Hu Yongcai was a veteran procurement officer. When Xia Xiaolan first came to the city, she connected with Hu Yongcai, who helped her break into Shangdu’s market. Through reselling eggs and eels, Xia Xiaolan accumulated her first pot of gold, which later enabled her to wholesale clothing in Yang City.

Hu Yongcai had never wronged her. The only questionable incident was when Xia Xiaolan wanted to rent a house in Shangdu, and Hu Yongcai, following Xu Zhongyi’s hint, directed her to Grandmother Yu’s house… but this wasn’t malicious, as Xu Zhongyi had hoped someone would keep his mother company.

After everything was clarified, Xia Xiaolan didn’t hold it against Hu Yongcai, though he felt quite embarrassed. When Xu Zhongyi returned to Shangdu under the guise of a Hong Kong businessman, buying land and building museums, he tried to hire Hu Yongcai but was refused.

Working for Xu Zhongyi would certainly pay better than the Municipal Party Committee Guest House, and Xu Zhongyi wouldn’t mistreat him. But Hu Yongcai was the procurement director at the guest house – not only was it an iron rice bowl position, but he was considered a cadre and thrived there. Despite Xu Zhongyi’s wealth, Hu Yongcai didn’t necessarily need his patronage!

Xia Xiaolan’s invitation to switch jobs was different. She was still offering him a “procurement” position, keeping the nature of his work unchanged. Though moving from the public to the private sector, his actual authority would increase – Asia Department Store’s procurement needs far exceeded those of the guest house!

This position seemed tailor-made for Hu Yongcai, and he was immediately interested. However, he didn’t commit immediately, saying he needed two days to consider.

“Switching from public to private sector is a big decision. Brother Hu should certainly think it through carefully. Don’t worry, whatever you choose won’t affect our friendship!” Xia Xiaolan spoke clearly, touching Hu Yongcai deeply.

After Xia Xiaolan left, Hu Yongcai’s wife wanted to take a cleaver to her husband: “How dare you put on airs when she came to invite you! Are you still hesitating? This isn’t just anywhere – it’s Asia Department Store!”

Privately, Hu Yongcai’s wife added that it wasn’t just anyone doing the asking – it was Xia Xiaolan. People like them no longer dared call her “Little Xia.” Xia Xiaolan wasn’t that country girl anymore, nor a small private business owner. She had achieved all the respectability of a city person, and more than most city people could achieve.

Hu Yongcai was indeed very tempted. As his wife said, this wasn’t just anywhere – it was Asia Department Store. These days, Asia was the talk of Shangdu.

His hesitation wasn’t about the compensation. To put it plainly, his income would increase tenfold with the switch! The excellent terms made him nervous – he feared he couldn’t live up to such responsibility. If he performed poorly in Asia and betrayed Xia Xiaolan’s trust, it would destroy their relationship!

But with such an opportunity before him, shouldn’t he take the risk? Like many middle-aged men, he was both unwilling to remain content with the status quo and afraid to take risks. That night, Hu Yongcai couldn’t sleep.

Though he said he needed two days, it only took a day and a half. Before Xia Xiaolan could ask a second time, Hu Yongcai made his decision and contacted her: “From now on, I should call you Manager Xia. With these terms, you could recruit not just a small director like me from the guest house, but even managers from Shangdu’s state-owned department stores would be tempted. Manager Xia, you’ve shown faith in me, and I’ll work faithfully for you!”

Hu Yongcai was being diplomatic. Since he would be working for Xia Xiaolan, he couldn’t be casual with forms of address, relying on past friendships. It would damage Xia Xiaolan’s authority if others heard.

Xia Xiaolan appreciated Hu Yongcai’s perceptiveness. It took great courage for him to give up his iron rice bowl position.

“Brother Hu, welcome to Asia!”

Hu Yongcai quickly resigned from the guest house. He didn’t even request “suspended pay with retained position,” showing he wasn’t leaving himself a backup plan. He was truly clear-minded.

He harbored no petty thoughts about returning to the guest house if things didn’t work out in Asia. By cutting off his retreat, he showed he believed following Xia Xiaolan offered better prospects… Truthfully, even if Asia failed, given Hu Yongcai’s decisiveness and their relationship, would Xia Xiaolan let him become unemployed?

Of course not.

Naturally, if Asia failed, Hu Yongcai wouldn’t be blamed, and Xia Xiaolan would certainly take responsibility for his career future – provided he hadn’t broken any laws or engaged in excessive corruption affecting Asia’s operations during his employment.

Xia Xiaolan didn’t mind small kickbacks. Was there any procurement officer who didn’t take them? Water too pure has no fish. As a seasoned veteran herself, Xia Xiaolan didn’t judge her employees by saintly moral standards.

She couldn’t handle all the work herself. If she could trust Song Minglan, why not Hu Yongcai?

After Hu Yongcai joined Asia, Xia Xiaolan’s pressure greatly decreased. Since opening, Asia’s business has been booming. Good sales meant restocking was needed, and Xia Xiaolan had been vigilant about this aspect, fearing others might cheat her.

Within days, the veteran procurement officer Hu Yongcai had sorted out Asia’s supply channels, shouldering most of this work.

Xia Xiaolan could finally relax.

Asia’s business was truly excellent. After the three-day cultural performance ended, customer flow decreased gradually, not all at once. Half a month after opening, daily sales remained stable above 1 million.

The three-day cultural performance’s publicity costs had reached several hundred thousand, but in just half a month, Asia’s net profit was two to three million. Though Xia Xiaolan spent aggressively on promotion, the results were good, and the money was quickly recovered… So Zhu Suizhou didn’t want to wait for news in Shangdu. For now, Xia Xiaolan would hold the position of “General Manager” firmly.

Zhu Suizhou had only one chance to regain power – if Asia was besieged by Shangdu’s other state-owned department stores and couldn’t stand alone, forcing Xia Xiaolan to seek his help!

Given Asia’s current momentum, Zhu Suizhou felt that day would come soon.

He wasn’t wrong.

Shangdu’s state-owned department store managers had already met several times to discuss the Asia situation.

“Let’s hear everyone’s opinions. Should we continue letting Asia flourish unchecked?”

The managers exchanged glances before lowering their heads to drink tea. It wasn’t that they were petty about Asia’s success, but Shangdu’s market was only so big. Asia’s popularity was affecting their business. Just yesterday, despite being a weekend, customer flow had decreased significantly – everyone was going to Asia!

They had thought after the cultural performances ended, Asia would conduct business normally, but though the three-day performance was over, Asia hadn’t settled down.

Without Hong Kong and Taiwan singers’ “decadent sounds,” that shameless Manager Xia had trained a women’s honor guard for formation performances.

Not just ordinary Shangdu citizens, but even these competitors had secretly watched several times. The shows were different every day, creating anticipation about what Asia would perform next.

They had captured customers’ hearts – everyone was focused on “Asia,” talking about “Asia,” flocking to Asia, willing to take detours to watch performances and shop there rather than choose closer department stores.

Asia was forcing them into a corner!

The manager of Zijingshan Department Store, the most short-tempered among them, was the first to break: “This won’t do! If we continue letting Asia recklessly draw away customers, we’ll all be left with their leftovers. If none of you wants to be the bad guy, I’ll do it! Whether through price cuts or other methods, we must bring customers back!”