Chapter 252 The battle for the president
Chapter 262

After hearing Lin Changchun's words, Lu Xiaotian nodded repeatedly: "As far as I know, Chairman Zheng intends to let his son Zheng Sanduo take over, and he has secretly gathered a lot of votes."

Ye Jiayao was stunned: "You knew it earlier, why didn't you prepare earlier?"

Lu Xiaotian smiled bitterly: "I just found out about it last night and told Shopkeeper Lin about it."

Lin Changchun said: "President Zheng kept this a secret. If Shopkeeper Lu hadn't told me, I wouldn't have known about it."

Ye Jiayao was unhappy. Originally, it didn't matter who became the president, but Zheng Fugui's behavior was unacceptable. This Chamber of Commerce was a link between the government and businessmen, businessmen and businessmen, and businessmen and the market. Its purpose was to safeguard the interests of members and prosper the economy of the industry. The position of president was particularly important. How could he have the final say?
"So, right now we have to concentrate our efforts on nominating one person, so that we still have a chance of winning." Lu Xiaotian said.

Ye Jiayao understood this principle. Others had already done the work in advance, and there would definitely be a group of people who would agree with the proposal later. However, the other part of the fence-sitters would look at the wind direction. The east wind would suppress the east wind, and the west wind would suppress the west wind.

"That goes without saying, Shopkeeper Lu, you are more suitable than me." Ye Jiayao said.

Lu Xiaotian said, "Shopkeeper Ye, I am not being polite to you. You are indeed more suitable than me. We will discuss it later. I will recommend you."

"President Zheng is here..." Zhong Xiang said in a low voice.

Ye Jiayao looked towards the door and saw Chairman Zheng walking in with a gloomy face and a white flower on his arm. Behind him followed Zheng Sanduo, Lian Xingwang, and the shopkeeper Mei and others.

Almost everyone was present. Zheng Fugui cleared his throat and said, "I called you all here today because I have an important matter to discuss with you. I need to leave Jinling temporarily for personal reasons, so I can't take care of the Chamber of Commerce's affairs for the time being. According to the Chamber of Commerce's regulations, I must resign from my position in the Chamber of Commerce and nominate a suitable person to take over. There is also Vice President Zhang. Some of you may have known that Vice President Zhang is ill and I'm afraid he can't continue to preside over affairs. So, everyone, do you have any suitable candidates?"

As soon as Zheng Fugui finished speaking, Lian Xingwang said, "Since President Zheng took office, his efforts and contributions to the Chamber of Commerce are obvious to all, especially the successful hosting of the cooking competition last year, which won unanimous praise. President Zheng needs to leave Jinling for personal reasons, but he doesn't have to resign. Let Master Zheng take over the position of president temporarily. Master Zheng's ability is not bad!"

Someone immediately echoed: "Yes, yes, Master Zheng is young and promising. I heard that Master Zheng has been managing Fu Kee in recent years and he has done a very good job."

Those who had already colluded with each other all echoed and expressed their agreement.

Amidst the chorus of voices echoing, Duan Qilin's cold and hard voice seemed out of place.

"I object. President Zheng went to Xuzhou to observe mourning. He can't come back for a year or two. According to the Chamber of Commerce's regulations, the president's term of office is five years. If he cannot preside over the Chamber of Commerce's affairs for a long time, he must resign. Moreover, the Chamber of Commerce has never had the concept of an acting president."

"Shopkeeper Duan, our chamber of commerce has never had an acting president. That's because we have never encountered such a thing before. Other chambers of commerce have the concept of acting presidents, so we can't be so rigid!" Shopkeeper Mei said slowly.

Duan Qilin snorted coldly, "Even if there is an acting president, it is a capable person recommended by everyone. The Chamber of Commerce belongs to everyone, not just one family."

The corner of Zheng Fugui's mouth twitched and his expression became very ugly, but he still endured it and gave Lian Xingwang a wink.

Lian Xingwang asked, "Manager Duan is so unconvinced, does he think he is more qualified to be the chairman than Master Zheng?"

Duan Qilin said coldly: "I am not talented. If compared with Master Zheng, I think I am still a little bit better."

"However, I think that my ability is not enough to be the president. Among those present, I think that the only ones who can really be the president are Shopkeeper Lu of Vegetarian Restaurant and Shopkeeper Ye of Tianshangju."

"Manager Lu made a splash in last year's cooking competition and won first place. His superb cooking skills are beyond doubt. Moreover, his vegetarian restaurant is a time-honored brand. After he took over, the vegetarian restaurant has become even more prosperous. Who dares not to be convinced by his strength and ability? As for Manager Ye of Tianshangju, he is a member of the imperial kitchen. The prosperity of Tianshangju's business is beyond our reach. Its new dishes emerge in an endless stream, and its management skills are countless times better than you and me. Let me ask, who among you dares to say that he can compete with Manager Ye? Moreover, Manager Ye has another identity, that is, the second young lady of the Marquis of Jing'an's Mansion. When it comes to dealing with government officials, who is more suitable than her?"

Duan Qilin's sharp eyes swept across the faces of the flatterers one by one. Those guys avoided Duan Qilin's glance as if nothing had happened.

"I agree. We should recommend talented people. The Chamber of Commerce serves everyone, so we naturally have to recommend someone who has outstanding abilities and is dedicated to the Chamber of Commerce. I recommend..." Lin Changchun said loudly.

Ye Jiayao interrupted him quickly: "I recommend Shopkeeper Lu. The Lu family has two top scorers in the imperial examinations. This is a rare story. The vegetarian restaurant is well-known in Jinling and even in the surrounding cities. Shopkeeper Lu's serious and persistent attitude towards cooking is admirable, but what is even more admirable is his character. He is honest in business and treats people sincerely and politely. I believe that if Shopkeeper Lu becomes the president of the Chamber of Commerce, he will serve the Chamber of Commerce wholeheartedly. Of course, President Zheng's contribution to the Chamber of Commerce is also indispensable. Because of this, the selection of the successor must be more cautious. We cannot be based on certain personal factors. We must seek better development for the Chamber of Commerce."

Ye Jiayao was afraid that Lin Changchun would say her name. She had only one consideration in her mind. Lu Xiaotian had an excellent reputation in the industry. His cooking skills were beyond words. He was also very kind. He was not as straightforward as Duan Qilin. He was fair and gentle. He would not offend people. Moreover, his vegetarian restaurant's performance was above average in Jinling City. It was eye-catching but not jealous, unlike her. Her Tianshangju was too dazzling. Many people hated her secretly. They smiled at her in front of her, but who knows how they would curse her behind her back. Therefore, in terms of the chances of winning, Lu Xiaotian was better than her.

Lin Changchun immediately seconded the motion: "I agree. I nominate Manager Lu. There is no one more suitable than Manager Lu." Duan Qilin also said: "I also nominate Manager Lu."

Lu Xiaotian originally had a good relationship with people, and with someone taking the lead, he immediately won the support of a large number of people.

Lu Xiaotian looked at Ye Jiayao deeply and smiled bitterly in his heart. This Shopkeeper Ye was really a jerk for giving such an important responsibility to him.

Zheng Fugui's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot. Today's situation was within his expectations, but also beyond his expectations. He didn't expect so many people to support Lu Xiaotian. The current situation is that both sides are evenly matched.

It's no use blaming Sanduo. If he could get a better ranking in the cooking competition, there wouldn't be so much trouble and everything would be done naturally.

Since the matter involved Zheng Sanduo, Zheng Fugui could not comment and could only signal others to speak.

Shopkeeper Mei said, "Shopkeeper Lu is indeed capable, but I still think that Master Zheng is more suitable. After all, he and Chairman Zheng are father and son, and father and son understand each other. Even if there are any problems, Chairman Zheng can give some pointers."

Duan Qilin squinted at him and said bluntly, "Manager Mei, what you said is wrong. Does that mean that if there is another successor, Chairman Zheng will not give guidance? Chairman Zheng is a narrow-minded person who only gives guidance to his own son and not to others?"

Duan Qilin defeated Zheng Fugui without making any noise.

Shopkeeper Mei was caught making mistakes in his words and didn't know how to defend himself for a moment.

Lian Xingwang said, "Shopkeeper Duan, please don't take things out of context! Shopkeeper Mei didn't mean that."

"What do you mean by not that? That's what I heard." Lin Changchun joined in.

"Besides, Chairman Zheng has to go to Xuzhou to observe mourning, and he won't be back for a year or two. If he really encounters any problems, how can he ask for advice? Ask for advice in a letter? If he keeps going back and forth, the opportunity will be lost." Someone sneered.

"Besides, as the acting president said, there is no such rule in our chamber of commerce." Someone else chimed in.

Lian Xingwang's forehead was covered with sweat. The opponent's attack was so powerful.

"We don't have this kind of thing in our chamber of commerce because we've never encountered such a thing before! We can't be so rigid. Other chambers of commerce still have acting presidents, and they do a pretty good job. I believe Mr. Zheng is capable of doing it." Lian Xingwang said stiffly.

"Haha, what we are discussing now is not who is competent, but who is more competent." Ye Jiayao said with a smile.

"In that case, let's vote. Whoever gets the most votes will be the president." Zheng Fugui looked at the current situation and knew he couldn't continue arguing. He just counted and found that his side still had a slight advantage in terms of numbers. As long as they could win, a difference of one vote would be enough.

Ye Jiayao has also been observing those who have not spoken. These guys seem to be fence-sitters, but no one knows what they are thinking. If they vote now, they will most likely lose.

Ye Jiayao suggested, "Before the vote, let the two most popular contenders express their thoughts on what they will do in the future as the successor to the Chamber of Commerce president! After all, this concerns the interests of every member. It will be easier for everyone to make a judgment if they understand what the new president who is about to take office thinks."

This proposal was reasonable and Zheng Fugui couldn't refuse it.

Zheng Sanduo was eager to show off, so he stood up immediately: "Then let me tell you what I think first."

Everyone was at ease, waiting for Zheng Sanduo's speech.

Ye Jiayao paid attention to Lu Xiaotian's reaction. She saw that he was frowning slightly and was obviously thinking.

"Ahem." Zheng Sanduo cleared his throat and said, "I'm not good at talking about fancy things, nor can I fool people. I only have one idea, which is to uphold my father's purpose of doing everything for the Chamber of Commerce, put the welfare of members in the first place, fully listen to everyone's opinions and demands, and do my best to communicate with the government and exchange affairs with members..."

(End of this chapter)