Chapter 40: Give an Inch, Take a Mile
Lin Ruoxi was inspired by Cheng Yuan’s confidence and said gently, "Well said. We have to build the most prestigious auction house in Luocheng. We must show Grandpa what we’re made of!"
Lin Xinghe smiled wryly. "Ruoxi, you’re too optimistic. Even if your auction house is a success, you still won’t be able to challenge a behemoth like the Huanyu Group."
"Dad, this is just the first step. I believe that one day, we’ll be able to return to the Lin Family with our heads held high."
Lin Xinghe nodded firmly. "I happen to be free, so I’ll go with you to lease a space. Maybe I can even haggle the price down a bit."
"Okay."
Cheng Yuan smiled. "I don’t know anything about business, so I won’t go. I wish Mom, Dad, and Ruoxi the best of luck!"
Lin Ruoxi said gently, "You don’t have to come to lease the space, but you must be there for the registration. You’re providing the capital, so you’re the legal representative and the boss. I’ll be working for you."
Cheng Yuan waved his hands dismissively. "No, no way. I don’t know how to run a business. I’ll just provide the money. Ruoxi or Dad should be the boss."
"If you won’t be the boss, then I won’t take the money."
"Alright, fine. Just give me a call after you’ve leased the space."
...
Cheng Yuan went back to his room to catch up on sleep.
At 10:00 a.m. sharp, Cheng Yuan was woken up by a call from Lin Ruoxi.
"Cheng Yuan, we’ve leased the space. It’s 800 square meters in total for the conference rooms and offices, with an annual rent of 300,000. We’re on our way to the Business Administration Bureau now, so you can head out."
"Only 300,000? Didn’t you pick the best office building in Luocheng?"
"Hahaha, that was all thanks to my dad! He somehow managed to haggle the price down from 500,000 to 300,000!"
"That’s impressive."
Cheng Yuan hailed a taxi and went straight to the Business Administration Bureau.
When Cheng Yuan arrived at the Business Administration Bureau, Lin Ruoxi and her family were already in line, waiting for their number to be called. It looked like there were about five people ahead of them.
"Mom, Dad, Ruoxi, thanks for all your hard work."
"It’s all for our own business, so it’s no trouble at all. Come on, sit down."
Cheng Yuan sat down next to Lin Ruoxi and asked with a smile, "Ruoxi, is all the paperwork ready? I’ve heard these kinds of departments are really inefficient. One small mistake and you can get held up for a long time."
Lin Ruoxi smiled. "Don’t worry, I’ve handled registrations for five or six companies before. I know all the procedures."
"That’s a relief."
Soon, it was their turn. Lin Ruoxi brought Cheng Yuan to the service counter.
"Hello, we’d like to register a company to open an auction house. We’re here to get the name approved. Here are our documents."
The staff member was a young woman, likely a new hire. She wasn’t very proficient with the procedures yet, but she had a very good attitude.
"Let me check the company name for you... Yuanfang Auction Company? It seems this name is already registered. I’m afraid you’ll have to pick another one."
Cheng Yuan said gently, "Then how about Yuanxi Auction Company?"
"Okay, let me check... Yuanxi Auction Company is available."
After carefully checking the documents for registered capital, shareholder identification, and contribution ratios, the woman said gently, "You’re very well-prepared. Since the amount of registered capital is quite large, I need to hand this over to the director for review. Once it’s approved, you can proceed to the next step."
With that, the woman took the documents and walked toward the director’s office to the side.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
The woman knocked gently on the door.
"Come in."
The woman entered and respectfully handed the documents to the director. "Director Jiang, there’s a company registration outside. The registered capital is ten million, so it requires your personal approval."
Ten million in registered capital?
Director Jiang’s pupils flickered. ’They don’t know how things work, do they?’ he thought. ’Such a large amount of registered capital, and they didn’t even give me a heads-up beforehand? Didn’t think to make a little gesture?’
’No sincerity at all.’
Director Jiang picked up the documents and glanced over them. Tsk, tsk, they were quite thoroughly prepared.
Too bad...
SLAP.
Director Jiang casually tossed the documents aside and berated her. "Zhu Xue, do you even know how to do your job? You’re bringing an unqualified application like this for my review? Take it back!"
Zhu Xue was a bit stunned and asked in a low voice, "Director Jiang, what part of the application is unqualified?"
BAM!
Director Jiang slammed his hand on the desk. "You can’t even see what’s wrong with it? I have no idea how you got this job! Reject the application and tell them to come see me in person!"
"Yes, sir!"
Zhu Xue quickly picked up the documents and returned to her service counter with a forced smile, giving Lin Ruoxi and Cheng Yuan an apologetic look.
"I’m so sorry. It’s probably because I’m still new at this, but Director Jiang rejected your name approval application. He said it was unqualified."
Cheng Yuan was taken aback and instinctively looked at Lin Ruoxi. "Ruoxi, didn’t you say our documents were fine?"
Lin Ruoxi frowned as well. "I don’t know what happened either. Dad, can you take a look? Is there a problem with our documents?"
Lin Xinghe examined the documents carefully and shook his head. "There are no problems at all!"
Zhu Xue reminded them in a low voice, "Director Jiang’s office is over there. Why don’t you go talk to him?"
"Alright, then."
Soon, the group arrived in front of the director’s office.
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK.
Lin Ruoxi knocked gently on the door.
"Come in."
CREAK. Lin Ruoxi pushed the door open and saw a somewhat greasy-looking middle-aged man.
"You’re Director Jiang, I presume? I’m Lin Ruoxi, the General Manager of Yuanxi Auction Company. I’d like to ask what the problem is with our company’s documents?"
Director Jiang’s eyes lit up. ’This woman is quite beautiful,’ he thought, ’and the older one next to her isn’t bad either. Top-shelf stuff!’
Director Jiang averted his gaze and began to speak in a bureaucratic tone. "For a normal company registration, capital verification requires seven business days. However, yours was completed in just one day. Are there some under-the-table dealings involved? We must conduct a strict investigation."
Cheng Yuan didn’t understand these things, so he didn’t voice an opinion.
However, Lin Ruoxi came from a prominent business family and was instantly displeased!
"Director Jiang, capital verification is the bank’s responsibility, and any review should be conducted internally by the bank. Since when did the Business Administration Bureau start managing banking affairs? Using capital verification to hold us up is a bit unreasonable, don’t you think?"
Director Jiang’s expression darkened. "It’s not your place to teach the Business Administration Bureau how to do its job. I’m very busy. Come back in seven business days!"
Lin Ruoxi was furious. ’This Director Jiang,’ she thought, ’he can delay us for a whole week with just a few words. There are still several steps after this! At this rate, it’ll take months to get anything done!’
Lin Ruoxi was about to argue further, but Lin Xinghe, who was standing to the side, seemed to realize what was going on. He quickly pulled her back and turned to Director Jiang with a beaming smile.
"Director Jiang, it was our mistake. We were inconsiderate and should have come to speak with you sooner. This is just a small token of our appreciation. Could you perhaps be a bit flexible for us?"
As he spoke, Lin Xinghe took out an envelope and slid it across the desk to Director Jiang.
Director Jiang squeezed the envelope and a satisfied smile spread across his face. "A man of your experience knows how to get things done, unlike these young girls. For your sake, I suppose some things can be overlooked. After all, starting a business isn’t easy these days."
Only then did Lin Ruoxi finally understand what the problem had been.
Back in the Provincial City, the Lin Family’s network was so powerful that these departments would never dare to hold up their applications. This was the first time she had ever encountered something like this.
Lin Ruoxi was annoyed, but she could only endure it. ’After all, who could she blame? They had no connections in Luocheng.’
However, Director Jiang’s next words completely enraged Lin Ruoxi.
Seeing that the group was easy to handle, Director Jiang decided to press his advantage. His tone shifted, "This President Lin was quite rude just now. If she’s willing to treat me to a private dinner, we can consider this matter settled."