Chapter 225 - 187: Identity Exposed (3)
"President Zhao, have you made a mistake?"
Zhao Rui sneered. "President Zhang called the VP of Business for the Qingzhou Xinyue Plaza First Store right in front of me to confirm this. How could it possibly be wrong? The reason I'm so confident I can land this project for you is precisely because of their commercial terms. My aunt has both the authority and the grounds to reject them."
For the same brand, one offer was a 6% pure commission rate, while the other was 520 yuan per square meter per month. Zhao Rui believed the latter was more aligned with the company's interests. Besides, Yanghe Commerce was being so difficult. That Yang Hui had probably never been taught a lesson; this time, he'd get a taste of Xinyue Group's iron fist.
Han Chao's mind raced. Someone in the regional office had to be colluding with Yanghe Commerce. No wonder Futong Commerce was hitting roadblocks everywhere. There had to be a deep-seated exchange of benefits between them. But who had that much nerve, and that much power?
He had heard that the regional VP of Business was handling this personally. Could it be him? No, even he didn't have that kind of clout. That meant it had to be President Tian. At the thought of President Tian, Han Chao's heart pounded. Zhao Rui's aunt was just a minor leader in a functional department in the greater region. Arm-wrestling with President Tian? She was way out of her league. And if Futong Commerce got involved and pissed off President Tian, wouldn't their core business be affected?
The matter was too significant; he couldn't help but overthink it, growing more frightened the more he thought. It was the commercial terms that truly scared him. He wasn't naive like Zhao Rui. Having worked in channel development for so long, he was able to think more deeply about certain things. A dumbass like Zhao Rui probably hadn't even considered that President Tian might be involved. But if he knew, would he still dare to interfere?
At this thought, Han Chao certainly wasn't going to warn him. If something really went wrong, he could just push all the blame onto Zhao Rui.
Each man was lost in his own thoughts. As one drink led to another, they began to have a bit too much.
Clinking glasses again, Zhao Rui said, "It's not just this NLB project. I'm going to screw up the Zen deal for him too."
Han Chao was stunned. Zen? He knew that brand. Li Yang had wanted to negotiate the agency rights for Qingjiang Province, but they had approached them too late and were told another company had already beaten them to it. The brand didn't have a single store in Qingjiang Province yet, so he hadn't paid it any mind. But now, from what Zhao Rui was saying, Yanghe Commerce was handling this brand too? If that was the case, they had truly made a bitter enemy of Futong Commerce, thwarting Li Yang's plans twice in a row.
RING RING RING~
Zhao Rui's phone rang. He picked it up, glanced at the screen, and said to Han Chao, "It's Old Zhang. Let me get this. Calling after hours… fucking bullshit."
"Hey, boss!"
Han Chao couldn't hear what President Zhang was saying, but he heard Zhao Rui sound surprised. "We really have to find a new location? Boss, there's no way these commercial terms will get approved. Why should we bother with all this?"
The person on the other end of the line spoke again. Zhao Rui was silent for a long moment before exclaiming, "What? President Tian himself gave the order?"
Han Chao's heart tightened.
'President Tian. It really is President Tian. Listening to Zhao Rui's conversation, it's obvious Yanghe Commerce isn't satisfied with the current location and is demanding a new one. President Zhang and Zhao Rui were initially against it, but President Tian gave the order, so now President Zhang is calling to have Zhao Rui coordinate a new spot. Looks like my guess was right. President Tian must be helping Yanghe Commerce. This is going to be a huge problem.
It seems that when the regional investment manager told me President Tian had given the order and the VP of Business was leading the NLB case, it wasn't because President Li had treated them to dinner and President Tian was helping Futong Commerce. All these arrangements were clearly for Yanghe Commerce.
Dammit, and I can't even tell President Li any of this. He'll just chew me out again, saying I misled him and that if he had gone to the regional office to negotiate earlier, the situation might be different. He'll say it's all my fault for missing the opportunity.'
Just then, he heard Zhao Rui exclaim again, "No way! Why would President Tian place so much importance on Yang Hui? Isn't that guy just a channel development grunt?"
Yang Hui? Hearing that name, the color drained from Han Chao's face. How did Yang Hui get dragged into this?
The words that followed shocked him even more. Zhao Rui continued, "What? He's the boss of Yanghe Commerce? Even so, that just makes him the boss of a small company. Why would President Tian think he's so important?"
A tidal wave of shock crashed through Han Chao's mind.
'Yang Hui is the boss of Yanghe Commerce? Oh my God, this news is explosive. Is this the same Yang Hui from our company? It's actually possible. He has a great private relationship with President Tian. But why is he at our company? Is he trying to spy on us? That seems a bit much, doesn't it?'
He couldn't figure it out, but he knew he had to report this to Li Yang. The boss of a competitor working at his own company—this was huge. If Li Yang found out, he would definitely tell him to get the hell out. Han Chao's dislike for Yang Hui wasn't a recent development. The thought of getting him kicked out of the company was simply fantastic.
And yet, even if Yang Hui were kicked out, he wouldn't feel the same pleasure he would have before. Because if he was actually the boss of Yanghe Commerce, then he wasn't reliant on the salary from Futong Commerce. Whether he stayed or left would probably do him no harm at all.
Listening to Zhao Rui, he finally understood why Futong Commerce had repeatedly suffered setbacks in its dealings with Xinyue Square. It was because their competition was Yang Hui himself, and President Tian was backing him completely. He also now understood why Yang Hui had been unwilling to put any effort into the NLB matter—it would have been damaging to his own interests.
This was truly earth-shattering news. But wasn't Yang Hui being too bold? Did he have no reservations at all, handling all the negotiations himself? The business world was only so big; he was bound to be exposed sooner or later.