Chapter 258 - 198: A Slave?

Xia Jie was at Zen with her crew of women, stocking merchandise. These women had been in company training for over a week. They identified with the company’s culture, and the high salary and excellent benefits made them deeply appreciate their jobs. With NLB’s brilliant success serving as a shining example, they were all fired up, determined to go head-to-head with them on sales performance.

NLB’s sales on its opening day had been 150,000. The Zen store manager had just quietly spoken with her team and set a goal: to break 200,000 in sales tomorrow. She even promised that if they hit that target, she would treat everyone to Haidilao hot pot after their shift.

In the past, they could never have afforded to treat everyone to a meal like this on their salaries. If they did go out for a group dinner, they would have had to go Dutch or use the company’s team-building budget. But everyone could see what a store manager at Yanghe Commerce earned. Take the NLB manager, for example—they had done the math, and her take-home pay for the month would very likely break 30,000.

Who could have imagined a store manager earning such a high monthly income? This greatly boosted their motivation. The company was in a growth phase, and their training instructor had told them many more stores were set to open. If they worked hard, they all had a chance to be promoted to store manager, or even supervisor.

Dan Biao pulled open the side of the temporary partition and stepped inside. He noticed that not a single person was slacking off. It was a stark contrast to the employees at Futong Commerce, who were always milking the clock. There, it was common to see people taking bathroom breaks every few minutes, only to disappear for ages.

Here, however, the work was divided in a perfectly orderly fashion. The cleaning crew missed no detail in any corner. The floor was polished until it shone like a mirror, and if even a single speck of dust appeared, someone would immediately wipe it clean.

Xia Jie was busy arranging product displays with her team. When she turned and saw Dan Biao, she guessed he was looking for her. She told the others to carry on, then walked over to him and offered a simple greeting. "President Shan."

"Xia Jie, can we talk for a minute?"

They were right in the middle of things, and she was about to refuse—she felt she had nothing to discuss with anyone from Futong Commerce. But the store manager nearby must have overheard. Assuming it was a friend, she said, "Go ahead and talk, boss. I’ll make sure everything gets done right here."

"President Shan, let’s go to the lounge," Xia Jie said after a moment’s thought. Since he was already in the store, she led him to the VIP lounge, planning to hear him out, say a few words, and then get rid of him.

This was Dan Biao’s first time inside the lounge, and he was slightly taken aback. The customer lounge at the dealership where he serviced his Cadillac was nowhere near as luxurious as Yanghe Commerce’s. The massage chairs, the enormous sofa—everything screamed high-end.

There was freshly ground Blue Mountain coffee, but since the store wasn’t open for business yet, there were no pastries. They weren’t allowed to be kept overnight.

Xia Jie personally prepared a cup of coffee for him. "So, President Shan, what brings you here today?"

Dan Biao took a sip. It was the real deal—far better than Starbucks, he thought. ’Damn, Yanghe Commerce really isn’t afraid to spend money.’ Suddenly, he felt his confidence about the purpose of his visit wavering.

"Xia Jie, you’re managing NLB wonderfully. I’ve heard about its sales figures for the past few days. They’ve exceeded everyone’s expectations."

Xia Jie replied calmly, "I wouldn’t say that. All of us here think it’s perfectly normal."

Dan Biao was momentarily speechless. ’So what I found unbelievable, they consider business as usual.’ How had she acquired this aura of profound confidence after just a few days away from the company? At Futong Commerce, she had been excellent, but she’d never been this formidable.

In his heart, he already knew the answer. The two companies provided completely different platforms. Futong Commerce was too dogmatic, suppressing its employees’ creativity and initiative.

"Sigh. I envy you. You have so many outstanding employees. If Futong Commerce had people like this, we wouldn’t have to worry about our sales figures."

Xia Jie let out a cold laugh, her mind flashing back to her time at Futong Commerce. "They wouldn’t be like this if they were at Futong Commerce," she said. "An orange tree produces sweet oranges when grown south of the Huai River, but only bitter fruit when grown to the north. The environment is everything. Some companies treat their employees like family, and in turn, the employees protect the company as their own. Other companies treat their employees like slaves, leaving them with no choice but to rebel."

’Like slaves?’ Dan Biao thought about it. Li Yang’s management style really was like that. He acted as if paying them a salary meant they should be eternally grateful, that they wouldn’t be able to survive—or even find another job—if they ever left him.

But was that the reality? Take Xia Jie, for instance. When she left the company, everyone—including himself—had assumed it would be difficult for her to find a new job quickly. After all, the retail market was struggling, companies were laying people off, and hiring was scarce.

But she hadn’t missed a beat. She started her new job the very next day, and by all accounts, was thriving. It had reached the point where Li Yang now wanted to poach her back with a high salary. Of course, the main reason was simply to cause problems for Yanghe Commerce, but Dan Biao knew that Li Yang also recognized Xia Jie’s capabilities. The only reason he’d fired her was because she had dared to contradict him, which made him feel like his authority had been challenged.

With that in mind, Dan Biao remembered the primary purpose of his visit. "Xia Jie, if the opportunity presented itself, would you ever consider coming back to Futong Commerce?"

Xia Jie froze for a second, then burst out laughing. She couldn’t help the sarcasm in her voice. "Why would I ever go back to Futong Commerce? Have I lost my mind? Give up living like a human being just to go back to being a slave? You must think I’m a glutton for punishment."

Dan Biao’s face flushed. Being mocked by a former subordinate who had been so many ranks beneath him was humiliating. ’Go back to being a slave? Then what does that make me? The head slave?’

Still, he had to make the attempt. "Xia Jie, President Li is being very sincere this time. If you’re willing to come back, your base salary will be raised to 9,000 a month. And if you perform well in the first three months, you’ll be promoted to manager."

He felt that with an offer this good, Xia Jie would at least have to consider it. Instead, he found her looking at him with the strangest expression, as if he were a complete idiot.