In Yongcheng in April, the weather is unpredictable, different in the morning, noon, and evening.
It can be sunny in the morning and pour rain by noon.
A few days of sunshine followed by a few days of rain, coupled with Zhang Qingliang's unfamiliarity with the local environment and weather, had a significant impact on the renovation.
Although a bit anxious, Tan Jincheng also knew that these were objective reasons and it was not good to rush too much.
The plaster hadn't dried, so he couldn't force the workers to continue construction, could he?
"It's fine, if it's late, it's late. Don't rush, pay attention to quality and safety, those are the most important."
After inspecting the site and seeing his uncle Zhang Qingliang's embarrassed expression, Tan Jincheng could only comfort him like this.
His uncle made sense.
If they continued with the next step before it was completely dry, the wall paint could easily peel off, affecting the company's image.
"Yes, I will speed things up and try not to delay your business,"
Zhang Qingliang said solemnly.
He also had experience renovating shops for others.
Shops were different from residential buildings; a month's delay meant at least a month's rent lost.
His nephew's office was not small, so the rent was probably not cheap.
"Also, please pay attention to noise and such, don't affect others' work too much."
"Okay, I'll make sure the workers pay attention to that."
In 2005, renovation noise control wasn't as strict; there weren't constant complaints like in later years.
However, he had received calls from property management asking them to be mindful of the impact.
In fact, people in those days were relatively friendlier, and mutual understanding was more common.
Perhaps legal awareness was much weaker compared to later generations.
On the other hand, in those days, company owners were generally perceived as wealthy people, so ordinary company employees would usually just put up with it and not cause trouble.
"Alright then, I'll be leaving now. Uncle, are you coming with me?"
"Why would I go with you? I'll stay here and supervise the construction site."
"I'm going to pick up the car, are you really not coming?"
"Really? A BMW?"
Zhang Qingliang's eyes lit up when he heard that.
Although he didn't have a driver's license, he knew how to drive.
His elder brother's family had a hand-tractor, which they bought by borrowing money back then.
This hand-tractor had contributed a lot to the entire family, and all four brothers, including him, knew how to drive it.
He had secretly tried driving a car too, and it wasn't a big problem.
Owning a car was a dream for most men, and Zhang Qingliang was no exception.
"Let's go, I'll go with you to see. I was wondering why you weren't driving your car today and took a taxi instead."
"Let's go. Uncle, get a driver's license when you have time. You can drive anyway. What do you say to being my driver when you don't want to do renovations anymore?"
"Give me a break. What driver for a company with a few people? Doesn't that cost money? Besides, a driver doesn't earn as much as I do renovating. I don't want to always be taken care of by you."
The price for the two residences had been agreed upon earlier.
Now, for this office, he was given extra money.
All in all, this year would be a prosperous one, and he would almost not need to borrow money to build his house.
Zhang Qingliang knew perfectly well that his nephew was looking after him out of consideration for his sister.
He had previously asked his sister for some money to build a house, and a few months later, his sister called to ask if he had considered not going to the Northeast this year.
Not long after, during the Chinese New Year, his eldest nephew approached him and "contracted" his year's workload at a very favorable price.
Knowing it was one thing, but Zhang Qingliang couldn't refuse because he truly needed money at the moment.
Borrowed money always had to be repaid, but what he earned himself didn't, even if he knew there was an element of favoritism.
The agreed-upon 60,000 yuan for the two houses: his sister gave him half during the New Year, and the other half his nephew gave him directly upon his arrival in Yongcheng.
He received the money before the work was even finished – only his own nephew would do such a thing.
However, help is help, but one must know contentment.
One should know that his eldest nephew wouldn't say anything out of respect for his sister now.
But if you, as an uncle, truly don't know what's good for you and become a burden to your nephew, things wouldn't be as they are now.
Would a young man who, at just 18, gave up university, went out to sea to make his fortune, and within half a year of returning could open two companies and have a net worth of over a million, be as simple as he appeared on the surface?
It's best to keep this favor.
His own disappointing son, whose academic performance wasn't great, might need this cousin's help at a crucial moment.
At the 4S dealership, all procedures were completed.
This brand-new 2004 BMW 3 Series, with its black body, was still very stunning at the time.
As the first generation of domestically produced BMW 3 Series, it was touted upon its launch as filling a gap in the luxury B-segment car market, highly sought after by consumers.
The transition between the classic double-kidney grille and the hood was quite natural, and the simple body lines exuded a strong sense of sportiness, with decent handling performance.
"Drive a BMW, ride in a Mercedes."
That's probably where the saying came from, describing their respective selling points and performance.
Although the manufacturer's suggested retail price was between 348,000 and 408,000 yuan, for popular models in those days, it was wishful thinking for ordinary people to buy them at the suggested price.
Even in later eras of automotive abundance, it might not be possible.
Tan Jincheng's car, with all its various extras and paying a premium to get it early, cost a considerable amount.
However, it could be offset against tax, so a bit more expensive didn't matter.
If it were registered under his personal name, Tan Jincheng definitely wouldn't be such a spendthrift.
Having seen all sorts of car models in later generations, even the most acclaimed classics were just cars in Tan Jincheng's eyes.
When his grandfather eventually creates a classic two-wheeled electric vehicle with a design ahead of its time, he'll also spend money to invite media to promote it.
In fact, his return midway this time was truly mainly for this car.
They called to say the car had arrived, and if he didn't pick it up, they really might not give it to him, as there were plenty of people queuing up waiting.
Cars were truly a seller's market in this era.
Manufacturers, 4S dealerships, and even ordinary sales staff were all extremely arrogant.
Thinking this, Tan Jincheng felt increasingly pressed for time.
He absolutely couldn't miss the best years for making money.
If he couldn't catch up with traditional cars, he had to get a piece of the pie with two-wheeled electric bikes and new energy vehicles.
As for delivering contracts and arranging for OEM production, those were just incidental matters.
"Let's go, Uncle, I'll take you for a couple of spins to get familiar with the surroundings."
Having just picked up the car, Tan Jincheng was in a great mood.
Seeing his eldest nephew in a good mood, Zhang Qingliang couldn't bear to say discouraging things like "I need to go back to work," so he went along with him.
The first stop was naturally Jinpeng Trade.
Li Yanning and Li Jinglan, the two sisters looking after the place, were startled to suddenly see Boss Tan show up.
The Canton Fair still had over 10 days left, so why had Boss Tan suddenly returned now?
Had something happened?
"Boss, why are you back so early? Isn't the Canton Fair still ongoing?"
Li Yanning asked directly, having thought of something.
Li Jinglan, on the other hand, rolled her eyes.
Tan Jincheng saw her expression and knew she was definitely slacking off, probably wondering if he had noticed.
This was exactly the effect he wanted.
Employees slacking off was inevitable, but a certain level of deterrence was necessary.
Letting them loose for too long would only encourage them to do as they pleased.
"Nothing happened, things are fine over there. I brought back some important documents; it's not safe to leave them in the hotel. We're going to be busy soon."
Then Tan Jincheng introduced Zhang Qingliang.
"We've met, Li Yanning helped with the move earlier,"
Zhang Qingliang said with a smile.
Oh right, he had asked Li Yanning for help when renting a house for his uncle earlier.
How could he have forgotten that?
"Alright then, Uncle, have a seat. Jinglan, pour a cup of water. Sister Li, come to the office with me."
There were many orders coming up, and as a merchandiser, the workload would certainly be considerable.
Li Yanning alone would probably find it difficult to complete, so it was time to expand the company and recruit new employees.
He still had to handle this matter himself.
Regardless, he needed to properly manage this batch of Canton Fair orders, as Zhang Xupeng currently didn't have that capability.
It wasn't that Zhang Xupeng's growth rate wasn't fast enough; Zhang Xupeng had already worked very hard.
But after all, it was genuinely his first time doing business, unlike Tan Jincheng, the reborn one.
His first order was James's 100,000 USD order, exceeding 800,000 yuan.
And this Canton Fair directly surpassed the million-yuan mark.
To achieve what Zhang Xupeng did was already very good.
For someone inexperienced, it would be normal to be blinded by these figures and get carried away.
"Look, these are our orders for this year. You probably won't be able to handle it alone. I'll recruit a few more people later, don't overthink it."
Handing the monthly order plan he had made after returning yesterday to Li Yanning, Tan Jincheng said with a smile.
Being a boss is also an art.
For many young employees, income is indeed important, but often their pride is more important.
You need to take care of their self-esteem.
Dealing with these young employees is also much easier than dealing with seasoned workplace veterans.
If you no longer want to employ them, you can start from this angle and hit the mark every time.
Workplace rectifications are all nonsense; there are plenty of ways to deal with you.
Tan Jincheng dared to guarantee that if he said nothing to Li Yanning and simply hired a few more merchandisers, she would definitely think if the boss was dissatisfied with her work and wanted to hire more people to replace her later.
"Huh?"
Li Yanning was clearly stunned for a moment, hesitating before taking the form Tan Jincheng handed her.
Li Yanning carefully looked at the production plan, then her face lit up with joy.
She had heard from peers earlier that policies had changed this year and the clothing business was difficult.
At the time, she was worried if the company could get enough orders.
Now it seemed, how was this difficult? How had policies changed?
Starting next month, orders were lined up until March next year, fully booked.
Especially for next month, the number of orders was quite substantial.
"No wonder the boss said he needed to hire a few more people. I thought he was unhappy with my high salary because of insufficient orders."
With this volume of orders, one merchandiser was indeed not enough.
Even if she didn't take any breaks, she wouldn't be able to handle it all.
Hiring was essential.
A weight off her mind, Li Yanning put away the production plan:
"Congratulations, Boss. With so many orders, the company's performance this year will definitely be excellent, perhaps even making a name for itself in the district."
For export businesses earning foreign exchange, if the figures reached a certain amount, they would become key enterprises in the district.
If it were 10 or 20 years earlier, companies that could earn foreign exchange would have been cherished.
"Yes, you'll be responsible for training the merchandisers we hire later to adapt to the company's pace. Work hard, and you won't be treated unfairly."
"Understood. Boss, do you want me to help recruit people? There are a few very capable professionals from my previous workplace."
"Yes, you can ask around. I'll recruit people at a normal pace on my end. If you can recruit skilled professionals, the company will give you an additional bonus, and they'll still be under your guidance."
"Okay, then I'll get busy? Next month's production task is quite heavy, I'll go arrange it now."
Li Yanning responded happily.
Boss Tan's words always counted, and it looked like her salary could reach a new level this year.
However, with more people comes more competition, so it seems she needs to work hard! She can't let new employees outperform her.
"Okay, go ahead. Call Li Jinglan over."
(End of chapter)
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