Chu Zhishui showed a troubled expression. "Sister Hong, this isn't appropriate."
"Not appropriate?" Hong Ximing hesitated. "I think bamboo is quite elegant, it's even one of the 'Four Gentlemen' in Chinese culture."
Hong Ximing's voice was bright and cheerful. She exuded an air of excitement that set her apart from the other supernatural beings in the bureau.
While Miao Li had deliberately caused trouble at the bureau-wide meeting by spreading rumors about Xin Yunmao cozying up to leadership, Hong Ximing genuinely seemed to have a natural passion for matchmaking, and she was far bolder than the other supernatural beings.
When other supernatural beings heard gossip, they would merely observe from afar, never daring to discuss it openly. Only Director Hong would speak her mind so frankly.
"Sister Hong, I heard your true form is a bird?" Chu Zhishui tried to change the subject away from wall painting, probing, "Could it be a magpie?"
Hong Ximing replied candidly, "Yes, indeed."
"..."
No wonder – magpies were known for building bridges for the Cowherd and Weaver Girl in Chinese mythology, so it was natural she'd be interested in matchmaking now. If she could handle connecting lovers across the Milky Way, of course she'd think arranging matters for divine lords would be no problem.
Upon learning Hong Ximing's true form, Chu Zhishui realized there was no point in trying to explain further. Feeling awkward about lingering in the courtyard, she made an excuse to leave, but not before pleading with Niu Shi not to paint or write anything on the walls.
"Why not?" Niu Shi, being a straightforward fellow, hadn't caught Hong's hint and asked curiously, "Do you think both calligraphy and paintings are inappropriate? Or is there something wrong with the wall?"
"No, it's not about them – it's about me," Chu Zhishui said quietly. "It would be embarrassing for me."
With bamboo artwork on the newly renovated courtyard walls, she wouldn't be able to face her colleagues – she really couldn't show her face around the supernatural beings at work anymore.
Fortunately, Hong Ximing had just been passing by when she made the suggestion. She seemed to have mentioned it casually and didn't press the matter further, even walking back to the office building with Chu Zhishui.
In the hallway, Chu Zhishui waved goodbye to Director Hong and darted back to the Economic Development Section, declaring as soon as she entered: "Let's distribute performance bonuses this month, then allocate funds to the Personnel and Administration Department so they can start purchasing New Year goods!"
Jin Yu looked up from her computer, puzzled: "Is it because we've earned money recently that you want to spend it? But New Year goods won't cost that much."
"No, it's not about having money to spend," Chu Zhishui said seriously. "The Personnel and Administration Department isn't busy enough right now, so we should give them more tasks to boost everyone's motivation and sense of achievement."
Jin Yu: "?"
As long as Director Hong was busy buying New Year goods, she definitely wouldn't have time to think about unnecessary things.
As winter arrived, the Huaijiang Observation Bureau became increasingly busy towards the end of the year. While the Observation Department maintained its regular duties, Finance needed to settle the year's accounts, Personnel and Administration had to prepare holiday supplies, and Logistics was occupied with building staff dormitories and roads. After all these tasks, there were still year-end work reports – there was no time to catch their breath.
The Economic Development Section was equally busy, first shipping out the accumulated orders from the new promotional event, then handling subsequent customer service issues. Fortunately, the Observation Bureau Brand had built up a good reputation, maintaining stable sales even after major events without needing traffic promotion to avoid collapse.
Wang Yiwen was among the happiest about the brand's success, as she had been involved from product selection to channel promotion. Turning an unknown small brand into a recognized name definitely proved the New Transparency platform's monetization capabilities and helped her establish herself in the new company.
On the phone, she learned internal news and rushed over to share: "Great news! Qi Chang said they might not focus on big brands in the future, but specifically promote emerging domestic brands. They might even hold a special event for small and medium-sized companies – we could have another chance for deep cooperation!"
Another opportunity to get capital funding.
Qi Chang had mentioned the Observation Bureau during the meeting. Wang Yiwen wasn't sure if CEO Qi knew about the bureau's company background and its connection to Chu Zhishui, but she noticed that her boss wasn't opposed to it and seemed to be going with the flow.
"How are your offline sales going?" Wang Yiwen asked. "For online sales, please make sure to find me – with one promotional event, my annual performance targets will be secure."
"Quite a few people are approaching us for wholesale purchases offline, and it's slowly building up, though brick-and-mortar retail isn't doing well overall," Chu Zhishui said. "I'm considering whether to open a physical store after the New Year, but it's still up in the air – we'll see."
After the surge in sales of the Observation Bureau company's three products, other sales channels had continuously increased, with supermarkets and shopping malls stocking their products for offline retail. The products were frequently seen in Huaijiang's shopping centers, and Chu Xiaohe would spot them while grocery shopping. Being a local product, distribution in Huaijiang was extensive.
Chu Zhishui had been considering opening a physical store recently. Profit wasn't the main concern; the primary goal was to have a place to showcase new products occasionally, allowing customers to try them and provide feedback. This way, they could quickly adjust new products based on collected suggestions before launching them in the market.
When the bureau was smaller, they would just dive right in, throwing products into the market as soon as they were made. Now, with the company's brand and reputation becoming increasingly important, they wanted to avoid issues like the scalp nourishing cream lacking an applicator brush, so they needed to gather broader feedback in the early stages.
Her thought was that they didn't need many direct-operated stores – one or two would suffice to establish brand image, while maintaining their primary focus on online sales.
In the director's office, Chu Zhishui discussed the company's development with Hu Chenrui, sharing this idea to get the director's opinion.
"A direct-operated store?" Hu Chenrui pondered. "That's fine, I think it's no problem. Whether it makes money is secondary – the key is ensuring the bureau's company develops sustainably."
After all, a stable bureau company would ensure steady performance bonuses, and supernatural beings had long lives ahead of them.
"Location selection for the direct-operated store is currently an issue," Chu Zhishui said calmly. "Logically, to save on store costs, we should choose somewhere near the bureau, but as you know, the traffic here is too low, and the city center is complicated."
The Huaijiang Observation Bureau was in the middle of nowhere, with absolutely no foot traffic, which would inevitably lead to poor business. While they weren't concerned about profits, they couldn't afford to lose money outright – they needed a sensible location at least.
Hu Chenrui contemplated, "So we need a location with high foot traffic?"
"Yes, preferably in a bustling urban area. I recently inquired about store rental prices in Huaijiang City. There might be some risks involved, which is why I wanted to discuss with you whether we should proceed with this plan."
"Do we have to open in Huaijiang City?" Hu Chenrui asked. "Could we consider other cities?"
"Ah?" Chu Zhishui was stunned. "Of course we could, but which other cities do you mean..."
Hu Chenrui smiled, "We could build it at the Yinhai Bureau. I've noticed they have quite a few storefronts."
Chu Zhishui: "?"
Chu Zhishui was greatly surprised. She hesitated before asking, "Would Director Ye agree to this?"
She had thought opening a store in Huaijiang City would be ambitious enough, but Director Hu's vision was far bolder than hers, directly targeting Yinhai City, a top population center in the country, and planning to open in its busiest district. The Yinhai Bureau was located in the city's core area, which had always been prosperous and bustling, making it easy to earn performance bonuses.
"We can negotiate with Director Ye," Hu Chenrui said warmly. "For instance, we could exchange a piece of our Huaijiang land for their Yinhai land. Let them choose our plot first, and we'll take any piece of theirs."
"..."
Chu Zhishui seriously suspected Director Hu was taking Director Ye for a fool – anyone would know the land prices in Huaijiang and Yinhai were completely different; this was far from an equal exchange. She now felt Director Hu was equally confident, wondering if it was due to his fox nature that he believed others would agree to all his unreasonable demands.
Chu Zhishui didn't criticize directly. She maintained a composed expression and replied, "No problem, you can discuss it with Director Ye first. If things go smoothly, we can proceed with opening the store."
"This should be a small matter. After forcing me to come to Huaijiang, if they can't handle this much, we might as well all quit," Hu Chenrui said pleasantly, though his words carried a hint of resentment. He took out his phone, "Hold on, let me remove him from my blacklist. We should still communicate when there's important business."
Chu Zhishui noticed that Director Hu was still resentful about being demoted to Huaijiang, occasionally harboring thoughts of turning the Observation Bureau upside down. It seemed that taking over the area where the divine lord resided was initially a difficult decision, and he probably only let go of these dark thoughts after things improved.
"How about this? I'm going to Yinhai after the New Year anyway to discuss next year's business funds with them. You can come with me on the business trip, and you can also look around to choose a location," Hu Chenrui said with a smile. "If you're too busy to handle it alone, bring someone else from the department. We can work on both matters at once, without delaying anything!"
Chu Zhishui was stunned: "Bring someone else from the department?"
"You can bring two people if you want. We have plenty of money in the account lately, it's just a matter of claiming more travel expenses."
Chu Zhishui swallowed and reminded him, "Director Hu, are you sure about bringing us along to your meeting with the other directors?"
When Chu Zhishui had directly refused Director Ye earlier, she hadn't agreed to stop bringing Xin Yunmao along, but she also wouldn't deliberately cause trouble. Director Hu seemed to have a knack for stirring up chaos, clearly not caring about Director Ye's feelings.
Fortunately, Xin Yunmao was an empty-headed bamboo. If he actually had malicious intentions, being brought to Yinhai where the directors' meeting was held, he could take down four directors at once.
"I'm sure, absolutely sure," Hu Chenrui nodded solemnly. "How else would I secure business funds and land without bringing you all?"
How could he make extravagant demands without letting other directors see his struggles?
"..."
This was clearly a carrot-and-stick approach to threatening.
She could already imagine the other directors' expressions - it was no different from having a knife held to their throats for money, ready to slash at any disagreement.
Since it was a matter for after Spring Festival and Hu Chenrui had made his decision, Chu Zhishui didn't try to dissuade him. If the sky fell, the directors would handle it; it wasn't her concern as a deputy section chief.
Chu Zhishui kicked the ball away and began her disclaimer: "Fine, as long as you think it's appropriate, I have no objections."
Hu Chenrui declared decisively: "It's appropriate, definitely appropriate, and even if it's not appropriate, we'll make it appropriate!"
The end of the year was busy with work and life's trivial matters.
After a long wait, Chu Zhishui finally welcomed the day of receiving her house keys. Huaijiang developers were now extremely unreasonable, selling only fully decorated commercial housing, and the quality of decoration varied greatly, possibly requiring homeowners to redo the work.
In the brand new residential complex, Chu Zhishui opened the door with her key and quickly began inspecting every corner, determined to resolve any issues promptly and eliminate the risks that came with the pre-installed decorations.
The developer had provided a new Chinese-style decoration, though she didn't understand these design concepts. After walking around the house, she planned to reorganize things when she had free time.
Ground floor residents had a yard, conveniently sheltered by surrounding green trees, maintaining privacy from the outside. Chu Zhishui had chosen this unit because she thought the yard would be comfortable, with only an extremely secluded path in front where few people passed by, effectively incorporating the green space outside the yard into her backyard.
Unfortunately, it was winter in Huaijiang, and the trees had withered, leaving only a cluster of green bamboo outside the yard still flourishing, with no other colors in sight.
Standing in the yard, Chu Zhishui startled at the sight of the bamboo and quickly went out to investigate, wondering why there was a bamboo grove. Outside the yard, there was a bubbling stream with an artificial river made of cobblestones - apparently the developer's attempt to create a bamboo-by-the-stream atmosphere to match the Chinese style theme of the complex.
The bamboo grove was planted by the property management, but it was right next to Chu Zhishui's house, with branches and leaves extending into her yard.
Chu Zhishui pushed the bamboo leaves and branches away in frustration, thinking how unreasonable this species was, always trying to occupy her space wherever she went.
Just as she finished tidying up the bamboo outside, she turned around to find a figure standing beyond the fence - it was Xin Yunmao, gazing at her through the railings.
Xin Yunmao had appeared without warning, standing outside the yard, staring intently at the bamboo grove, and said contentedly, "You still ended up planting bamboo in your yard."
"I didn't plant it, the property management did," Chu Zhishui quickly defended herself. "Look carefully, it's outside, not in my house!"
Xin Yunmao pointed inside the yard, asserting confidently, "There's clearly some inside too."
Chu Zhishui looked down and indeed saw a small bamboo shoot that had crossed the fence, growing from the green space outside into her yard.
She thought to herself how even non-sentient bamboo could be so shameless, and said in embarrassment, "It grew in here by itself!"
