Chapter 377: Payday 2

This time, she would go to Shanghai to handle her affairs and hand over her work. The next time she came to Qingzhou, it would be for the long term. He remembered the mission his system had issued to conquer Hu Mei. ‘There hasn’t been any progress lately. Once she gets back, I’ll have to turn up the heat.’

As soon as he took office, he implemented a massive, company-wide salary increase, winning over all the employees in one fell swoop. When he came to work today, all the department heads proactively came to report in and curry favor. Naturally, this included Qin Hong. Previously, Yang Hui had been her peer. She had thrown herself at him, and he would occasionally take advantage of the opportunity to flirt, but now that he was her superior, he maintained a bit of distance. It was clear she was somewhat disappointed by this.

She didn’t understand that the Yang Hui of today was no longer the single young man he used to be, starved for affection. He was now surrounded by a goddess-level girlfriend like Shen Meng, sweethearts like Zhu Jing and Xia Jie, a campus belle like Huang Lingyu, and an actress with superb skills like Liu Shasha. How could he possibly be interested in someone like Qin Hong? He was dining on gourmet meals every day now.

Ever since the incident where he’d groped the wrong person, Wenren Meng had been avoiding him for a few days. He felt a bit guilty himself and deliberately kept his distance. What he didn’t know, however, was that the reason Wenren Meng was avoiding him wasn’t that he’d mistakenly touched her, but rather that he had called out “Meng Meng” in his sleep.

In the past few days, Manager Fu from HR had lived up to the task, selecting a decent Channel Development Department Manager for him named Li Chao. Li Chao had experience at a large corporation and was quite familiar with many clients in Qingjiang Province, so he could get up to speed quickly.

“Xiaocai, ask Li Chao to come in.”

Xiaocai was President Zhao’s former assistant and now worked as an assistant for Yang Hui. During the recent salary adjustments, her pay had jumped from 5,000 to 8,000 yuan. This instantly made her loyalty to Yang Hui surpass even her loyalty to President Zhao, mainly because President Yang was generous with money.

A moment later, Li Chao came in. He was in his early thirties, and being the head of the Channel Development Department at his age could be considered young and promising. But looking at the regional general manager before him, who was clearly only in his early twenties, his confidence instantly turned into a feeling of inferiority.

“Li Chao, have a seat.” Yang Hui stopped what he was doing, leaned back in his executive chair, found a comfortable position, and spoke casually to Li Chao.

Li Chao didn’t dare to be so casual. He sat down stiffly in the chair opposite him, bolt upright.

“You’ve been here a few days now. How are you finding it?”

“It’s going great, President Yang. My colleagues have all been very helpful.”

Yang Hui nodded. Since joining the company, he had focused on tackling its previously lax atmosphere. In the past, everyone had slacked off mainly due to low pay, adopting a “just getting by” mentality. They figured it wasn’t a big deal if they quit. But now, with such a significant pay raise, everyone cherished their job.

“Tell me about the key priorities for the Channel Development Department. What are your plans for the next steps?”

Li Chao had clearly done his homework. He thought for a moment before speaking at a measured pace. “The work of the Channel Development Department mainly involves store openings, contract renewals, and store closures, as well as other tasks such as negotiating rent reductions.”

“Regarding store openings, our main focus is currently on shopping center projects. As for renewals—”

“Let me stop you there. Everything you’re mentioning is at the operational level. I’m more interested in seeing your overall strategic plan.”

Li Chao nodded, looking as though he only partially understood. Yang Hui continued, “In your next report, I want you to tell me the projected revenue from new stores for the entire year, how many new locations you’ll open to achieve that, which business districts you’re targeting for these stores, and the timeline for their openings to meet our annual goals.

“The same goes for renewals. How many stores are up for renewal this year, and what is the target cap for the overall rent increase? For rent reductions and closures, I also want the big picture first, then the details.”

Li Chao grew a little nervous. This President Yang was clearly not someone you could bullshit. He wasn’t interested in vague generalizations; he wanted concrete, actionable plans that could be implemented.

He thought for a moment before answering honestly, “President Yang, I’ll go back and do my homework. I’ll prepare a comprehensive strategic plan and report back to you then.”

Yang Hui understood that Li Chao’s thoughts on the matter weren’t fully formed yet. He nodded, actually appreciating this response—admitting when you’re not ready and coming back when you are prepared.

“Alright, I’ll give you one week. Bring the strategic plan to me for review then. Also, our partnership with Xinyue Group covers 21 of our stores, which makes them a top priority. They account for not only a third of our company’s total revenue but also more than half of our profits. You need to maintain close contact with Xinyue Group.”

‘I need to develop Li Chao’s capabilities.’ He had his connection with Brother Chun, and with Zong Lan as the current regional manager, normal work matters shouldn’t be an issue. ‘But I can’t be stepping in for every trivial little thing in the future, nor can I just go directly to their regional general manager for every minor problem.’

‘The Channel Development Manager is the perfect liaison. He can handle the small stuff. And since the higher-ups have a good relationship, it should be smooth sailing for him to coordinate things with Xinyue Group’s leasing managers.’

Li Chao acknowledged the instructions. “I’ve already studied the data on Xinyue Group,” he said. “At my previous company, I often dealt with regional leasing teams, so I’m quite familiar with the process. I took a look at our current commercial terms, and they’re far below their standard rental rates. Since these leases are expiring soon, the pressure to renew will be immense. For that reason, I’ll be focusing my efforts on this over the next couple of days.”