Golden Scale [EN]: Chapter 3

The Second Chapter: Assuming Office – How Could a Golden Dragon Be Confined to a Pond?

Monday morning, 9:00 AM. A young man with black-rimmed glasses and a refined appearance walked into the lobby of the China World Trade Center in Beijing. He paused before the directory, noting that the entire sixteenth floor was occupied solely by IIC.

“They’re really throwing money around, renting an entire floor in the China World Trade Center,” the young man thought. This was Hou Longtao, who had returned to Beijing the previous weekend. He’d spent the time visiting relatives and partying with friends, and now he was facing his first official day of work. Watching the attractive office ladies walking by, a smile touched his lips. “My loves, I’m here.”

Hou Longtao entered the elevator. Because it was rush hour, the elevator was packed, the small space filled with the scent of expensive women’s perfume. In front of him stood a woman, an office lady (OL) in a gray suit, her back to him. The shiny elevator doors vaguely reflected her elegant face. Looking at the woman, her round, upturned buttocks accentuated by her tight skirt, he thought, “What a perfect ass. I’d love to give it a good squeeze.”

In moments, they arrived at the sixteenth floor. As the doors opened, he gently tapped the woman’s right shoulder with his left hand. As she turned her head, he smacked her butt hard with his right hand. Almost simultaneously, Hou Longtao stepped out to the woman’s left. “Haha, awesome!” The soft feeling of the woman’s butt still lingered on his hand. He asked the receptionist for the General Manager’s office, thinking he needed to report in first.

Behind the desk outside the General Manager’s office sat a beautiful female secretary, about twenty years old. “Hello, my name is Hou Longtao. I’m here to report for duty.” “Oh, hello,” the secretary said, looking up with a charming smile. “My name is Zheng Yueling. I’m Director Xu’s personal assistant. You must be the new Investment Department Manager? Director Xu is expecting you.” “Thank you.”

After Zheng Yueling announced him, Hou Longtao knocked on the door and entered the spacious General Manager’s office. He was immediately stunned, not because a woman was sitting behind the huge desk, but because the woman was simply too beautiful.

She was no more than thirty years old, with thick black hair styled elegantly. Her oval face was lightly made up, and a pair of rimless glasses perched on her delicate nose. Her eyes were bright and piercing, exuding an aura of elegance and intellect that made people *bù gǎn bì shì* [不敢逼视 – dare not look directly at]. “You’re three minutes late,” the woman behind the desk said. “Huh? What?” Hou Longtao finally snapped out of it. “I said you’re three minutes late.” The woman stood up and extended her right hand. Hou Longtao quickly walked over and shook her hand. “Such soft hands, so white and smooth.” Hou Longtao really didn’t want to let go until the woman pulled her hand back.

“I’m Xu Ruyun, the General Manager of IIC China. Please, have a seat. Punctuality is a basic virtue, and you’ve already failed, which is disappointing. Your first impression isn’t good.” The woman said expressionlessly. But Hou Longtao didn’t hear a word. “Xu Ruyun, Xu Ruyun, what a beautiful name, it suits her so well. Isn’t there a singer with the same name? What full breasts, probably a 35C, no, at least a 35D.” He repeated in his mind, his eyes fixed on Xu Ruyun’s breasts that strained against her clothes.

“Director Hou, are you listening to me?” Xu Ruyun said with some dissatisfaction. “Sorry, I was a little distracted because I was being lectured on my first day. I’m a little nervous,” Hou Longtao quickly apologized. “Director Xu, just call me Hou.” “That won’t be necessary. Director Hou, we’re not that familiar yet.”

Director Xu took out a document from the drawer. “I’ve seen your resume. You only have a bachelor’s degree. Although I personally value ability over education, you have no work experience at all. And your major is Information Systems, which has nothing to do with investment. We are an investment company, and you are the manager of the most important department—the Investment Department. You have the authority to make decisions on all investment projects below 30 million RMB [Renminbi, Chinese Yuan]. Although the amount is not large, you certainly understand the principle of accumulation. Your predecessors were all senior talents with many years of successful investment experience in the United States. I don’t know how you gained the trust of the head office. Since they sent you here, I can only accept it, but I will be watching you. Don’t make any mistakes, or I will FIRE you immediately. Okay, you can leave now. Let Yueling take you to meet the heads of each department.” After speaking, Director Xu began to look at other documents, dismissing Hou Longtao.

Hou Longtao stood up and found that his legs were a little weak. He scratched his head, said goodbye, and walked out. “Damn, what a powerful woman. She almost exposed all my secrets. It seems that if I want to gain a foothold here, I must first find a way to win her over.” He followed Zheng Yueling through the various departments, but he barely listened to her introductions. His mind was full of Xu Ruyun’s mature and attractive face, and how to gain her trust, but he couldn’t come up with any ideas. “Forget it, let fate decide,” Hou Longtao muttered to himself. “What did you say?” Yueling asked.

“Oh, nothing. Yueling, is our Director Xu usually not in a good mood?” “No, Director Xu is usually very kind, like my big sister. She is also very considerate to her subordinates.” Hou Longtao became a little anxious, thinking, “Damn it, it seems she’s just targeting me. That bitch.”

As they spoke, they arrived at his Investment Department. Several employees who were chatting quickly gathered around. Yueling introduced them one by one. Among them, two female employees were quite attractive. One was named Qu Yan, twenty-five years old, petite and delicate, probably only 1.64 meters tall, with a round face and two dimples when she smiled, and shoulder-length wavy hair. The other was named Liu Ruyan, twenty-two years old, a recent college graduate and Hou Longtao’s secretary. Although she didn’t have Xu Ruyun’s charm, she was still very beautiful. Her figure was good enough to be a model, at least 1.7 meters tall, with straight long hair partially covering her face, giving her a cool and beautiful feeling. Her round and slender legs were covered in flesh-colored stockings, which was very tempting.

The morning passed uneventfully. At noon, Hou Longtao invited his six employees to lunch. The atmosphere at the table was a bit restrained. Only Qu Yan kept joking with her colleagues, appearing very outgoing. She smiled and said to Hou Longtao, “Director Hou, you don’t look anything like we imagined. You…”

The old Cui next to her quickly interrupted her, “Qu, don’t talk nonsense. Director Hou, don’t listen to her. She just doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut.” “It’s okay, tell me, what did you think I would be like?” Hou Longtao smiled slightly.

“We always thought that such an important position would definitely be filled by a white-haired foreigner. We didn’t expect you to be so young, even younger than me. If you weren’t my boss, you would have to call me ‘older sister’,” Qu Yan said bluntly. But the other colleagues were worried, secretly blaming her for joking with a newly appointed boss whose temperament they didn’t yet understand. Logically, someone so young and promising must be arrogant. If they offended him, they didn’t know if it would affect them.

But Hou Longtao’s answer completely dispelled their concerns. “Yes, Sister Yan.” Even Qu Yan didn’t expect him to call her ‘older sister’ so readily. “I’m just a little lucky. When it comes to experience and ability, not to mention comparing myself to you older brothers and Sister Yan, I’m not even as good as Liu. So, I hope you can all help me in the company in the future. Actually, I was born and raised in Beijing, but I studied in the United States for a few years. In the company, I am your boss. After work, I hope everyone treats me as a friend. If you have any difficulties, I will definitely help if I can. Even if you make fun of me and embarrass me, I will never bring it to work. I can guarantee that with my personality. Also, don’t call me ‘Director Hou’ outside. I’m really not used to it. You can call me ‘Longtao’, ‘Hou’, or even ‘Jiang Monkey’. My friends all call me that…”

“Then, is ‘Jiang Monkey’ okay?” Qu Yan couldn’t wait to interrupt him. “Yes, Sister Yan can call me whatever she wants, just don’t call me ‘a lifetime’,” This sentence made everyone at the table laugh, and the atmosphere immediately became harmonious.

These employees working in foreign companies, although their salaries seem good, their previous foreign bosses didn’t treat them as equals. Sometimes they even had to endure the arrogance of those fake foreign devils, and some people had to suppress their personalities because of this. It was too rare to meet a boss like Hou Longtao who recognized himself as a junior and was easy-going. Now that they had met one, how could they not be happy?

Happy times always pass quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was time to go back to work. Hou Longtao and Qu Yan walked at the end. He gently asked Qu Yan, “Is Ruyan very introverted? I didn’t see her say much at noon.” Qu Yan glanced at him with her charming eyes. “What’s wrong, Monkey, are you interested in her? She is a famous ice beauty in the China World Trade Center. Many people have pursued her in the year she’s been with the company, but they’ve all been rejected. I don’t know if you have a chance. Do you want me to help you?”

“Hey, Sister Qu, it’s working hours now. Why are you still calling me ‘Monkey’?” “Aren’t we still outside the building? Doesn’t what you just said count? Okay, Director Hou.” Qu Yan pretended to be angry and turned her head to the side, no longer looking at him. “Yes, yes, yes, I’m afraid of you. It’s my fault, Sister Yan, please forgive me.” “That’s more like it…”

The new Investment Department Manager is a very approachable person, both young and good-looking. This news quickly spread throughout IIC, and even some employees of other companies had heard of it.

The work of the Investment Department is actually very simple. Five employees first find projects with development value from countless investment applications, then make feasibility reports and hand them over to Liu Ruyan. She then categorizes and organizes them and submits them to Hou Longtao. Hou Longtao only needs to review them once. For projects below 30 million, as long as he approves, he can directly allocate the funds. But he is responsible for loss-making projects. If he doesn’t break even in four months, his position as Investment Department Manager will be in danger. For projects above 30 million, he needs to report to Director Xu. He also occasionally checks the rejected proposals to see if there are any good opportunities that have been missed.

Because the investment company is the company that provides the money, everyone is begging him, not him begging others, which gives him a sense of superiority. His decision may change the fate of a person or even a group of people.

In the blink of an eye, it was Friday night. When Hou Longtao and Zhang Li from the office walked to the underground parking lot, they saw Director Xu and Zheng Yueling driving away in a light-colored BMW318I. He asked Zhang Li, “Brother Zhang, is that Director Xu’s car?” “No, it’s Yueling’s.” “Really? How can a secretary afford it?” Hou Longtao didn’t quite believe it.

“She’s not a secretary, she’s a personal assistant. Whether it’s public or private matters, Director Xu discusses them with her. She’s the person Director Xu trusts the most. In the company, besides you and Zhao, the manager of the Audit Department, and those foreign supervisors, she has the highest salary. A 318 is nothing to her.” “Oh, I see…” Hou Longtao walked thoughtfully towards his brand new black BENZSL500. “It seems that if I want to get close to Xu Ruyun, I have to start with Zheng Yueling.” An imperceptible smile flashed across his face…

“Ding, I remember Shang Cui told me that someone like you in the industry can buy a police station director for just over 100,000 yuan. Is that true?” Hou Longtao met with Li Baoding after leaving the China World Trade Center. The two were now having dinner. “Yeah, what’s up? Are you planning to buy me one?” Baoding joked. (Author’s note: Adding “ya” after “you” is a unique usage of Beijingers, which has a very disrespectful meaning, but if used between very good friends, it also has an intimate color.)

Hou Longtao chuckled, took out an ICBC [Industrial and Commercial Bank of China] bank card from his wallet and handed it to Baoding. “There are 200,000 yuan in this card. You can take care of the connections and procedures yourself. Your brother has some money now, so naturally I can’t forget you guys. We’ve shared difficulties together, and it’s time to share the blessings. I know that since July of this year, licenses for bars have no longer been issued, and the existing ones have been thoroughly investigated. The passing standards are ridiculously high, leaving only thirty or so in the entire Beijing. This is a potentially lucrative industry, and it doesn’t take much effort. After you become the director, the seal of the public security on your territory should be no problem, right?” Baoding put the card in his pocket without a word of thanks, because it was completely unnecessary. “Of course, there’s no problem on my side, but how are you going to get through the cultural and commercial hurdles?”

“Haha, don’t worry. Er Dezi’s old man is now in the Propaganda Department of the Central Committee, on an exchange program at CCTV [China Central Television]. I’ve already got the cultural approval. As for the commercial side, do you remember Hu Beibei?” “That fat girl from high school?” “That’s her. Her dad is a section chief in the Xicheng Administration for Industry and Commerce. I found two guys to satisfy that fat girl’s desires, and she naturally asked her dad to give me the green light.” “Your trick is a bit dirty.” “How is it dirty?” “Why didn’t you go satisfy her yourself?” Baoding looked at him with a smirk. “Go to hell, I’m not that desperate yet.” After discussing serious matters, the two started chatting nonsense… (How Could a Golden Dragon Be Confined to a Pond?)