Chapter 263 - 200: Screwed Over Again (Part 2)

Han Chao said, "Got it," and left the office, cursing inwardly, ’Old bastard. Can’t he just give it a rest? Never lets a man catch his breath.’

President Zhang kept refreshing the OA approval request. His assessment of the situation matched Li Yang’s: President Tian would never approve it. Even if he wanted to, he’d have to start a new request, not just push forward one that already had dissenting opinions added to the chain.

But a moment later, he rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t mistaken. President Tian had actually clicked "Approve." He’d approved it despite two regional heads disagreeing. The request was now with the regional general manager, Zhang Chun. ’President Tian has some serious nerve,’ he thought.

Zhao Rui saw the result from outside the office. The smug look he’d worn while talking to Han Chao just moments ago froze on his face. He stared at the OA request in disbelief. ’Has President Tian gone senile?’

President Tian, of course, was far from senile. When he saw the two regional colleagues who had disapproved the request, the corner of his mouth twitched into a smirk. He muttered coldly, "Idiots."

Just before the end of the workday, President Zhang refreshed the OA request again and literally jumped out of his seat. ’My God, Regional General Manager Zhang Chun approved it too! Next up are the headquarters’ VP of Business Development, VP of Operations, and the CFO, before it finally reaches the CEO.’

He had no idea how the top brass would rule on the case, but the fact that both President Tian and President Zhang Chun had approved it without starting a new OA request was astounding. If it got rejected now, forget about whether they’d be held accountable; it would be a definite blow to their authority. ’How could this be happening?’

President Zhang, unlike Zhao Rui, wasn’t so lacking in social grace. After so many years navigating the workplace, he’d grown accustomed to deciphering his superiors’ intentions. This move by President Tian and President Zhang Chun could only mean one thing: they believed the proposal should pass and weren’t afraid of the scrutiny. But given the terms of the deal, how could it *not* face scrutiny? That was the part President Zhang couldn’t wrap his head around.

He knew there wouldn’t be a final result today. It was almost quitting time; everything would have to wait until Monday.

At Futong Commerce, Li Yang had also been dwelling on the matter. As the workday was ending, he called Han Chao in again and asked about the status of the San Yang Xinyue Square project. Han Chao sent a voice message to Zhao Rui right then and there. When he learned that President Tian and President Zhang Chun had already given their approval, the baffled tone in Zhao Rui’s voice left Han Chao confused as well.

Li Yang smoked in silence. "Let’s wait until Monday. And remember this for the future: keep your cool. Don’t go popping the fucking champagne at halftime. It’s embarrassing."

He wasn’t entirely pessimistic, though. He had expected President Tian and Zhang Chun to agree. What surprised him was that they’d done so directly on the existing request. Li Yang couldn’t understand it. How could those two be so audacious? Weren’t they afraid the group would hold them accountable?

"Han Chao, that anonymous report you sent... no feedback on that yet, right?"

"Not yet, Boss. Since it was an anonymous tip sent from a burner email, there’s no way for them to contact me. We’ll just have to watch for any personnel changes at Xinyue Group."

With a wave of his hand, he said, "You can go. Keep a close eye on this next week."

The faint smell of smoke hung in the office. Li Yang leaned back in his large executive chair, the cigarette between his fingers burning slowly. Pale gray ash fell silently into the crystal ashtray.

His gaze fell upon an open document on his desk. Its edges were slightly curled, a clear sign it had been reviewed many times. Through the swirling smoke, his brow was tightly furrowed, his eyes betraying a hidden, unspeakable exhaustion and conflict.

It was a projection he’d had the finance department prepare. Following the "rules of the game" set by Serene, he’d had them run the numbers based on the scenario of failing to meet the 20 million annual online sales target.

If he failed, it would mean procuring the goods at 38% of their list price—and old stock, to boot. This would be a huge loss. If he then ran a promotion selling items at 50-60% of retail, his gross margin would be more than ten percentage points lower than if he had procured the goods at 30% of list. The profit he’d earn might not even cover his costs, and the pressure of leftover inventory couldn’t be offset by writing down its value.

After some consideration, he sent a voice message to Serene: "I agree to your terms. I can pay the 3 million guarantee deposit."

Upon receiving the message, Serene couldn’t help but shake her head. ’His procurement costs are almost double Yang Hui’s, his retail resources are far inferior, and the state of his staff is worlds apart. How is he supposed to compete?’

However, since Li Yang wanted to do it, and it aligned with the interests of NLB Brand Company, she had no reason to refuse. She messaged her company’s legal department to draw up a digital contract and send it to Futong Commerce to be stamped and returned. Once they received the stamped copy, she could issue the authorization.

What she didn’t know was that Li Yang was about to pull another one of his stunts. Dan Biao and Zhang Li stood before him, their faces ashen. They didn’t know what was going on, but they already had a terrible premonition.

"Weren’t you two always complaining to me about the store’s low revenue? Well, I’m giving you a way to increase it. I’ve also managed to secure some extremely hard-to-come-by resources from the brand company, and I hope you’ll treasure this opportunity."

Just as they’d feared. Dan Biao and Zhang Li exchanged a look, each seeing the despair in the other’s eyes. They were all too familiar with Li Yang’s speech patterns. Nothing good ever came of it. He’d undoubtedly fought hard to get some resources, which meant the store now had to work hard to achieve some goal, after which they’d receive a reward. But then he would set a target that was nearly impossible for the store to reach, telling them they’d be fined heavily if they failed.

It was no different from the last "performance bet." Over the years, countless store employees had been chewed up and spit out by these schemes. All the good ones had already fled, but Li Yang remained indifferent.