Chen Xu first went to see Old Wang and told him that he had agreed to transfer to the New Department. Something like this definitely had to be reported to his direct supervisor first.
Then he thanked Old Wang for taking care of him over the past year or so.
"To be honest, I'm quite reluctant to let you go." Old Wang patted him on the shoulder and said with a half-serious, half-joking smile, "The end of the year is almost here, and it's our busiest time. Once you leave, we'll be swamped."
"But you have better prospects ahead of you. I can't hold you back."
Chen Xu smiled, unsure how to respond. Honestly, Old Wang was a pretty decent guy and could be considered a good supervisor.
Old Wang suggested, "How about this? To celebrate your transfer to the New Department, let's have a dinner gathering tonight. Everyone can come."
Chen Xu hurriedly talked him out of it. "Supervisor, better not. It would be too high-profile."
Old Wang thought about it and agreed. The entire company was watching the establishment of the New Department. Making such a big fuss really would not look good. Somewhat regretfully, he said, "What a pity. We'll definitely make it up next time."
"Sure, sure." Chen Xu did not know whether to laugh or cry. He had never seen anyone who loved group dinners so much.
"Come on. Go say goodbye to your colleagues." Old Wang led him outside.
When Old Wang announced to the Advertising Department that Chen Xu had been transferred to the New Department, they were all surprised. Some were envious, some jealous; every sort of reaction was on display.
Everyone congratulated him. Whether they meant it sincerely or not, at least no one said anything nasty. They only egged him on to treat them to a meal.
Chen Xu could only say that he would put it on the tab for now and do it next time.
After the commotion went on for a while, everyone dispersed, leaving only Old Tang nearby. Chen Xu knew that among all these people, Old Tang was probably the only one genuinely happy for him.
Before long, it was lunchtime.
Chen Xu went to their usual restaurant with Old Tang.
"About you changing jobs?" Seeing no one familiar nearby, Old Tang quietly asked about it.
Chen Xu said, "I'm not changing jobs after all. I'll just keep doing this for now."
Old Tang nodded, then said with some feeling, "Old Liu and Old Guo both went to Old Wang and applied to transfer to the New Department. Old Wang had them write applications, but the Personnel Department rejected them. Who would've thought you'd get it done without making a sound?"
Only then did Chen Xu understand why those two had looked so awful earlier. "Honestly, I'm confused too. Why did they pick me?"
Old Tang pondered it for a moment. "Maybe because your record is relatively clean."
"What do you mean?" Chen Xu was puzzled.
"I'm just guessing." Old Tang said, "Director Liu was parachuted in from above last year. There were rumors at the time that he had come to take over President Zhou's position. This New Department was pushed through entirely by Director Liu, so he must want to produce some results. Someone like you, with a relatively clean record, is naturally the best choice."
"So that's how it is." After hearing his analysis, Chen Xu thought it made a lot of sense.
"But after you get to the New Department, you should be a little careful." Old Tang offered a reminder. "The establishment of this department has caused such a stir. I always feel that something might happen."
Chen Xu nodded. Some things were not hard to guess. In the past, President Zhou had called all the shots in the company. But ever since Director Liu had been parachuted in, things had changed. Over the past year, quite a few department supervisors had been replaced. This was a power grab. Would President Zhou just put up with it? Still, those matters had nothing to do with him before, and they had even less to do with him now. He did not care much about them.
After lunch, Chen Xu returned to the company and began packing up his personal belongings before reporting to the New Department.
The company was wealthy enough to occupy an entire floor. The Advertising Department was tucked away in the northwestern corner, while the New Department was on the southeast side. He had worked here for nearly two years and had never even been to this area.
By the time he arrived, a new sign had already been put up. It was not the rumored Marketing Department, but the "Electronic Sales Department."
There were several people in the Office, probably his new colleagues. He knocked on the door, walked in, and introduced himself.
After that, new colleagues kept arriving.
Chen Xu watched coldly from the sidelines and noticed that most of them were young, with very few over thirty.
Once everyone had arrived, he counted them. Including himself, there were fourteen people in total.
Before long, Director Liu showed up as well. Following him was someone Chen Xu had not expected: Luo Xiyun.
He suddenly remembered that she had been parachuted in at around the same time as Director Liu. It was not strange for them to work together.
Director Liu brought everyone into the conference room and held a meeting.
Director Liu's name was Liu Kun. He was around thirty-four or thirty-five, quite handsome, and a good speaker. Standing there, he spoke with great confidence. Chen Xu watched him with some envy. In the past, becoming such a successful person had been his greatest desire. Someone like Liu Kun had been the goal he strived toward.
Unfortunately, cruel reality had made him understand that he could not become someone like Liu Kun. He could not tell how their abilities compared, but Liu Kun had graduated from a prestigious university and had even studied abroad. That alone was something Chen Xu could not match.
After all, Liu Kun's starting point had been a famous foreign investment bank. After working there for several years, he had moved to a corporate position. At just over thirty, he was already qualified to take over as the CEO of a major company.
Chen Xu quickly suppressed those messy thoughts and listened attentively. Before long, he understood what this New Department was meant to do.
Liu Kun planned to establish an online channel to expand the supermarkets' customer base. Put simply, they were going into e-commerce.
Specifically, the first step was to rely on the company's ten chain supermarkets to provide home delivery within a certain range.
They were all young people who shopped online regularly, so it was easy for them to understand.
Next, Liu Kun began assigning everyone their jobs and positions. Chen Xu's responsibilities were much the same as before, still related to advertising. That made him breathe a sigh of relief. He was already familiar with this work and could get started immediately.
Lastly, there was Luo Xiyun. She was still the director, only now she was the director of the Electronic Sales Department. Liu Kun was, after all, a company vice president with plenty of other responsibilities, so he could not possibly remain stationed here all the time. When he was absent, Luo Xiyun would be in charge.
Although Chen Xu had anticipated it, he still frowned slightly. She had actually become his direct superior.
Next, Luo Xiyun took the stage to speak.
Chen Xu saw a Luo Xiyun completely unlike the one in his dreams—so confident, so forceful, so focused. It caused something in his heart to waver.
Was the real her truly the same person as the one in his dreams? The meeting lasted the entire afternoon.
After work, Liu Kun suggested that the whole department go out for dinner together to celebrate the establishment of the New Department.
Naturally, no one objected.
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