Dawn of Life

After the company-wide job level assessment was completed, Qian Minmin quickly finalized the salary adjustment and performance appraisal plan, making adjustments to those whose salaries did not match their job levels. Because of Liu Zheng and Qin Lan's strict control over human resource costs in previous years, there weren't many employees exceeding the salary cap for their job levels.

Therefore, this adjustment mainly addressed the issue of salary discrepancies among some early employees, resulting in very high employee satisfaction with the salary adjustment program. However, there's no such thing as a free lunch in the workplace, and management always operates on the principle of "carrot and stick." Following the salary adjustment came even higher performance targets and requirements.

Next, everyone will be evaluated according to the new targets, and this time, the bottom 10% of the team will be strictly eliminated based on the "271" rule. This means that the bottom 10% of the team will be eliminated without compensation. That's how cruel the workplace is; teammates who are usually on the same team are now fierce competitors.

Soon, the performance scores and elimination lists for each team were collected. The marketing center had failed to meet its targets for a consecutive quarter, and Shi Potian was responsible for the team's performance; unsurprisingly, he was on the elimination list. Goal setting and performance evaluation were top-down, but the application of performance results was bottom-up. For example, Shi Potian couldn't be removed immediately; instead, he needed to work with the human resources team to talk to his team members first.

Lin Yue sat in front of the computer, staring at the performance appraisal data and bottom-ranking elimination list compiled by Qian Minmin, her brow furrowed and her face ashen. She had actually seen Su Ling's name on the marketing center's elimination list. Before the performance results were implemented, each team's individual performance scores and rankings were kept confidential from the employee level, so Su Ling was currently unaware of the results.

She opened the performance appraisal forms of all the managers at the same level as Su Ling one by one. Their performance was similar, and according to the statistics, Su Ling was indeed ranked last.

At this moment, she recalled what Su Ling had told her a few days ago about several old clients whose contracts were expiring but were unwilling to renew. At that time, Su Ling had confidently stated that everyone said their old clients were affected, without considering that she might be on the elimination list.

Lin Yue opened WeChat and sent a message to Su Ling: "I want to go downstairs to buy a coffee, wanna come together?"

After a moment, Su Ling replied, "I went out today and I'm at a client's place. Wait for me after get off work tonight, we'll have dinner together. I have something to tell you."

Lin Yue quickly replied with an "okay".

Lin Yue was somewhat absent-minded throughout the afternoon, her mind constantly replaying Liu Zheng's efforts to protect Shi Potian's senior director position at the performance evaluation meeting a month ago, as well as the social gathering Shi Potian had with Su Ling that day. She felt that things weren't so simple, and that these events must be connected in some way.

Finally, it was time to leave work. As the city lights began to twinkle, the two rows of tall buildings could only be seen as faint shadows, rushing past the car window. Lin Yue drove while keeping an eye on Su Ling in the passenger seat. Su Ling hadn't spoken since getting into the car; her face was pale, and her eyes were dark.

Lin Yue guessed that she probably already knew about her poor performance ranking, but Lin Yue didn't dare to tell her that she was already on the bottom elimination list. She just said, "You must be exhausted after running around all day. Take a rest for a while, and I'll take you to eat mutton hot pot."

Su Ling hummed in response and then turned her head to look out the window.

Lin Yue knew that although Su Ling was usually carefree, she was very ambitious at work and, in the end, a girl with a hard life. She was born in a small county under Changsha, Hunan, and had an extremely biased father who devoted all his energy to her good-for-nothing younger brother.

Su's mother had never had a say at home because of her poor health. She had been laid off early and the family's livelihood depended on her father.

Su's father always believed that girls didn't need to study too much, and even though she got into university, he didn't let her go. After graduating from high school, she started working in sales. She went from telephone sales to cold calling, and eventually, through her own hard work, she became a marketing supervisor at Dasheng.

Four years ago, when she applied for a job at the company, Shi Potian didn't think much of her because of her educational background. Lin Yue felt that business skills were much more important than academic qualifications, so she suggested that Shi Potian give her a trial period.

As a result, Su Ling ranked third in the newcomer assessment and successfully secured a permanent position. She would never have been willing to be eliminated this time.

Hangzhou has typical damp and cold weather; it was already noticeably cold in late November. When they arrived at the mutton hot pot restaurant, there was a long queue outside. Lin Yue took a number at the restaurant counter; there were still more than twenty tables ahead of her.

So they took two stools and sat at the shop entrance like everyone else, waiting for their number to be called. Su Ling clung to Lin Yue's arm like a kitten and rested her head on her shoulder. Perhaps because of her father's favoritism, she had hated unfair things since childhood. And Lin Yue always tolerated many things because she disliked conflict, so Su Ling always wanted to stand up for Lin Yue.

However, when it came to important matters at work, Lin Yue was much more composed than her, so when she was in a bad mood or couldn't make up her mind, she would want to rely on Lin Yue. The two of them supported each other like this for more than three years.

Lin Yue patted her hand and asked softly, "Didn't the trip to the client's place go well this afternoon?"

Su Ling sighed deeply and said, "The three major clients who agreed to renew their contracts this week have all backed out at the last minute. This one I've been working with since I came to the company today. Everything was going well at first, but after the contract was sent, they started making all sorts of excuses. I went directly to their company today and found out that they had already signed with another company, Iron Man Teawares, which is 5% cheaper than the price we offered."

The company has a merchant operations team that connects with artisans to sell their products. Some of these products are sold on the platform, while others are sold in physical stores in partnership with the artisans, with revenue sharing between the artisans and the platform. Su Ling's marketing center is mainly responsible for developing business with offline stores, and the major client she mentioned is called "Tea Language Forest House".

The owner, Shi Qing, is a businessman with refined taste. He currently owns over a dozen chain stores located in airports across the country, mainly selling teaware, tea, and some antiques. His best-selling items are the works of a craftsman from Jingdezhen known as "Iron Man." Iron Man doesn't produce a large quantity of Zisha teapots; he himself can only make about twenty a year, each selling for over ten thousand yuan. He also trains over ten apprentices, whose works range in price from several thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.

Lin Yue gripped her hand tighter and voiced her question: "Iron Man's teaware production is limited, and many customers have to pre-order well in advance. How can they get cheaper goods than us? Doesn't this company make a profit?"

Su Ling suddenly sat up straight, a hint of anger flashing in her eyes, and said, "I have a feeling someone's up to no good behind my back. Last time I had dinner with Shi Qing, Shi Potian was there too. We reminisced about the past and looked forward to the future together. The atmosphere was very harmonious, and we even set a signing date. How come they suddenly signed with another company this week? Sigh, that company contributes 40% of my revenue every month."

Upon hearing Shi Potian's name, Lin Yue suddenly had a bad feeling. She moved her lips, but ultimately swallowed her words. She didn't have any evidence yet, and she was also worried about Su Ling's fiery temper, fearing that she might do something rash to win back a client.

This matter requires careful consideration, but she doesn't have much time left. After the list is compiled, performance reviews will begin next week, and those who will be laid off will be discussed during the review process.

"Is customer number 32 here?" a restaurant staff member called out to the crowd.

Lin Yue glanced at the number in her hand and replied, "Yes." Then she patted Su Ling's hand and said softly, "Let's go eat first. We'll have the energy to keep thinking about the client."

Su Ling sighed deeply and followed her into the restaurant.

Lin Yue scanned the QR code with her phone and ordered boiled mutton, lamb trotters, lamb offal, seasonal vegetables, and other dishes. While swiping her phone, she said, "I'll order a few more dishes today to help you recover properly."

Su Ling looked up at Lin Yue and pouted, then deleted the more expensive dishes from the menu on her phone. She said, "You're supporting a family on your own now, and I just sent my mom some money for medical treatment. We both need to be careful with our money."

Lin Yue sighed and didn't insist any further. The two then chatted and ate, without mentioning the client again.

After dinner, Lin Yue dropped Su Ling off at the subway station and then went home by herself. On the way, Lin Yue felt her mind was in a mess, with all the fragments pointing to one conclusion.

The person who poached Su Ling's clients is connected to Shi Potian, and even to Liu Zheng and the company's impending acquisition. Liu Zheng and Shi Potian have been working so hard to find clients lately, but new clients haven't increased, and old clients are gradually leaving. Furthermore, Liu Zheng's assertiveness when helping Shi Potian secure a higher position, and Shi Potian's sudden concern for every client below him, all seem highly suspicious.

These were all just Lin Yue's guesses. To confirm them, she needed to know who these clients ultimately signed contracts with. What if it was the same company? The deeper Lin Yue thought about it, the more chills ran down her spine. A thought flashed through her mind, growing stronger with each passing moment. Last time, Sheng Xing said that only Sheng Xing, Xiao Feng, and she knew about the upcoming merger. Could Liu Zheng already know as well?

Just then, her phone vibrated. The car's Bluetooth connection was active, and Lin Yue glanced at the screen to see it was Xiao Feng calling. She reflexively swiped the screen to answer.