"Hmm, I didn't work during the day, and I need to go up. It's been a long time since we've had a smoke together, care to join me?" Li Yan said with a smile, putting his hand on his shoulder.

Yang Dalong wasn't good at refusing, and sensed that Li Yan wanted to chat. He also wanted to vent, so he followed him to a quiet spot outside.

"Things are a bit messy at Jie Rui, maybe you won't see me working here in a few days." Yang Dalong said deliberately as he handed a cigarette to Li Yan and lit it for him.

Li Yan took a puff and smiled while Yang Dalong lit his own cigarette, "Don't be so unaspiring! I know what's going on with your company. You're wondering if I suggested Li Jie do this, right?"

Yang Dalong smoked silently and gave a tacit nod.

"Actually, you're right. It was my suggestion."

Hearing the answer he had guessed, Yang Dalong still felt a bit angry and quietly retorted, "Why? Even if you're friends with the manager, you have no right to meddle in our company's affairs! You got by in Paradise Group through connections—what benefits can your suggestions bring us? Are you trying to ruin Jie Rui? Let me tell you, this isn't just Li Jie's, it's Uncle Li's hard work!"

Listening to his complaints, Li Yan shook his head, "When I was the deputy team leader part-time, would you mind how I got the position?"

Yang Dalong was taken aback, unsure what he meant—revealing old secrets, settling old scores?

"When I was in the business department, planning department, and now as the manager of Heavenly Film, do you think the clients I interact with care how I got this position?" Li Yan asked again.

"What are you trying to say?" Yang Dalong was a bit impatient, "I haven't read much, unlike you educated folks, speak clearly!"

Li Yan jokingly scolded, "Damn! I might have read less than you, otherwise why would I need connections to become manager?"

"..." Yang Dalong was speechless. It seemed logical, but also not, considering not everyone who reads a lot gets a chance to succeed.

"Simply put, whether I achieved my position with my abilities or not doesn't relate to whether I can see certain things clearly; just like you have abilities, but if Li Chengfeng hadn't given you a chance back then—didn't promote you to captain but replaced you with someone else—and now Li Jie suddenly promotes you, doesn't mean you lack the ability, right?" Seeing his further confusion, Li Yan decided to speak directly:

"What I mean is, I only pointed a direction for Li Jie; it's her effort and ability to execute. You may not trust me, but surely you can trust Li Jie's ability? And since I'm good friends with her, why would I want to ruin her company? What benefit would that bring me? I'm only helping her grow stronger!"

"Humph! Good intentions leading to bad outcomes isn't unheard of." Yang Dalong accepted his good intentions but doubted the direction was right.

Li Yan pointed casually ahead.

"Look!"

"Look at what?"

Li Yan chuckled, "Haha, there's a metaphor in the Lotus Sutra. The Buddha pointed at the moon and said 'look'; people of superior wisdom look at the moon, people of middling wisdom look at the hand, and people of lesser wisdom ask 'look at what' without understanding."

His playful teasing made Yang Dalong a bit embarrassed. "Humph! I already said I haven't read much..." He wanted to say he lacked education, unlike you, but had already said that. So he just said, "I'm a fool, not as smart as you! Happy now?"

"Alright, I'm not mocking you, just trying to lighten the mood. Old Yang, you've been a captain for some years, right? Ever thought you could be a manager?"

Yang Dalong's expression changed abruptly, "Are you trying to instigate something?"

Li Yan smiled wryly, gesturing again towards the open space, "Look at this! In the entire S City, there are countless companies, factories, and properties... over ten million people, how big is the security demand? How big is it province-wide? How big across Yun Country? How many people does Jie Rui have?"

His words shook Yang Dalong.

"Have you ever thought about any of this? You just contently accomplish today's tasks, prepare for tomorrow, and that's enough. For you, these are issues the boss deals with." Li Yan smiled, "But now the boss starts to consider these things, and you can't accept it."

Yang Dalong was silent for a while, smoking several times before he said, "According to you... the manager's reform is correct?"

"Without reform, Jie Rui can only maintain its current size, including Li Chengfeng and Li Jie, who, like you, live for today and prepare for tomorrow, without long-term plans. Because they don't earn much from you, this you know better than I do. So, to develop, they must change the old methods to generate more funds. As for the future, don't you believe in one?

For someone like you who has been with Li Chengfeng for years, you might curse because your income decreased a bit, but I don't believe you'll easily switch jobs. As long as you endure, in a few years, you won't just be managing a team of security guards; you could be a city branch manager, maybe a provincial regional manager! And the security guards who curse with you now might become security chiefs of large companies and upscale properties.

Your age won't always be in the twenties or thirties, your physical peak won't last forever. Without a long-term plan, what then? Move to less competitive places to find a gatekeeper job? You need goals; others can also be captains, and your management can be upgraded. All this requires collective effort, as Jie Rui grows, your value increases."

Li Yan said a lot, seeing Yang Dalong's receptive demeanor, he patted his shoulder and sighed, "Reforms are painful, and progress is troublesome. You also face pressure and must learn new things. If I didn't want to progress or work hard, relying on relationships would only get me an idle job with a salary. If I can achieve this, what about you? Will you just coast along for years, or set a new goal for yourself?"

After speaking, leaving Yang Dalong to think, Li Yan entered the company.

...

Li Yan was there to pick up Yurong. He wasn't fond of being the "wise elder sister-type," encountering Yang Dalong was coincidental. His conversation was for Li Jie's sake. Li Jie was under great pressure, maybe she'd convinced those veteran captains, but they agreed reluctantly, mostly due to Li Chengfeng's relationships.

Thus, Yang Dalong was a breakthrough point, both to motivate him and change his mindset. Once he accepted and conveyed this to others, resistance would be lessened, allowing everyone to calmly plan their future. With changed mindsets, they won't just passively help Li Chengfeng retain staff but actively persuade others, motivating them and turning perceptions around!

The effect isn't visible right now, as Li Yan took the elevator to the office.

To his surprise, even though work hours had long ended, the Heavenly Film office still had lights on.

Were people voluntarily staying to work overtime?

Such diligent employees!

As manager, Li Yan thought it would be a good opportunity to motivate everyone, maybe treat them to a KFC family bucket or something.

However, upon entering, he realized things were slightly different; although all the lights were on, there weren't many people around. Looking around, only Jiang Xueyin was still there!

"Who's there?" Jiang Xueyin, hearing a noise, looked up.

"It's me. Why haven't you clocked out yet?" Li Yan went over.

Seeing Li Yan, Jiang Xueyin quickly said, "Manager, brother-in-law, you're here. Please help my cousin think of a solution!"

(Can't finish the third chapter tonight, but Old Lai plans to stay up late for four updates tomorrow to repay everyone! Thank you for your Monthly Pass, now at 158, but actual less than 80. Kindly request brothers who haven't yet voted their minimum Monthly Pass to help out, thank you!)(To be continued; for further details, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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