Chapter 10

Cao Yan snorted. "You know new employees at our sales office have to pass an assessment before they can start work, right?"

Gu Chen nodded. "I know."

"Good." Cao Yan raised an eyebrow. "I heard the higher-ups personally vouched for you. They said you were exceptionally capable and had already memorized all the materials and specifications for the new development backward and forward."

"Then recite the sales copy for the new development backward for everyone right now!"

The atmosphere in the lobby suddenly froze. The veteran employees stared at Cao Yan in disbelief. Was this man insane? That was way too obvious a display of authority, wasn't it?

Chapter 10

The sales copy Cao Yan referred to was actually a marketing proposal used for internal staff training for Great Zhou World's new development. It ran over seventy pages on A4 paper and covered more than two hundred specific provisions, including the project's overall marketing strategy, market differentiation, consumer demographic differentiation, brand model, promotional positioning, project positioning, service positioning, and more. Even the person who had written it might not have been able to recite it word for word, yet Cao Yan was demanding that Gu Chen recite it backward fluently.

His attempt to put Gu Chen in his place could not have been more obvious.

Gu Chen calmly glanced at Cao Yan. Though he did not know why Cao Yan was targeting him like this, still—

"Neighbors you have the kind of on depends life want you kind of What..."

Cao Yan frowned. "I told you to recite the sales copy for the new development. What nonsense are you spouting?"

Gu Chen ignored him and continued reciting.

Cao Yan impatiently raised his voice. "I'm asking you—"

"Manager Cao, I think he's reciting our sales copy backward." An employee interrupted Cao Yan, then handed over his training materials. Looking at the final page in reverse, it was indeed exactly what Gu Chen was reciting.

Following Gu Chen's rhythm, Cao Yan read through it word by word, his face turning livid.

"Holy shit!" Exclamations immediately broke out throughout the quiet sales office lobby. "This kid's incredible!"

"Is this the intelligence of an A University prodigy?"

"He really memorized it? Backward, too?"

The internal sales copy proposal for Great Zhou World's new development was more than seventy pages long and contained over two hundred clauses. To truly memorize it from beginning to end would take at least four or five hours. Cao Yan had no patience to watch Gu Chen show off and interrupted in a low voice, "Enough. Your grasp of the basics is decent. But sales is more about communication between people. Blind memorization alone is useless. You also have to know how to apply it flexibly. Only by knowing what a client is thinking can you sell them a house."

"The clients who come to Great Zhou World to look at properties are all society's top elites. They may not think much of someone like you, who only knows how to quote books and show off petty cleverness."

"I'm only giving you a friendly reminder. Don't let your talent make you arrogant. If you say something wrong and offend an important client, you won't be able to bear the consequences."

Gu Chen said nothing.

The female employee who had watched the entire exchange from the side impatiently frowned. She picked at her nails. "That's enough, isn't it? Didn't you tell him to recite it backward, Manager Cao? The intern did exactly as you said. How is that showing off?"

Cao Yan frowned. "Liao Chunhua, what kind of attitude is that? I'm teaching an intern. Why are you butting in? Don't think you can always go against management just because you're a veteran employee. Or did you take a liking to this pretty boy because he's handsome?"

"He is handsome! And I happen to like handsome men!" Liao Chunhua beckoned to Gu Chen. "Handsome boy, come work with me. I'll teach you. Isn't it just selling houses? Is there any need to make it sound so dire? I've been selling houses for over a decade. I've trained at least eighty, if not a hundred, apprentices, but I've never trained one this handsome who can recite the sales copy backward."

"Oh! Sister Chunhua has spotted talent and taken a liking to it! Handsome boy, hurry over and take her as your master. Sister Chunhua is the champion of Great Zhou World's sales department. You definitely won't go wrong with her teaching you."

Hearing that, Gu Chen immediately went to the nearby break area, filled a paper cup with water, and respectfully handed it to Liao Chunhua. "Hello, Master. I offer you this cup of water in place of tea. Please take care of me from now on."

"Oh, this young man knows his way around people." Liao Chunhua glanced at Gu Chen, accepted the cup with a smile, and took a sip. "All right! Then the apprenticeship ceremony is complete. Don't worry. As long as you're willing to learn, I'll teach you everything I know."

Cao Yan's frown deepened. "Hold on! I haven't said anything, yet you've decided this on your own. Liao Chunhua, you're only a sales team leader. What right do you have to bypass me, the sales manager, and assign an intern to a position? Are you not taking me, your manager, seriously at all?"

Liao Chunhua smiled. "What a big deal you're making out of nothing, Manager Cao."

With her arms crossed, Liao Chunhua said leisurely, "You said it yourself—you're the lofty manager of Sales Division One, busy with important matters. Naturally, trivial things like assigning interns should be handled by subordinates like us. Or are you planning to personally train our little intern today, Manager Cao?"

That had in fact been Cao Yan's plan. He believed that only by keeping Gu Chen at his side could he precisely strike at him whenever he wanted, making Gu Chen understand the gap between society's elites and college students sheltered in ivory towers. Scoring seven hundred points on the college entrance exam did not mean someone could rise above the rest in society. However, Liao Chunhua's interference had ruined Cao Yan's plans. He turned to Gu Chen. "Choose for yourself. Will you follow me or her? Let me tell you, I'm the manager of Sales Division One. In this sales department, I'm the boss."

Gu Chen remained expressionless, as calm as an ancient well. "I've already completed the apprenticeship ceremony."

Liao Chunhua smugly raised an eyebrow. "Looks like this handsome boy understands the situation. He knows ability matters more than rank, and he knows who can actually teach him something useful."

"You—" Cao Yan was too furious to speak. After thinking it over, he said harshly, "Fine. If you want to train him, then train him. If anything goes wrong, you'll take full responsibility."

"What a piece of work," Liao Chunhua muttered, shaking her head as she watched Cao Yan storm away.

"Hey, I heard you were specially recommended by our group's eldest young lady for this internship at Great Zhou World." After Cao Yan left, someone leaned close to Gu Chen and asked curiously, "Are you close with our eldest young lady?"