The news of Mingde’s successful progress in Deep City gradually reached Linjiang.

Everything was developing in the best direction.

With the new year approaching, Mingde’s restaurants in Linjiang started accepting reservations for their annual New Year’s Eve dinner.

Unlike in previous years, where a long period of promotion was needed, this time, only a short while after the reservations opened, the spots were already fully booked by regular customers.

As the headquarters of Mingde, Linjiang was home to some of the most well-known Mingde restaurants.

The extravagant anniversary event for Xunxiang Banquet, the new dishes introduced after the Mingde Courtyard launch, and the new and highly popular brand Yinyan Restaurant that opened after the grand success—all these events had created a great reputation.

A few years ago, the citizens of Linjiang may not have been familiar with the company, but now, anyone who was somewhat well-informed in the local community would have heard of Mingde.

The major social websites in Linjiang had mixed reactions:

[“I just heard that Yinyan opened reservations for New Year’s Eve dinner, and I only delayed half an hour. I called back, and there were no spots left?! Is their business really that good?”]

[“Don’t even mention Yinyan, when I asked after work, even Mingde Courtyard’s New Year’s Eve dinner was fully booked. I can’t even think about Xunxiang Banquet, but why can’t I get a seat at Mingde Courtyard? Isn’t that supposed to be an affordable restaurant?”]

[“Are you looking down on affordable restaurants? Mingde Courtyard’s business is thriving. Their signature dish, braised beef steak, is super popular now. They’ve also introduced new dishes, like crispy chicken. When my friends from out of town came to Linjiang, they specifically wanted to queue up for this dish.”]

[“If it really doesn’t work out, just go to Xunxiang Banquet. It’s a bit expensive, but this year for New Year’s, I want to bring my parents from back home and treat them to a good meal.”]

[“Here’s some bad news for you: I just heard from our boss yesterday that even Xunxiang Banquet has been fully booked.”]

[“Seriously? Xunxiang Banquet, one of the most expensive restaurants in Linjiang? Fully booked? Are there really so many rich people in Linjiang?”]

[“The spots for Xunxiang Banquet were probably taken by Mingde’s long-time customers. They probably secured reservations before they even opened them to the public.”]

[“Damn, are we having to go through the back door just to book a New Year’s Eve dinner? As expected of Mingde…”]

---

This year, the Deep City branch of the company gave all employees time off for the New Year.

Jin Yaotiao returned to Linjiang and saw a bustling, vibrant scene.

Mingde now had nearly twenty restaurants in Linjiang, including the ones about to open.

The daily sales of these restaurants were steadily increasing, making the employees busier every day.

This busy atmosphere seemed to solidify her position.

When she got out of the car, she noticed that leaders at all levels of the project team came out to greet her without being told to do so.

As she walked to the conference room, surrounded by people, she nodded in greeting to employees who actively greeted her.

The director of the Yinyan team handed her the year-end report to review, with a delightful number at the end.

A smile flashed across Jin Yaotiao’s eyes as she closed the report. Without needing to ask her father, she made the decision: “Later, HR will send out a notice. Starting next year, all departments will adjust the salary increase standards based on seniority. This year’s year-end bonus and dividends will also be increased based on performance. Everyone has worked hard, so enjoy the New Year after receiving your bonus, and let’s keep up the good work next year.”

The room erupted in cheers, and a few employees, caught up in excitement, shouted, “Long live the Princess!”

Jin Yaotiao smiled, not minding the cheer.

After she left, the team members continued to discuss amongst themselves.

“Shouldn’t it be ‘Long live the Queen’ instead of ‘Long live the Princess’? Don’t they know? ‘Long live’ is only said after someone ascends the throne.”

Amid the laughter, Jin Sui, her cousin, noticed the colleagues mentioning “ascension” and became curious.

“Do you all really support Director Jin completely taking over Mingde in the future?”

The team members, still laughing, responded:

“Of course! I can’t wait for her to take over sooner.”

“Since she came to the company, we’ve seen Mingde thrive. If she becomes the Queen, imagine how much better things will be!”

“I had a feeling a few months ago. The company is developing so fast that the salary changes were inevitable.”

“The year-end bonus has increased! These months of hard work were worth it. The Princess is amazing!”

As her cousin listened, she couldn’t help but smile, her neat white teeth showing. She didn’t even know why she was so happy; she just felt overjoyed.

---

Before the New Year, Linjiang’s municipal government held a formal meeting.

Apart from Jin Yaotiao’s father, the chairman of Mingde, Jin Yaotiao herself also received her own invitation.

When she opened the invitation and saw her name on it, she paused for a moment.

Her father, sitting across from her, held a similar red invitation and gave her a look full of complexity and satisfaction: “I didn’t give them a heads-up. They sent it to you themselves.”

Father and daughter exchanged a few glances, silently smiling.

---

At the Jingmao headquarters in Linjiang, a group of assistants were talking animatedly:

“It’s almost New Year, and I spent half the month with the boss in Deep City. I thought I wouldn’t be able to make it back to Linjiang before the holiday.”

“The boss brought several teams with him. Do you think he’s planning to shift the company’s focus to Deep City?”

“I don’t know, but that’s not a bad thing. Deep City’s park area is busy, but for some reason, the boss rarely left Linjiang to personally handle things before.”

As they chatted, their voices suddenly lowered, and they exchanged glances.

A glance from the corner revealed Ning Meng, who was typing away at her keyboard without looking up.

This time, she wasn’t selected to join the assistant team that went to Deep City with Shen Qiming.

Why?

Her best friend, Qiao Yusi, told her that it was because of a quarrel she had with Shen Qiming.

She noticed her colleagues secretly glancing at her.

She didn’t care at all.

In fact, she was certain that many of the female employees at Jingmao liked Shen Qiming.

Did they like him any differently than her?

They didn’t dare to fight for him or get close, but they turned around and looked down on her. It was ridiculous.

Ning Meng pursed her lips.

At least, compared to those who have no presence in President Shen’s eyes, she had become someone that President Shen felt the need to avoid suspicion.

If she were not special, if there were no difference between her and the other women, why would President Shen make an effort not to take her along?

As long as she was the unique one, there would always be opportunities.

——

Shen Qiming walked out carrying the meeting documents, and the assistants stood up.

Several assistants involved in the meeting quickly left their workstations and followed behind him.

Just as the group was about to leave, Ning Meng, who had been sitting in the corner, stood up and chased after them, calling, “President Shen!”

She was usually quiet and had never done anything so bold, which startled the other assistants.

Shen Qiming merely grunted and continued walking. “What’s the matter?”

Ning Meng looked at him, her heart stirring with a small wave of emotion due to her thoughts. “It’s nothing, I just wanted to ask if there’s anything I’ve done wrong in my work recently.”

Shen Qiming glanced at her.

Ning Meng gathered her courage and said, “President Shen, you didn’t take me with the assistant team to the Deep City park. I just wanted to ask if I did something wrong.”

Shen Qiming asked, “You didn’t go to Deep City?”

Ning Meng was momentarily stunned.

Without waiting for a response, Shen Qiming turned to another assistant beside him. “When does the department assessment begin?”

Ning Meng froze again.

The assistant glanced at her and held back a smile as he answered Shen Qiming, “President Shen, the assessment is next week.”

“If the assessment isn’t passed or if there are mistakes in the work, the company’s rules will handle it after the New Year. The Assistant Department will take care of it. Don’t come asking me about each one.” Shen Qiming said as he walked away, seemingly having forgotten who brought up the topic, and never looked back.

After seeing Shen Qiming off, the assistant returned to find Ning Meng still standing in the same spot, her expression twisted from holding back laughter. “Ning Meng, you’ve overthought it. The people who went to Deep City with President Shen were chosen based on the work they were handling at the time. Since you were involved with headquarters matters, you weren’t selected. President Shen never gave any orders.”

Ning Meng didn’t respond.

The assistant returned to his desk, and exchanged a glance with a colleague, both finding the situation amusing.

One of the colleagues whispered, “What was she thinking, thinking that President Shen would personally pick the people?”

Others on the other side showed uncomfortable expressions. “The key point is that President Shen didn’t even know whether she went or not. I’m getting second-hand embarrassment.”

“Maybe she should change her name.” The earlier person commented awkwardly, “Her name really is too unlucky.”

As they continued talking, everyone opened name software and began to engage in a little superstitious behavior, all while occasionally checking in on a trending topic on Weibo about the Mingde canteen in Linjiang.

Yes.

The Mingde canteen… just like a celebrity, had its own trending topic, and its popularity in Linjiang was quite high.

“Oh my gosh, the Mingde canteen is serving crispy chicken today. Isn’t that the signature dish that just got added to Mingde’s menu? The last time I was there with friends, we had to line up until 8 PM, and it was sold out.”

“Wow, they even have sour pickled radish duck. Is this the dish mentioned in the article from Deep City? It looks so delicious! When is this dish going to be added to Yinyan?”

“This fish fin also looks like a new dish.”

“The benefits at Mingde are really good. Although the salary may not be as high as ours at Jingmao, their employees all seem so happy.”

“They say the new person in charge of the canteen at Mingde is Mingde’s heir? Jin Yaotiao? I’ve seen her videos, she’s really beautiful. It would be great if she could become our boss’s wife. With both companies’ canteens collaborating, wouldn’t that be heavenly?”

The person speaking had just been promoted to a top-level assistant and didn’t know much about President Shen’s life.

After the words slipped out, she didn’t think anything was wrong with them.

When she looked up, she realized that several senior colleagues were giving her complicated looks.

She asked, “What’s wrong?”