We'll take care of things here first. Please call the store manager over; I'd like to get acquainted.
"Xiao Liu, come here for a moment," Wang Shiping called out to a pretty girl. "This is the store manager, Liu Li. She's been with me for five years."
Liu Li walked over upon hearing the call. She was about twenty-four or twenty-five years old, tall, well-endowed, and had a prosperous appearance, looking like she could be a mother.
"What do you need me for?" she asked, speaking with a thick local accent.
"This is Boss Guo. He's your new boss from now on. If you want to continue working here, you can stay with Boss Guo. If you don't, you can leave with me," Wang Shiping said.
"Ms. Liu, I've just taken over this store. If you're willing to continue working here, you will remain the store manager. Your salary will be increased by two thousand yuan on top of what Boss Wang is currently giving you. Each of the other employees will also have their salaries increased by one thousand yuan," Guo Xuyang stated.
"Ms. Xu will be the manager here from now on. You will report directly to her. I will hand over the full management of this store to her," he continued.
Although he sensed this woman's disloyalty to Wu Youzhi, she was still someone Wu Youzhi had recommended. He wanted to secure Xu Liping to this store.
One reason was to give Wu Youzhi an explanation, and the other was that he genuinely lacked capable personnel.
This place sold gold and silver jewelry. It was convenient, as he still had several boxes of gold bricks from Mai City and the capital that he needed to deal with. Processing them here and selling them directly would be even better.
Moreover, selling gold and silver jewelry and jade did not conflict; they could be combined and used for cross-promotion.
Xu Liping was surprised when she heard Guo Xuyang. She hadn't expected him to say that, let alone offer her the position of store manager. It was something she had never dared to dream of before.
"Boss Guo, you...?" Xu Liping stammered, somewhat incoherently.
"I haven't asked for your opinion yet. If you agree, this will take effect immediately. If you disagree, I'll have Mr. Wu make other arrangements."
"I agree, of course I agree. I just don't know if I can do a good job?" Xu Liping said.
"Don't worry, Liu Li is still here, isn't she? You two can figure things out together. Regarding the specific store design and layout, Mr. Wu will contact you about it upon his return."
"Alright, Boss Guo. I will definitely make this store successful."
"Confidence is all that matters," Guo Xuyang said.
"Boss Guo, I'm also willing to work for you," Liu Li said from the side.
Not to mention the two thousand yuan increase, she would have been willing to work here even without a raise.
The daily sales volume was considerable. With high foot traffic, the turnover reached several million yuan daily, with commissions alone amounting to thousands, sometimes even over ten thousand on good days.
Where else could she find such a comfortable job? Besides, she was a minor leader in the store. Unless there were urgent matters, other sales staff handled sales, and she only needed to deal with emergencies.
"Alright, as long as you're willing to work for me, I won't let you suffer. Of course, someone will be specifically responsible for the reward and punishment system. You just need to focus on your work here, and I guarantee your income will be higher than that of people in other stores."
Although Guo Xuyang didn't know how to evaluate these people, Wu Youzhi had mature experience.
He firmly remembered what Jiang Qixin had told him: hierarchical management.
He should delegate tasks to others and only grasp the overall direction; these details didn't need his personal attention.
With matters here settled, Wang Shiping's contract was drafted and printed. Guo Xuyang reviewed it briefly, then had Xu Liping look it over. Once they confirmed there were no issues, he signed it and transferred two hundred million yuan to Wang Shiping's account.
Wang Shiping hadn't expected Guo Xuyang to be so decisive with the transfer, earning him a new level of respect. This was a definite major investor.
"Is it convenient for you to accompany me to the Antique Street now, Boss Guo?" Wang Shiping asked.
"Certainly. Ms. Xu, please calculate the accounts for this store and send them to me via message later. I'll accompany Boss Wang to another location first. If it's suitable, I'll acquire those two stores as well," Guo Xuyang said to Xu Liping.
"Okay, Boss Guo. You go ahead, and I'll join you after I finish the calculations," Xu Liping replied.
"No need, you can wait for me here after you're done. I'll come back after looking around," Guo Xuyang said, then left with Wang Shiping.
The Antique Street covered an area of over ten thousand square meters, with numerous domestic and international antique merchants setting up shop.
Guo Xuyang followed Wang Shiping to the stores on Antique Street. The two shops were not adjacent, separated by more than two hundred meters.
One shop sold gold and silver jewelry, while the other sold antique jade and jadeite. Neither shop was large, each around one hundred square meters.
Guo Xuyang was interested in both shops. Due to a shortage of personnel, he decided to discuss it with Wu Youzhi and Cheng Xiuping before making a purchase.
"Boss Wang, I am quite interested in these two shops, but I have other matters to attend to at the moment and cannot finalize the decision. How about this: I will finalize it after communicating with others this afternoon. Also, would you be willing to help me? If I acquire this gold and silver jewelry store, I would like you to manage it with me. You will hold a thirty percent stake. What do you say?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"This... let's wait until you've finished your discussions," Wang Shiping replied.
If it weren't for his investment misjudgments, he wouldn't have considered transferring any of these shops.
Despite Guo Xuyang's proposal for a partnership in the jewelry store, he was still somewhat resistant internally, not wanting to work for others.
He still had several shops remaining after transferring these. If the profits were considerable, he wouldn't mind participating in the management. He decided to wait and see.
Guo Xuyang didn't expect Wang Shiping to agree immediately, as they were still his shops.
"Mr. Wu, I've already secured a store in Shanghai, about three hundred square meters. Yes, I've appointed Xu Liping as the manager of that store. There's something I need to discuss with you regarding this. The owner here has two more shops he wants to transfer: one is a gold and silver jewelry store, and the other sells antique jade and jadeite. My suggestion is to acquire both of them. My current problem is a lack of staff. Do you think you could spare some experienced people from your store?"
"No problem, my friend. I have plenty of people here. As long as you acquire them, with your sourcing capabilities, not just these two stores, but even more wouldn't be an issue," Wu Youzhi said excitedly. Hearing there were two more stores to acquire, he immediately agreed.
"Alright, please arrange for people to come over now. They should report directly to Xu Liping. From now on, Xu Liping will be the manager of all three stores. What do you think?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"It's best not to give her so much authority for now. Sometimes giving someone too much power isn't necessarily a good thing," Wu Youzhi advised.