33: Chapter 33 The Collapse of Vice President Wang
Wang Liguo was one of the first beneficiaries of the reform and opening-up period. He was sent abroad to study enterprise management on a government scholarship and gained extensive work experience overseas.
After returning to China, he served as a senior executive in a large Group for several years. After accumulating sufficient exposure and experience, he led his team to resign en masse, planning to start their own business. By chance, he encountered Old Ma, who was in a period of rapid career ascent.
Ma Botao needed capital for expansion as his company was preparing for an IPO, so he was constantly seeking investors.
Wang Liguo desperately needed a platform to prove his worth. He was well aware of the difficulties a startup faces in its initial stages, so he set his sights on Old Ma and his company.
Wang Liguo firmly believed that as long as he joined, given three years, he could sideline Ma Botao, manage everything from behind the scenes, gradually erode his power, and eventually take over the company as his own.
To suppress Ma Botao's faction, he deliberately had his nephew, Wang Kaiming, cause trouble for Chen Hao, forcing Chen Hao into insubordination, thereby creating an opportunity to fire him and seize complete control of the company's Sales Department.
The concept was grand, but reality was harsh.
He never expected his nephew to resort to such despicable tactics, nor did he anticipate that firing Chen Hao would lead to the company being unable to operate.
A butterfly flapping its wings caused a series of unforeseen ripple effects.
Not only was his nephew implicated and hospitalized, but he was also criminally detained.
A strategic blunder was one thing, but now, even a probationary intern who had just passed probation dared to act arrogantly in front of him.
Employees who threaten the authority of their superiors absolutely could not be tolerated.
In the afternoon,
Wang Liguo completely ignored the doctor's advice, casually took a few blood pressure pills, and resolutely returned to the company, personally leading his confidants to continue overseeing the entire handover process.
It wasn't about begrudging the ten thousand yuan per day fee; it was necessary for him to gain complete control over all the Sales Department's resources. Only then could he continue executing his grand blueprint.
Wang Liguo did not deny that Chen Hao was talented.
But in his plan, Chen Hao was merely a stepping stone on the path to success.
Those who are not useful to me must be eliminated swiftly.
Since he had already committed to this path, he would see it through to the end. He secretly took out his phone and sent a series of instructions to his confidants in the HR and Finance departments.
"You only have yourself to blame for blocking my way and being so obtuse."
...
In the evening.
The day's handover process was successfully completed.
Although Chen Hao provided a large number of customer contacts, they were all disjointed and unrelated—a complete mismatch.
Even if Wang Liguo and his team obtained this customer information, it held no practical value. The real handover would actually begin tomorrow.
It was only when Chen Hao recovered his senses and looked at Zhang Menglu again that he realized:
Oh my god!
She was like a tireless robot, sweeping through major department stores. In a single day, she bought enough clothes to last her several years—she was an absolute shopping maniac.
"That's enough. Can you even wear all these clothes?"
Zhang Menglu was still highly excited.
"They're cheap! These are all fashionable items. Even if I can't wear them all, I can take them back and sell them at a flea market during a massive clearance sale. Selling them for 50 to 80 yuan each wouldn't be too much, right? They would definitely sell like hotcakes."
Her reasoning stemmed from the clearance sales she had seen at new shops on the commercial street.
Chen Hao rolled his eyes and blurted out:
"If you ask me, you might as well focus on the original sets worn by the goddess. Package everything she wore, inside and out, and sell them together. That would fetch a higher price than a clearance sale."
"That's a good idea. Then I'll buy a little more."
Zhang Menglu was about to go on another shopping spree, so Chen Hao quickly stopped her.
"That's enough. Haven't you been walking all day? Let's go home."
Chen Hao insisted on returning to the hotel, finally pulling back the highly enthusiastic Zhang Menglu.
Fortunately, the girl wasn't completely foolish; for every store she shopped at, she arranged for the items to be delivered directly, saving Chen Hao from having to carry them back to the hotel.
The girl wasn't entirely smart either; for the home deliveries, she chose express shipping, which was incredibly expensive and significantly increased their costs.
While having dinner, Chen Hao gave her a thorough lecture, speaking righteously and starting with the underlying logic of cost control. He even broke it down and explained in detail the correct way to compare prices across multiple vendors.
"Remember this: the purpose of coming to Guangcheng is to find low-cost, high-quality goods. Starting tomorrow, you are forbidden from buying any more clothing. Focus entirely on selecting stockings."
Chen Hao spoke eloquently, but Zhang Menglu's mind was wandering.
"Can I look at bras and underwear while I'm selecting stockings? Since the new store is big enough, and you said selling only stockings is too narrow, we can expand the product line, right?"
Chen Hao held his forehead.
"Fine. We'll apply for a new business license when we get back."
After dinner, the two returned to the hotel and negotiated with the front desk. They had received a total of 18 large packages, each weighing several dozen pounds.
"Please help us send these up to the room, thank you."
As Zhang Menglu directed the handling of the packages, Chen Hao's phone vibrated incessantly. When he pulled it out, he saw a message from Zhu Shasha.
"Can we meet for a cup of coffee?"
She had finally replied, and she was asking him out for coffee.
"Menglu, you go back to the room first. I'm going out to meet a friend."
Zhang Menglu shouted a reminder at the elevator door:
"Be back early!"
The meeting spot was not far from the hotel, featuring an elegant environment with decor reminiscent of a Hong Kong-style tea restaurant.
When Chen Hao arrived, Zhu Shasha was already there, staring blankly, seemingly lost in thought.
Chen Hao sat down opposite her, and Zhu Shasha finally snapped back to attention.
"What would you like to drink? My treat. Waiter!"
When the waiter approached, Chen Hao ordered a cappuccino.
The two made eye contact, and Zhu Shasha spoke first, testing the waters.
"I just read the news saying that a monthly income of 10,000 yuan can beat 98% of low-income earners."
"I don't know what your monthly income is. Based on a 10,000 yuan monthly income, you could save 120,000 a year without eating or drinking, and 1.2 million in ten years. Do you know how much my breach of contract penalty is?"
Zhu Shasha asked this to gauge Chen Hao's financial strength, following up on her statement.
"How much is it?"
"It requires saving for 30 years without eating or drinking—3.6 million!"
After saying this, her gaze was incredibly firm as she stared intently at Chen Hao.
"Yesterday you asked me what I thought if you could afford my breach of contract fee. First of all, are you sure you can come up with 3.6 million? Are you kidding?"
In the past, Chen Hao definitely couldn't have afforded it, but now it was effortless.
Just calculating based on Zhang Menglu's tokens of affection: at 100 favorability, one token could be exchanged for 1 million. 3.6 million was just the equivalent of four pairs of stockings, without touching the principal.
However, the calculation wasn't that simple.
Chen Hao was from a sales background; his thinking was always driven by profit—everything, whether dealing with people or matters, was directly related to benefits.
Zhang Menglu was Zhang Menglu; that was an already mature money-making project. Using the returns from Zhang Menglu to subsidize Zhu Shasha once or twice might be acceptable, but if there was no long-term return, it was destined to be a losing proposition with no profit to be made. Chen Hao would absolutely not agree.