Chapter 7
When Alexie invited me to have coffee together at Starbucks on Xinhua Road, I was occupied with the case of a company’s Thai client who opened a Thai restaurant on Huaihai Road.
Nevertheless, I accepted the olive branch from Alexie.
We met up at Starbucks on Xinhua Road. He was planning a Shanghai trading company to cooperate with his Guangdong chemical company. His wife Ana couldn’t stand the dull life there. That means he has to fly to GZ on working days and fly back to Shanghai on weekends. He needs an assistant to follow up in Shanghai.
He also enquired about my interest in becoming his assistant and if I could handle both roles effectively. I expressed my eagerness for this opportunity. In my heart, I had to change jobs as I couldn’t keep drinking with local Chinese clients at KTV all the time. I knew that one day I might die in such a situation because I turned a red face with one beer. It was a good chat, especially since he knew that I’m proficient in the government communication job and he asked me to wait for his CFO’s phone call next week.
Shortly after, his CFO Sara, called me from Guangzhou. She examined my background and knowledge regarding how to operate a new company in Shanghai. It was another pleasant chat and we all understood clearly that we need one more accountant for bookkeeping and tax declaration. I will be in charge of other back-office tasks, especially government communication.
Another week later, I met Alexie again at Xin Hua Road to discuss future plans for my bonus, setting up the 2007 company, job descriptions, responsibilities, and so on. I also suggested to him that we could establish a consulting company together in addition to the chemical job. He was overjoyed.
The next step is that I need to resign and Alexie needs to terminate his cooperation with his current assistant, who is a property agent. Alexie’s new office is confirmed by this assistant from Hong Kong Plaza. Certainly, we understand that this assistant has lost his opportunity. Soon, this guy chased me to my former company and complained to my former boss about this situation.
I had a long chat with my last boss to express my gratitude and I informed him that I would leave with my assistant because I couldn’t keep drinking and we had a good opportunity for growth first. He is a big boss and he didn’t like this, but he was understanding. Once, I saved him from the economic police regarding stamp tax and I recently handled some issues for him and some Thai clients. I believe that I’m ready to leave.
Around May, I began to work for Alexie as an assistant. I also brought along a financial officer from my previous company, namely my old friend Jimi, who was also in pursuit of more opportunities. After this incident, I even received forgiveness from Boss Ye. Boss Ye was willing to invest in me. However, in the end, I failed because I didn’t understand the equity framework and was worried that there might be problems when we pooled the money together.
Of course, Alexie fired his bald assistant because of me. The bald assistant was constantly unwilling to give up and even found a job from Alexie’s new office’s landlord to spy on us. One day early in the morning, he called me to push me, and I merely told him that if the olive branch didn’t reach you, then it’s a problem between you and Alexie. Please find someone willing to offer you an olive branch. If it doesn’t work out, then it means you are the loser. He left.
We established a trading company to sell ink products from the Guangdong factory and supply them to the banknotes printing factory with gradient inks. Meanwhile, we need to collaborate with some after-sales services in East China along with our sales personnel, Ms. Zheng and Ms. Tina from TianJian. Usually, I just drove my car for follow-up and the company covered the cost of the business trip.
Every Chinese New Year, we fly to Baiyun Airport in Guangzhou. Then, the driver from the Zhaoqing factory will pick us up and take us back to the factory to attend the annual meeting of the factory and report on duty to CFO Sara.
Zhaoqing is a small city beside GZ. It’s quite clean and famous for travel.