"President Fang, what's the main purpose of your visit with Manager Yang today?"
Fang Zheng quickly replied, "We're mainly here today to pay a visit to the regional leadership. We also wanted to discuss this year's contract renewal terms and operational support for Ruijing Commerce."
The vice president nodded and asked the investment manager, "Has the renewal contract for Ruijing Commerce been issued yet?"
The investment manager replied immediately, "It's already in process. It involves twenty-one stores, so it'll take a few more days."
It had been standard practice for the past two years: all stores would renew under the same terms. Under these circumstances, there was nothing for the two parties to negotiate, unless Ruijing Commerce wanted to ask for a rent reduction.
Of course, Ruijing Commerce wasn't that audacious. They made so much money from Xinyue Square every year; it was a blessing they weren't getting a rent increase. To even think about asking for a reduction... Ruijing Commerce didn't have the nerve.
"President Fang, you just need to wait a few more days. It's a straight renewal anyway, so there's no need for us to go back and forth negotiating this!
As for operational support, we've always given you our utmost support, and that will continue!"
Fang Zheng was overjoyed. He had achieved all his goals for the day. He couldn't help but shoot a smug glance at Yang Na, wanting her to see how much clout he had. When he negotiated with Xinyue Square, they granted his every request!
With the business out of the way, they naturally moved on to some small talk.
The vice president asked, "Yang Hui, your former Manager Yang from the operations department—what department is he in now?"
Yang Na was surprised that even an executive at this level knew Yang Hui. 'Looks like my old boss was doing pretty well for himself!'
Fang Zheng was also surprised the vice president knew Yang Hui. He sneered and said, "Yang Hui? He had some... issues. The company persuaded him to resign."
Huh?
The vice president's expression changed in an instant, but he quickly composed himself and forced a smile. "Is that so?"
Yang Na interjected from the side, "Manager Yang resigned on his own. He has his own plans for his career development."
Being "persuaded to resign" and resigning voluntarily were two completely different concepts. She couldn't let Fang Zheng slander Yang Hui.
A forced resignation implied that Yang Hui had either committed a major error or was incompetent. Either one would affect his future career prospects.
'This Fang Zheng is utterly shameless!'
Hearing this, the vice president gave Fang Zheng a meaningful look, then raised his wrist to check the time. "President Fang, I have to get ready to head out soon. Let's call it a day."
Fang Zheng didn't suspect a thing. Before the meeting, the investment manager had told him the vice president had something to attend to in the afternoon and had squeezed in time to see him. The manager had even commented on how much clout Fang Zheng must have, which had left Fang Zheng feeling smug for quite a while.
After Fang Zheng left, the vice president instructed the investment manager, "Hold off on issuing Ruijing Commerce's contract. I need to talk to President Tian."
The investment manager was a bit confused but agreed immediately. 'No point in trying to guess the boss's intentions if you can't figure them out. Just execute the order!'
The vice president went to the door of the Xinyue Group's Regional General Manager's office and asked the assistant, "Is President Tian in?"
After receiving an affirmative reply, he knocked and entered.
"President Tian~!"
"Come in, have a seat!"
President Tian politely gestured toward the guest sofa, then came out from behind his large desk. The two of them sat down.
"You seem to be in a hurry. What's up?"
The vice president nodded. "The new general manager and operations manager from Ruijing Commerce just came by."
President Tian looked up. "A Hui was here? Why didn't he stop by to see me? I'll call him right now. What's the deal, is he looking down on his old pal or something?"
The vice president wasn't very familiar with Yang Hui. He just knew that whenever Yang Hui used to visit the regional office, he would always stop by President Tian's office for a chat. He knew Yang Hui and President Tian had a very good personal relationship.
That was why he had decided to inform President Tian immediately about what Fang Zheng had just said.
"President Tian, Yang Hui didn't come."
'Didn't you just say their operations manager was here? The operations manager *is* Yang Hui!'
"Their newly appointed general manager, Fang Zheng, said that Yang Hui was persuaded to resign from the company due to major issues with his performance."
"Bullshit! I know what kind of person A Hui is. Besides, who the hell does Ruijing Commerce think they are? If it weren't for A Hui, on what grounds would they have enjoyed so much preferential treatment from us these past two years? Persuade A Hui to resign? What kind of idiot would do something so stupid?"
The vice president lowered his head and took a sip of water. 'Just as I thought. All the strong support these past two years was because of Yang Hui's personal relationship with President Tian!'
With a cold expression, President Tian continued laying out his instructions: "Since A Hui is no longer at Ruijing Commerce, we'll be retracting some of our policies. For all of their stores, the rent for this year's renewal must be raised to the current fair market rate for the square. On top of that, Ruijing Commerce's brand isn't all that great anyway. If there's enough time, find better brands to replace them."
The vice president nodded.
If Ruijing Commerce's rent were raised to Xinyue Square's current fair market rate, their renewal rent would increase by at least thirty percent this year. As for finding brands to replace them, that was even easier. Countless merchants were dying to get into Xinyue Square, and many brands had their eyes on Ruijing Commerce's locations.
"President Tian, I'll arrange it immediately. Also, I'm planning to cut off the operational support for their existing stores."
"Definitely cut it! Cut all of it!"
President Tian stood up, still fuming. The vice president knew Ruijing Commerce was in for a world of hurt.
'Forcing Yang Hui to resign for no good reason... wasn't that just digging your own grave?'
After the vice president left, President Tian immediately made a call to Zhang Chun.
"President Zhang, Yang Hui was forced to resign by Ruijing Commerce. I'm now requesting to retract all support policies for Ruijing Commerce and find new brands to replace their stores!"
He spoke cautiously, knowing how highly President Zhang regarded Yang Hui. He was sure this news would infuriate him.
To his surprise, Zhang Chun just chuckled calmly. "I'm already aware of the situation. He wasn't forced out; Yang Hui resigned on his own. However, the terms of our cooperation with Ruijing Commerce do indeed need to be adjusted. You've done the right thing."
President Tian was surprised President Zhang was so well-informed. 'Could someone else have reported this to him besides me? Or did Yang Hui tell him himself?'
Leaving the Xinyue Group regional office, Fang Zheng said arrogantly to Yang Na, "This morning's discussion was extremely fruitful. I've secured huge benefits for the company. I'm heading back to the office now for a headquarters meeting. Why don't you ride back with me?"
"No, thank you. I've already called a taxi."
Fang Zheng couldn't insist, so he just nodded, went to the parking lot, got into his Camry, and drove back to the company.
Yang Na scoffed disdainfully behind him. 'Extremely fruitful discussion? For the last two years, you didn't handle the negotiations at all, and the result was exactly the same, wasn't it?'
At the headquarters meeting that afternoon, Fang Zheng attended for the first time as the acting general manager. When President Zhao was reporting on regional work, Fang Zheng took the initiative to report the results of his discussion with the Xinyue Group region. He received special praise from the COO, who then asked the other regional general managers on the line to learn from President Fang.