Chapter 124 - 118: Concert

Chapter 124: Chapter 118: Concert

On the computer were the designs for the three facial masks.

For these three Chinese-style masks, Gao Yuan had explicitly demanded they possess a rich, traditional aesthetic.

The whitening mask was named: Bai Xi.

Its name evoked cleanliness, purity, and immaculate, snow-white flawlessness.

The hydrating mask was named: Yu Run.

Its name evoked a crystalline, supple radiance and the noble purity of jade.

The anti-aging mask was named: Lan Chu.

Its name evoked delicate beauty, splendor, and an eye-catching, captivating charm.

All three designs were rendered as traditional Chinese-style illustrations, incorporating different cultural elements corresponding to each mask’s function.

Gao Yuan was very pleased with the designs and forwarded them directly to the person in charge at the Lin Group.

He didn’t request a large production run for the Chinese-style mask series, only asking for just over 30,000 boxes.

The standard product was a box of 6 masks, with 2 of each of the three types.

He also had some trial packs produced—1,000 boxes in total, with 3 masks per box.

That’s right.

It was time to start the infuriating hunger marketing campaign.

After arranging the work, he headed straight home with Lin Wanyu and Li Mengqing.

He had originally wanted to eat out, but the two women insisted on eating at home.

So, the three of them bought some groceries at a supermarket near No.1 Courtyard and cooked lunch at home again.

After lunch, Gao Yuan had planned to watch some TV with them, but he received a call from Qin Yichuan, telling him to come hang out at Zheng Zhi’s place.

When he arrived at Zheng Zhi’s company, Gao Yuan saw him sitting there with a worried look on his face the moment he walked in.

After they chatted for a bit, Gao Yuan learned that one of the operations staff had resigned that day.

What’s more, this employee had been with him for several years. The guy was at least straightforward about it, telling Zheng Zhi directly that he wanted to go out and start his own business.

This was a problem every industry faced, but it was especially common in e-commerce.

It was certainly a headache for many e-commerce bosses.

Even in the skincare industry Gao Yuan was in, he would eventually face the same issue, despite having the system to back him up.

In a team’s early stages, no one thinks about these things. But as the team grows and employees see the boss making more and more money, ambition begins to stir.

After all, the modern mentality is that greatness isn’t a birthright; anyone can achieve it.

Once people achieve some success through their own efforts, their egos can easily inflate, and they lose sight of how much of that success was actually due to their own talent.

They also tend to overlook the contributions of others.

That was why Gao Yuan had established the 10% profit-sharing stock plan.

Even so, Gao Yuan knew that some people would inevitably leave in the future.

From Gao Yuan’s perspective, he would respect everyone’s choice.

He understood that even if Yuanfang became a huge success, most of the credit would belong to the system and the "Employee Buff Card" he would use in the future.

But his employees didn’t know that, and he wasn’t about to tell them.

When that time came, it would be a test of their individual judgment and self-awareness.

As for Zheng Zhi’s situation, to be honest, the phone skin business had basically no barrier to entry.

The products were cheap, didn’t require much capital, and factories even supported drop-shipping.

The only real investments required were promotional fees and employee salaries.

If the operations guy went back to his hometown to start the business, the costs would be even lower.

"Old Zheng, you need to think bigger."

Seeing Zheng Zhi still looking downcast, Gao Yuan spoke up.

Qin Yichuan had called him over, hoping he could give Zheng Zhi some advice, or at the very least, the two of them could offer some comfort.

"You can’t hold on to people who want to leave. You should know that."

"Besides, in all your years in e-commerce, is this the first time you’ve lost an employee?"

...

After some counseling, Zheng Zhi’s mood improved a bit.

He understood everything Gao Yuan said. He just couldn’t get over the thought that he had never treated his employees unfairly and had paid them well, so why would they still leave?

As for the idea Gao Yuan proposed, he had considered it before but had never been as bold.

He suggested a direct 70/30 profit split with his employees—the employee takes 70%, and he takes 30%.

Furthermore, he suggested that Zheng Zhi proactively supply the employees who left, becoming their source manufacturer.

Gao Yuan’s reasoning was simple.

The phone skin business had no barrier to entry; practically anyone who could source the product could open an online store and sell it.

If he wanted to retain his staff and capture a larger market share...

Then he should let his employees become bosses, taking the lion’s share of the profits while he took the smaller cut.

And then he should focus on R&D.

Don’t think this industry doesn’t need R&D. It’s incredibly competitive, and people have very high aesthetic standards.

As long as the number of online store owners revolving around Zheng Zhi grew, his factory’s business would flourish.

He was already making a profit when the products left the factory. Adding a 30% cut from the e-commerce side would become very substantial once the business scaled up.

After cheering Zheng Zhi up, the other two invited him to go to the spa that evening, but Gao Yuan refused.

He told them he had to go with his girlfriend to the Jay Chou concert later.

This made them curse him for choosing his girlfriend over his friends.

They were ditching their own wives to go to the spa with him, and here he was, ditching them to take his girlfriend to a concert.

To this, Gao Yuan had only one response: "The well-fed never understand the starving!"

...

「Four in the afternoon.」

While he was still out having tea and chatting with his two friends, he got a call from Lin Wanyu.

"Honey, it’s time to come home!"

"We need to get ready for the concert."

Gao Yuan promised he was on his way. Just as he hung up, Qin Yichuan, who was sitting opposite him, turned to Zheng Zhi and said in a coquettish voice, "Honey, it’s time to come home!"