The world of film and television begins in the ideal city

Chapter 16 Wang Yang berates Maria

Yinghai's headquarters building stands in the heart of Shanghai's business district, its glass curtain wall gleaming in the sunlight, exuding a prosperous atmosphere.

Su Xiao stood in the lobby, watching the crowds coming and going. She took a deep breath, suppressed her nervousness, and walked straight to the front desk of the administration department.

"Hello, I'm Su Xiao from Tiancheng Company. I'm here to complete my formal onboarding procedures. Could you please tell me how to get to the Human Resources Department?"

The receptionist checked the information and pointed to the HR department at the end of the corridor: "Go that way, third floor."

After thanking her, Su Xiao quickly walked up to the third floor. Just as she reached the personnel department office area, she saw a familiar figure bent over organizing documents—it was Wu Hongmei.

"Red Rose!" Su Xiao said with a smile, her voice full of joy.

Wu Hongmei looked up abruptly, saw Su Xiao, and her eyes lit up instantly. She quickly walked over and grabbed Su Xiao's hand: "Xiao Xiao! You're here! Why didn't you call me first? I would have come to pick you up!"

"I'm going to give you a surprise," Su Xiao said with a smile. "I've been so busy at Tiancheng lately that I haven't had a moment to breathe, but I'm finally able to officially start working here."

"Great! I knew you could do it!"

Wu Hongmei was overjoyed for her and pulled her to her workstation. "Quick, I'll help you with the procedures. I'm familiar with the formalities, and it'll be done in no time."

The two hadn't seen each other for a long time and were very happy. They huddled together and chatted excitedly, creating a lively atmosphere.

A short while later, Wu Hongmei helped Su Xiao fill out the job application form and organized all the materials. She smiled and said, "Wait for me a moment. I'll take it to Director Maria for her signature. Once it's signed, we can proceed with the follow-up procedures."

Maria is the head of the group's human resources department and Wu Hongmei's direct supervisor.

Su Xiao nodded happily.

Wu Hongmei felt somewhat uneasy. Maria had initially disagreed with her hiring of Su Xiao, and the previous whistleblower incident had only worsened Maria's opinion of Su Xiao. She wondered if Maria would agree to Su Xiao's hiring this time. Furthermore, Maria's constant nitpicking made her somewhat afraid of Maria.

Wu Hongmei, carrying the materials, strode to Maria's office. Maria was on the phone with her husband when Wu Hongmei interrupted her, and Maria impatiently told Wu Hongmei to come in and give a report.

Wu Hongmei presented Su Xiao's job application form with both hands. Maria took it, glanced at it, and looked up at her, asking, "Su Xiao? What, it's her again?"

Wu Hongmei hurriedly said, "It's Director Chen Simin of Tiancheng. He wants her to complete the onboarding and formal employment procedures now."

Maria said impatiently, "Didn't I already say? She doesn't meet our company's hiring standards!"

"According to the group company's personnel regulations, subsidiaries have the right to employ people," Wu Hongmei argued.

"That means you have the right to recommend, okay?" Maria said with dissatisfaction.

Wu Hongmei pretended not to see her dissatisfaction and continued to argue, "But according to previous practice, we've basically used all the recommendations."

"The rule of thumb means there are exceptions, don't you know that?" Maria said coldly, staring into her eyes.

"Maria, that's right, Su Xiao is really a talent." Wu Hongmei remained unmoved and insisted on defending her friend.

"Otherwise, Director Chen Simin wouldn't have given her a permanent position!"

"Helen, you're acting on emotion again! I've told you before that when hiring people, their character must be impeccable. If their character isn't up to par, the greater their ability, the greater the harm they can cause to the group! Based on that alone, she's not suitable to join the group!" Helen is Wu Hongmei's English name.

"She's a decent person." Maria interrupted Wu Hongmei before she could finish speaking, as she had lost interest in arguing any further.

"Alright, you don't need to say anything more, you can leave now."

Su Xiao sat at Wu Hongmei's workstation, waiting for her good news. But not long after, she saw Wu Hongmei walk back with a serious expression, clutching the job application form in her hand.

Wu Hongmei sighed, placed the application form on the table, and said with a helpless tone, "Director Maria... she won't approve your application."

Upon hearing this, Su Xiao picked up her bag and was about to leave.

Wu Hongmei immediately stopped her, "Xiaoxiao, don't go. Let me go and beg her again. I might have been a little rude just now."

"Forget it, Hongmei, we won't ask for help."

"Then let's go find the chairman. He's very decisive and different from Maria." Wu Hongmei had a good impression of Zhao Xiankun.

"Forget it, Hongmei. I've figured out your company. The system doesn't serve development. It looks like a glamorous big company, but it's full of deep-seated bad habits. I've figured it out. People like this have no future. Heh, I never expected to stay long anyway. Now it's better to leave sooner rather than later."

"No, our chairman is really different from others. And, Mr. Lin, oh right, Mr. Lin. We ran into him on Nanjing West Road last time, and he even helped you pick up your hat veil. He's a very nice person, we can go find him."

Su Xiao had no expectations; the experiences of the past few days had exhausted her. She told Wu Hongmei, "Come have dinner with me sometime," and then turned and left.

Wu Hongmei looked at her retreating figure with a helpless expression.

Upon learning this news, Wang Yang angrily went to Zhao Xiankun to complain.

He walked up to Zhao Xiankun's office and said to his secretary, Xiao Tang, "I'm looking for the chairman."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wang, you didn't have an appointment today."

"Yes, I didn't make an appointment." Wang Yang continued walking with his head down.

"The chairman's schedule is full today. I can help you make an appointment for 3 pm tomorrow," Secretary Tang hurriedly said, stopping him.

"What do you need to book?"

Wang Yang ignored her and went straight to knock on Zhao Xiankun's office door.

"Mr. Wang, Mr. Wang, you can't do this!"

Hearing the commotion at the door, Zhao Xiankun opened it and came out.

He first looked at Secretary Tang and asked:

"What's wrong?"

He then joked with Wang Yang:

"Oh, why is your face as black as Bao Gong's?"

"I came here today to complain to you, Bao Zheng," Wang Yang said angrily.

"Who are you going to sue?" Zhao Xiankun asked.

"Who? Maria."

Zhao Xiankun smiled and pulled Wang Yang into the office, then winked at Secretary Tang.

Secretary Tang understood immediately and picked up the phone to notify Maria to come to the chairman's office.

Maria strode over, gestured for Secretary Tang to sit still, and went to knock on the door herself.

After knocking a few times and hearing Zhao Xiankun say "come in," he pushed open the door and went inside.

"Chairman, President Wang," she greeted calmly.

"It's good that you're here. Let's ask you one question in front of the chairman. Do I, Wang Yang, have the authority to appoint people?" Wang Yang said, sitting on the sofa and looking at her.

Maria looked at him but didn't say anything.

"Speak up! Do I, Wang Yang, have the right to appoint people?" Wang Yang continued to press angrily.

Maria simply smiled and said, "President Wang, all power must be exercised within the rules. The group has unified personnel rules."

"What rules are you talking about? I don't know!" Wang Yang stood up and walked up to her, questioning her.

"When Yinghai Group recruits, the first thing we consider is character, as it is the foundation of everything; the second is excellent professional skills; and the third is loyalty to the group, which means a sense of belonging."

She further explained, "I'm judging people, not things. Su Xiao has been fired before; her character isn't up to par. Therefore, she doesn't meet the company's hiring standards."

Hearing her explanation only fueled Wang Yang's anger. He said furiously:

"Ha, oh dear, I'm glad you didn't come to the company sooner! If you had come earlier, I wouldn't even have gotten into Yinghai! Let me tell you, I was fired by Guoqing, so what? Is there something wrong with my character?"

He turned to Zhao Xiankun and said, "Chairman, I have to thank you. You haven't looked down on me all these years and have even included me in your group."

Maria was a little overwhelmed and quickly brought up another matter.

"Su Xiao has personality flaws; the letter she wrote to the work group was very extreme."

Wang Yang nodded, then immediately took out the "very extreme" whistleblower letter from his briefcase. He slammed it on the table and demanded, "Is this the letter? I read it, no problem! Someone's been wronged, slandered. Is it wrong for them to clear their own name?"

"Su Xiao disregards the group's interests and has a very low level of trust in the group."

"She's only been with the company for a few days! How much recognition can she possibly have? Can she be truly dedicated to the company? What are you HR people doing? Building team cohesion, that's your job!"