Summer #26

Don't Turn from Summer (莫负寒夏) by Ding Mo (丁墨)

Chapter 26

Lin Mochen’s business in Lin City is progressing very smoothly. In less than a month, the new store is almost done with furnishing. The Southwest Division of Feng Chen is also established. The office is located in an office building in the downtown area.

Since a few employees, including Mu Hanxia, come with him from Beijing, the company has also rented two well-furnished three-bedroom apartments near the office. Lin himself occupies one of the rooms.

In the morning, Mu Hanxia opens the door and is ready to leave for the office with two female colleagues, when she hears the opposite door swinging open and comes Lin Mochen’s deep voice with a hint of smile, “... Serena, thanks for your introduction. But I have an important appointment with a supplier to inspect some fabrics and can’t go meet with you. How about next time?”

He walks out, dressed in his black suit, the top button of his shirt unbuttoned. He hangs up the phone and glances at them. Then he smiles, “Morning.”

The other two colleagues have been in the company longer than Mu Hanxia. One of them jokes, “Jason, that Serena is always trying to see you. Last time when she came to the company we all saw her. Such a great beauty. Would she possibly be our future lady boss[1]?”

[Lady boss here is used to mean the wife of the boss. I’m not sure if there is a better way to say it in English.]

Like the other two, Mu Hanxia also looks at him with a little smile.

But Lin Mochen says: “There’s no such thing. It’s only some business relations. I have no interest in her.”

The three of them are somewhat surprised at his frank answer and are speechless for a moment. Then the same colleague smiles: “Yes, yes. It’s not easy to become our lady boss.”

Lin Mochen responds with only a smile.

In the next two months, all goes on smoothly and eventlessly. No big changes are made.

The first and second stores of Feng Chen have opened in Lin City. They have a lower cost in all aspects, the customers here are no less strong than in Beijing, and Lin Mochen’s team are really good at operation and management. Also, Feng Chen has a stylish, simple and quality brand image. So, when it appears in the downtown shopping center, it quickly becomes popular and is rewarded with a huge business success. After only running for a week, the two big stores have taken about 10% of the market share in its category. This is a terrifying figure. The whole Lin City seem to know the brand overnight and are eager to shop there.

These days, Mu Hanxia has also been extremely busy. For a few times, she has run into Lin Mochen on the phone with Serena. It seems that he only goes once or twice after Serena calls him several times. There doesn’t seem to be any real progress between the two of them. Probably sensing the distance Lin Mochen has been trying to keep, Serena hasn’t shown up in front of them for a long while.

On the other hand, Lin Mochen now calls her Summer all the time. And gradually, this name spreads among the colleagues and becomes her English name.

The disaster strikes in a late night in November. 

Lin City is not very cold, but it is terribly humid. Mu Hanxia is soundly asleep, when there starts the banging on the door. She and the other two female colleagues all get up at the sound and open the door. The male colleagues next door are all standing there fully dressed, their expressions solemn. Lin Mochen wears a dark jacket, his hair still a little ruffled. He glances at them and says, “Let’s go.”

Mu Hanxia quickly asks, “What happened?”

A male colleague answers, “The factory reported just now that a lot of fabrics have problems.”

Everybody’s heart twitches at the news.

The factory is located at the suburban area of the city. Lin Mochen negotiated with a local company to do the manufacturing at their factory. Beijing Feng Chen sends people over to monitor the production process and control the quality. The quality control specialist was the first one who discovered the fabric quality problems.

The sky is still dark outside, but in the workshop it is bright as daylight. Mu Hanxia and a few others, following Lin Mochen, all stand in front of the stacks of fabric. The young specialist is very upset. Holding a piece of fabric in his hand, he reports: “Chief Lin, this batch of fabric definitely can’t be used. I’ve checked. The material is problematic. Neither flexibility nor abrasion resistance meets the standard. If used for production, the product may not look different, but the quality will definitely be unacceptable. This will damage our image as a high quality brand. What’s more, I have a feeling that the fabric has other problems and need further inspection...”

“How can it be? None of the several batches of fabric Chief Xie supplied had any problem.” Someone says, puzzled. “Can it possibly be some mistake? Should we call them to double-check?”

Everybody looks at Lin Mochen. His face is all coldness, but in his eyes there is a hint of smile. He says nothing. So they all quiet down.

Someone pats the specialist on the shoulder and says, “Many thanks to you. We signed as a strategic partner with Chielf Xie and inspection is waived. Without you, the problem would never have been discovered.” But the specialist replies in a low voice, “Chief Lin told me early on that no matter whose fabric it is, especially those from Chief Xie, should be inspected carefully, even if it is said to be inspection-waived. ”

They are all stunned. Mu Hanxia, however, has calmed down and looks at Lin Mochen. He speaks evenly: “Don’t spread the news yet. And don’t contact Xie Lin at all. Let everything keep going as usual. Seal all these fabrics in the warehouse. Manager Xu, contact the Beijing factory and ask them to send fabrics over immediately. That’s it.”

“Yes, sir.” The manager in charge of production leaves with the assignment. The rest just remain silent.

After a while, someone speaks up: “Chief Lin, the evil Xie Lin is to be blamed for this. But, he’s been here in the local business circle for many years. The mighty dragon is no match for the native serpent. Shouldn’t we...”

But Lin Mochen just smiles a little, and suddenly fixes his eyes on Mu Hanxia, “Summer, you are the marketing manager. What do you say? What shall I do to take over the local market?”

Everybody now looks in her way.

Mu Hanxia is quiet for a moment. Then she smiles, “Then take it over. What native serpent? If you don’t beat it, it won’t be docile. If we shun the first serpent, what should we do when we are confronted by the second, third ones?”

The others are all used to her diligence and steadiness and therefore are surprised at the defiant words she says. But at the same time, their battle spirits are roused by her words. So they question Lin Mochen’s decision no more. And Lin Mochen, he just gives her a glance and smiles.

He was just going to get the words out from her mouth, because he knows the bold heart that’s hidden within her.

And she did say it.

All the disruption is concealed by the dark night.

The rest of the night, Mu Hanxia remains in the factory, deploying the materials and rearranging the production schedules with colleagues. Lin Mochen and other two managers stay in an office, discussing on and on. Actually, Mu Hanxi found that he has some principles of his own about how to appoint people. Take herself as an example. Although he takes her along very often and thinks high of her, he only involves her in the marketing planning and management aspects, that is, the brighter sides of the position. But he never gets her involved in those under-table schemes.