Sister-in-law Feng wasn’t paying attention and fell on her backside.
But Feng Dajun didn’t even glance at her, took his coat from the rack, threw it on, and left home.
Sister-in-law Feng sat on the ground, wailing, and only when she thought he was far away did she start to quiet down.
At that moment, a pair of small hands grabbed her arm, trying their best to help her up.
Sister-in-law Feng turned her head fiercely, only to see Feng Jingjing shrinking back in fear.
“Mom…Mom…”
“Don’t call me Mom! You’re just like your dad. Let me tell you, no matter how much you miss your dad, you’ll never become non-agricultural. Your household registration will always follow mine as agricultural. You’re destined to be a farmer your whole life…”
…………
At the end of the year, various departments held their summary meetings one after another.
Lin Chuxia originally didn’t think these matters had anything to do with her, but Wang Tianxue called, asking her to participate in a city meeting.
Previously, while in Ancheng County, she could understand the county leaders’ attention on her as an individual business. Her achievements were indeed impressive in such a small county.
If county leaders wanted to set up a model example, she was confident she could stand at the forefront of certain industries.
But in Yan City, Lin Chuxia didn’t really think her achievements were enough to impress those high-ups.
Even Qin’s Restaurant had only been in Yan City for just over a year. From what she knew, Yan City had plenty of individual businesses.
“Do you know what’s going on from above? Why did they notify us about Huamei Mall?”
It’s not that Lin Chuxia was being cautious; she had already learned her lesson from the Old Food Factory in Ancheng.
No matter how dazzling their achievements were, individual businesses always had to take a back seat in front of state-owned enterprises.
One reason was their shallow roots, and another was the lack of identity background.
They say a big tree offers shade, but they don’t even have one tree, so how could they claim to be cooler than others?
Wang Tianxue indeed got the inside scoop, “It’s an exchange summary meeting, and the government is encouraging individual enterprises. Huamei Mall is considered among the best of Yan City’s individual enterprises, which is why they notified us.”
Lin Chuxia was still somewhat skeptical, and Wang Tianxue suddenly chuckled.
“My dear, don’t you know how capable you are? Huamei Mall has not only found its footing this past half year, but it’s also reached a triadic rivalry with Department Store and People’s Mall, the two largest malls in Yan City. Because of procedural matters, I had contact with the deputy mayor before, and he was indeed very complimentary of us. I think neither Manager Zhao nor any city leader has the capability to deal with us, not only Huamei Mall, but I heard the above knows Qin’s Restaurant is also your business, so they’re eager to meet you.”
Lin Chuxia did know that many departments had accounts with their restaurant. One could say they were more familiar with Qin’s Restaurant than Huamei Mall.
Given the circumstances, Lin Chuxia understood the situation, inquired about the meeting time, and on that day, she and Wang Tianxue went to the city government early.
Lotsa people came that day, almost all major enterprises in Yan City sent representatives.
While report summaries were one aspect, the main goal was for city leaders to secure ties with these enterprises and provide more opportunities for exchange.
Lin Chuxia and Wang Tianxue, as newcomers, only needed to sit quietly and listen to the leaders’ reports.
After the meeting ended, they would grab a meal together, completing their task.
They underestimated the simplicity; after the meeting, they were surprisingly called aside by the staff.
Their host was the deputy mayor in charge, someone Wang Tianxue had met before.
This time, the deputy mayor’s attitude towards them, especially Lin Chuxia, was very friendly. He said many encouraging words and indicated that if they needed support, the government would back them strongly.
In short, the pair left the office bewildered, finding it hard to believe how forthcoming the city leaders were.
Their rivalry with Department Store had reached a fever pitch; this year Department Store’s performance had plummeted, all thanks to Huamei Mall.
Department Store was a state enterprise, logically speaking, the government officials should favor them more, just like in Ancheng County; even when County leaders dealt with Food Factory Director Liu Guoyi, they’d still protect Food Factory’s interests.
After all, if a state-run enterprise ran into problems, the government would still be responsible for its hundreds or thousands of employees.
But this deputy mayor seemed to lack such concerns, even wanting to present Huamei Mall as a benchmark and participate in the provincial meeting as Yan City’s individual enterprises, an enormous honor.
Moreover, the deputy mayor specifically emphasized that Lin Chuxia must attend the provincial meeting.
Initially, Lin Chuxia had decided that the provincial meeting would be Wang Tianxue’s full responsibility, but she had no choice but to attend now.
Wang Tianxue also found it odd, not that she was trying to steal the limelight, but rather because Lin Chuxia was pregnant and it was inconvenient to go anywhere in the freezing weather.
Besides, the mall’s operations had always been handled by her, and she could answer any questions directly.
So the two went with full hearts of suspicion to attend the provincial meeting.
Fortunately, Yan City was the provincial capital, so Lin Chuxia didn’t have to travel far; she just went directly to the designated venue on the meeting day.
While she was waiting for the meeting to start, a staff member approached her to say a leader wanted to see her.
This made Lin Chuxia even more confused; while it made sense for city leaders to pay attention, her achievements didn’t warrant much attention from provincial leaders, right?
But when the office door opened, Lin Chuxia saw a person she never expected.
County Magistrate Bai Qifeng sat cheerfully behind the desk, smiling at her.
Lin Chuxia couldn’t help but step back, then glanced at the office door sign: Deputy Director of the National Development and Reform Commission’s office.
What was unclear now?
Lin Chuxia didn’t know what to say, smiled, and spoke, “Director Bai, you’re really… giving me such a surprise.”
The last few words carried a hint of gritted teeth.
She felt duped when he approached her, asking to settle over a thousand staff from the Old Food Factory, acting all melancholic and worried when he was about to leave Ancheng County. She thought he’d been transferred to another county or forced to leave for some reason.
In reality, he’d been promoted!
And to such an influential role!
Bai Qifeng, aware of his wrongs, personally poured her a glass of water, “I did what had to be done back then. If I hadn’t played the pity card, would you have accepted over a thousand employees from the Old Food Factory?”
In truth, Lin Chuxia didn’t initially plan to take on that burden.
“But I didn’t misjudge you in the end. They’ve informed me that now all machines at the Old Food Factory are running, profits have improved in recent months, and those employees you took in can have a good New Year this year.”