From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

Less than a week after taking over the site, I spent all my savings, stayed up countless nights, did everything myself, and made changes and revitalized it bit by bit. All my efforts were poured into this.

Just because of a word of pressure from above, everything is about to be overturned, and all the hard work is wasted?

At that moment, for the first time, I truly felt that so-called industry rules are ridiculously fragile in the face of absolute personal connections and power.

Seeing that I remained silent, the three men knew that I had come to terms with reality and would not waste any more words. They stood up at the same time, ready to end the meeting.

However, just as the three turned around...

The conference room door was gently pushed open from the outside.

A composed and upright figure walked in slowly.

The man was around forty years old, dressed simply and casually, without deliberately wearing formal attire. He looked clean and refreshing, yet exuded a calm and composed aura befitting someone in a high position.

Upon seeing the newcomers, the three high-ranking executives, who had been so aloof just moments before, immediately bowed and greeted them.

"Mr. Gao!"

The man, referred to as General Manager Gao, nodded slightly, his gaze first sweeping over me indifferently before settling on the stack of neglected proposal documents on the table.

The next second, he went straight forward, picked up the entire plan, and began to carefully read through it.

Unlike the perfunctory glances from the others, he looked at it with extreme care.

As he flipped through the pages, he casually asked, "What's going on? What happened here?"

The regional manager immediately stepped forward to report to the supervisor: "Manager Gao, this is the agent for the Chengxi area station. Someone has filed a real-name complaint against his station for violating regulations, and the higher-ups are putting pressure on us to revoke his agency qualification."

Mr. Gao did not respond, but continued to look down at the plan, glancing at me every now and then.

A full minute later, he slowly closed the manuscript, looked directly at me, his gaze sharp and clear.

"What's your name?"

"Lin Ye." I straightened up and answered calmly.

I knew perfectly well that the person in front of me was definitely a big shot from headquarters, and my only chance to turn things around.

Mr. Gao nodded lightly, his tone crisp and decisive: "Come with me."

The three high-ranking officials looked at each other, not daring to say a word, let alone stop them.

I didn't ask any more questions, quickly grabbed the documents, and followed him out of the meeting room.

Without the slightest hesitation, I quickly gathered all the proposal documents on the table and hurried after him out of the conference room.

He walked ahead, his back straight and his steps composed.

Follow him into the private elevator, which takes you directly to the 21st floor.

The moment the elevator doors opened, I could clearly feel the difference in floor level.

The office area on the 21st floor is spacious, bright, clean, and grand, with an atmosphere that is incomparable to that of the 17th floor.

Everywhere you look, you see white-collar workers dressed in formal attire, exuding a capable and efficient demeanor, working in an orderly manner.

Everyone looked glamorous and respectable, which made others envious.

As he walked along, all the employees who saw General Manager Gao stopped to greet him respectfully.

We soon stopped in front of a private office.

I looked up at the sign by the office door.

It clearly states on the label: Operations Director.

My heart skipped a beat, and I was instantly filled with both surprise and joy!

"Come in and have a seat." General Manager Gao pushed open the office door and walked in, pointing to the guest sofa.

I sat down as instructed, feeling slightly awkward, and subconsciously looked around.

The office features huge floor-to-ceiling windows, a clean and bright layout, and a simple yet elegant decor.

It looks exactly like the offices of top executives at those top companies on TV.

Mr. Gao casually poured me a glass of water, handed it to me, and said in a calm tone, "Wait a moment."

After saying that, he walked to his desk, picked up the landline phone, and made a call.

"Help me investigate someone named Lin Ye. Focus on two things: first, who filed a formal complaint against him; second, the specific reasons and evidence for the complaint."

Hearing this, my heart warmed instantly.

I originally thought that all the senior executives at headquarters were sycophants and opportunists, but I didn't expect there to be a leader like General Manager Gao who is willing to seek the truth from facts.

His attire was understated and unassuming, and he was gentle and polite. Just based on this demeanor alone, he far surpassed the three high-ranking officials from before.

A moment later, the phone rang back.

General Manager Gao listened quietly to the report on the other end of the phone, nodding occasionally, his expression calm and his emotions unreadable.

A few seconds later, he hung up the phone, turned around, and sat down on the sofa opposite me.

He looked up at me and said calmly, "Do you know who reported you?"

I nodded slightly: "I think I understand."

Mr. Gao did not press for details, but simply said, "I just verified it. Your matter is very difficult to handle."

One sentence instantly chilled my heart.

I always knew Fang Heng was rich and powerful, but I never imagined his influence was this great!

To target someone as insignificant as me, he actually managed to get the headquarters of SpeedExpress to personally exert pressure.

This isn't even a contest between equals; it's a complete dimensional reduction attack!

In an instant, an overwhelming sense of powerlessness swept over my entire body.

If I offend such a powerful figure, do I even have a chance to survive?

Just then, Mr. Gao, who had been sitting quietly to the side, spoke again, breaking the oppressive atmosphere.

"I've reviewed your proposal, and I have a question for you: Did you create this yourself, or did you copy it from the internet?"

I looked him straight in the eye and said frankly, "I did it all myself."

"In the few days since I took over the Chengxi station, I have been investigating all the residential areas, factories, and business districts, compiling statistics on every delivery problem and customer pain point, and staying up late at night to organize the data and refine the rectification plan."

After I finished speaking, I paused slightly and calmly added, "Mr. Gao, you don't need to test me. This plan only addresses a problem unique to the western part of the city; you can't find a template for it online. As the operations director at headquarters, you can tell the difference between genuine and fake, good and bad, at a glance."

He nodded slightly, seemingly showing some approval, and said calmly, "Then briefly summarize what the core of this plan is."

Without pausing, I blurted out, "The western part of the city is a well-known weak point in the express delivery industry, with many old residential areas, scattered factories, and scattered households."

"The core issues that prevented previous site agents from succeeding were slow delivery, high complaint rates, high labor costs, and extremely low profit per item."

"My solution can fill the gap in the delivery area. It can effectively reduce the complaint rate by 30%, increase delivery efficiency by at least 40%, and also develop new profit points such as community stations and factory collection points."

I spoke eloquently, and after I finished, I threw out another sentence:

"I'd like to ask, is it worth it for headquarters to shut down a compliant site that could revitalize a weak area and generate revenue, simply because of personal grudges and favoritism?"

His words were powerful and resounding.

Mr. Gao remained calm and did not immediately express his opinion.

After patiently listening to everything I had to say, he remained silent for a few seconds before slowly speaking:

"Objectively speaking, your solution is indeed of very high quality. It's clear that you've put in a lot of effort and understand the industry's pain points."

He abruptly changed the subject: "But the deputy general manager personally issued a hard pressure, and given the hierarchy of authority, I can't completely ignore it."

Of course I know, and I know even better that the reason he's putting so much pressure on me and saying all this is simply because he's interested in my proposal.

So I mustered my courage and, gritting my teeth, said:

"Give me a month, and I will rectify and operate according to the plan and deliver tangible results."

"If I meet the standards, I will remain in my position; if I do not meet the standards, I will voluntarily relinquish my agency rights and hand over the reins unconditionally."