CH 74

Chapter 74 – Thirty-One

The director of the sales department rambled on stage, talking about improvements for the next time and how the next quarter would surely see an increase in performance. After painting a rosy picture of the future, he glanced at Zhuge Feng, who subtly nodded in response. The director then returned to his seat, feeling quite pleased with himself.

“General Manager Zhuge, are you sleeping?” Zhou Tongpeng leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowed into slits as he chuckled.

Zhuge Feng, who had closed his eyes, didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids. “Yeah, my ears hurt after hearing this old statement. Director Xu, you said the same thing last quarter. Why are you saying it again this quarter? Your analysis seems to have failed.”

The director of sales department lowered his head, feigning shame but his mouth curved upward, showing his lack of concern.

“General Manager Zhuge, don’t change the subject. Who was it that confidently claimed last month that Wei Chen would achieve a 30% increase in company performance? But now, look at the results. Instead of increasing, the performance has dropped. General Manager Zhuge, seems like you’re not very good at judging people, huh?” Zhou Tongpeng said, not wanting Zhuge Feng to divert the topic.

“Did I just change the subject?” Zhuge Feng looked surprised. “I was only giving feedback on Director Xu’s work. Does Vice Chairman Zhou think I don’t have the right to do so?”

Thinking that Zhuge Feng was changing the subject, Zhou Tongpeng didn’t respond and just stared at Zhuge Feng, as if challenging him to continue.

Feeling somewhat awkward, Zhuge Feng cleared his throat and turned to Wei Chen. “Director Wei, please give us a report on your work this month.”

Zhou Tongpeng leaned back in his chair with satisfaction, while the director of sales department raised his eyebrows and couldn’t help but show a lopsided smile. He Keqiang’s leg trembled in excitement even more.

Under the intense and fiery gazes of everyone in the room, Wei Chen walked to the center of the conference room. His posture was as still as a pine tree, and the buttons on his white shirt were neatly fastened without a single crease. His expression was emotionless, his gaze cold yet incredibly calm.

In that moment when Wei Chen stood still, the surrounding air seemed to solidify, and the various gazes upon him suddenly changed, gaining a hint of respect and focus. It was inexplicable, as if a newfound admiration had emerged.

The next second, Wei Chen’s deep voice resounded in the quiet conference room. His tone was cold, yet unhurried.

“Before you all think that I should step down from the position of Marketing Department Director, I want to show you a report, a new performance report compiled before midnight on the 31st.”

As Wei Chen finished speaking, a line graph appeared on the screen behind him—a nearly vertical upward trend that seemed to rise at a ninety-degree angle. It made the others in the conference room gasp in disbelief.

“This is the month-on-month growth rate, and this…” Wei Chen pressed a button on his remote, and the graph on the screen changed. “And this graph is a comparison of this quarter’s performance with the previous quarter’s. Compared to the previous quarter, the growth rate is…”

Wei Chen paused, his cold gaze sweeping over Zhou Tongpeng, the director of sales department, He Keqiang, and everyone else in the conference room, before he calmly finished his words.

“Thirty-one percent.”

The sunlight outside grew increasingly scorching, and as if influenced by the sunlight, the atmosphere in the office suddenly became heated.

The number thirty-one was like a bomb, exploding throughout the entire office. Except for the chairman and Zhuge Feng, who had been informed beforehand, everyone else was stunned by this heavy bombshell and took a while to react.

After the initial shock, the first thought that crossed their minds was that Wei Chen had definitely done it on purpose. The second thought was that it must be fake. But upon closer consideration, it was clear that Wei Chen couldn’t have faked it. With so many eyes watching, a false illusion of such a significant 30% increase would be exposed in an instant.

So many people immediately realized that Wei Chen had truly achieved it!

But how did he manage to do it? 31% instead of just 30%!

The word “shock” was no longer sufficient to describe the feelings of most people in the conference room. This was undoubtedly a miracle, an unprecedented and unrepeatable success!

However, not everyone had the same thoughts. It was inevitable that some people couldn’t accept the reality, just like the director of the sales department. He was extremely shocked and forgot some etiquette as he stood up abruptly, glaring at Wei Chen and questioning, “This is impossible! I have always been in charge of the performance reports for the sales department. How could you have a new one?”

Zhou Tongpeng’s face immediately darkened, his mouth drooping, and the fat on his face twitching. His gaze towards Wei Chen mirrored that of the sales department’s director, filled with doubt.

“I can prove the authenticity of this new report,” the chairman, who had been quietly observing the scene, suddenly spoke up. After glancing at Wei Chen and receiving a nod from him, the chairman returned to his position, handing the stage over to the chairman.

At this moment, He Keqiang lowered his head, still struggling in his mind, thinking that Wei Chen’s report must be fake. However, the chairman’s words instantly extinguished the flame of hope in his heart.

How was it possible? How could Wei Chen silently accomplish the task?

This wasn’t just He Keqiang’s doubt, but the doubt of everyone present. All eyes were fixed on the chairman, hoping that he would provide some clarification.

The chairman didn’t keep everyone in suspense for long. He simply pressed a button on the remote control, showcasing one contract after another.

These contracts had different signatures and seals from the second party, but the dates were all the same, the last day of the previous month! And those seals belonged to first-tier international automobile brands and companies in China.

It was evident that on the last day of the previous month, they had signed numerous contracts with various automobile brands and companies in China.

Only when the final detailed table appeared, presenting the most direct and intuitive results, did everyone gasp in astonishment! No wonder the performance had achieved a growth rate of 31%. These orders represented a quarter’s worth of volume!

“This is the data behind Director Wei’s new report,” the chairman said as the presentation switched to the last page. The projector’s light illuminated his face, creating a dramatic atmosphere of light and shadow that once again shocked the entire conference room.

The room was in an uproar. Everyone found it hard to believe how Wei Chen, single-handedly, managed to secure all these contracts. They looked at Wei Chen with a mixture of shock, admiration, and various other emotions, replacing their previous mockery and sympathy.

Regardless of how Wei Chen obtained these contracts, they had to admit that he was truly talented!

As they finished reviewing the contracts, when everyone turned their attention back to the growth percentage, they felt a subtle sense of astonishment.

31%, what a remarkable achievement!

Was this really just a coincidence? They set Wei Chen a goal of 30%, and he exceeded it by 1%. Was that extra 1% intentional?

Whether it was a coincidence or intentional, that extra 1% was likely even more humiliating for Zhou Tongpeng than the initial 30%.

What was the meaning of being “slapped in the face”? This was it! And it was a skillful slap indeed.

Considering Zhou Tongpeng’s position, although everyone wanted to see his current expression, they didn’t dare to blatantly look. However, they could already imagine that his face must be as black as the bottom of a pot.

Wei Chen’s slap was not a light one.

“Vice Chairman Zhou, did you see that? Wei Chen has completed the task you assigned to him one hundred percent. Oh, I forgot, not only one hundred percent, he exceeded it by one percent. Maybe you can calculate how much he exceeded the target?” Others didn’t dare to provoke Zhou Tongpeng’s anger, but Zhuge Feng had no such reservations. He even showed off without any disguise.

At this moment, Zhou Tongpeng couldn’t laugh. His chest heaved heavily, feeling the burning pain on his face, as if he had been slapped hard.

The situation had developed into something he least wanted to see, but now he was powerless to change anything. He could only endure this enormous slap.

However, Zhou Tongpeng couldn’t smile at this moment, even though the company’s performance had improved. As the vice chairman, he should be happy about it.

Zhuge Feng didn’t rush Zhou Tongpeng to express his opinion but leaned on his chin, smirking and gleefully watching Zhou Tongpeng’s darkened face.

Previously, Zhou Tongpeng thought his face was too greasy, but today, for the first time, he found it quite pleasing when he saw Zhou Tongpeng’s face turn ashen. At least, his mood was delighted when he saw Zhou Tongpeng’s face now.

Zhou Tongpeng took a long time to suppress the anger pent up in his chest before saying, “Director Wei is indeed a talented young person. I, as an old man, have underestimated him.” It was a way for him to save face.

However, Zhuge Feng wasn’t buying it. He sneered and threw back the words Zhou Tongpeng had said to him earlier, saying, “Vice Chairman Zhou, don’t try to change the topic. Do you remember the conditions I proposed when you assigned this task?”

If it wasn’t for Wei Chen’s exceptional abilities and his miraculous completion of this task that no one believed in, Zhou Tongpeng wouldn’t have escaped without having a considerable amount of blood sucked from him.

This matter was initiated by Zhou Tongpeng himself, and now he couldn’t simply flip the page by saying he underestimated Wei Chen. Zhuge Feng wouldn’t agree to that!

Zhou Tongpeng finally released the suppressed anger, but Zhuge Feng’s words reignited it. The anger was even hotter than before, making Zhou Tongpeng restless, and the fat on his face trembled even more.

Now he understood that if Zhuge Feng didn’t gain any benefits from him, he wouldn’t let it go!

Zhou Tongpeng had barely eased his anger, and now, due to Zhuge Feng’s words, it resurfaced. This anger was even more intense than before, making Zhou Tongpeng feel agitated. The fat on his face quivered more vigorously.

He realized that Zhuge Feng wouldn’t let him off the hook easily.