Chapter 20: The Basic Principles of Management

Hearing Yang Tianxing bluntly state that he wanted to be the general agent for Shentong Express at the Finance Institute, the middle-aged man in the second-floor office paused, put down his pen, looked Yang Tianxing over carefully, and then asked, "Are you trying to poach my business?"

This wasn't a pleasant thing to hear, but Yang Tianxing just grinned and ignored it, picking up a stack of newspapers to fan the dust off a stool before sitting down without the slightest bit of restraint.

"It's all just business to make money; there's no such thing as poaching."

The middle-aged man nodded in agreement, quite impressed: "You're an odd student. You look like a freshman, right?"

"Yes."

Yang Tianxing didn't hide it and admitted it generously.

"Judging by how you're dressed, your family situation shouldn't be bad. Why do you need to work a part-time job?"

This middle-aged man might not have had much formal education, but he had dealt with all sorts of people for a long time; his eye was sharp, and he had Yang Tianxing figured out at a glance.

"It's just a part-time job, why overthink it? This isn't a national defense enterprise—do you need to run a background check on my ancestors?"

Yang Tianxing gave a vague, perfunctory reply while pulling out a cigarette and tossing it over.

The middle-aged man caught the cigarette, glanced at the brand, and lit it: "That's why I say you're a bit odd. You're young, but you're so slick. Still, I can't just agree to change agents; several people from your school have already come to me."

At this point, the middle-aged man looked up and noticed that Yang Tianxing was smoking silently, his expression unchanged.

He continued: "The current agent at the Finance Institute is the most suitable one I picked from among them. Business is going well, with an average of 60 packages a day, which is already quite good for a university campus."

"I see. So you have no intention of changing the general agent?"

Yang Tianxing glanced at the middle-aged man and raised an eyebrow as he spoke.

"Not necessarily. If you can consistently hit 100 packages a day, I'll consider changing agents. But I suggest you start as a sub-agent to get familiar with the business," the middle-aged man said.

Yang Tianxing thought that as long as there were conditions, things were manageable, so he asked: "Do you have a business card?"

The middle-aged man handed over a grayish business card that read, "Zhang Liye, General Manager of Chang'an District, Shentong Express."

Yang Tianxing took it, put it in his pocket, and left directly without any wasted words.

"That's actually quite interesting."

Zhang Liye muttered to himself and went back to his work.

Yang Tianxing was a veteran at doing business; he knew clearly that the essence of trade was the exchange of resources. Since he couldn't offer anything attractive right now, staying there to talk back and forth would just be empty talk and might even waste each other's time.

Actually, Yang Tianxing wasn't exactly isolated in Chang'an; when he helped Zhao Qingxun with directions last time, she had left her address. However, Yang Tianxing didn't intend to use that favor just yet; after all, it was only a small matter.

After returning to the internet cafe, Yang Tianxing had a great time playing a few rounds of CS with his roommates. At noon, he treated Fu Yiming and the others to beef rice, though Yi Min, thinking the internet cafe food wasn't good, ran out to buy his own.

There was a class at three in the afternoon with their counselor, Xie Yu'an, which none of them dared to skip, especially since Yang Tianxing was the class monitor.

Before class, He Yulin found Yang Tianxing and asked him to tell the students about collecting the class fund.

Yang Tianxing sneered inwardly; He Yulin felt 50 yuan was too much and was worried about being complained at, so she pushed Yang Tianxing to the front, especially since it was his idea anyway.

"Small-minded as a sesame seed."

Yang Tianxing shook his head, walked to the podium, and said loudly: "Classmates, we all had to pay class funds in high school, and university is no exception. In the future, the class will regularly hold various activities and dinners, so we will collect 50 yuan per person for the class fund. This money will be used entirely for class activities, and the accounts can be checked at any time."

As he said this, Yang Tianxing intentionally glanced at Liu Jiaoyue. Sure enough, she was looking at him cautiously, and after their eyes met briefly, Liu Jiaoyue lowered her head as she had before.

Yang Tianxing smiled; it seemed Liu Jiaoyue already knew about him paying her class fund.

Just then, Xie Yu'an walked into the classroom from outside. Yang Tianxing took a look and continued: "Those who have the money today can hand it in; those who don't, don't forget tomorrow during class. The League Branch Secretary, He Yulin, is responsible for registration and collection."

Yang Tianxing stepped down after finishing; he didn't ask for opinions, simply issuing it like an order.

The amount was a bit high, and He Yulin had been worried someone would raise objections, but seeing everyone silently agree, she thought to herself that Yang Tianxing's prestige was quite high.

In fact, Yang Tianxing's high prestige was one thing, but on the other hand, even if counselor Xie Yu'an had brought up the issue of how much the class fund should be for discussion, there would surely have been a cacophony of different opinions, making it hard to reach a consensus.

It was better to just set a standard directly; even if some disagreed in their hearts, since the majority remained silent, the rest had no choice but to bite the bullet and agree. This was the management principle of "The people may be made to follow a path, but they may not be made to understand it."

Yang Tianxing set the tone for the class fund and conveniently dumped the work of collecting and recording onto He Yulin. It seemed this would be the norm for their "partnership" in the future: Yang Tianxing would step forward to set the framework, and He Yulin would handle the trivialities.

Xie Yu'an nodded slightly. The two of them had leveraged their respective strengths on the class cadre platform; Yang Tianxing was magnanimous and domineering but knew how to control the measure, while He Yulin was earnest, enthusiastic, and had a spirit of dedication. It seemed he would be able to save a lot of worry over these four years.

During the break, Yang Tianxing was bragging with his roommates as usual when he suddenly noticed Fu Yiming and Yi Min stop talking, their eyes fixed on his back, and a waft of fragrance drifted into his nose.

Yang Tianxing turned around to see the "number one beauty" of Public Management Class 2, Deng Yidi, standing by the table.

"Something up?"

Yang Tianxing wasn't very familiar with Deng Yidi; their only interaction was borrowing a phone during military training. In terms of looks, while Deng Yidi was top-tier, she wasn't the best—Tan Zhizhi was more refined, and Liu Jiaoyue was prettier.

However, Deng Yidi was very confident in her appearance. When she introduced herself, she deliberately let her hair fall over her shoulders, and every smile added to her charm.

She said to Yang Tianxing with a smile: "Class monitor, I'm here to pay the class fund."

"Didn't I say to give it to He Yulin?" Yang Tianxing asked.

Deng Yidi didn't speak, her eyes curving, and she left after placing the money on the table.

Yang Tianxing understood; it was normal for there to be conflict between university girls. Perhaps only Liu Jiaoyue wouldn't have conflicts with others here.

After class, the guys from 312 chatted as they walked to the cafeteria. Yi Min suddenly asked Yang Tianxing: "Brother Yang, what do you think of Deng Yidi?"

"Her?"

Yang Tianxing glanced at Yi Min, thinking to himself, this kid isn't getting a crush, is he?

Everyone was interested in this kind of gossip; eating melons was human nature. Song Fei egged him on from the side: "Deng Yidi is the prettiest girl in our class. Old Six, I support you in winning her over. If you can chase Deng Yidi, it'll be the glory of 312!"

Fu Yiming also liked Deng Yidi, after all, she was good-looking, but he didn't want to date yet, and he didn't plan on being a "simp." Hearing that Yi Min intended to pursue her, he felt jealous and bitter, his words laced with sourness.

"Old..."

Fu Yiming feigned impartiality. He didn't dare to confess his feelings now, but he didn't want Deng Yidi to be chased by others either. The best way was for everyone to stay single until he found a girlfriend, that way there was still a glimmer of fantasy.

"Second Brother, what do you think?"

Fu Yiming and Song Fei had completely different opinions, so Yi Min wanted to hear Yang Tianxing's take. As for Qian Jiale, his mindset was even more childish than Yi Min's; he was just thinking about playing with Yi Min's phone, so he was definitely supportive.

Yang Tianxing actually didn't recommend pursuing her. Judging by Deng Yidi's dress and the maturity of her speech, she definitely had a few dating experiences; she was the type suited for an older man in his thirties.

Yi Min was like a bean sprout; Deng Yidi might not even look at him straight, unless Yang Tianxing, who had been reborn, decided to pursue her himself.

"Why date? Isn't it better to spend time surfing the internet? Games even show your health bar, but chasing a girl doesn't even have a progress bar," Yang Tianxing said jokingly.

Hearing that Yang Tianxing didn't approve either, Yi Min felt a bit dejected, but Yang Tianxing changed his tone and encouraged him: "But you can try. Keeping it bottled up is truly cowardly."

Seeing that Yi Min was somewhat moved, Yang Tianxing thought to himself that the more eager one is now, the more miserable one might be later on.