Film and Television: The Collector Who Rampages Across the Heavens

Chapter 101 Gu Jia's Visit

After Linda became the store manager, Wang Manni's life became more and more difficult. She used to be in charge of high-end areas such as jewelry and bags, but now she was directly transferred to the shoe area, and her performance was much worse than before.

Her former colleagues, with whom she had a good relationship, have clearly begun to distance themselves from her, while trying to curry favor with Linda, who has become the assistant store manager.

Even if Tracy is transferred, Linda shouldn't be the right person to be the assistant store manager!

Wang Manni was quite indignant and resentful of Linda's promotion the most. However, she soon tasted the bitter fruit of her resentment and was constantly suppressed by Linda, who would cause her trouble for no reason.

Wang Manni was so angry that she considered quitting her job, but she only had a few months left before turning 30, and her education level was not high, so it would be extremely difficult for her to find a job outside.

After much hesitation, she decided to compromise and talk to Linda. If Linda still didn't intend to let her go, she would resign.

At the time when she was leaving get off work, Wang Manni intercepted Linda.

"What's up?"

Linda wore a Chanel suit, her exquisite curves accentuated by her long, slender, fair legs encased in sheer stockings, paired with Balenciaga knee-high boots, making her look both fashionable and sexy.

Wang Manni was secretly surprised by the other person's change, and smiled, "My treat, let's go to the restaurant across the street for a meal and a chat?"

"Okay, you go ahead first, I need to get my car."

Linda understood the other party's purpose and nodded.

Watching the woman head towards the parking lot, Wang Manni went to the restaurant to reserve a table first. Not long after, she saw a stylish white Audi R8 parked on the side of the road.

Her eyes flickered as she looked at him, secretly thinking to herself, "Everyone says Linda has someone else on the side, and now it seems it's absolutely true."

Linda stepped out of the car looking sexy and glamorous, carrying a Gucci bag, and walked into the restaurant with an elegant and sophisticated air.

After ordering their food and chatting for a bit, Wang Manni took the initiative to say, "Linda, congratulations on your promotion to assistant manager."

"Really?"

Linda raised her eyebrows and looked at her old rival, whom she had competed with for so many years, with a playful expression. The other party had clearly given in at this moment.

"sincere!"

Wang Manni nodded and said gently, "You need to achieve results to be promoted to deputy store manager. You know my abilities. If you are willing to fairly distribute the business among all of us, I am happy to continue to work hard."

"If I achieve good results, I can earn money, and you'll get a commission. We both look good. But if you keep putting me down like this, I'll have to find someone else!"

Linda's pretty face remained impassive. After taking a sip of her juice, she said, "Are you threatening me?"

"This is not a threat, I'm just stating the facts."

Wang Manni said in a deep voice, "Everyone is trying to make money. We fought for money before because of money. If I can't make money, what's the point of me staying here?"

Linda pondered what the other person said for a moment. It was very true. She had also had a big fight with her over money in the past. Now that she had been promoted to assistant store manager, she could easily control Wang Manni.

There was no deep-seated hatred between the two, and it was pointless to keep suppressing this woman. Moreover, Wang Manni was very capable, and with her under his command, the results were obvious to all.

That's what she thought, but Linda's face showed a hint of displeasure, and she snorted coldly, "Nini, you really are annoyingly clever. Fine, from now on I will assign you tasks reasonably."

Wang Manni breathed a slight sigh of relief and held the glass with both hands: "Thank you, I'll toast you!"

Linda casually raised her glass and clinked it with hers.

Wang Manni actually wanted to ask the other person if she was promoted to assistant store manager because of the man behind her, but she figured Linda would never tell her such an important secret.

After finishing the meal, Linda drove away under Wang Manni's watchful eye.

As always, she returned to the Grand Hyatt Residence and went up to the 21st floor. As she skillfully opened the door and entered the corridor to change her shoes, she frowned slightly as she looked at the pair of milky white high heels.

I changed into slippers and went to the living room. I saw a woman in the kitchen, wearing tight jeans, with a slim waist and tall figure, and long hair flowing down her shoulders, cooking. I heard the sound of water coming from the bathroom, which meant that Su Li was taking a shower.

Linda suppressed her annoyance, walked to the kitchen, knocked on the door and window, and asked the person on the other end, "What do you want?"

Having noticed Linda earlier, Li Ke turned around and smiled sweetly: "You must be Sister Linda. I'm Li Ke, President Su's secretary. It's an honor to meet you."

Upon hearing the words "female secretary," Linda's heart skipped a beat. After a two-second silence, she asked directly, "You and he have that kind of relationship?"

"I don't think I need to spell it out, do I?" Li Ke smiled sweetly, a hint of playfulness on her beautiful face. "On my second night at the company, President Su and I went to a hotel."

Scumbag, playboy, bastard—Linda cursed him with countless words in her mind, but dared not show any dissatisfaction on her face.

She had long expected that she was just one of that man's countless women, but when another one came before her, she still couldn't help but feel sad.

But we are all adults in society, and both sides are getting what they need, so neither owes the other anything.

"Judging by your age, you're a recent college graduate. Why did you choose to be a secretary? What were you thinking?"

Linda leaned against the door and window, her arms wrapped around her shoulders, and asked in a cool tone.

Li Ke smiled and said, "President Su is handsome and rich, and he's also very capable in that area. What's wrong with me liking him? If you're tired of President Su, Sister Linda, I can pass on your message."

"You're sharp-tongued," Linda snorted.

Li Ke smiled slightly, inwardly sneering, "We're all just green tea bitches, what do you have to be so proud of?"

"Linda, the food's ready, please take it over!"

"I see----"

Linda picked up the two dishes and glanced at them. They were both spicy dishes that Zuli loved. This female secretary was obviously good at winning a man's heart.

Alas, from now on, she will no longer be the only mistress of this mansion. With Li Ke as a rival, things are bound to get turbulent between them.

When Su Li came out wearing a bathrobe, Linda and Li Ke were chatting like best friends.

"Looks like I don't need to introduce you. You women really can become best friends with almost anyone you know."

Su Li nodded in satisfaction: "You two should get along well in private. You'll be spending a lot of time together in the future."

The two women smiled at each other, exchanging glances, but neither said anything.

After the three replenished their energy, another sleepless night was about to begin.

Gu Jia has been having a run of bad luck lately. Her fireworks factory orders have been repeatedly snatched away, and her son failed his interview for Depu Kindergarten.

She faced a minor crisis in both her career and family life, but after making inquiries, she learned that Mrs. Wang, who lived on the 20th floor, and Mr. Su, who lived on the 21st floor, were able to recommend someone to Depu.

She didn't know the former, and had only met the latter once. To visit them with such affectation was simply a joke.

Gu Jia, who worked her way up from the bottom, would never give up on any opportunity, no matter how difficult it was.

"Honey, why are you making so many cakes and snacks?"

When Xu Huanshan woke up in the morning, he saw Gu Jia busy in the kitchen. He went over to take a look and was pleasantly surprised.

"It's all about my son. I've inquired about it. He didn't pass the interview, but there are other ways for him to get into Depu. It's that Mr. Su we met downstairs before. He's said to be the controlling shareholder of Depu and has a lot of influence."

"As long as he writes a letter of recommendation, his son will get into Depu Kindergarten with ease."

Gu Jia's pretty face lit up slightly, and she kept moving her hands.

Xu Huanshan frowned; he didn't have a good impression of that President Su.

"There's no need for that. You've only met them once, why would they help you? Going to their door to ask for help might just make them feel uncomfortable."

"That's why I brought some small gifts. I heard that Mr. Su likes spicy food, so I made some snacks to visit him. Maybe it'll work out!"

"I think it's unlikely."

"It's both unlikely and possible. We can't let go of any opportunity, especially since that CEO Su is the CEO of Su Yang Group. His businesses span various industries. If we get to know each other better, he might just pass on some orders to us. Would the fireworks factory still be in such a difficult situation now?"

Gu Jia clearly thought things through a lot, considering not only the present but also future developments.

Xu Huanshan's expression was not good. Although his wife always put the family and her career first, he felt very uncomfortable as her husband going to such lengths to visit another man.

"I think it doesn't matter which kindergarten our son goes to. As long as our fireworks factory continues to operate normally, that's fine. After all, our family is already much better off than the average person. What do you think?"

Gu Jia paused her work, looked at the cutting board with her beautiful eyes, and said leisurely, "Then why did we take out a loan to buy this house in Junyue Mansion? You think we're already living a very good life, but is that really the case?"

Recently, we've been getting orders snatched up by other companies. I won't tell you the reasons, but I'll personally go and talk to them. One of the companies that placed the order said our fireworks are expensive and they're in a hurry to pay. Compared to the other company, they offer the same fireworks at a much lower price, and they're willing to pay in six months or a year.

That fireworks factory belongs to a fireworks group company and has already deliberately started expanding into Shanghai. It hasn't even started yet and it's already snatched up so many orders. If it doesn't open up new channels now, the fireworks factory will definitely run into problems within three years.

Xu Huanshan listened to Gu Jia say so much and chuckled bitterly in a low voice: "The way she's saying this—it makes it sound like I'm quite incompetent."

"Honey, that's not what I meant. I just wanted to tell you that now is not the time for our family to settle down. We should seize any opportunity that comes our way."

Gu Jia took a breath and said gently, "I understand your feelings. Since you don't like that President Su, I'll go find Mrs. Wang on the 20th floor. She can help us with this too."

After being lectured by Gu Jia using both gentle persuasion and firmness, what could Xu Huanshan say? He simply smiled and nodded.

Gu Jia then contacted her friend Zhong Xiaoqin, asking her to help her get acquainted with Mrs. Wang.

So, around noon, she took the cake up to the 20th floor, met Mrs. Wang and chatted for a while, but ultimately did not get a clear answer.

Unexpectedly, Jiaming Fireworks Factory ran into trouble again. The buyer reneged on a deal worth millions that had just been agreed upon.

Gu Jia rushed to the company without even having a bite to eat, and asked what had happened.

"This is the third time that Ocean Tobacco Company has snatched our orders," the salesperson who went to sign the contract said with a helpless expression.

After typing on his computer for a while, Xu Huanshan said to everyone, "This Ocean Fireworks Company is one of the established fireworks companies. It has been developing in places like Nanjing and Hangzhou, and only recently has it started to expand its business to Shanghai."

Gu Jia frowned and asked, "Are you sure this is just normal business competition?"

"Our company hasn't offended anyone, has it? Not only Haiyang Fireworks, but also Xinyi Fireworks and Dongcheng Fireworks have taken our orders. They're from Kunshan, Ningbo, and other places. It's like they've agreed to expand into the surrounding areas together—"

"They are all big companies. If we let them continue to expand like this, our market share will be completely eroded sooner or later."

"Xu Huanshan said in a deep voice."

Gu Jia nodded in agreement. Competition between companies is the most terrifying, especially when facing these large companies. They either have to lower their profits or make outstanding improvements in fireworks. Otherwise, the power of these channels and resources in small companies is so great that they don't need to do anything behind the scenes to crush Jiamei Fireworks Company into pieces.

"Find someone to find out what's going on inside these companies, what exactly they mean."

Gu Jia didn't have any good solutions at the moment, but if this future crisis wasn't resolved, Jia Mei would be swallowed up by someone else sooner or later.

Xu Huanshan said, "I understand. I'll arrange it right away. By the way—what did Mrs. Wang say?"

"What else can I say? She said it depends on the time."

Saying things like "it depends on the time" is just polite talk; whether or not someone helps is entirely up to them.

After leaving Jiaming Company and returning home, Gu Jia felt utterly exhausted. She hadn't accomplished anything, whether it was work-related or family matters.

Suddenly, the cell phone on the side of the sofa rang, and the voice of the female employee in the lobby downstairs was held to her ear.

"Mrs. Xu, Mr. Su, whom you asked me to keep an eye on, just came upstairs."

"Oh, okay, thank you!"

Gu Jia exchanged pleasantries and expressed her gratitude. She had a firm grasp on interpersonal relationships. All the property staff in the lobby downstairs had received her small favors. They might not be able to help with important matters, but they could help with these small things with just a word.

To go or not to go?

Gu Jia didn't hesitate for long. She packed the snacks she had prepared, changed her clothes, went to the 21st floor, and knocked on the door.

"Miss Gu?"

The young man behind the door was tall and handsome, wearing a simple white shirt. His chest muscles were as white as jade, and upon closer inspection of the silk-like shirt, one could even see his aesthetically pleasing streamlined figure.

"Mr. Su, I apologize for the intrusion." Gu Jia smiled, her red lips slightly parted, and tentatively asked, "I hope I haven't bothered you?"

"No, please come in."

Gu Jia changed into slippers and entered the living room. The three-story duplex and the design by a top international master opened her eyes, but the interior decoration was not particularly novel; on the contrary, it was quite simple.

"Mr. Su, your house is beautifully decorated, it has such a charming and tasteful style!"

"It's alright, it was designed by the German designer David."

Su Li poured a cup of tea and placed it in front of the woman, who had obviously dressed up before coming.

She wore a light-colored long coat over a tight-fitting low-cut T-shirt that accentuated her full upper body, revealing a radiant white complexion. Her waist was encased in slim-fitting pants that accentuated her hips.

Fresh and eye-catching, she sits on the sofa with her body taut.

Gu Jia didn't know who Dai Wei was, but she could tell that the designer was extraordinary; the apartment on the 21st floor was even more luxurious than Mrs. Wang's house downstairs.

"Ms. Su, these are cakes and snacks I made. I told you I wanted to visit you when we last met, but I've been very busy lately and only had time this afternoon."

She smiled and reached out to open the lunchbox and cake.

"There's no need to be so polite, we're all neighbors—"

This woman wouldn't do anything without a reason; there must be a reason for her sudden visit. Su Li figured it out after a moment's thought.

"Miss Gu, please speak freely. I will definitely help if I can."