Chapter 24 — My Nameless Occupation

Twenty million? A valuation of eighty million? Su Van, do you even realize what this implies?

It means our product has been validated.

No, it means your shares are now worth—

Stop calculating.

Why is it that every time we reach these pivotal figures, you tell me to stop counting?

Because those numbers are ultimately irrelevant. Whether the customers actually use the product, whether they renew their subscriptions—that is what truly matters.

Tham Dich pushed up his spectacles, momentarily silenced. After a pause, he said, You are the least like a typical entrepreneur of anyone I have ever met.

That is only natural. After all, I used to be an administrative assistant.

Chapter 26: Following the disbursement of the Series A funding, Gian Chu Technology relocated to a new office. It was a one-hundred-and-sixty-square-meter space, still within the startup hub, but it now featured a dedicated conference room and a separate lounge area. The team had expanded from seven people to twenty-two. Our product had been upgraded to version 2.0, adding automated reporting and intelligent alert features. The number of clients had surpassed three hundred. I did not actively track these metrics; they were always sent to the group chat by Vu Tieu Man every Friday afternoon before she left for the weekend. What occupied my mind was a different matter: the situation at Hang Vien Group. Ha Kien Quoc had finally been discharged from the hospital. After three months of recuperation, he returned to the office. On his very first day back, he made a decision that caught everyone off guard. He did not reclaim his direct management authority. Instead, he promoted Tran Loi to the position of CEO, while he himself stepped back to become the Chairman of the Board.

Six years ago, Tran Loi was merely a standard operations team leader at Hang Vien. Two years ago, he stepped in to manage the wreckage I left behind, carrying the company through its most chaotic period. A year ago, under my remote guidance, he successfully completed the restructuring of the operations system. Now, he is the CEO of the entire group. On the day the news was announced, Tran Loi called me. His voice sounded vastly different from how it had been two years prior. Back then, over the phone, he would plead, Sister Su, I am begging you, his voice trembling with panic. Now, he said, Sister Su, Chairman Ha has asked me to take the CEO position. I am a bit overwhelmed, but I want to do this well. Do you have any advice? His tone was remarkably steady.

First, do not attempt to shoulder every single burden yourself. You know my own cautionary tale.

Yes, I understand.

Second, ensure the workload for every single position is transparent. Do not allow a situation where one person is doing the work of eight departments without anyone realizing it.

I hear you clearly.

Third, do not be stingy with the budget. If you need to hire, hire. If you need to purchase a system, purchase it. Has your side started using the Gian Chu platform yet?

We have. The results are excellent. Administrative productivity has increased by nearly sixty percent.

That is good to hear.

Sister Su?

Yes?

Thank you.

No need for thanks. Just run Hang Vien well, and that will be enough.

I hung up the phone and leaned back in my chair. Hang Vien Group. I had spent the longest chapter of my life there. From age thirty-one to forty-three. Twelve years. Over four thousand sunrises and sunsets. Countless nights working until the early hours. Countless times spent cleaning up other people’s messes. Countless times being treated as if I did not exist. But it was also precisely in that place that I learned every skill that sustains me today: building processes, establishing systems, managing vendors, balancing ledgers, organizing schedules, drafting minutes, handling grievances, and coordinating projects. Without those twelve years at Hang Vien, there would be no Gian Chu Technology. Without those nights of being ignored, there would be no days of shining as I do today. Therefore, I do not harbor hatred for Hang Vien. I simply owe it nothing anymore.

Chapter 27