Rebirth: My dad is too obedient

Chapter 512 Team Growth
Director Li Yue sent a message informing Omega of their cooperation intentions, and naturally took the initiative to ask for General Manager Xu's opinion first.

Xu Chen quickly replied:
I have no problem with this business collaboration.

These high-end watch brands in old Europe are very concerned about their brand image and generally don't engage in any shady practices.

Li Yue: [I'm relieved to hear what Mr. Xu said. I'll go and coordinate and move things forward.]

Xu Chen thought for a moment, then casually asked another question:
[I heard from Coach Cheng Hong that Bing Ge will be in closed training for the Olympics for the next year. Will it be difficult to schedule his subsequent commercial projects?]

Li Yue: [That's right. I've also received notifications from the General Administration and the team.]

Any future outings or activities involving Xie Bingran, especially those related to commercial matters, will be subject to strict review to ensure they do not interfere with Bing Ge's daily training and competitions.

Originally, Kunlun Mountain Mineral Water was in talks to invite Brother Bing to participate in an offline event, but I just gave them a clear rejection.

The "U-Love-Me" project is fine and is expected to be completed by the end of May or early June.

I need to discuss the "Omega" issue internally, but I estimate it shouldn't be a big problem.

However, for the new projects that follow, Bing Ge's cooperation is unlikely to be very high.

Xu Chen: [I think this is a good thing. On the one hand, it will prevent too much interference with Bing Ge's training and competitions...]

On the other hand, more commercial endorsements are not necessarily better.

What we currently have is roughly a good match for Bing Ge's relatively well-rounded business image.

Adding more might lead to audience and fan fatigue in the short term.

Li Yue paused slightly before replying:

【What Mr. Xu said makes sense! Although we evaluate commercial projects, we are, after all, a unit within the system, and our first priority is to safeguard the interests and image of the national team and its members!】

Then I'll at least slow down the review process for new projects before next year's Olympics.

Xu Chen: [Of course, theoretically speaking, this does not affect Director Li's continued communication and contact with various brands.]

Moreover, after the 08 Olympics next year, Bing Ge's commercial value will rise again.

Some endorsement deals can be signed later, and Bing Ge's and the national team's earnings will be even higher!

Li Yue: [Mr. Xu's suggestion is good. If I get pressured from above, I'll respond in the same way.]

He then remembered something else and replied somewhat hesitantly:
The situation with Omega is the same as with Louis Vuitton back then...

These luxury brands typically use entirely in-house designated advertising production teams.

The implication is clear: Dongchen Advertising cannot intervene in this order.

Xu Chen: [That's fine, as long as the quality of the advertising materials is guaranteed and no red lines are crossed.]

Li Yue: [Don't worry, Mr. Xu. Once the cooperation is confirmed and the other party submits the advertising content, I will send it to you for review in advance!]

……

……

new week.

The centennial celebration of Tonghai University is just around the corner on May 20th, and the entire campus is filled with a celebratory atmosphere.

The cherry blossom avenue at Tonghai University was covered in pink blossoms, attracting groups of students taking photos.

When Xu Chen and his roommates were on their way to class, they passed by Cherry Blossom Avenue and saw a poster for the school's anniversary hanging on a lamppost. It turned out to be produced by "Dongchen Advertising".

This was exactly the design requirement for the school anniversary celebration that Professor Ni Zhi had previously given us.

Xu Chen took a closer look and thought to himself that he should praise Sister Amy in the group later, as the poster was indeed very stylish.

In fact, most of the design requirements related to the school anniversary celebration were done by professors and students from design-related majors such as the School of Creative Arts and the School of Architecture.

We simply couldn't handle it all, so we outsourced it to Dongchen Advertising through Professor Ni Zhi.

Sun Aimi is, after all, a mature commercial designer, and her level is much higher than that of the graduate and undergraduate students who have not yet graduated.

There was an unexpected bonus from designing this batch of posters for the school anniversary celebration: the design fee, calculated on a poster-by-poster basis, was actually more expensive than that for external commercial orders.

This was actually somewhat unexpected for "Little Xu," since when Professor Ni Zhi approached them, he had mentioned that the fees might not be as high as those for external business deals.

But when Gu Xinxin summarized the total project costs, Xu Chen was still dumbfounded, thinking that it was too easy to make money from "public" funds.

The budget offered is even more generous than the design requirements for "Kunlun Mountain" that Tang Xiaowei is currently working on every month.

This also shows from another perspective that his alma mater is quite wealthy.

……

During the morning break, Xu Chen received a friend request on his phone. The person on the other end claimed to be a "student council member" who was currently in charge of coordinating matters related to the "centennial celebration of the school".

After adding each other as friends, I learned that the award that the college had previously submitted to Xu Chen had already been internally confirmed.

【Hello Xu Chen, you have been selected as an “Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year”.】

Please be informed that you will need to attend the "Centennial Anniversary Commendation Conference" in the auditorium on May 20th, the anniversary of the university's founding.

I will forward you an email with the specific procedures and precautions later.

Please note that student awards such as "Outstanding Undergraduate Student of the Year," "Outstanding Graduate Student of the Year," and "Outstanding Graduate of the Year" have not yet been announced to the public. Please keep them confidential for now.

Thank you so much, senior...

Xu Chen felt somewhat helpless, thinking that it really was the "Matthew effect"—all these good things came to him automatically without him actively "seeking" them.

He thought about it and decided that he would have to send a special message later to Dean Lin Ruyang and Professor Ni Zhi to express his gratitude.

After all, Professor Ni Zhi once mentioned that Xu Chen's award was personally submitted by Dean Lin Ruyang.

……

On Tuesday, "Youlemei" held a tripartite meeting with the client, Dongchen Advertising, and the director team to finalize the overall execution plan.

The detailed storyboard was finalized, and the filming location was confirmed to be the small film and television base in Minhang District.

Director Yu Yu-hui's team has already arranged for set design to begin preparations and execution.

Xie Bingran's schedule has not yet been finalized, but based on previous inside information obtained by "Little Xu", the director team is still preparing for the filming schedule at the end of May or the beginning of June.

This is a very important project for Dongchen Advertising recently, especially since it involves two supervisors, Xie Bingran, Sun Aimi, and Gu Xinxin, who are all personally overseeing it.

Xu Chen also learned about Bing Ge's subsequent arrangements; Xie Bingran would be going to Beijing for training again in June.

They joined the national track and field team, which was preparing for the Olympics, and began to adapt to the summer climate and soil conditions in Beijing.

This training camp in Beijing will last until August or September.

The Olympics are also in August next year, so the entire month-long training camp in August will be especially important.

There may be one or two more competitions scheduled in between, but nothing has been finalized yet. There are still quite a few domestic and international competitions throughout the year, but Xie Bingran, who has already won an "international championship," is no longer pushing herself to compete in too many tournaments.

Ultimately, it all points to the Olympics that will be held on our doorstep next August.

This is no longer just Xie Bingran's issue; it involves the entire coaching and support team, the national track and field team, the General Administration of Sport, and even larger stakeholders with greater influence...

……

……

Friday evening.

Nie Fei arranged a dinner party because several new colleagues had joined the team in the past two days.

When "Little Xu" arrived at the Hunan restaurant where the dinner was being held, everyone had already arrived.

Xu Chen looked up and realized that after the team grew, the two tables in this ordinary restaurant were almost full.

The best "advancement seat" was reserved for CEO Xu, and Xu Chen didn't stand on ceremony, sitting down next to Nie Fei and Zhou Junjun.

Vice President Zhou seemed very happy again, and pulled Xu Chen aside, saying that they should have a few more drinks today...

Xu Chen already knew all of his new colleagues, having interviewed them before, and they all quickly greeted "Little Boss Xu".

On the "Ranbing Sports" side, mainly in the "Operations Department," Sun Lingfeng has added two new subordinates.

Lü Yang, a 26-year-old man, switched jobs from an e-commerce service platform.

Originally, I was in the business of online store operations and had extensive experience in execution. I had previously served other sports brand Taobao stores.

Lei Qidong is one year younger than Lü Yang. He previously worked in e-commerce operations at HC360.com in Beijing.

HC360.com has also left a significant mark on the history of e-commerce in China, and was once a leader in B2B e-commerce.

In 2007, HC360.com was still at its peak.

However, Xu Chen, who was reborn, knew that before long, "HC360.com" would be "destroyed by Alibaba and Taobao" and would become "just another ordinary person" in a few years.

Therefore, Lei Qidong's decision to leave HC360.com is indeed a wise one.

Lei Qidong understands the operation and traffic logic of e-commerce platforms, making him the perfect candidate to liaise with Taobao's operations team.

Then there's Dongchen Advertising's "Creative Department," which finally managed to recruit two more subordinates for Sun Aimi, who was already incredibly busy.

Zhuang Lei, a 29-year-old man, is slightly older than Sun Aimi.

He had long hair and a well-trimmed beard, making him look like a very cultured middle-aged man.

Zhuang Lei previously worked for JWT in Shanghai and also briefly worked for Nike.

Xu Chen kept him on after the interview, partly because he could provide more support for the design needs of "Flaming Ice".

In addition, Zhuang Lei has also worked for Audi and Dodge, so he has a good understanding of male customers.

This makes it easier to control the tone of existing and future masculine projects, creating a certain complement to Sun Aimi.

There was also a young woman, Ma Lingyao, a recent graduate who had been working for a year and previously worked at a French-owned design studio.

Xu Chen chose to keep Ma Lingyao not only because of her talent in design, but also because of her lively and cheerful personality.

Ma Lingyao is a very talkative, outgoing, and lively girl. Having someone like her in the office will naturally improve the overall team atmosphere.

Xu Chen didn't really feel these things before, but seeing how Zhou Junjun and Wu Feifei were at the company, she realized that the team still needed colleagues like them.

Besides solid business skills and hard work, the team's atmosphere and morale are also extremely important.

These four new employees were all brought in by the newly arrived "HR Director" Tang Mo.

It has to be said that having a professional HR director makes hiring much smoother.

Tang Mo helped refine the recruitment requirements, sending over a hundred resumes. After screening and several rounds of interviews, these four people were finally selected.

……

Besides these business colleagues, there was also a seemingly honest and straightforward "uncle" sitting to the side, occasionally laughing heartily along with the young people's chatter.

This is a new colleague in the "Administration Department" named Huo Guolong, a 35-year-old veteran.

Actually, it was "Little Xu" who personally came to him.

On the "Administration Department" side, there was only Nana, a young girl, who couldn't handle some of the dirty and tiring work.

Nana often had to ask Sun Lingfeng, Jiang Yuze and a few other boys for help, but those boys were really too busy to help her.

Xu Chen actually thought of Zhao Feng's cousin, Zhao Kai, who was a fellow villager who drove a taxi in Shanghai.

He asked Zhao Feng first, only to learn that Zhao Kai had already returned to Tiancheng to start a small business.

However, Zhao Kai made a special call to Xu Chen to ask about his specific needs, and then recommended Huo Guolong to him.

Huo Guolong is a retired soldier who, after leaving the military, drove trucks, taxis, and worked in water and electricity construction, among other things.

He knew Zhao Kai from when they worked at the taxi company.

This is perfect. He can do all sorts of dirty and tiring work in the company, and he can also drive. He is indeed a very suitable candidate.

Xu Chen didn't hesitate to keep him.

Zhao Feng and Zhao Kai and Xu Chen were quite familiar with each other, so the people they recommended could naturally be trusted. Moreover, Huo Guolong was a retired soldier, which made people feel even more at ease.

……

With the lively Zhou Junjun around, the dinner party was always a fun and lively affair.

Mr. Xu was also very happy. He was given a lot of drinks by several new subordinates and was already a little tipsy.

There was an interesting incident in between. When Sun Aimi and Zhuang Lei were chatting, they learned that they both knew Li Fengfeng from Blackjade Marketing.

This "bad boss" from Xu Chen's previous life was "punished" by Xiao Zong last year and could no longer work in the advertising industry.

It turns out that Zhuang Lei had a project four years ago that he had also worked with Li Fengfeng on, and he was tricked by Li Fengfeng back then.

The reason Zhuang Lei mentioned Li Fengfeng was not only because he had just learned that Sun Aimi had previously worked for "Heijue Marketing," but also because Zhuang Lei had recently learned some information about Li Fengfeng's current situation.

After Li Fengfeng's scheme to "make money" between Party A and Party B was exposed, he was actually sentenced.

It seems that Li Fengfeng embezzled a considerable amount of money from the project in previous years, and the boss of "Black Duke Marketing" also dealt him a severe blow.

However, this is understandable. In fact, after the Li Fengfeng incident last year, "Heijue Marketing" has a very bad reputation in the industry and has even lost several long-term clients.

Xu Chen couldn't help but sigh, whether you're in the workplace or a boss, in the end it all comes down to "character".

(End of this chapter)