Chapter 241 - 203: Who Climbs a Mountain Without Bending Their Back?

Chapter 241: Chapter 203: Who Climbs a Mountain Without Bending Their Back?

「Four days later.」

The weather was pleasant, the sun bright in the sky.

In front of the main entrance of the Beichun Junlan Hotel, General Manager Dong Qiming stood at the very front. Three resident managers stood behind him, and farther back, dozens of the hotel’s senior executives were lined up according to rank.

"They’re here."

Dong Qiming was over fifty and had a rather commanding presence.

As soon as Dong Qiming spoke, everyone snapped to attention, instinctively straightening their postures.

Looking into the distance, they saw a motorcade of several dozen luxury cars roaring toward them.

Car doors opened one after another, and men and women dressed in sharp business suits, all exuding an air of the elite, stepped out.

Finally, a pure white Rolls-Royce Cullinan pulled to a smooth stop right in front of them.

As all eyes were on him, Gu Heng stepped out of the car. He was dressed in a light-gray bespoke suit and expensive leather shoes.

"Chairman Gu, welcome to the Beichun Junlan Hotel."

The moment Dong Qiming saw Gu Heng, he strode forward to greet him. "I’m the general manager, Dong Qiming."

"Manager Dong, we’ve only ever spoken on the phone. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you in person."

Gu Heng offered his right hand, which Dong Qiming eagerly took with both of his. Gu Heng’s smile was warm, and he showed no trace of arrogance.

"Chairman Gu, all of us here at Jun Lan have been eagerly awaiting your arrival. It feels like we’ve been waiting forever, but you’re finally here!"

Dong Qiming was incredibly enthusiastic. "We all firmly believe that under your leadership, Jun Lan is destined to become the leader of the hotel industry in Ji Province. We’ve all rolled up our sleeves and are just waiting for your orders to hit the ground running!"

Gu Heng listened to Dong Qiming’s fawning words. After being put through the wringer at Zhen Cui Group, Ruyi Airlines, and Xingchuan International, he could now handle this level of flattery without batting an eye.

’As the saying goes, flattery will get you anywhere.

From ancient times to the present, in any industry, if you want to get ahead and climb the ladder step by step, you have to master the art of saying the right thing.

Many young people today scoff at this sort of thing, believing that "sucking up" is a demeaning, groveling act that sacrifices one’s dignity.

They insist on doing things their own way, yet at the same time, they crave success.

But...

Who can climb a mountain without bending over?

If you always keep your back perfectly straight, you’ll be stuck at the foot of the mountain forever, just gazing up at the summit.

Back when I was at the bottom of the social ladder, I used to think that successful figures like Qian Zhengxing, Chu Zhengxiong, and Qi Min would never stoop to flattering anyone.

But now, after having dealt with them up close, I know the truth. It wasn’t that they were above flattery; on the contrary, their ability to suck up was far more practiced and sophisticated than any ordinary person could imagine.

It was precisely because they had once bowed so low their backs nearly touched the ground that they could now stand atop their own mountains, looking out at the view with their backs straight.

And even though they still had to bow to those on even higher peaks, they had become the very figures that countless other climbers looked up to, with their own summits and their own views to enjoy.

Sucking up to your superiors is nothing to be ashamed of.

Heroes weep at graves; officials hurdle railings.

Commanders call their bosses ’Mom’; inspectors ring the bell.

If even they must act this way, what chance do the common people have?’

"Manager Dong, when it comes to hotel management, you’re the expert."

"Back when Chairman Huang and his group had full ownership of Jun Lan, the baton for operations and management was always in your hands. Now that I’m here, why are you so quick to hand it over?"

At this, Gu Heng feigned displeasure. "You can’t treat me differently, Manager Dong. My management philosophy has always been to leave specialized work to the specialists. So you need to hold on to that baton. I have the utmost confidence in your abilities."

Dong Qiming was the former Vice President of the Asia-Pacific Region for the multinational Marriott International Group, with over thirty years of management experience in the hotel industry.

The Chairman Huang whom Gu Heng had just mentioned was Huang Zhiliang, the former chairman of the Beichun Junlan Hotel. He had moved heaven and earth to poach Dong Qiming, and even then, it was only with a stroke of luck that he finally succeeded.

As for that stroke of luck, it was because Dong Qiming had worked diligently at Marriott International Group for nearly twenty years. When the current President of the Asia-Pacific Region retired, he was supposed to be a shoo-in for the job. Unexpectedly, however, the corporate headquarters suddenly parachuted in a new president from outside.

Disheartened by this turn of events, Dong Qiming lost all motivation.

Just then, Huang Zhiliang approached him with an extremely sincere offer, so Dong Qiming decided to throw in the towel and jump ship.

Gu Heng had already obtained a complete file on Dong Qiming a while back when he’d instructed Jun Cheng and Deloitte to conduct due diligence on the Beichun Junlan Hotel.

Without a doubt, Dong Qiming was a rare, high-caliber talent in the field of hotel management.

He not only possessed rock-solid operational management skills but also had an international perspective on the high-end hotel industry. Even if Gu Heng planned to expand and brand Jun Lan in the future, Dong Qiming was more than capable of handling it.

Naturally, Gu Heng had to treat such a talent with due solemnity.

The point of his speech was to reassure Dong Qiming, to indirectly signal that he wouldn’t meddle in operational matters or commit the classic blunder of an amateur telling an expert how to do their job.

Of course...

Gu Heng wouldn’t abuse his authority, but he wouldn’t delegate it away completely, either.

The Beichun Junlan Hotel Group was a subsidiary of Dingdun Capital Group, which fell under the umbrella of Zhao De Inheritance Capital. After Gu Heng formally took over the hotel today, personnel from Dingdun Capital Group would be embedded in its key departments.

Furthermore, Jun Cheng and Deloitte would dispatch specialized teams to conduct regular audits.

By now, Gu Heng’s own power base was well-established.

Trying to pull something funny right under his nose was pure fantasy.

When Gu Heng finished speaking, every single person there—all of them sly old foxes in their own right, from Dong Qiming to the managers and directors behind him—instantly grasped his meaning.

"To be in a position is to fulfill its duties!"

"To bear the responsibility is to see the task to its end!"

Since Gu Heng had laid his cards on the table so openly, Dong Qiming naturally dropped any coyness and declared his stance. "Thank you for your trust, Chairman Gu! I will devote myself wholeheartedly to Jun Lan’s development, breaking new ground and writing a new Chapter for our future. I will not fail to live up to your high expectations!"

His words were forceful and resounding.

"Excellent!"

Hearing this, the smile on Gu Heng’s face grew even wider.

The entire Beichun Junlan Hotel had a market value of over a billion. To put that in perspective, even after its successful financing round, Xingchuan International Group had barely broken the one-billion mark.

Though it seemed to be just a single hotel, managing it was no different from running a large corporation.

If Gu Heng wanted to take complete, top-to-bottom control of the Beichun Junlan Hotel the way he had with Zhen Cui Group, it would take half a year at a bare minimum.

At his current stage, that would be far too inefficient, not to mention unnecessary.

Under these circumstances, Gu Heng only needed to control the big picture, and Dong Qiming was the key to doing just that.

As for the executives under him, that was Dong Qiming’s problem to worry about.

This was the principle of "superiors strategize, managers handle people, and subordinates handle tasks."

Compared to the hostile, tit-for-tat confrontation when he went to Xingchuan International Group to take over his shares, the current atmosphere was amicable and filled with laughter.

Amid the enthusiastic reception from Dong Qiming and the other Jun Lan executives, Gu Heng and his entourage walked slowly into the Beichun Junlan Hotel...