Chapter 486: Life in the Balance

These past few days, Xu Chen has been alternating between Tonghai New Village and the school dormitory.

He’s mainly been moving everyday items from the dormitory over to his little place in Tonghai New Village.

His roommate Hong Xiaoqiang couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Boss Xu, why aren’t you sleeping in the dorm anymore?”

Xu Chen just said it was due to company overtime, so he’s crashing in the office.

The thing is, buying a house right by the school still feels a bit showy.

Better to keep it low-key.

Even so, Bing Ge and Xu Chen setting up their ‘little home’ in Shanghai got back to Wu Feifei and Su Rong, and the two young ladies insisted on coming over to check it out.

Xu Chen picked an evening and invited the two ladies over for a casual get-together.

He didn’t bother cooking and just ordered Papa John’s pizza, cheese sticks, and wings, which left both ladies happily stuffed.

“How did you manage to buy a house without a proper household registration?” Wu Feifei asked.

“Bing Ge must have sorted it out; as an Asian Games champion, she gets policies for settling and buying property.”

“It’s the Shanghai Sports Bureau that helped with it—I don’t know the details.”

This naturally sparked another wave of envy.

Su Rong, munching on a cheese stick, suddenly remembered Bing Ge’s competition and said:

“Bing Ge’s match is the day after tomorrow, but it’s clashing with exams, so I can’t go watch.”

The upcoming match was, of course, the one Xie Bingran had to attend in Rongcheng for the ‘National Track and Field Championships’.

This is a top-tier professional event in track and field, representing the highest level in the domestic scene.

But as a specialized event, it doesn’t get a ton of public attention.

Friday happens to have the March VB computer certification exam, which conflicts for both Xu Chen and Su Rong.

Xu Chen said, “In domestic competitions, Bing Ge’s definitely going to take the gold.”

And besides, Bing Ge is flying out that day, competing, and flying straight back to Beijing.”

“If we went, we’d probably miss her altogether.”

Su Rong: “Is it that rushed? Back to Beijing the same day?”

Xu Chen: “Bing Ge’s April competition is way more important. She’s been in intensive training at the Sports Administration since after the New Year, all for that event.”

“That’s the real international showdown.”

Su Rong and Wu Feifei glanced at each other, then both chimed in:

“We’re going!”

“…”

The April ‘International Athletics Grand Prix’ that Xie Bingran is confirmed for is the European leg, in Zurich.

This ‘International Athletics Grand Prix’ is an official touring event by the International Association of Athletics Federations, with stops this year in Europe’s Zurich, Asia’s Shanghai, and America’s West Coast.

Originally, Xie Bingran was set to compete in the Shanghai leg, but after the coaching team evaluated her recent training rhythm and physical condition, they switched her to the European event based on the dates.

Plus, competing in Europe is like playing away, which is meant to toughen Bing Ge’s mindset for big competitions.

Xu Chen has already asked the company’s admin assistant Nana to book the travel and hotel.

“Hand over your passports, and I’ll have the admin sort out the travel arrangements.”

Xu Chen said.

The two ladies, chewing on pizza, looked thrilled.

Wu Feifei checked her phone and said:

“Is it the one in Zurich?”

She’d already found the event info.

“Switzerland! Awesome, I haven’t been there yet—just the excuse to go have some fun.”

Xu Chen suddenly thought that if they’re heading to Switzerland, it’s a perfect chance to get his father Xu Zhiquan a nice watch.

…

…

Thursday noon.

Xu Chen finished class and skipped lunch, hurrying straight to the company.

Today, there’s an interview lined up from Ran Bing Sports, handled by Jiang Yuze for new hires.

As soon as he walked in, he told the receptionist Nana:

“Get me some takeout, same as usual.”

Over the last couple of weeks with all the interviews, Nana’s ordered takeout for him multiple times and knows exactly what he likes.

Back in 2007, apps like Ele.me or Meituan hadn’t launched yet, so ordering takeout meant calling the restaurant directly.

What Xu Chen orders for overtime is from that tea restaurant on Miyun Road by the school’s west gate—tasty and nutritious.

The candidate was already waiting in the meeting room. When Jiang Yuze saw Xu Chen come in, he quickly stood up and handed him a resume.

Xu Chen nodded, glanced at the resume, and stepped into the meeting room.

…

Half an hour later, Xu Chen politely saw the candidate, Liu Yiyi, out, but in his mind, he’d already marked her with an ‘X’.

Her education and work history looked good, but her logical and structured thinking fell short. She could handle basic tasks short-term, but long-term growth potential seemed limited.

Over the past week or two, Xu Chen had interviewed several people, giving him a clearer idea of what the company needs.

Neither Ran Bing Sports nor East Morning Star Advertising plans to build a huge internal team. Xu Chen doesn’t want to deal with managing hundreds or thousands of people—that’s a headache.

Keep the core team lean and agile, like a special ops unit with a small support structure. He’s aligned with Nie Fei on this.

For most execution work, they can outsource to external vendors and partners.

For instance, Sun Lingfeng’s online store operations handle a lot of execution, customer service, and such through outsourced services.

It bumps up operational costs, but it cuts down on team management hassles.

Smaller ships turn faster, keeping the team innovative and adaptable…

The candidate was shown out by Nana, and Jiang Yuze came over.

Xu Chen handed the resume back to Jiang Yuze:

“This candidate isn’t quite right—keep looking.”

Jiang Yuze nodded: “Got it. There are two more candidates; I’ll check with Fei Jie first.”

“If they’re suitable, I’ll pass them to you, Xu Chen.”

…

These two weeks of interviews have shown real progress; a few are already set to start.

Besides business roles, they’ve hired a finance person, and Nie Fei had Xu Chen meet them.

It’s a guy named Ruan Zihau, a graduate from Shanghai Finance University, who previously worked in finance at a state-owned enterprise in Shanghai. He left because he couldn’t stand the office politics.

Xu Chen checked with Fang Jun and specifically asked if he could handle drinking.

Ruan Zihau paused, then answered honestly:

“My tolerance is pretty solid.”

With solid skills and a good drinking capacity, they had to bring him on board.

Nie Fei has arranged for him to start and head to Tiancheng headquarters for about two weeks of training.

By then, Fang Jun will probably test his real drinking limits…

Additionally, Nie Fei found a HR director for Ran Bing Sports and East Morning Star Advertising.

It’s a very experienced HR pro in her thirties, named Tang Mo, currently at a foreign company’s PR firm.

Xu Chen met her and chatted; she’s got a warm, approachable vibe, perfect for HR.

Coming from a foreign company, she’s got plenty of experience in building HR systems and fostering team culture.

As the teams for both companies grow, they really need a pro HR director.

…

Xu Chen returned to his ‘General Manager’s Office,’ and Nana had already brought in his lunch.

Nie Fei knocked and came in, holding a cup of coffee.

“Go ahead and eat; I’m just popping in to say hi and chat a bit.”

Xu Zhiquan transferring his Lifeng Footwear shares to Xu Chen is something Nie Fei knows about.

She joked:

“You’re a major shareholder in Lifeng now; you’ll have to attend the year-end shareholders’ meeting.”

“Make sure Zhou Junjun takes good care of you then.”

Xu Chen: “I’m not touching Zhou Junjun’s games; if Bing Ge found out, she’d tear me apart on the spot…”

Nie Fei burst out laughing.

As Fei Jie sipped her coffee, she updated Xu Chen on the current situation with Ran Bing Sports.

These days, Xu Chen’s been traveling, prepping for exams, and mostly just dashing in for interviews, so he hasn’t kept up with the business side much.

Nie Fei’s been handling things well; as general manager, she makes sure to keep Xu Chen in the loop on core developments.

After the New Year, Zhou Junjun’s factory production has ramped up fully.

Besides getting all workers back, they’ve added two more production lines from previous orders for other brands, which are now switched to making ‘Ran Bing 001’.

Over the last couple of weeks, ‘Ran Bing 001’ factory output and sales have hit new highs. Sun Lingfeng, who’s managing the online stores, says he’s so excited watching the sales data that he can’t sleep at night.

Nie Fei set down her coffee cup and said with a smile:

“This week, ‘Ran Bing 001′ sales officially broke eighty thousand pairs.”

“Really?”

Xu Chen isn’t from the sports brand industry, but he knows that in the current market, eighty thousand pairs for a new brand’s shoe is a major milestone, meaning the product has proven itself.

In fact, many brands’ new models might never hit that number before getting shelved.

And for Ran Bing Sports, without full nationwide offline stores, it’s all online sales.

Nie Fei: “The eighty thousand is still limited by production; if we could ramp up, we’d have hit a hundred thousand by now.”

She paused:

“We’re that much closer to our goal of ten thousand pairs a month and 1.2 million a year!”

Xu Chen: “We should celebrate that.”

He thought for a moment: “How about Friday evening or Monday next week?”

Nie Fei: “Let’s do Friday; you’ll have finished your exams, and Bing Ge will have her competition done. I’ll handle the dinner and karaoke.”

“It’s been a tough start to the year for everyone, and with new colleagues joining, it’s a great time for some team bonding and relaxation.”

Xu Chen: “Sounds good!”

…

Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi had just returned from their business trip, looking a bit travel-worn.

They brought back some local snacks from Sichuan, and the colleagues eagerly gathered around.

Seeing Xu Chen in the office, the two handed over some to his office.

Peanut crisps, peach pastries, beef jerky, spicy tofu, and the like.

Xu Chen accepted them with a smile and asked about their Cadillac project trip.

Gu Xinxi had been updating him online on the shooting progress, so she synced up on the follow-up production plans.

They’ll have a rough cut ready within a week, aiming for the final version in a month.

That way, the video can go live before May, tying in with Cadillac’s May Day dealer events.

Xu Chen doesn’t need to worry much about these details; Gu Xinxi and Sun Aimi have it covered.

He asked a bit more about the client side and Hua Shao Jie, but it was mostly unimportant gossip.

“Little housekeeper” Gu Xinxi wondered why the boss seemed so interested in that Jack guy.

Gu Xinxi remembered something else and said:

“Baidu’s ad went live today; I just checked with the client, and it’s scheduled for online media starting at 1 PM.”

“It covers most major online platforms, but no TV ads.”

Xu Chen: “Baidu’s a pure internet product, so it makes sense to target internet users.”

Sun Aimi adjusted her round glasses: “I’m so excited; I feel like this spot’s going to go viral.”

Xu Chen smiled but didn’t say anything.

Gu Xinxi: “Our part’s wrapped up; I’ll send a closing email to Baidu later.”

Xu Chen thought for a second and said:

“Send it tomorrow instead; include some data from the first round of spread this afternoon and evening.”

He added:

“This is our first internet client case; let’s do a solid review and organize it.”

Gu Xinxi nodded with a smile:

“I’m planning to submit it for this year’s Great Wall Award in the interactive marketing category; I think we could snag a gold!”

Xu Chen: “Great! Bring in some bonus money, and we’ll use it for year-end draws.”

Gu Xinxi: “Boss, one more thing…”

“After the New Year, some clients have reached out wanting to work with East Morning Star Advertising.”

“Aimi and I screened them; not many are solid.”

“A lot are small domestic businesses asking for proposals upfront—probably just fishing for free ideas or won’t follow through.”

“A few seem worth chatting about; I’ve put together a list and will send it to your email later today.”

Xu Chen: “No rush on that.”

“We’ve got plenty of projects on our plate; you two are already swamped.”

“If you think any are promising, just pass them to me.”

Gu Xinxi: “Okay, boss.”

…

…

In the afternoon, during a class break, Xu Chen’s phone kept buzzing.

He checked and saw that Baidu’s ‘Tang Bohu Slams the Foreigner’ ad had gone live. Gu Xinxi had collected some online channels and user comments and shared them in the company group.

Baidu’s assistant Miao Xiaoyu also sent him some live links separately.

Xu Chen replied:

[Melissa’s going all out; they’ve thrown it on so many media and channels!]

Miao Xiaoyu: [Melissa loves this ad; she had our Zhao boss add extra budget!]

[We’ll check the rollout over the next couple of days; if it performs well, there’s more reserved media funding.]

…

“