Chapter 89 Complaint
The next day, as soon as Lin Qingqing arrived at the supply and marketing cooperative, she went to Director Gao's office to find her and tell her about the assessment.
Upon hearing that Miao Hui and Deng Lingling had tied, Director Gao was quite surprised: "What a coincidence?"
"Mm." Lin Qingqing nodded.
Director Gao frowned, pondering as he asked, "Who do you think is more suitable to be a sales clerk at the cosmetics counter?"
"In terms of makeup skills, Miao Hui is slightly better, but Deng Lingling is better at communication."
Miao Hui has a proud personality; even when smiling at customers, her temper always shows during conversations. This is also why the sales of the ready-made clothing counter are getting worse and worse. Otherwise, logically speaking, even if the sales of the ready-made clothing counter were among the worst, it wouldn't have continued to decline when the overall performance of the supply and marketing cooperative was improving. After all, Xingfeng counter only sells women's clothing, while the ready-made clothing counter includes men's clothing.
Moreover, Lin Qingqing noticed that when Deng Lingling rotated to the sales counter, her sales performance was always slightly better than when Miao Hui was there.
After listening, Director Gao thought for a moment and asked, "Comrade Miao Hui has been keeping the wardrobe closed, right?"
Director Gao wasn't the kind of leader who would just wash her hands of everything, so her question sounded a bit odd, but Lin Qingqing didn't press further and simply said, "It's her."
Director Gao knew, of course, that Miao Hui had been in charge of the cosmetics counter. She was just setting the stage. So, after getting a reply, Director Gao said, "Let Comrade Deng Lingling take charge of the cosmetics counter. You should mentor her more before the New Year."
No matter how skilled a makeup artist is, it can only be an auxiliary tool; the main focus of the Qingshan Supply and Marketing Cooperative is sales. Even with the cooperative's overall revenue increasing, Miao Hui has managed to make the sales of the wardrobe counter increasingly worse; Director Gao certainly doesn't dare expect her to succeed at the cosmetics counter.
This answer was exactly what Lin Qingqing expected. She nodded and said, "Okay, then it's settled."
Director Gao nodded, then frowned as he thought of the Cheng Gui counter: "What exactly is the situation with the Cheng Gui counter? Is it the clothes that are bad or the people? Didn't you say that once the Xingfeng counter is up and running, this Cheng Gui counter is no longer necessary? This can't go on." He then asked Lin Qingqing if she had any good ideas on how to get the Xingfeng counter up and running.
"I have some ideas, but they still need to be refined," Lin Qingqing said.
Director Gao had been working with Lin Qingqing for quite some time and knew she was a cautious person. He understood that if Lin Qingqing had certain ideas, it meant she already knew what she was doing, so he didn't say anything more and let her go.
After Lin Qingqing went downstairs, taking advantage of the fact that there weren't many people at the supply and marketing cooperative in the morning, she gathered everyone in the first-floor store area for a brief meeting and announced, "The sales clerks at the cosmetics counter will be temporarily assigned—"
Lin Qingqing kept everyone in suspense, but some people couldn't wait any longer and urged, "Who is it, Manager Lin? Tell us quickly!"
"Congratulations, Comrade Deng Lingling." Lin Qingqing extended her hand to Deng Lingling.
Deng Lingling didn't react for a moment until Su Rong nudged her with her elbow, then she exclaimed with delight, "It's me? Manager Lin, is it really me?"
“That’s right, it’s you.” Lin Qingqing shook hands with Deng Lingling and said, “Do a good job.”
Deng Lingling was so excited that she kept nodding and saying, "I will definitely do my best! I won't let you down!"
Deng Lingling's face turned red with excitement, while Miao Hui's face turned red with anger. She shouted, "This is not fair! We were both seven customers, so why was she chosen as a sales clerk at the cosmetics counter, while I was not selected?"
Miao Hui felt that Lin Qingqing's seemingly high-sounding words yesterday were actually just excuses; she was simply retaliating against her! But since Lin Qingqing dared to announce it, it meant that Director Gao had agreed to her proposal. Unfortunately, she was alone and powerless, and had no choice but to make a big fuss about it.
Everyone was stunned when they heard Miao Hui's outburst. It was as if she was pointing her finger at Lin Qingqing and accusing her of favoritism!
Although they also felt that Lin Qingqing's choice of Deng Lingling was self-serving, no one sympathized with Miao Hui. Considering her previous outrageous behavior, if a petty person had risen to power, she would have been forced out of the supply and marketing cooperative long ago. Even if Lin Qingqing was biased and unwilling to promote her, it was her own fault.
As for Sister He, she not only didn't sympathize with Miao Hui, but also seemed somewhat gloating.
Although she hadn't argued with Miao Hui lately, she harbored deep resentment towards her. With this in mind, the more unfortunate Miao Hui became, the happier she felt, and she even secretly prayed that Lin Qingqing would lose her temper.
To Sister He's disappointment, Lin Qingqing did not get angry. She simply said in a cold tone, "This is a decision that Director Gao and I made together after discussing it."
"A joint decision? I think it was all your doing!" Miao Hui sneered. "Aren't you just holding a grudge against me for targeting you before, so you're deliberately retaliating? And you have to spout all that high-sounding道理 (moral principles), as if it's all my fault for being biased! I'm going to sue you, I'll sue Director Gao, I'll sue the union and women's federation!"
Miao Hui couldn't take it anymore. She felt that rather than continue to suffer like this, she might as well fight Lin Qingqing to the death.
Hearing that she was going to file a complaint, everyone couldn't sit still and tried to persuade her, saying, "Comrade Xiao Miao, we're all colleagues, why make such a fuss?"
"This wasn't decided by Manager Lin alone, so what's the point of complaining to Director Gao?"
Deng Lingling panicked, looking at Miao Hui and then at Lin Qingqing: "How about... how about we give this position to Comrade Miao?"
Hearing Deng Lingling's words, Miao Hui felt smug, but sneered and said, "This position was originally mine, why should I ask you to give it up! I'm going to get justice for myself right now!"
Fearing something might happen to Lin Qingqing, Zhou Xiaofang called out, "Manager Lin, say something!"
"The reason we chose Comrade Deng Lingling instead of you to be the sales clerk at the cosmetics counter is because you have makeup skills but you don't put yourself in the position of a service provider. Deng Lingling is better than you in terms of communication skills."
"They clearly said the assessment would be on makeup skills," Miao Hui argued.
"Makeup skills are an aid, but communication skills are the foundation. Since your makeup skills are about the same, when considering candidates, we naturally have to consider those with better overall abilities. After all, the supply and marketing cooperative opened the cosmetics counter not to increase jobs, but to make money. Your performance in managing the wardrobe counter these past few months has shown us no hope that you can manage the cosmetics counter well."
Ignoring Miao Hui's flushed face, Lin Qingqing said, "I hope you can reflect on yourself instead of always feeling like you're being persecuted. Otherwise, you won't last long if you keep working with this attitude!"
Miao Hui was so angry she was about to explode. She sneered three times: "You're saying all this just because you're afraid I'll sue you. You, you just wait!" After saying that, she turned and went upstairs.
Zhou Xiaofang said with a worried look, "Manager Lin, aren't you going upstairs to take a look?"
"Let her go," Lin Qingqing said calmly. "You all go about your own business."
Lin Qingqing herself didn't care, so there was no use in others worrying about her. Besides, it was during working hours, so everyone returned to their respective posts.
After the others dispersed, Lin Qingqing led Deng Lingling upstairs and said, "I'll be taking care of you for a while, but after the New Year you'll be all alone, so study hard during this time, okay?"
"I know!" Deng Lingling said immediately, then asked with some concern, "Manager Lin, are you really alright?"
"It's alright." Even if she did have ulterior motives, Director Gao wouldn't do anything to her because of Miao Hui. As for the labor union, in such a small unit, it's practically just for show.
Seeing Lin Qingqing's confident expression, Deng Lingling breathed a sigh of relief and focused on her own work.
However, they hadn't been busy for long when Xu Fangfang came downstairs and told Lin Qingqing that Huang, the union officer, wanted her to go upstairs. Deng Lingling immediately tensed up upon hearing this, and the other counter staff also looked up, but Lin Qingqing only gave a curt reply and told them, "Go do your own thing." She then followed Xu Fangfang upstairs.
After going upstairs, Lin Qingqing was taken directly to Director Gao's office, where Director Gao, Secretary Huang, and Miao Hui were also present.
Director Gao and Secretary Huang both frowned, while Miao Hui was sobbing.
Lin Qingqing noticed the attention and went inside to ask, "What's wrong?"
Huang sneered, "What's wrong? Comrade Miao just ran up to me crying, saying you were retaliating against me for personal gain, and you still have the nerve to ask what happened?"
Lin Qingqing laughed when she heard him say that: "Judging from what Officer Huang said, it seems that you are certain that I am taking revenge for personal gain?"
"Officer Huang, watch your words," Director Gao said with a displeased expression.
The leadership teams of the labor union and the supply and marketing cooperative are not from the same system, so Huang, the cadre, was not afraid of Director Gao. He said, "How is it that I was careless in my speech? Does Manager Lin dare to do it, but I'm not allowed to say it?"
"What did I do?" Lin Qingqing asked, looking puzzled.
Officer Huang curled his lip, thinking to himself, "You're still pretending," but he didn't show it on his face. He asked in a serious tone, "In this assessment, Comrade Miao Hui and Comrade Deng Lingling both had seven customers, resulting in a tie, right?"
"right."
"If that's the case, why did you choose Comrade Deng, who just joined the supply and marketing cooperative, to be the cosmetics counter saleswoman?" Officer Huang said. "In terms of seniority and experience, Comrade Miao Hui has been with the supply and marketing cooperative for a year and a half, while Comrade Deng has been with it for less than two months. In terms of makeup skills, Comrade Miao Hui is better than Comrade Deng. Comrade Miao Hui may not be worse than Comrade Deng; it's just that she doesn't get along with you and has offended you. Manager Lin, it's not that we're overthinking it!"
Hearing what Huang said, Miao Hui pretended to cry twice and said, "Manager Lin, I know I was wrong, I regret it now, please forgive me?"
Lin Qingqing chuckled: "Officer Huang has said so much, but he forgot to mention one thing."
"What is it?" Officer Huang asked.
“In terms of individual sales revenue last month, Comrade Deng ranked fifth, while Comrade Miao was last,” Lin Qingqing said.
Miao Hui guessed that Lin Qingqing would bring this up, so she quickly defended herself, saying, "That's because everyone else went to the Xingfeng counter to buy clothes, and I can't do anything about it since I'm in charge of that counter!"
Huang, the staff member, said, "Although I don't manage the affairs of the supply and marketing cooperative, I am aware of the situation. In my opinion, this matter is indeed not Miao Hui's fault. Moreover, her desperate attempt to secure the cosmetics counter sales clerk position shows that she is ambitious. Manager Lin, you can't suppress an employee's ambition because of personal feelings!"
Miao Hui immediately nodded in agreement: "I will definitely work hard in the future!"
Lin Qingqing seemed not to have heard Miao Hui's statement, and only said, "The poor performance cannot be blamed on Comrade Miao. But when Comrade Deng rotated to the Cheng Gui department, his performance was higher than Comrade Miao's. How does Comrade Miao explain that?"
Miao Hui was slightly taken aback upon hearing this: "Wh-what?" She had not paid attention to this matter before.
“Since Comrade Deng joined the company, she has covered Comrade Miao’s shifts five times, and the daily turnover of her has been higher than that of Comrade Miao.”
"This, this is impossible!" Miao Hui couldn't believe it. How could Deng Lingling's performance always be better than hers?
"Does Comrade Miao mean he wants to confront Accountant Sun?"
Miao Hui panicked immediately. She felt that since Lin Qingqing dared to ask the accountant to confront her, she must be confident. But Director Gao thought that Lin Qingqing might be trying to scare them, and said, "It would be best if Accountant Sun could come."
Upon hearing this, Director Gao called out to Xu Fangfang outside the door, asking her to call the accountant over and bring everyone's performance records for the past two months.
Accountant Sun's office was on the third floor. Shortly after Director Gao gave the instructions, Accountant Sun arrived and showed Director Gao the completed performance report. Seeing that it was for the entire month, Director Gao asked, "Is there daily data?"
"Yes." Accountant Sun went out for a while and soon got the daily data.
After reviewing the data, Director Gao said, "Report to them the highest data for Miao Hui's management of the wardrobe section and the lowest data for Deng Lingling's management of the wardrobe section over the past two months."
Although Accountant Sun was puzzled, she still reported the data as instructed by Director Gao.
Deng Lingling's lowest score was five yuan higher than Miao Hui's highest score.
Miao Hui looked ashen, and Huang, the clerk, didn't look too good either. But since he had sided with Miao Hui, he had to bite the bullet and continue to help her, saying, "It's normal for business to be better on Sundays than on weekdays."
Lin Qingqing chuckled and asked, "Accountant Sun, how many Sundays did Deng Lingling cover for Miao Hui?"
“One day,” said Accountant Sun.
"How much did Deng Lingling sell that day? What was Miao Hui's highest sales figure on Sunday?"
Accountant Sun reported the numbers again, and this time the difference was even greater, amounting to twenty yuan. Miao Hui often couldn't even make twenty yuan a day.
Huang had nothing to say about the performance, so he could only find fault: "But when we were evaluating the candidates before, they didn't say that we would look at these things."
Director Gao couldn't hold back any longer and said, "Officer Huang, we are a state-owned enterprise that aims to serve the people. After looking at their data, it's obvious who is better able to manage the counter and serve the people."
"What should we say about the fact that Manager Lin and Comrade Miao Hui don't get along?" Officer Huang asked.
Lin Qingqing smiled: "According to Huang's opinion, since Comrade Miao thinks I will retaliate against her because of our bad relationship, and since she is not as capable as others, I must choose her. Otherwise, it would be considered favoritism and revenge, and I would not be worthy of being the manager?"
Even the most shameless person like Huang couldn't say such a thing, and he quickly waved his hand and said, "I didn't mean that."
“Officer Huang didn’t mean that. What about Comrade Miao?” Lin Qingqing asked with a smile.
Knowing that her chances were slim, Miao Hui dared not struggle any longer and risk offending Director Gao. Reluctantly, she said, "I didn't mean that."
"Instead of worrying about retaliation, you should focus on doing your job well. I'm telling you this now: if the sales performance at the counter continues like this, you can quit and go help out in the kitchen." Director Gao was indeed dissatisfied with Miao Hui. If Miao Hui hadn't made no fundamental mistakes, she would have fired her long ago.
But for Miao Hui, the fact that she was transferred from a sales clerk position to help in the kitchen was enough to make her expression change drastically: "Director Gao!"
Director Gao didn't want to hear her say any more, and said coldly, "That's settled then, you can all leave."
Seeing that Director Gao was determined to do this, Miao Hui had no choice but to turn her gaze to Officer Huang. But Officer Huang had just made a fool of himself and was unwilling to get involved in her affairs. Besides, he couldn't control such personnel transfers, so he turned his head away to avoid her gaze.
At this point, Miao Hui finally understood—this time, she was finished!
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