Sail across the sea

Chapter 449 Unshirkable Responsibility
After the discussion was settled, Jia Liuming returned to the office with a few subordinates and noticed that the atmosphere was a bit off. The ministers and deputy ministers were all gathered around Gao Min, their eyes shining, and they were now addressing Gao Min as "Sister Gao".

"What are you doing?" Jia Liuming asked, slightly annoyed.

Are you kidding me? The other person is just from a township enterprise. Even if he's a vice president, he's still a peasant. Aren't you ashamed of yourselves looking at him with such adoration, like devoted fans?

“We’re listening to Sister Gao talk about how her company does business,” Yuan Xiaoyan said. “Chairman Jia, when we had meetings in the past, we also discussed the development of a commodity economy. Compared with what Sister Gao and her team are doing, our ideas are really too childish.”

I really mean it!

Besides, you're the one who's childish! You look like a child yourself!
Jia Liuming roared inwardly, but there was nothing he could do. Yuan Xiaoyan was beautiful and more popular in the student council than he, the actual chairman, could say anything.

"Please wait a moment, everyone. I need to discuss the cooperation with General Manager Gao," Jia Liuming said to everyone.

Hearing that it was about serious business, the two cadres sitting directly opposite Gao Min stood up and offered their seats to Jia Liuming. Jia Liuming didn't stand on ceremony, sat down, and forced a bright smile, saying to Gao Min:
"Mr. Gao, we, the main members of the student union, just discussed this together and we feel that your company's enthusiasm is genuine. We, the student union, have a responsibility to fully cooperate. Now, please tell us, Mr. Gao, what you hope we will do."

Gao Min smiled slightly, feeling a weight lifted from her heart.

This time, she went to Peking University alone without asking Gao Fan for help. It was entirely to prove herself, so that people wouldn't only know her as "Gao Fan's sister" when they talked about her in the future.

The idea of ​​asking the student council for help was her own. Although Chen Xingquan and his colleagues were experienced in their work, they didn't understand these kinds of things at school and would never have come up with such a way of operating.

Before coming, Gao Min had considered various possibilities, because she didn't know what Peking University students would be like. She was actually mentally prepared to try Tsinghua University if all else failed.

Fortunately, it was eventually completed without any major incidents.

"Thank you, Chairman Jia and all the student union officers, for recognizing our work," Gao Min said with a smile. "What we need to do is very simple: first, we need to count how many classrooms there are at Peking University, calculate the total area of ​​the classrooms, and estimate how much paint we need. I will have the company send it over."

"The second step is to recruit some students for work-study programs. We will provide training, and once they pass the training, they will begin painting the classrooms. Our company will also send professional personnel to provide on-site guidance and supervise the construction quality."

"It would be best if we could invite school leaders to attend the groundbreaking ceremony before construction begins..."

She paused here, waiting for Jia Liuming to continue.

"Please ask the leaders to come..." Jia Liuming stammered for a moment, then nodded vigorously and said, "I'll talk to the Youth League Committee about this and have them ask the school leaders for instructions. This is a work-study activity organized by our student union, aimed at beautifying the campus. Asking the school leaders for instructions should be achievable."

"That's wonderful." Gao Min smiled brightly, and several young boys in the audience were mesmerized.

Gao Min is actually quite young, having just turned 21 this year, while several students present are older than her. Her attire is noticeably more fashionable than that of the girls on campus, which makes her appear even more beautiful, giving her an elegant air that is quite different from that of the university students.

Sitting next to him, Yang Kai suddenly felt a pang in his heart, as if a winged little flying man had shot an arrow into his heart.

The kind of arrow with "DF61" written on the shaft. "If school leaders are attending, shouldn't we invite some news organizations to report on it?" Gao Min pressed her advantage, asking Jia Liuming.

"Well..." Jia Liuming feigned modesty.

He had already arranged for Luo Wei and Chen Zhihong to contact the media, but the main purpose was to promote the student union. Now that Gao Min brought it up herself, he naturally had to pretend to be somewhat embarrassed; this was also a negotiation tactic.

Gao Min immediately guessed what the other person was thinking.

If the other party didn't intend to involve the media, their immediate reaction would be a direct denial, offering excuses like "it's not appropriate to publicize it." Their current evasiveness clearly indicates they're trying to negotiate a higher price.

"Our company will cover all the reporter's travel expenses," Gao Min said readily.

It's just money, I can afford it.

The term "travel expenses" isn't very common these days. But it's an open secret that journalists receive bribes for publishing articles.

When Gao Min was in Cangtang, Gao Fan had mentioned similar things. After joining Xinglong Company, she also encountered several clients requesting that reporters cover the groundbreaking ceremony. The reporters' red envelopes were usually paid by Xinglong Company because the clients were state-owned enterprises, and such payments were not in accordance with financial regulations and were difficult to disburse.

Gao Min wanted to promote her company's paint products, so naturally she needed to ask reporters for help. Xinglong Company had prepared a large sum of money for publicity for this project, and Gao Min had no qualms about the travel expenses.

In those days, the standard travel expenses per person were only about 10 yuan. Even if a reporter from a major newspaper paid 20 yuan, it would be enough to make them happy.

"What? There's also a travel allowance?" Luo Wei, who had been standing solemnly behind Jia Liuming, blurted out, his eyes gleaming with a green light.

"This is standard practice!" Jia Liuming, adopting the demeanor of someone who often chats and laughs with reporters, explained to Luo Wei, "Travel expenses are a common term; it's actually a reimbursement for reporters' transportation costs, as well as a meal allowance. Reporters work very hard, so it's only right to give them some appropriate compensation."

Is this standard practice? Why have you never told us this before?

No wonder we have to beg and plead to invite reporters whenever the student council organizes an event. And when we finally manage to get one, they leave looking at us like we're nothing, all because we didn't pay them for their travel expenses.

Now things are great. A township enterprise has come along, offering sponsorship first, promising to pay wages for work-study programs, and even providing travel expenses for reporters. This feeling of having a big financial backer is simply wonderful.

"How many news organizations can you invite?" Gao Min asked.

"At least five!" Luo Wei blurted out, only to realize afterward that he seemed to have said the wrong thing again.

There was no way around it; just now, he was thinking to himself which media outlets he could contact, and Gao Min suddenly asked him that question, so he just blurted out what was on his mind.

(End of this chapter)