Chapter 387: Changing Personnel is Like Changing a Blade (3)

“By the way, it seems Han Ya and the others found out you’re the boss of Yanghe Commerce.”

“What’s so strange about that? Li Yang and his group already knew. When I was at the company, he was afraid the team would leave with me. Now that I’m gone and the team has a new supervisor, I have fewer chances to poach them, so there’s no need to hide it anymore.”

Zhu Jing smiled. “All you have to do is advertise the salary standards here, and I guarantee the people from the Airex team will come running.”

He waved his hand. “At this stage, we don’t need that many supervisors. Until we hit twenty stores, you and Xia Jie can handle it all.”

The Mansu team, on the other hand, did need people. But he didn’t plan on interfering with Hu Mei’s hiring. When the time came, he might consider promoting supervisors from the existing NLB or Zen store managers, and then move Zhu Jing and Xia Jie over to Mansu. After all, that was his own brand—a project with long-term potential that could really grow.

“They were all thrilled to break ten thousand in income for the first time this month. They wanted to get together and asked me to invite you. But I know you’re busy this month, and I just got here myself. With several more stores opening at the end of the month, I pushed the gathering to next month.”

Yang Hui chuckled. “We’ll see about next month when it comes. If I have time, I’ll go. If not, so be it.”

As long as he was at Yanghe Commerce, the Airex team were his subordinates, and he had looked out for them as he should. Now that he had left, they were probably just passersby in each other’s lives; no need to get too attached. It wasn’t as if they had spent years together. In just one month, he hadn’t even spoken to many of them more than ten times. To pretend they had some deep bond would just be melodramatic.

“Zhu Jing, I’m almost done with this busy spell. I’ll ask you to come with me next time I go out.”

Zhu Jing knew exactly what “going out” meant. Her face flushed, and she gave a soft, “Mm.”

After he spoke, he got up and went to see Yang Na. She was wearing a light blue silk blouse, the fabric as thin as a cicada’s wing, shimmering slightly in the air-conditioned room. A single button at the collar was undone, revealing her delicate collarbone—casual, but not overly so, and far from stuffy. The cuffs were slightly rolled up, showing a simple, understated yet elegant silver bracelet on her fair wrist.

She wore a pair of high-waisted, straight-leg trousers in an off-white color. The cut was clean, the pant legs draping softly. A thin black belt cinched her waist, accentuating her slender figure and adding a touch of professional polish.

On her feet was a pair of nude-colored, pointed-toe heels. The heel height was just right—perfect for walking steadily around the office without tiring her feet.

He gave her a thorough look-over. Yang Na shot him a flirtatious glance. “I’m sorry, Boss. I didn’t know you were coming, or I would’ve worn a short skirt.”

Caught off guard that she’d read his mind, he refused to admit it. He sat down on the sofa. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m not that kind of person.”

“Heh heh… care to guess if I believe that?”

She sat down across from him and began to steep some tea.

“The blueprints for the San Yang Xinyue Square location are being drawn up, right?”

After Zhao Rui had deliberately made things difficult for the engineering department during the store measurement, the project’s point of contact was changed. Zhao Rui himself was also dealt with, so there shouldn’t be any more problems with the handover.

“The floor plan has been confirmed. We’re working on the renderings and the full set of construction drawings now. We expect to start on-site work around the 20th of this month. If things go quickly, we could be open by early August.”

Yang Hui nodded. “In that case, we’ll have six stores opening early next month.”

The San Yang Xinyue Square store was originally scheduled to start construction at the end of the month. But now, with the rush on the blueprints, it looked like we could start ahead of schedule.

Yang Na poured his tea and hummed in agreement. “That was just confirmed today. I haven’t even had a chance to tell Xia Jie and Zhu Jing yet. Opening several stores at once is going to put a lot of pressure on those two.”

“This is just the beginning. In the second half of the year, we’ll be given a spot in any Xinyue Square where we want to open a store. That means for our two brands, we’ll be opening over thirty stores in the latter half of this year—an average of six stores a month.”

“And then there’s Mansu. Hu Mei’s main focus right now is on building the team structure, constructing the new factory, and product R&D. But in three months, she’ll start opening stores on a large scale, too. When you have time, come with me to check out the factory site. You can move over there later on.”

He had, of course, already told Yang Na that Hu Mei was the “Serene” she knew, and that they had partnered to form a new brand company. Yang Na had even teased him that he could never let a beautiful woman get away.

Fortunately, Yang Na also highly respected Hu Mei’s abilities. Otherwise, the “purity” of Yang Hui’s partnership would have been called into question again.

“Okay. When you have some free time in the next couple of days, we’ll go take a look.”

He pointed to the next office. “I’m going to see Shen Meng.”

“Go on, go on. If it weren’t for your girlfriend, you definitely wouldn’t have come. I admit I don’t have that kind of charm.”

She stood up. The moment her back was to Yang Hui, she felt a sharp sting on her rear. SMACK! The sound was impossibly crisp. “You’re asking for it!”

Yang Na’s eyes glistened as she shot him a sultry glare. “Next time you want a feel, can you give me a heads-up? It’s not like I’d say no. Why do you always have to launch a surprise attack?”

Yang Hui rubbed his nose. ‘If Shen Meng weren’t right next door,’ he thought, ‘I’d definitely stay and teach her a lesson. Guess I’ll let her off the hook for today.’

With his girlfriend, he was much more casual. He pulled Shen Meng up for a long kiss, then held her in his arms, his hand slipping under her skirt to take some liberties until Shen Meng whispered, “We’re at the office.”

Only then did he let go, chuckling. “It’s only been two days, and I’m already desperate for you. What am I going to do?”

Shen Meng stood up and straightened her disheveled dress and hair, terrified someone might walk in and see her in such a state. That would be mortifying.

Adding to the chaos, Yang Hui said, “Here, let me help you.”