CH 66

Chapter 66 – Has been Sidelined

Chen Li was worried about Wei Chen. On the day when Wei Chen fell ill, Chen Li stayed by his side, constantly accompanying him. Sometimes, when Wei Chen got too caught up in his work and forgot to take his medicine, Chen Li would hold his hand and gaze at him intently, reminding him to take his medication.

With Chen Li’s supervision, by the next day when Wei Chen went to work, he had basically recovered.

On Monday morning, Wei Chen was in high spirits. He planted a firm kiss on Chen Li’s forehead and said, “Thank you, Li Li.”

Chen Li had just woken up and was still a bit groggy, not fully comprehending the situation. His disheveled hair was still standing up.

Unable to resist, Wei Chen reached out and ruffled Chen Li’s hair before getting out of bed and heading to the bathroom to freshen up.

Chen Li sat for a while, gradually regaining clarity, and then got up in one swift motion. Wearing slippers, he walked towards the bathroom.

After freshening up, Wei Chen took Chen Li for a jog in the park within the community before they went to the company together.

The employees in the marketing department had been very motivated lately. It was still several minutes before the start of work, and almost all the employees had already arrived, engrossed in their own tasks.

When they saw Wei Chen, they greeted him with a “Good morning” and had grown accustomed to seeing Chen Li by his side.

After a few days of interaction, these employees had come to appreciate Wei Chen’s abilities and charisma. Problems that they thought were difficult were quickly solved by Wei Chen, and they were able to learn a lot from him.

Working under such a leader, even those who were previously just slacking off found it difficult to remain indifferent. They would work hard together.

As soon as Wei Chen and Chen Li disappeared behind the office door, an employee turned to the person next to them and said, “I just saw an email in my inbox. It’s the proposal I sent to Director Wei last time, and he sent it back to me with many annotations, pointing out the areas where I fell short and the good aspects. Director Wei is really serious. I thought he wouldn’t even look at that proposal, but not only did he read it, he also made revisions.”

“Really? I should check my inbox too.” The person opened their email and indeed found an unread document, which was the revised version of the proposal they had submitted that day.

Not only these two, but their colleagues in the marketing department also opened their emails and found annotated proposals, all of which were the ones they had previously submitted.

Having their hard work taken seriously by their superiors naturally brought them great satisfaction. Moreover, the annotations from their superiors were not mere formalities; many of them contained useful insights, making it even more perfect.

Respect is mutual. By showing such respect for their achievements today, Wei Chen naturally earned the respect of his subordinates.

Wei Chen didn’t know that this habit of his had completely won over the employees in the marketing department, accepting him as their newly appointed director.

He Keqiang arrived at the office on time, thinking he wouldn’t be the last one since there were usually a few people who would be late for various reasons, even with the hefty fines for tardiness.

However, reality struck He Keqiang as he realized he was the last one to arrive at the office today. As soon as he entered the office, he was greeted by a bustling scene. Every employee was energetically working on their tasks, and it didn’t take them half an hour to get into the work mode as it used to.

Did they all drink stimulants? He Keqiang murmured in his heart and leisurely walked towards his own office. As he passed by Wei Chen’s office, He Keqiang peeked his head toward the window. Wei Chen was working on his computer, and his autistic wife sat by the window with a drawing board, drawing something.

He Keqiang sneered, strolled back to his office, turned on the computer, and looked at the Changfeng Group’s logo on the screen. This reminded him of the former marketing department director who had approached him.

“A 30% increase? Ha! It’s like a newborn calf not afraid of tigers,” He Keqiang scoffed. As the marketing department director, he had some understanding of the current market, which had already reached a saturation point. Just maintaining the current level without any increase was already challenging enough. To promise a 30% increase was simply a pipe dream.

But it was for the better. The former director had promised him that once Wei Chen was removed from his position, the marketing department would be under his, He Keqiang’s, control.

Although achieving a 30% increase was already difficult, He Keqiang didn’t mind raising the bar even higher. He believed that the people above him shared the same mindset.

Lost in his daydreams, He Keqiang realized that he had been sidelined by Wei Chen when he tried to get involved in his work. He had no knowledge of the direction the marketing department was heading or the next plans. He had no idea what his colleagues outside the office were busy with either.

Upon learning this, He Keqiang slumped in his office chair. How could Wei Chen be so arrogant after just a few days in the marketing department?

The more he thought about it, the more furious He Keqiang became. When the lunch break was over, he stormed into Wei Chen’s office to confront him.

As He Keqiang arrived at Wei Chen’s office, Wei Chen just finished a phone call, and He Keqiang could only hear the words “pleasant cooperation” as he entered.

Wei Chen turned his head and saw He Keqiang standing at the doorway, staring at him with a hostile gaze. Wei Chen was not surprised by his emotions and walked up to Chen Li, standing beside him, and coldly said, “Manager He, do you need something?”

“Director Wei, what do you mean by this?” He Keqiang stared at Wei Chen, questioning.

Wei Chen did not avoid He Keqiang’s gaze and said frankly, “I don’t understand what Manager He is talking about.”

“Wei Chen, don’t think you’re so great just because you’re the director. I am an old-timer in the Changfeng marketing department. Without me, you won’t make any progress in Changfeng.” He Keqiang didn’t reveal his intentions directly. He wanted to threaten Wei Chen first.

Indeed, He Keqiang had been with Changfeng for many years, and he had a vast network within the company. Improving the company’s performance was not something that could be achieved solely by hard work in the marketing department. When the time came, He Keqiang could make people from other departments obstruct Wei Chen, which would be quite troublesome for him.

And this was where He Keqiang’s confidence lay.

As the saying goes, a powerful dragon cannot suppress a local snake. He Keqiang had been managing Changfeng for so many years that it wouldn’t be easy for Wei Chen to overthrow him.

He Keqiang thought that by saying these things, Wei Chen would at least back down. However, Wei Chen just gave him a cold glance and said, “Please proceed.”

He Keqiang’s fist struck nothing but cotton.

The conversation between the two ended on a sour note, and He Keqiang did not expect Wei Chen to be so unyielding. Filled with anger, He Keqiang left, carrying a belly full of frustration.

As He Keqiang exited Wei Chen’s office, his face was darkened with anger. After closing the door, he shot a fierce glare at the office door.

“I can’t believe this! Who does he think he is? Does he really think he can mess with me and make me unable to stay at Changfeng?” He Keqiang muttered angrily as he returned to his own office, slamming the door shut.

Once He Keqiang’s office door was closed, the employees outside began to whisper.

They had been dissatisfied with He Keqiang for a long time, but they also knew that after managing the company for so many years, he must have a network of his own. They were also worried that if Wei Chen and He Keqiang clashed, they wouldn’t know if they could benefit from it.

They had finally encountered such a capable leader, and they didn’t want to see him being undermined by malicious individuals. “What do you think He Keqiang is so angry about?” one colleague tugged at another’s clothes, gossiping.

“Of course, he’s angry. He has been struggling in our company for so many years, and just when our former director was promoted, he thought he could be promoted to director as well. But as soon as our Director Wei arrived, the duck that was about to be in his mouth flew away. Tell me, wouldn’t he be angry?” a colleague explained in a composed manner.

Everyone understood the reasoning, but they still found He Keqiang’s behavior unacceptable.

“I think He Keqiang has some problems in his head,” another colleague joined in, speaking mysteriously.

This statement successfully caught the attention of the others, and they turned their gazes towards him.

The person cleared his throat and continued, “Think about it, how old is our Director Wei this year? He’s only 24, folks! He’s younger than each and every one of us sitting here. He became the director of the marketing department in a Fortune Global 500 company at such a young age. Even if he has the ability, don’t you think he must have some influential background? He Keqiang has indeed been working hard in the company for many years, but he climbed up from the bottom step by step. Do you think his network can compare to our Director Wei’s? So in my opinion, when He Keqiang clashes with Director Wei, I’m not sure who will end up getting hurt!”

Indeed, even if Wei Chen didn’t have any background, he would need some time to shine, no matter how excellent he was. It was unlikely that he would be promoted to such a high position all of a sudden.

“But I heard that someone higher up wants to target our Director Wei,” someone whispered, lowering their voice and sharing the latest rumor.

“What? How is that possible?”

“Yes, our Director Wei is such an outstanding person. It must be that the big boss has gone crazy and wants to target him!”

The others expressed disbelief.

“Think about it, on the first day Director Wei came to our company, who personally greeted him?” the person asked.

After a moment of contemplation, the others had a sudden realization.

That’s right, on Director Wei’s first day at work, it was the general manager himself who welcomed him. That could only mean that Director Wei was aligned with the general manager’s faction.

Even though they were just the lowest-level employees in Changfeng Group, they were well aware of the intense factional struggles within the company. The opposing faction would never allow the manager’s faction to have such an outstanding individual and would do everything possible to bring down Director Wei.

These people understood the situation and decided not to get involved in the company’s factional struggles. For now, they pretended to know nothing, giving their best to cooperate with Wei Chen’s work and striving to ensure that Director Wei wouldn’t be undermined by higher-ups.