"Xiao Qin, is this your translation?" Qiao Wei looked at Qin Hai with excitement.
Qin Hai chuckled, "I just roughly translated it; I don't know if it's correct."
Qiao Wei gave him a deep look, suppressing her excitement, and handed the piece of cigarette pack paper to Xue Hui, "Group Leader Xue, take a look."
Hearing Qiao Wei's words, Xue Hui, still full of suspicion towards Qin Hai, wondered if this kid really understood Italian. But according to the information he had gathered, this kid clearly only had a junior high school education and was even a crude fellow who couldn't write a coherent work report when he first arrived.
However, as he turned his attention to the rows of dense, tiny characters on the cigarette pack paper, his pupils suddenly shrank, and then he instinctively pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose.
The handwriting on the paper was messy, but as Qin Hai had said, it was clear to read. And most importantly, it was now obvious that the translation was indeed better than his; not only was it more fluent and natural, but also the words and paragraphs he was uncertain about were translated with great precision by the other party.
In a word, the translator's mastery of Italian was clearly far above his—indeed expert-level.
A layer of fine sweat beads appeared on Xue Hui's back, and faint sweat marks were visible on his forehead.
If this was Qin Hai's translation, then his earlier offer to teach the other party Italian would be like slapping himself in the face.
Xue Hui stared hard at the crumpled piece of cigarette pack paper. Just this thing, translated in a restroom, was now giving him a resounding slap in the face. His cheeks were burning, and he knew without looking that they must be the color of a liver.
What should he do now, what should he do? Xue Rong was in complete disarray and didn't know what to do at this moment.
To admit in front of Qiao Wei and others that he was inferior to Qin Hai was worse than killing him.
Qin Hai smiled at Xue Hui and asked, "Group Leader Xue, how was my translation? Are the sentences smooth?"
Xue Hui wiped the sweat from his forehead and said awkwardly, "Pretty good, pretty good. So, Xiao Qin, did you really translate this?"
Qin Hai smiled and said, "What, Group Leader Xue doesn't believe it?"
"No, no!" Xue Hui replied awkwardly.
He was already considering whether to leave quickly.
"Group Leader Xue, may I ask a question?" Just then, Xiao Lingling inserted, blinking her big eyes playfully as if a naive girl was posing a dazed question, "Is Qin Hai's translation good or is yours better?"
A sharp pain seemed to pierce Xue Hui's heart, and the flesh on his cheeks twitched visibly a few times, caught by Qin Hai and Xiao Lingling straight on.
Qin Hai almost burst out laughing, discreetly gave a thumbs-up to Xiao Lingling across the table, who in turn was holding back her laughter, her face turning red.
Xue Hui couldn't stay any longer, pushed the cigarette pack paper in front of Qiao Wei, and quickly said, "Group Leader Qiao, I... I just remembered there's some urgent business I need to deal with, so I'll take my leave first. Enjoy your meal!"
"Hahaha..." As soon as Xue Hui and Yang Yong were far enough away, Xiao Lingling couldn't hold back any longer, leaning over the table and shaking with laughter, while Qiao Wei beside her, her shoulders trembling with laughter and her eyes both reproachful and pleased, stared at Qin Hai non-stop.
Qin Hai picked up a peanut and popped it in his mouth, winked at Xiao Lingling, and boasted, "Xiaoling, how was my performance just now? Pretty awesome, right?"
It took Xiao Lingling a while to stop her laughter, and after wiping away the tears that had leaked out of the corners of her eyes, she made a face at Qin Hai, "Don't brag. Tell me, who did you ask to help with the translation?"
What? He needed someone to help translate something like this?
The smile on Qin Hai's face suddenly froze, and the peanut in his mouth nearly got stuck in his throat, causing his face to turn beet red in a choke.
After finally swallowing the peanut, Qin Hai said, aggrieved, "What, you don't believe that I did the translation myself?"
"Cut it out, forget it if you won't say," Xiao Lingling rolled her eyes at him and continued to eat.
Qin Hai turned his hopeful eyes to Qiao Wei, but she just smiled at him, said a thank you, and then nothing more.
Qin Hai: "..."
Why can't there be a little more trust between people?
Qin Hai felt like crying without tears.
...
After finishing lunch, Qin Hai found a place to comfortably take a nap, and waited until the work hour passed before he leisurely returned to the office.
However, when he entered the office, he found that Qiao Wei had already returned from Lin Qingya's place and was whispering and laughing with Xiao Lingling, looking quite happy.
Qin Hai moved closer with a smile and said, "What are you two beauties talking about so happily?"
"Go away, go away; we're talking about women's business. What are you doing butting in!" Xiao Lingling huffed at Qin Hai and rolled her eyes at him. It was clear that she was very unhappy that Qin Hai hadn't come clean at lunch.
Since they were all insiders, Qiao Wei didn't hold back and said with a smile, "President Lin seems to want me to be the deputy head of the marketing department. She just asked me for my thoughts, and I think she seemed pretty satisfied."
"That's great news, Sister Qiao! Let me be the first to congratulate you. Later on, Xiaoling and I will have a big backer, and you can't ignore us!" Qin Hai joked.
"Stop right there. 'It ain't over till it's over'. If other people find out and it doesn't come to fruition in the end, they'll laugh me to death," Qiao Wei said, looking genuinely happy with a radiant smile.
Qin Hai, however, was silently contemplating Lin Qingya's intentions. Promoting Qiao Wei this time was probably also hoping she would look out for him more. Truly a tough-on-the-outside, soft-on-the-inside woman. It seemed that Lin Qingya said she wouldn't care about him, but she actually did care quite a bit,
Hehe, indeed, a fiancée who has yet to cross the threshold is the best, caring so much for her future husband!
Just then, the door to the minister's office, which had been firmly shut all this while, opened, and Jian Ren emerged with a gloomy face, casting a glance over at Qin Hai and the others the moment he stepped out.
Qin Hai noticed that as soon as Jian Ren appeared, Qiao Wei's face turned ashen, obviously still shaken by the morning's events.
"Sister Qiao, you don't have to be afraid of him. With me here, he definitely won't dare do anything to you. Besides, you'll soon become the deputy head, so you'll have even less to fear from him," he reassured her.
Qiao Wei forced a smile and nodded gratefully at Qin Hai, "Thank you!"
Unexpectedly, Jian Ren not only walked over to them but also stopped right in front of Qin Hai. Qin Hai couldn't quite figure out his intentions and warily observed this beast in human clothing.
"Qin Hai, you've been at the company for almost a month now, and you haven't signed a single contract. Have you been working hard at all during this time?"
Jian Ren's voice was loud, and his tone quite severe, turning everyone in the office to look their way.
Meanwhile, a sneer played across Jian Ren's mind, "Kid, you think you can compete with me? You're too green."
A smirk crept onto Qin Hai's face; he chuckled lightly, thinking that the scumbag still wasn't satisfied and had come looking for trouble just after one lunch break. True to the style of a man who doesn't wait overnight for revenge. But if this scumbag thought he was easy to push around, he was sorely mistaken.
Before he could speak, Qiao Wei, standing beside him, cut in, "Minister Jian, Qin Hai has never worked in marketing before and is still learning and getting familiar with it. In a while, I'll have him work on sales calls with me."
Jian Ren snorted coldly, "Does it take a month to learn and get familiar? Is the company paying him to slack off? Group Leader Qiao, don't be biased. You are well aware of the company's rules; we don't feed someone useless."
Slap!
Jian Ren slammed a stack of materials on the table and said coldly to Qin Hai, "Here's a proposal. Take it and go to Sihai Company immediately. If you can seal this deal by the end of work today, it means you are somewhat useful. Otherwise, I'll suggest to the company to fire you immediately!"
No sooner had Jian Ren left than the office was filled with whispers, and gazes of various sorts simultaneously fell on Qin Hai. There was sympathy, disdain, and the chilly amusement of those who loved a good spectacle. There was even bursting laughter from a corner, as if reveling in schadenfreude. The loudest laughter came from Group Two, with Yang Yong even whistling.
Slap! Xiao Lingling suddenly slammed her hand on the table, stood up angrily, and said, "What are you laughing at, what's so funny!"
The laughter stopped abruptly as everyone lowered their heads. Xiao Lingling huffed, turned to Qiao Wei, and asked anxiously, "Sister Weiwei, what should we do now? Qin Hai has never signed a deal; he doesn't know how to do it. Think of something to help him!"
Xiao Lingling and Qiao Wei both knew Qin Hai's situation all too well; he hadn't even finished junior high school. Apart from spending a few years as a soldier, he mostly worked as a laborer on construction sites. With his education level, running simple business in a small company was feasible, but to sign contracts on behalf of Yafang Group with other companies was asking too much of him.
Qiao Wei picked up the proposal and looked it over, her expression worsening.
"I know this order. Sihai Company wants to purchase some equipment abroad; it's pricey, and our company happens to have overseas channels that could be used. If we can land this order, the profit would be quite substantial. The only thing is—"
"What's the only thing? Come on, Sister Weiwei, spit it out!" Xiao Lingling asked urgently, clearly far more anxious than Qin Hai.
"The only thing is that the purchasing department of Sihai Company is tough to deal with—they push prices very low, and I've heard the company has complex and formidable backing. So, although the order is good, it's tough to secure. To my knowledge, our company has already given them at least four proposals, all of which were rejected," Qiao Wei sighed.
"Then what can we do?" Xiao Lingling was extremely anxious.
Qiao Wei looked at Qin Hai and sighed, "It's clear, Jian Ren uses this impossible order to get even with you."
Qin Hai smiled, took the proposal, and began to read, "No worries. It's just an order. Others might fail, but it doesn't mean I will. Don't worry about it. Besides, if it doesn't work out, the worst I have to do is pack up and leave. It's not a big deal."
"No way!" Xiao Lingling and Qiao Wei spoke in unison. Xiao Lingling urgently added, "After all the trouble you went through to get here, do you want to go back to the construction site and carry bricks? Jian Ren is clearly targeting you. I'm going to report him to President Lin!"
Qiao Wei quickly stopped the excited Xiao Lingling and addressed Qin Hai, "This happened because of me; morally and personally, I have to accompany you. If you lose your job because of this, I'll resign too."
Qiao Wei was insistent, and Qin Hai reluctantly agreed, feeling an added sense of gratitude.