External Relations Department meeting.
Cui Yuqi looked worriedly at the several ministers below him, his head buzzing:
"The freshmen welcoming party is starting in just one week. I only managed to secure 500 yuan, Sang Xuegao also got 500 yuan, Sui Yuan got 700 yuan plus some small gifts, and Zhai Fei surprisingly brought in 2000 yuan. But even so, we are still short by 1300 yuan. Chairman Hao has given a strict order; it must be settled by tomorrow."
Sang Xuegao was a bit unhappy:
"We do all the dirty and tiring work, and if we don't do it well, we get scolded. When we go out, it's like we're begging for food, and those bosses avoid us like the plague. By last year's standards, we would have completed the task by now. Who told the leaders to just increase the task by two thousand with a snap decision?"
Cui Yuqi stopped him with a look:
"Less complaining. Completing the task is important. If you have the guts, go complain in front of Chairman Hao and the faculty advisor. Besides Zhai Fei, I suggest the three of us make a final push this afternoon."
Zhai Fei remained completely unconcerned; his task was already completed anyway.
Sui Yuan got angry seeing him like that:
"Minister, the sponsorship from Little Chen's BBQ was originally for me, but Zhai Fei came over and snatched it. I just want to ask everyone, if we don't present a united front externally but instead consume ourselves internally, what's the point?"
Cui Yuqi looked at Sui Yuan with a strange expression for a while, realizing that he genuinely didn't know who the boss behind the BBQ shop was, and then he said:
"Sui Yuan, don't you have any friends in other departments? Don't you know that Little Chen's BBQ is owned by Chen Pingjiang?"
Sui Yuan was stunned for a moment, her head felt like it had been hit by a punch, and then she sharply asked,
"What?"
Chen Pingjiang also had good relationships with other departments of the student union and invited people from other departments to support him on the opening day.
Cui Yuqi didn't know at first and only found out later by chatting with other classmates.
"Zhai Fei, what do you mean? Since you knew, why didn't you say so earlier? You deliberately wanted to make a fool of me, didn't you?"
Sui Yuan's face turned red as if she had been boiled, flushing even more.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got.
If only they had said that the shop was owned by Chen Pingjiang, no matter how displeased she was, she would have had to grudgingly accept it, but they deliberately hid it and didn't say anything.
Zhai Fei spread his hands and said innocently:
"Well, that's something to ask about your attitude. You picked a fight during the interview; do you still expect others to be nice to you?"
"I don't care, you are just doing it on purpose."
"If you think that way, there's nothing I can do."
Cui Yuqi felt his head spinning; this feeling was too difficult.
None of the vice-ministers were easy to manage; they only argued when they met, and it was too tiring trying to appease one side after another all day long.
With superiors pressing for tasks and subordinates not united, he felt like he was a sandwich, squeezed in the middle.
"Can your arguing solve the problem? Chen Pingjiang alone sponsored two thousand yuan, which is a good thing for our External Relations Department no matter what. Sui Yuan, I think you should unite with your classmates and maintain good relationships."
Seeing Cui Yuqi so annoyed that he slammed the table, Sui Yuan reluctantly shut up, secretly hating Chen Pingjiang to death.
After everyone calmed down, Cui Yuqi continued:
"Don't talk any more nonsense. Sui Yuan, Sang Xuegao, and I will have to squeeze out this 1300 yuan this afternoon, no matter what."
After speaking, Cui Yuqi felt a wave of relief.
He tossed his pen onto the table and began thinking about resigning.
That's right, he was going to pack his bags and leave overnight.
Having entered his third year of university, academic pressure was already very high, the External Relations Department had too many trivial matters, and the vice-ministers below were disobedient.
Cui Yuqi felt he couldn't control them.
He had originally planned to just muddle through until the end of the semester, but now he didn't want to wait a single moment.
Whoever wants to be this damn minister can be it.
I still want to live a few more years, not arguing every day over these damn annoying things.
Cui Yuqi himself had an introverted and weak personality, which was actually not suitable for External Relations Department work.
His becoming a minister was purely a matter of making the best of a bad situation, forcing him into a role he wasn't fit for.
There weren't many tangible benefits, but instead, he ended up in a mess.
...
A few nights later, at Little Chen's BBQ shop.
Chen Pingjiang, Sang Xuegao, and Zhai Fei sat around, drinking alcohol and eating BBQ.
"So, from now on I should call you Minister Zhai?"
Chen Pingjiang picked up a few peanuts and tossed them into his mouth.
Zhai Fei laughed heartily, raised his cup and clinked it with Chen Pingjiang's:
"You are now my God of Wealth. I have already nominated you to be vice-minister."
Chen Pingjiang teased with a smile:
"Minister or not, my interest is just so-so. As long as I can serve the students and our School of Business Administration, it doesn't matter what position I'm in."
This guy Sang Xuegao had a lot of negative emotions and loved to complain:
"We finally got rid of that woman; it was unbearable to be with her. If she got a lot of sponsorship, she liked to look down on people, and if she got less sponsorship, she would be sarcastic and passive-aggressive.
This time, it was because she found out that Little Chen's BBQ was originally yours; she thought you were toying with her and got so angry she started arguing. She made Cui Yuqi not want to stay for another minute."
The events progressed very quickly, so quickly that Chen Pingjiang didn't even react before it was over.
Once Cui Yuqi's thought of resigning emerged, he could no longer suppress it.
He submitted his resignation letter to Hao Shaoping of the student union on the same day.
It is said that Hao Shaoping tried to persuade him repeatedly but to no avail, and a meeting discussion yielded no results, so he was ultimately announced as removed and reported to the Youth League Committee for filing.
The point of contention in the meeting was the appointment of the new Head of the External Relations Department.
Zhai Fei and Sui Yuan both had supporters.
When they were at a stalemate, Cui Yuqi's opinion was sought.
Cui Yuqi almost without hesitation chose to support Zhai Fei.
He truly had no good impression of Sui Yuan; her methods of abandoning duties and resorting to threats were also unacceptable.
Most critically, if Sui Yuan were to become the Head of the External Relations Department, Zhai Fei and Sang Xuegao, who were classmates, also stated that they would resign immediately.
If that were to happen, the External Relations Department would almost become an empty shell, with only Sui Yuan and some first and second-year officials remaining.
Just like that, Zhai Fei naturally took over the position of Head of the External Relations Department of the School of Business Administration Student Union.
As soon as Sui Yuan heard this, she immediately quit.
Cui Yuqi had previously promised her that he would recommend her in the second semester of her third year.
She had worked in the External Relations Department for so long precisely because she wanted to be promoted.
Now not only did she not get promoted, but her arch-rival Zhai Fei had also become the minister.
Where would she save face in the future?
She argued with Hao Shaoping for a long time and finally submitted her resignation letter as well.
Just like that, in just a few days, the personnel changes in the External Relations Department were earth-shattering.
The two-thousand-yuan sponsorship served as the fuse, something Chen Pingjiang himself had never expected.
Cui Yuqi's weak and hesitant personality and his fondness for being a mediator, coupled with Sui Yuan's inability to compromise and unite with classmates, played a decisive role.
If Chen Pingjiang were the Head of the External Relations Department, no matter how painful it might be, he would first get rid of Sui Yuan.
This would be the best way to stabilize the situation.
Firing Sui Yuan would certainly be painful for a while, but it would allow for the integration of forces.
The regrettable thing is that Cui Yuqi was just a student and couldn't handle it well.
(End of chapter)
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