Mei Xiao the great news.
"Oh, Lingling, that's great! The koi we've raised for so long finally brings us good luck." Mei Xiao personally made a cup of coffee for her and handed it to her enthusiastically.
Ling Ling sat on the sofa in Mei Xiao's office, thanked her, and took the phone. Her mind was now preoccupied with Hemino's brand marketing strategy, so she addressed her boss as if she were reporting a work report: "Sister Mei, I feel that Hemino's current domestic reputation is too low, and it's completely unattainable for them to achieve the market position they hold in the United States. If their reputation improves and their channels open up, I believe their product quality can quickly increase their market share. So, I think the first step is to make their brand name memorable to users. Honestly, their translated name is too difficult to pronounce, so I'm thinking of pairing it with some upbeat, rhythmic music, which would play at the end of each commercial, like a catchy tune, like—Hen~mino~~"
Ling Ling hummed a little tune accompanied by the brand name, and then changed a few notes. After listening to it several times, it was really brainwashing and it was hard to forget.
Mei Xiao said affirmatively, "Very good, very good. I'll call the outsourced music studio later and have them check the tune for you. I think this is enough. No need to spend too much time on the creative advertising. Hemino's most important thing right now is to expand the market. We can just put these rhythmic phrases on popular variety shows and reality shows and have the hosts and celebrities read the commercials."
Ling Ling has always disagreed with the idea of voice-over advertising. She frowned and said, "But... I always feel that voice-over advertising will lower the brand's quality. If it's an indoor variety show with dedicated time slots for commercials, then voice-over advertising is barely acceptable. But if it's an outdoor reality show or a language program, adding lines with commercials will easily arouse user disgust. It will seem like hooliganism and will actually undermine the brand's positive incentives."
Mei Xiao, however, said disapprovingly, "Alas, Lingling, you're just too idealistic sometimes. We're in the advertising industry, not literature or art. The sole purpose of everything we do is to help business owners increase sales and make more money, nothing else. If you want to sell something, you have to strengthen users' memory of your product. How do you strengthen it? Through repetitive memorization, just like when you cram for words before an exam: Hemino, Hemino, Hemino, Hemino, Hemino, Hemino~~, that's it."
Ling Ling wanted to struggle again, and said, "But, through my private contact with Adrian recently, I found that he is quite insightful about classical art. If it is just a crude oral advertisement, I am afraid it will go against my original promise to him."
Mei Xiao let out a disdainful sigh and said, "We and our clients are bound by interests. What promises are there to make or not make? We live in lies every day. I don't think 'lie' is a derogatory term. On the contrary, I think it's quite neutral. There are ugly lies, white lies, and beautiful lies. Since we cheer for various democratic movements and the liberation of free speech, we should also acknowledge that educated adults are fully capable of discerning truth from lies."
Seeing that Mei Xiao was so persistent and good at making excuses, Ling Ling didn't know what to say.
At this time, Shao Yao knocked on the door and came in, saying, "Boss Mei, President Mingdake wants to see you. I just heard from Sister Yihuan that... Boss Ming seems to have heard about our Group A's contact with Hemino."
"Old thief!" Mei Xiao cursed without hesitation, then stood up and said to Ling Ling, "Let's go."
Mingdake is Tuowu's creative director, roughly the same age as Fang Tuowu. He previously worked for a leading international 4A advertising agency. Fang Wu recruited him a few years ago, bringing with him several international clientele, but these have largely disappeared in recent years. Furthermore, Mei Xiao claims that his impressive resume is largely inflated.
Ling Ling had long heard the rumors about the discord between Mei Xiao and Mingdake, and today on the way to Mingdake's office, she experienced it firsthand.
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