Chapter 279 - 205: Who Did He Get a Room With (3)

Unexpectedly, Li Yang was exceptionally calm today. He lit a cigarette and, in a grave and heartfelt tone Dan Biao hadn’t heard in a long time, said, "Xiaodan, you’ve been with me for so many years. You’re the person I trust most in this company. We’re facing some difficulties right now, so I need you to step up and shoulder the main burden."

A single sentence was enough to make Dan Biao’s passion burn anew. It was as if he was back in the early days of starting the business with Li Yang, eating skewers and drinking beer at a street stall at night after a great day of sales.

Perhaps Li Yang was also thinking of that scene, as he said nostalgically, "Let’s find some time one of these days. Just us old brothers. We’ll go for skewers again, relive the old days, and see if we still have the guts to chug three bottles of beer in a row."

Dan Biao’s expression softened, and he said emotionally, "Boss, I can still do it. I’d do it even if I died drinking."

Li Yang nodded. "Of course I believe you. Next, I’m going to make some major personnel changes. I need you to get ready."

Dan Biao’s heart suddenly lurched. ’No way. What kind of major personnel changes? Demoting Zhang Li to supervisor? Or demoting me to manager? So all that sentimental crap was just to set the stage for this. Fuck, I was moved for nothing.’

He said nothing, waiting for what came next. ’After all this sentimental buildup, he’s definitely going to explain. He wouldn’t have laid all this groundwork otherwise.’

"Xiaodan, I’m planning to have the new hire take over from Yang Hui and manage Airex."

Dan Biao was completely floored. He stared at Li Yang in disbelief, as if wondering if the man had gone senile.

"Then... what will Yang Hui be in charge of?"

Right now, his thoughts were on how to break the news to Yang Hui. He assumed Li Yang just wanted Yang Hui to switch to managing a different brand. But they’d discussed that a few times before, and Yang Hui had refused every time. Why was Li Yang bringing up an old issue?

The corner of Li Yang’s mouth twitched. He crushed his cigarette butt out in the ashtray and said faintly, "I’m planning to have him leave the company."

"What—" Dan Biao was so shocked he shot to his feet.

’How could this be? How could he possibly let Yang Hui leave the company? In just one month, Yang Hui has generated so much profit. How could he bear to let him go?

He tolerated Yang Hui being so defiant before. Why would he suddenly take the initiative to get rid of him now? Never mind the benefits his personal connections brought the company; the fact that he turned Airex from a money-loser into a profitable brand was of enormous value in itself. Has Li Yang lost his mind?

Could it be because Li Yang kept pushing him to negotiate lower rent and use his connections to get more resources from Xinyue Group, only to be rejected? Yes, that must be it. Li Yang was testing him, seeing if he could squeeze more value out. If he could, Li Yang would keep tolerating him. But now that there’s no more value to extract, he probably thinks Airex is back on track and won’t have major problems without Yang Hui. Or maybe the value Yang Hui brings no longer outweighs the daily frustration of dealing with him. The conflict has become irreconcilable.’

"Calm down. I know Yang Hui has been a big help to your work since he arrived. But Xiaodan, you have to understand, Earth keeps spinning no matter who’s gone. I had no choice but to make this decision. Did you know? Besides his job here, Yang Hui has his own business."

Dan Biao looked at Li Yang and argued, "Boss, plenty of people have outside investments while working for the company. The crucial thing is whether or not he creates value for us."

He sat back down, feeling Li Yang’s decision was rash. From his perspective, the morale of Airex’s front-line staff had improved because Yang Hui had used external resources to stabilize their income. They felt the team had a bright future and gradually adjusted their performance.

If Yang Hui were replaced now, the whole team would likely panic. Their future income would become highly uncertain, and they’d quickly revert to their previous state, or even worse. Dan Biao couldn’t accept that. Only he knew how hard it was to save a brand. After all the effort it took to rescue it, this decision would grind it right back into the dust. There might not be another chance. And he would be the one left holding the bag for all the KPIs.

Li Yang’s expression turned grim, and a hostile aura emanated from him. "But his outside business is Yanghe Commerce! They’re our competitor, and they even manage the same brands we do. I have to weigh the small amount of value he creates against the risk of keeping him in the company."

Of course, he wasn’t about to mention what happened at the hotel yesterday—another thing that had him on edge.

Dan Biao shot to his feet again. ’Yanghe Commerce?’ He was all too familiar with them. No joke, their compensation package was so good he’d wanted to work there himself. But what did Li Yang just say? That it was Yang Hui’s company?

At first, he didn’t believe it. But then he thought harder—Shen Meng and Xia Jie, people who were close to Yang Hui, were both there. Dan Biao’s shocked expression slowly calmed as he accepted Li Yang’s claim. ’There’s no doubt about it. Yang Hui must be the boss of Yanghe Commerce.’

But unlike Li Yang, who was utterly disgusted by this revelation, Dan Biao inevitably began to wonder if he had ever offended Yang Hui. ’Doesn’t seem like it. In fact, I’ve treated him pretty well since he joined.’ Thinking of this, Dan Biao suddenly felt a surge of delight. This bit of goodwill might prove very useful one day.

"So, Xiaodan, now you understand. The new hire is meant for Airex. Just wanted to give you a heads-up. For now, don’t say a word about the Yang Hui situation to anyone."