Chapter 80: Forcing the Palace

Chapter 80: Chapter 80: Forcing the Palace

Yino’s Jiangzhou Branch had annual sales of nearly 500 million, contributing around 40 million in profit. An 8% net profit margin was quite good in the current market environment!

Moreover, its retail operations were still growing every year. For the upcoming year, Liu Haoran’s annual business goal was a 15% increase in scale.

He also joked, "This morning during a meeting, our boss told us the group has too much cash on its books and that we should open more stores and spend more money!"

This was his way of showcasing the company’s strength.

Peng Yu offered a few dry laughs, though he was inwardly disdainful. ’How much cash could a retail company possibly have on its books?’

Wansheng Group collected tens of billions in rent each year.

In truth, that wasn’t a fair comparison. Yino Group’s assets were almost entirely net, with no debt.

Wansheng Group, on the other hand, had high revenue but also massive expenses and staggering debt.

But for these professional managers, debt was the boss’s problem. The size of the platform was what mattered to them.

Liu Haoran expressed his desire to further expand their partnership. Peng Yu listened nonchalantly before saying, "You can coordinate with Li Chun about that later. He’s in charge of recruitment. As for mutual development, I support it in principle!"

It was a boilerplate response, but those words at least meant that Liu Haoran could come to him if he ran into a problem he truly couldn’t solve.

"President Liu, I actually called you here today for something else!"

Liu Haoran froze for a moment, realizing this was likely the main topic.

He sat up straight and said politely, "Please, go on."

"I was inspecting the stores recently and discovered an employee in your logistics department with very poor professionalism. He looks like a young punk, and it seriously damages your corporate image!"

"Having someone like that in your company isn’t good for its growth. It makes business partners like us question your standards!"

Liu Haoran was completely baffled. ’You’re the regional president of Wansheng Group, and you’re talking to me about a single logistics employee?’

’I can’t even be bothered to ask about one or two people in the departments below me. Aren’t you using a cannon to kill a mosquito, making a mountain out of a molehill here?’

"Thank you, President Peng, for pointing out our management issues. I’ll go back and immediately convene a special meeting with the logistics department and demand they make corrections!"

Peng Yu shook his head. "The employee’s name is Zhao Hui. I think you, President Liu, should tell someone like that to get the hell out immediately!"

He was normally so calculating, yet he was visibly struggling to control his temper.

When had he, Peng Yu, ever been humiliated like this? For a man of his status, the insult of that kick was far too great.

Zhao Hui? Liu Haoran’s eyes narrowed. He looked directly at Peng Yu and asked, "A young, handsome fellow?"

Peng Yu replied, "Yes. I believe he’s the supervisor of your logistics department."

’Then it’s definitely him,’ Liu Haoran thought. ’How on earth did these two get tangled up? They’re from completely different worlds.’

"President Peng, could there be some kind of misunderstanding? Zhao Hui is a new hire, and he’s always been very humble and polite in his interactions at the company!"

Peng Yu’s expression darkened. "President Liu, you may not know me very well, but I am never wrong about people!"

"I have other matters to attend to. President Liu, you should go back and handle this. Please inform me of the outcome!"

This was a clear dismissal. ’He got this furious just because I tried to explain things a little?’

Liu Haoran didn’t understand why Peng Yu was so insistent on him firing Zhao Hui, but he knew he absolutely could not touch him.

’Are you kidding me? Offending Peng Yu would, at worst, mean we stop cooperating with Wansheng Square. The resulting loss in performance would affect my KPIs.’

’But that’s still better than getting rid of Zhao Hui and directly offending the CEO. That would be career suicide. He was clear on the stakes.’

He didn’t stay any longer. He needed to go back and think of a countermeasure to deal with Peng Yu’s likely retaliation.

Peng Yu had no idea this thorn named Zhao Hui would be so difficult to handle. He assumed Liu Haoran would understand the situation.

Those who sided with him prospered; those who opposed him perished.

A supervisor from a non-essential department versus the head of the largest landlord in the Han River area—he believed Liu Haoran knew how to make the right choice.

’That young punk dared to offend me. I’ll teach him a lesson he’ll never forget. I’ll make him understand the consequences of sticking his neck out.’

Lost in thought, Liu Haoran had just gotten into his company car when Wu Ting called.

An idea sparked in his mind as he picked up the phone. "Assistant Wu!"

"President Liu, the CEO is coming to Jiangzhou again in the next couple of days. It’s a secret visit this time, so don’t alert anyone. This is just for you to know."

’The CEO is coming again?’ He tensed up at first, assuming something was wrong on his end.

But on second thought, he realized that if he were the problem, the CEO would never have his assistant give him a heads-up. He instantly relaxed.

At the same time, he tentatively asked Wu Ting, "Assistant Wu, about that Zhao Hui... who is he?"

Wu Ting thought for a moment before replying, "It’s not convenient to say right now."

’Why all the mystery?’ Liu Haoran grumbled internally before adding, "He may have made a mistake."

"Impossible."

’What do you mean, "impossible"? How can you be so sure?’ Liu Haoran pressed on, "The complaint came from the regional head of one of our partners!"

"President Liu, either the other person is mistaken, or they saw things incorrectly. Zhao Hui would not be in the wrong. I have to go, the CEO needs me for something."

’Either the other person is mistaken, or they saw things incorrectly. He could not possibly be in the wrong?’

Liu Haoran heard the protectiveness in her tone. It meant that even if Zhao Hui made a mistake, it wasn’t to be considered his fault.

’And the CEO made a special call just for him...’ ’Don’t think about it, don’t think about it. The implications are terrifying!’

This strengthened his earlier conviction. He absolutely would not discipline Zhao Hui. In fact, not only would he not discipline him, he would have to treat him like a king.

’As for Peng Yu, let him do whatever he wants. Worst case, we stop all cooperation with Wansheng. The CEO will have my back anyway.’

After collecting all his bonus money, Chen Xiao had been constantly thinking about where his next deal would come from.

He worked so hard and completed so many deals, yet the money he earned wasn’t even a fraction of what was in Zhao Xiangjun’s specialized fund.

If this kept up, how could he maintain his authority as the man of the house? Unacceptable!

So, where would the new business come from? In reality, there were countless fields that could be integrated with AI; nearly every industry was a potential candidate.

He had established a capital management company with this goal in mind. For one, with his Wisdom Eye, his investments were sure to be profitable.

At the same time, he could use his capital’s influence to compel his portfolio companies to do business with him, effectively earning back his initial investment.

It was a business with outrageous returns. Buffett might be known as the king of investing, but when it came to return on investment, he wouldn’t be able to catch up to him even on horseback!

Thinking of the capital management company, he sent a message to Xu Wu asking how the preparations were going.

What could possibly be prepared in a single day? The company wasn’t even registered yet, so they couldn’t begin recruiting.

So, Chen Xiao just told her to buy the company car first. He gave her a budget of 1.5 million and told her to pick it out herself.

For a capital management company, you had to keep up appearances.

He transferred 1.5 million from his personal account to Xu Wu so she could get it done.

Having never seen so much money before, Xu Wu couldn’t help but count the zeros over and over again after receiving the transfer.

She had originally planned on buying a Buick GL8, but with a budget of 1.5 million, Chen Xiao obviously had something else in mind.

A GL8 only cost around 300,000; he wouldn’t have set such a high budget for that.