Chapter 748
High Ambition
Qinzhou, Junxiao Plaza Regional Company.
Regional General Manager Huang Zhang arrived at the company early in the morning and called the two vice presidents to his office.
"General Manager Lu Tao is visiting stores in Qinzhou today, and he's very likely to inspect several projects on-site. You all need to make sure he keeps a close eye on things. I heard that a few days ago, during a store inspection in another region, General Manager Lu lost his temper and even killed a project manager on the spot!"
Both vice presidents of business were on the same side as Huang Zhang—former employees of Wansheng Group, and they knew each other very well.
Hearing this, he laughed and said, "President Lu, you're getting worked up. Our Third War Zone's performance indicators are far behind those of the First and Second War Zones!"
Huang Zhang gave a wry smile: "How can we compare? Most of the people in our Third War Zone came from Wansheng Group, and it will take them some time to become familiar with many of Junxiao Commercial Management's processes."
And the bosses of the first and second war zones are both the company's loyalists. You may not know this, but during the regional general meetings of the business management group, I never saw the chairman disagree with the opinions of General Manager Zhao of the first war zone and General Manager Lin Ya of the second war zone.
Although our General Manager Lu Tao was Chairman Xu Jun's former superior at Wansheng Group, he doesn't enjoy the same treatment here.
Hearing Huang Zhang's words, the other two vice presidents also sighed. A year ago, none of them would have taken Xu Jun seriously. Back then, Xu Jun was just a project manager for Wansheng Group in Jiangzhou. In terms of status within Wansheng Group, he was even lower than them.
But now, not to mention them, even President Lu Tao doesn't dare to breathe loudly when he sees Chairman Xu Jun.
"Junxiao Commercial Management has developed too fast. In just one year, it has achieved what Wansheng Plaza did not reach in ten years," Huang Zhang remarked.
The two vice presidents laughed: "Luckily we turned to the light early. Those in Wansheng Group who called us 'traitors' are now kicking themselves! I heard that Li Changnian recently contacted President Lu and wants to come over, but President Lu only has one project manager position available for him!"
Huang Zhang asked in surprise, "Li Changnian?"
This person was the deputy general manager of a region of Wansheng Group, and now he's the project general manager. How many levels has he been demoted?
"Is he willing?"
"Why wouldn't you want to? Junxiao Commercial Management offers such great benefits now! The income of a project general manager is not much less than what he earned as a regional deputy general manager at Wansheng Group. Medical care is now completely free, and the company covers the education of children. Coming to Junxiao Commercial Management, you'll be worry-free for life."
Besides, what's the point of staying at Wansheng Group now, just barely surviving? It's better to come here and be reborn!
"That's true," Huang Zhang nodded. "Alright, let's not talk about this today. The three of us will split up and go check out the various projects first. I'm still a little worried. Let's take a look at all the projects before President Lu Tao arrives at noon!"
Unlike when I was at Wansheng Group, back then I could know the status of every project even with my eyes closed.
However, at Junxiao Commercial Management, they had all only "defected" less than two months ago. The Qinzhou branch had also been established for less than two months, and in those two months, it had already acquired five projects.
Huang Zhang visited each project less than twice on average. This is because he spends most of his time with the regional company, where there is a lot of work that requires coordination with local authorities.
Junxiao Commercial Management's focus has shifted from acquiring existing properties to acquiring land to build a super urban complex exceeding 20 square meters. The projects acquired previously were generally too small and did not align with Junxiao Plaza's long-term plan.
After explaining the situation, the group left the office together.
"By the way, Mr. Huang, I heard that the group company is in talks with Guo's Real Estate Group about cooperation..."
As Huang Zhang walked out, he nodded and said, "The group will further increase its investment in employee benefits. In the future, the group will fund the construction of a large number of talent apartments and high-end residences in each region, with the Guo Group as the contractor."
According to their level and length of service, employees of the company will be allocated corresponding housing. From now on, employees of Junxiao Group will not need to spend money on housing, medical care, or education.
The two vice presidents couldn't help but exclaim, "The boss is really generous! Is this like rushing into communism?!"
Huang Zhang laughed: "You two, we both need to work harder. Countless colleagues have been trying to squeeze into Junxiao Group before. Once these benefits are rolled out, all the heroes in the world will be caught in the trap! We must not be let go because of poor work performance; that would be truly heartbreaking!"
One vice president joked, "It's not just 'crying without tears,' it's downright disgraceful to our ancestors, haha!"
"Those who called us 'traitors' back then are probably criticizing us now."
"Heh, 'traitor'? Didn't you notice that President Wang personally went to Jiangzhou to apologize? The Wansheng Plaza project has already proactively adjusted its positioning. Its brand level is one or two tiers lower than Junxiao Plaza, thus creating differentiation and avoiding direct competition from Junxiao Commercial Management!"
The group chatted as they entered the plaza. Junxiao Commercial Management's Qinzhou branch was located upstairs in the Qinzhou Junxiao Plaza, which was the region's most central project.
This plaza was acquired from a prime property in Qinzhou. After being renamed Junxiao Plaza, some of the brands within the plaza were replaced.
There are two vice presidents, one in charge of operations management and the other in charge of business development.
They discussed the brands inside as they walked.
"Jiesun Sports has a lot of brands on display this time, right?" the VP of Operations asked.
The vice president in charge of investment promotion nodded: "There are more than a dozen brands, including sports, high-end outdoor, and some fashion and leisure brands."
"Wow—this is a big client!!!" the VP of Operations joked.
Huang Zhang, who was walking at the front, stopped and turned around: "It's not just about being a big client. We have to cooperate unconditionally with all of Jiexun Sports' projects."
The VP of Operations was taken aback. "That impressive?"
The vice president in charge of investment promotion smiled mysteriously: "In our venue, its brand status is on par with that of the Inno Group."
The Vice President of Operations had only been with Junxiao Commercial Management for less than two weeks, and the relationships between them were still unclear. But with such special connections, he definitely needed to figure things out, otherwise he might accidentally offend someone without even realizing it.
"And who is the Ino Group?"
Huang Zhang waved his hand: "There are some things that the higher-ups don't say, and we can't ask them. I only heard from people occasionally that these two companies have intricate connections with the highest levels."
"Like the Yinuo Group, when Junxiao Commercial Management launched its first project, they started providing unconditional support! Oh, by the way, it's said that our group's vice president, Mr. Zhao Hui, used to work for that company." Mentioning Zhao Hui, everyone's expression instantly turned serious!
That's a true god! Although he's now a regional general manager just like President Lu Tao, his influence within Junxiao Business Management is completely incomparable to President Lu's.
There are even rumors that the company is now preparing to split into the Junxiaocheng system and the Junxiao Plaza system. Zhao Hui may become the chairman of the Junxiao Plaza system, while Lin Ya, the general manager of the second war zone, may become the chairman of the Junxiaocheng system.
"No wonder the company is so supportive of this company; it turns out it's because of General Manager Zhao's connections."
The vice president of investment promotion smiled and said, "Speaking of the owner of Jiexun Sports, I know him too. I used to deal with him when I was the project manager of a project in Ningxi. Back then, his business in Ningxi was very large, and he was one of our more important clients."
The group descended the escalator, and Huang Zhang said, "Back then, our attention was just that—attention. As the client, we didn't really take him seriously. But now you all need to pay attention and cooperate fully."
The two vice presidents nodded emphatically; these kinds of people with unknown backgrounds and connections are the most dangerous.
"Hey—isn't that General Manager Lu from Jiexun Sports?" The Vice President of Investment Promotion subconsciously looked at the AD flagship store of Jiexun Sports, which was under renovation on the first floor, as Huang Zhang spoke.
Huang Zhang and the vice president of operations immediately turned around to look; neither of them recognized Luffy.
"Is that middle-aged, slightly overweight man the owner of Jiexun Sports?"
The vice president of investment promotion nodded: "That's right, I've dealt with him a few times before."
Huang Zhang frowned. Lu Tao had come to inspect the project today, and he had originally planned to visit the various projects. But since he had met someone like Lu Tao, who had connections within the group, it would be a shame not to go and say hello and build a relationship.
"Let's go over and get to know him," Huang Zhang finally said, choosing Luffy.
Firstly, it's unlikely that Lu Tao would cause trouble for him during his inspection; secondly, the opportunity to meet Luffy is rare, as Jiexun Sports' headquarters are not in Qinzhou, and it's uncertain how many times Luffy will be able to visit Qinzhou in his lifetime.
Luffy was very upset. Yesterday, because of Huang Ju's matter, he had displeased President Chen, who ignored him when leaving Jun Xiaocheng. This made Luffy anxious and he didn't sleep well all night.
Around 9 a.m., Luffy sent a message to Zhang Ziqian, asking her if President Chen had any instructions.
Zhang Ziqian was incredibly clever and immediately guessed that Luffy was frightened by Chen Xiao's attitude yesterday. In fact, she knew Chen Xiao's personality very well; he wasn't the type to hold a grudge.
Yesterday's events had little to do with Luffy, and Chen Xiao's anger wasn't directed at him. He was just in a bad mood yesterday and didn't feel like talking to him.
With Guo Fu arriving later, and Chen Xiao having not seen her for a long time, he definitely wanted to spend time with her. As for Luffy, compared to Guo Fu, wasn't he just "a nobody on the sidelines"?
Zhang Ziqian told him not to worry too much and to just go about his business. President Chen was going to check on the opening of [Xingque] this morning, and then he might go to check on the Junxiao Plaza project. They could meet there.
Hearing Zhang Ziqian's words, Lu Fei breathed a sigh of relief. He knew that Zhang Ziqian was definitely one of the closest and most understanding people to Chen Xiao. If she said it was alright, then it was alright!
"Thank you, Mr. Zhang!"
Zhang Ziqian chuckled: "I'm just an assistant, not the boss. Alright, don't be so polite—"
After hanging up the phone, Luffy wiped the sweat from his brow. Recalling Zhang Ziqian's statement that she wasn't some kind of "CEO," he shook his head. Forget CEO Zhang, if he weren't afraid of upsetting Zhang Ziqian, he'd be willing to kneel down and call her "Grandma!"
At this moment, he appeared to be inspecting the store, but in reality, he was constantly thinking about when Chen Xiao would arrive.
He dismissed Huang Ju and urgently transferred a regional general manager from a neighboring province to oversee the situation. To prevent any further mistakes, he personally inspected each store to check for problems.
"Mr. Lu!"
Just as he was lost in thought, he suddenly heard someone call his name. Luffy turned around and exclaimed, "Xiaobo-sama—?"
The vice president of investment promotion hurriedly stepped forward to shake hands with Luffy: "Yes, President Luffy, I never expected that after parting in Ningxi, we would meet again in Qinzhou, thousands of miles away."
"By the way, Mr. Lu. Let me introduce you. This is our regional general manager, Mr. Huang Zhang. This is our operations manager, Mr. Liu."
Luffy shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with each of them.
Huang Zhang was very polite: "Mr. Lu has invested in more than a dozen stores in our project, making him one of our most important clients. Please point out any areas where we could improve, so we can help you do better!"
Luffy laughed heartily: "Mr. Huang, you're too kind."
Back in Ningxi, although he had a large business, he was still just a subordinate in front of the regional manager of Wansheng Group. After all, he was the supplier and often had to come to others for help.
But now, Huang Zhang, a regional leader, is so humble in front of him. Luffy, however, finds it quite normal. After all, even Chairman Xu Jun now addresses him as a brother, so what are these people compared to him?
However, since they were all employees of Junxiao Business Management, Luffy maintained a polite facade.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, Huang Zhang took the initiative to invite, "President Lu, our President Lu Tao is also in Qinzhou today. Let's have lunch together?"
Luffy quickly declined, "Excuse me for leaving at noon. Next time you come to Qinzhou, we'll treat you. I have important guests with me today!"
Huang Zhang was taken aback, clearly not expecting Luffy to refuse.
Are you kidding me? You have access to Lu Tao, the regional general manager of Junxiao Commercial Management!
This is an opportunity that brand clients across the country dream of; many brand owners don't even have the chance to meet President Lu. No matter how powerful or influential Luffy is, to give up even the opportunity to have lunch with Lu Tao is either foolish or incredibly arrogant.
But with such a large business, would he be foolish?
Huang Zhang chuckled, "Alright, Mr. Lu. Let's get together again sometime—"
They shook hands and left.
"Mr. Xiaobo, that Luffy is a bit too arrogant—" After walking a long distance, Mr. Liu, who was in charge of operations, said softly.
Huang Zhang didn't speak, but a cold smile appeared on his face, clearly agreeing with President Liu's words.
The vice president of investment promotion smiled wryly, "He used to be very polite, like a smiling tiger. Back then, let alone President Lu Tao, even if I invited him to lunch, he would never refuse and would always pay the bill."
"Maybe it's because the business has grown bigger now, and people's ambitions have risen too."
Huang Zhang chuckled twice: "It's not that I'm too proud, I think I'm just a little drunk!!"
He was Lu Tao's man, and naturally he was displeased that a client on the other end of the business didn't take President Lu seriously. (End of Chapter)