Chapter 229 Internal Comparison
Jiang Shu's departure did not cause much of a stir; besides his channel pausing updates, there were no significant changes.
Jiang Shu's delegation of power was thorough; each department at DM Entertainment had its respective person in charge, and this remained the case even when Jiang Shu was not at the company.
Normally, Jiang Shu's role was to add the finishing touches, and his influence only became apparent at critical junctures concerning artist development.
Before returning to his home country, Jiang Shu had already arranged everything, so it was just a matter of executing the plan. As for emergencies… well, there are mobile phones; it’s not an ancient society with communication difficulties.
Jiang Shu had originally planned to stay in his home country for a month and then return, but he encountered some unexpected issues.
April 30th, President's Office, DM Entertainment.
Li Duohui frowned as she looked at Choi Ji-yeon in front of her.
“The Chairman can’t come back?”
“Yes.” Choi Ji-yeon’s face also showed helplessness. “The Chairman just called; his matters there haven’t been resolved yet, and he needs to postpone his return again. If there are any emergencies, we’ll continue with video calls.”
Li Duohui raised her hand and rubbed her temples.
Jiang Shu’s return to his home country this time, she didn't know what he encountered, but his return trip had already been postponed three times.
Logically, a round trip between China and Korea only takes four or five hours, so he should be able to make time, but he just hasn’t.
The key is that as his subordinates, they don’t know what Jiang Shu encountered; if he doesn’t say, they can’t ask.
This directly put them in an awkward position.
“If he can’t come back, then so be it. We won’t film the vlog, but everything else remains as usual. This time, since the Chairman doesn’t have time to be here, it’s a good opportunity to see the work capabilities of our various departments without his leadership,” Li Duohui said decisively.
She herself was not a mere figurehead; it was just that with Jiang Shu around, everything was perfectly arranged, like a patriarch who takes care of everything, leaving no need for much worry—just execute and it’s done.
Now that Jiang Shu was not here, she could take over, and it was a good chance to see how far everyone could go under her leadership.
Thinking this, Li Duohui looked at Choi Ji-yeon opposite her.
“Notify the heads of all departments for a meeting.”
“Understood.”
…
Conference room.
Liu Zhimin and her members followed Kim Hye-soo into the conference room.
Looking at a room full of leaders, Liu Zhimin cautiously raised her eyes, searching for Jiang Shu’s figure.
【He’s not here yet?】 Liu Zhimin mumbled to herself.
But soon, Li Duohui walked in, and then Liu Zhimin noticed the conference room door being closed.
【Where is he?】 Liu Zhimin looked blankly at Li Duohui, who had taken the main seat.
“aespa is making a comeback tomorrow. Departments, please report on the current situation,” Li Duohui said, sweeping her gaze around the room.
“Wait a moment.”
Everyone simultaneously looked at the person who spoke.
Qin Zhen, being watched by numerous leaders of higher rank than him, showed no change in his expression.
Logically, only department heads could attend meetings of this level; at the very least, they had to be full-time directors, and section chiefs were not qualified to attend.
But!
There are exceptions to everything.
The Public Relations Department and Marketing Department are the two core departments at DM Entertainment concerning public opinion, and as the heads of these two departments, Qin Zhen and Qu Fan, although subordinate to the Administration Department and Marketing Department, actually report directly to Jiang Shu.
From ancient times to the present, any department that directly reports to the top boss holds low rank but significant power.
The most typical example is the Embroidered Uniform Guard.
The Public Relations Department led by Qin Zhen and the Marketing Department led by Qu Fan are two similar examples.
However, compared to Qu Fan, who doesn't speak much and just quietly does his work, Qin Zhen is a typical hot-tempered guy.
When there’s something to do, he really goes for it, and his words are always a charge.
His view is: I only care about charging forward; potential teammates will naturally follow with their output. It’s all about trust.
“President Li, logically, a meeting like this should be presided over by the Chairman, shouldn’t it? Why isn’t the Chairman here?” Qin Zhen demanded.
Li Duohui looked at Qin Zhen with some helplessness and began to explain.
“That’s what I was going to talk about next. The Chairman is still in China. His matters haven’t been resolved yet, so this time, we will be responsible for aespa’s comeback.”
“What about the official notice?” Qin Zhen continued to ask.
“This is a temporary notice from the Chairman. The official notice will be issued by the Administration Department after the meeting,” Li Duohui said.
“Alright, I have no more questions.” Qin Zhen nodded upon hearing this.
The official notice issued by the Administration Department serves as a record; as long as there’s a record, if Li Duohui tries anything, these records will be preserved as evidence.
As a staunch supporter of Jiang Shu, Qin Zhen needed to draw a clear line with Li Duohui.
Li Duohui already held significant power. If those from Jiang Shu’s loyal faction also got too close to Li Duohui, it would give the impression of marginalizing Jiang Shu, and in that case…
Qin Zhen was brave, but he wasn’t foolish; on the contrary, as a professional public relations head, his perceptiveness was extremely high.
He positioned himself as Jiang Shu’s loyalist, which, in an ancient dynasty, would be a sole minister.
However, his situation was not as extreme as a sole minister; it was simply that he was highly bound to Jiang Shu, and if Jiang Shu fell, he would fall too.
But given the current situation at DM Entertainment, it was quite difficult to marginalize Jiang Shu.
Li Duohui certainly had no such thoughts; the greater the power in her hands, the more she could feel Jiang Shu’s control over the company.
Even though he had delegated all the power, he had enough people placed in each department.
Moreover, most importantly, all the artists under DM Entertainment maintained good relationships with Jiang Shu. If he were truly marginalized, he could instantly take these artists and leave.
Li Duohui was truly enlightened at DM Entertainment; it turned out that artists who had little status in Korean Entertainment could also play a very important role.
Most companies treat artists as tools, thinking if you don’t do it, plenty of others will, so artists’ status has always been low.
DM Entertainment is different; artists’ status is equivalent to that of employees. Although their status isn’t particularly high, it’s not low either; at least at DM Entertainment, artists are treated as people.
And most importantly, Jiang Shu treats them very gently, unlike the casual and disrespectful attitude of entertainment company bosses towards artists.
In the real world, IVE is so popular, yet Starship’s boss still treats Ahn Yujin like a servant—that’s the difference.
“Let’s continue.” Li Duohui said, seeing that Qin Zhen had no objections.
Liu Zhimin looked at Li Duohui, then at Qin Zhen. Of course, her mind couldn’t grasp the hidden confrontation between Li Duohui and Qin Zhen.
She was still wondering what happened to Jiang Shu.
It had been two months; why was he still in China? Did something happen?
Liu Zhimin pondered for a long time but couldn’t think of a suitable reason, hesitating whether to contact Jiang Shu to ask about the situation.