The Long Game

Shen Yan is an enterprise account manager in the telecommunications industry. Transferred from Xikou County to the main urban district of Yucheng, he spends eight years turning a “dedicated line” everyone had dismissed into the city's digital lifeblood, starting with the physical connection for the final hundred meters. From laying a single fiber-optic cable to a village school to landing a 7-million-yuan contract to network the entirety of Huitong Bank, from emergencies during late-night equipment-room cutovers to the relentless pressure from rival Tang Yifan, he learns through competition to hold fast to his principles. And from his mentor Liang Zhengtang's patient guidance, he comes to understand that “being able to manage something for the long haul is the real skill.” This isn't a feel-good story about promotions and pay raises. It's the long journey of an ordinary man who gets by on expertise and sincerity.