Return to the City: The Strongest King
Chapter 336 - 337: No Backdoor DEALINGS

Chapter 336: Chapter 337: No Backdoor DEALINGS

Song Xiaodong’s original intention was just to find some reliable people for Miao Qingqing’s new company. Although he didn’t know much about Su Yao, through their recent interactions, he could feel that Su Yao was an ambitious person who also had some talent.

If a person lacks ambition, then they lose their pursuit, and without pursuit, naturally, there is no motivation to strive. Song Xiaodong was unsure about Su Yao’s abilities, but he could sense that she was someone who wanted to change her life through her own efforts.

Now that he had given her such an opportunity, he believed she would grasp it earnestly. Plus, she was an old classmate, which made her somewhat more reliable than others, which is why Song Xiaodong thought of her.

No sooner had he finished chatting with Su Yao than someone arrived at his office, namely Chen Fei, who had just been responsible for the interviews.

"Deputy Manager Song, this is a summary of the situation after the interviews. For the allocation of personnel, please provide your instructions, Deputy Manager Song."

Song Xiaodong asked in confusion, "Shouldn’t Manager Zhao be the one to approve this?"

Chen Fei immediately responded, "Manager Zhao just stepped out. I gave him a call, and he said it would be fine for you to approve it."

Song Xiaodong nodded and said, "Let me take a look, but I’ve only just assumed my position and am not very familiar with the HR department or other departments in the company, so I’m afraid I might not spot anything."

Chen Fei said with a smile, "Deputy Manager Song, you’re being too modest. If you could directly join us as our Deputy General Manager, you must be talent that the company has brought in from outside. How could such a trivial matter trouble you?"

"Are you sure you’re not just flattering me?" Song Xiaodong asked as he touched his nose.

"How could this be flattery? Before you arrived, there was already buzz around the company that we were going to bring in a talented person to join our HR department."

Song Xiaodong’s face darkened, feeling as though this was a trap Miao Qingqing set for him, putting him on a pedestal. If he didn’t perform well, it would be as if he was letting people down.

"Alright, then leave it here. I’ll take a look and get back to you before the end of the day."

Chen Fei said, "Deputy Manager Song, there’s something I need to discuss with you first. This Liu Dong, he comes recommended by Manager Li of the Sales Department. This Pang Yuanlong, he’s been recommended by Assistant Manager Zheng of the Purchasing Department, and this..."

Chen Fei quickly informed Song Xiaodong about several people who had been recommended.

Song Xiaodong frowned and said, "We only need ten people this time, and already seven have been recommended? So that means only three can actually join the company through their own merits?"

Chen Fei, a bit embarrassed, nodded and said, "Yes, that’s more or less how it goes in the company. Generally, during recruitment, we take care of the existing employees, especially the leaders."

Song Xiaodong commented with displeasure, "But are all the recommended ones fitting for the job? This Pang Yuanlong, I remember him, he can’t even speak clearly, yet he’s applying for the Sales Department. Can he even conduct business with others like that?"

"Well... that does pose a difficulty, but since Assistant Manager Zheng has recommended him, it would not look good to refuse. At worst, we could let him answer phones in the Sales Department or something, not everyone there goes out to do business," Chen Fei explained.

Song Xiaodong’s eyes narrowed slightly and he said, "Alright, I’m aware of the situation now, you can go."

After Chen Fei left, he called Zhao Fuqiang of the HR department.

"Manager Chen, Deputy Manager Song has taken over the matter."

"Good, let him handle this hot potato. It’s perfect since he’s new. If someone gets offended, he can smooth it over. Otherwise, this recruitment would really be difficult to manage."

Song Xiaodong was unaware that others had pushed their responsibilities onto him. Looking at the recruitment information, his annoyance only grew.

He hadn’t worked in a company before, but when he was in the military, he had been in command of a group of extremely tough people, all very strong-willed and not easy to manage, yet he had managed to keep them in line.

Recruitment in the military, especially for special forces like Song Xiaodong’s, was extremely strict. Unless you really had the skills, even if you were related to a Senior Officer, you still wouldn’t be able to join.

Although a company’s structure greatly differed from the military’s, the principles of personnel management were fundamentally similar, so Song Xiaodong could understand.

From the pool of candidates who had been interviewed, Song Xiaodong could already roughly select a few that met the criteria, while those who had been recommended were basically unqualified.

Recruiting newcomers in a company is about addressing work needs, but also about bringing in fresh blood and energy. If all the positions were filled with those who have connections, it bodes ill for the company’s condition.

Anyway, Song Xiaodong did not recognise any of the managers or assistant managers who had put in a good word, so he outright rejected the preliminary suggestions Chen Fei had brought and filled in ten new names himself.

Calling Chen Fei back in, Chen Fei gaped when he saw the new list Song Xiaodong had chosen and said, "Deputy Manager Song, you’re not going to employ any of the recommended ones?"

Song Xiaodong huffed, "Nope!"

"This... isn’t this a bit problematic? It will be awkward for Manager Song to face them later on," Chen Fei mentioned.

"What is there to be awkward about? Official is official and personal is personal. The company isn’t someone’s backyard, and those recruited must be able to contribute. If they want to come here to freeload, what’s the use in hiring them?" Song Xiaodong retorted.

Chen Fei was startled and said, "Deputy Manager Song is right, but still, we need to balance the internal relationships, right? Otherwise, it won’t look good for them. Your interpersonal relationships within the company might also suffer."

Song Xiaodong’s face darkened as he said, "I’ll do my job. I’m not looking to curry favor with anyone. Go ahead and follow this list. I want to see who dares cause trouble for me."

With his back straightened, Chen Fei replied, "Okay, with those words from Deputy Manager Song, I feel reassured. I’ll take care of it immediately."

Once Chen Fei had left, Song Xiaodong couldn’t help but give a wry smile. His original plan was to enjoy a leisurely time at the company, but on his very first day, he had already deviated from his initial intention and was bound to offend many people.

Miao Qingqing would be either annoyed about the unbalanced internal relationships or pleased with Song Xiaodong’s consideration for the company.

Regardless, Song Xiaodong wouldn’t change his decision. As a former soldier, he simply couldn’t tolerate this kind of nepotism in hiring.