20 Twists and Turns (1/2)
At that point in time, Li Zhicheng was staring at the screen and asked, ”Where are you planning to post these? Specifically, how should they be arranged?”
Lin Qian hastily replied, ”I have the detailed documents with me…”
...
Li Zhicheng meticulously went through the documents and questioned them one by one, with Lin Qian thoroughly clarifying his doubts. Without them realizing, 30 minutes flew by.
These files were the work Li Zhicheng had allocated to Lin Qian. Although they appeared pompous, they were an accumulation of her hard work. Needless to say, these technicians walked a fine line in grey areas, lived on the edge, and acted smart and pretentious. When she was in command of them, she felt like she was in her comfort zone, working in a job suitable for her.
Therefore, by the end of her presentation to Li Zhicheng, Lin Qian had shed her awkwardness and was speaking with passion and flair. Seeing Li Zhicheng nodding from time to time, with the occasional hint of a smile on his face, she knew for sure that her boss was satisfied with her work. Hahaha.
With that, she gained the confidence to show him the last posting, the particular post that had left her very undecided and conflicted. ”Mr. Li, look at this. It does not reveal your face clearly and fully. But I think if we post it, it will definitely garner a very good response.”
Featured largely on the screen was a title in red, cute, and rounded font: ”Come and take a look: New Successor of the Aida Organization, the Enigmatic President.” This was followed by a picture and a few sentences after scrolling down with the mouse.
Li Zhicheng looked at the picture and frowned slightly.
The picture had been sneakily taken from a smartphone while he had been working. He was wearing a suit and sitting at his desk, his head lowered while looking at some documents. It was blurred due to the backlighting, revealing only the silhouette of his sharp nose and his overall facial contours. From a glance, he looked like an upright yet quiet young man.
Li Zhicheng raised his head and looked at her. ”Delete it.”
This idea had actually been from another woman in the IT department. Lin Qian was just doing her job, believing that it was feasible and making the necessary preparations. She had been told by Li Zhicheng to make the decisions by herself, and that reporting to him about everything was unnecessary. Thus, she had left everything to be clarified by him all at once at the end.
Lin Qian was not surprised by his outright rejection and nodded her head. With quick movements of the mouse, she deleted the picture and all traces of it from the computer immediately.
By this time Li Zhicheng had already straightened up and put some distance between them. He asked, ”Are there more in your phone?”
”...Yes.”
Gosh, there was no doubt her boss hated people secretly taking pictures of him. Back when she had taken the photo, she'd had limited time in close proximity with him, so she'd just conveniently snapped a picture.
Just as she was about to promise to delete the pictures, his calm voice drifted over, ”Do not send it to others.”
Lin Qian immediately replied, ”Alright.”
Oh, does that mean I don't have to delete it?
By the time she looked over, Li Zhicheng had already turned around to leave.
Three days later, at 9:50 am, it was just ten minutes before the start of Aida's flagship store's spring season online sale.
Lin Qian was seated in the IT department's little office. Just outside, there were a few technicians ready to respond to any call of duties. Meanwhile, Gu Yanzhi and Xue Mingtao kept watch at the customer service center.
As for Li Zhicheng, he was idling in his office and was not personally present at the frontlines of such a crucial day.
Lin Qian felt that this was good. She believed that the more crucial the matter, the more the leader should remain calm and unmoving.
Finally, the clock read 10 am sharp.
Lin Qian squinted in anticipation.
The screen in front of her was the flagship store's online homepage, which was made open to the public.
The webpage design was the result of the careful discussions and talents from the marketing department. Apart from the title on the homepage, there were not that many colorful, eye-catching promotions.
The webpage boasted a refreshing, modest, and vintage style. Right at the top was a brief introduction of Aida's luxury sub-brand, ”Vinda,” including the quality of leather imported from Italy, the American designers' signatures, a feature of the intricate production process, and so on.
Below that was a steady stream of pictures of every bag. They each came with three price descriptions: overseas pricing, physical store pricing, and promotional pricing.
...
At 10:02 am, the first order form was submitted.
Lin Qian watched as the background data started to change; she got a bit excited and at the same time secretly finding it amusing.
They only earned 500 dollars from a bag made of such high-quality materials. Now, they could only hope that the number of orders would start to climb.
At 10:10 am, the number of orders hit 20.
By 11:00 am sharp, the number of orders hit 155.
...
As time passed, the number of orders continuously increased. Of all the orders, 80 percent was contributed by repeat customers and 20 percent was contributed by new customers. And by word of mouth of the repeat customers, coupled with the easy flow of information online, she saw the stable increase of the online traffic on the webpage.
Lin Qian spent the entire morning feeling calm yet mildly nervous.
She had also fantasized about the possibility of today's sales increasing explosively, with the online store becoming an instant hit. However, it was proven that a miraculous online sales gig was not all that easy to pull off. Although the day's sales were considerably substantial, it was still increasing at a rather constant rate, and there were indeed no miracles that simply fell from the sky.
By 7:00 pm that evening, the total sales had hit over 800 pieces, with a turnover of more than two million, and a gross profit of more than 400,000. To a company that rolled in billions per year, such a sales result would not count as much. However, to the Aida of today, it was already viewed upon as the light at the end of the tunnel.
The employees in the IT department were all rejoicing and busy taking turns eating their packed dinners. Meanwhile, Lin Qian was still unable to fully relax and unwind.