Mysterious Assistant of the Washed-Up Queen-Chapter 528 - 339: Immortal Sword Wrap-up, Launching a New Book

Chapter 528: Chapter 339: Immortal Sword Wrap-up, Launching a New Book

While Xu Qingqiu was busy handling the situation, Chu Tian was not having an easy time either.

As soon as he arrived at the company, he was pulled away to review the development history of the past two months. This involved overseeing necessary reviews, conducting required reaudits, and signing documents as needed.

Previously, electronic signatures had to be supplemented with physical, signed copies, and previously reviewed content needed to be confirmed again.

He had been busy with these matters for two whole days.

Once he finally finished with that backlog, those were just old issues. A pile of ongoing matters at the company still required his attention and further arrangements.

Additionally, some plans made at the end of last year, and work arranged at the beginning of this year, had encountered differences and changes for various reasons.

He also needed to decide whether to rearrange, modify, or cancel these parts.

In short, the operation of a company encompasses too many aspects. If you want to get involved, there is always work to be done, and you’re never given a chance to rest.

"President Chu, it’s not that I’m complaining, but our company has been growing and departments have been increasing. I really can’t handle it anymore."

Taking advantage of a break in his work, Hou Yichuan began his usual complaints, as expected.

"It’s fine. I believe in your ability. You can do it."

Chu Tian was long accustomed to this. As always, he made grand promises and tried to motivate him, offering plenty of comforting words, but steadfastly refused to budge on the actual issue.

He could speak kind words, but when it came to offloading responsibilities, that was out of the question.

"President Chu, don’t brush me off. I’m serious here; I really can’t take it anymore!"

After Hou Yichuan finished speaking, seeing that Chu Tian remained unmoved, he became anxious.

He went straight over, pressed down the documents in Chu Tian’s hands, then looked him in the eye and said, word by word,

"President Chu, I’m serious. You really need to think about this. We can’t go on like this."

Seeing him like this, Chu Tian finally took him seriously because he could tell that Hou Yichuan was not joking.

"Alright, then tell me, what exactly is the issue?"

Seeing that Chu Tian was finally willing to listen, Hou Yichuan breathed a sigh of relief. After organizing his thoughts, he said,

"It’s not that I’m shirking my duties or complaining excessively, but I genuinely can’t cover everything anymore."

"It was manageable before when the company was small, with just a few people and departments. I could handle it all by myself."

"But President Chu, have you noticed how many more people and departments our company has now?"

"I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but when the company was first established last year, there were just three of us, including Lin Xiu and Liu Ting."

"To put it bluntly, at that time, it barely qualified as a makeshift team: one general manager, one HR person, and one finance person."

"Even by the end of last year, it was still manageable. The entire company had just over a hundred people and only seven departments."

"But now? Not to mention the film crews working off-site, currently, the office staff alone totals over two hundred and seventy."

"The departments, taken together, amount to thirteen, and several departments are handling multiple roles."

"If we add the outside film crews, the number is even higher."

"Of course, the number of personnel and departments are minor issues. The key problem is the overall structure of our company."

"Back when it was a small business, we adopted flat management, which is good for efficiency. But now, with so many departments, all issues pile up with me. Honestly, I’ve felt overwhelmed for a while now."

It had to be said, the problems Hou Yichuan pointed out did indeed exist.

In the past, Chu Tian had not thought about them, but now that they were brought up, he immediately understood the crux of it.

When the number of people was small, using so-called flat management was indeed efficient. There was no need to worry about various frustrating issues or redundancy.

But as the company grew in size and scale, its business involvement increased, and more departments became necessary. This mode of management had become a stumbling block to its development.

It wasn’t just about efficiency issues or Hou Yichuan’s stress. There were also problems with unclear responsibilities, poor coordination among departments, and overlapping functions that led to departments blaming each other.

Chu Tian had only just realized that the company already had so many people and was facing so many problems.

If Yichuan hadn’t brought it up, he feared he wouldn’t have known when he would have discovered it.

"Now that you mention it, it does seem to be the case. Do you have any thoughts?"

Of course, he had thoughts. Yichuan’s capabilities were evident to all, and he was not the type to idle away his days.

As the management would say, the boss hires you to solve problems, not to point them out.

In the workplace, many people can identify problems. However, those who are truly capable can not only identify them but also devise solutions.

Moreover, exceptional individuals can devise multiple solutions. Only such people rise to the top. Leaders prefer not to brainstorm themselves; they appreciate subordinates who can both get things done and solve problems.

"I do have some thoughts. Our current situation is quite complicated. The first point is that our business is too scattered."

Previously, aside from Hou Yichuan’s unified planning and arrangements, most of the company’s initiatives stemmed from whatever whim Chu Tian had at the moment.

One moment it was variety shows, the next it was TV dramas, then movies, and suddenly, even an animation would pop up.

To put it bluntly, it was all over the place without any planning or systematic arrangement.

"Currently, the company urgently needs to reintegrate its various businesses and then categorize them by function or type."

"Another method is to change the company’s structure and reorganize the various departments."

After sharing his ideas, Hou Yichuan detailed the pros and cons of each method.

In short, the first method involved patching things up, making adjustments within the current structure.

The second involved starting over, dismantling the company, and then rebuilding it bit by bit.

Because it involved many aspects, Chu Tian was indecisive for the time being.

"No worries, President Chu. I just wanted to discuss it with you. I can still handle it for a while, but we indeed need to start taking it seriously."

Chu Tian was aware of this, so he nodded in agreement.

"Alright, you organize the details first. Prepare well, and when the time is right, we’ll discuss it together."

No sooner had he finished speaking than there was a knock at the door. The person who came in was the chief assistant of Chu Tian’s assistant team.

"What’s the matter?"

"President Chu, Director Cao Zheng sent word from the ’Immortal Sword’ set. Filming will wrap up in the next few days, and he’s asking if you will attend."

Just as Chu Tian was about to reply, his phone suddenly rang. Looking at the caller ID, it was Qiu Ye, an editor he hadn’t been in contact with for a long time.

He gestured for his assistant and Hou Yichuan to leave, and only then did he answer the call.

"What’s the matter, Editor Qiu Ye?"

"Nanmeng, any news on your new book?"

"New book? What new book?"

Chu Tian felt bewildered. He remembered that after ’Candle in the Tomb’ ended, he had handed over the ’Time Raiders’ series to the editor. Why were they asking for a new book now? Could it be that they had already finished updating it?

"Sir, you can’t be serious? Your last series is about to end. Didn’t you say you were preparing a new book?"

"Ah, that... Yes, I’ll send it over later."

What could Chu Tian do? He’d completely forgotten about this. He had originally intended to refuse, but then the company’s situation crossed his mind. They might need a large sum of money soon. He mentally checked his finances—his wallet wasn’t full enough for him to stand firm. Earning a bit more is still earning; no point being picky now. So, he reluctantly agreed.

But what should he publish next?