KC | Chapter 87

Regarding the rules for calculating sales performance, Lanhai had clear regulations. For regular online ad recharges, only the gross profit portion was counted, and new performance was not calculated; for exhibition-style ads, every payment received was counted as new performance. To put it bluntly, for performance-based clients, the first payment had commission to earn, while for brand promotion clients, there was always commission to take.

This policy was both reasonable and unreasonable. The reasonable part was: performance-based clients depended completely on the ad platform. If operations were handled well, the churn rate was low, and later on sales almost did not need to maintain them, so no more commission was issued, only performance was counted; while brand promotion clients could work with multiple ad companies, and depended completely on sales maintenance, so commission had to be issued and performance had to be counted. The unreasonable part was: no matter whether the client cooperated on performance-based or brand-based ads, Lanhai made money, yet the sales who signed performance-based clients could not earn the corresponding money.

Fortunately, there was an incentive this month. If he went to Shanyao to sign the contract tomorrow morning and got the payment back in the afternoon, he would be able to drink free coffee next week. Even though he did not really like drinking it, he still disliked buying it for others more!

When a person had happy events, his spirits were bright. Chen Xi hummed a little tune as he went back to the hotpot restaurant.

Wang Xin glanced at the red mark on his neck and smiled. “I was wondering why you took so long. So you were secretly chatting with your girlfriend on the phone.”

Eating hotpot made him feel unbearably hot, and Chen Xi had undone two more shirt buttons. He had not expected to expose himself.

Since it was found out, so be it. There was nothing to hide from a buddy anyway. Chen Xi smiled lightly. “I was sending messages to a client just now. I don’t have a girlfriend, but I do have a boyfriend.”

Wang Xin: …

You used to have a crush on your married leader, and you just had a one-night stand with her two months ago, how did you suddenly go gay?

But thankfully, I had already gotten married before you turned gay, otherwise…

Wang Xin felt a chill down his back and was extremely relieved. Though he did not understand, he kept respect. In order not to make Chen Xi awkward, he casually started a topic. “Uh, how is your boyfriend?”

Chen Xi told the truth. “Not that great, kind of like a dog.”

Wang Xin: … Knowing full well he was a beast and still dating him, you were also a tough one.

“Then how did you two get together?”

Chen Xi stated the facts. “Maybe it was because after he slept with me, I felt pretty good, so he shamelessly confessed to me.”

Wang Xin: … If you had not agreed, could he have slept with you? If you kept not agreeing after he slept with you, could you two have become a couple? Your logic in speaking has problems, it lacks persuasion. No wonder after all these years as a salesperson you were still broke as hell, how could the client believe you?

“Then, then is he good to you?”

Thinking of how Lin Yiran had only a shining tongue, clearly doing a lot in the relationship yet still staying silent; thinking of how he did not give in an inch when it came to key clients, yet was so tolerant, restrained, and self-controlled with him; thinking of how he lived rough and had no time to deal with the room, but still squeezed out time for him…

Chen Xi had light in his eyes, full of tenderness, and smiled. “He is very good to me.”

Brother Lin is very good to me, even better than he is to himself.

Just now, in that quick-fire question and answer session, every one of Chen Xi’s answers made Wang Xin baffled and almost scared him into a heart attack. Finally hearing a normal answer, Wang Xin let out a breath and muttered, “That’s good.”

But Chen Xi played too wildly. Wang Xin first worried about his emotional problems, then worried about his mental state, and in the end worried about his personal safety. As a friend, Wang Xin was embarrassed to say it too harshly, so he took a roundabout approach and asked first, “Uh, does your boyfriend hit people hard?”

Chen Xi: ?

Wang Xin said hesitantly, “You used to like doing things that went against propriety, and now you like one-night stands. I, I worry that one day you will want to play something even more刺激 and get caught by him. If your boyfriend is good at beating people, that works too, just beat you to death and be done with it. I’m only afraid he won’t hit hard enough, leaving you not quite dead, then later you end up in a wheelchair every day, wanting to be wild but unable to be wild, and then some kind of problem gets held in…”

Chen Xi: …

The one doing things against propriety and one-night stands was the same person, and the boyfriend and the leader were the same person. If I explain it like this, it seems… even more刺激.

The more he tried to explain, the darker it would sound. It was better not to explain at all. Chen Xi swallowed the words that came to his lips. Thinking it over carefully, what Wang Xin said was not without reason, and right now he really did like stimulation.

Wang Xin did not want to ruin the brotherly relationship, so he stopped while he was ahead.

“Uh, I start work at one-thirty, I’ll go back and clock in first. If you’re free, let’s walk around the mall together and help digest the food.”

Chen Xi nodded, fastened his shirt buttons, and went out of the hotpot restaurant together with Wang Xin. The two walked to the end of the dining area. Wang Xin swiped his card at the office area entrance, and the time displayed: 13:28, clearly he was also a master of time management.

“During work hours, no one cares if you stroll around the mall?”

“Ha, it’s because I just got here and no one is watching me. The leader told me to patrol the floor and keep track of brands these few days.” Wang Xin patted his beer belly and let out a burp.

“Then your job is really good. Lanhai’s work schedule was packed full, sales overtime was normalized, the work pressure was big too, performance evaluation was a dead line, that damn client tormented people, and that dogshit leader still kept putting pressure on you. If it weren’t for this little bit of money…”

Wang Xin gave a bitter smile. “Who goes to work not for money? You envy me, I envy you too. I have more things to worry about here. If I do more work, the leader can’t see it; if I do less, and something goes wrong, it’s all my fault. I even want to be like you, the more you work the more you get, the more you sign the more you earn.”

Before working, he had wanted to find an ideal job. After working, he realized there really was no ideal job at all, and the biggest ideal was not to work.((1)) Work was like a walled city, three years ago standing outside the city desperately wanting to get in, now inside the city and wanting to get out.((2)) People were just changeable, having a different thought every moment. The ideal in childhood had been to fly planes or become an astronaut, but after growing up, one had no choice but to run around for a living.

There was too much scheming and deception in this complicated society. Being able to keep one’s original aspiration forever was already not easy. Without money, what ideal could there be? No matter how grand the ideal, it could not outlast the wear and tear of time.

The two of them strolled around the European-style town. The sunlight was bright, the autumn breeze fresh. Chen Xi could not help feeling, it had already been a long time since he had walked after a meal and basked in the sun.

The outlet occupied an area of 150,000㎡. The shops were not as densely packed as traditional malls in the city, and because most things sold here were luxury goods, there were far fewer shoppers here than in traditional shopping centers. After the two of them had walked more than half a circle around the town, they suddenly saw a long line in front of a store ahead. Chen Xi felt a little surprised, and Wang Xin explained, “CHANEL only has new products in Yucheng at the outlet. Yesterday the planning department just issued the new arrival notice, and today people are already here.”

Traditional malls discounted and ran promotions but still could not sell goods, while outlets relied on supply channels and product strength to attract customers. It seemed the investment promotion department here had quite a way with winning over suppliers, the planning department had done a good job with differentiated marketing, and there really were a lot of rich people in Yucheng.

In order to prevent items from getting lost, and also to provide customers with better service, no more than 3 people were allowed in the store at a time. Only after the customers inside came out could those waiting outside go in. The CHANEL reception stood at the door, with a gentle gaze, wearing a dress and white gloves, looking very much like a wedding greeter.

Chen Xi also wanted to experience the treatment rich people got today, so he stopped at the CHANEL entrance. Wang Xin saw that he wanted to go in but did not want to queue, so he said, “Come with me.”

The two of them went around to the back safety door of the shop. Wang Xin knocked on the door, and the receptionist saw that he was wearing an outlet badge and opened the door for them. The two of them went into the store, and Chen Xi gave him a thumbs-up. “You’re really something.”

Wang Xin had thought Chen Xi only wanted to join the excitement and come in to broaden his horizons, but after walking around once, he bought a new men’s wallet. He did not ask the sales assistant many questions the whole time, just took a couple of looks and bought it.

Wang Xin: …

So now not only were you open in matters of love, you were also open in spending. I had thought that the aura of a business elite paying without blinking only appeared on TV, but unexpectedly… was this how salespeople became after doing it for a long time?

“The new style is a bit expensive. Do you want to look at something else?” Wang Xin reminded him kindly.

Chen Xi shook his head. He definitely could not afford to give Xu Dongxu a big luxury item. Buying him a wallet in an old style would make it seem insincere.

The receptionist enthusiastically wrapped up the wallet for Chen Xi and explained the care instructions. Chen Xi thought to himself: It’s just a piece of leather, what’s there to take care of. This thing wasn’t even as costly to make as a pair of 200-yuan leather shoes, yet it was sold at such an outrageous price. It all relied on brand marketing, and with media planning that boasted a marketing concept, there would naturally be fools willing to pay for brand premium.

In the afternoon, the outlet town had a unique style. The Gothic old buildings made the chic Chanel style look even more elegant. Chen Xi, carrying an uninhibited modern color, walked among the classical buildings, passing through the bustle without losing steadiness. Wang Xin walked half a step behind him. After seven years of getting along, today he suddenly felt that his brother had changed. The once reckless hothead had become confident and composed.

Although Chen Xi’s private life was chaotic and his spending level was a mystery, his aura and way of speaking now were no longer comparable to before. Wang Xin also did not know whether this was good or bad.

Everyone had different ideals and different standards of life, so the path they chose would also be different. As a brother, he could only hope that Chen Xi would become better, and could not interfere with his life.

The two of them walked for more than 10 minutes more when Wang Xin answered a call. From his tone, it sounded like his leader was looking for him to do work. Chen Xi did not want to disturb him and said, “You go ahead and get busy first, we’ll eat together another day.”

A gentle breeze passed by, and the doves of peace spread their wings. In the distance, church bells rang. Chen Xi stood on the cobblestone road, his eyes brimming with happiness and tenderness.

Happiness was not something put on for show, and even less something spoken out loud. It was just so full it overflowed, so much that even others could see it.

Wang Xin felt that Chen Xi was very happy now.

Although he had a belly full of questions he wanted to ask, after thinking it over several times, only one sentence remained: “Another day, if your boyfriend is free, we can eat together.”

He sent off the real brother, then went to accompany the fake brother.

Xu Dongxu accepted the wallet, and every sentence he opened with was “brother,” calling him with warm familiarity. Chen Xi had just finished digesting his food and now had another round of drinking. He had already run to the bathroom three times, and his body really could not take it anymore, but he could not refuse this “brother’s” face, so he could only brace himself and keep drinking.

“Brother has wide connections, do you know anyone in the education field? My kid is going to elementary school next year, can you help arrange something?”

Chen Xi wanted to help, but he really was powerless. “I really don’t know anyone from the Education Bureau.”

“Brother understands Buddhism and Daoism, but I never heard you mention it before?”

Chen Xi’s temples throbbed. He told the truth, “If I said I just made it up on the spot, would you believe me?”

“Brother, we have a lot of meetings Monday morning. You can come over in the afternoon to sign the contract.”

Chen Xi topped up his cup with wine. “Alright, Brother Xu. I can’t thank you enough for your great kindness with words, it’s all in the wine!”

No one knew how long they drank. There were three piles of empty bottles on the floor. Xu Dongxu sat over, draped an arm around Chen Xi’s shoulder, and sang “The Song of a True Man”. More than singing, it felt like hysterically venting his emotions. Venting his dissatisfaction with the family business, venting the helplessness of having devoted his youth to Gulin, venting the fact that time could not be turned back and there was no capital left to choose another job…

Alcohol gave courage to the cowardly. Signing with Gulin was hard. Chen Xi held a bottle of wine and sang together with Xu Dongxu. Not a single line from either of them was on key, and they sang like ghosts crying and wolves howling, earth-shaking and heaven-rattling. They sang out the suppressed resentment from several days of sarcastic mockery toward the client, sang out the helplessness of being trapped by money, sang out the bitterness of signing key clients…

They were engaged in different work, putting on a false show for the same goal. In the end, it was still for money, for life. One song, “The Song of a True Man”, sang through all the bitterness and hardship. The two of them smiled tacitly, both knowing what the other wanted to express.

A server passing by the private room saw empty bottles all over the floor, and fearing the customer might have alcohol poisoning, hurriedly reported it to the manager. The manager, trembling with fear, pushed open the private room door and quietly gave a line meant to talk someone out of drinking: “Today the store has an event. Drink 20 bottles of beer and get 10 bottles free. You already have exactly 30 bottles now. If you keep drinking, it will be normal price, and that’s not worth it.”

Xu Dongxu was drunk and slurring. He kept “ah”-ing for a long time without getting anything out. Chen Xi was a little better than him and managed to say a few human words. “Then let’s stop here for today. Come settle the bill. Another day, another day I’ll drink with Brother Xu again.”

Chen Xi forced himself to send Xu Dongxu off, then went into the bathroom and threw up again. He did not know where the shirt buttons had gone after all that drinking, but fortunately his phone was not lost, so he could still call a car.

The outlet was 30KM from Fuhaizhiguo. A taxi was too expensive. Chen Xi stood up to rinse his mouth and wash his face, taking one step and stopping twice, and after walking for almost 20 minutes, he finally got onto the subway.

A kind person on the subway smelled the alcohol on him and took the initiative to give up a seat. Chen Xi thanked them and sat down. His phone rang, it was Lin Yiran’s call.

Happiness overflowed from the corners of his lips, and even the outer corners of his eyes lifted with it.

Chen Xi felt that perhaps happiness was this: having a job that was not exactly as one wished but could still create value, chatting and taking walks with friends who understood him on normal days, and after drifting outside all day, having someone think of him at night.

Author’s note:

(1)(2) Quotes internet jokes, adapted from Qian Zhongshu’s Fortress Besieged.