Chapter 161: Chapter 33 Ouyang Jiani Brandishing a Hoe to Empty Out Her Former Employer_2
The key point is that I was only transferred here recently, and I’m not familiar with him. Am I crazy enough to go against you, the manager, for someone I barely know?
But he could only complain silently; the words couldn’t be spoken aloud. This caused him to stand there stammering, looking incredibly guilty.
In the end, he could only squeeze out a few words. "I am responsible."
Xiang Yunsheng was finally satisfied.
Then he pointed at the others and asked, "He’s responsible, what about you? Do you all have any responsibility?"
Everyone looked at each other. What responsibility do we have? We didn’t even have a vote.
They only heard the manager shifting the blame. "When I made this decision, why didn’t any of you advise me? Are you all just collecting a paycheck for nothing? One of you is my assistant, and the other is my secretary. Why didn’t you think to offer some advice?"
The assistant and the secretary were mentally cursing all eighteen generations of his ancestors. Damn it! To think he’d pull a stunt like this. A true leader, taking blame-shifting to a whole new level.
But what could they do? They could only accept it.
"We’re sorry, Manager Xiang. We’re responsible too."
Now he was truly content.
After passing the buck, however, he still had to face the pressing problem at hand. If he couldn’t solve it, the higher-ups would probably solve *him*.
"All of you, go and think hard about how we can stop the loss of talent from our department."
Seeing that they were all as silent as clams, he waved his hand impatiently, dismissing them. They fled as if granted a pardon, rushing out in a flash.
After leaving the manager’s office, they saw the deputy manager storming off with a grim look on his face.
The male assistant whispered to the female secretary, "Xiao Lan, why don’t we jump ship too? Whoever wants this job can have it. I’m not putting up with this anymore."
It turned out this man and woman were carrying on an underground romance right under Xiang Yunsheng’s nose.
The secretary, Xiao Lan, rolled her eyes at her boyfriend. "Jobs are so hard to find right now. If we resign, what are we supposed to do, live on air? Don’t forget, we agreed to save up for a wedding and a house in two years. If we don’t save money now while our salaries are still decent, how will we ever afford the down payment?"
"Okay, fine," the male assistant relented for the sake of getting married and buying a house. "But what are we going to do about this job?"
"We’ll just have to deal with it!" Xiao Lan had crossed paths with Ouyang Jiani before and knew she was a tough cookie. She silently mourned for Manager Xiang. Of all the people to provoke, why did he have to choose her?
「XinXin Media.」
The name was taken from a Chinese phrase meaning "thriving and prosperous." The newly acquired media company was an obscure small firm, so changing the name was no real loss. Ouyang Jiani had personally thumbed through many collections of classical poetry and literature before finally settling on it.
Sun Dasheng grumbled to himself but ultimately agreed.
This company’s office wasn’t crammed in with the headquarters. Instead, it was situated on the 28th floor of the same building—specifically, the 28th floor of Starlight Building’s Block C. This office location wasn’t chosen at random. The space was previously occupied by an influencer MCN agency and came with ready-made live-streaming studios, making it convenient for a new company to move in and start operations immediately.
The entire 28th floor was rented by XinXin Media. This wasn’t entirely a show of wealth, though that was part of the reason. The main factor was the economic downturn. High vacancy rates had forced the property management company to lower prices. Occupancy had plummeted, not just in this building but in the entire surrounding business district. To attract clients, rents were slashed by over 30 percent. It was a bargain, so Sun Dasheng, with a wave of his hand, leased the whole floor.
In XinXin Media’s new office, the apprentice Ouyang Jiani had specially set aside a chairman’s office for her master. She claimed it was to facilitate his inspections, but in reality, the company had too few people and too much office space, and it pained her to see it go to waste. So, she simply combined a few offices to create the largest one as a gift for him.
Inside, she was bustling about, making sure her master was comfortable.
"Master, please have some tea. This is Dong Ding Oolong I brought especially from home for you."
Sun Dasheng smiled, accepted the cup, and placed it on the table after a casual sip. "You’re not this attentive for no reason. You’re either up to no good or after something. Spit it out, what is it this time?"
He had just been in his office at the headquarters on the top floor when this girl came up to get him personally.
"Well..." Ouyang Jiani pulled a chair up next to her mentor and said fawningly, "Master, we’ve been spending so much on poaching talent lately that the company’s funds are nearly depleted."
"Did you gut Xiang Yunsheng’s entire team?"
His surprise was justified. Acquiring the company hadn’t cost much, but afterward, he had injected twenty million in cash from the parent company just to support his apprentice’s poaching plan.
She looked a bit embarrassed. "Not quite that bad..." she said. "But I’ve poached all the truly capable people from under him. I couldn’t be bothered with the leftovers."
"My, listen to that tone. Spoken like a true big shot from the capital," Sun Dasheng teased his young apprentice.
"Master..." She clearly had him figured out. Knowing he was a sucker for a soft approach, she wrapped her arms around his and started to cajole him.
"Alright, alright. How big is the funding gap?" Sun Dasheng was helpless against this tactic.
"There’s just one top influencer left to poach. We’re negotiating now. Her contract expires at the end of the month, and I’ve persuaded her to sign with us then. But she’s asking for a high signing fee, and she has her own ideas about the contract."
As the conversation turned serious, Ouyang Jiani sat up straight.
"How much does she want?" Sun Dasheng asked.
"Ten million!"
"Hmm, that’s acceptable. For a top influencer, that price is worth it." Sun Dasheng nodded.
That’s my master for you, so generous! Since it wasn’t an issue for him, she quickly moved on.
"She only wants to sign for live-stream sales. Other things, like short videos, are not to be included in the contract," Ouyang Jiani continued.
"Agreed. We’re only interested in her fame for live-stream sales anyway," Sun Dasheng said, gesturing for her to go on.
"For the profit split, she’s demanding a 70-30 split. She wants 30% of the sales revenue," Ouyang Jiani explained, adding, "Top streamers usually get around 30%."
"Anything else?" Sun Dasheng asked.
Ouyang Jiani put down her notebook. "That’s about it. There are some minor details that I’ll hammer out with her."
"Fine. We’ll agree to all these terms. Get her to sign as soon as possible."
With a final word, Sun Dasheng settled the matter and then left.
Ouyang Jiani saw him to the company entrance. "Take care, Master! Come visit your apprentice when you have time!"
The company’s receptionist was also the former receptionist from Xiaoju Technology. Her name was Xiao Xiao, and she had a great relationship with Ouyang Jiani, who had easily poached her. She stood there, her face full of envy.
"Jia Nai, your master is so good to you. You’ve become the general manager, second only to him and in charge of everyone else." She sighed. "Unlike me, still just a pitiful receptionist."
Ouyang Jiani knew exactly what she was getting at and smiled. "You little minx, you think I don’t know what you’re thinking? Just do your job well, and you’ll get a promotion and a raise when the time is right."
"Okay, Manager Ouyang."
Xiao Xiao switched her form of address at lightning speed, making Ouyang Jiani’s eyes crinkle with laughter. After a brief chat, Ouyang Jiani headed back inside. There were still plenty of company matters to attend to.
Xiao Xiao was envious of Ouyang Jiani, but she herself was an object of envy for someone else. As the face of the media company, the reception desk was always staffed by two people. Working with Xiao Xiao was a new hire, Qian Qian. Both were attractive, but only in the way of ordinary beauties. They weren’t the kind of stunning women who took your breath away at first sight, so they could only serve as window dressing in a large company.
Qian Qian looked on with admiration. "Xiao Xiao, I never realized you were so close with the manager."
Xiao Xiao lifted her chin proudly. "Of course. I used to be the receptionist at Xiaoju Technology, right across the way. Manager Ouyang worked at our company back then, so we’ve known each other for a long time. She even came to poach me personally."
This was, of course, an embellishment. The truth was, Ouyang Jiani had come to poach other talent and simply scooped her up in the process. But the way she told it, it sounded like Ouyang Jiani had come specifically for her.
The young and inexperienced Qian Qian, however, couldn’t tell the difference. She just said enviously, "Then you won’t be a receptionist for much longer, will you, Xiao Xiao? When you make it big, don’t forget your little receptionist friend here."
"Don’t worry," Xiao Xiao promised, patting her chest. Then, unable to contain herself, she revealed a bigger secret. "I’ll let you in on something, but you have to promise not to tell anyone else," she whispered. "That man Manager Ouyang personally walked out earlier? He isn’t just her former master. He’s the big boss of this entire company."