After the divorce, I started to transfer

The atmosphere in the kitchen was somewhat heavy. Wu Mengting pursed her lips and didn't speak, but stared at Chen Feng with a slightly stubborn look in her eyes.

Seeing this, Sun Xiaorui could only continue to act as a peacemaker, whispering, "Hu Rui's actions this time were indeed somewhat inappropriate. She can flatter you and stand up for you, but it's wrong of her not to consult you beforehand. Moreover, her actions intensified the vicious competition between Zhang Yuxi and Zhang Jingwen, which indeed harmed our company's interests. In addition, as our company continues to expand, Hu Rui, relying on her seniority, not only lacks ambition but also wants to coast along, which has to some extent corrupted the atmosphere in the artist department. Several of our company's signed artists are generally dissatisfied with her, which I've known for a long time. So, while it's not wrong for you to protect her, there must be a limit. We can't let her act recklessly in the company."

Chen Feng didn't want things to get too tense with Wu Mengting, so he could only try to ease the tension by saying, "Hu Rui can stay with our company and can be our publicity director, but we can't give her too much power. She doesn't like working overtime and even slacks off at work, right? Well, let's just let her be. We can afford to keep her as an idle person. What's wrong with giving her a million-dollar annual salary?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Xiaorui's brows furrowed slightly. She was now the acknowledged boss's wife, and she already considered the company her own. Of course, she was unwilling to support someone who did nothing but earn a million-dollar annual salary.

More importantly, although Hu Rui is considered a company veteran, she has actually been with the company for less than two years and has not made any significant contributions. She is good at taking sides; whenever she has conflicts with Wu Mengting, Lu Sijia, Yang Wenqi, and Zhang Yuxi, Hu Rui resolutely stands by her side, becoming her number one henchman.

Moreover, Hu Rui was particularly adept at currying favor. She would send her small gifts during holidays, show concern for her well-being, and whenever she had the chance, she would flatter and fawn over her.

However, Chen Feng, the boss, has now clearly expressed his dissatisfaction with Hu Rui. Last time, Chen Feng agreed not to fire her because he was in the wrong, and even agreed to give her a "promotion in name only." But now, with Hua Ling, the agent, causing such a scene, everyone in the company knows about Hu Rui's underhanded tactics against Zhang Yuxi. In addition, Hu Rui's reputation in the company is not very good. Indeed, very few people think that Hu Rui is being wronged.

In this situation, promoting Hu Rui to publicity director would indeed have a very negative impact on the company.

Others wouldn't know that this was a demotion in disguise; they would only think that Hu Rui had the boss's protection, so even if she made a mistake, it wouldn't matter, and she would be promoted instead of demoted.

As a result, Wu Mengting, the boss, really gives people a bad impression of nepotism.

In addition, there's the real million-dollar annual salary Chen Feng mentioned. The publicity director is at the vice president level, nominally on the same level as her, the boss's wife, who is also the financial director. In terms of salary and benefits, they are only half a level apart. Her current basic salary plus bonuses and performance pay, not counting project profit sharing, already exceeds one million.

Therefore, even if Hu Rui does nothing, as long as she goes to get off work on time, she can theoretically earn a salary of nearly one million yuan per year.

This made Wu Mengting feel a little sorry for her. After all, Hu Ruizhen had become the publicity director, but she had no ambition. She would procrastinate on her work whenever possible, and would let others do the work instead of doing it herself. It was really like paying a high salary to support an idle person.

Many companies actually employ "idle" people, but those "idle" people are usually people with connections and influence. As for Hu Rui, her only connection is that she worked as an assistant to Yang Ziying's agent, Hao Xiaolian, for a little over a year.

Now Yang Ziying and Hao Xiaolian have to turn around and curry favor with her and Fengmang Films.

So what kind of "connected" person is Hu Rui? She's paid a million a year to support this idle person. Even if she's considered his top confidante and henchman, Chen Feng doesn't like her now, and her reputation within the company is bad. Hu Rui has lost most of her value.

Simply put, if Wu Mengting continues to protect Hu Rui and promotes her and gives her a raise, the price she will have to pay will be quite high.

The biggest cost was that it deepened the estrangement and conflict between her and Chen Feng, causing Chen Feng to be dissatisfied with her, which in turn affected their relationship.

Secondly, there's the public opinion surrounding her as the boss's wife within the company, and the million-yuan annual salary the company is going to offer Hu Rui.

To be honest, she and Hu Rui were just superior and subordinate, not related at all. Her efforts to protect her this time were only because Hu Rui wanted to curry favor with her and stand up for her.

But as Sun Xiaorui just said, Hu Rui didn't inform her beforehand and caused such a big fuss; now everyone in the company knows. It feels like her flattery backfired, putting her, the boss's wife, in a difficult position, even a bit of a dilemma.

If a subordinate fails to perform their duties and causes trouble, should the leader be held responsible and bear the risks?

After a struggle within herself, Wu Mengting felt increasingly that continuing to protect Hu Rui and promoting her would only bring her harm, not any benefit.

Of course, Wu Mengting also knew that Hu Rui's original intention was to stand up for her, and she couldn't be completely heartless.

After pondering for a while, Wu Mengting sighed and said to herself, "Okay, I admit that I've gotten a bit cocky lately. I've been really enjoying all the flattery and bootlicking from others. Thank you for scolding me and bringing me back to reality. I'll try my best to correct this problem in the future."

She paused briefly before continuing, "Hu Rui's professional skills aren't exactly outstanding, and she doesn't like to work overtime or put in the effort. Continuing to let her serve as the artist department manager is really inappropriate. Now that everyone in the company knows about her misconduct, which caused Zhang Yuxi to miss out on two endorsements, it's really not a good idea to promote her or give her a raise. There's no suitable position for her in other departments. Demoting her would also be bad for my reputation, since everyone knows she's one of my people. I think... it would be better if you, as the boss, personally talked to her and got her to resign voluntarily. However, you must give her sufficient compensation, N+8, which I think is quite appropriate."

Chen Feng and Sun Xiaorui were both surprised after hearing Wu Mengting's words. She had previously tried to protect him and even offered him a promotion and a raise, but now she had suddenly and decisively given up.

What's going on here?

However, upon closer reflection, given the current situation, especially with boss Chen Feng having clearly expressed his dissatisfaction, Wu Mengting is indeed finding it difficult to withstand the pressure.

In addition, there are the negative impacts within the company.

However, Wu Mengting certainly couldn't personally take on this villainous role. Chen Feng, as the boss, was undoubtedly the most suitable.

But Chen Feng didn't actually want to be the bad guy, mainly because he found it troublesome.

He had already relinquished control of the company, and he was actually quite reluctant to get involved in such trivial matters.

Therefore, he could completely delegate this task to General Manager Ren Ziyu.

So Chen Feng turned to Sun Xiaorui and asked, "Did Ren Ziyu say anything about this?"

Sun Xiaorui said, "She just happened to go to Hengdian today and isn't at the company."

Chen Feng asked, "What is she doing in Hengdian?"

Sun Xiaorui explained, "We went to talk to Longyu Film and Television about a film project. Longyu Film and Television actually has quite a few good film and television projects. They used to keep them to themselves and wanted to take the lead in filming, but recently their company has been having financial difficulties, so they can only put a few high-quality projects up for sale or cooperate with us in the same industry. President Ren took a liking to one of the films, so we went to discuss it."

Chen Feng nodded and asked, "Will she be able to come back tomorrow?"

"I don't know."

“Okay, I’ll call her later and talk to her about this. Then I’ll ask her to talk to Hu Rui and persuade her to resign. The company won’t treat her unfairly. We’ll give her N+8 compensation, just like Mengting said. Even though she’s only worked for less than two years, even if it’s two years, a total of 10 months’ salary compensation would be 600,000 to 700,000 yuan.”

Wu Mengting, the financial director, nodded and said, "Around 680,000."

"Then it's settled. Hu Rui did make a mistake this time, causing trouble and indirectly forcing Zhang Yuxi, our cash cow, away, which objectively caused losses to our company. It's really inappropriate to keep her in the company. Mengting, I'm not targeting you personally, I'm just stating the facts and acting in accordance with company rules and regulations."

"I understand. You and Ren Ziyu can discuss and handle this. I'm not involved anymore."

After saying this, Wu Mengting stood up and quickly walked upstairs.

After exchanging glances for a while, Chen Feng and Sun Xiaorui smiled wryly and whispered, "She seems a little angry. Find a chance to coax her."

Chen Feng shook his head: "Hu Rui is in the wrong, and neither is she. Why should I try to appease her?"

Sun Xiaorui glanced at Wu Mengting, who had just walked up the stairs, and continued in a low voice, "What you said to her just now was too rude and fierce. I was scared."

"It's not my fault. Just like she admitted in her self-criticism, she's gotten a bit cocky and likes people to flatter and fawn over her. While that's not entirely wrong, it's really inappropriate for her to protect a subordinate who only knows how to flatter and has weak professional skills. She even forced me to agree to promote and raise Hu Rui, which was even more outrageous."

Sun Xiaorui nodded and said, "Yes, I also think it's too much to promote and raise Hu Rui. Even though it's a demotion in disguise, it's still a bit of a stretch." "Alright, you go and get ready, I'll go call Ren Ziyu."

After Chen Feng finished speaking, he stood up and went to the living room to make a phone call.

Sun Xiaorui then got up and began clearing the table.

After Chen Feng sat down on the sofa in the living room, he called Ren Ziyu.

"Boss, are you calling me because of Hu Rui?"

As soon as the call connected, Ren Ziyu took the initiative to ask questions.

“Yes,” Chen Feng said directly. “Hu Rui already had a bad reputation in the company. Her work ability couldn’t keep up with the company’s development, and she was also lazy and irresponsible. Now that she’s caused this kind of trouble, I plan to have you talk to her and ask her to resign voluntarily. The company can give her 10 months’ salary as compensation.”

Ren Ziyu had always been dissatisfied with Hu Rui because since she took over as general manager, Hu Rui hadn't really respected her as her superior, never reported to her, and only tried to curry favor with Wu Mengting. It could be said that Hu Rui showed very little respect for her position as general manager.

Everyone knows you're working for Wu Mengting, the boss's wife, so it's normal for you to flatter her. But it's going too far that you show absolutely no respect for me, the general manager.

Not to mention that Hu Rui's work attitude and work ability are problematic, so why keep her around to continue to do nothing?

So, after receiving news this afternoon that Hualing had caused a scene in Hu Rui's office and almost got into a fight, Ren Ziyu had been waiting for Chen Feng, the boss, to react.

Now that Chen Feng has indeed called her, she naturally brings it up herself.

She wholeheartedly agreed with Chen Feng's decision to let Hu Rui leave the company, without offering any objection. She readily agreed, saying, "Okay, I agree. I'll talk to her tomorrow and ask her to resign."

"That's settled then. I heard you went to Hengdian today, have you returned yet?"

"Yes, I'm back. I got back around 4:30 in the afternoon, and that's when I heard about it."

Since the conversation had progressed this far, boss Chen Feng casually asked, "How are the talks with Longyu Film and Television going?"

"You knew all along?" Ren Ziyu asked, somewhat surprised. Chen Feng was now a true hands-off manager; he had delegated the transfer and approval of funds below 50 million to the three women.

"I heard it from Xiaorui. She said you've taken a liking to one of their film projects. What film exactly?"

"It's a light comedy with the theme of simple teacher-student relationships in the 1980s. The film is tentatively titled 'Good Teacher.' The investment cost is not high; it can be made in ten or twenty million. I want to buy it directly. Longyu offered 5 million, and I negotiated it down to 4 million today, but I still think it's a bit expensive. My ideal price is 3 million."

"If you really like it, it's no big deal to spend an extra million to buy it as a package deal."

"Well, I plan to negotiate for a few more days. Longyu Film and Television is short of money right now, otherwise they wouldn't be putting these high-quality projects up for sale. If it really doesn't work out, four million will do, otherwise other companies might snatch them up."

"Okay, you decide this yourself. I trust your judgment."

"Haha, thank you for your trust, boss."

"That's settled then. Let me know when Hu Rui's matter is settled."

"Wait a minute, Hu Rui has resigned. Have you chosen a successor for her?"

"Let her assistant fill in for now, since she was the one who actually did the work before."

Ren Ziyu hesitated for a moment and said, "It seems that her assistant is a relative of hers. If she resigns, I am worried that her assistant will also resign."

"If both of them resign, then you or Xiaorui can fill in for them. Then find a suitable replacement as soon as possible. I'll keep an eye out for them."

"okay, I get it."

"OK, good night."

"Good night."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Feng thought about whether there were any suitable candidates for the position of artist manager among the people he knew.

After thinking it over, I couldn't think of anything suitable, so I called Yang Ziying.

Yang Ziying was pleasantly surprised to receive a call from Chen Feng. She answered quickly and said happily, "Why did you suddenly call me?"

Chen Feng glanced at the kitchen, where Sun Xiaorui was already operating the dishwasher. There was some noise, so she probably couldn't hear him. He lowered his voice slightly and said, "Just worried about you. How are you feeling?"

"It's fine. My breasts are a little swollen, and my nipples are a little sore. Also, my appetite seems to have increased, and I always want to eat. I've gained two pounds in the last few days."

"You're pregnant, so you definitely need to eat more. You can't go hungry."

"Of course I know that. I'm not going to be silly enough to diet to lose weight, don't worry."

The two chatted for a while about precautions for pregnant women before Chen Feng changed the subject and said, "Hu Rui, do you still remember her?"

"Hu Rui?" Yang Ziying was slightly surprised. "Of course she remembers her. She used to be Sister Lian's assistant and worked with me for a while. What happened to her?"

Chen Feng briefly explained Hu Rui's situation, including her current work attitude and abilities, as well as the issue of Zhang Yuxi losing two endorsements. He also mentioned the incident earlier that day when Zhang Yuxi's agent, Hua Ling, came to the company and had a big argument with Hu Rui.

Although Chen Feng didn't go into too much detail, he didn't mention Zhang Yuxi's relationship with him.

But Yang Ziying was a shrewd person. She quickly guessed the gist of Chen Feng's story and asked with a smile, "Are you having an affair with Zhang Yuxi?"

Chen Feng was speechless.

Seeing that Chen Feng didn't immediately deny it, Yang Ziying knew she had guessed correctly. She couldn't help but feel a little sour and teased, "I knew it. Otherwise, Hu Rui wouldn't have any reason to deliberately target her, right? It must be Mengting who instigated her to target her like this, right?"

Chen Feng had no choice but to defend Wu Mengting, saying, "Mengting didn't instruct her. She herself wanted to flatter Mengting, which caused this mess, disrupted the company's harmony, and even damaged the company's interests."

Yang Ziying stated matter-of-factly, "If she did this on her own, it was indeed quite foolish. The main problem is that she didn't handle it well, giving others leverage against her. As the boss, you have every right to fire her; you don't need to hold back on my side. She only worked for me for two or three months, and her work ability certainly wasn't outstanding." (End of Chapter)