It’s Monday morning again.

Jian Hang arrived at the office early. There was an extra cup on the table, with a sticky note on the lid.

The cup is the same as mine; it’s already been sterilized with hot water and can be used directly. —Qin Moling

Jian Hang put down her laptop bag and glanced at the figurines next to the green plants. Her own figurine had been placed separately before, but now it was back in the group, standing neatly with the other nine figurines.

Xiao Fan wouldn’t touch anything on her desk; it could only be Qin Moling.

Jian Hang opened her phone. [Husband, I received the cup.]

Qin Moling: [Don’t leave your figurines lying around anymore.]

Jian Hang: [Okay.]

She took the cup and got some water; today’s meeting was scheduled to start at nine o’clock.

It would still be held at the conference room on the 22nd floor.

Neither Yin Qing nor Ji Xianggu came today, nor did Uncle Qin.

Zhong Yanyue was preparing a PowerPoint presentation for her work report, and only glanced at Jian Hang out of the corner of her eye when she entered the conference room.

The Fourth Division was currently struggling to move forward. Everyone was waiting for their budget to be cut and for chaos to erupt, but the Fourth Division has been quiet this week, as if nothing has happened at all.

Jian Hang didn’t bring her laptop today; she only took a water cup and a meeting notebook.

Apart from Qin Moling and Vice President Wu, the others assumed she had resigned herself to her fate and only came over to give a routine report.

Today, Vice President Wu changed to a large water cup, filled to the brim with buckwheat tea.

Once everyone had arrived, the meeting began.

Jian Hang was quite free. She glanced at her watch; it was 8:58, two minutes early for the meeting.

As before, the report began with the First Division.

Jian Hang picked up the water glass and took a leisurely sip.

Qin Moling’s gaze swept over her. She hadn’t brought her laptop or any documents. She hadn’t even brought the agreement that he had told her to bring.

Even at this time, she still had the mind to drink tea.

After the First Division General Manager finished his report, it was Zhong Yanyue’s turn.

“Our new commercial is finished. We filmed two clips, and the director and I think they’re both pretty good. We’re having trouble deciding which one to choose, so we’d like to ask for your feedback.”

She projected the advertisement onto her computer screen.

Jian Hang watched the advertisement carefully. She quite liked Tan Moxing, even though she wouldn’t be able to endorse the Fourth Division.

After the two commercials finished playing, Vice President Wu was also conflicted. “It’s a tough choice.” But he couldn’t keep both, so he said, “I’ll pick the second one.”

Others expressed their opinions, some choosing option one and others choosing option two.

“How about Ms. Jian?” Zhong Yanyue asked, looking at her.

Jian Hang replied, “I choose the first one. The second one has a good idea, but it doesn’t stimulate consumer desire as much as the first one.”

Zhong Yanyue actually preferred the second one, just like Vice President Wu.

She played the advertisement video again and asked Zhao Yanhai for his opinion. “Chairman Zhao, what do you think?”

Zhao Yanhai succinctly stated, “The first one.”

Zhong Yanyue turned off the commercial. “Thank you. I’m sorry to have troubled everyone. I’ll go back and think about it.”

… … translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

After the Third Division finished their report, everyone thought the meeting was almost over, since the Fourth Division really didn’t have anything to report.

Jian Hang glanced at Vice President Wu’s cup. His cup was useless today; she didn’t plan to battle with him for the contract manufacturing income.

“Ms. Jian, what problems does your Fourth Division need to solve?”

Jian Hang smiled and said, “Money.”

Vice President Wu: “…Be more specific.”

Jian Hang turned to Zhao Yanhai, “Director Zhao, I’d like to talk to you about the Fourth Division.”

She suddenly turned her attention to Zhao Yanhai, catching him off guard.

Zhao Yanhai and Third Uncle Qin were about the same age and had been in the business world for a long time. They had seen all kinds of situations, so her little show of force couldn’t scare him.

He remained calm and composed. “What is it? Tell me.”

Jian Hang asked, “Now that the Fourth Division is responsible for our own profits and losses, and we are in charge of our own expenditures, does that mean that all its revenue also goes to the Fourth Division?”

Zhao Yanhai was very perceptive and realized that she wanted to take away the contract manufacturing rights of the four factories and six workshops under his control.

He countered, “What do you want?”

“The revenue from OEM manufacturing.”

Everyone was staring at her. The subcontracting rights weren’t just about permissions; they involved shady, illicit activities.

Jian Hang was trying to take money from Zhao Yanhai’s pocket, and how could Zhao Yanhai possibly let her?

Zhao Yanhai deliberately remained silent for more than ten seconds, putting pressure on Jian Hang, “This needs to be considered carefully.”

Jian Hang was just as assertive as him, “I’m not trying to fight you for the OEM revenue, because it originally belonged to the Fourth Division, there’s nothing to argue about.”

Vice President Wu pressed his temples; this was a direct confrontation, a head-on clash. Everyone in the conference room was well aware of the conflict between Qin Moling and Zhao Yanhai.

She was the fiercest; she bypassed him and confronted Zhao Yanhai directly.

He could argue with Zhao Yanhai, but she couldn’t. In a sense, she represented Qin Moling’s position and interests, and a public confrontation would damage the harmony of the situation.

Once things fell apart, there would be no room to maneuver.

What was she trying to do?

Jian Hang continued, “I’m an outsider. If the factories fall into the hands of the Fourth Division, we might not be able to manage it well. They might lose a lot of orders, which would be a huge loss for both Lemeng and the Fourth Division.”

She then changed the subject, “So, I would like to trouble Chairman Zhao, after the factory returns to the Fourth Division, could you and your team continue to operate it, and then only give the revenue to the Fourth Division?”

Vice President Wu was taken aback, thinking things would turn sour, but he didn’t expect it to go this way.

Even Zhao Yanhai was slightly taken aback. She didn’t ask about the specifics of the outsourcing, leaving everything to him. She didn’t touch any of the profits that belonged to him, only taking the outsourcing revenue from the company’s books.

The OEM revenue that went into the company’s accounts had nothing to do with him, and he couldn’t touch it at all. As for whether this part of the revenue went to Lemeng or to the Fourth Division, he didn’t care.

What he was concerned about was the other interests.

Among the current Division General Managers, none were as insightful as her, knowing how to balance the overall interests.

Zhao Yanhai had no reason to disagree. He said a few polite words, “It’s all for Lemeng’s good. There’s no trouble at all. This part of the revenue should indeed go to the Fourth Division. The specific arrangements will be made by Vice President Wu. I’ll just sign off on it.”

Jian Hang smiled. “Thank you, Chairman Zhao.”

Vice President Wu picked up the large water glass and drank about half of it.

He had already prepared for the worst, knowing that he and Qin Moling would definitely be condemned by the board of directors. Although demanding the OEM rights would only offend Director Zhao, the other directors, seeing that Qin Moling had threatened Director Zhao’s interests, would worry that their own interests would be threatened one day, and would therefore actively band together to help Director Zhao.

Unexpectedly, things took a turn for the better.

Jian Hang not only got what she wanted, but also prevented the internal strife at Lemeng from escalating, and balanced the delicate interests between Zhao Yanhai and Qin Moling.

He used to think Jian Hang was unreliable, adventurous and radical, but today his opinion has completely changed.

Jian Hang looked at Qin Moling, and Qin Moling was also looking at her; their eyes met.

He was willing to offend the Board of Directors for her sake and her Fourth Division, so how could she allow him to be harassed by the Board of Directors?

Marriage First, Love Later translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: All income from Lemeng’s factories go to Lemeng; Director Zhao cannot touch this. He was only interested in the power and control he wields by being the decision-maker on who gets those contracts. I expect that whenever he approves a contract, the other party would give him a little something to make the deal go smoother. Plus the power to say ‘no’ if you offend him.

Everyone expected Jian Hang to fight for control but she didn’t—she just wanted the income, so the ‘fierce battle’ never happened.

Considering that everyone recognizes that there are ‘other interests’ involved, I now wonder how outrageous those fired employees were to make Qin Moling fire them. They probably stole a lot from company funds itself and not just favorable side deals. 

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