Three days could be long or short.
For Huang He, these three days involved a few laps around the phone base, returning to Wenzhou to handle daily affairs, taking a trip to Hainan Island to visit the filming of "Piaomiao Zhilv," and coincidentally playing some fun mini-games with Zhiwen. Just like that, the three days passed, filled with activity.
For some people, however, these three days felt like an eternity.
They had stood outside the Tengda Company for a full three days, each day feeling like a year.
It was already the height of summer. Although the Tengda staff had thoughtfully provided a large sunshade, along with chilled drinks and heatstroke medication to help them endure the heat, the days were still incredibly difficult to bear.
If it were just the heat, that would have been manageable. What was truly unbearable were the pointing fingers and scrutinizing gazes from those around them.
SEG Plaza was one of Shenzhen's most bustling and popular office buildings, with a constant stream of people entering and exiting. The result was that over forty to fifty people were surrounding them at any given moment.
Initially, people were curious, asking what was happening. Later, as whispers spread, it became known that these individuals were from Jiangnan Group, ordered by Huang He to apologize to Tengda Group. People immediately felt a sense of cosmic justice, that the world was truly interesting.
The epic battle between Tengda Group and Jiangnan Group years ago had been famous throughout the online world. Everyone knew that Tengda Group, once soaring high with boundless prospects, had been systematically dissected by Jiangnan Group's “slow cutting of flesh” tactic, blade by blade, until it became the current Tengda Games. Even their founder, Xiao Ma Ge, had vanished without a trace, as if he had disappeared from the face of the earth.
Now, people from Jiangnan Group were actually coming to the doorstep of Tengda Group to apologize. It was truly the most miraculous event in the world, something to be savored.
On the first day, these events were merely circulating around the SEG Plaza. By the second day, the entire Shenzhen online company circle knew about it.
Within another day, basically the entire nation was aware, and forums everywhere were filled with related posts, along with photos of these fifteen individuals apologizing.
Consequently, Jiangnan Group quickly invoked employee privacy rights to have these forums and websites delete all relevant photos. However, the news itself could not be erased, so their notoriety was already widespread.
Facing such humiliation, not everyone could endure it. On the first day, six people left directly, announcing their resignations.
On the second day, another five left, leaving only four people on site, struggling even to hold up the banner.
Fortunately, no one left on the third day. After all, they had endured two days; to flee on the third day would have felt like a complete loss.
It was precisely at 5 PM on the third day that Zeng Qing, the president of Tengda Group, who had been missing for three days, finally returned to the company. He immediately met with these four employees, spoke kindly and comfortingly to them, and expressed his willingness to accept their apologies. With that, this incident finally concluded.
“What am I doing this for?” As he stepped out of the elevator, feeling the eyes of everyone around him, Zhang Qiufeng couldn't help but sigh, his head buzzing.
He was the leader of the first operations team at oo Game Platform, considered a mid-level leader within the company, as his team was responsible for the most crucial work on the platform.
Of course, it was when he communicated with Kai Xuan that he had used such an unfriendly tone and hadn't provided sufficient explanations.
In Zhang Qiufeng's own words, he wasn't arrogant, just extremely busy with work. There were countless tasks related to World of Warcraft's promotions and various other projects that kept him from properly handling Kai Xuan's matters, leading to this situation.
Naturally, his explanations were useless to Huang He. Huang He had directly asked him, “In your heart, is the importance of Kai Xuan’s tasks far lower than the importance of World of Warcraft’s tasks?”
“Yes!” Zhang Qiufeng had readily admitted at the time.
“Then let me tell you, you are gravely mistaken!” Huang He said calmly. “In my eyes, ten World of Warcrafts combined are not as important as one Kai Xuan. This is because Jiangnan Group has few self-operated online games; at most, there will be three to four in the future, as we pursue quality over quantity.”
“However, in the future, online games that rely on our game platform, like Kai Xuan, will exceed a thousand, and standalone games will be hundreds of thousands. If you treat Kai Xuan with your current attitude, you will inevitably treat other third-party partners with the same attitude in the future. Are you waiting for you to drive away all these partners and benefit our competitors?”
Zhang Qiufeng had nothing to say. He honestly admitted his mistake and was then ordered by Huang He to come and apologize. He had initially thought it was just a formality, but he never expected to end up standing at the company's entrance for three days.
Zhang Qiufeng also wanted to resign, but seeing the three subordinates beside him who were forced to stand for three days because of him, he gritted his teeth and persevered, preparing to resign immediately upon their return.
Unexpectedly, as Zhang Qiufeng approached the entrance of SEG Plaza, he suddenly saw an incredibly beautiful woman, whose presence was as ethereal as a celestial being, standing quietly there.
“Secretary Hu! What are you doing here!” Zhang Qiufeng exclaimed, recognizing her as Huang He’s chief secretary, Hu Jing.
It was well known that Hu Jing was inseparable from Huang He, serving only him. This meant Huang He himself was…
“The chairman is waiting for you in the car. Please come over!” Hu Jing said calmly, then led the somewhat bewildered four onto a business van parked nearby, where they found Huang He seated regally.
“You four have worked hard!” was the first thing Huang He said upon seeing them.
Zhang Qiufeng, who hadn't cried, felt a pang in his heart at that moment and couldn't help but burst into tears. The other three also began to cry. Huang He remained silent, simply handing each of them a new towel. Once their emotions had gradually stabilized, he asked, “Do you hate me?”
“Yes!” Zhang Qiufeng replied decisively. The other three remained silent, but their unspoken agreement indicated their sentiments.
“It’s good that you hate me!” Huang He said with a smile. “Remember how much you hate me today, because Zeng Qing hated you in the same way back then, and all future partners who might be treated rudely by you will hate you just like this!”
“……” Zhang Qiufeng fell silent.
“You four, do you still plan to stay with the company?” Huang He continued to ask. The four exchanged glances, unsure of themselves.
They had originally decided to leave, of course. After enduring such humiliation, who could remain in the company?
But then they considered that they had already endured three days of humiliation. If they were to resign now, wouldn't that be a huge loss? They should have left on the first day.
“I’m not leaving!” one person declared.
“I’m not leaving either!” the other two employees said.
“I’m not leaving either!” Zhang Qiufeng finally said through gritted teeth. He had been determined to leave before, but at this moment, for some reason, his mind had changed.
“Very good. Starting today, you are the leader of the first team for business cooperation operations at oo Game Platform!” Huang He said, pointing to the first person who had answered.
“You two, the company has already hired a batch of new recruits. You will guide them and establish the second and third operations teams, serving as the leaders for these two groups, respectively!”
“As for you, you will continue to be their superior and become the manager of the newly established Platform Business Cooperation Department. In the future, your department will be responsible for all对接, operations, and business planning with third-party game companies!” Huang He said with a smile.
“We’ve all been promoted?” Hearing Huang He’s appointments, the four were collectively stunned. They had thought that even if they returned, things would remain the same, or perhaps they would be demoted and retained. They never expected all four of them to be promoted to team leaders and manager.
“Indeed, thanks to your performance today, I believe that in the coming months, a large number of game companies will be eager to cooperate with us.”
“I’ve been thinking that grouping all operations under one department is not quite appropriate, so I’ve created a separate department specifically for handling all work with third-party game companies. You were previously responsible for this, so naturally, you should continue to be responsible for the upcoming work!” Huang He chuckled.
“Chairman, you still trust us?” Zhang Qiufeng asked, trembling with excitement.
“Of course, of course, I trust you even more!” Huang He laughed heartily. “Because you have experienced today’s events, every cell in your body will remember all the humiliation you have suffered these past three days. Therefore, you will never make the same mistakes again. You will admonish all your team members on how to serve third-party game vendors and ensure they always stay on our platform, generating endless revenue for us!”
“If I were to replace you with a different group of people, wouldn’t I have to make them stand here for three days as well?”
Huang He patted the shoulders of these four individuals. “Everything in this world has a price. The honors you enjoy come with a price, and the humiliations you endure also come with a price.”
“You have paid the price of humiliation, and thus you can enjoy the subsequent honors. Work hard, your future extends far beyond this; your prospects are limitless!”