Chapter 601: New Year’s Goals

“Of course, if the boss is paying out of his own pocket to give everyone a bonus, I absolutely support it with both hands. I’d even silently praise your noble character and wish you a long, long life.”

“It mainly depends on what you think, Brother Chu… hehe.”

He had answered the question directly, yet his response was still smooth and tactful, fully showcasing the literary finesse of a financial veteran.

Hearing this, Lin Chu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

‘Skillful.’

‘He managed not to offend anyone.’

“Makes sense. My idea is to hand out money.”

“In fact, I don’t think we gave out enough this year. Next year, we’re going to give out a lot more.”

“I have money, and I’m willing to give it to my employees. ‘How I wish I could get a mansion with a thousand, ten thousand rooms, a great shelter for all the poor scholars in the world, who would then be happy!’ Not only will I give them money, but I’ll also give them houses and cars… As for making money, that’s not hard at all. Not for me.”

“Next year, the company plans to start a major hiring initiative. We currently have over ten thousand people. We’ll expand that by several times. Let’s set the year-end target at fifty thousand employees. We’ll work out the detailed allocation ratios later, and you can each claim your quotas.”

“The company will focus on expanding two business segments. The first is our security services, and the second is our overseas operations.”

“The budget for security next year is ten billion. Same for retail.”

“If you go over budget, I’ll consider it exceeding your KPIs. If you can’t spend it all, you’ll be coming to me at the end of the year to beg for forgiveness.”

Lin Chu’s clear, bright voice, tinged with a brilliant smile, rang in the ears of everyone on the video call.

For a moment… everyone was completely dumbfounded.

Stunned.

Genuinely stunned.

‘Isn’t this a little too exaggerated?’

‘Does President Lin have some kind of obsession with “headcount”?’

It was hard not to think of a certain phrase: grandiose and ambitious.

Yang Huixian couldn’t help but speak up. “On our end, if we open stores too quickly, we’ll run into problems. Marketing, products, and the supply chain won’t be able to keep up.”

“This budget is just too much. We can’t spend it all. It’s completely impossible.”

“Even if we calculate it based on an investment of thirty million per store, that’s three hundred new stores. We’d have to open nearly one a day. How is that possible?”

She was speechless.

Utterly speechless.

‘That’s not how you spend money.’

‘This is just pure squandering.’

For a single brick-and-mortar store, let’s not even talk about the process from site selection to opening. The key is that once a store is open, rent, labor, utilities, and inventory all become costs. If the products don’t sell, the losses can become a terrifying figure.

And for a luxury goods store, if the brand doesn’t have enough clout, not being able to sell is a high-probability event.

Right now, our three domestic stores are still operating at a loss, even though they’re in tier-one cities and prime commercial districts.

“If you can’t spend it, if you don’t know how to spend it, then you can go sit in an office at headquarters. We’ll get someone who *can* spend it to take your place. I’m not even asking you to make money. I’m asking you to spend money, and even that stumps you?”

“Aren’t women supposed to be the best at squandering money?”

Lin Chu teased with a half-smile.

Yang Huixian took a deep breath, her lips pressed together. Her eyes betrayed her discomfort. Being spoken to like that in front of so many people truly put her in an awkward position.

But Lin Chu showed no concern for her feelings, continuing on to ask Hu Ping’an, “Old Hu, can you spend it all?”

Hu Ping’an was the other president in retail.

Hearing this, Hu Ping’an gave a wry smile. He even found it absurd. ‘Damn, is there really such a thing as having too much money to spend?’

“Speaking irresponsibly, if we really just need to spend it, we can definitely get it spent. But President Yang is just too responsible, thinking about taking it one steady step at a time…”

“How about this? I’ll make my position clear. As long as you confirm this objective, even if I have to spend until my palms are calloused, I’ll definitely spend every last bit! Three hundred stores, I guarantee not one less!”

Hu Ping’an said in an exaggerated tone. ‘Can’t let these two actually start fighting, can I?’

‘It’s just spending money!’

‘Spend the damn money!’

“Alright, with you saying that, I’m relieved. I’ll leave it to you, then. It’s a deal: ten billion, three hundred stores. Of course, the more the merrier.”

“I’ll make it a bit more specific. Two hundred and fifty stores abroad, and fifty domestically.”

“That’s settled. By the end of next year, whenever I’m traveling abroad on business or seeing friends, in any remotely famous place in the world, I want to see our store!”

“Also, President Gao, wherever the luxury retail stores open, the security company’s branches must extend there as well. Logistics, distribution, security, anti-theft—I’m leaving all of that to you.”

Lin Chu said with assertive confidence, also addressing Gao Haitao by name.

Gao Haitao’s expression turned serious. “Understood, President Lin. No problem on my end. I fully approve of your decision. For the global layout, we do need to be fast right now. In regions where laws and regulations permit, the security company will also do its best to expand into other business areas, like drones, legal firearms, precious metals… and so on. And later, once the company’s unmanned aerial vehicles are on the market, they will immediately enter our sales channels.”

He felt that he now basically and completely understood Lin Chu’s intentions.

Lin Chu’s mindset wasn’t a business mindset at all.

It was the mindset of a general going to war.

‘Occupy the territory first!’

‘Capture a point, and as long as resources keep flowing and the path is cleared, making money later will be a sure thing.’

“Yes, that’s exactly what I mean!”

“Also, encourage the local brothers to make their own money. They can open restaurants, teahouses, bathhouses, whatever—car repair shops, clinics, convenience stores, grain and oil stations… and so on. Any business that helps expand our local network and build influence can be done! Have you ever played Monopoly? It’s just like claiming squares!”

Gao Haitao’s mouth twitched slightly as he acknowledged the order.

Deep down, his mind raced with possibilities, even sparking an inexpressible excitement within him.

‘This plan is insane!’

‘Spreading like a virus, backed by a constant stream of resources, capturing one point after another. This way, no matter what happens in the future, Brother Chu will have a massive web that covers the entire world.’

Lin Chu’s words gave everyone who heard them a very strange feeling.

‘Is this what you’d call a business strategy?’

‘Yes.’

‘But it doesn’t seem to be just that.’

Lu Ming listened from the side, his initial confusion now replaced with complete understanding.

If one were to treat LC as just a company, then this strategy would naturally seem nonsensical. After all, many of these ventures wouldn’t be profitable and lacked a core business focus.

If one were to treat LC as a country, this strategy would seem too small. It’s just a single point, what could it possibly do?

If one were to treat LC as a missionary effort, it lacks a core doctrine and offers no cultural or ideological exports.

But…

…in the middle ground between these three, it became a strange, stitched-together monstrosity that was both safe and practical.

This was the absolute limit of what a company could achieve.

“Brother Chu, our live-streaming company can get involved too. In the current MCN agency field, there isn’t a single multinational enterprise with a presence all over the world.”

“Riding on these favorable winds, with the company investing heavily, I’d like to apply to join in.”

“Hahaha, I won’t ask for a piece of the budget. The media division can support itself. We can even help them promote products. As for employee costs, my division will be responsible for its own profits and losses.”

“Our female streamers can even get together with the guys from security for mixers, have a meal, a few drinks…”

At this, Zhang Peng quickly caught on, a broad smile spreading across his face as he spoke.

He suddenly felt that if they followed this model, the entire chessboard—the business of the entire group—would come alive, creating a kind of marvelous synergy.

There’s security.

There are physical locations.

There’s media.

It looks like a stitched-together monstrosity, but it’s actually very practical.

“Approved.”

“Hire more people, and send more people out.”

“Go on, then. Light a spark for LC in every corner of the globe…”

By this point in the conversation, Lin Chu no longer needed to explain the issue of “employee benefits.”

A blueprint had been drawn before everyone’s eyes, inspiring them, filling them with longing, as if they were about to discover a new world, full of anticipation.

Who would still care if the sailors got a few extra coins?