“Chairman!” After the police left with the people, Zhang Yingguo finally lost his support and knelt directly before Huang He, his head covered in sweat, as if he had been pulled out of water.
“Get up. Since the police didn’t take you away, it means I’m willing to let you off the hook. After all, for smart people like you, it’s either using you or beating you to death completely, without any lingering mercy!” Although Huang He said he was letting Zhang Yingguo go, Zhang Yingguo’s forehead became even sweatier, completely scaring the boy.
“Thank you, Chairman! Thank you, Chairman. I’ll dismiss everyone immediately upon my return and obey the Chairman in everything!” Zhang Yingguo said quickly. Huang He remained noncommittal, merely gesturing for him to sit down, and then said plainly, “Everyone, do you know why Zhang Yingguo can stay while others were taken away?”
“……” The room was silent. No one dared to speak, so Huang He continued on his own, “The reason is very simple. Although Zhang Yingguo recruited so many subordinates behind my back, he did one thing very well: he maintained the blind box price of 10 yuan and did not open the blind boxes in advance to take the contents. He did not print his own blind box packaging to bleed the company dry, nor did he bring disgrace to our Jiangnan Group’s reputation. In fact, he even brought a bad name to our Jiangnan Group.”
“So Yingguo, you don’t need to be afraid. You can sit here and eat with peace of mind.” Huang He smiled again, and only then did Zhang Yingguo relax. He felt lucky that he hadn’t made a foolish decision at that critical moment.
In fact, Zhang Yingguo had once considered acting like those who were taken away, but at the crucial moment, Zhang Yingguo’s mother stopped him. The reason was simple: Wenzhou was right next to them, and Huang He’s eyes were also upon them. Zhang Yingguo knew he was being watched by many people, so he had to be cautious and prudent. Besides, buying blind boxes for 10 yuan allowed Zhang Yingguo to earn enough money without taking unnecessary risks.
This was why Zhang Yingguo hadn’t strayed. At this moment, Zhang Yingguo was immensely grateful to his mother; otherwise, he would have been completely finished.
“And for all of you sitting here, there are actually more than 100 people who have made mistakes, more or less, and they are all recorded in my little notebook! However, like Zhang Yingguo, although they made many small mistakes, they still adhered to the bottom line. Therefore, you are all safe.” Huang He held up the small notebook he had just mentioned. It was an ordinary black leather notebook, and upon closer inspection, one could see the words “Jiangnan Leather Factory 10th Anniversary Commemorative” printed on it, a gift distributed during the 10th anniversary of Jiangnan Leather Factory.
But now, this small notebook had become a death warrant for everyone. Who knew how many of their unsavory deeds were recorded within it.
“I, Huang He, am not Cao Mengde; I have no interest in burning this little notebook. On the contrary, I will keep this notebook forever, not to threaten you, but to remind everyone not to forget today’s events.”
“At the same time, I also promise you all that today’s matter ends here. Everything that has happened before will not be a reason for me to settle scores later. I, Huang He, have some integrity. From now on, as long as you strictly abide by the company’s regulations and execute my orders without compromise, I guarantee that your income can grow with the company. The more the company earns, the more you will earn. Becoming a millionaire or even a ten-millionaire in the future is not impossible.”
“I, Huang He, am stingy with my enemies, but I am always generous with my own people. We will all earn money together, and I will bear the hardships. I don’t ask you to suffer with me, only that we can always share the prosperity!” Huang He sighed, and the crowd below also sighed with emotion. Not asking to suffer together but asking to share prosperity – what a great boss! They didn’t know if they would ever find another like him in this lifetime!
“Alright, I will continue to discuss the company’s plans for blind box sales with you. As mentioned before, the company will establish branch companies at the prefecture-level city level. These branch companies will be strictly controlled by the company, and you have no choice but to accept it!” Huang He said, glancing at Shen Yuequn, then added, “Yuequn, you are also special. Your shares in the branch company will be retained, but control must be in my hands. Do you have any objections?”
“No!” Shen Yuequn replied without hesitation.
“Excellent!” Boss Huang nodded with satisfaction. “After the establishment of the various branch companies, subordinate areas will be divided and authorized. In general, a county, a prefecture-level city, or a district within a provincial capital city will serve as a basic unit, authorized to a distributor who will be fully responsible for sales in that region.”
“The branch companies will be responsible for providing products, sales plans, controlling sales prices, and organizing and responding to various marketing activities. The authorized units can obtain goods from the branch companies at a certain price and will be free to decide their own sales outlets and sales activities within their responsible areas. In short, as long as they do not violate the company’s restrictions, the authorized units can freely execute them. The branch companies will only supervise, not interfere!”
“This is my sales arrangement for blind boxes in the future. The entire system is estimated to be completed by early 2002. Therefore, before January 2002, you can continue to operate in the previous manner. After January 2002, you will follow the new rules!” Huang He said.
“Yes!” Everyone responded in unison, without the slightest hesitation.
“Next, regarding your specific plans, I will give you two options. First, continue selling blind boxes as before, but you must establish your own companies and obtain authorization from the branch companies in the name of your companies to become the company’s distributors.”
“Here, I will give you some compensation. According to the company’s arrangement, authorization fees were originally to be charged for each region, and they were to be collected annually. However, for next year, you can be exempted from paying authorization fees, but only for a maximum of three regions. For areas exceeding three regions, you will have to pay the fees according to the regulations of the branch companies.”
“At the same time, you will have priority selection rights. For the same fee, as long as you pay, you can get authorization for the corresponding regions preferentially, without competing with others. As for the specific fees, they will be calculated by the branch companies based on the sales volume in the local area, which is a reasonable price that everyone can make money from!”
“Second, you can also choose to give up selling blind boxes directly and continue to be a part of Jiangnan Group. Depending on your abilities, I will directly arrange for you to become the负责人 of branch companies in different regions, and you will be responsible for provincial or municipal-level work. Your income will directly depend on the profits remitted by the branch companies. I guarantee that this proportion will not be less than 2%. Therefore, as long as you work hard to manage the market, your income will not be too low; at least it will definitely surpass that of your peers!”
“However, I must make my position clear: if you choose the second path, none of your direct relatives can become authorized distributors of blind boxes. For non-direct relatives, the company will also strictly review whether you have provided any preferential treatment or favoritism. Once discovered, severe punishment will be meted out!”
After this lengthy explanation, Huang He began to drink tea, while those below exchanged glances, and some even started whispering and discussing amongst themselves.
In fact, Boss Huang’s new arrangement was much better than they had imagined. They had initially thought that Boss Huang would simply let them become employees again and sell blind boxes, continuing to receive a fixed salary of a few thousand yuan each month.
Looking back now, they realized they had been worried for nothing. Boss Huang still delegated sales authority, but there were more people managing them from above, and they had to pay an authorization fee. They probably wouldn’t have the same freedom as before to engage in petty tricks.
However, the people who liked to play these tricks were already in jail. The remaining people prioritized stability, so they naturally wouldn’t find this supervision too unbearable.
Especially Zhang Yingguo, he realized that he could completely bring his company into the open and obtain authorizations for over a dozen regions at once, selling blind boxes openly without fear. This made Zhang Yingguo heave a long sigh of relief.
As for the second choice, it was somewhat unclear. If the provincial branch companies could become large in the future, then this position would be quite good. However, at present, choosing the second path meant earning a fixed salary, which was still somewhat lacking in appeal!
“Alright, you have one day to consider. By six o’clock tomorrow afternoon, go to Secretary Leng to register your decision. Before the end of the year, the company will make arrangements for you. After you register, you can go back and continue your blind box business!”
“For now, let’s all have a good meal. You don’t know how delicious the pig waist is today!” Huang He chuckled and started eating heartily. The entire cafeteria finally had a bit of a cafeteria feel.