Chapter 1: Distributing Bonuses
When the store reconciled its accounts at the beginning of November, the counter managed by Lin Qingqing ranked first in sales.
Furthermore, because Miao Hui's wardrobe business had shrunk by nearly half compared to September, Lin Qingqing's sales were more than ten times that of Miao Hui. Others also saw an increase in sales compared to September. For example, He Dajie's fabric counter saw its sales nearly triple because Lin Qingqing frequently recommended customers.
Everyone except Miao Hui was seeing improved performance. Even though Director Gao didn't say anything, Miao Hui felt ashamed amidst the gossip.
However, because bonuses were to be distributed after the meeting, no one noticed Miao Hui's embarrassment.
The bonuses were personally distributed by Director Gao to the top three performers, so as the meeting was nearing its end, Director Gao walked from the side to the center of the lobby. Xu Fangfang called out the names, and then Director Gao distributed the bonuses, offering words of encouragement along the way.
Last month, Director Gao told Lin Qingqing, "Well done." This month, she said, "Keep it up and keep up the good work."
Upon hearing Director Gao's words, Sister Zheng, who was in charge of the candy and pastry counter and ranked third in performance, had a subtle expression. She wondered if Lin Qingqing would continue to maintain this performance and if she could take over as the store manager.
Sister Zheng was very unwilling to accept this.
Although Lin Qingqing was indeed capable, she felt that Lin Qingqing's sales increased tenfold because Miao Hui was too unmotivated. Otherwise, based on last year's Spring Festival sales, her sales would have only increased by less than three or four times. Even Lin Qingqing's top sales ranking seemed inflated, because Xingfeng's clothing was indeed attractive, and if she were in charge, she could definitely achieve the same sales volume.
However, because of what Director Gao had said before, Comrade Zheng did not dare to tell Sister Zheng that she was in charge of the Xingfeng counter.
That matter was difficult to bring up, but other things could be discussed. That's the benefit of good performance—you can hold your head high wherever you go. So, after accepting the red envelope, Sister Zheng didn't go back immediately. Instead, she asked, "Director, do you still stand by what you said before: if the performance triples, you'll be promoted to store manager?"
"Of course it counts, why do you ask?" With the supply and marketing cooperative's business booming, Director Gao's smile was more frequent than before, and his voice was very warm.
“We already have two people in our store who have tripled their sales,” Sister Zheng actually wanted to say that her sales had also increased by 2.5 times last month, and would definitely triple next month as well… But Sister Zheng wasn’t stupid; she knew that would be too obvious. So she raised her banner and said, “Who are you planning to promote to store manager?”
Upon hearing Sister Zheng's question, most people involuntarily held their breath, but the expressions of the people on the second floor varied.
Miao Hui glanced at Lin Qingqing, then at Sister He, a look of schadenfreude on her face. Unfortunately, Lin Qingqing's calm expression and smiling face dampened Miao Hui's good mood for watching the spectacle. However, when she saw Sister He's expression, her mood improved again.
Because Sister He's expression looked like she was embarrassed and angry.
Miao Hui felt that He Dajie was angry because her intentions had been exposed. Yes, that was a store manager position; the salary would at least double. Who wouldn't be tempted? Miao Hui thought He Dajie was definitely tempted, but she didn't dare show it, because many of her counter's customers were introduced by Lin Qingqing. If she revealed her ambition, would Lin Qingqing still be considerate of her and cultivate a competitor for her?
Miao Hui curled her lips into a cold smile. She wanted to see if the two people who were usually so amicable could maintain their past friendship when faced with interests.
However… what Sister He said surprised Miao Hui: “Of course, it depends on who has the higher turnover.”
Sister Zheng was about to agree when she realized what Sister He meant, staring at her with wide eyes in disbelief. If Director Gao hadn't been there, she would have definitely shouted, "Are you crazy?!"
Sister Zheng's gaze was so intense that Sister He noticed it, but she didn't care and said, "Everyone has witnessed what Qingqing has done since she came to our supply and marketing cooperative. I can't speak for the other counters, but the fabric counter that I manage definitely wouldn't have achieved such high sales without the customers introduced by Qingqing. So I'm convinced that she's the right person to be the manager."
Hearing this, Sister Zheng was furious and shouted, "It's not even certain whether she'll be number one in sales in the end! You're being too confident!" Although Lin Qingqing's sales tripled last month, she ultimately ranked second because her base wasn't high enough. Sister Zheng, on the other hand, was number one last month.
Sister He knew her own limitations and never even considered the store manager position. She only wanted to latch onto someone's coattails and be carried along. Now that Sister Zheng had put her in such a predicament, she felt no gratitude towards her; instead, she hated her. So, listening to Sister Zheng's words, she retorted, "Anyway, Qingqing's combined sales for the past two months are number one. Instead of wasting your time figuring out these underhanded tricks, you should sell more stuff!"
Sister Zheng was furious and blurted out, "I do want to sell more things, but how can I compete with them? They manage a newly opened counter, and the clothes they sell are better looking than others!"
The smile on Director Gao's face vanished, and he asked with a stern expression, "Comrade Zheng means that the supply and marketing cooperative gave Comrade Lin preferential treatment?"
"Of course!" Sister Zheng didn't realize it was Director Gao speaking at first, but after nodding, she realized it and her expression immediately changed. However, facing so many people, she didn't want to admit her mistake, so she simply straightened her back and said what was on her mind.
She spoke excitedly and eloquently, but Director Gao's face grew darker and darker as he listened, until he finally shouted, "Enough!"
Startled by the shout, Sister Zheng stopped abruptly.
Director Gao looked at everyone with a sharp gaze: "Is there anyone else who thinks this way?"
Everyone quickly replied, "No!"
Hearing everyone's opinions, Director Gao's expression softened slightly, but his tone remained serious: "Some of you think that letting Lin Qingqing manage the new counter is my favoritism, but why don't you think about it? If it weren't for her, would I have known about Xingfeng? Would our supply and marketing cooperative have been able to cooperate with Xingfeng Garment Factory? Would the store have been able to set up the new counter?"
“I’m telling you, no! Ask yourselves honestly, if it takes a hundred steps to accomplish something, but after you’ve taken ninety-nine steps, the last step is assigned to someone else, would you be willing to do that?”
"You're unwilling, which is why I put her in charge of the new counter. She's worked hard for it, and I can't let someone who's wholeheartedly working for our supply and marketing cooperative feel discouraged! I have to set an example for you and show you that your efforts won't be in vain, but will be rewarding!"
“I also told you that if you’re not satisfied, you can contact the factory. As long as they agree to supply me with goods for free and we’ll handle the sales, I’ll open a counter for you. But have you contacted them?”
"Not only have you not been in contact, but some of you are even trying to reap the benefits!"
At this point, Director Gao closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and said, "I'm making this clear today: our supply and marketing cooperative doesn't need people who try to slack off. If you want bonuses, fine, work hard. If you want a promotion, fine too, still work hard. Understand?"
"Understood!"
...
As Lin Qingqing was riding her bike home after work, she was stopped by Sister He. After stopping, Sister He hesitated, as if she didn't know how to start the conversation.
Lin Qingqing guessed what she meant and, without beating around the bush, asked, "You mean to talk about the meeting, right?"
“That’s right, it’s because of this.” Once she started, Sister He knew what to say. “Everything I said today was from the bottom of my heart. If it weren’t for you, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to achieve such high sales. So no matter what others say, I’m convinced that you are the store manager.”
"Of course I trust your character."
Sister He was delighted to hear this: "Right! I knew Zheng Guifang wasn't saying those things for me, she was clearly doing it for herself! You really can't judge a book by its cover, you never would have guessed she was such a wicked person!"
Lin Qingqing just smiled and said, "But don't say those things again. It was wrong of Sister Zheng to drag you into this, but it's not surprising that she wants to compete for the manager position. Just like she said, the outcome is still uncertain, and who knows who will become the manager in the end."
Sister He thought, who else could it be but Lin Qingqing!
This wasn't just Sister He's wild guess. First of all, anyone with eyes could see that Lin Qingqing's counter business was getting better and better. Secondly, autumn and winter clothes are much more expensive than summer clothes. Moreover, Lin Qingqing's counter had more styles and varieties of clothes than before, and the turnover had increased significantly faster than before after the new products were launched last month.
However, Sister He wasn't naive. After listening to Lin Qingqing's words, she really thought about it. Although she had confidence in Lin Qingqing, it wasn't good to make a conclusion before things were settled. If something unexpected happened, it wouldn't be good for her to speak too confidently now.
Thinking of this, Sister He said, "I was also frightened by Zheng Guifang today. Don't worry, I will definitely not say such things in the future. But Qingqing, you have to believe me, I have confidence in you."
"Thank you very much, Sister He," Lin Qingqing said with a smile.
Sister He was also in a hurry to go home for dinner. After saying what she had to say, she stopped holding Lin Qingqing's hand, said goodbye to Lin Qingqing, and walked home.
...
When Lin Qingqing rode her bicycle home, Xie Wei was lighting a stove in the yard.
"Why are you back so early today?" Lin Qingqing said, pushing her bicycle into the house, taking the bag of groceries hanging on the bicycle, and walking into the kitchen.
"I'm back early." Xie Wei carried the coal stove into the kitchen, opened the cupboard, scooped out an appropriate amount of rice from the rice bag using a porcelain bowl, rinsed the rice, added water, and put it in the rice cooker to cook. Afterwards, he walked over to Lin Qingqing and asked, "Do you need any help?"
"No need, I'll be done soon. Go sit down for a while," Lin Qingqing said.
She only bought a section of lotus root and a cabbage today, both of which are vegetables and easy to prepare. She had already cut the lotus root while Xie Wei was rinsing the rice, and was tearing the cabbage in her hand.
Xie Wei hummed in agreement, but did not leave. He leaned against the door and watched her do her work.
While tearing cabbage, Lin Qingqing said, "A customer told me the other day about a really good state-run restaurant. Shall we go out for a meal tomorrow?"
She spoke with a light and cheerful expression, it was hard to tell whether she was looking forward to tomorrow's trip or simply in a good mood.
"Lunch or dinner?"
"Noon, it's too late to come back at night," Lin Qingqing said. The state-run restaurant was in the city center, and the last shuttle bus back to the family compound was at seven o'clock, which was too rushed for dinner.
"Okay." Xie Wei nodded, then asked, "Are you in a good mood today?"
“Yes, I was number one in sales last month, so I got my bonus today,” Lin Qingqing said. After tearing off enough cabbage for the two of them, she put the rest aside, picked up the iron basin containing the cabbage, walked to the sink, scooped water over it, placed it on the counter, and went to the coal stove. She opened the lid of the rice steamer to check if the rice was cooked. If it was, she would drain the rice water and continue steaming.
But it was obviously cooked for a little too short a time. Lin Qingqing put the lid on, walked up to Xie Wei, hugged him, and said with a hint of smugness, "There's eight yuan!"
"So tall?" Xie Wei feigned surprise.
"Yes, I'll treat you to dinner tomorrow. Order whatever you want," Lin Qingqing said generously.
Xie Wei said in a serious tone, "Then I'll just order whatever I want tomorrow."
Lin Qingqing added, "We can't be too casual; we still have to keep an eye on the coupons." It's only the beginning of the month; it wouldn't be good to use up all the meat and fish coupons in one meal.
Her bravado crumbled in seconds, and Xie Wei managed to suppress a laugh: "Okay."
Author's Note: Second update
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