Chapter 239 - 192: Hu Group 2

President Song froze. He hadn’t expected this beautiful, quiet woman to actually retaliate when he mocked her boyfriend. ’She’s mocking me,’ he thought, ’saying no one likes me, that I’ve never known what it’s like to receive a gift from someone who cares about me.’

He suddenly felt a pang of envy for that 24-year-old man. As a man of the world, he knew Shen Meng wasn’t the type to throw herself at someone just because they drove a fancy car. With a woman like her, you had to play the long game.

While the sales associate was handling the payment and wrapping the item, he adopted a gentlemanly air and pulled a gilded business card from his bag. "My name is Song Shixin, the Administrative Director of the Hu Group. If you ever need help with anything in Qingzhou, feel free to call me. There’s almost nothing I can’t sort out."

Shen Meng, of course, made no move to take his card. ’Listening to his arrogant tone, I thought he was the owner of the Hu Group,’ she mused. ’Turns out he’s just an employee. Where does he get the confidence to say there’s nothing he can’t sort out in Qingzhou?’

President Song seemed to realize she didn’t know what a big deal the Hu Group was, so he added, "The Hu Group is owned by President Hu, the richest man in Qingjiang Province. It has over a dozen industrial divisions, including photovoltaic energy storage and new energy batteries."

Shen Meng took the shopping bag from the sales associate and walked out of the LV salon without a second glance at President Song. ’What a psycho,’ she thought. ’He talks as if he’s the wealthy Mr. Hu himself. What does his boss’s money have to do with me?’

President Song watched her walk away toward the subway station and chuckled. "A beautiful woman who takes the subway buying her boyfriend LV... you’ve successfully piqued my interest."

The sales associate, who had been listening to his posturing, was inwardly amused. ’She’s long gone. What’s the point of being interested now? You’ll probably never see her again in your life.’

By the time Shen Meng got home and was changing her shoes in the entryway, Wu Min was already calling out from the living room, "Shen Meng, my mom’s not home again tonight! I left some food in the pot for you. Just heat it up and eat."

Her cousin, Wu Min, had apparently already eaten. Since Shen Meng had gone to Xinyue Center after work, it was now almost 8 p.m., and Wu Min had assumed she wasn’t coming home for dinner.

When she saw Shen Meng walk in with another shopping bag, she sat bolt upright, her senses on high alert. ’Wang Hua is really slacking,’ she fumed internally. ’I’m constantly being upstaged by my cousin. Wang Hua’s getting paid soon. I’ll see what Shen Meng bought this time and show it to him. Maybe that’ll light a fire under him.’

"Wow, Yang Hui bought you LV again! He really doesn’t know how to be frugal."

She grabbed her phone, aimed it at the shopping bag in Shen Meng’s hand, and took a couple of quick pictures. SNAP! SNAP! Then she sent them to Wang Hua with the message: "Yang Hui bought Shen Meng another LV."

At home, Wang Hua had just gotten a notification that his salary had been deposited when he saw Wu Min’s message. He despaired. ’Yang Hui, you bastard!’ he thought. ’Why do you have to make things so damn competitive? What’s the point of buying stupid LV bags all the time?’

After sending the message, Wu Min snatched the bag from Shen Meng’s hands. Shen Meng knew there was no stopping her cousin, so she just let her open it while she went to the dining room to eat.

"Huh? Why is it a man’s bag?"

Wu Min held it in her hands, looking it over for a long moment. When Shen Meng didn’t reply, she asked again.

"I bought it for him. What else would I buy, if not a man’s bag?"

"What?! You actually bought *him* such an expensive bag? I can’t believe my aunt raised a daughter who just throws money away! It’s a total waste of your good looks, spending your own money on a man."

In Wu Min’s eyes, a woman spending money on a man was the ultimate disgrace. ’Shen Meng is so beautiful,’ she thought. ’Men should be lining up to spend money on her. Instead, she gets a boyfriend who often makes her foot the bill for their meals. Sure, he can be generous sometimes, but it’s still a major flaw, isn’t it?’

Seeing Shen Meng buy an LV bag for Yang Hui was the last straw. "Shen Meng, you only make so much a month! Are you spending it all on Yang Hui?"

Shen Meng replied from the dining room as she ate, "I had some money saved up. Besides, my first paycheck is coming next month, and my income is pretty good now."

She would have two sources of income next month. First, there was the commission from the Airex online livestream sales she did back at Futong Commerce, which would be at least several tens of thousands. And now, at Yanghe Commerce, her base salary was 22,000, with a bonus of 2% from online channel sales. The on-air host got 3%.

She had streamed all day at the company and generated over 10,000 in sales. It wasn’t as much as she used to make at Futong Commerce, but this was just the beginning. They hadn’t bought any ad traffic; it was all from organic reach. The two new hosts they hired were highly motivated. After all, the base pay here was excellent. A P7-grade specialist’s base salary was 10,000, which was more than their entire previous compensation at other companies.

Next week, they should be able to use Xinyue Group’s regional livestreaming account for NLB’s broadcast. She estimated that could generate over 2 million in sales. That single project would net her a personal bonus of 40,000. With that kind of money, she could certainly afford to buy Yang Hui a more expensive gift once in a while.

Wu Min didn’t know the details of her bonus structure, but she knew about the base salary. It had been a constant sore spot for her lately. She was green with envy over her cousin’s high base pay. ’What kind of ridiculous company gives its employees such a high salary?’ she had even thought. ’It’ll probably go bankrupt in a few days.’

But as it turned out, Wang Hua had spent the last two days praising Yanghe Trading Company to her, saying their management was brilliant and business was booming. And right on cue, Shen Meng started forwarding her daily "battle reports," making Wu Min’s jealousy flare up all over again.

She knew a company like that wasn’t going to go bankrupt. It had made a million in sales in just six days since opening. A single store like that would generate well over ten million a year in revenue. Meanwhile, the Huasheng Trading Company she worked for had an annual turnover of less than one hundred million, and that was with over one hundred stores. No wonder the other company paid so well.