SWDnovel Chapter 344 Released
Chapter 344 Released
After Lu Ran told Zhou Mingzhe about going to Chengdu for campus recruitment, Zhou Mingzhe's reaction was much calmer than he had expected.
There was no shock, no objection, not even a single question.
He knew that Lu Ran was someone who always talked about lying down, but when it came to work, he was no less busy than him; he was also a natural workhorse.
He just stared at Lu Ran standing at the door of his office, leaning on his cane, for a few seconds in silence, then said, "Okay. I'll keep an eye on things at the company, you can go ahead without worry."
Lu Ran had prepared a lot to say, such as "the importance of branch offices", "the urgency of talent strategy" and "the future layout of Tutu Technology", but he didn't use a single word of it.
He stood frozen at the doorway, staring at Zhou Mingzhe, unsure of what to say.
Indeed, this decision came as a surprise.
Opening a branch company is a much bigger undertaking than what he did before, and he felt somewhat apologetic for not telling Zhou Mingzhe in advance.
Although the two are in a superior-subordinate relationship within the company, they are more like business partners and like-minded comrades-in-arms.
Moreover, Lu Ran actually had some selfish motives.
Zhou Mingzhe looked up, saw that he was still there, and frowned: "Is there anything else?"
"That's all." Lu Ran turned around, leaning on his cane. "I just thought you were too calm. I thought you were going to yell at me."
"Why should I yell at you?" Zhou Mingzhe lowered his head and continued reading the documents. "This isn't the first time you've caused trouble. Since TUTU went online, when haven't you been causing trouble? If I yelled at you every time you caused trouble, I would have died of exhaustion long ago."
Lu Ran thought about it and realized Zhou Mingzhe was right. Since starting his business, he had indeed never stopped. TUTU launch, Seven Heroes Jianghu, Super Girl, Three Kingdoms Kill, League of Legends, Shen Yuege's album, campus recruitment, branch offices—one thing after another, like a perpetual motion machine that never stops.
If Zhou Mingzhe had scolded him for even one thing, he would have been furious long ago.
"Then please take good care of things at the company," Lu Ran said. "I'm going to Chengdu next week, and I'll be back in a week at most."
"Is one week enough? Four schools, four recruitment presentations, and interviews in between, it will take at least ten days."
"Then ten days."
Zhou Mingzhe put down the documents, leaned back in his chair, and looked at him: "Who will be in charge of the Chengdu branch then? How about I go? I'm more familiar with management than you are. I'll go to Chengdu to set up the branch, and you can keep an eye on the company in Shanghai. Wouldn't that be a more reasonable division of labor?"
Lu Ran nodded quickly: "Okay, you go to Chengdu, I can't go. My leg isn't fully healed yet, and I'd only be a burden to you if I went. Besides, I trust you to keep an eye on the company in Shanghai; I don't trust anyone else to do it."
Lu Ran's original idea was that he would go to Chengdu to investigate first, and then Zhou Mingzhe would be in charge of the Chengdu branch.
"I've thought about it, and I think it's more suitable for you to take charge." Lu Ran walked to Zhou Mingzhe's desk and sat down, leaning on his cane. "You're better at managing people than I am, but I have an advantage in recruitment. Let's divide the work: I'll recruit, and you'll manage. You'll train the new recruits for three months, and then send them to the branch offices. This way, the quality of personnel in the branch offices will be guaranteed, and the headquarters' training system can also be established."
Zhou Mingzhe was speechless after hearing this: "So you've been waiting for me all this time?"
"right."
"Why don't you just say it directly? Why go through all this trouble?"
I'm afraid you won't agree if I tell you directly.
Zhou Mingzhe glared at him: "I won't agree now."
"So what do you want?"
"Add more money."
Lu Ran laughed: "Okay. Double salary plus double the year-end bonus. Is that enough?"
Zhou Mingzhe thought for a moment: "It's barely enough."
He picked up the document again, opened it, read a couple of lines, and then looked up again: "By the way, when exactly are you going to remove the cast from your leg?"
"I'm going to the hospital for a follow-up check-up next Monday. The doctor said if there are no problems, I can have it removed."
"What happened after it was removed? Were you able to walk normally again?"
"No. You'll need rehabilitation training, and it should take about a month before you can walk normally."
"If you go to Chengdu on crutches, who will take care of you?"
"Yuuge is coming with me."
Zhou Mingzhe's expression softened a bit: "That's good. I feel relieved to have someone take care of you. Otherwise, you'd have trouble even getting food if you were alone in Chengdu with your crutches."
"I'm not disabled."
"Your current condition is almost as bad as being disabled."
Lu Ran was momentarily speechless. He opened his mouth as if to retort, but after looking at the cast on his right leg, he swallowed his words.
He stood up, leaning on his cane, and walked towards the door.
As they reached the door, Zhou Mingzhe called out from behind, "Don't work too hard when you go to Chengdu. If you can't recruit people, take your time. There's no rush."
"understood."
Lu Ran, leaning on his cane, left Zhou Mingzhe's office and headed towards his own.
The corridor was quiet, and most of the employees were already working at their workstations.
As he passed by the technology department, he saw Zhao Yiming standing in front of the whiteboard, holding a pen, explaining the code architecture to a few new employees.
His voice wasn't loud, but he spoke very clearly, and occasionally he would stop to ask the people next to him if they understood.
This newcomer is one of Lu Ran's most promising talents; he might just become the next Zhou Mingzhe.
Lu Ran stood at the door for a while, but did not go in to disturb them. He continued walking forward with his cane.
Back in his office, he had just sat down when his phone rang.
Upon picking it up, I saw it was Tan Yu.
"Brother Lu! Help!"
Lu Ran moved the phone away from his ear a little; Tan Yu's voice was so loud that it made his ears ring.
"What happened? Are you being chased?"
"It's worse than being chased! My drama is airing the day after tomorrow, and I'm so nervous I can't sleep! I didn't sleep a wink last night, and my voice is hoarse this morning. I have to record a song this afternoon, what am I going to do, Brother Lu?!"
Lu Ran couldn't help but laugh: "You're a grown man, why are you this nervous about going on set?"
"Isn't this all thanks to the dedication put into this production, and also because of the script you provided, Brother Lu? I'd be heartbroken if it flopped! What if it's a complete flop!"
"It's a miss, so be it. We'll try again next time."
"Brother Lu, you make it sound so easy. You have no idea, the investors are watching the ratings closely. If this show flops, who will dare to hire me in the future?"
Lu Ran leaned back in his chair, thought for a moment, and said, "What was the name of your show again?"
"The Starry Night, Brother Lu, have you forgotten? The script you gave me!"
"Oh right, I remember now." Lu Ran had indeed forgotten a bit, but Tan Yu's mention of it brought it back to mind. "It's airing the day after tomorrow?"
"Yes! It's at 8 PM the day after tomorrow, during prime time on Hunan TV!"
"Then why are you so nervous? Everything that needed to be filmed has been filmed, everything that needed to be edited has been edited, and everything that needed to be broadcast has been broadcast. What's the use of being nervous now? We can't reshoot it."
"I can't control myself! My mind keeps going back to what will happen if the ratings are bad, what if the audience doesn't like it, what if..."
"Alright, alright," Lu Ran interrupted him. "It's no use telling me this. If you're really nervous, go find a secluded place and yell a couple of times. You'll feel less nervous after that."
"real?"
"Really. I do this every time I go on stage."
Tan Yu was silent for a few seconds on the other end of the phone, then said, "Brother Lu, do you shout like this on stage too?"
"Yes. Find an empty bathroom, close the door, and shout a couple of times. Once your voice is clear, you won't be nervous anymore. Try it."
"Okay, I'll give it a try." After saying that, Tan Yu added, "Brother Lu, would you like to come to the premiere press conference? It's at 3 PM the day after tomorrow at Shanghai TV Station. If you can come, I'll feel more confident."
Lu Ran thought for a moment. The day after tomorrow is Wednesday, and he hasn't gone to Chengdu yet, so he should have enough time.
"Okay. I'll go."
"Really?" Tan Yu's voice suddenly lit up. "Brother Lu, are you serious?"
"Really. But my leg isn't fully healed yet, so I'll go with crutches. Just don't embarrass me."
"No problem at all! I'm so grateful you even came, who would mind if you used a cane! Brother Lu, wait here, I'll have someone arrange a front-row seat for you!"
"I don't need the front row, the back row is fine. I'm just going to take a look, not to steal the spotlight."
"No way! You're my brother Lu, you have to sit in the front row!"
Tan Yu hung up the phone, and Lu Ran put her phone on the table, leaned back in her chair, and couldn't help but laugh.
This kid is usually loud and boisterous in his live streams, acting like he's fearless.
When it really comes down to it, they're more cowardly than anyone else.
However, he also understood Tan Yu's feelings.
If his first and only starring TV series flops, it will be a huge blow to him.
It's not a matter of money, it's a matter of confidence. In previous films, with Zhao Dapeng, Sun Tianyu, and others supporting him, Tan Yu didn't feel that his performance was that bad.
Now that he's the only one left in the story, he's definitely losing confidence.
If an actor doesn't even believe in their own ability to act well, then the audience certainly won't believe them either.
Lu Ran picked up his phone and sent a message to Shen Yuege: "I have to go to Tan Yu's TV series premiere press conference the day after tomorrow afternoon. Do you want to come along?"
Shen Yuege replied instantly: "Which TV series?"
"The Starry Night. That's the script I wrote for him before."
"Oh, that? I thought it wouldn't air until next year, I didn't expect it to be on so soon."
"The crew filmed quickly, and the post-production was also completed quickly. It just happened to be in time for the year-end schedule, and Hunan TV allocated it to prime time."
"That's great. Hunan TV's prime time slot will definitely have high ratings."
"That's what I thought too. So I went to support him and put his mind at ease."
Shen Yuege sent an "okay" emoji and then said, "I'll pick you up then."
"No need, you go about your business. I'll have Brother Zhou take me there."
"No. I'm worried about you going alone with your crutches."
Lu Ran thought about it for a moment, then didn't insist and replied with an "okay" emoji.
Two days later, Shanghai TV station.
Lu Ran got out of the car with his cane and looked up at the building in front of him.
The Shanghai TV station building is very tall, with its glass curtain wall glittering in the sunlight.
A red carpet was laid out in front of the building, and reporters and fans lined both sides of the carpet, holding up their phones and cameras, waiting to take pictures of the celebrities.
Shen Yuege got out of the driver's seat, walked to his side, and held his arm: "Slow down, don't fall."
"I understand." Lu Ran, leaning on his crutch, limped towards the red carpet.
As soon as he reached the entrance to the red carpet, a security guard in a black suit approached him, looking at him with a serious expression: "Sir, this is the guest entrance. Reporters and fans, please go that way."
Lu Ran was stunned for a moment, and before he could speak, a young girl wearing a name tag ran over, panting, and said, "This is President Lu! President Lu of TuTu Technology! Tan Yu specifically asked for him to sit in the front row!"
The security guard's expression changed instantly, from serious to obsequious, and he even bowed slightly: "Mr. Lu, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was you. Please, please."
Lu Ran smiled, said nothing, and continued walking forward with his cane.
Reporters on both sides of the red carpet saw him, some recognized him, and the sound of camera shutters clicking filled the air.
Someone holding a microphone tried to come over for an interview, but was stopped by security.
"Mr. Lu! Mr. Lu! What are your expectations for Director Tan's new drama?"
"Mr. Lu! I heard you wrote the script for 'The Starry Night,' is that true?"
"Mr. Lu! Will you and Tan Yu collaborate again in the future?"
Lu Ran did not answer, and walked inside with his cane.
Shen Yuege stood beside him, shielding him from the microphones and recorders that were being held out to him.
The cameraman quickly turned the lens back on Shen Yuege.
Anyway, with this celebrity couple, whoever gets photographed will have something to write about.
...