Chapter 265 - 220: Zhenyuan Restaurant

Chapter 265: Chapter 220: Zhenyuan Restaurant

Zhen Cui Group, Chairman’s Office.

Gu Heng, Qi Min, and Zhuang Hanyu sat around a coffee table, on which were laid out exquisite food containers filled with a variety of dishes.

"Has Xie Jianlin had any past conflicts with the other Group VPs?"

Gu Heng finished a bowl of steaming braised beef noodles, then put down his chopsticks and picked up a napkin to wipe his mouth.

"None that I’ve heard of."

Qi Min thought for a moment before shaking her head in reply.

"I see..."

Gu Heng nodded slightly but said no more.

During the Group meeting just now, Xie Jianlin’s words and posture were tantamount to offending the other four Group VPs to the point of no return.

Gu Heng had initially thought Xie Jianlin held some past grudges against the other four Group VPs and was planning to use this opportunity to go all in, becoming a lone wolf within the Group. But thinking about it now, it seemed Xie Jianlin had no other choice.

The nail that sticks out gets hammered down. The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be toppled by the wind.

Xie Jianlin and the other four Group VPs truly had no prior conflicts. However, the moment Xie Jianlin stood up from his chair and volunteered to Gu Heng to head to Jin City, the relationship between them naturally became irreconcilable.

One side shied away from the fight, while the other was proactive and ambitious.

Under these circumstances, if Xie Jianlin were to achieve great things in Jin City, their own positions within the Group would become even more difficult. Therefore, they certainly didn’t want him to succeed.

As Group Vice Presidents, their status was second only to Qi Min.

They were in charge of various departments and business operations across the Group. With the Group’s grand plan for a full-scale expansion into the northern market at stake, they wouldn’t dare to openly sabotage Xie Jianlin. But whether they would resort to some underhanded tricks in private was another matter entirely.

This trip to Jin City was already an all-or-nothing gamble for Xie Jianlin.

Risk and reward are directly proportional. By accepting the position of Jin City’s Regional General Manager, he was effectively resigning as a Group VP. If his market expansion in Jin City failed, even if he could return to the Group’s headquarters, he would likely be relegated to the sidelines.

Since there was no turning back, rather than wait for the other Group VPs to backstab him, he chose to flip the table. Xie Jianlin was making his stance clear in front of all the Group’s senior executives.

That stance was: On this trip to Jin City, if anyone dares to backstab me, I’ll destroy you!

He who hesitates is lost.

Jin City was already a tough nut to crack. He might not be able to conquer it even with his all-out effort, so how could he have the spare energy to deal with arrows shot at his back?

As for what the other senior executives would say about him behind his back after the meeting, Xie Jianlin couldn’t care less.

No matter how much they cursed him now, as long as he could successfully conquer the markets in Jin City and Yanjing, when he returned, these same people would still have to be utterly respectful and greet him with a smile.

Conversely, even if he tried to curry favor and maintain a veneer of civility now, if he failed to expand the market in Jin City, these people would still kick him when he was down.

Understanding the logic behind Xie Jianlin’s actions at the Group meeting, Gu Heng couldn’t help but feel that old ginger is indeed spicier. The man’s thinking was so clear, and his actions were decisive and resolute, without the slightest bit of hesitation.

’It seems...’

’Xie Jianlin really is the best person to expand the Group’s frontiers!’

Gu Heng thought to himself as he took a sip of water to cleanse his palate.

"Chairman Gu..."

Just then, Zhuang Hanyu, who was sitting on the sofa to Gu Heng’s right, called out to him.

"President Zhuang, what is it?"

Gu Heng returned to his senses and turned his gaze toward her.

"Chairman Gu, our Public Affairs Department at Ding Shield has prepared the list of people for the business trip to the Four Cities of Fengtian. Please take a look."

As Zhuang Hanyu spoke, she handed her phone to Gu Heng with both hands.

"Let me see."

Gu Heng took the phone and quickly scanned the screen.

There were a total of four teams with sixteen people. Each team would be led by a public affairs specialist.

Taking into account the different political and business environments of each city, Ding Dun had conducted detailed research and made targeted personnel arrangements accordingly.

What is a public affairs department?

It is a department dedicated to handling government and business relations. Typically, only large-scale business groups have such an internal department.

Their primary daily work is to maintain a good relationship with the government on behalf of the company, ensuring that the company’s business projects can be implemented smoothly and operate in a stable manner.

In the past, neither Zhen Cui Group nor Beichun Junlan Hotel had an internal public affairs department. While that is still the case, their parent company, Dingdun Capital Group, has added one to fill this gap and make up for the two companies’ deficiencies in this area.

In the future, the maintenance and management of the two companies’ government and business relations will be fully handled by Dingdun Capital’s public affairs department. Therefore, after Zhen Cui Group initiated its northern market expansion plan, it was natural that Dingdun Capital would be responsible for establishing these preliminary relationships.

As the saying goes, King Yan is easy to send off, but the minor demons are a pain to deal with.

When Zhen Cui Group wants to expand into an unfamiliar city, it has to deal with numerous departments like Industrial and Commercial, taxation, fire safety, and sanitation. Any single one of these departments, while not necessarily able to derail Zhen Cui Group’s expansion plan entirely, could very easily make things difficult for them.

To put it simply, the four teams dispatched by Dingdun Capital were going to the cities where Zhen Cui Group planned to expand to pay respects to the local powers ahead of time.

This task was also part of the preliminary preparatory work. It’s just that this matter wasn’t directly related to Zhen Cui Group, and it was also somewhat sensitive, which is why Gu Heng had not brought it up during the Group’s general meeting.