Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 460 Discussion
If it weren't for needing to discuss wedding dates during the Chinese New Year this year, Mr. and Mrs. Li would really not have wanted to come to Yanjing.

For no other reason than not wanting to live in the house Liu Yifei bought for her mother.

Although the house is spacious, grand, and high-end, my parents just don't feel like it's their own home, and they just don't feel comfortable living there.

Privately, she also complained to Li Qiutang, "It makes us feel like we're marrying into the family."

What could be done? Liu Yifei absolutely refused to buy a new house.

Li Qiutang repeatedly warned, "Don't mention the house. Yifei and her mother don't want to move. Yifei doesn't dare to tell you, and if she argues with me later, I'll be the one who suffers in the end."

“We don’t have to spend a penny. We’re getting such a nice house to live in for free. We’re getting a great deal.” That was the only way Li Qiutang could comfort her parents.

"Even if it's difficult, you'll only stay here once a year. There's nothing we can do about it."

So aside from the house, the meeting between the in-laws was generally harmonious and joyful.

But since it was his daughter's marriage, it was unrealistic to say that he wouldn't go through An Shaokang at all. So, for the sake of his daughter's lifelong happiness, An Shaokang specially returned to China this year and stayed in Yanjing.

Liu Yifei's cleverness was on full display at this time. She didn't buy any of the snacks like melon seeds and peanuts for the New Year, but waited for her parents-in-law to come so she could go shopping with them and win her mother-in-law's favor.

Li Qiutang strongly suspected that Liu Xiaoli had given her this idea.

Because she had never cared about these things at home before.

The afternoon after her parents-in-law arrived in Beijing, Liu Yifei made arrangements to go shopping, but the Li family father and son refused to accompany their wife.

"Never mind them, they're cut from the same cloth, all they know is to sit at home and eat whatever's served to them. Let's go." Li's mother was reluctant to take them.

So Liu Yifei drove her two mothers out.

At this time of day, apart from locals, most people in Yanjing who needed to go home have already left, making driving much easier.

But you have to admire the dedication of these reporters; it's already the 28th of the twelfth lunar month, and they're still waiting for the news.

They also photographed Liu Yifei shopping outside.

They knew Liu Xiaoli, but not Li Qiutang's mother, so the press release they wrote didn't mention Li's mother.

"With the New Year approaching, Liu Yifei and her mother went shopping."

"Liu Yifei and her mother went shopping, dressed fashionably like sisters."

Li Qiutang, who stayed at home, didn't have nothing to do either.

He called Zhang Zhao to his house, and the two of them wanted to discuss firing someone!
With four senior vice presidents and eight vice presidents, Li Qiutang would not allow such a bloated organization and staff to continue to proliferate.

Important matters should be discussed in small meetings. Meetings involving vice presidents and other senior executives should never be held in a grand manner, otherwise they will face fierce backlash. Li Qiutang and Zhang Zhao, the two top executives, agreed that they would get things done after the New Year.

The two did not start their discussion from the level of who had more merit or more seniority, but first determined which business units needed vice presidents and which did not.

First, the two core departments of production and distribution must be managed by vice presidents. Xu Lin has always been the vice president of distribution, so he can remain in his current position. The production department has two vice presidents: Chen Zhixi is the senior vice president, and the other is Lao Zhao, a founding member of the company and the former deputy manager of the production management department. After the original manager was poached by Ali, he was promoted to the position and is now the vice president of production management.

One of them must leave, but it wouldn't be appropriate for either of them to leave.

Chen Zhixi is young and strong, and Li Qiutang sent him to Hollywood for further studies for more than a year. He has a bright future. The original manager is experienced and has extensive connections in the company. Li Qiutang started his business in 09, and he joined the company in 10. He is a founding member. What do the subordinates think?
“Zhixi is a senior vice president, so she should be able to manage the vice presidents, but he sometimes listens to her and sometimes he doesn’t, and sometimes the two of them even go against each other,” Zhang Zhao said.

Subordinates must always listen to their superiors; those who perform well are promoted, and those who perform poorly are demoted. If things were that simple, Li Qiutang would have an easy life.

"Old Zhao is still not convinced by Chen Zhixi, feeling that she was promoted to senior vice president without doing anything."

"Is that because you're dissatisfied with me?" Chen Zhixi was directly promoted by Li Qiutang. "Not exactly," Zhang Zhao explained, "but Chen Zhixi did rise too quickly."

As soon as autumn arrived, Chen Zhixi became the Senior Vice President of Production. She was young, so how could she possibly command respect?

In this matter, Li Qiutang could indeed be blamed for being too hasty. Chen Zhixi rose to senior vice president with just one film, "Lost in Thailand," a meteoric rise.

But Li Qiutang still decided to keep Chen Zhixi: "In this way, after the New Year, when the company establishes an animation company, we will transfer Lao Zhao there as the vice president."

Would Old Zhao agree to that?

“He’s unwilling to talk to me personally when the time comes. The animation is just starting out and has great potential. Why bother arguing with Chen Zhixi about the movie?”

We definitely need to retain a vice president for finance and investment; that position will remain unchanged.

The overseas business division will no longer have a vice president. Since Qiutian has very few overseas operations, having a vice president would be completely unnecessary in Li Qiutang's view.

The copyright operations department will no longer have a vice president. Although the copyright operations department manages the copyright work of both Autumn Pictures and Century Autumn, it is really unnecessary for its work to be elevated to the level of a vice president.

In addition, the public relations department was renamed from vice president to manager.

As for the Senior Vice President of Strategy and Operations, Li Qiutang dismissed him outright. Strategy and operations were originally the responsibilities of the Chairman and CEO; in Li Qiutang's view, having a Vice President was simply a waste of time. The Strategy and Operations department was merged into Zhang Zhao's President's Office, and no longer established as a separate department.

After discussing it, the two decided that the company would no longer have the position of senior vice president. The top person in charge of each business department would only be called vice president and would report to CEO Zhang Zhao. Among them, the two vice presidents of production management, finance and investment would also report to Li Qiutang.

In the end, the two laid off, transferred, or demoted 12 vice presidents, keeping only 6.

Looking at the messy handwriting on the paper, Zhang Zhaoxian said, "Work after the New Year will be difficult."

"Even if it's difficult, we have to do it. Do you see any film and television company with 12 vice presidents? There are too many of them."

The two of them had been having a meeting until after 5 p.m., and it was already dark outside. They figured the mother and her two children would be back soon.

But Zhang Zhao has no intention of leaving.

Li Qiutang smiled and said, "Is there anything else? It's a family dinner today, so it's not appropriate for you to stay for the meal."

Zhang Zhao wasn't saying he wanted to stay for dinner, but rather, "There's something else."

"You said."

"You're getting married soon, and there's something I want to discuss with you about the company."

"When are you and Yifei going to get your assets notarized?"

Li Qiutang's first reaction upon hearing this was that she felt a little uncomfortable, but she could accept it.

"You know the company is seeking an IPO, so getting married at this time does require going through this process."

Does the chairman have the right to do whatever he wants? Will the major and minor shareholders in the fall trust Liu Yifei?

If Liu Yifei were to purchase the company's original shares as Li Qiutang's wife, Qiu Tian would absolutely not stop her, and would even try to satisfy her as much as possible within the permitted limits. However, Li Qiutang's founding shares must absolutely not be taken away by Liu Yifei.

The lesson of Wang Wei is still fresh in our minds.

"Alright, I understand. I'll take care of it." Li Qiutang had no choice but to agree.

(End of this chapter)