113: Meeting

"Manager Li, look at what you're saying."

His voice was neither hurried nor slow, carrying a convincing power.

"If such a day ever truly comes..."

"Then it must be because you've been promoted to an even higher position than you have now, and only then would you feel comfortable handing this small manager position over to me."

This speech was airtight, both flattering the other party and making it clear that he had no intention of replacing him.

Li Hong was stunned at first.

Immediately, the last trace of doubt and wariness in his heart vanished into thin air.

He pointed at Lin Chao, his mouth first stretching into a wide grin, and then his laughter grew louder and louder, becoming increasingly resonant!

"Hahahaha!"

"Good! Well said!"

"You kid, not only are your sales results good, but your brain and your mouth are also top-notch!"

At this moment, Li Hong's mood was more comfortable than ever before!

He felt that promoting Lin Chao to Supervisor was the wisest decision he had ever made in his life!

Li Hong's laughter echoed in the meeting room for a long time before finally subsiding.

He looked at Lin Chao, the admiration and satisfaction in his eyes almost overflowing.

"Alright, alright, I'm done joking with you kid."

Li Hong waved his hand, his expression becoming serious again.

"But seriously, Lin Chao, you've really brought me great honor this time!"

He changed the subject, his tone carrying a hint of an arrangement that brooked no argument.

"The Marketing Department is going to have a small temporary meeting later. The Supervisors and Group Leaders from Department One and Department Two are all coming over."

"Don't leave yet."

The thought of skipping work that had just ignited in Lin Chao's heart was instantly extinguished by a bucket of cold water.

Well, it looks like I won't be able to skip work today.

Li Hong smiled and patted his shoulder again, his tone intimate.

"Perfect, I'll take the opportunity to announce your promotion to Department Head in front of everyone!"

"I'll give you a real boost in status, kid!"

What else could Lin Chao say? He could only smile and nod in agreement.

A few minutes later, the meeting room door was pushed open from the outside.

Several Supervisors and Group Leaders from Market Department One and Department Two filed in.

They each looked puzzled, glancing at one another, clearly not knowing what this temporary meeting was about.

But when they saw the beaming Li Hong and the composed Lin Chao sitting beside him, their hearts skipped a beat and they began to mutter inwardly.

As the manager of the entire Marketing Department, they had seen how much pressure Li Hong had been under recently.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have egged on Lin Chao, who was still just a minor Supervisor back then, to speak up and provoke Shen Zhixia at the previous meeting.

To put it bluntly, wasn't it because the entire Marketing Department was lifeless and its performance was dismal!

Except for Lin Chao, everyone else was just dead weight; not a single one was capable!

Once everyone had cautiously taken their seats, the meeting room fell into a dead silence.

Li Hong's gaze slowly swept over everyone present.

The smile that had just been on his face vanished instantly.

In its place was a heavy seriousness, like the calm before a storm!

"Everyone is here."

His voice was low, and every word seemed to be squeezed out from between his teeth.

"I called you all here today for one thing, and I'm not joking."

"Performance!"

As soon as the word 'performance' left his mouth, the temperature in the meeting room seemed to drop several degrees!

Li Hong gave a cold snort, his eyes as sharp as knives.

"Do you know why the new Director Shen was parachuted from the head office to our Linhai City branch?"

He didn't give anyone a chance to speak, answering his own question directly!

"It's because our branch's performance is so damn bad!"

"It's so bad that the group headquarters can't stand it anymore!"

"She was sent down here to straighten us out!"

These words were like a heavy hammer, slamming hard into everyone's hearts!

Li Hong's voice suddenly rose, filled with the fury of disappointment!

"So don't you fucking come to me with bullshit excuses like the market is tough or clients are hard to talk to!"

"Now, all of you, think hard!"

"How are we going to get the company's performance up!"

The word 'performance' was like a death warrant.

As soon as he finished speaking, the Supervisors and Group Leaders who had been sitting upright a moment ago instantly withered like frost-bitten eggplants!

One by one, they lowered their heads, staring at their noses and focusing on their breathing, not daring to make a sound.

The entire meeting room was deathly silent!

Seeing their useless, 'rotten mud that can't stick to a wall' appearance, the fire in Li Hong's heart surged up!

Bang—!

He slammed his palm heavily onto the conference table!

The loud noise made everyone jump!

"What?!"

Li Hong's eyes were wide with rage as he pointed at them and cursed!

"Are you all mute?!"

"Big or small, you're all considered leaders! Do you think that once you're in this position, you can just sit back and relax, drinking tea and reading the paper every day?!"

"I'm telling you!"

"Dream on!"

His thunderous roar echoed through the meeting room.

The Supervisors and Group Leaders buried their heads even lower, wishing they could find a crack in the floor to crawl into!

Li Hong was panting, his chest heaving violently.

His gaze swept through the crowd, and finally, he suddenly raised his hand and pointed at the only person in the room who was composed and upright—Lin Chao!

"Look at Lin Chao!"

This shout was earth-shattering!

Everyone's eyes instantly focused on Lin Chao!

Li Hong's voice was filled with undisguised admiration, as well as extreme contempt for the others!

"After being promoted from a regular salesperson to Supervisor, not only has he not slacked off one bit!"

"He's even more hardworking than before! His performance is even more outstanding!"

"In just one morning, he signed a contract worth twelve million!"

Li Hong's voice was like rolling thunder!

"Now look at yourselves!"

"A bunch of useless trash!"

Li Hong pointed at Lin Chao, then slowly scanned the faces of the others, which were filled with either terror or shame.

The corners of his mouth curled into an extremely mocking sneer.

"What?"

"Not convinced?"

"Think he's just lucky?"

"I'm telling you! In the face of absolute strength, luck doesn't mean a damn thing!"

Li Hong spoke emphatically, each word like a slap across the faces of everyone except Lin Chao!

"While he was out there chasing business and signing contracts, what were you doing?"

"In the office enjoying the air conditioning! Drinking tea! Scrolling through your phones! Gossiping!"

"What? Is the company's salary that easy to take?!"

"When the performance pressure is put on you, it's like it's fucking killing you!"

"Each of you cries poor to me, saying the market is hard and customers are difficult!"

"Pah!"

Li Hong's spit almost hit the face of the Market Department One Supervisor sitting in the front row!

"I don't think the market is hard; I think you people are rotten to the core! Beyond saving!"

The entire meeting room was silent as he gave them a thorough tongue-lashing.