Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading

Chapter 191: Paid Rehearsals

Isn’t it just about getting a few factories to sponsor?

If she manages to pull it off before Su Xiaoxiao, not only will Su Xiaoxiao have to swallow her pride, but she’ll also get a great chance to shine in front of the leaders.

By then, won’t the year-end bonus and the outstanding employee award be hers?

The more Zhang Dongmei thought about it, the more excited she became, as if she was already standing on the podium holding the award, while Su Xiaoxiao was seething below.

Just imagining it was extremely satisfying.

She decided that she must get this done before Su Xiaoxiao.

Not only to complete it, but to do it beautifully, and give Su Xiaoxiao a resounding slap in the face.

Isn’t she smug? Let’s see how smug she can be then.

A smug smile appeared on Zhang Dongmei’s face.

Zhang Yulan was standing next to her, she looked up to see Zhang Dongmei’s sinister smile, and silently took a big step to keep her distance.

What’s wrong with Zhang Dongmei? Why is her smile so creepy?

Chen Meilan looked at Su Xiaoxiao’s face filled with a confident smile, and couldn’t help but feel a bit sour inside.

This young girl is really lucky. Those passionate words just now happened to be overheard by the general manager, who seemed quite pleased.

If she had known the general manager would be passing by with the department managers, she would have performed better too.

Sigh, comparing oneself to others can be so infuriating.

She only managed to secure this position as the store manager because of her connections behind the scenes.

If she hadn’t come at that time, this position would have likely gone to this young girl.

Just as Chen Meilan was feeling sour inside, someone came knocking at the door.

"Director Chen, the general manager wants you to come over."

Chen Meilan instantly perked up. Could it be that the general manager has noticed her discerning eye?

After all, it was her who first agreed to let Su Xiaoxiao handle the sponsorship.

With that in mind, she confidently knocked on the general manager’s office door.

Upon entering, she discovered Su Xiaoxiao, who had been in the spotlight earlier, was there too.

The smile on her face slowly came to a halt.

She looked up at Yan Guohua and said, "General Manager, you called me?"

Yan Guohua nodded and said, "I’ve been thinking, since Comrade Xiao Su and the others are preparing for the upcoming city-wide department store gala, we should allow them to leave work an hour early with paid time for rehearsal each day during this period."

"After all, it concerns the collective honor of our entire department store, and this matter cannot be taken lightly. We absolutely wouldn’t want to let the hardworking and dedicated comrades suffer in vain."

Chen Meilan widened her eyes. She had been an employee at other department stores and had participated in the department store year-end galas for several years.

She had never heard of any department store setting aside work hours for program preparation.

Everyone has always voluntarily used their off-time for rehearsals. Not only are they being paid for rehearsals, but they even get to use work hours for it?

If she had known this earlier, she would have signed up.

Rehearsals aren’t as easy as work, are they?

Unable to resist, Chen Meilan spoke up, "But General Manager, we’ve never heard of such a precedent across our various department stores, wouldn’t that be unfair to other employees?"

Yan Guohua snorted, "When it was time to sign up, they squabbled like rabbits. Where would they get the nerve to feel it’s unfair?"

"When there were no benefits mentioned, nobody dared to step forward, and now they want to jump at it just because there are benefits? Such selfishness and lack of collective honor need a good lesson."

With that, he waved his hand, "Alright, it’s settled. Go ahead and make arrangements."

The general manager had spoken, so Chen Meilan had no choice but to agree and turned to leave.

For the moment, only Yan Guohua and Su Xiaoxiao remained in the office. Yan Guohua looked at Su Xiaoxiao appreciatively, "Comrade Xiao Su, you are very thoughtful and have high ideological awareness. You are an invaluable talent to our department store, and I have high hopes for you. I hope you continue to shine in your position."

Su Xiaoxiao blushed from his praise, "General Manager, it’s just what I ought to do. As a member of our department store, I believe everyone should strive, like you, for our collective honor."

Her passionate words were flattering, indicating both her intentions and her attitude to the general manager.

Yan Guohua looked at Su Xiaoxiao with admiration and generously praised her again.

When Su Xiaoxiao left the office, there was a gentle smile on his face, as if looking at his own child.

She returned to the counter, and both Qin Shuang and Zhang Yulan immediately surrounded her.

Zhang Yulan curiously asked, "Xiaoxiao, what did the general manager want with you?"

"Was it about the rehearsal?" Qin Shuang leaned in.

Su Xiaoxiao pretended to nod wisely, "Regarding the rehearsal, there’s good news. Do you want to hear it?"

"What good news?"

The two looked at Su Xiaoxiao in unison, waiting for her follow-up.

Even Zhang Dongmei at the adjacent counter stretched her neck to look over.

"The good news is..."

Su Xiaoxiao deliberately paused, then slowly said, "From now on, we can finish work early by an hour every day for rehearsals, and it’s paid!"

"What?"

Before the two could respond, Zhang Dongmei from the neighboring counter widened her eyes and walked straight over.

"Su Xiaoxiao, are you kidding? Paid rehearsals? It’s been years, and I’ve never heard of such a thing. Are you dreaming?"

Being forced to participate in rehearsals, Zhang Dongmei had already asked old employees about the past annual galas.

In previous years, everyone trained on their own time and there were no exceptions.

This is why nobody wants to participate in these events.

Imagine working tirelessly all day and still having to rehearse voluntarily after work. Who would want that?

Su Xiaoxiao rolled her eyes at her, "Believe it or not."

"Humph, acting all high and mighty. Just because you were in the limelight before the general manager, don’t forget your place, alright? I bet it’s not true; otherwise, why hasn’t Director Chen come over to notify us yet?"

The more Zhang Dongmei thought about it, the more it made sense to her, "You’re just a junior employee, surely Director Chen would be better informed than you, right?"

She had just said this when footsteps were heard behind her.

Turning around, she saw Chen Meilan hastily walking over.

Chen Meilan glanced at Su Xiaoxiao, then raised her voice and said, "Everyone, quiet down for a moment. While we’re taking advantage of this break, I have an announcement."

She looked up at the clock, which showed two minutes before the afternoon opening time, ample for her needs.