Starting as the President of a Billionaire Group

Capítulo 742: Chapter 716: Still No Answer

The next day, when Ye Chen woke up, it was already noon.

Ye Chen thought to himself, “This is bad. He’s never gotten up this late before.”

He scrambled out of bed, quickly washed up, and dashed out of the house.

At the delivery point, Zhang Dafu looked outside with a puzzled expression, thinking how odd it was for Ye Chen to be this late—it just wasn’t like him.

After all, besides Zhang Dafu, Ye Chen was the earliest among the employees every day.

Zhang Dafu wasn’t angry about Ye Chen being late; he knew Ye Chen had money to spare and worked hard.

Nevertheless, he called Ye Chen several times, but no one answered.

At that moment, a convoy approached from afar, and Zhang Dafu knew those were people sent by the head office to commend outstanding employees.

Yesterday, he had already received notification from the head office because Ye Chen always arrived early, and his performance was good.

Zhang Dafu hadn’t called ahead; who would’ve thought Ye Chen still hadn’t arrived today?

If the head office found out he was late, claiming to be an outstanding employee, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?

Sweat started beading on Zhang Dafu’s forehead, and upon seeing the people stepping out of the vehicle, he hurried over to greet them.

“Manager Lu, welcome to our store,” Zhang Dafu respectfully said.

Seeing the sweat pouring down Zhang Dafu’s forehead, Manager Lu asked curiously, “Dafu, are you not feeling well? Why are you sweating so much?”

“Thank you for your concern, Manager Lu. I’m fine; it’s just too hot,” Zhang Dafu quickly explained.

As he spoke, he ushered Manager Lu into the office and had someone prepare tea and water.

“Dafu, there’s no need to be so polite. We’re here to acknowledge some outstanding employees today. All three are in the store, right?” Manager Lu got straight to the point.

“Yes, I informed them yesterday about the head office visit, so they are all here,” Zhang Dafu replied.

Then, he handed the prepared tea to Manager Lu, “Manager Lu, you’ve had a long journey. Please have some water.”

He did this to stall for time since Ye Chen still hadn’t shown up.

If word got out about the outstanding employee being late, where would his reputation go?

Manager Lu, being courteous, said, “No need; we still have other stores to visit later. Don’t waste time; just call in those three outstanding employees.”

Hearing this, Zhang Dafu broke out in cold sweat. How was he going to conjure up three people when he hadn’t seen Ye Chen yet?

Noticing Zhang Dafu’s troubled expression, Manager Lu asked, “Dafu, is there a problem?”

“No, no problem. I’ll call them in right now,” Zhang Dafu said as he started to leave.

He found the girl in charge of logistics, Wang Jia, urgently saying, “Little Jia, quickly call Ye Chen and tell him to hurry up to the store.”

After speaking, he called in the two outstanding employees waiting in the store, Xiao Zhang and Little Wang, into the office.

Upon seeing the outstanding employees enter, Manager Lu gratefully said, “We’re here today to commend our outstanding employees. It’s because of your hard work, through all weather, that the company has achieved great success. You are the pride of the company, you are…”

Manager Lu suddenly stopped mid-sentence, furrowing his brow.

Initially, when Zhang Dafu brought in Xiao Zhang and Little Wang, Manager Lu didn’t say anything. He thought he could muddle through.

But now that Manager Lu paused mid-sentence, it was clear he’d noticed.

“Dafu, there are only two people here. I may have poor eyesight, but I can still count,” Manager Lu joked to ease the tension.

Zhang Dafu, with a tense expression, said, “Manager Lu, our top performer has never been late before. I don’t know what happened today.”

He explained while wiping his sweat, fearing Manager Lu would be upset.

“Oh, it’s okay. Have you called him?” Manager Lu asked kindly.

“I did, but no one answered,” Zhang Dafu replied honestly.

Manager Lu understood the fierce competition in the courier industry and that such hardworking and high-achieving employees were valuable to the company, deserving of better treatment.

He smiled at the two outstanding employees and said, “In the future, the company will improve your benefits and increase various subsidies. You must balance work and rest. If you overwork, it will be the company’s loss. Remember to take precautions against heat and seek relief in hot weather. Don’t push yourself if you feel unwell.”

Hearing Manager Lu’s heartfelt advice, Xiao Zhang and Little Wang were moved to tears, “Thank you for your concern, Manager Lu. We will work even harder for the company’s bright future.”

These were actually words Zhang Dafu had coached them to say beforehand, but Manager Lu smiled and nodded.

Then, he looked at Zhang Dafu and asked, “Dafu, why haven’t you called yet?”

“With you here, how can I make a call?” Zhang Dafu thought to himself.

“Go ahead and call.”

Feeling wronged, Zhang Dafu took out his phone from his pocket.

Dialing Ye Chen’s number, a voice came through, “Grandpa, your grandson is calling you, grandpa, your grandson is calling you…”

Zhang Dafu suppressed his anger, listening to the voice.

“Grandpa, damn it, why don’t you answer the phone quickly.”

But the call remained unanswered…

Seeing Manager Lu chatting with the two outstanding employees, Zhang Dafu stood there with the phone, knowing that Manager Lu, being older, had a poor memory.

He’d heard from other station managers that Manager Lu often forgot what he’d said halfway through a conversation.

Maybe today, in his chat with the employees, he’d forget about Ye Chen.

After a while, Manager Lu burst into laughter, “I just love chatting with you young folks. It makes me feel much younger, and your suggestions are greatly helpful for the company’s future development.”

He continued, “The company needs young, ambitious talents like you. You are the company’s tomorrow, you are the company’s future.”

Seeing them getting along so well, Zhang Dafu’s expression relaxed a bit, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Just when he thought things had blown over, Manager Lu suddenly looked his way and asked, “Did the call go through?”

Hearing this, cold sweat broke out on Zhang Dafu’s forehead again, “Manager Lu, I called several times, but no one answered.”