Chapter 371 - 225: Unlimited Firing Rights

Chapter 371: Chapter 225: Unlimited Firing Rights

Gotta say, a woman’s sixth sense is scarily accurate!

Chen Xiao felt his pride was hurt and replied, "I’m done talking. You’re questioning my honesty!"

Bai Lu sent a rolling-eyes emoji. "I never used to doubt you. That’s why I was pulling 996s at the office for a month straight, until I heard you..."

’Forget it. The trust is gone. This conversation is over!’

When they first met, Bai Lu had been moved by his hardworking, "brick-moving" attitude as a salesman. She was inspired to change her own ways and dedicate herself to her job. But then she discovered Chen Xiao was the king of skipping work, and that image shattered instantly.

Dinner was ready. When Chen Xiao went into the kitchen to bring out the dishes, he gave Zhao Xiangjun a start.

"Chen Xiao, what’s wrong with you?"

Chen Xiao, who never set foot in the kitchen, was actually helping carry out the food. She was worried he’d fried his brain.

"To save time~!"

Xu Jia and Zhao Xiangjun looked at each other, baffled.

During the meal, Chen Xiao scarfed down his food in a flash. Then he stared at Xu Jia and said, "Hurry up and eat. It’s getting cold!"

Xu Jia finally realized what he was up to. She turned to Zhao Xiangjun and said, "He’s trying to get rid of me!"

Zhao Xiangjun saw it too. Chen Xiao immediately shot her a pitiful look. She got it in an instant, her face flushing red as she shot him a glare.

But she still said to Xu Jia, "Jiajia, you should eat a little faster."

Xu Jia looked at her pitifully, like an abandoned child.

"Xiangjun, didn’t you say you cared about me most? How can you take his side!"

"When did I say that?!"

"Last year! Don’t you remember?"

"I remember, but Chen Xiao wasn’t in the picture back then!"

Xu Jia was instantly defeated. She viciously shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice. "How could you choose a man over your best friend!" ℴℴ𝗺

Zhao Xiangjun blinked and said nothing, probably feeling a pang of guilt toward her best friend. But for Chen Xiao’s sake, she’d just have to let her friend down this time.

The moment Xu Jia stepped out the door!

Chen Xiao shot to his feet, startling Zhao Xiangjun.

"What are you doing? You’re making me jumpy!"

"Come on, back to the bedroom!"

He scooped her up in his arms.

"Ah! We haven’t done the dishes yet!"

"Forget the dishes!" ’Who has time for that? Any longer and I’ll spontaneously combust!’

"We haven’t showered yet!"

"Then we won’t shower~!"

"No way!" She was a stickler for cleanliness and would feel gross if she didn’t shower.

"Fine, then we’ll shower together~!"

"Chen Xiao, you pervert!"

Two hours later... Zhao Xiangjun’s breathless voice drifted from the bedroom. "Chen Xiao, go find Xu Wu... just go find Xu Wu..."

...

Chen Xiao hadn’t been able to get his fill. After all, he’d been holding back for so many days, and he was a man of peerless vigor.

But he didn’t dare overdo it, afraid he might hurt her.

-----------------

On Friday, Wanhong Square fought back.

They launched a massive promotional blitz, sending invitations to all members through the mall’s mini-program.

The scale of the event was similar to Junxiao Square’s, with tenants’ discounts adjusted to rock bottom. The prices were just a few yuan higher than at Junxiao Square.

This move was designed to meet Wanhong Square’s need to lower prices while also satisfying Junxiao Square’s demand that its tenants offer the lowest discounts in the city there.

In a mall war, the tenants and consumers are the real winners.

The effect was immediate. Some local shoppers were indeed won back, and foot traffic in the mall began to resemble its glory days.

Fight and negotiate.

Junxiao Business Management’s strategy for acquiring Wanhong Square was to fight and negotiate simultaneously.

Likewise, even though Miao Lei had already agreed to meet with Xu Jun, it was all the more reason for him to use swift, decisive measures to revive the commercial atmosphere at Wanhong Square.

Only then could he prove his ability and his value. This too was part of fighting and negotiating.

"President Miao, the mall seems pretty popular today."

The two men were sitting in a teahouse not far from Wanhong Square. Through the window, they could see the mall’s outdoor plaza, where the crowd was much larger than the previous weekend.

The promotion’s effect was immediate.

A hint of pride showed on Miao Lei’s face. He was glad his arrangements for the week had paid off.

Otherwise, meeting with Xu Jun today would have been tantamount to begging for surrender, and he certainly wouldn’t be feeling so calm and collected.

"We had no choice. With the economy in a downturn, consumers are extremely price-sensitive. Seeing the promotions at the two Junxiao Square locations, we decided to clumsily follow suit. At least it had some effect. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to face my team."

Xu Jun smiled. He could detect the pride in Miao Lei’s voice. He took a sip of tea and said, "Three malls holding major events at the same time... this is an unprecedented spectacle."

The three malls he referred to were, of course, the two Junxiao Squares and Wanhong Square.

He then added, "If we keep this up, it could be considered a good deed for the tenants and consumers."

’Keep this up?’ Miao Lei frowned and took a sip of his tea.

He had considered that Junxiao Business Management might continue the promotion, but you could only sustain that kind of event for two or three rounds at most. How could they possibly keep it up indefinitely? Wasn’t that just burning money?

"President Xu, what’s the point of running a promotion like this long-term?"

"In an economic downturn, it injects some vitality into the market and allows Junxiao Business Management’s partner tenants and consumers to benefit."

’Official-sounding nonsense. Empty platitudes! If you weren’t doing this to crush your competition, I’ll eat my hat.’

But Miao Lei could read between the lines. The likelihood of Junxiao Business Management continuing these high-intensity promotions was very high.

In other words, his time was running out. If he couldn’t negotiate a good deal with Junxiao Business Management this month, then next month he’d be joining them as a defeated general, and his compensation package would likely be slashed.

He was overthinking it. The current Junxiao Business Management was never stingy with the people it wanted to recruit.

Even if Miao Lei lost this battle, the blame couldn’t be pinned on him. After all, he was facing a focused-fire assault from Junxiao Business Management.

Any ironclad fortress would be reduced to ash under such an attack.

"President Xu, getting approval for a major promotion like this must be a hassle on your end, right? After all, we’re talking several million a month."

Xu Jun smiled faintly, unafraid of letting Miao Lei in on the details.

"The group gives each store’s general manager a sufficient marketing budget. Take the two malls in Jiangzhou, for example. Their combined annual marketing budget is over 25 million, and that’s money the general managers can use at their own discretion."

"And when it comes to launching promotions, the group gives every single mall general manager the unlimited right to open fire."