Chapter 27 — Leaving You, I Shine

I find this metaphor very interesting. One day in October, while cleaning out the closet at home, I found the blue divorce book. Stuffed to the bottom of the drawer, covered with a thin layer of dust. I took it out and opened it to take a look. The date written on it was March of last year. As of today, it's been 1 and a half years. 1 and a half years. From a woman holding a cardboard box standing in the rain, she became the owner of a company with a turnover of more than 30 million yuan a year. I put the divorce papers back in the drawer without thinking much. It's just a milestone. It's over, it's over. In the evening, Luc Dich came over to cook with him - his skills were better than mine, I only helped pick vegetables. While chopping vegetables, he asked me: "Have you ever thought about what Chieu Bach will be like in 10 years?"

"I've thought about it. I will be among the top in the world of operating creative cultural brands in the country."

“Not a small ambition.”

“It's not an ambition. It's a plan.”

He smiled and flipped the shrimp in the pan.

“What about me 10 years from now?”

"It's about the same now. Growing a few more gray hairs."

“With you?”

I looked at him. He was turning his back to me stir-frying the food, not looking back, but his ears were already red.

“If you don't leave.”

The sound of grit rustling in the pan stopped for a moment.

“I'm not going anywhere.” he said.

I won't say anything more. But that night before going to bed, I went to the balcony and stood for a while, looking at the potted snake plant on the windowsill. It has grown nearly half a meter tall, the leaf blades are thick and straight, the two outermost leaves are still split, as if they are spreading their arms. I watered it a little and said gently: "We are all living very well."

—

Three years later. Zhaobai Brand Consulting Group, has branches in 4 cities, full-time staff of 160 people, yearly revenue of 120 million yuan, net profit of 34 million yuan. I sat in the office on the top floor of the new headquarters, having just signed the final quarterly audit report when Phuong Du pushed the door open and walked in.

“Are you ready yet?”

“What?”

“It's the awards ceremony tonight. Did you forget?”

Don't forget. Tonight is the China Brand Services Industry Summit, Zhaobai was shortlisted for "Best Brand Services Organization of the Year". Change into formal clothes and go to the hall, the position is in the first row. Next to me is Phuong Du, next to Phuong Du is Luc Dich. Luc Dich was wearing a navy blue suit, with a small box hidden in his hand - I pretended not to see it. The awards ceremony progressed to the final category.

“Best brand service organization of the year — Chieu Bach Brand Consulting Group.”

The sound of applause rang out. I stood up and strode onto the stage. The lights shined directly on him, and under the stands were more than 500 guests. I stood in front of the microphone, looking down. Phuong Du is clapping, Luc Dich is smiling, Do Minh Vien is holding up his phone to take pictures. And in some far corner, I saw a familiar figure. Co Hanh sat at that table with a few other businessmen, not clapping, just quietly looking at the stage. His eyes were calm, and even contained an extremely small smile. I moved my eyes away.

"Thank you. This award belongs to every person of Chieu Bach. Three years ago I started from scratch, with only a business license in hand. joint and a potted snake plant. Today, Chieu Bach can stand here, not because of luck, but because each person in this team works with talent and courage."

I stopped for a moment.

“Someone once asked me what was the most difficult moment when starting a business. It's not a time of lack of money, nor a time of no customers. But when you first start, no one believes you can do it. Even yourself.”

There was silence under the stage.