It seemed the whole world was waiting for Song Minglan to become a spy. Yet Song Minglan herself only hoped for the three-day cultural performance celebrating the Asia Department Store’s opening to conclude smoothly.
Old Huang, with his petty mindset, thought Song Minglan would sabotage the cultural performance. However, Song Minglan’s stance was clear – whoever dared to interfere with her work would face severe consequences!
Starting from her business trip to Beijing a month ago, she had put in countless hours of unseen work behind the scenes. The cultural performance was the most visible outcome of her efforts! Every performing artist, whether from Hong Kong or mainland China, was personally contacted by her. From coordinating schedules to adjusting the performance lineup, Song Minglan poured her heart into these three days of performances. Seeing the citizens of Shangdu enjoying the shows and hearing their praise gave her an immense sense of achievement!
Never before had she accomplished such work on her own. When others called her “Third Miss Song,” it wasn’t because of her abilities or even her parents’ influence, but because of her grandfather. In Shangdu, at the Asia Department Store, no one called her Third Miss Song. Apart from Xia Xiaolan and a few others, hardly anyone knew her background. People like Old Huang only knew she was Zhu Suizhou’s niece and assumed she got the job through connections.
Most employees didn’t gossip about her in private. They called her “Special Assistant Song,” knowing she had studied abroad. Since she hadn’t made any mistakes in her work, they believed Special Assistant Song was truly capable! Wherever Song Minglan went, people looked at her with admiration… the feeling was exhilarating!
“Special Assistant Song” sounded better than “Third Miss Song.” The latter showed respect for her family background, while the former recognized her abilities. So regardless of how Sheng Xuan hinted or Old Huang hoped, Song Minglan was destined to disappoint them… She was like a female wolf, fiercely guarding her territory, not allowing anyone to cause destruction!
Asia Department Store’s first day of operation went smoothly, with sales reaching 2.72 million.
The second day also proceeded without incident, bringing in 2.65 million.
The third day was equally successful, with sales of 2.76 million, even surpassing the first day!
By the third day, many people from surrounding counties and cities had heard the news and came to watch the performances and shop. The customer flow wasn’t less than on opening day! The people of Shangdu were wealthy. Currently, several state-owned cotton mills were doing well, supporting many workers, which positively affected other industries. Additionally, with Shangdu being a national railway hub, the railway system was also profitable. Despite being an inland city, the citizens’ purchasing power was impressive, with substantial savings.
While this money might not be enough to buy houses or cars, it was sufficient for purchasing popular goods from department stores. How else could Shangdu support several department stores in the 1980s?
Old Huang had hoped for problems during Asia’s opening, but these three days passed successfully and bustily. After learning about the first three days’ sales figures, Zhu Suizhou wasted no time in departing for Qiong Island, advising Old Huang before leaving to work well in Asia:
“Although Manager Xia is young, she’s fair in rewards and punishments. She won’t mistreat first-batch employees like you.”
Old Huang was nearly in tears, asking Zhu Suizhou when he would return, but Zhu only smiled. Old Huang felt a chill in his heart. Had Manager Zhu given up on competing with Manager Xia and simply retreated? What should he do now? Still labeled as Zhu’s “loyal subordinate,” Manager Xia would never trust him.
He had been foolish. His display of loyalty neither pleased Xia Xiaolan nor earned Zhu Suizhou’s trust. Could loyalty be proved merely through words? Those truly loyal and capable had already been recruited by Zhu Suizhou to “Yangfan Real Estate” and were now working for him in Qiong Island. If Zhu hadn’t taken away several key personnel, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t have had to deploy Song Minglan, Tina, and even the Second Madam’s female forces!
Old Huang was caught between two sides. Xia Xiaolan hadn’t dealt with him not only because she hadn’t had time, but also because Old Huang’s scheming was his own doing and hadn’t caused any real damage to Asia.
Of course, as Asia’s operations gradually stabilized, which employees performed well and which were just muddling through would become apparent according to Xia Xiaolan’s assessment standards. If Old Huang continued his awkward behavior, dismissal was inevitable.
The three days’ sales figures not only forced Zhu Suizhou to leave but also brought together the leaders of several major department stores in Shangdu for tea. Was Asia not leaving any room for others to survive?
“Decadent sounds!”
“Luxury, luxury that’s disconnected from ordinary people!”
“Asia’s general manager is young, impetuous, and doesn’t understand business etiquette.”
“That previous Manager Zhu was better, why isn’t he continuing?”
Zhu Suizhou was indeed good, always smiling, a man in his thirties who could converse well with these people. They didn’t know that if Zhu Suizhou had managed Asia, he would have similarly competed for business with the major department stores once Asia opened.
Xia Xiaolan was different, having taken over Asia temporarily with no previous relationships with them. Just as people like Old Huang didn’t accept Xia Xiaolan managing Asia, these department store managers also had objections.
The young manager seemed to want all the business for herself. But they weren’t foolish enough to directly confront Asia, which, though private, had Hong Kong backing. Even the young Manager Xia wasn’t just beautiful but also had good relations with the city government, making her untouchable.
After much discussion, they decided to observe for a while longer. Asia’s impressive first three days’ sales were likely due to the cultural performances. After the three-day performances ended, numbers would gradually decline.
They would wait ten to fifteen days to see Asia Department Store’s true customer flow. If it stood out, the major stores would unite to cut down this most flourishing flower…
Xia Xiaolan was unaware that Asia would soon be targeted by competitors. Or perhaps she anticipated it would happen eventually – it was inevitable, so why worry? She would deal with problems as they arose.
Xia Xiaolan wanted to step back from Asia’s front-line management, which meant she needed to cultivate someone she trusted in Asia.
Tina wouldn’t work, as she would return to America in a few days.
As for Song Minglan, she needed more observation. Song Minglan was fine as a special assistant, but managing such a large department store required more experience.
After much consideration, Xia Xiaolan thought of someone trustworthy in Shangdu who could be invited to work in Asia.
She was thinking of Hu Yongcai.
The procurement officer at Shangdu Municipal Party Committee Guest House!
If Asia continued to be self-operated, Xia Xiaolan wouldn’t trust others with sourcing goods. She had a long-standing relationship with Hu Yongcai, who had proven his capability by thriving at the Municipal Party Committee Guest House.
Several years ago, when Xia Xiaolan first came to the city from the countryside, she received much help from Hu Yongcai.