"Chen Xiao, what are you doing here?"
After Xia Bin left, Zhao Xiangjun returned to the store. Knowing Xu Jia was there put her at ease.
’That tomboy is tougher than any man; I’ve never seen her lose a fight!’
Before Chen Xiao appeared in her life, two people had always protected her: her grandmother when she was little, and Xu Jia after she started working.
"What about that shrimp?"
’Shrimp?’ Zhao Xiangjun had no idea what he was talking about.
"The one who sent the roses!"
Only then did Zhao Xiangjun realize he was talking about Xia Bin. She didn’t actually know his name; she never bothered to remember the names of people she didn’t care about.
She led Chen Xiao out of the shop to avoid disrupting business. "How did you know?"
"Xu Jia called me. If she hadn’t, were you planning on not telling me?"
"It’s nothing. There are so many people in the store, it’s not like I’m in any danger. He can come if he wants; I just have to ignore him. If I told you, you’d just worry for no reason!"
"This sort of thing happens often, doesn’t it?"
He remembered the first time he’d come to the store, he’d overheard the staff saying that many customers had offered to buy a hundred thousand yuan worth of clothes just to get her contact information.
At the time, she had even remarked, ’Are they really here to buy clothes?’ She ignored all such customers.
"Don’t worry, I can handle this kind of thing just fine. If you ignore people like him, they’ll get bored and give up after a few tries."
Chen Xiao shook his head and asked, "Doesn’t the mall management do anything about this?"
"The mall couldn’t care less. They’re good at making trouble, though. They’ve been finding fault with the store for the past two days. During peak hours, when we’re busiest, they’ll come over and say the sales floor is a mess and demand we rearrange the displays!"
Chen Xiao picked up his phone and called Xu Wu.
"Speed up the acquisition of Jiangzhou Wansheng Square. I want it done within a week!"
"Also, what are your thoughts on a candidate for general manager of this mall?"
Xu Wu could tell something was off with Chen Xiao’s tone. He was usually flippant, but today he was overly serious, his voice laced with a chilling intensity.
"I’m personally following up on it. The entire handover will be complete next week!"
"As for the general manager, headhunters have recommended quite a few candidates. I’ll be conducting interviews over the next few days."
"Should we prioritize the current GM, Xu Jun? He’s a veteran in the business, after all, and he’s very familiar with this mall and its partner brands."
"Replace him..."
Huh? Xu Wu was about to say more, but Chen Xiao cut him off.
"He can’t even maintain basic order in the mall. A man like that is unfit for his position!"
Listening from the side, Zhao Xiangjun quickly tugged on his arm. "Chen Xiao, it’s not that serious!"
She was worried he was acting on impulse. From the perspective of a smooth transition, keeping Xu Jun on was the most stable option.
This mall was a 1.5 billion yuan acquisition. If he let his emotions cause operational problems, Zhao Xiangjun felt she would be terribly to blame.
After hanging up, Chen Xiao patted Zhao Xiangjun’s soft, delicate hand. "Don’t overthink it."
It was true that he was taking his anger out on Xu Jun to some extent, but the main reason was that he didn’t think Xu Jun had accomplished much at Wansheng Square anyway.
You could tell just by looking at its development over the past few years. A place like Jiangzhou Wansheng, with its inherently strong fundamentals, was destined to be a hit right after its grand opening, with only the preparatory phase being a bit difficult.
Over the years, many businesses had been fighting tooth and nail to get in, which had made the mall’s management complacent and lacking in ambition.
Years had passed, and after several adjustments, the brands on the first floor, instead of becoming more upscale, had become increasingly homogenous. It had devolved into a situation where whoever paid the most rent got the storefront, with no consideration for logical layout or the mall’s overall atmosphere.
This wasn’t what Chen Xiao wanted. He needed a mall with healthy development, not one that was killing the chicken for its eggs and constantly overdrawing on its potential.
If it was always the highest bidder who won, without considering brand image and mix, it would eventually be abandoned by loyal customers. By then, it would be too late to change.
He had never seen a mall go from prosperity to decline and then manage to turn things around again.
Because once consumer habits change, they are very difficult to bring back.
Moreover, once foot traffic declines, it triggers a chain reaction of negative problems. The mall would become riddled with issues and slowly fade away from the business world.
Just then, Xu Jia returned and ran right into them. She laughed and said, "Xiangjun, Chen Xiao is terrifying! That Xia Bin guy heard he was coming and ran off scared!"
Zhao Xiangjun pinched her. "Why did you have to go and tattle!"
She was annoyed at Xu Jia for making a big deal out of nothing. Chen Xiao was so busy, and she’d dragged him all the way over here.
"A big deal out of nothing? You’re his Math Olympiad problem; he’s going to spend his whole life solving you!" Xu Jia cried out defiantly, rubbing the spot where she’d been pinched.
Even Chen Xiao was amused by her. He really appreciated what Xu Jia had done today. Some dangers had to be nipped in the bud.
"Xu Jia, are you settling in okay at Yino?"
"With you and Xiangjun backing me up, how could it not be? The way President Liu talks to me every day, it’s like I’m not his subordinate, but his Sister Jiajia!"
Haha...
"How’s your husband? I ran into him at the company, but I haven’t had a chance to talk with him one-on-one yet."
Xu Jia’s husband, Ren Jie, was coding at Dr. Feng’s Robot. The work was similar to what he did back home, but his income had multiplied several times over, so there shouldn’t be any problems.
Besides, since Chen Xiao had been the one to recommend him, Feng Feifei had made sure to look out for him.
"He couldn’t be better! He even said he wants to thank you properly, but he can never find you at the company!"
Chen Xiao chuckled. "Well, I’m a salesman. I have to be out there chasing orders!"
"Really?"
Xu Jia found it hard to imagine a billionaire running around chasing sales. The scene was just too bizarre.
"Jiajia, shouldn’t you go to the store? You came to do a store inspection, but you’re just standing around outside!"
Zhao Xiangjun reminded her at the right moment, and Xu Jia immediately said, "Right, right! I’ll go inspect the store. I’ll treat you two to dinner later tonight!"
Neither of them paid any mind to being called a couple.
After Xu Jia left, Zhao Xiangjun said, "My mom called today, and that’s when I found out. You really know how to stir things up. Why did you have my brother buy the house next door?"
"Grandma refuses to move out, so I figured I’d build a bathhouse next door for her, haha!"
He was probably the only person who would buy a house just to build a bathhouse. Zhao Xiangjun rolled her eyes at him, but her heart felt sweet.
He knew she was most worried about her grandmother. By buying the house next door, her grandmother could live there long-term, and it would be much more convenient for her to take her grandma to bathe and wash her hair every time she went back.
Chen Xiao had Zhao Hui offer the neighbors a very generous price, so they quickly reached an agreement. The renovation crew was scheduled to start in the next couple of days.
Mrs. Zhao had been praising Chen Xiao nonstop on the phone today and had unintentionally mentioned the matter, which is how Zhao Xiangjun found out.
"By the way, Xiangjun, I’m planning to have Brother Hui come to Jiangzhou Wansheng to get some experience. It’s a bigger stage, and at the same time, he can protect you better."
Zhao Xiangjun was speechless. "Do you have to go that far? There are so many people at the store. It’s not like I’m in the Middle East. What protection do I need!"
"I just want to surround you with my own people!"
Chen Xiao even made himself laugh as he said it.