City’s Best Divine Doctor
Chapter 778 - 0779: Establishing Prestige [Second Update]

Chapter 778: Chapter 0779: Establishing Prestige [Second Update]

From the very beginning, Xia Lan’s decision to walk the path of a strong, independent woman destined her journey to be much more challenging than others. Yet, in some ways, it was easier—because she had Ye Qiu’s guidance behind her.

If Xia Lan started to fear now, it would indeed be incredibly difficult for her to become that strong woman she aspired to be.

Listening to Ye Qiu’s advice, Xia Lan agreed.

At this moment, Secretary Su had already arrived with Deputy Director Wang.

Deputy Director Wang still didn’t fully understand what was going on, but he knew one thing: Xia Lan had replaced Li Fei in the company. In other words, Xia Lan was now the Chairwoman and CEO of the Eiffel Hotel Chain Group.

"Madam Li, may I ask why you wanted to see me?"

Deputy Director Wang entered and asked.

"Deputy Director Wang, from now on in the company, just address me as Chairwoman or CEO; there’s no need to call me Madam anymore."

"Understood, CEO Xia,"

Deputy Director Wang quickly responded.

"Here’s the situation: with recent affairs piling up, I’d like you to find me a new secretary. However, this secretary must have absolutely no prior connections or background relationships with the company’s current management team."

When the incident regarding Li Fei was directly relayed to the five shareholders by Secretary Su, both Ye Qiu and Xia Lan immediately realized that Secretary Su was no longer usable.

After all, for such a critical matter, she went directly to inform the five shareholders instead of approaching Xia Lan herself. This demonstrated that Secretary Su wasn’t a particularly shrewd person.

Deputy Director Wang immediately grasped what Xia Lan intended to do.

As for Secretary Su, who had just sat down, she froze momentarily, her entire body feeling a chill. Was Xia Lan planning to fire her?

But she noticed that Xia Lan hadn’t shown any outright intention to dismiss her just yet.

"CEO Xia, I’ll arrange for a new secretary right away,"

Deputy Director Wang assured her.

He understood that a major shift was brewing in the Eiffel Hotel Chain Group starting today. Building a solid relationship with Xia Lan would undoubtedly benefit his future ascension within the company.

After confirming there was nothing further, Deputy Director Wang went to the database to search for a suitable female secretary for Xia Lan to serve as her new assistant.

As for Secretary Su, Deputy Director Wang knew that even if Xia Lan intended to let her go, there would likely be a transition period rather than an immediate dismissal.

Once Deputy Director Wang left, Secretary Su sat there nervously, unable to calm down at all.

She realized she must have offended Xia Lan in some way, prompting the search for a new secretary.

"Secretary Su, I recall Li Fei mentioning that you’ve done well in many areas. For the time being, you’ll continue to work with me and guide the new secretary."

Xia Lan said.

"C-CEO Xia, weren’t you just planning to dismiss me?"

"How could that be? There are still many matters in the group that require your expertise,"

Xia Lan replied.

Su Xiaomin finally realized that there were indeed many current responsibilities that still couldn’t function without her. However, she also understood that once the new secretary became familiar with those tasks, her dismissal might be inevitable.

Su Xiaomin was well aware that notifying the five shareholders about President Li’s mishap had infuriated Xia Lan.

Now, as Xia Lan reviewed the contracts in front of her, she turned to Secretary Su and said, "Go through these contracts over the next few days. Write down your assessment of whether they’re suitable for signing, and hand in your opinions directly."

"Yes, CEO Xia,"

Secretary Su responded.

It was clear that Secretary Su was far more familiar with the group’s operations than Xia Lan, so for now, Xia Lan had her review the contracts first. Later, Xia Lan would decide whether to approve them for signing.

Ye Qiu thought this was a practical approach, though not viable in the long term. It could work as a temporary transitional strategy for now.

After more than an hour, around lunchtime, Ye Qiu, Luo Fei, Xia Lan, and Secretary Su left the CEO’s office and took the elevator downstairs to the company cafeteria to eat.

Almost every large company has its own cafeteria, where the food is usually good and relatively inexpensive due to subsidies—it’s a form of employee benefit.

Previously, no matter how busy Li Fei was, he would go home for meals and rarely ate at the company cafeteria unless he was out on business trips.

Now, accompanied by Secretary Su, Xia Lan walked toward the cafeteria with Luo Fei. Most employees recognized Secretary Su, while only a few recognized Xia Lan.

This indicated that Xia Lan’s level of recognition in the company was still low, let alone her authority or reputation within the group.

Following behind them, Ye Qiu dressed plainly and attracted no attention whatsoever. To most, he was no different from an ordinary driver.

As for Luo Fei, since he had always served as Li Fei’s personal bodyguard, many employees were familiar with him.

When they arrived at the cafeteria, Ye Qiu noticed that it was lunchtime, and many employees, including mid- and upper-level managers, were gathered there to eat.

Seated at a corner table, Ye Qiu, Luo Fei, and Xia Lan drew the attention of several mid- and upper-level managers who now knew Xia Lan’s position. They came over to greet her.

Xia Lan nodded in acknowledgment while Ye Qiu quietly observed. He had familiarized himself with these individuals through the human resources database the previous evening, particularly by matching their photos to their names. He had a clear understanding of who they were.

After these people left, Ye Qiu leaned in and whispered to Xia Lan, "Sister-in-law, this afternoon’s meeting is your best opportunity to establish authority in the company."

"How should I go about that?"

Xia Lan asked.

"Directly transfer or demote those mid- and upper-level managers with close ties to the five shareholders,"

Ye Qiu suggested.

He understood that these individuals could not be kept in the company. Leaving them there would only cause more problems in the future. This meeting was an excellent chance for Xia Lan to bolster her authority by dealing with this group decisively.

Transfer them out of their current positions, investigate headquarters, or assign them to subsidiaries. A demotion—one or two ranks down—would also suffice. If they couldn’t tolerate it, their resignation would be ideal.

"Let’s finish our meal and go back to the office. I’ll explain in detail,"

Ye Qiu said.

With so many people around, it wasn’t the right time to discuss specifics.

When Secretary Su brought over a meal of four dishes and one soup for Xia Lan, Ye Qiu used Luo Fei’s cafeteria card to get their own meals.

At this moment, Ye Qiu deliberately kept a low profile, avoiding attracting attention. His goal was to mold Xia Lan into a strong, capable leader while staying in the background as her silent supporter.

Naturally, Ye Qiu recognized the importance of keeping his identity a secret within the Eiffel Chain Hotel. By remaining unrecognized, he could better gather objective information about the group during future visits.

Except for Feng Zhiqiang and the other two, Deng Zhiyong and An Lijun had no idea about Ye Qiu’s identity. It was something Xia Lan hadn’t revealed further, at Ye Qiu’s request.

As the four of them ate lunch and returned to the CEO’s office, Xia Lan hoped Ye Qiu would accompany her to the important afternoon meeting involving all mid- and upper-level managers in the hotel group.

However, Ye Qiu knew it wouldn’t be appropriate.

He asked Secretary Su to identify the managers who had close ties with the five shareholders, and Secretary Su, unsurprisingly, knew the names well.

Left with no other choice, she revealed them.

Using the information he had gathered from the HR database the previous evening, Ye Qiu confirmed the identities of those managers. He recognized them as the ones who needed to be dealt with to serve as a public demonstration—an example that would solidify Xia Lan’s authority within the group.