Chapter 20: The Hidden Card (Part IV)

After a prolonged silence between the two men, Teng Deming let out a thoroughly uncharitable laugh. His three prominent, fully exposed gold teeth reflected the overhead light with a sheen resembling the surface of a porcelain toilet bowl!

Teng Deming slowly settled back onto the sofa, crossed his legs, deftly lit a "Soft Zhonghua" cigarette, and then casually blew a perfectly circular ring of smoke directly toward the standing Zhang Maolin.

With a posture and tone dripping with provocation, Teng Deming said:

"You—did you really think I would come all this way behind President Tan's back just to discuss these matters with you?! Let me say something you might not care to hear: people like you who have spent long careers in the trenches of discipline inspection and supervision are deeply susceptible to intellectual arteriosclerosis! You always prefer to think and solve problems using rigid, standardized, and formulaic frameworks. Perhaps you’ve always assumed that within our Prosperity Commercial Bank, every single operational action must have a rigorous documentary basis. In reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Running water never stagnates, and a revolving door never rusts—which simply means that nothing in this world should remain static.

Faced with the current trends of societal development, you must understand a fundamental truth: as a top executive, your habitual, rigid mode of judgment is entirely unacceptable! In truth, any professional inspection involves the question of sampling; it is impossible to conduct an exhaustive, microscopic census of every single item. Even a nationwide population census relies on sample selection. As long as our sampling criteria meet the requirements, the resulting conclusions will be accurate."

"Oh, I see. Then how should our municipal branch approach the specific selection of samples?" Zhang Maolin countered.

"Well, as I see it, you can task Xiao Yin to take charge of the operational details. Haven't all those credit sampling projects organized by the provincial branch in recent years involved him? In fact, he headed the inspection teams every time and made significant contributions. I recall that last year's 'Bill Discounting' and 'Medium and Large Enterprise Working Capital Loans' projects were both drafted by him. When it comes to credit business, I'd say he's quite an expert. Currently, isn't he leading an inspection team right now?"

"Well, since Vice President Teng has given new instructions, we will carry them out accordingly. It's just that if something should happen in the future—" Zhang Maolin said hesitatingly.

Teng Deming cut him off mid-sentence:

"Ha, spare me; I know you're worried about potentially incurring President Tan's displeasure down the road. You don't need to concern yourself with that—I wouldn't have you make a move unless I were certain. Besides, we are all doing this for the sake of our work; there are no other subjective agendas at play. However, I want to give you a special piece of advice: find opportunities to interact with President Tan more frequently, and gain a comprehensive understanding of his personality, work habits, and lifestyle. As the head of a municipal-level institution, I cannot accept your relationship with President Tan remaining at a purely superficial working level. If I've guessed correctly, that would be an absolute tragedy! And it would be a regret not only for your personal career, Zhang Maolin, but a collective tragedy for the entire Songyang Prosperity Commercial Bank. If your engagement with those above you remains as bland as plain water, it will never bring any benefit to your team. Because of your extremely narrow-minded perspective, you are wasting and squandering what could otherwise be a vibrant, thriving platform at the Songyang branch. Without a doubt, you can forget about the provincial branch ever showing your Songyang branch any 'favoritism' in future major decisions! Things like expense allocations, credit quotas, task target assignments, staff promotion opportunities, office vehicle replacements—in short, forget about any good news coming your way!

While I can provide you with useful information or brainstorm ideas for you at any time, these are ultimately external appearances and will not provide any substantive help to the growth and progress of you and your team. After all, I am not a mind reader inside President Tan's head! Haha..."

Zhang Maolin did not share in Teng Deming's emotional resonance; instead, wearing a grave expression, he replied:

"Thank you for the reminder! I will do my utmost to adapt and implement this. I admit that among all the current sub-branch presidents, I have the least direct contact with President Tan, and I must concede that this is indeed a shortcoming. However, it is simply my inherent nature—aside from work necessities, I can scarcely find any other reason to deliberately approach or cozy up to superiors. Sigh! Tell me, am I being overly pedantic?"

Teng Deming immediately retorted:

"Ha! I've met modest people, but never anyone as modest as you! It seems you truly possess great wisdom disguised as simplicity. No wonder President Tan once described you as keeping a low profile while concealing a needle within cotton!"

"Oh, no, no, you must have misunderstood—" Zhang Maolin was anxious to clarify. Teng Deming's ambiguous, backhanded remark had made him deeply uncomfortable.

"Haha, old friend, I was only joking! No need to take it so seriously."

Without letting Zhang Maolin continue his explanation, Teng Deming pressed on:

"If you were truly as pristine as you claim, let alone serving as a branch president or secretary for discipline inspection, I doubt you'd even have the chance to be a section-level officer! In reality, you are now below one person and above thousands. Don't forget, among the nearly thirty thousand employees in the entire provincial system, there are only about sixty cadres at the full county-division level. No matter how you look at it, you are already a towering elite. Don't you think a position like this is worth cherishing above all else?!

A citizen must fulfill a citizen's duties, and an official must uphold an official's standards. Of course, the standards I emphasize mean that your internal state of mind must always maintain the appropriate external demeanor. Let me put it another way: your grasp of interpersonal interactions and your calibration of boundaries in your work must constantly be adjusted according to the specific person you are facing! Remember, these adjustments must be swift, precise, and appropriate. You, Zhang Maolin, are one individual, yet the traits you display in different settings must vary. What kind of demeanor to adopt in front of subordinates versus what state to project in front superiors—that is entirely for you to judge and decide in a timely manner. Perhaps you were angrily scolding an employee just ten minutes ago, only to offer a deeply apologetic self-criticism to a superior ten minutes later. Think about it: what kind of psychological transformation process is that? Never underestimate the necessary mental calculation in these details. More often than not, it is precisely these seemingly trivial details that ultimately determine the outcome of major events.

Sometimes, expending energy and thought in this regard can often bring you unexpected rewards. Only when your experience in this area becomes frequent, profound, and mature will you ever experience that sudden flash of insight, that sudden spiritual awakening! Such a profound realization of the soul is no less exhilarating than a qigong practitioner clearing their vital meridians.

In truth, a person's maturity in thinking is often first manifested in changes to their perspective when observing people, affairs, and society. Especially when it comes to analyzing people, handling people, and communicating with people, one will experience a profound elevation in wisdom."