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Chapter 401 Giving You a Chance to Be a Traitor

A moment later, Ding Baihe, who had just gone out to make a phone call, returned to the private room.

Cao Sheng and the others all looked over, curious about the outcome of her call to her superiors. Would they completely agree to Cao Sheng's two conditions? Or would they try to negotiate?

Ding Baihe walked up to Cao Sheng with a smile. She was still holding her phone in her left hand, and extended her right hand to Cao Sheng. She said with a cheerful expression, "Mr. Cao! On behalf of Huacheng, I fully agree to your two conditions. I hope this cooperation will be pleasant!"

Cao Sheng was quite surprised and was momentarily stunned.

Xu Xinyi and Cui Xinyu were also somewhat surprised to see this scene.

Cui Xinyu quietly nudged Cao Sheng's thigh with her knee under the table, subtly reminding him to respond to Ding Baihe.

Cao Sheng's mind raced, and he smiled as he stood up and shook Ding Baihe's outstretched right hand, saying, "Thank you for your company's kindness. However, I'm sorry that I can't finalize this matter with your company right now. I promised President Yan today that I would give him some time to consider it. He said he would give me an answer by tomorrow at the latest. Since I promised to wait for his answer, I cannot break my promise. So, I hope you can understand, President Ding."

Ding Baihe smiled.

Nodding, "I understand! I completely understand! It's alright! Let's talk about it tomorrow then. I'll wait for your decision."

She felt a little regretful.

Cao Sheng had previously mentioned that General Manager Yan of Changjiang Literature & Art had personally come to Huizhou, and that he was waiting for General Manager Yan to consider the matter. She mentioned this to the General Manager just now, which is why the General Manager told her not to haggle, to fully agree to Cao Sheng's two conditions, and to try to finalize the cooperation agreement on the spot and sign it tonight.

Therefore, as soon as she entered the private room, she went up to Cao Sheng and said what she had just said, hoping that Cao Sheng would agree with her and say "It's a pleasure to cooperate with you".

The moment he said those words, it meant that they had reached an agreement on the cooperation.

This would naturally allow them to kick Changjiang Literature and Art out of the game.

Unfortunately, although Cao Sheng got up to shake hands with her, he still remembered his promise to President Yan. It seems that he didn't toast him enough earlier! I didn't expect him to have such a high alcohol tolerance at such a young age.

……

On the way back to school, Cao Sheng gradually felt the effects of the alcohol and leaned back in his chair, feeling drowsy.

But his mind was still on his meeting with Yan Qiansan and Ding Baihe today, and the attitude shown by the publishing house they represented.

As for sincerity, the fact that Yan Qiansan personally came to Huizhou to see him this time is enough to show his utmost sincerity.

But in terms of boldness, or rather, confidence in the quality of Qidian's works, Huacheng's side is clearly more confident.

Of course, this may be related to the fact that Yan Qiansan was unaware that Huacheng had sent a deputy general manager this time, while Huacheng knew that Yan Qiansan had come to Huizhou in person.

If Yan Qiansan knew that Huacheng had sent a vice president this time, would he still hesitate on those two conditions?
Thinking of this, Cao Sheng silently opened his eyes and said to Cui Xinyu beside him, "Xinyu! I'll give you a chance to be a traitor. In a little while, call President Yan and tell him that I met with Vice President Ding of Huacheng tonight."

Cui Xinyu, who was looking out the car window at the night view, was feeling quite sad, reminiscing about her lost youth and the past when a certain silly guy confessed his love to her on a dimly lit street. Suddenly, she heard Cao Sheng's words and turned her head in a daze, staring at Cao Sheng with a blank expression. It took her a long time to come back to her senses.

Give me a chance to be a traitor?
What a great boss!

She almost didn't understand what Cao Sheng meant.

I went over his words in my mind twice before I understood what he meant.

She had just been feeling quite sad, but now she was both amused and exasperated. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, she smiled and said, "Okay! Thank you, boss, for giving me such a great opportunity."

Cao Sheng smiled slightly and then closed his eyes again.

He's not actually a dull person. Although he doesn't talk much, he can always say something funny when he wants to show his humor.

This is one of the benefits of writing novels!
His inner world is far richer than his outward personality suggests.

He closed his eyes, but Cui Xinyu continued to look at him.

She had a few drinks tonight, and as the alcohol took effect, her emotions overwhelmed her rationality. So at this moment, she couldn't help but compare Cao Sheng, the simpleton she was back then, to him.

In terms of talent, Cao Sheng is definitely more talented.

Does that idiot have any noteworthy talent? He's just a bookworm, though his grades are pretty good; he got into a decent university, which puts him ahead of Cao Sheng in terms of academic ability.

As for appearance...

Cao Sheng looks like a pretty face with no substance, much more handsome than that dullard.

On personality...

Cao Sheng has a mild personality, but he's become a bit serious lately. Tonight, however, he showed a humorous side. This guy is like a lunatic; his personality is so changeable.

Back then, that simpleton was meticulous in everything he did and never joked. Even when he confessed his feelings to her, his expression was blank. She still remembered that night when he confessed to her, there was a strand of hair sticking up on his head, which made her want to laugh. But he misunderstood and thought she had accepted his confession. He came up and tried to hug her, but she subconsciously took a step back, which made all the courage he had mustered instantly disappear. His face turned pale and he almost burst into tears.

Where has that fool gone now?

Has he already found a new love interest?
Are you not so dull anymore?
Have you forgotten the scene of him confessing his love to me on the street in our hometown that night?
"What are you thinking?"

Suddenly, Cao Sheng's voice came from beside her again. Lost in thought, Cui Xinyu refocused upon hearing this and saw that Cao Sheng had opened his eyes again. A little surprised, she thought for a moment, then forced a smile and said, "Thinking about how to be a proper traitor."

Cao Sheng smiled.

When Cao Sheng is half-drunk, his personality always becomes very similar to that of his pre-rebirth self.

Whenever he drinks too much, it's as if all his pretense is shed, and he always reverts to the carefree and unrestrained person he was before his rebirth.

At that moment, he suddenly wanted to talk to Cui Xinyu.

How does it feel to be my assistant?

Cui Xinyu was surprised to hear this question.

She carefully observed Cao Sheng's expression, thought for a moment, and said, "It's great! I'm honored to be your assistant."

Cao Sheng's lips curled up slightly. "Is this the standard answer you came up with? Tell me what you really think! Don't be so fake!"

Cui Xinyu looked at him, remained silent for a moment, sighed softly, and said in a low voice, "It looks very glamorous on the surface. Many relatives and friends envy me for being your assistant. When I'm not serving you, I do have a lot of face in front of outsiders. The salary and benefits also give me a great sense of accomplishment. But... the daily chores really test my patience, especially when I'm washing your clothes and cleaning. I feel like I'm doing housekeeping. Sometimes I start to doubt what the use of all the knowledge I learned in college was?"

Sun Liang, sitting in the passenger seat, turned around and looked at her.

Lei Zhen, who was driving, couldn't help but glance at Cui Xinyu in the rearview mirror.

Their eyes seemed to say: Are you stupid? The boss asked you to speak your mind, and you actually did?

Cao Sheng also looked at her.

The corners of his mouth turned up again.

He wasn't angry; instead, he asked, "So, do you want to change jobs?"

Cui Xinyu looked at Cao Sheng and immediately shook her head, "I've thought about it occasionally, but I haven't really wanted to change."

Cao Sheng was slightly surprised. "Oh? Why?"

Cui Xinyu smiled, "Because you pay me a high salary! And, to be honest, although working for you involves a lot of trivial and complicated tasks, you have a good temper and are not difficult to serve. Moreover, I feel that during the time I have been your assistant, my abilities in all aspects have improved rapidly, which I think is a good thing."

Cao Sheng looked at her. "Really? For example? In which areas do you feel you've improved?"

Cui Xinyu thought for a moment and said, "For example, the ability to do housework. This ability may seem useless, but I think it will make my marriage much more harmonious. At least my husband should not have any objections to my ability to do housework."

He paused, then added, "And also, patience! Every day, so many big and small things are testing my patience. I think that over time, my patience in doing anything will surpass that of many people, and patience is very important for doing anything. What do you think?"

Cao Sheng looked at her and gained a new understanding of her.

The way Sun Liang, in the passenger seat, and Lei Zhen, who was driving, looked at her changed slightly.

Cao Sheng, who had originally planned to replace her soon, suddenly stopped rushing to do so.

I want to keep her by my side for a while longer to train her, and then consider sending her out to take charge of a certain aspect of work.

Just like before, he sent Wang Jing to be in charge of the work in Pengcheng.

At that moment, he suddenly had an idea: every few years, he would change his assistant, and send the best-performing assistant to be in charge of a certain area of ​​work.

Thus, although he did not personally manage the businesses under his name, he gradually had some trusted confidants keeping an eye on them for him.

It was at this moment that he suddenly gained some new insights into personnel management.

His divergent thinking led him to think of many people and things.

For example, Liu Bang's rise from humble beginnings was largely due to the group of good brothers he made when he was still a village head; those brothers were his loyal followers.

For example, the reason why Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, committed suicide at the Wujiang River after his defeat may have been largely due to the fact that all his loyal confidants had died in battle.

For example, Cao Cao's success at the end of the Han Dynasty was largely due to the strong support of his brothers, such as Cao Ren, Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, and so on. These were all Cao Cao's loyal followers.

……

Countless similar examples exist throughout history.

What does this mean?
Cao Sheng believes this shows that while nepotism is undesirable if one wants to achieve something great, having a group of loyal and devoted followers is essential.

Does Cao Sheng have any trusted confidants?
He has no siblings, and none of his relatives are particularly talented, yet his businesses are growing ever larger.

Real estate, internet cafes, Qidian, shares in Rongshu, and so on.

He didn't have the energy to manage all of this himself, so he thought it was a good idea to gradually cultivate a few trusted confidants through the position of assistant.

(End of this chapter)