Chapter 354
Zhou Yueshen glanced in the direction she was pointing.
He paused.
The other two women were also stunned.
Wang Qiaomei tilted her head, looking at Li Yanhong beside her in sheer disbelief.
She never expected that Si Nian would choose her.
Let alone Wang Qiaomei, even Li Yanhong herself was completely bewildered.
After all, she had just offended Si Nian and said the wrong things.
It had been a continuous string of bad luck.
On top of that, her sister-in-law had been recommended by the factory manager's assistant earlier.
Her heart had long grown cold with disappointment.
She had already mentally prepared herself for rejection.
Yet, she never imagined that Si Nian would actually choose her.
Right now, her mouth was slightly agape. She stared at Si Nian in disbelief, unable to process what had just happened.
Zhou Yueshen's gaze swept over Li Yanhong.
"Tell me why."
He was asking Si Nian.
If she chose Li Yanhong, she definitely had her reasons and thoughts.
Zhou Yueshen was curious.
He had noticed earlier that when Li Yanhong was speaking, Si Nian was smiling.
Even though the woman's words were quite unpleasant to hear.
But Si Nian had her own reasons for choosing her.
Having spent so much time with this older man, Si Nian understood what he meant.
She replied, "I think she has her own bottom line and knows how to protect herself. In sales, you inevitably meet all kinds of clients. For a salesperson, someone with true capability never needs to grovel or swallow their pride to please others. Doing so only makes others look down on you."
"If you can't hold your bottom line, encountering difficult clients will bring you massive trouble. I believe that when it comes to work, personal safety comes first, and the job comes second. If a company can't even guarantee the safety of its own employees, then there really is no point in staying there."
"Of course, even though she offended someone, the fact that she managed to stay at her previous factory for so many years under such circumstances proves she has real skills. She isn't the type to offend clients for no reason. It must have been because the other party said something truly awful, or she was harassed and pushed beyond her limits..."
Nowadays, many men did not respect women much, but Si Nian believed that you could always find another job, whereas being insulted and harassed would leave a lifelong shadow.
Brave people might dare to fight back, but she herself had not possessed such courage in the past.
To dare to stand up and fight back against men in this era, Si Nian felt that Li Yanhong was a relatively brave and assertive person.
Only this kind of person wouldn't suffer losses.
The more timid you are, the more people think you are easy to bully.
She believed that Zhou Yueshen wouldn't want to see his subordinates being bullied either.
Although Li Yanhong's words might not have been very pleasant, the fact that she worked at her former factory for so long despite offending people showed she had her own merits.
As soon as she said this, Li Yanhong's eyes immediately turned red.
She never expected someone to see through her and understand her so quickly.
Especially since she had just disliked Si Nian and treated her like a rival.
Filled with shame, Li Yanhong said, "My temper isn't great, but I'm not without a sense of propriety. Some clients like to get handsy and say nasty things. Even knowing I'm married with a child, they still harass me. Naturally, I won't be polite to them."
"You are right. Work is work, and personal life is personal life. I am serious about my job, but if it affects my life, I will not choose to tolerate it. Although we are sales personnel and indeed need to serve our clients attentively, I don't believe this requires selling out my body and dignity in exchange for a business opportunity."
This was exactly what she had told her leader before.
But how did her leader reply? He said that letting someone touch her wouldn't make her lose a piece of flesh, and asked why she was being so dramatic.
He even said that girls prettier than her weren't as aloof as she was.
This was completely unacceptable to Li Yanhong.
Si Nian nodded slightly without speaking. She looked at Zhou Yueshen beside her.
Zhou Yueshen took a cup from the side, poured another cup of tea, and handed it to her.
His hands were large; although his fingers were long and slender, they were also calloused.
They were a bit tanned, but the skin tone was very even.
The joints were distinct and strong.
Si Nian really liked Zhou Yueshen's hands because they were always burning hot. When he held her in the winter, it was very warm.
She reached out to take it and took a sip.
Her heart skipped a beat.
The two of them had been drinking from the same cup all along.
Zhou Yueshen withdrew his gaze.
He looked at the two women and didn't say much.
"It'll be you then."
Li Yanhong still found it hard to believe, as if a pie had just fallen from the sky and hit her.
Her whole body felt dizzy.
After the shock came ecstasy.
She looked at Si Nian with excitement.
She was just short of kneeling down before her.
Beside them, Wang Qiaomei's face looked awful. Unable to accept this, she said, "How... how could this be? I just spoke up for you earlier, and Yanhong talked to you like that, yet you actually chose her."
She refused to believe that she had spoken up for Si Nian, yet wasn't chosen.
Instead, the aunt who had mocked her was chosen.
Wang Qiaomei found it very hard to accept this fact in her heart.
Si Nian glanced at her. Seeing her face full of disbelief and indignation, she paused.
She said, "This has nothing to do with how she treated me. We are looking for sales personnel. Public business has nothing to do with private matters."
"You did speak up for me, but that doesn't mean I have to choose you."
"Haven't you realized that you have a huge problem? When you are mocked and insulted by a man, your first reaction is shame and self-doubt. You don't think the person who insulted you has a problem; instead, you look for the cause within yourself. Li Yanhong, on the other hand, is the exact opposite."
"With your personality, I don't think you are very suitable to be a salesperson."
Wang Qiaomei still found it hard to accept and said, "What they said wasn't really wrong, though. After all, many people in this industry are like that."
Si Nian was left speechless.
If even she herself thought this way, if she was someone who looked down on herself, what else could Si Nian say?
Seeing her stay silent, Wang Qiaomei thought she had made a valid point and continued, "You and Yanhong share the same view, and it's wrong. Because with tempers like yours, it's very easy to offend people. That's exactly why Yanhong was laid off."
"For us in sales, suffering a little grievance isn't anything strange. As long as the job is done well and it helps the company, it's all worth it."
Si Nian: ...
So even back in this era, things like PUA were already happening?
After Wang Qiaomei finished speaking, she didn't look at Si Nian. After all, it was because of this very issue that she and Li Yanhong had a bad relationship and couldn't see eye to eye.
Now that Si Nian was siding with Li Yanhong, she assumed Si Nian was just like her.
Neither of them had the slightest selfless thought of dedicating themselves to the company. How could a company possibly want such people?
Wang Qiaomei looked at Zhou Yueshen and advised, "Mr. Zhou, although I know saying this might not be very nice to Yanhong, she really does offend people easily. It would be a true pity if such a great job opportunity was handed to her only to be messed up."
"Yanhong, the reason I didn't yield this job to you is precisely because of this. I didn't want to fight you for it, but your temper really isn't suitable, otherwise you wouldn't have been fired."
Li Yanhong had been very happy, but upon hearing these words, her face darkened.
"Yes, Sister-in-law, you're right, I was laid off, but what you said is too ugly. The factory's business hasn't been good this year, and since the two of us are older, one of us had to go. Mom advised me that you and Eldest Brother have many children and a lot of pressure, and she was afraid you wouldn't be able to afford food if you lost your job. I thought it wasn't easy for you and Eldest Brother, so I left voluntarily. Otherwise, did you think you could stay so easily?"
Li Yanhong was furious. Although she and Wang Qiaomei didn't get along, she had a good relationship with her eldest brother. Plus, they had three children, and her eldest brother's apprentice salary was low.
If Wang Qiaomei also lost her job, their family's life would definitely be difficult.
She originally didn't really want to leave either, after all, jobs were hard to find.
At that time, the leadership talked to the two of them, implying that it would sound too bad to just let them go directly, so they hinted that they should discuss it privately themselves.
When she went back, her mother persuaded her, and she hesitated before agreeing.
She voluntarily gave up the opportunity.
Thinking she was still young and could easily find another job.
But her sister-in-law thought she was laid off because she offended a client.
She originally couldn't be bothered to explain.
Wang Qiaomei was still haggling over this matter.
She didn't even think about it. If it hadn't been for her bad temper over the years, making those people afraid to offend her, how much disadvantage would Wang Qiaomei have suffered when going out to socialize?
Hearing this, Wang Qiaomei was stunned.
Then she said in disbelief, "No, impossible, how come I didn't know about this."
"If you don't believe me, go ask my mom. If I was really laid off for offending someone, I would have been fired long ago."
"My temper is bad, but I also have a lot of clients under me. When I left, I even asked the factory to assign all my clients to you. I dislike you, but you are my sister-in-law after all, my eldest brother's wife. I couldn't leave them to someone else, I'm not stupid."
Wang Qiaomei's expression turned even uglier.
At the time, when the company gave her the list of Li Yanhong's clients to manage, she thought it was because Li Yanhong had left and no one else in the factory could do it, so they could only give it to her.
She had even felt smug about it, thinking her long-time efforts had finally paid off.
She never expected this to be the case.
Wang Qiaomei's face looked extremely bad.
She lowered her head, her face full of defeat.
So what was the point of her persistence for so long?
She had always thought she was the one looking after her sister-in-law at the factory.
Because of her bad temper, she easily offended people.
But she forgot that it was precisely because of Li Yanhong's bad temper that those people didn't dare to give them attitude.
She had even forgotten that with Li Yanhong's big temper, why hadn't she resisted or fought for herself when the company laid her off, but just left?
Now she suddenly understood.
It was her who had always thought too badly of her.
Wang Qiaomei's face was full of shame.
She couldn't say a single word.
Zhou Yueshen interrupted the two.
"If you have any problems, go back and solve them yourselves."
The implication was that this was not the place for them to argue.
The two women immediately fell silent.
If they kept talking, Li Yanhong's opportunity would be gone later.
Although this place was remote and the environment was harsh.
Who else could offer a base salary of 90?
Si Nian could also see that Li Yanhong was the kind of person with a sharp tongue but a soft heart, but she really didn't expect her to make sacrifices for her family.
Although the relationship between the two wasn't great, when those two men mocked them women, it was Li Yanhong who stood up to defend their rights.
She wasn't just defending herself, but all women.
At that time, Si Nian thought, no matter how bad this person is, she can't be that bad.
In contrast to Wang Qiaomei.
Si Nian originally just thought her thinking was restricted, but her heart was good.
But she didn't expect her to be so inflexible.
She was already thirty-four or thirty-five years old.
Forget it.
When the two left, Si Nian looked at Zhou Yueshen.
"Wang Qiaomei was introduced by Yu Dong. If you don't choose her, will it be bad?"
She chose Li Yanhong just out of her personal opinion.
It didn't mean her choice was the right one.
But Zhou Yueshen didn't object either.
Si Nian was a little worried.
He didn't have to listen to her about everything.
After all, she didn't understand the work at the breeding farm.
Besides, the person was introduced by Yu Dong, so he must have had his own thoughts.
Zhou Yueshen raised his eyes: "You made the right choice."
"I have no objections because I was planning to choose her anyway."
Si Nian raised her eyebrows.
She thought Zhou Yueshen had been provoked by Li Yanhong.
He should have had a bad impression in his heart.
Who told Li Yanhong to say she was his daughter.
The old man's face turned green at that moment.
She rarely saw his emotions leak out, with such exaggerated facial expressions.
This was the first time.
It was enough to prove how explosive Li Yanhong's words were to him.
Thinking about it, Si Nian couldn't help it.
She wanted to laugh.
Although she was a bit younger, she couldn't possibly be Zhou Yueshen's daughter.
Probably.
Si Nian looked at the man's outfit and understood a bit more.
When would this old man throw away his old-fashioned army green jacket?
Seeing her laugh again, Zhou Yueshen glanced at her.
"Are you very happy?"
Si Nian immediately put away her smile.
Zhou Yueshen organized the resumes and put them aside, "Have you had lunch?"
Si Nian put down her water cup, she was full from drinking water, and she answered honestly: "Not yet, have you eaten?"
Zhou Yueshen didn't say whether he had eaten or not.
He just said: "Someone will cook later, I'll go get food for you."
"Okay."
Then, he asked her to sit for a while, while he took out some forms and started writing.
Si Nian sat next to him out of boredom, watching him sign.
They were all orders.
For the afternoon, to be signed now.
The man was still busy.
Si Nian didn't bother him.
She looked around the environment.
This wasn't her first time here, but this time the environment seemed even worse.
There was a basin on the floor nearby, with water in it.
The roof was leaking.
Si Nian looked up, and there were water stains and some marks on the roof.
This house was very old, and Zhou Yueshen had rented it and renovated it for use.
The surroundings had been plastered with lime, and the windows weren't big.
It looked like a small shop in the countryside.
He didn't have any requirements for his office environment himself.
So he just made do.
As Yu Dong said, the piglets' pens were better than his.
It had been raining heavily recently, and these houses were very old.
Although the breeding farm was newly built, because some ditches weren't done well, water easily accumulated.
Too damp an environment wasn't good for the piglets either.
They easily got sick.
During this time, Zhou Yueshen was also digging channels for drainage.
Fortunately, he had gained experience in breeding.
He knew what to do.
Plus, the breeding farms were newly built, so they didn't leak.
Seeing there were still so many orders, the impact probably wasn't too big.
Si Nian looked at the prices and said, "The prices have dropped?"
Zhou Yueshen nodded slightly.
"There's swine fever at the breeding farm in the west of the city, and now many people are afraid to eat pork. Swine fever is a highly contagious and fatal virus that can quickly spread and infect the entire breeding farm. So recently, our breeding farm has been doing closed feeding, and we have to disinfect every day to prevent accidents."
He reached out and touched Si Nian's face.
"I probably won't be able to go back for the next few days. I need to wait until this swine fever situation is resolved."
Zhou Yueshen's business was doing so well that it was bound to draw the envy of others.
Not to mention, at a critical juncture like this, if anything went wrong, it would mean total ruin. He couldn't afford a single mistake.
Especially when everyone else was facing disasters, his ability to keep things stable would inevitably thrust him into the eye of the storm, making him a prime target.
The piglets: What? The neighborhood next door got locked down?