E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World
Chapter 124: Episode 124: Being too hard on yourself can lead to anxiety

Chapter 124: Episode 124: Being too hard on yourself can lead to anxiety

Cui Xinwen gave Zhou Xueyin a call and, without saying much else, hung up directly.

"Is this girl going through something? Why is she so resistant to answering the phone?" Li Jiniang looked at Zhou Xueyin, bewildered.

"You’re asking me? Who should I ask? Hurry up and make your calls! I need to rush and phone some clients too, to see if I can snag some big sucker to place an ad with us or something..." Zhou Xueyin joked as she spoke.

In fact, there were indeed some big suckers, but they were spending their money on other websites. To secure even a bit of advertising revenue, Zhou Xueyin worked hard to adjust the packages.

"Hello? Hi, I’m Zhou Xueyin from 51buy. Yes, that’s right, our company... Yes, yes, yes, we’re a social-style forum... That’s right! We also have a main page, and the traffic on the homepage isn’t low either..."

As soon as the brands who thought highly of themselves heard that 51buy was a forum, they disdained the idea of advertising there, thinking it would lower their brand’s value, and hung up the phone without even listening to Zhou Xueyin’s full pitch.

"Hello? Hi, I’m Zhou Xueyin from 51buy, we’ve been in touch before. So, I see that your company has launched a new product line... Oh... Not interested in promotion, just for trial use... Okay then. Well, how about this, next time you launch something new, consider working with us? Oh... Alright then, I won’t bother you anymore."

Those who had previously agreed to conduct a new product trial event with 51buy had found other media partnerships when Zhou Xueyin called them.

"Hello? Hi, I’m..."

Zhou Xueyin persistently made calls to manufacturers she had not contacted before but, without exception, they all politely declined her advertising invites.

The reasons for refusal were nothing new - they had already partnered with other media outlets.

Some even refused on the basis that the year-end was approaching, they needed to save money for employee bonuses, and didn’t want to spend more.

This was truly beyond Zhou Xueyin’s expectations.

The new year was still a while away, and various holidays were just around the corner. Why weren’t they rushing to promote their products? She really couldn’t understand these salespeople.

Right! With various holidays coming up, the forum also needed to keep up with activities, and some substantial activities to give back to the netizens had to be organized.

Oh, she also had to start preparing for the customer appreciation event! Any later and even booking a place to eat would be impossible!

"Hehe, Taotie, Xixi, come to the conference room..." Afraid she would forget these two important things, Zhou Xueyin quickly called the three of them to the conference room to assign tasks.

Liu He had already prepared for the Double Egg Festival, initiating warming-up activities on the forum. Shortly, Kang Siyin just needed to set up the points exchange page for the lucky draw.

"Hehe, the forum is in your hands, I truly trust you. Later, discuss the raffle rules with KK. Then, confirm our stock products with Taotie..." Zhou Xueyin thought for a moment, "If you want to provide better ones, you can discuss it with me. If it’s not too expensive, we can consider purchasing."

"Sure thing! I’ll go refine the event details!" Liu He took her notebook and left.

"Taotie, you and Xixi book a large private room on the 5th floor, for early January, see if there’s any available. We need to prepare for the customer appreciation banquet!" Zhou Xueyin rubbed her temples, "Later, I’ll give you a client list—based on the numbers, purchase invitations..."

"Okay! Yinyin, you look a little pale... Do you want me to make you a cup of coffee?" Wang Anqi said tenderly, looking at Zhou Xueyin.

"It’s nothing, probably just PMS... You guys go ahead with your work." Zhou Xueyin had Wang Anqi and Ji Xiaoxi leave, then she sat alone in the meeting room, deep in thought.

Not a single potential client had been converted into an actual one. Had her sales pitch regressed? Or had the current business climate ceased to be as favorable as before? Or did she need to broaden her horizons and look for clients in other fields?

Bags, shoes, hats, clothing, skincare, cosmetics, and jewelry, -- these were the main sources of clients for 51buy. The number wasn’t too many, nor too few.

She had almost secured all the brands she could, and those large manufacturers she stubbornly pursued but couldn’t land made her truly upset to give up on.

Zhou Xueyin felt that perhaps it was indeed her limited capabilities at fault; the work she did wasn’t appreciated by the clients. The brands she did manage to secure were all thanks to good luck and the advertising fees they offered...

"Should the forum consider a transformation? Do we need to innovate? Should the points exchange system be revamped into a redemption system?" She muttered to herself in the meeting room, doodling unconsciously on a piece of paper.

"Yinyin! Phone call!" Sun Miao burst into the meeting room.

"Oh! Okay!" Zhou Xueyin put down her pen and paper and stepped out of the meeting room.

"Hello? Zhou Xueyin, general manager of 51buy... Oh! Manager Xiang, hello, hello. The Double Egg Festival event? It’s all arranged for you! Oh, you want your products to be placed in the most prominent position? No problem at all," Zhou Xueyin nodded and bowed as she continued on the phone, "Could you provide a grand prize for our raffle? Manager Xiang, so generous! Oh... You want to offset part of the final payment with the prize... Well, sure, sure! As long as you continue to partner with us next year, everything is negotiable. Alright, alright! Bye~"

When it rains, it pours; the thirstier you get, the more salt you eat! She had been wanting to urgently recover the final payments, and now the companies who didn’t want to pay up were proposing to settle debts with assets. And they even offered to supply a grand prize for the event...

Could she refuse? She couldn’t. What if they decided not to cooperate anymore?

"Yinyin? Are you okay?" Li Jixiang looked at Zhou Xueyin, who had a smile on her face but visibly red eyes, and asked with concern.

"I’m fine... Just need to keep working..." She rubbed her temples again.

Ever since she had agreed to help Da Boyi, she had dreamt about calling and arranging meetings with clients every night. Several times she woke up crying from dreams where long-standing clients turned her down, leaving her heartbroken.

Zhou Xueyin had been feeling very irritable, unable to accomplish things as expected. She wanted to let her anger out on her subordinates but also felt that they were having a tough time too. As a leader, she should learn to manage her emotions...

"Jixiang, I’m going to the hospital tomorrow..." Zhou Xueyin whispered to Li Jixiang after getting home from work, "Keep it quiet!"

"What’s wrong?" Li Jixiang looked at her with concern.

"I don’t know, I just feel like lashing out all the time, I feel so anxious and irritable, I get angry when we don’t achieve the expected results... I’m very anxious... and I get these inexplicable headaches," Zhou Xueyin decided not to hide it and told Li Jixiang everything.

"I also think you should see a doctor. You’re always restless at night and often talk in your sleep—it’s quite scary," Li Jixiang touched Zhou Xueyin gently, "Whatever it is, don’t keep it to yourself. We’ll find a solution together. Don’t put so much pressure on yourself!"

"Was I too hasty in agreeing to help Big Wave E, just because he helped us when we needed funding the most?" Zhou Xueyin had been troubled by this question as well.