On the afternoon of September 16th, in the conference room ofNingBo NJ Hydraulic Adapter Co., Ltd., a tense yet well-organized preparation work was being carried out by the vanguard team: distributing materials, preparing refreshments and fruits, debugging the PPT... It turned out that this was the final sprint to smoothly launch the first reading session of NingBo NJ Hydraulic Adapter Co., Ltd

The first reading session started on time at 2:10 p.m. There were more than 20 participants in this event, including employees and their family members.

At the beginning of the reading session, Ms. Lu Yan gave a speech. The theme of her speech was about the content of "Leadership from the Perspective of World Classics". She said, "We need to think about the purpose of an enterprise. If we want to know what an enterprise is, we must first understand its purpose, and the purpose of an enterprise must go beyond the enterprise itself. There is only one correct and effective definition of the ultimate purpose of an enterprise, which is to create customers. Chairman Mao said that ‘one should read extensively’, and this is very correct. One cannot engage in academic research without reading a lot of books, because language is the outer garment of thought." Therefore, Ms. Lu Yan recommended a book she highly approved of to everyone --- Drucker's "The Practice of Management".

Following the second session is the self-introduction. Everyone has one minute to introduce their name, hobbies, dreams or goals, as well as a favorite book and a favorite movie, so that others can remember them and complete a perfect self-marketing.

The shared reading theme of this reading session is Chapter 6 of "A Dream of Red Mansions" Granny Liu's First Visit to the Rongguo Mansion. This story tells that Gou'er, a descendant of a former capital official, has fallen to farming in the countryside. Because his ancestors were related by clan to the family of Mrs. Wang and Wang Xifeng, he asked his mother-in-law, Granny Liu, to go to the Rongguo Mansion to seek help from Lady Wang. With the introduction of Zhou Rui's wife, who worked in the mansion, Granny Liu finally met Wang Xifeng, the steward. It happened that Jia Rong came to Wang Xifeng on his father's order to borrow a glass screen, allowing Granny Liu to fully experience Wang Xifeng's dignity and grandeur. As a result, Granny Liu was a bit inarticulate and uneasy when facing Wang Xifeng, but she still explained her purpose and expressed her desire for help.Wang Xifeng did not agree directly at first. When talking with Granny Liu, she also mentioned the difficulties in managing the family affairs. Later, upon learning that Granny Liu had an old connection with the ancestors of the Rongguo Mansion, she gave her twenty taels of silver, saying it was "for the girls to make clothes". Granny Liu accepted the silver, expressed her thousand thanks and ten thousand graces, then left the Rongguo Mansion, which temporarily relieved her family's predicament.

The core inspiration from Granny Liu's first visit to the Rongguo Mansion in "A Dream of Red Mansions": lies in the survival wisdom of the lower-class individuals under the pressure of survival, as well as the true reflection of class differences, which can be understood from two aspects:

1. The practicality of survival wisdom: Granny Liu put aside her pride and took the initiative to seek help. Her words were both humble and measured, accurately grasping the psychology of others (such as her attitudes towards Zhou Rui's wife and Wang Xifeng). This demonstrated the pragmatic and flexible survival strategies of people at the bottom in difficult situations. It was not a simple case of "clinging to the powerful" but rather the helplessness and tenacity of striving for a living for her family.

2. A mirror of class differences: The attitudes of the Rongguo Mansion towards Granny Liu (such as Wang Xifeng's alms and the servants' stares) form a sharp contrast with Granny Liu's awkwardness and caution, intuitively exposing the social reality of the disparity between the rich and the poor as well as the coldness and warmth of human relationships in the feudal era, and also laying the groundwork for the subsequent decline of the Rongguo Mansion.

After reading through this chapter together, the participants of the reading club actively shared their thoughts.

First, Ms. Gong Juhong said: "After reading this plot, what is most impressive is the profound penetration of the reciprocity principle in 'Influence' in the plot — it is not only an invisible clue that drives the development of the story, but also a vivid interpretation of this principle in China's traditional human relationship society."

To understand this infiltration, one must first clarify the core of the principle of reciprocity: when people receive something from others, whether it is a specific object, practical help, or intangible emotional support, they often naturally develop a sense of obligation to repay, a psychological mechanism that has long been rooted deep in culture. In the story of "Granny Liu's First Visit to the Rongguo Mansion", this principle is manifested through several key nodes.

Granny Liu's ability to knock open the door of the Rongguo Mansion, a noble residence, relied on the principle of reciprocity from the very first step. Her smooth entry into the Rongguo Mansion was entirely due to the introduction by Zhou Rui's wife, who was a dowry maid who followed her mistress to the husband's household of Mrs. Wang. It was precisely because Zhou Rui had once received help from Gou'er, Granny Liu's son-in-law, when he was vying to buy farmland. A past favor, after many years, turned into a key to open the door of the noble mansion, which is exactly the chain-like continuation formed by the principle of reciprocity in interpersonal networks.

After entering the mansion, the interaction between Granny Liu and Wang Xifeng vividly demonstrated the "invisible giving" aspect of the principle of reciprocity. Facing the person in power of the Jia Mansion, Granny Liu first showed her sincerity with a humble attitude: she not only brought meager local products made by her own family, but also offered abundant "emotional value" with thoughtful words and a respectful manner. It should be noted that sincere flattery and respect are never cheap ingratiation, but an intangible yet precious gift. It was this sincerity that finally made Wang Xifeng decide to help Granny Liu, subtly opening the possibility of material rewards.

What further reveals Granny Liu's perspicacity is a small detail before her departure. She deliberately set aside a piece of silver to buy fruits for Zhou Rui's children. Though seemingly trivial, this act inherently follows the principle of reciprocity — she did not take Zhou Rui's introduction for granted, but instead completed a clear interpersonal reciprocity through an immediate thanks, fully demonstrating the life wisdom of people at the bottom of society.

Yet the most touching act of mutual benefit in this story is actually hidden at the end of the long plot. Later, when the Jia family fell into decline, everyone scattered, and Wang Xifeng was in a desperate situation, it was Granny Liu, who had once received favors from her, who resolutely spent all her family's wealth and traveled thousands of miles, eventually rescuing Wang Xifeng's daughter, Qiaojie. Who would have thought that the twenty taels of silver that Wang Xifeng casually gave away back then would, after many years, become a blessing that saved her daughter's life. At this moment, the principle of mutual benefit completely transcends immediate calculations and turns into a cycle of kindness in human nature, endowing fleeting kindness with the power to transcend time and space.

Therefore, this plot is not only wonderful but also brings enlightenment to our current lives: do not be stingy with sincere praise, and do not belittle small acts of help. As the saying goes, "When you give someone a rose, the fragrance remains in your hand." A word of praise or a helping hand you offer today may silently plant the seeds of future blessings. Especially for vulnerable people, an unintended act of kindness might one day become a lamp that illuminates your own path.

He Tingting, a salesperson who has been deeply engaged in the foreign trade industry for 10 years, said: "I once worked briefly as a salesperson for fully automatic coffee machines for a year. Now I am working in the sales of NingBo NJ Hydraulic Adapter Co., Ltd, and at the same time, I also take on the responsibility of cultivating new foreign trade businesses and leading the entire sales team. Recently, on the recommendation of Mrs. He, I have been reading “Influence” in my spare time, seeking commonalities and inspirations in marketing from various classic cases."

I think the best speaker at this event is Gong Juhong, because she has a profound understanding of the plot of "A Dream of Red Mansions", and her analysis of the characters in the book is accurate, with clear and deep insights!

The sentence that left the deepest impression on me during this reading club activity is ‘Speaking in a way that makes people like you, doing things in a way that touches people, and being a person that people miss.’ This sentence perfectly illustrates the importance of marketing in terms of speaking, doing things, and being a person.

Ms. Lu Yan's lecture-style teaching also left a deep impression on me. She is extremely approachable and has profound cultural connotations. Her quotations of classic cases and famous sayings are especially inspiring. During the entire reading session, everyone was very cooperative and brave. In the self-introduction activity, even some of the shyer colleagues made significant self-breakthroughs and improvements. When everyone reads together and shares their thoughts on the books, there are more ideological collisions, which is very interesting.

At the same time, I also hope that my child will become more and more brave in future reading sessions, more and more willing to express himself, and then improve his literary literacy! I hope the reading sessions can continue, so that friends around can also join in and empower more families."

Lou Jinong, the manager of the warehouse center, shared his thoughts: "Today, the company organized a reading session, and I just got a ride. Feeling Ms. Lu Yan's affability, I thought I must listen carefully to this class. Walking into the meeting room of our company, there are full of positive energy slogans. In particular, He Tingting brought her family along, which even more showed the charm of the reading session. Thank you, Mrs. He, for your great love and care.

Reading can enhance the charm of one's speech. It can enable one to speak with logical thinking. After giving a one-minute self-introduction and sharing my thoughts after reading "A Dream of Red Mansions", I realized that the gaps between people exist everywhere. Gong Juhong and He Tingting combined their book reviews of "A Dream of Red Mansions" and “Influence”, and their ability to organize language left me deeply impressed.

So I made up my mind to read books seriously and enrich my knowledge a bit more. What reasons or excuses do I have to be lazy anymore? From now on, no matter how busy I am, I will read books."

Tang Ming, the director of the Technical Department at NingBo NJ Hydraulic Adapter Co., Ltd, shared his thoughts: "Ten years ago, I was fortunate to join our company. Over these ten years, I have personally witnessed the company's growth and leaps forward, and I have also learned a lot from my work. Not long ago, Mrs. He distributed a book to each department: “Influence”. Just as its title suggests, this book has had a great impact on me. I will take my time to study and digest the seven tools elaborated in this book!"

At the beginning of this reading session, Ms. Lu Yan explained the importance of reading in a simple and in-depth manner. This was followed by everyone introducing themselves, and then they read the second half of Chapter 6 of "A Dream of Red Mansions " together, with each person sharing their interpretations.

It can be seen that everyone shares their understanding from different perspectives and in different ways, each with their own shining points. He Tingting, based on the relevant principles in “Influence”, approached from the perspective of marketing to explore the methods and ways that salespeople can learn from the incident of Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. I think her speech is very insightful!

And the most touching sentence for me in this reading session is: "Infinite distances and countless people are all related to me." This sentence is so poetic and so imaginative! Reading allows you not only to converse with the past and present, and integrate China and foreign countries, but also, if you are willing, you can reach the infinite universe and infinite distances!

Thank you, Mrs. He, for facilitating the establishment of Yuli Reading Club. Also, thank you to Ms. Lu Yan and Ms. Sisi for your guidance and help. I hope our Yuli Reading Club will be like a beam of light, illuminating our today and guiding our tomorrow.”

The core significance of organizing a reading club is to use books as a medium to achieve the exchange of ideas, the expansion of horizons, and the improvement of cognition, which can be understood from three dimensions:

1. Breaking individual limitations: There are a thousand Hamlets in a thousand readers' eyes. Individual reading can easily lead one into a blind spot of thinking. In a reading group, the collision of different experiences and viewpoints allows people to interpret books from a completely new perspective and deepen their understanding of the content.

2. Building a learning community: The group atmosphere can effectively counteract the inertia of individual reading, forming a positive cycle of "co-reading - sharing - discussing" and improving reading efficiency and continuity.

3. Enriching Social Interactions and Personal Growth: It provides high-quality social scenarios for like-minded people. In communication, one can not only gain knowledge but also exercise their expressive ability, empathy, and critical thinking skills.

Looking forward to having many friends join us in the next issue!