sinovels Chapter 828 Threat
Chapter 828 Threat
After Zhao Xiangjun and Xu Jia finished their store tour, they remembered Chen Xiao's cousin Chen Long's seafood buffet project, so they came to check it out while the food and beverage floor wasn't too crowded yet.
She had seen the little train almost hit the child, and she was very worried for the child.
Zhao Xiangjun witnessed Diao Chan's selfless act of saving the child. At that moment, she recalled Chen Xiao's question about whether she had a younger sister. If she were in Diao Chan's position, she would have also stepped forward without hesitation.
"It's alright, Jiajia! Do you have the contact information for the person in charge of this shopping mall? Arrange for that girl to be checked out, make sure she's not hurt! This little train shouldn't be running anymore; with such high foot traffic, accidents are very likely to happen!"
"Yes, I know her. She's Liu Jingjing. She's Chen Xiao's classmate. She used to be Lin Ya's person, and Lin Ya promoted her later!"
Zhao Xiangjun nodded slightly, "That's good, go ahead and make the contact."
Liu Jingjing has only been the general manager of Junxiao Plaza's third store for a short time. In addition to achieving the company's KPIs, she is also conducting research on the shortcomings of the plaza based on feedback from merchants and customers, and is preparing to focus on rectification!
This little train is one of them.
This project is rare in other Junxiao Plaza locations. It was left over from before Junxiao Commercial Management acquired the project. Since Miao Lei was the general manager before and after the acquisition, he was used to it and didn't think anything was wrong.
Furthermore, the owner of this miniature train is a relative of a leader in the fire department of the Economic Development Zone, making him a person with connections. Miao Lei used to have to maintain this relationship from time to time.
Another point is that although this plaza was one of the top projects in Jiangzhou at the time, its visitor flow was far less than it is now, especially since catering was not a strong point of the project. Adding the miniature train would also help attract parents with children to come upstairs.
But things are different now. After being renamed Junxiao Plaza, many brands in the plaza have been adjusted and upgraded, especially the restaurants, which have seen many new brands making their debut in Jiangzhou. As a result, during mealtimes, the number of customers on the third floor has more than tripled compared to last year. Even on weekdays, by 5:30 pm, there are customers queuing outside almost every restaurant!
Under these circumstances, continuing to operate the miniature train would be somewhat inappropriate. Liu Jingjing noticed this problem during her store inspection, which is why she invited the owner of the miniature train's operation company over today!
After returning from inspecting the stores in the mall, he instructed his secretary, "When General Manager Li arrives, bring him to my office!"
"Yes, Mr. Liu!" the secretary replied, standing up. She only sat down after Mr. Liu returned to his office. She knew about Mr. Li; he was the owner of the miniature train operator in the square.
In principle, it wouldn't be Mr. Liu's place to receive a client like this, but the secretary knew that this Mr. Li's identity was somewhat unusual, and that Mr. Miao had taken good care of him when he was still in office!
The secretary also knew why General Manager Liu had called him over today, because at this week's meeting, General Manager Liu had already made arrangements to cancel the operation of the miniature train. Some people had expressed concerns at the time, namely that General Manager Li's brother had considerable influence over the square's fire safety.
With a project this large, it's impossible to avoid some oversights in fire safety. Especially since this plaza was acquired; during its construction, some areas were built with some loopholes in regulations, reportedly saving tens of millions. However, because of this, it's crucial to maintain good relations with the relevant departments, otherwise, every inspection will be a major headache!
This was the situation before Junxiao Commercial Management acquired it. Now, no one should dare to deliberately make things difficult for Junxiao Commercial Management. However, they are still maintaining the relationships that need to be maintained, and they still need to give them face.
Liu Jingjing sat in the large executive chair, glanced at her watch, and was surprised that Mr. Li was late. Since she became the general manager of the store, Mr. Li was probably the one with the smallest business, and also the only one who was late!
Normally, being a little late wouldn't be a problem. But she just received a call from a merchant who said a friend of theirs was coming over, and the conversation was veiled, implying a connection to the boss.
"Boss, isn't that Chen Xiao?" Liu Jingjing glanced at the sofa in the reception area and then thought of the scene of him messing around with her on the sofa. Her face couldn't help but turn red. She heard that he was coming in a couple of days, but she didn't know which day it was.
She'd never tried it before, so it was fine. But after following him a few times, she got hooked. If Chen Xiao didn't come for a while, she felt uneasy all over!
Knock knock knock—
A knock sounded at the door, snapping Liu Jingjing out of her reverie and regaining her composure. "Come in—"
The door was pushed open, and the secretary led in a man who looked to be around 35 years old: "President Liu, President Li has arrived!"
"Mr. Li, please have a seat—" Liu Jingjing didn't invite him to the reception area, but instead asked him to sit opposite her desk. This was partly due to her displeasure at Mr. Li's lateness, and partly because her appointment with Zhang Yi was approaching, and she didn't have much time to chat with him.
Mr. Li was also surprised that the general manager was such a beautiful woman. He politely greeted her, "President Liu!" and then sat down in the chair opposite Liu Jingjing.
"Mr. Li, the reason I invited you here today is because of our cooperation."
"Is it about contract renewal? Your business development manager contacted me a while ago. However, Mr. Liu, I have to complain about that business development manager; he's been acting a bit arrogant!"
"Business Development Manager?" Liu Jingjing knew he was referring to Lin Ping, but Lin Ping had recently gone to Junxiao Plaza's second store as the Vice President of Business Development!
"He told me that the rent would increase significantly when it expires this year. Isn't he joking? We're just a small business, how much money can we possibly make?"
Liu Jingjing knew Lin Ping's work style well. When negotiating business deals, he would always make an exorbitant demand first, and then gradually negotiate the price down. This was a way of putting pressure on the other party!
“I didn’t give him any face back then. Mr. Liu, I’ve been working with this project for many years. I was already doing this before it was even Junxiao Plaza, and the rent hasn’t increased in all these years. And your Manager Lin actually wanted to raise the rent by 30%. Tell me, isn’t having an employee like that damaging the relationship with the client?”
"Fortunately, he was sensible and never contacted me again!"
Liu Jingjing smiled faintly, "Manager Lin has already left!"
He slapped his thigh and exclaimed, “Mr. Liu, I knew it! Someone like him isn’t suited for business. I said back then—he definitely won’t last long!”
"Mr. Liu, someone like that won't be able to find a job anywhere else! Humph~"
Liu Jingjing sneered, "President Li, Lin Ping has now gone to the second store of Junxiao Plaza as the vice president of business. He's been promoted!"
"." Mr. Li's expression froze. He had been too happy too soon!
"Mr. Liu, did you call me here today because you have a plan for the contract renewal?" Mr. Li no longer mentioned Lin Ping's matter.
“I generally don’t get involved in contract renewals,” Liu Jingjing said, remembering the main reason she had called him today. Seeing Mr. Li’s confusion, she continued, “Mr. Li, I checked, and our contract has two months left. I called you here today to apologize—”
"Sorry?" Mr. Li pondered for a moment, then said, "Mr. Liu, are you also going to raise the rent like this?"
Liu Jingjing shook her head: "It's not a rent increase, it's that we're not going to continue this project—" Boom!
a bolt from the blue!
Mr. Li immediately stood up: "Mr. Liu, how can this be?"
The customer traffic and quality at Junxiao Plaza are excellent right now; Mr. Li's business has more than tripled compared to before. He hasn't even had time to enjoy the profits, and now they're saying they don't want to cooperate anymore? How can that be acceptable?
For other clients, Liu Jingjing would have simply arranged to notify them. But Mr. Li's brother was connected to the fire safety of the Junxiao Plaza's third store. She regularly arranged for someone to maintain a good relationship with him. Although Liu Jingjing wasn't afraid of him, she didn't want him to misunderstand and think she was targeting him. So she called Mr. Li over to explain the situation:
"Mr. Li, as you can see, the customer flow in our food area is too large right now. Operating the mini-train is not appropriate anymore. It not only obstructs customers' normal movement, but there's also the risk of someone being hit!"
Mr. Li's expression was extremely grim: "Mr. Liu, this is definitely not going to work. I rely on this business to support my family!"
Liu Jingjing found this amusing. What kind of talk was this? My mall has needs for development; would I disregard the safety of my customers just because you need to support your family?
"Okay, Mr. Li. Why don't you switch projects? Find a good brand, and I'll find you a suitable position within the project. You won't earn less than this!"
Liu Jingjing decided to do someone a favor!
"That won't work. This is a one-time investment, so the cost isn't high. If I were to franchise a brand, the investment would definitely be over a million."
She raised her wrist and glanced at the time; it was almost time to meet Zhang Yi. Since this Mr. Li was so difficult to talk to, Liu Jingjing decided not to bother with him anymore. She had given him all the opportunities she could, and Mr. Li was still haggling—it was utterly absurd!
Actually, as long as he gave up the little train, or even just found a shop and got some support from Liu Jingjing, it wouldn't be a problem.
"Then that's settled, Mr. Li. Please go back and think it over. The miniature train project definitely won't be renewed when the contract expires! Please understand, I'm doing this for the sake of the guests!"
Mr. Li stood up and said with a hint of threat, "Mr. Liu, I'm going to my brother's house for dinner tonight, and I'll give him my feedback on this matter. Besides, aren't you overthinking it? How could a toy train possibly encounter passengers?"
Threatening me? Liu Jingjing laughed. This President Li is far too arrogant! Not to mention that Chen Xiao is behind her, even when she was just a lowly employee, she never bowed down to evil forces.
Just as she was about to ask him to leave, the phone rang. Liu Jingjing glanced at the caller ID, her beautiful eyes narrowed, and she quickly picked up the phone and swiped to answer: "Mr. Xu?"
"Hello, Mr. Liu, I'm Xu Jia!"
"Hello, Mr. Xu!"
Liu Jingjing knew Xu Jia's identity was far more than just the vice president and regional general manager of the Yinuo Group. She was also the matriarch of the Chen family, Zhao Xiangjun's only and closest confidante, like a sister. Chen Xiao treated Xu Jia like family, even more so than his cousin.
"Mr. Liu, I have something to report to you."
Xu Jia saw a toy train on the third floor almost hit a child, but fortunately a beautiful woman bravely saved it, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.
Liu Jingjing gasped, "President Xu, thank you! I'll arrange for someone to find that beautiful lady immediately. I want to thank her in person and also arrange for her to undergo a full medical examination. Any problems will be covered by the plaza!"
Xu Jia was simply reporting the situation and conveying Zhao Xiangjun's message.
Upon hearing Zhao Xiangjun's suggestion not to take the miniature train, Liu Jingjing replied with utmost seriousness, "President Xu, I had already made this plan. I understand and will handle it properly!"
After ending the call, Liu Jingjing picked up the landline and dialed: "Call President Qin over, and you come in too!"
He hung up the phone without responding to Mr. Li. Mr. Li seized the opportunity: "Mr. Liu, I hope you can change your mind!"
Liu Jingjing nodded: "I have indeed changed my mind!"
Mr. Li's face lit up with joy. Just as he was about to speak, the office door opened, and his secretary asked respectfully, "Mr. Liu, do you have any instructions?"
Liu Jingjing said, "Go check the surveillance footage. There's a beautiful woman on the third floor who bravely saved a child. Please ask her to come here!"
"Received, Mr. Liu—"
Just as the secretary was about to leave, she was called back: "Go to Junxiao Supermarket and buy me 10 yuan worth of shopping cards."
Knock knock knock—
Just as the secretary left, the business vice president, Mr. Qin, came in. He recognized Mr. Li and greeted him.
Only then did Mr. Li find an opportunity to speak: "Mr. Liu, what did you just say?"
Liu Jingjing looked at President Qin: "It's like this, President Li's little train project will be terminated starting tomorrow—"
what?
Mr. Li immediately stood up, realizing that Liu Jingjing's change of mind wasn't a sign of a turnaround, but rather a change from the contract's expiration date to early termination!
"I still have two months left on my contract."
Liu Jingjing seemed not to hear and continued to say to President Qin, "According to the contract, the compensation should not be less than a penny. Fine, give me an extra 10%, and I'll sign it later!"
Just as Mr. Li was about to speak, Liu Jingjing waved her hand: "Mr. Li, I'm formally informing you, not discussing it with you. That's all for now, I have guests later!"
"Don't push your luck!"
"Mr. Li!" Mr. Qin stepped forward and grabbed his arm. "Come on, let's go outside and talk. Let's not disturb Mr. Liu!"
He hadn't known Mr. Li for long, but they'd occasionally chat when he saw him during his rounds. This guy was used to being arrogant and looked down on everyone. But who was Mr. Liu? He was a close confidant of Chairman Lin Ya. Even if Mr. Li's brother was just a local government official, and even the bigwigs of Jiangzhou City treated Chairman Lin with utmost respect, who did he think he was, daring to threaten Mr. Liu!
As Mr. Li left, he didn't forget to add, "Mr. Liu, I hope you'll seriously consider this. The fire inspection will be coming up again soon!" (End of Chapter)