The document in Lin Qiaoxia's hands was a construction project application report, along with a response from above, denying approval.
"Still no luck? Weren't all the procedures properly handled, and everything compliant? Why won't they approve it?"
Lin Qiaoxia was somewhat perplexed.
Seeing this, her secretary hesitated and then spoke up to remind her, "President Lin, perhaps it's because we didn't offer a 'respect fee'?"
"Respect fee?" Lin Qiaoxia didn't initially understand the meaning of respect fee, but she was not foolish and quickly realized that it meant giving some benefits to the official in charge of the related department. She frowned and said, "Why should we pay a bribe? Our procedures are all in order, and the quality is compliant, so why won't they approve it without a bribe?"
The secretary fell silent, then spoke softly, "There's no helping it; that's the rule now. If we don't offer a little something, they just follow the normal process and might even pick at small issues, which really slows things down. When others grease the wheels, they naturally get the green light and extra attention, and their process is much faster than ours... Time is money, after all. It's normal to give a little something to maintain relationships..."
After hearing this, Lin Qiaoxia pursed her lips, reluctant to compromise.
"But Young Master Mu has said that we don't need to worry about these things, just follow the normal process…"
As Lin Qiaoxia spoke, she again felt uneasy. If they followed the normal process, it might drag on for a month or two. By then, would they think she was inefficient and useless?
Pursing her lips, Lin Qiaoxia's eyes flickered a few times before she finally sighed deeply and said, "Alright, let's go there once more."
"Okay." Seeing that Lin Qiaoxia had finally relented, the secretary nodded lightly and then went out to prepare.
Lin Qiaoxia sighed softly and took a bank card out of her bag. It was her personal card; she had decided not to take money directly from the company account, but rather to use her own salary to facilitate the relationship.
However, her salary wasn't much, and she had only recently been promoted from executive assistant to the general manager of the branch. Naturally, there wasn't much money in her account, just a little over fifty thousand.
"Taking out fifty thousand to facilitate this relationship should be enough, right?!"
Lin Qiaoxia held the bank card, muttering softly to herself.
Soon, the secretary finished preparing and told Lin Qiaoxia that they could leave now.
Then, the two women left the office, and the driver took Lin Qiaoxia to a nearby bank to withdraw the money before they set off again toward the department they needed to visit.
...
Mu Jinyu led Su Zijin and the others to Wuhu Plaza, instructing the Dragon King Hall Member to park the car, and then led them towards Jinyu Tower.
When they took the elevator to the eighteenth floor, Mu Jinyu went to the general manager's office but found no one there. Turning to ask an assistant, she learned that Lin Qiaoxia, along with her secretary and a few others, had left some time ago.
"Where did she go?" Mu Jinyu asked the assistant, slightly puzzled.
The assistant shook their head, "I... I'm not quite sure…"
"Alright, no problem, you can get back to your work," Mu Jinyu waved her hand, signaling the assistant could leave, and then took out her cellphone to call Lin Qiaoxia.
"Dialing... Hello?"
The call connected, and the voice of Lin Qiaoxia sounded both surprised and somewhat anxious.
Mu Jinyu asked directly, "Where are you now? I came to visit you at the Jinling Branch, but you're not here?"
"I… I'm processing some paperwork now, I'm currently at…" Lin Qiaoxia hesitated for a moment, then still stuttered out her current location to Mu Jinyu.
Since it would take a while for Mu Jinyu to arrive anyway, and by the time Mu Jinyu reached the location, she would have already smoothed things over with the relevant officials and completed the necessary paperwork without letting Mu Jinyu see anything.
This might also let him see her capability and not feel that leaving her in charge of the branch was a disaster.
Lin Qiaoxia still harbored some insecurities, constantly feeling inadequate and unable to assist Mu Jinyu significantly. However, she truly wanted to help him and had been striving to learn and improve herself recently.
Having finally gained the chance to lead independently, she naturally wanted to accomplish something significant to earn Mu Jinyu's praise.
"Oh, alright. Then don't go wandering off later. Even if you need to leave, let me know first. I'm on my way now."
Mu Jinyu responded, also somewhat uneasy about leaving Lin Qiaoxia alone, thus he gave such instructions.
After all, from what Gu Xiyan had said earlier, there seemed to be some difficulties here. Lin Qiaoxia was likely out handling trouble, and he of course needed to follow and check on that.
After hanging up the phone, Mu Jinyu turned to Mei Yinxue and Su Zijin and said, "Mom, Old Mei, please sit here for a while. I'll go check things out first."
Su Zijin quickly asked, "What's happening over there? Do you need my help?"
"It's okay, I can handle it. You guys rest here for now."
Mu Jinyu slightly shook his head and did not divulge the specific situation.
It wasn't that he didn't want to worry Su Zijin and the others by hiding things; rather, he himself was unclear about the details.
Then, he asked his assistant to come in and serve tea to them. Mu Jinyu went downstairs and then instructed a member of the Dragon King Hall to rush to the office building where Lin Qiaoxia had gone.
...
On Lin Qiaoxia's side:
Upon reaching the relevant department's office, she waited for a short while.
"Please come in."
A rich male voice sounded from inside.
Hearing this, Lin Qiaoxia stood up from the bench outside, took a deep breath to encourage herself, then walked to the door, turned the handle, and stepped in.
The office was small, with a greasy, corpulent middle-aged man sitting behind the desk.
Upon hearing the movement, he did not look up to check Lin Qiaoxia, still busy writing documents.
Lin Qiaoxia dared not disturb him by speaking.
For a moment, the only sounds in the office were their breathing and the rustling of the pen on paper.
About five minutes later,
the man, seeing that Lin Qiaoxia had been left waiting long enough, finally put down his pen, looked up at Lin Qiaoxia, and his eyes imperceptibly revealed a hint of astonishment.
Today, Lin Qiaoxia was dressed in a professional OL suit dress, her figure finely curved, with slender legs wrapped in black stockings adding to her allure.
Her glasses also differed from the usual large black ones, now replaced by delicate gold wire spectacles, enhancing her high nose bridge and deep eyes.
A complete image of a professional businesswoman was presented.
"It's President Lin, huh? What brings you here again today?"
The middle-aged man pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, smiled faintly, and discreetly withdrew his gaze that had been appraising Lin Qiaoxia, asking softly.
Lin Qiaoxia quietly said, "Director Wang, I am here to handle the factory establishment procedures."
"Oh..." Director Wang responded, feigning realization, "That matter, didn't I reply to you already? It's not possible now, you'll have to wait a bit longer."
Seeing this, Lin Qiaoxia sighed softly, then handed over the application form along with an envelope to Director Wang's desk, saying, "Director Wang, please have another look at this."