My Daily Basic Stipend Is 10 Million

Chapter 174: Chapter 160: Joy for Some, Sorrow for Others

Chen Xiao had made several moves against the Four Seasons Clothing brands. Though nothing was ever said outright, Huang Guangyuan got the message loud and clear.

At his level, the art of picking sides was a skill he had perfected.

So, from avoiding Xia Bin to giving him the cold shoulder, everything was a calculated expression of his stance.

"President Xia, this is the corporation’s decision. My hands are tied. The spot for Ledi has to be given to a key brand the company is bringing in."

Xia Bin was instantly furious, his tone turning harsh. "Mr. Huang, we’ve had a pleasant partnership with three of our brands here. Now you’re pulling two of them at once? What business do I even have left?"

Huang Guangyuan smiled. "Well, another brand has its eye on the Erte spot, too. If President Xia really feels there’s no point in keeping just one brand, you can give that spot back to us as well."

’Damn it, this old bastard is pushing it too far!’

Looking at Huang Guangyuan’s beaming face, Xia Bin fought the urge to rush over and ruin it.

But he didn’t dare. Huang Guangyuan could pull Erte at any moment, especially since the renewal contract hadn’t been signed yet.

Besides, his Four Seasons Clothing primarily dealt in high-end brands. In the entire Han River region, Ganglong International was the one venue he couldn’t afford to lose, making Huang Guangyuan the one person he couldn’t afford to offend.

’If I can’t win over Huang Guangyuan, my only hope is to persuade the brand companies themselves!’

Driving his Cullinan back to the office, he mulled over his recent streak of bad luck. ’What the hell is going on?’

’Could this stuff be contagious? That guy Peng Yu has been having the worst luck lately, too!’

Major anchor brands were pulling out of his malls one after another, and despite Peng Yu moving heaven and earth, he couldn’t get them to stay.

This had a massive impact on the malls’ rent collection and foot traffic. It was estimated that foot traffic for the month would drop by 10%, with rent collection falling by over 3 million.

A 10% drop in foot traffic shouldn’t be underestimated; for many brands inside operating at their break-even point, it was catastrophic.

The 3 million drop in rent was another huge blow. Wansheng Group Headquarters was currently strapped for cash—so much so that they were even selling off some of their premium malls. It was a clear sign of how strictly the group was cracking down on collection rates.

Arrears were not tolerated. Either the general managers had to cover the shortfall themselves, or they could pack their bags!

Fortunately, the annual income for a Wansheng Square general manager was quite substantial, close to 1 million. But for each one to have to fork over several hundred thousand was still a gut-wrenching expense.

Besides, it wasn’t the only thing they had to cover out of pocket throughout the year.

As a result, complaints were rampant among the mall managers. They were highly critical of the regional office, believing it had failed to act in coordinating with the various brands.

They questioned the incompetence of the regional business development department. Many of the GMs came close to pointing their fingers in Li Chun’s face and cursing him out for his passivity, with some even threatening to complain to the group headquarters.

Luckily, Peng Yu’s old, fearsome reputation was enough to keep the GMs from openly rebelling against him for the time being.

But Peng Yu knew his easy days were over.

Having lost Jiangzhou Wansheng Square, Peng Yu no longer had a flagship mall. He went from being courted and flattered by numerous brands to having to be the one to invite people for tea every day.

Many of his malls now needed the support of these brands, but he had no good projects to offer them in return.

One-sided giving is never sustainable.

Even in a romantic relationship, if one person is constantly the only one giving, it’s not going to last.

So Peng Yu was now drowning in problems. Every day he was either negotiating a brand’s withdrawal or on his way to one.

When you have nothing left to offer, begging is fucking useless!

His only solution now was to build a new flagship. He went to his backer, Wang Jun, the president of Wansheng Group, and applied for a special subsidy of 500,000.

He planned to invest the 500,000 into Jiangzhou Economic Development Zone Wansheng Square right when Junxiao Square was having its grand opening. This was partly to rebuild a flagship mall and partly to strike a blow against Junxiao Square.

A special subsidy of 500,000 was a considerable sum for Peng Yu. Back when he was at Jiangzhou Wansheng, his entire annual budget might have only been 500,000. He was confident that injecting this 500,000 would be enough to deal a blow to Junxiao Square.

After all, aside from a few anchor brands, the brand overlap between Jiangzhou Economic Development Zone Wansheng Square and Junxiao Square was 70%. If his mall launched a massive promotional campaign and built up hype in advance, he was sure he could lure a portion of Junxiao Square’s customers over.

It would simultaneously boost his own mall’s foot traffic and deliver a head-on blow to Junxiao Square. After all, everyone wants a strong start for good luck, right?

Zhao Hui didn’t know about Peng Yu’s plan, but he had already instructed Wu Fang to plan a promotional event using 2 million in cash vouchers for the first month of their opening.

His 2 million, however, was on a completely different level from Peng Yu’s 500,000.

This was because the malls were in different tiers. At Junxiao Square, the cost for cash vouchers would be split 50/50 between the mall and the tenants at most.

At Jiangzhou Economic Development Zone Wansheng Square, however, the split was typically 70/30, with the mall covering the larger share.

In other words, Zhao Hui’s 2 million contribution would result in a total of 4 million in cash vouchers being issued, while Peng Yu’s 500,000 could only fund about 714,000 in vouchers.

At the same time, Zhao Hui demanded that Wu Fang secure a partnership with Dr. Feng’s Robot Company immediately. The grand opening needed both PR and SP activities to run in parallel!

Wu Fang agreed without hesitation. ’If I show up at Dr. Feng’s Robot Company with a 10 million order,’ he thought, ’won’t their GM personally roll out the red carpet for me?’

’They’ve probably never dreamed in their lives of an order just falling into their laps while they sit back and relax.’

’And Chen Xiao... that guy is unbelievably lucky. He gets President Zhao’s special attention and is handed a 10 million order just like that. He must be getting a bonus big enough to make his hands go soft.’

Dr. Feng’s Robot Co., Ltd.

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