There was no response from Mi Cai in the room, probably because she was really upset by my previous words and actions. I knocked on the door again and said, “Alright then, I won’t go into your room, but I’ll throw out the cockroaches I’ve cleaned up for you to verify, to prove that I’ve really done things well for you and have never treated you carelessly.”
Mi Cai replied nervously, “No need to verify, just take them away quickly.”
“Okay,” I responded, lifting my hand and tossing from the window the cigarette butts wrapped in toilet paper along with a half-dead cockroach.
I then said to Mi Cai, “Now the bathroom is usable, guaranteed to be cockroach-free.”
“Okay, then you should go back and rest.”
“It’s really hard to get a taxi this late.”
Finally, Mi Cai came out of her room again, her slightly curly long hair tied up, wearing a thicker houndstooth-patterned wool coat, holding car keys in her hand. She said to me, “Then I’ll drive you back.”
I stood still, of course intending to stay, since I had already promised Lily I wouldn’t return to Luo Ben’s place tonight.
Mi Cai, who had already walked to the door, turned around and asked, “Why aren’t you leaving?”
I sighed, and with an expression of helplessness, said, “I can’t go to my friend’s place tonight.”
“Why not?”
“Sigh… he brought a woman back to spend the night.” I lowered my voice, my tone filled with a sense of homelessness and sorrow.
“It’s already been a week, haven’t you found a place to live yet?”
“I’ve just been too busy lately, I went to Hengdian twice already, where do I have time to look for a house? Besides, finding a house that makes you feel comfortable isn’t that easy!” As I spoke, I looked around the room with nostalgia.
“Then you should go stay at a hotel.”
“No way, hotels are too expensive! I need to save money to pay off the debt I owe you.” I said, sitting down on the sofa, then lying down, clearly indicating through my actions that I would stay here tonight.
Mi Cai walked back to me and, frowning, asked, “What exactly do you mean by this?”
“Exactly what I said, that I’m staying here tonight.” I replied with a smile at Mi Cai.
After a while, Mi Cai patiently said to me, “Please don’t make yourself seem so despicable, okay?”
“I am just despicable, and besides, today I spent more than twenty yuan on a taxi just to come help you. I haven’t even mentioned money to you, so what’s wrong with me staying here for one night?”
“I’ll give you the taxi fare then, and I’ll book you a hotel, okay?”
I flipped over and stood up from the sofa, almost face-to-face with Mi Cai, angrily saying, “You know what, I really can’t stand your attitude that everything can be solved with money. Do you think I’m someone who’s short of money?… Let me tell you, tonight I’m staying here whether you like it or not. If you dare, call the police and report me for breaking in… You’re a tenant, would you dare to report the landlord for breaking in? Of course not, because it’s you who took over the house I lived in for more than two years with just a bit of money, and you’re the one in the wrong…”
I ranted on, cutting off every possible reply from Mi Cai, who just glared at me furiously. I then lay back on the sofa, showing a determined attitude of not leaving.
Mi Cai could do nothing about me. Usually calm, she actually stamped her foot in anger, then grabbed her handbag and headed toward the door.
“Where are you going?” I asked, turning my head.
“I’m leaving, okay.”
“Fine, don’t come back…”
After Mi Cai left, I sneaked into her room, found a set of unused bedding from the cabinet, carried it to my old room, made the bed, and settled in comfortably, secretly hoping Mi Cai wouldn’t come back. I had already forgotten how, when I moved out before, I had put on a noble and righteous attitude to accommodate Mi Cai.
…
The next day, I didn’t wake up until eight o’clock. Not having time to buy toiletries, I used Mi Cai’s directly, then quickly solved breakfast at a familiar snack shop downstairs before rushing onto the company bus.
After arriving at the company and attending the routine morning meeting, Manager Chen Jingming kept me alone. I knew he was concerned about the full marketing plan I was in charge of.
Chen Jingming asked me, “How is it going? Have you got the ideas for this marketing plan?”
I nodded and said, “Yes, this time I plan to center the plan on realizing customer value. This is to strengthen our brand image. I believe that customers will better realize our company’s value only after their value is realized.”
“Your idea is correct. We’ve been operating for many years in Baoli Department Store, and we’re already quite mature in the 4Ps (product, price, channel, promotion). Now that we’ve officially entered the top department store category, the urgent task is to improve our image. Realizing customer value better is the best way to enhance the company’s image. Your marketing idea fits well with the current strategic needs of our department store.”
I nodded in response. Having worked at Baoli Department Store for more than two years, I naturally had my own understanding of the company’s strategic environment.
Chen Jingming continued, “I will transfer one person each from the graphic design team, the engineering team, and the display design team to join this project team to assist you in completing this marketing plan. If you have any requirements regarding the personnel, feel free to communicate with me anytime.”
“Okay.”
“By the way, I heard that our biggest competitor, Zhuo Mei Shopping Center, will soon launch a large promotional activity targeting our Baoli Department Store. Their purpose in doing so is to exhaust consumers’ demand in the short term to achieve the goal of temporarily suppressing us.”
It wasn’t surprising that Zhuo Mei Shopping Center was having a big promotion at this time; it was completely strategic. Our Baoli Department Store and Zhuo Mei Shopping Center are in the same business district, both mainly targeting the high-end market, so the conflict of interest was originally intense. And the fact that Gucci set up a counter in our company further placed us on equal footing with them in a real sense. Feeling threatened, they naturally wanted to strongly suppress us. However, although Baoli Department Store has reached the standard of top department stores, there are still some gaps with Zhuo Mei. Currently, there are 11 international first-line brands operating counters in Zhuo Mei, slightly more than ours.
I asked Chen Jingming, “So does the planning department also need to come up with a response promotion plan recently?”
“Yes, and quickly. Our promotional activities must be carried out before theirs to disrupt Zhuo Mei’s strategic intentions. Although the time is tight, we must ensure the effectiveness of the activities. This is a test of the planning department’s mobility and execution capability. We can only succeed, not fail.” Chen Jingming paused and added, “Because this promotion plan is so significant, I’ve already asked Fang Yuan to end his honeymoon leave early, and he will return to the company tomorrow to work with you on this promotion plan.”
I sighed inwardly with relief. If Fang Yuan hadn’t returned, I really couldn’t have handled such an important case alone. But this also indirectly shows how strategically significant this promotion plan is for our department store; otherwise, Chen Jingming wouldn’t have ended Fang Yuan’s honeymoon leave early.
Chen Jingming then took a document from his drawer and handed it to me, saying, “This is the latest personnel file of Zhuo Mei Shopping Center just obtained by the PR department. There have been major changes in their senior management recently. Take this personnel file back and read it, especially focusing on understanding the composition of their planning department personnel to know ourselves and our enemy.”
As I flipped through the personnel file handed to me by Chen Jingming, I was shocked as soon as I saw the first page, because the newly appointed CEO of Zhuo Mei Shopping Center was someone I knew all too well.
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