"Brothers Ryan, and Mr. Bieber, in all my years in business, I've never seen people like you who are so dedicated to their work. You're fantastic, truly passionate. May our cooperation last forever!" exclaimed a middle-aged white man, his face flushed with drink. Beside him sat a woman with alluring makeup and a voluptuous figure, engaged in something indescribable.
Ryan and his boss were there, along with four other colleagues who had been recruited at the same time. Outside the private room, dozens of Walmart employees were also present. Of course, these employees couldn't enjoy the company of beautiful women, but they had plenty of food and drink. Furthermore, everyone received a small gift upon departure.
This middle-aged white man was none other than the local manager of Walmart. Just a few days prior, he could never have imagined having such a life and lifestyle.
Originally, he was just an ordinary forklift operator. He had worked at Walmart for a full thirty years before gradually climbing his way up to the position of branch manager.
Throughout those thirty years, he had never experienced such a life and treatment.
It all started a week ago when he received a document from the company headquarters stating that the company had reached a strategic partnership with a company called Oriental Amazon. In addition to normal sales, employees were required to grant the partner company limited access to the warehouse to freely select goods, pack them, and ship them out.
Walmart employees were to supervise the partner company's work, register goods in and out, cross-reference their online product lists, and conduct regular business checks.
Upon receiving such a document, the white manager was somewhat displeased, as it would significantly increase the workload of his staff.
Although it seemed that all they had to do was open the warehouse and let the partner's personnel handle returns, the document also stated that all goods entering and leaving had to be registered, lists cross-referenced, and financial work completed, among other things.
This immediately added at least one person's worth of extra work, which would ultimately be distributed among his warehouse staff.
On the surface, this seemed unrelated to the manager, as he wouldn't be the one bearing the extra workload; it would all fall on his subordinates. However, his job as a leader was to manage and appease the staff's morale, ensuring they worked diligently.
When these employees suddenly found their workload increased, and the company seemed unwilling to offer them more pay, dissatisfaction naturally arose.
American employees did not possess the simple good temper of Chinese employees. If they were unhappy, they would not hesitate to cause trouble throughout the entire branch. Therefore, it would ultimately fall on him to find ways to pacify their temperaments.
But this wasn't the company's own work; it was a collaboration with an outside enterprise. So, even if this work yielded significant progress and brought immense benefits to the company, it had nothing to do with him as the manager; it was for the benefit of outsiders.
With no benefits and the burden of handling any problems, it was no wonder a leader would be pleased.
However, the task assigned from above had to be carried out. Thus, when an Oriental Amazon employee named Bieber proactively approached him to discuss initial cooperation and work process planning, the manager, while not refusing or being uncooperative, showed no enthusiasm.
But to the manager's surprise, at the end of the first day of cooperation, Mr. Bieber proactively expressed that, as it was their first collaboration, their company had specifically arranged an employee social event for both companies, which would involve a shared dinner at a nearby barbecue restaurant, with Oriental Amazon covering all expenses.
Upon hearing this invitation, the manager hesitated. He wondered if it could be considered commercial bribery, as Walmart had very strict controls on internal bribery.
However, he pondered that the invitation was for all employees, not just him. Moreover, it wasn't a direct cash payment. Could this be considered bribery directed at him?
Furthermore, bribery was typically sought to influence actions. But the cooperation with Oriental Amazon had already been decided by headquarters. As long as the other party followed procedures, the cooperation would proceed smoothly. Where was the need to bribe him?
And, most importantly, no one had ever tried to bribe such a small store manager!
Despite managing a Walmart store, Walmart's management of its stores was extremely strict. Managers were only allowed to follow procedures, and policies were top-down. These store managers could only manage store employees and had no authority over anything else, essentially being similar to line leaders and team leaders in factories, with little real power.
Besides, American barbecue restaurants were generally quite expensive, and he had only eaten there a few times. It seemed like a shame not to experience it.
Therefore, the manager ultimately agreed, resolving in his mind that if the other party made any unreasonable requests during the meal, he would immediately and forcefully refuse and lead all employees away, leaving no room for criticism.
However, as the meal progressed, the manager was surprised to find that both parties merely engaged in pleasant conversation and dining. The other party didn't mention anything extra they wanted; it was a simple dinner.
After the meal, they even prepared a gift for everyone: a traditional Chinese medicine called Ma Ying Long hemorrhoid ointment, specifically for treating hemorrhoids. It was reportedly less than fifty cents per unit in China. Could this be considered bribery?
Could there be bribery in the world that only offered fifty-cent gifts?
However, that night, perhaps due to eating too much "fiery" food, the manager developed hemorrhoids after returning home. He should have gone to the hospital for treatment. But the problem was that American hospitals were expensive, and hemorrhoids were not covered by insurance. A hospital visit would cost at least several hundred dollars.
If surgery was required, it would cost over a thousand dollars. Therefore, Americans generally dealt with hemorrhoids by using traditional methods themselves, such as tying them off with rope, or in more extreme cases, cutting them off themselves, stopping the bleeding with hot tongs, and then taking some anti-inflammatory medication.
Although this wouldn't be life-threatening, it was ultimately uncomfortable.
Considering how enthusiastically his Oriental Amazon friend had praised the magical properties of the Ma Ying Long hemorrhoid ointment during dinner, he cautiously tried it. Immediately, he discovered that he might never be able to do without this miraculous Eastern medicine. He realized there were such wondrous medications in the world.
By the next day at work, the manager's attitude had changed. Although he still had reservations about the cooperation that was causing him trouble, he was quite pleased with Bieber, the representative of the Oriental Amazon branch. Moreover, they chatted very harmoniously, shoulder-to-shoulder, cursing the Democratic Party, and discussing how to hunt wild geese with a three-barreled shotgun, exchanging experiences, and having a very pleasant time.
So, on the second day, when Bieber arrived with a picker to familiarize himself with the warehouse and establish a comprehensive picking process, both the manager and the warehouse employees cooperated with smiles, offering considerable assistance. The picker quickly established the entire process. They even directly issued the returns specialist a Walmart employee ID card.
After all, creating an employee ID card for an outsider took time. This way, when the partner entered or exited the warehouse, they would need to be accompanied by a Walmart employee, which was inconvenient. Therefore, issuing an employee ID card directly would facilitate the entry and exit of Oriental Amazon employees.
Oriental Amazon, in turn, was grateful. That evening, they once again invited all Walmart employees for a banquet, this time featuring a grand Oriental feast. Since the next day was a weekend, they also invited all employees and their families to a private forest farm for fox hunting and enjoyed the pleasures of outdoor camping.
Of course, all expenses were covered by Oriental Amazon.
Over the next few days, Oriental Amazon arranged various activities, none of which involved money. It was all about eating and drinking, along with the occasional presentation of small gifts.
Only the manager, during a drink, happened to catch the eye of a beautiful young woman, and they developed a beautiful and pure friendship.
Indeed, it was the woman who fell in love with the manager, his smoking, and his lack of bathing, not someone invited by Oriental Amazon.
After a week of joint celebrations, regardless of the attitudes at the top, all the frontline employees of Walmart and the employees of Oriental Amazon basically became like family. They interacted with smiles at all times, and work proceeded with immense harmony. There were no restricted areas within the Walmart warehouse or even the supermarket for Oriental Amazon.
Of course, Oriental Amazon did not do anything excessive. They simply focused on establishing and deepening their picking operations within the warehouse. At most, they would occasionally ask drivers if they could help transport some items for Oriental Amazon during their shipping.
After all, the empty space in the truck could be utilized, and it would be nice to exchange it for a few packs of cigarettes.
Bieber also directly stated that this harmonious relationship would continue. Although in the future, as Oriental Amazon officially began operations, they wouldn't be able to host evening gatherings every night, they designated every Sunday evening as a joint company social event day, inviting all employees to participate in activities organized by Oriental Amazon, aiming to make this a regular occurrence.
This received unanimous welcome from employees of both Oriental Amazon and Walmart. Since Oriental Amazon was bearing all the costs, they had no reason to refuse.