Upon returning home, Song Qiao’s mother-in-law saw the bandage on his head and gasped, covering her mouth.
“Xiao Song, what happened to you? Are you alright?”
Seeing her concern, Song Qiao quickly waved his hand. “It’s just a few superficial wounds, nothing serious.”
“How could you be so careless? Did you go to the hospital to get it checked?”
Although his mother-in-law had some misunderstandings about Song Qiao before, she couldn’t help but worry when she saw him injured.
“Mom, don’t worry about him. He got injured fighting with someone outside,” Xia Yuqing said dismissively from the side.
“When I went to the hospital to find him today, he was still hanging out with that Qi Yun.”
“Yuqing, I was just trying to get justice for A Wei,” Song Qiao said, feeling a mix of amusement and exasperation as he quickly tried to explain.
“Hmph, when you’re getting revenge for others, do you ever think about your own family?” Xia Yuqing snorted, ignoring Song Qiao and turning to walk into her bedroom.
“Xiao Song, you’re acting recklessly.” His mother-in-law’s expression also darkened, and she reprimanded him.
“Yuqing has repeatedly told you not to associate with those people, but you never listen. And now, you’ve gone and gotten into a fight.”
“As a father, can’t you think about Xixi at all?”
His mother-in-law was an elder, and even though she was misunderstanding him, Song Qiao didn’t retort. He simply stood there and listened patiently.
“Think about it yourself. Don’t make us disappointed in you again.” With that, his mother-in-law left the living room.
Seeing this, Song Qiao felt it was inappropriate to stay any longer and drove to his shop.
A Wei had been injured and hospitalized for the past two days, so the shop was surely short-handed.
…
The business in the shop had gradually stabilized, and he, as the owner, needed to consider delegating responsibilities.
As soon as he entered the shop, he saw Li Lili, who was temporarily covering for A Wei, busy stocking goods for the various stalls.
“Lili, thank you for your hard work these past two days while A Wei has been away.”
Song Qiao looked at the sweating Li Lili and thoughtfully handed her a bottle of mineral water.
“I’m fine, boss. How is A Wei doing?”
Li Lili took the water and took a sip, asking with some concern.
“The knife wound wasn’t deep, just some superficial injuries.”
“The doctor said he can be discharged in a couple of days to rest.”
Song Qiao replied.
“That’s good. I can’t believe Duan Kun and his gang were so ruthless.”
Hearing that A Wei was not seriously injured, Li Lili’s heart also relaxed.
“Oh, boss, our sales in the major department stores have dropped recently.”
Song Qiao nodded slightly, not surprised.
The stinky tofu sale a couple of days ago was mainly because the products had just been launched, and with aggressive promotion, it immediately attracted a large number of curious customers.
Now that the initial excitement had passed, the product’s sales were bound to stabilize.
He patted Li Lili’s shoulder and comforted her.
“These are normal phenomena.”
“As long as we can maintain this stability for now, I’ll think of some promotional ideas after A Wei is discharged.”
Li Lili naturally had faith in Song Qiao’s abilities and put her worries aside.
The next morning, Song Qiao drove to his mother-in-law’s house, intending to give his wife a ride to work and ease their misunderstanding.
Unexpectedly, Xia Yuqing’s expression turned cold as soon as she saw Song Qiao.
She looked at him with disappointment in her eyes, said he didn’t need to give her a ride, and stubbornly rode her bicycle to the factory.
Song Qiao felt a sense of helplessness; it seemed his wife still had deep-seated misunderstandings about him.
“Xiao Song, don’t blame Yuqing. She’s just too disappointed in you.”
“Don’t come here for the next couple of days. Focus on your work.”
His mother-in-law instructed him from the side.
Song Qiao nodded resignedly, bid farewell to his mother-in-law, and headed to the processing plant alone.
The output from the processing plant had also gradually stabilized recently, even experiencing overcapacity.
“Old Zhang, go inform the team leaders of each production line, and Lin Jing and the others. We’re having a short meeting.”
Song Qiao pondered for a moment and instructed Zhang Laicai.
Old Zhang, seeing Song Qiao’s solemn expression, didn’t dare to delay and quickly distributed the notification.
Half an hour later, Lin Jing and Li Lili arrived at the factory.
Including the team leaders Old Zhang had called, a total of eight people attended the meeting.
Song Qiao surveyed everyone present and slowly began to speak.
“You are all veterans who have followed me, Song Qiao, through thick and thin. Every one of you has made significant contributions to my success today.”
“As our business grows larger, I’ve decided to assign your future responsibilities to facilitate more efficient management.”
Lin Jing and the others had never seen their boss so serious and instinctively sat up straighter, their hearts tightening.
Seeing that everyone was attentive, Song Qiao began to delegate.
“Lin Jing, starting today, you will be responsible for managing the company’s accounts. Before the end of each day, report the day’s expenses and revenue to me.”
Lin Jing immediately stood up from his seat, somewhat excitedly.
“Don’t worry, boss. I will manage every penny of the company’s accounts properly.”
Song Qiao nodded slightly and gestured for her to sit down, then turned to look at Li Lili.
“Lili, you will primarily be responsible for managing our shops, the stalls in front of the restaurants, and the sales efforts in the major department stores.”
“This is a demanding role, and I will assign you more staff in a couple of days.”
Li Lili was also somewhat surprised that her boss would entrust such a crucial aspect to her and quickly agreed.
“Old Zhang, I’m entrusting the factory’s production to you. My only requirement is to maximize efficiency while ensuring worker safety.”
“Boss, I…”
Old Zhang stood up hesitantly, seeming to want to say something but holding back.
He was the least experienced among the four, and being suddenly entrusted with such importance by the boss made him emotional.
“I can trust you with this matter,” Song Qiao said, patting his shoulder to reassure him.
“As for A Wei, once he’s recovered from his injuries, he will be responsible for product distribution to the various sales points, as well as logistics and security matters.”
A Wei was still recovering in the hospital and had not attended this meeting.
However, he had been responsible for this area before and would surely handle it with ease.
“I hope everyone can unite and work together for the company’s benefit.”
“As for compensation, I, Song Qiao, can’t guarantee much else, but as long as there’s meat to eat, you’ll never just get broth!”
Looking at the excited faces of everyone present, Song Qiao smiled slightly, as if the once formidable business magnate had now returned.
“If there are no further questions, I will now adjust our marketing strategy.”
“Lili, please take notes. You will be primarily responsible for this area.”