Fang Bai began the acceptance inspection of the renovation, starting with a walk around the exterior.
He was followed by about ten people, including the contractor Lu Dahai, the supervisor Chen Gong from the design institute, and the key personnel from all the renovation companies.
Today was the real boss's acceptance work; if it passed, they would receive the subsequent payment, and Chen Gong would also get a bonus.
There were five sections facing south and ten sections facing east.
Fang Bai had not understood how the relevant departments planned the land back then; it was very unreasonable, and it would have been better to make it two streets.
Now, behind the mall, there was a concave vacant lot spanning 550 square meters, which could no longer be planned for shop fronts; he would see if it could be expanded backward later, making the south side 25 meters long and the east side 64 meters (50+14) long, for a total area of 1600 square meters.
Mall entrance one was in the middle of the south-facing side, and entrance two was on the east-facing side, with both doors ten meters wide.
The exterior wall facing the road was 30 centimeters high and 33 centimeters wide, with frameless large glass starting 30 centimeters from the ground; this design was made to consider that people might easily collide with full-length glass, but also to ensure a good view both inside and outside the mall.
Therefore, customers could also sit on the brick wall steps and see the merchandise inside the mall through the glass.
Considering the overall aesthetics, the building did not have eaves.
The exterior wall above the glass could be used to hang large promotional posters.
After witnessing this novel mall design for the first time, everyone was full of praise.
The renovation was beautiful and stylish, and the wide view gave people a comfortable feeling.
To cope with the current chaotic situation in society, roll-up doors were also installed outside the glass. Especially after closing at night, the mall would pull down the roll-up doors, which could effectively deter acts of destruction.
This measure was to deal with some hooligans who would stop at nothing, even smashing glass with bricks to steal appliances and other items.
Fang Bai planned to install surveillance cameras both inside and outside the mall once such equipment became available, monitoring all areas of the mall around the clock so that security personnel could take timely action in case of any abnormal situation.
In addition, Fang Bai had his father maintain close cooperation with the local police station to ensure swift response and handling in emergency situations.
Doing small businesses in this era might not require these measures, but once they scaled up, they had to rely on local police protection; there was already a police post at the pier.
During the mall's construction, Fang Bai and his father had already dined with the leaders of the police station twice.
Fang Bai circled the outside of the mall, then entered the mall for inspection.
The mall's layout was divided by appliance categories, with corresponding areas for televisions, refrigerators, washing machines, air conditioners, kitchenware, and so on.
After two or three hours of meticulous inspection, Fang Bai completed the acceptance work, finding no major issues, only some minor ones that needed rectification.
He demanded that the construction managers of the problematic projects resolve these issues by tomorrow afternoon and undergo a re-inspection.
Only when there were no issues would he settle the payment.
He could settle payments for projects without issues shortly.
This acceptance process ensured that the mall's renovation quality met expectations and that all facilities and decor complied with standards.
In the afternoon, Fang Bai individually met with several part-time university students he favored to discuss work matters.
First, he found Jing Tian, and in the well-renovated living room on the second floor, the two sat facing each other on the sofa.
Jing Tian was somewhat unsure why Fang Bai wanted to see him; was his work not good enough that he was going to be fired?
It shouldn't be that; he was very responsible in his work.
Or was there something good he wanted to tell him?
He felt a slight unease, his heart complex; in these past days, he had earned a lot of money from his part-time job, helping his family alleviate their financial burden.
Fang Bai noticed Jing Tian's concern and, with a smile, said to Jing Tian, "Jing Tian, you've done excellent work.
I asked you to come here because there's an opportunity for you to have more room for development. Are you interested?"
After hearing Fang Bai's words, Jing Tian breathed a sigh of relief.
He was pleased with Fang Bai's praise and, at the same time, was full of anticipation and curiosity about this opportunity.
He smiled sincerely, "Thank you, President Fang, of course, I'm interested, hehe."
Fang Bai nodded with satisfaction; he was busy and had no time to beat around the bush, so he first thoroughly introduced the mall's development plan to Jing Tian, then got straight to the point:
"Jing Tian, the company's mall is about to open, and I want to select long-term management personnel from among you to be official employees. I want to ask what your thoughts are."
"Oh, that's so sudden, thank you, President Fang, for your favor." Jing Tian looked surprised, then delighted, but also a bit conflicted, "But, President Fang, as you know, we'll be assigned jobs next semester."
Fang Bai understood Jing Tian's concerns; he pressed his palm down, reassuring him, "I know, but please hear me out first, then go back and carefully consider your choice."
He then explained, "I admire you very much; it's not easy for an ordinary student to become an official employee of Xinghai Company.
These days, you've witnessed the company's rapid growth."
As Fang Bai spoke, he observed Jing Tian, who maintained a faint smile on his face, his eyes fixed on him.
"You majored in electronics; if you join, you will be responsible for the grassroots management of technical aspects in the appliance mall.
Of course, there are also many things to do in the mall currently, so you might be involved in comprehensive work such as recruitment, training, and policy formulation for grassroots employees.
Therefore, I hope you become a versatile management talent, not just limited to profession-related work.
In the future, you may not be limited to just one mall; the company is developing rapidly and may involve more fields. This is my arrangement and expectation for your career development.
Now I am providing you with a platform; how well you develop in the future depends on yourself, but I believe you will become an outstanding talent in the industry."
Jing Tian nodded as he listened, not expecting President Fang to value him so much, to be able to take on grassroots management right after graduation.
Fang Bai continued:
"I've divided the salary and benefits into several points.
First, regarding remuneration, the monthly salary is tentatively set at 400 yuan, working hours are determined by the mall's operating hours, and there are four days off per month.
Due to the nature of the mall, work continues on holidays, and you can arrange your own compensatory leave.
After working for six months, employees are entitled to 10 days of paid leave.
Second, the company provides working lunch and dinner, and arranges single-room accommodation.
Third, the company provides employees with birthday gifts and holiday benefits, and will continue to improve benefits in the future; it will definitely be better than working for a state-owned enterprise, which is also my intention.
Fourth, the year-end bonus will be determined based on the company's profitability; for those who have worked for more than six months, it will generally not be less than one month's salary.
Fifth, regarding salary adjustments, salaries will be adjusted once a year based on individual work ability and contribution.
For the first five years, salary increases will not be less than 10%; as long as the work is excellent enough, doubling is not an issue.
Sixth, and probably the point you are most concerned about, is housing.
After working for a certain number of years, the company can provide apartments, which employees can purchase by paying only a portion of the cost, with ownership belonging to the employee.
The above benefits are formulated with reference to the current situation of state-owned enterprises, and specific details can be written into the contract."
Fang Bai listed a series of benefits, which were formulated based on the current situation of state-owned enterprises.
Advantages are only known after comparison.
Currently, the daily wage for part-time university students is 10 yuan, but there are no benefits; 400 * 13-14 months' salary is equivalent to a daily wage of 17-18 yuan, a significant increase.
Perhaps Fang Bai could recruit mid-level managers with rich work experience for four to five hundred yuan, but they would unlikely be bachelor's degree graduates, and their drive would not match that of young people.
Now, Fang Bai needed to expand the market and required more adaptable talents who could work independently. Jing Tian had this potential and was one of the more outstanding among this batch of university students.
Other part-time university students were less capable, so their salaries would be lower.
Currency depreciated too quickly, so Fang Bai was merely offering a slightly higher-than-market salary a year in advance; by next year, many private enterprises would realize that expansion was impossible without high-end talent, and since they couldn't recruit them, they would have to train their own. To attract university graduates, they would also have to spend money to recruit people.
If Fang Bai wanted to poach truly high-end talent from state-owned enterprises, he would need to offer a monthly salary of over a thousand yuan to make them give up their iron rice bowls and work for him, but his current company scale was still too small, so they would most likely not be interested. Additionally, there were very few headhunting companies in China, so he wouldn't know where to find them, and he lacked resources in this area.
Recruiting talent from Hong Kong was possible, but Fang Bai could not afford those salaries.
Regarding housing, generally, university graduates in the 1990s would have their accommodation problems solved by the state-owned enterprises they were assigned to.
However, it was not easy to be allocated welfare housing from a state-owned enterprise.
Graduates needed to work for the enterprise for a certain number of years, and the enterprise would allocate welfare housing based on their work performance and seniority, and employees also needed to pay a certain fee, and the ownership of the house did not belong to the individual but to the enterprise.
Normally, the allocation of welfare housing requires adherence to seniority and connections, sometimes even necessitating the greasing of palms to secure such an opportunity.
The hardship and bitterness involved can only truly be understood by those who have experienced it firsthand; it's generally difficult for others to comprehend.
The welfare housing allocated by units was small, typically forty to fifty square meters, but without shared common areas.
Later, some units raised funds to build housing, requiring employees to pay a portion of the cost; these houses were larger and ownership belonged to the employees, but not all employees were eligible to purchase them, still requiring a ranking based on seniority.
Fang Bai knew that in this era, to compete with other units for university graduates, the issue of housing had to be addressed, as it was the most important benefit for graduates.
A man without housing, what marriage could he possibly talk about?
Employees would contribute money, and the company would be responsible for buying land and building houses for them; losing a bit of money was irrelevant, otherwise, how could they attract talent?
Fang Bai also planned that when he became richer, he would hoard more land to build employee housing; with plenty of vacant houses, employees would only need to pay the cost price to get a house, showing employees of other units what a wealthy private enterprise looked like.
He also wanted to show those property developers who speculated on housing that there was no way his company's employees would buy commercial housing!
Housing would definitely not be a reason restricting the development of Fang Bai's company.
As for the mentioned salary increase for newly hired employees, with rapid currency depreciation over the next five years, a 10% annual increase was not much.
As long as the company made money, Fang Bai would absolutely not be stingy.
Instead of donating more and paying more taxes, it was better to improve employee benefits.
He wouldn't be like some people who are eager to donate for fame but are extremely stingy with their employees; what kind of entrepreneur is that?
Jing Tian, after hearing Fang Bai talk about the salary and a series of benefits, especially the housing issue, found it impossible not to be tempted.
In terms of salary alone, it was much better than being assigned to a good unit.
Four hundred yuan a month, plus the year-end bonus, amounted to over five thousand yuan a year; with the company providing food and accommodation, and being a bit frugal, saving over four thousand yuan a year was not a problem.
Salaries would also increase, so saving over twenty thousand yuan in five years was not an issue.
Even if the company didn't build its own housing, he could still borrow some money to build his own house.
As long as his income was high, he could afford a house anywhere, without having to wait painstakingly, and his hopes would be greater.
However, job assignments after graduation were relatively concentrated and limited, with most university students relying on government or school assignments; since Jing Tian had no family background or connections, he wasn't confident he could be assigned to a good unit.
Thinking of this, Jing Tian felt a little excited; rather than anxiously waiting for the school to assign a job, the current situation felt much more stable.
Of course, he still had a concern: whether the company could develop smoothly, which was the risk.
He had seen Fang Bai's shopping mall; it was beautifully decorated, and even if the opening wasn't smooth, the street stall sales had always been booming.
Moreover, Fang Bai was also a very capable person; Jing Tian had long been utterly impressed by his superb skills.
In just a few months, he had set up a large shopping mall, and he believed it wouldn't be long before it expanded.
Therefore, if the company developed smoothly, joining early would make him a veteran employee, and he might even have a chance to get promoted.
Thus, Jing Tian decided to take a gamble, with three parts apprehension and seven parts confidence.
After a moment of hesitation, he still made up his mind, fearing that such an opportunity might not come again: "Mr. Fang, thank you for thinking highly of me; I am willing to join the company."
Fang Bai stood up and shook his hand: "Welcome aboard; the contract will be formally signed after you graduate.
We'll sign an agreement after the Spring Festival, and then you can go back to school to complete the procedures.
However, you are already considered officially employed now, and your daily wage has increased to 13 yuan; you'll still temporarily stay at the school, and after graduation, I'll arrange accommodation for you..."
"Okay, thank you, Mr. Fang." Jing Tian's face lit up with joy upon hearing that his salary would be increased immediately.
"You go to work first; please call Li Meng up for me; after we finish talking, I'll arrange work for all of you together."
Fang Bai instructed; they weren't setting up stalls today, but he had already told the part-time university students to come over this afternoon for a meeting, and they would still be paid.
Li Meng was a salesperson Fang Bai valued highly; she knew how to handle emergencies, and their actual daily wage for sales was around 12 yuan.
Fang Bai planned to have Li Meng manage the work of the mall sales staff, including personnel training; sales work was quite tiring, and since the mall was primarily sales-oriented, the comprehensive income of sales management would certainly be higher than that of technical management, but not excessively so.
If the difference was too great, Fang Bai would compensate other managers with year-end bonuses.
A moment later, Li Meng came up.
Fang Bai explained to her using the same approach as with Jing Tian, stating that Jing Tian had already joined, and her salary would be a basic wage plus commission; if the overall sales performance of the mall was good, her monthly salary would definitely exceed six hundred yuan.
Currently, salespersons in private enterprises, if they performed well, could earn over a thousand yuan a month, a truly high-paying job; of course, those who didn't perform well would only receive a basic salary of a few tens of yuan.
Li Meng enjoyed sales work and felt that if she worked elsewhere, her income wouldn't be very high; she preferred working independently, and besides, Mr. Fang treated them very well, and they enjoyed their work.
Ultimately, Li Meng agreed to join Xinghai Electrical Appliances Company.
Next, Fang Bai spoke with five more senior university students; three of them agreed on the spot, as the benefits Fang Bai offered were quite good.
The other two hesitated, saying they wanted to discuss it thoroughly with their families during the Spring Festival; in reality, they still prioritized entering a unit first to see what kind of unit they could be assigned to, and if it wasn't good, they would consider coming to Xinghai Company.
Fang Bai hadn't expected to recruit everyone; securing five was already very good; if the benefits had been slightly worse, he probably wouldn't have been able to recruit anyone.
Currently, the mall didn't need so many university students, but Fang Bai believed the company would develop very quickly, so he considered it early training.
The mall opening required people, and Fang Bai needed their assistance, so he had all seven of them come to the living room to arrange their work.
"Before arranging work, I'll first talk about holiday pay; due to the nature of the mall, it will be open for business on the first day of the Spring Festival, except for New Year's Eve after 5 PM.
Considering the issue of delaying everyone's return home for the New Year, we plan to open on the twenty-sixth of the lunar calendar; for these five days until New Year's Eve, there will be double pay; from the first to the sixth day of the lunar calendar, there will be triple pay, including overtime; the company will reimburse employees' travel expenses to return home.
After the seventh day of the lunar calendar, there are no specific requirements; you can go home if you wish, or continue working.
We'll have a holiday after 5 PM on New Year's Eve and celebrate the New Year together with a New Year's Eve dinner.
You can decide now whether you want to go home for the New Year; once decided, you can get an advance on your salary; for those who are local, you can go home once; for students from other places, you can decide for yourselves," Fang Bai said.
Of the seven senior university students, two were local, and the other five were from out of town, with two of them from other provinces.
Li Meng, who lived closest, still needed an hour to get home.
Wencheng University was different from those key universities, so there weren't many students from other provinces; most were from within the province.
It was very inconvenient and expensive for students from other provinces to go home now; it was normal for them not to return home even once during their four years of university, wanting to save money for their families.
It wasn't like later generations, where everyone returned home during every holiday.
When the seven students heard about double and even triple pay, they instantly felt like they could get rich quickly.
Just by working these 11 days, it was equivalent to receiving 28 days' worth of salary; they were truly tempted.
These students were relatively simple-minded and could not hide their excited expressions; some even grinned from ear to ear.
"The company is short-handed now, so I'm willing to stay; I can just go home after the New Year." Li Meng said with joy, taking the lead to express her stance; with so much money, only a fool wouldn't stay; what was a late return home for the New Year anyway, some students from other provinces only went home once in four years of university.
As long as she had money, she could buy delicious food and beautiful clothes.
She had worked as a part-time salesperson for less than thirty times.
"Mr. Fang, I'll stay too." Jing Tian agreed without hesitation.
Huo Wenbin was from Lake City in the same province and had also hesitated earlier; he planned to rush home for the New Year on the twenty-ninth of the lunar calendar and then rush back on the second day of the New Year.
The others, for the sake of high salaries, also did not plan to go home for the New Year; moreover, they had already agreed to join, and now that the company's mall was opening and short-handed, it wouldn't be good to leave early; how would they get by later?
After Fang Bai understood everyone's plans, he proceeded to assign work to each person.
Jing Tian, according to Fang Bai's instructions, was responsible for compiling the employee handbook and recruiting employees; Li Meng was responsible for salesperson training; Chen Yang was responsible for mall inventory transfers; Huo Wenbin was responsible for mall advertising and banner setup; Xiang Tianhai was initially responsible for merchandise display and subsequently for maintaining order on site...
By around 5 PM, Fang Bai had finally finished arranging everything, feeling a great weight lifted from his shoulders.
Xinghai Company now had its core team.
Now, his main tasks before the mall opening were only bank loans and purchasing goods.