After the meal, Shen Meng went to pay the bill.
It seemed the two had developed an unspoken agreement: for less expensive outings like this, Shen Meng always paid.
Yang Hui took quiet notice of the many unfriendly stares from those around them, gazes filled with disdain and jealousy. But he considered it a good thing to be envied by others. After all, only the mediocre escape envy.
[System-bound individual Shen Meng has spent 260 yuan on behalf of the Host. Activating random cash-back multiplier.]
Finally, the roulette wheel stopped. 60x!
[Cash-Back Multiplier: 60x
Cash-Back Amount: 15,600 yuan
Mission Progress: 1950/50000]
’Not bad. A little extra spending money, and the mission progress is a lot more significant than what I got from that cup of juice.’
He led Shen Meng back to the central hall on the first floor. Shen Meng joked, "What, you want another glass of juice?"
The NLB Store was located diagonally across from the juice stand.
Yang Hui walked over to a side door in the construction hoarding, gave it a push, then immediately shut it. "Never mind, let’s not go in. It’s under construction and full of dust."
Shen Meng had no idea what he was doing. She stared at him, her almond-shaped eyes demanding an explanation.
"This store that’s being renovated," he began, "is about to become an NLB."
She let out a soft "oh," her interest instantly fading. "Isn’t Zhang Li in charge of NLB? What’s it got to do with you?"
"Who says NLB has to belong to Futong Commerce?"
As Shen Meng stared at him blankly, he explained, "NLB has two provincial distributors in Qingjiang Province. Futong Commerce is one of them. The other is Yanghe Commerce."
Shen Meng grew even more confused. "Yanghe Commerce?"
She had never heard of the company. ’What does that have to do with us?’ she wondered.
"And Yanghe Commerce... is my company."
In the space of 0.3 seconds, the lazy look in Shen Meng’s eyes transformed into one of sheer shock. "Your company?"
"That’s right. My company. This NLB Store is my first one. See the storefront next door? It’s going to start renovations next week too. That one’s for another brand I’m running, Zen."
Her initial shock quickly gave way to a new kind of alarm. Her eyebrows shot up, and under the glare of the spotlights, her long lashes cast a shadow across her cheekbones, hiding the lower lip she was now biting. "Did you join Futong Commerce to be a corporate spy? That’s illegal!"
He couldn’t help but laugh. "You watch too much TV. What kind of corporate spy am I? If Li Yang asked, I’d tell him straight to his face. If he has a problem with it, he can fire me. What’s his crappy little company got that would possibly interest a spy anyway?"
"I asked you here because I wanted to discuss something. Once this store is open and things have stabilized, you should come work for Yanghe Commerce."
Even though she had tacitly accepted her role as his girlfriend, Yang Hui wouldn’t force her hand when it came to her career. That was a matter of respect.
That’s why he framed it as a discussion, not an order.
Shen Meng agreed without a second thought. "Okay. When do you need me?"
Her quick agreement caught him off guard. "You’re not even going to ask about the pay? You just agreed? What if it doesn’t meet your expectations?"
Shen Meng chuckled. "Pay? Your company is brand new, this is the hardest time for you. That’s why I said I’d come help. Why would I bring up pay?"
He understood what she meant. She had agreed so quickly because she knew his company was a startup going through its most difficult phase. The "difficulty" wasn’t just about sales figures, but likely about funding too. By joining him, she could help boost online sales while also helping him save on expenses.
Yang Hui took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "I’m not asking you to join me to save money."
"I want to give you a place where you can really shine, and at the same time, create a new sales channel for my brands.
As for your salary... if I have to sacrifice what you deserve just to make a profit, then I don’t want that profit."
He didn’t make any sappy speeches. Instead, he simply laid out the job tiers and corresponding salary structures for employees at Yanghe Commerce.
"It’s that high? Then how do you make any money?" She looked up at him abruptly, the collar of her silk blouse parting slightly with her sharp intake of breath.
It completely upended her understanding of the business. How could a retail company offer such high salaries? Even the lowest-level employees started with a base salary of 10,000.
Retail is a labor-intensive industry that requires a huge workforce, making labor costs a major pressure point. His starting salaries were nearly double those of other companies. Where was the profit margin?
After all, for most retail companies, slaving away for an entire year to achieve a net profit margin of over 8% was already considered an incredible feat.
With Yang Hui’s compensation model, unless he could drastically increase sales volume and employee efficiency, the labor costs alone would crush him.
He knew she was worried about him and just smiled calmly. ’What’s there to be afraid of? With the system’s powerful support, I can definitely build the ideal company I’ve always envisioned.’
"Trust me," he said. "We won’t just make money. We’ll make a lot of money."
He spoke with such conviction that Shen Meng’s certainty began to waver.
’Maybe he really can do it,’ she thought. ’In that case, I’ll join him on this venture. Starting a business from scratch together... that would be a great feeling, wouldn’t it?’
"Letting you use Xinyue Group’s resources for the Airex livestream is actually just practice for our own brands’ online sales in the future—a way to get a feel for it. If it goes well, we can start doing it ourselves as soon as our store opens."
"Okay. In that case, I’ll hand in my resignation soon."
He understood. A standard resignation required a one-month notice period. Futong Commerce would have to hire a new streamer, and she would need to train her replacement.
He nodded. Since she was going to leave anyway, the sooner the better.
"Oh, Yang Hui! Some people from NLB came to the office today. Do you think your connection to Yanghe Commerce will be exposed? If it is, at the company... at the company..."
She had meant to say that if he were exposed, Li Yang would definitely fire him. But then she realized—so what if he got fired? He had his own company. He probably didn’t care about this job anyway.
At the same time, she couldn’t help but wonder. ’If he has his own company, why is he out here working a regular job? He must be incredibly bored.’
As for that, Yang Hui’s explanation was that he wanted to get out and learn, to observe other companies’ management styles. By taking the best from each, he could form his own management philosophy and use it to strengthen his own company.
It sounded a little far-fetched, but it was a plausible explanation. Shen Meng nodded slowly, then suddenly added, "Well, whatever you do, don’t learn from Li Yang. I think his management style is so lame. He’s a textbook evil capitalist."
Yang Hui burst out laughing.
"Don’t worry. I know how to separate the wheat from the chaff. I don’t think much of him either. Once I get the Airex team here sorted out, I’m gone."
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