Chapter 43: Chairman Zhao and Little Sun
Chapter 43: Chapter 43: Chairman Zhao and Little Sun
「2:30 PM」
「Yinuo Jiangzhou Branch」
The branch had purchased twenty acres of land in Jiangzhou’s Economic Development Zone to build its own office building and warehousing center. It was considered a very powerful retail enterprise in all of Jiangzhou.
As a Toyota Alphard and a Buick GL8 slowly drove through the gates of the Yinuo Jiangzhou Branch, Zhang Shijie was still looking down at a message. ’A change in shareholding. The third-largest shareholder is now Zhao Xiangjun. Who on earth is this Zhao Xiangjun?’
According to the information, she was very young and beautiful, only twenty-five years old, and a native of Jiangzhou. He fell into deep thought.
He remained lost in thought until his assistant reminded him, "President Zhang, we’re here."
Zhang Shijie straightened his clothes slightly. Liu Haoran, the general manager of the Jiangzhou Branch, had already come over to open his car door.
Zhang Shijie’s bodyguards were in the GL8 behind them. Since they were at the branch office, security wasn’t an issue, so they didn’t get out.
Zhang Shijie was fifty, but he looked quite young. He wore a black polo shirt, jeans, and sneakers—a look that was both business-casual and fashionable.
Zhang Shijie held his head high, carrying himself with an air of looking down on everyone as Liu Haoran escorted him and led the way.
"The new office environment, are you satisfied?" Zhang Shijie clearly felt that the office space the company had provided for the branch was of a fairly high standard.
Liu Haoran quickly replied with an obsequious smile, "All our colleagues at the company are very satisfied!"
As they continued walking, Liu Haoran introduced the head of the business department on one side and the head of the logistics department on the other.
Further inside was a welcoming party of eight fashionable and beautiful young women.
"These are all the top sales associates from our stores!"
Zhang Shijie nodded without looking too closely. But no matter where she was, Zhao Xiangjun’s radiance was impossible to hide. Even among a group of beauties, she still stood out to an exceptional degree.
One couldn’t help but notice her. Zhang Shijie froze for a moment. He found her breathtaking, but there was also a sense of familiarity.
Surrounded by a crowd, he didn’t have time to dwell on it and attributed the feeling to a trick of the mind caused by the girl’s stunning beauty.
After Zhang Shijie went up to the second floor, only Liu Haoran remained to accompany him. Everyone else went back to their duties. The top sales associates, having come from the stores, waited on the first floor as they were scheduled to accompany him on a store tour later.
The office building had only three floors, but only two were in active use. The third floor was for storage and recreation, furnished with things like ping-pong tables and some fitness equipment.
He was very thorough in his inspection, even taking a look at the server room before finally returning to Liu Haoran’s office.
"President Zhang, please have some tea and rest for a bit. We’ll be heading to the commercial district to see the stores soon. I’ve already arranged for the development supervisor, the retail supervisor, and a representative of our top sales associates to accompany you."
He nodded. "Before we go, give me a brief overview of these stores."
This was a task for the retail supervisor. As a general manager, Liu Haoran couldn’t possibly be familiar with every single store.
Li Lei was a little nervous. This was the CEO, after all. Many branches had been open for years without ever getting a visit from the CEO.
He stammered through the sales figures of a few stores. By the time he got to the Wansheng Square Store, Li Lei had gradually calmed down.
He presented the information as if showing off a treasure. "President Zhang, the Wansheng Square Store is our top-performing store, with average monthly sales of 800,000!"
That was very high, especially considering it was the average, not the peak.
"Furthermore, the top salesperson at that store is also the sales champion for our entire company, and she’s ahead by a wide margin. She alone accounts for half of the store’s total sales!"
"That impressive?" The figure was staggering, especially since a store typically had eight to ten sales associates.
Seeing that he had successfully piqued Zhang Shijie’s interest, Li Lei felt a sense of pride and continued, "That sales champion was just downstairs participating in your welcome ceremony, and she’ll be accompanying you on the store tour this afternoon."
"Oh? What’s her name?" Zhang Shijie’s interest was piqued. He picked up the itinerary from the table and glanced at the list of personnel. Suddenly, a name caught his eye.
"Zhao Xiangjun," Li Lei said.
’Zhao Xiangjun.’ Zhang Shijie saw the name on the list for the store tour, and his mind immediately went back to the message he’d received on the way here.
Non-executive director, third-largest shareholder, Zhao Xiangjun!
He suddenly recalled the stunningly beautiful young woman he had caught a fleeting glimpse of on the first floor. The source of that familiar feeling was finally clear.
He quickly looked at the rest of the schedule.
"President Liu, the dinner banquet tonight is over budget. There’s no need to be so extravagant and wasteful."
Liu Haoran looked completely baffled. ’I went over the reception standards with his assistant before he arrived. His assistant would never have made that decision on his own; it must have been approved by him. What’s going on?’
He could only ask tentatively, "President Zhang, how about we cover the costs that exceed the company standard ourselves?"
Zhang Shijie waved his hand. "Don’t add to the regional department’s burden. Just don’t make it too lavish. If it still goes over budget, I’ll cover the difference personally."
Liu Haoran could only hurry off to make the arrangements. After he and the others left, only Zhang Shijie and his special assistant, Wu Ting, remained in the office.
He beckoned to Wu Ting, who quickly came closer. "Boss."
Zhang Shijie pointed to Zhao Xiangjun’s name on the store tour list. "Keep an eye on this Chairman Zhao, but don’t draw any attention to it."
"Chairman Zhao?" Wu Ting was confused. ’Who is that?’
Zhang Shijie opened the message for her to see. After reading it, Wu Ting’s mouth hung open for a long time.
"How can this be? A non-executive director and a store sales associate... The two roles just don’t overlap at all!"
"If you can’t figure it out, don’t dwell on it. Just be meticulous with your work. Also, pay more attention to her, but don’t expose her identity in front of others. You can look for an opportunity to get closer to her."
Wu Ting agreed with a serious expression.
Downstairs, Zhao Xiangjun was scrolling through her phone, bored. She had no interest in this kind of grand spectacle for welcoming the leadership. ’A whole day of this really cuts into my sales,’ she thought. ’It’s seriously keeping me from earning money.’
Just as she was feeling bored, she saw a message from Chen Xiao, and a smile finally appeared on her face.
"Xiangjun, I was scrolling a short-video app today and saw some sesame candy. It brought back childhood memories. Ah, it’s making my mouth water!"
"Sesame candy? The long kind or the block kind?"
Then she sent a picture, asking if it was this kind.
"Hey, yeah, that’s it! Where did you see it? They have it in Jiangzhou?"
"Yeah, I buy some every time I go home, but I don’t eat it. It’s too sweet!"
"I’ve really been missing out then! I’ve been thinking about it for so long but never got to eat it. All those years wasted!"
"You’re exaggerating. I’ll buy you some when I go home in a few days."
"You’re the best, Xiangjun. Ah, my heart feels so warm, it’s about to melt!"
"What are you made of that you can melt?"
"I must be made of sugar. How else could you make me melt? And I’m a little sweet, too!"
"Gummy candy. Made of gelatin. You won’t melt!"
"Are you saying I’m clingy? There’s nothing that can’t be melted; it just depends on whether there’s enough heat. If you throw anything at the sun, it’ll melt! And you are my Little Sun!"
"Chen Xiao, can you stop being so gross? I’m about to throw up my lunch!"
She sent an emoji of someone shivering in disgust.