35. Stand on your own
At the discussion meeting on Thursday morning, more than half of the people were sitting sparsely around the oval conference table. Several old editors came in slowly with tea cups, as if they were just there for a routine chat.
Seeing everyone's nonchalant expressions, Chi Jin took a deep breath. She stood in front of the whiteboard, trying to appear calm. Duan Xingche, also a team leader, sat closest to her, but the situation was still under the control of her master.
"Good morning, editors." Chi Jin cleared his throat. "Thank you all for coming to this discussion on time. Regarding our team's reform of the future content direction and collaboration model, I would like to hear your thoughts..."
Before she could finish her words, a veteran editor spoke slowly, his eyes barely moving from his teacup. "Xiao Chi, we're not throwing cold water on this. Reform, reform, the higher-ups have been calling for it for years, and every time it's been more talk than action, we're the ones who end up suffering. Let me put it this way, even though the monthly magazine's sales are down, we've managed to maintain our base. Why bother? It's pointless."
Duan Xingche and Chi Jin looked at each other.
Someone immediately chimed in, "That's right. We're already familiar with the process, and suddenly making major changes wouldn't just increase the workload, but who can guarantee the results? What if the changes are bad, readers don't buy it, and advertisers pull their funding? Who's responsible?"
Guo Xin's eyes were evasive.
Chi Jin's heart sank. It was a bad start. Duan Xingche spoke first, "What both teachers say makes sense. It's precisely because the overall environment is so unfavorable that we can't just sit there and wait for death. Our base will gradually decline, and we must proactively seek new growth points..."
Xiao Duan spoke a little hastily, which made him seem less convincing.
"A new growth point? That's easy to say." Senior editor Sister Qian scoffed, tapping the table. "We can't keep up with the speed of self-media in terms of hot topics, and we can't compare to Financial Weekly in terms of in-depth coverage. What's our advantage? Are we just relying on you two young people to come up with some idle ideas?"
This was a bit harsh. Duan Xingche couldn't help but want to refute, but Chi Jin stopped him with a look. She saw Guo Xin wanted to speak, but was glanced at by an old editor next to him, and he closed his mouth hesitantly.
A brief, awkward silence fell in the conference room. Chi Jin felt her cheeks heat up, her palms sweating. She'd anticipated difficulties, but she hadn't expected them to be so direct. The three deputy editors were absent, and "team leader" was just a title. These veterans were merciless in their criticism of the two of them.
Just when the atmosphere was about to freeze, a loud voice came from the door -
"At least she's still thinking about the strengths of 'The Face' instead of just lying down and admitting defeat."
Everyone looked in the direction of the sound and saw Du Yanni leaning against the door frame, her arms folded, her eyes scanning the room angrily. She was obviously not just passing by, but had been listening at the door for a while.
Chen Yisheng was standing next to her. He didn't come in and didn't say a word.
Several veteran editors subconsciously sat up straighter, and the arrogance on their faces faded a lot.
However, Du Yanni did not come in. She just looked at Chi Jin and said, "Chi Jin, continue. Tell everyone about your specific ideas. All of you, come one by one. If you can't come up with anything, don't just stay in Group A and wait for death. Get out of "Face" completely!"
Chi Jin hadn't expected Du Yanni to offer her help. She was excited at first, then her eyes grew firm. "I wasn't clear just now. I know you all have more experience than me and you've said you want reform, but I'm by no means denying your years of experience and achievements. On the contrary, Team Leader Duan and I believe that reform is inseparable from your foundation."
Duan Xingche understood and immediately stood up, picking up his pen. "For example, Editor Zhao, you've been deeply involved in the cultural field for over a decade. How many scholars and artists do you know? If we don't just do simple book and film reviews, but instead you take the lead in creating a 'Masters Interviews' series, in-depth conversations with these cultural figures, exploring their relationship to the times, that's the depth of content that no other self-media outlet could replicate in a short period of time!"
Guo Xin finally spoke up: "I agree. It has depth, breadth, and coherence. I think it's worth a try."
Editor Zhao's expression softened considerably.
Chi Jin pressed on, looking at Editor Qian, who had just launched the attack. "Ms. Qian, you've covered finance for many years, and your understanding of economic trends and the ups and downs of businesses far surpasses most. If we weren't doing boring data analysis, and instead you were leading the charge, creating a 'Behind the Trend' column, offering in-depth analysis of hot industries, or focusing on the pain and exploration of traditional companies during transformation, wouldn't that be the depth and style that our Faces should have?"
Sister Qian's frown relaxed slightly, and she didn't refute immediately.
The more Chi Jin spoke, the clearer his thoughts became, and his speech sped up: "I'm not asking everyone to do something unfamiliar, but I hope to leverage the expertise and connections of all the teachers to make what we are good at even deeper, more thorough, and more irreplaceable! The format of the column can be flexible, breaking down the barriers between monthly magazines and official accounts. The heavyweight in-depth content will be first published in the monthly magazine, and the essence of the views and extended interviews will continue to ferment on the official account.
Duan Xingche suddenly had an idea: "We could even try making short audio or video clips, with the teachers themselves explaining the content, to increase reader engagement and interaction..."
Du Yanni nodded to Chi Jin and closed the door of the conference room.
Chi Jin regained the initiative: "In a nutshell, what we need to change is not the direction, but the method and mindset. In recent years, Faces has been trying to move from passively waiting for manuscripts and editing manuscripts to actively planning and operating content. Now, we can try a project system. Whoever has a good topic can take the lead in setting up a temporary project team and apply for space and support."
She added with a half-confident, half-guilty tone, "This process requires taking some risks. Editor-in-Chief Chen and I have applied..."
The expressions of the veteran editors shifted from disdain and questioning to contemplation. Chi Jin's words still seemed immature, but she did depict a possible future in which they could participate, even lead, rather than one dominated by the young generation.
Guo Xin finally found his opportunity and excitedly added, "I think Team Leader Xiaochi's idea is very feasible! Young editors can assist Teacher Zhao in contacting interview subjects or help Sister Qian organize data. We'll handle the technical chores!"
The impasse began to loosen. Although not everyone immediately agreed, at least the resistance weakened and rational discussion began to emerge.
"Under this project-based system, how are royalties and quality calculated?" someone raised a practical question.
"Is the leader compensated for his extra workload?" Another practical question.
“What if the project doesn’t work well?”
The two team leaders were unable to answer all the questions one by one. She already had preliminary ideas for some of the questions, while for others she needed to ask her superiors and discuss the details with everyone.
Just when she was getting overwhelmed, she looked up and met Chen Yisheng's gaze outside the glass door.
Du Yanni had left, but Chen Yisheng was still standing there, as steady as a mountain.
The discussion lasted over an hour, exceeding the scheduled time. Although the process wasn't entirely smooth, Chi Jin ultimately persuaded the majority to agree to launch one or two pilot projects, led by experienced editors and assisted by newer staff.
After the meeting, Chi Jin sat on the chair almost exhausted, with a thin layer of sweat on his back. Xiao Duan hurriedly handed him tea.
"Master, you are so reliable!" Duan Xingche praised sincerely.
Chi Jin was so tired that he almost didn't have the energy to speak. He took a big gulp of water and said, "Tell Brother Xin that the three of us should hurry up and form a preliminary plan based on the results of our discussion. We have to hand it over to Editor-in-Chief Chen this afternoon."
"Okay, okay, I'll go right away!" Duan Xingche stood up and walked out. "Chen... Editor-in-Chief Chen."
Hearing the name of the Living King of Hell, Chi Jin immediately stood up: "Editor-in-Chief Chen."
Chen Yisheng walked slowly into the meeting room, his eyes fixed on Chi Jin: "Well done."
His voice was as low and steady as ever, but with a hint of warmth than usual, and his expression was much softer.
"Did you hear everything?" Chi Jin smiled. "Actually, I was very nervous. My palms were sweating."
Chen Yisheng glanced at the pinch marks on her palm. This was definitely a subconscious habit formed over the years.
Noticing his gaze, Chi Jin put his hands behind his back and forced another smile.
"I only said I'd cover your risk. As for the other editors..." He changed the subject. "That's what you promised."
Chi Jin heard the teasing in his words and softened his tone: "Oh, I know that King Chen is the most hard-mouthed but soft-hearted. He will definitely protect us."
"That depends on your plan..."
“Do it now!”
Chi Jin left the meeting room carrying his computer and hurried to his workstation.
Xiao Duan handed over a cup of coffee and said, "Reward Master!"
"Let's drink!" Chi Jin clinked glasses with him, "Cheers!"
"Brother Xin and I have already discussed this. I will send it to you once it's sorted."
"OK."
Before leaving work, she sent a well-organized and thoughtful preliminary plan to Chen Yisheng's email address, and copied it to Fang Tang and Du Yanni. After completing all this, she breathed a long sigh of relief. She felt like her whole body was about to fall apart, but her heart was filled with great fulfillment.
However, just as she closed her computer and prepared to enjoy a hard-earned evening without a part-time job, her cell phone rang again.
Caller ID: Sun Ting.
Chi Jin was stunned for a moment, then hesitantly pressed the answer button: "Sun Ting?"
A calm voice came from the other end of the phone: "Chi Jin, I'm downstairs from you."
Her heart skipped a beat, and the phone almost slipped from her palm. She hurriedly caught it: "...What?"
"I'm downstairs in the Zhongxin Building."
"ah?"
"I sent you a WeChat message last time and you didn't reply, so I came here uninvited."
Oh no! She suddenly remembered that she hadn't replied to his WeChat message last time, and it had been half a week since then. But... he wouldn't block her door, right?
Chi Jin didn't have time to think about it, grabbed his bag and hurried downstairs.
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