Chapter 358 - 232: System Data Updated

As a fallback, the store manager tried to confirm the mall’s platform and in-store promotional support for July, only to be told it had also been canceled.

The mall’s reasoning was simple—it had all been special support. Surely Futong Commerce didn’t think this was the new normal, did they?

Indeed. No other brand had ever received that level of support, so you couldn’t expect it every month. Blame the mall? That wouldn’t be right. Wasn’t this a textbook case of a good deed breeding resentment? Where the support they gave was now being met with bitterness.

The store manager returned to the shop, dejected. His confidence in next month’s sales performance had vanished. This wasn’t just happening at one store; all twenty-one Airex stores in Xinyue Square were facing the same problem.

The store managers reported the situation to their supervisors. The supervisors had a pretty good idea of what was going on—Manager Yang had been the one to negotiate those deals. Now that he was gone, the mall naturally rescinded them.

This news naturally made its way up the chain of command to Yang Wei. He had been full of confidence and high spirits, eagerly awaiting the start of his new position the next day. But this news felt like a club to the head. He panicked the moment he heard the supervisors describe the potential impact on the stores’ sales performance.

In June, Airex’s total offline store sales had been 10.2 million. If what the supervisors said was true, and each store lost 100,000 in sales, wouldn’t that be a total loss of 2.1 million? A 20% drop from this alone? ’Are you kidding me? Don’t screw me over like this! I’m just taking over, and sales are already set to plummet by 20%? The company is going to kill me!’

Yang Wei scrambled to call Dan Biao and report the emergency. But Dan Biao, who had long been prepared for such an event, simply said calmly, "Ah, Xiaoyang, securing promotional resources from the malls is part of our job as managers. Don’t panic, don’t lose your head. When the sun sets, the moon still shines. Go talk to them tomorrow."

’What the hell,’ Yang Wei thought. ’Is he reciting poetry now? President Shan isn’t worried in the slightest. Does he already have a plan? Still, he wants me to go negotiate... who am I even supposed to talk to? That Cheng Jun isn’t exactly a reasonable person.’

Before the issue with Xinyue Square was even resolved, the supervisors delivered more bad news. The dozen-plus Airex stores in Yida Department Store had also lost their monthly consumer subsidy coupons—the extra fifty coupons for "100 off any 1,000 purchase" were gone. Yang Wei was dumbfounded. That meant another loss of over 500,000 in monthly sales from those stores.

’Why? Why crank up the difficulty on me the moment I take over?’ He wrung his hands in anxiety. There was no point calling Dan Biao. If he reported this, the reply would undoubtedly be the same as before: go negotiate with Yida Department Store himself.

He could only try to console himself. ’Sure, the subsidy coupons help close deals, but that doesn’t mean the customers who used them won’t buy anything at all without them. The drop in sales probably won’t be as bad as the supervisors are making it out to be.’

Even Zhu Jing got wind of the situation. The dumplings were all wrapped, and Xia Jie had gone to the kitchen to boil them, leaving Zhu Jing on the sofa to chat with Yang Hui. He wasn’t keeping his hands to himself, either, occasionally giving her thigh a squeeze. The act startled Zhu Jing, who kept glancing nervously toward the kitchen, terrified Xia Jie would see. But deep down, she felt a strange thrill. ’This feeling... this secrecy... it’s actually kind of nice,’ she thought.

Zhu Jing had received messages from several store managers, but she didn’t reply, instead glancing over at Yang Hui. She knew exactly how those special conditions had come about. The Airex team had been struggling to get by for so long, and then they suddenly had a month of feasting. Just as everyone was celebrating, thinking the good times had finally arrived, they were told that next month, everything would go back to the way it was. The blow to morale was even more devastating than the struggles they had faced before.

It’s one thing to have never known the good life. But once you’ve had a taste, who can ever go back?

The three of them sat down to eat. They were at a square table, with Zhu Jing beside Yang Hui and Xia Jie across from him.

Yang Hui popped a shrimp dumpling into his mouth, making sounds of appreciation. "These are amazing," he praised. "You two are great cooks."

Xia Jie replied shyly, "If you want to eat them again, just come over anytime. Zhu Jing and I will take good care of you."

’The two of them taking care of me?’ A thrill shot through Yang Hui as an indescribable scene flashed through his mind. At the same moment, Zhu Jing felt a sudden warmth on her thigh. She shot a look at Xia Jie, then quickly pretended to eat as if nothing had happened. An itchy, tingling sensation spread across her thigh, making her heart race.

"Alright, then," he laughed. "That’s an offer I can’t refuse."

Xia Jie was in the middle of eating a dumpling when her expression suddenly froze. The dumpling dropped from her chopsticks into her bowl. A blush crept up her face. Under her skirt, someone’s toes had just found their way inside. ’He’s so bold! What if Zhu Jing sees?’ She quickly lowered her head and focused on eating, pretending nothing was wrong.

Neither of them knew that he was making a move on both of them at the same time.

Although Zhu Jing wouldn’t officially start her new position until the next day, she already had Zen’s key business figures memorized. To date, Zen had sales of 2.1 million, largely thanks to its first week, when it sold nearly 1.5 million.

NLB, which had opened ten days earlier than Zen, had sales of 2.4 million. With a few hours left before closing, each brand could probably add another 20,000 or so to their sales. It was a bumper month.

Starting next month, the mall would still provide some consumer subsidy coupons and promotional support, but it likely wouldn’t have the same explosive impact as the grand opening. They would have to wait and see what the actual results would be.

Xia Jie was on cloud nine this month. Her bonus alone was 9,000 yuan, which was more than her entire monthly income back at Futong Commerce. And that bonus was just one of her several streams of income at her new job.