Nie Xiaoyu is a first-year student in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, majoring in Business Administration, and a new member of the External Relations Department.
Originally, she hadn't planned to join the External Relations Department, but she was drawn in by the events surrounding the conflict between Chen Han Sheng and the former vice minister of the department, Zhou Xiao, and ended up accompanying him to the Yiwu Commodity Center. She watched in awe as Chen Han Sheng outshone Zhou Xiao.
Later, Nie Xiaoyu decided to run for a position in the department. After two rounds of strict interviews with Qi Wei, she successfully became a member. In this new student party preparation activity, she was assigned to work with Chen Han Sheng.
However, the vice minister seemed to be indifferent. Qi Wei and Yao Qingguo were constantly at the Yiwu Commodity Center looking for sponsors, while Chen Han Sheng was nowhere to be seen.
Nie Xiaoyu, who joined the department to gain experience, was starting to feel frustrated. The other new members shared the same sentiment—they had hoped to develop their skills but felt they were not getting the opportunity, as they could just enjoy a more relaxed position in the Organization Department.
One morning in November, after class, Nie Xiaoyu was about to go for lunch when she saw Chen Han Sheng coming out of the Youth League Committee office, holding a set of keys.
She quickly called out, "Vice Minister Chen Han Sheng."
Chen Han Sheng turned his head at the sound of his name. A small, short-haired girl with a quiet yet graceful demeanor stood before him. She resembled Hu Linyu but was more demure and slightly prettier.
"Who are you?" Chen Han Sheng asked, his face showing recognition but confusion.
"I'm Nie Xiaoyu, a new member of the External Relations Department, your team member!" she said, a little irritated.
"Oh~"
Chen Han Sheng realized, "No wonder you look familiar. Have you eaten?"
"No."
Nie Xiaoyu answered gloomily.
"Well then, I'll treat you to a meal."
Nie Xiaoyu shook her head quickly, "Eating is small matter, I just want to ask when we're going to get sponsors. I heard Qi Wei and Yao Qingguo are almost done raising the money."
"What sponsors?"
Chen Han Sheng stared at her, blank for a while before finally remembering, "I completely forgot about that."
Nie Xiaoyu nearly burst into tears, "What should we do? We need 1,000 yuan, and the new student party is almost here!"
"No need to panic."
Chen Han Sheng grinned confidently, "I'm here."
Seeing his calm demeanor, Nie Xiaoyu remembered that this vice minister had once managed to gather 2,500 yuan in an instant, and she relaxed slightly.
"Xiaoyu, I have other things to take care of. Since we're not eating, I'll head off."
Chen Han Sheng patted his pockets and turned to leave.
Nie Xiaoyu, seeing him about to leave, quickly said, "I'm free too. Let me follow you around and help out."
Ignoring her, Chen Han Sheng walked toward the F building of the teaching complex. The area was overgrown with weeds, some places half a meter high. Nearby, a cluster of bicycles was haphazardly parked by students attending classes.
The two abandoned storage rooms allocated by the Youth League Committee were behind the weeds and bicycles. Chen Han Sheng opened the door, and a musty smell from long-untouched rooms filled the air.
Each storage room was about 70 square meters, with a thick layer of dust on the ground and some broken desks, chairs, and teaching equipment scattered around. Mops and brooms were left in the corners.
Chen Han Sheng took out a cigarette and lit it, then said to Nie Xiaoyu, "Call the other three members. I'll lend you my phone. Can you use it?"
"Of course, my family has phones too."
Nie Xiaoyu took the phone and left, soon returning to say, "I've contacted everyone."
Chen Han Sheng looked up, "Do you remember their dorm numbers?"
Nie Xiaoyu pulled out a small notebook, "Qi Wei said everyone should exchange dorm and QQ numbers, so I wrote it all down."
"Good," Chen Han Sheng said, taking the phone back. If this was the first test of a leader's ability to manage their subordinates, Nie Xiaoyu had passed.
The other three new members soon arrived: Xu Mengzhu from Applied English, He Bing from Chinese Language, and Wang Yansong from Journalism.
He Bing, who had been eating lunch, still had some rice on his shirt. They all rushed over, out of breath, but none of them showed any complaints.
"Why did you join the External Relations Department?"
After greeting them, Chen Han Sheng asked.
"To gain experience. Qi Wei told us during the interview that the External Relations Department is the hardest-working department in the student union."
Nie Xiaoyu said, and the others shared similar sentiments.
Chen Han Sheng nodded, "The External Relations Department does provide valuable experience, but if you follow me, that goal might be hard to achieve."
The new members looked at each other, confused, but Chen Han Sheng didn't explain, preparing instead to take them out to "see the world."
---
They arrived at the Shentong Express Jiangling Branch on Tianyuan East Road. General Manager Zhong Jiancheng had just finished socializing and looked flushed as he sipped tea to sober up.
Upon seeing Chen Han Sheng upstairs, he waved and shouted, "Manager Chen, come over here. The commission standards have been set."
Chen Han Sheng told Nie Xiaoyu and the others, "Wait for me downstairs."
Zhong Jiancheng, without asking anyone's identity, immediately took out a document from his drawer and handed it over to Chen Han Sheng. "Take a look at the contents."
Chen Han Sheng opened the agreement. The basic terms were that the commission was 0.8 yuan per item, but if the daily collection at each school reached 200 items, the commission would increase to 1 yuan per item.
The daily collection at the Finance School was only around 60 items, so this proposal represented more than a threefold increase. Zhong Jiancheng's offer seemed quite shady.
Chen Han Sheng silently read through the document and returned it to Zhong Jiancheng.
Zhong Jiancheng frowned and, reeking of alcohol, asked, "Is there something wrong with the agreement price?"
Chen Han Sheng shook his head, "The price is probably fixed, but I have some doubts about the structure."
"What doubts?"
"Since I'm the agent for the Finance, Medical, East University, and Engineering Colleges, it doesn't make sense to separate each school. How about bundling them together and setting a single standard?"
Zhong Jiancheng had played a word game in the contract, specifying that each school had to collect 200 items a day. But each school was different in size, making the 200-item goal very difficult to meet.
For example, the Finance School at Jiangling has 6,000-7,000 students, while East University has a campus with about 15,000 students. The Medical School, being a graduate school, has fewer than 2,000 students. The Engineering School has over 20,000 students.
Each school had different circumstances, so reaching 200 items per day for each was nearly impossible.
"Should I go back and wait for a new contract?"
Chen Han Sheng asked.
Zhong Jiancheng stared at him for a moment and suddenly smiled, "No need. Actually, I had already prepared two versions. The other one bundles the four schools together for a unified collection standard. I just got confused after a few drinks."
Zhong Jiancheng pulled out a new agreement from the drawer and handed it to Chen Han Sheng.
Had Chen Han Sheng not noticed the issue, he would have been stuck with the 0.8 yuan per item rate. But because he caught the trick, Zhong Jiancheng pretended to have forgotten it.
This is business.
Giving Chen Han Sheng a phone, adjusting commission rates, and even playing games with the contract terms—all part of the deal.