Liu Haoran paid no mind to Fang Qiang’s resentful glare.
He had no idea that because he hadn’t approved Fang Qiang’s vacation request back then, Fang Qiang’s mother-in-law had been so displeased that she’d demanded an extra 20,000 yuan in bride price before letting the wedding happen!
As far as Liu Haoran was concerned, President Zhao and President Chen were more important than anything else. If it weren’t so inconvenient, he would have requested time off from the corporation to accompany Zhao Hui himself! He believed Zhang Shijie would be just as "reasonable!"
After all, President Zhang had once demonstrated just how "reasonable" he was with one hundred million in cash.
Dr. Feng’s Robot Co., Ltd.
At a management meeting for the company, Hou Fei spoke.
"As the company has expanded, our management practices haven’t kept pace. Take attendance, for example. We have employees who are frequently late or who leave early!"
"As the saying goes, nothing can be accomplished without standards. This is especially true for a company. Processes should govern tasks, and policies should govern people!"
"We need a comprehensive attendance policy to hold everyone accountable and put a stop to tardiness and early departures. And I’ll lead by example!"
Watching Hou Fei’s passionate speech, the head of Human Resources was annoyed. ’I don’t even report to you. Why are you sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong? And "lead by example"? My ass!’
But Hou Fei delivered his points with such stern righteousness, framing everything from the company’s perspective and for the company’s good!
It was impossible to refute, so Feng Feifei turned to the head of HR for her opinion.
’What could she say?’ Hou Fei had seized the moral high ground, claiming it was all for the company’s benefit. ’If I disagree, does that mean I don’t have the company’s best interests at heart?’
"I believe President Hou’s points are very pertinent. The HR department has been remiss in its duties. After the meeting, we will draft the new regulations for President Feng’s review!"
Since no one had any objections, the motion passed...
After the meeting, the head of HR drafted the new employee attendance policy, stipulating clock-in and clock-out times, as well as penalties for tardiness and early departures.
Fines were one thing, but more importantly, violations would be announced in a company-wide email. How humiliating!
Feng Feifei thought for a moment, then signed the document. ’We’ll have a trial period,’ she decided, ’and make adjustments based on how it goes.’
After signing, Feng Feifei noticed the head of HR hesitating as if she wanted to say something. "Is there something else?" she asked.
The head of HR said, "Right now, the main person who comes in late or leaves early is Chen Xiao. It’s basically not an issue with any other employees."
Feng Feifei let out an "oh," then said casually, "We’ll make an exception for Chen Xiao. He’s busy with sales, so his hours aren’t fixed."
"Even though you don’t see him in the office during the day, he’s often still out wining and dining clients long after the rest of you have gone home."
"Understood, President Feng!"
By the time they had held the meeting, drafted the policy, and sent it out to the entire company, Chen Xiao had already left for the day.
Zhao Xiangjun wasn’t one to sit idle, and Chen Xiao let her do as she pleased.
She even offered a peculiar reason: "Being idle makes you fat!"
Today, Wansheng Square lifted its order for the Yi Rui store to close for rectification, and the shop had resumed business.
But being closed for several consecutive days had definitely impacted business. Many customers who had come by and seen the doors shut assumed the store was closing down for good.
Those customers might never come back.
Xia Bin had been visiting Wansheng Square rather frequently lately. For one, some of the stores under his management that were supposed to open in coordination with Peng Yu’s plans now couldn’t be opened anytime soon.
This meant he needed to smooth things over with Peng Yu and eat some humble pie. After all, he was desperate to get into the Jiangzhou Wansheng location. The foot traffic and caliber of clientele were high, a perfect match for his brand’s positioning.
It was also a location that the brands he represented insisted he secure.
His business model was different from Yino’s. Yino ran its own brand, whereas Xia Bin dealt exclusively with licensed brands.
Yino could make its own decisions, but Xia Bin had to cater to the demands of the brand owners. Otherwise, his licensing agreements could be in jeopardy, or the brands might make things difficult for him regarding wholesale prices and order volumes.
He had spent the entire afternoon in Peng Yu’s office. When he came out, he wanted to go take a look at his target storefront. According to Peng Yu’s earlier word, the location was confirmed for him; he already had the blueprints nearly finished!
He was a little worried, though. When he’d brought the topic up with Peng Yu again that afternoon, Peng Yu’s expression had been evasive. Whenever the conversation turned to the store, Peng Yu would seem to casually change the subject.
The store had been closed for days, so the first day back was all about rearranging the displays and a thorough cleaning. It was a busy day, filled mostly with manual labor.
After rearranging a row of displays, Zhao Xiangjun rubbed her slender waist. ’Being tossed around by Chen Xiao all night, every night... My back is killing me. I really don’t know where he gets all that energy.’
"Hey, beautiful. Fancy meeting you here!"
Zhao Xiangjun turned at the sound of his voice. Seeing Xia Bin, she couldn’t place him for a moment.
But on second glance, she remembered. ’There really aren’t many people that narcissistic.’ It was the Peacock Man from the high-speed rail station!
Not wanting to bother with him, she called out, "Sister Nan, a customer needs assistance!"
"Sir, I’m busy at the moment," she said. "Please feel free to browse, and my colleague will be right with you!"
Xia Bin watched Sister Nan approach, then said to Zhao Xiangjun, "Your name is Xiangjun, isn’t it? I think I’d prefer it if you helped me."
Without turning back, Zhao Xiangjun continued arranging the merchandise in her hands. "Sister Nan is closer to your age," she said. "You two should have more to talk about!"
’Holy crap.’ Xia Bin looked at Sister Nan, who had just walked up to greet him, and felt his spirit break.
The damage was minimal, but the insult was critical!
’Sister Nan looked like she was almost 35. He was only 28, and with his fashionable clothes, he looked more like 25.’
’For Zhao Xiangjun to say he was about the same age as Sister Nan... what a crushing blow!’
The staff often helped Zhao Xiangjun out of sticky situations. Sister Nan stepped forward. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"
Xia Bin said, "You can help me by leaving me alone."
Unfazed, Sister Nan smiled. "Of course, sir. Please, take your time browsing. Just call me if you need anything!"
She stayed right beside Xia Bin, shadowing his every step. Inwardly, however, she was cursing up a storm. ’What a jackass. You think you’re the only rich, handsome motherfucker in the world? Why don’t you take a piss and look at your own reflection? We get guys richer than you trying to hit on Xiangjun all the time, and every single one of them leaves with their tail feathers plucked!’
Xia Bin kept trying to talk to Zhao Xiangjun, but she ignored him, letting him prattle on by himself.
"Hey, how much do you make in a month working here? I’ll pay you ten times that!"
"If you like working in retail, I can offer you a much better position, complete with a bright, spacious, private office."
"Hey, say something! What is it you want? I can give you anything!"
Zhao Xiangjun finally had enough of his pestering and walked straight into the staff break room. Xia Bin couldn’t follow her in there; it wasn’t a public area.
He turned back to Sister Nan. "Am I not handsome?"
Sister Nan smiled and nodded. "You’re breathtakingly handsome!"
"Don’t I look rich?"
Still smiling, Sister Nan replied, "One look is all it takes to see you’re a man of wealth and influence!"
"Then why won’t she give us a chance? Does she just enjoy doing manual labor?"
Sister Nan thought for a long moment before replying, "I suppose she’s not lacking for offers from men like you, is she?"