However, Boss Pei actually still looked as usual; it seemed as if nothing had happened! He was actually acting a little rushed and flustered and looking stern; he was still worried about other company matters.
This temperament was really like a great general’s!
…
In the office…
Pei Qian opened a table and looked closely at the overall company expenses.
Tengda’s various expenses were now very complicated. From rentals, utilities, to all sorts of development capital injections, company benefits, and others; it was a massive table that made Pei Qian’s head big just by looking at it.
He could only look at the big picture.
As he glanced through, Pei Qian thought of a rather good point of entry to execute his plan. “Our company’s operations have been getting better and bigger; it’s time for an expansion. Ask each department to come up with a recruitment plan; we will start recruiting people next month. Administration, human resources, finances; all these departments would be included and have to be expanded.
“There will not be a ceiling on the number of hires; they could propose as many as they liked.”
Chapter 168 - Indeed, A Good Act will be Well-Rewarded!
Assistant Xin nodded as she recorded all these down. “Alright, Boss Pei. We actually still have some space available on this floor. We can squeeze a little and add a few office tables and chairs…”
“Squeeze a little? How could you have this kind of thinking?!
“To cater to a comfortable and spacious environment for employees to work in has always been the mantra of this company. There are already too many people on this floor; it is rather saturated.
“Go and talk to the office manager and inform him we wish to rent another floor. All the designs and furnishings will be exactly the same as this floor!”
As renting office space was considered a normal expense and not for opening a new business, this would not result in a deferment of the upcoming settlement.
Although Tengda’s office layout was rather illogical—there was still much empty space spreading out, all the office tables and chairs sparsely had actually made the place packed. Renting another floor under these circumstances was not considered going against the rules.
“Oh, also. The previous lease we signed had been for a year, right?” Pei Qian asked.
Assistant Xin nodded, “That’s right; for a year. Manager Zhang had given us a special rate. We had paid one month upfront and one month deposit; our initial costs were lessened.”
Pei Qian gestured widely, “This time, ask Manager Zhang if we could change the contract. We don’t need to pay one month upfront and one month deposit anymore. We will pay quarterly from now on. Since we are in a rather good cash flow position now, it is rather troublesome if we still have to pay the rent month-by-month. We’ll lease another floor, and you can sign the contracts together with Manager Zhang.”
Assistant Xin asked, “Do you want to take another look at the contract details?”
Pei Qian pondered for a moment and said, “There’s no need to.”
The previous time, Pei Qian didn’t even look at the contract much; he couldn’t possibly read every single line of it anyway. He only knew the price and had delegated everything else to Assistant Xin.
This time, he was only changing the payment to a quarterly system and just adding another floor. This naturally didn’t require Pei Qian to make another trip just to review the contract. This way, the new floor’s contract would be three months upfront and one month deposit; that would instantly cost one million and eight hundred thousand yuan.
Adding the costs of the office tables, chairs, computers, etc. If they replicated this floor they were currently renting, that would cost another seven to eight hundred thousand.
All in all, a total of around two million five hundred thousand thereabouts would be spent.
Perfect!
Pei Qian had previously intended to rent another floor. However, as office space had been more than sufficient back then, the system had not allowed that.
After this period of natural expansion and with Tengda’s games expanding and having more new content, the number of employees the company had naturally increased as well. Although everyone on this floor still had much personal space, it was basically filled; and it was finally time to continue expanding the office space.
“Oh, regarding Teacher Qiao, don’t forget about that.” Pei Qian reminded her.
Assistant Xin nodded, “I am already investigating.”
“Alright. In that case, please go and find Manager Zhang now. We should hurry up and fix a time to sign the contract and transfer the money for the new floor rental.”
Pei Qian wanted Assistant Xin to spend this money first so that he wouldn’t have to worry so much.
“Once the contract has been signed, come back again; and I’ll talk to you about the new employee benefits.”
“Alright, Boss Pei.” Assistant Xin turned and left.
Pei Qian did a rough calculation of the current employee strength.
Tengda already had more than sixty people; it was nearing seventy.
The five Fish-Catching Internet Cafes had servers, chefs, bartenders, takeaway delivery men, etc. All in all, each internet cafe had around twenty employees; that was nearly a hundred people in total.
Fei Huang Workspace had also expanded to around a ten-odd people outfit.
Pei Qian’s employees from his personal endeavors now added up to just less than two hundred people.
There was an exception: Shang Yang Games.
To date, Shang Yang Games was still trying to repair its reputation while it continued to bleed.
After buying over Shang Yang Games, Pei Qian had not forcibly increased Shang Yang Games’s employee salaries to the same as Tengda’s employees; he had also not provided them with the same benefits.
Shang Yang Games had around fifty people. However, rental a month was only one hundred and fifty thousand while employee salaries were but two hundred thousand in total. Regardless of the working environment or salary standards, they were far lower than Tengda’s.
On May 10th, Pei Qian had officially taken over. In order to preserve Shang Yang Games’s loss-making state, Pei Qian had not made any rash moves. He had not raised salaries or given more benefits.
More than two months had already passed. Although Shang Yang Games’s reputation had turned, it had been making stable losses; Pei Qian was very pleased with this.
Hence, he felt that it was about time for Shang Yang Games’s employees to take on a little more responsibilities. If he directly raised Shang Yang Games’s employee salaries and benefits to Tengda’s level, some problems might arise.
As the saying went, one must distinguish clearly between punishment and reward.
Tengda Games’s results had been stellar; giving more employees benefits was very normal and logical.
Shang Yang Games was just a newly bought-over company; it was a ‘godson’ that was still making losses. If Pei Qian gave his ‘godson’ and his ‘own children’ the same amount of benefits, he would not be able to justify that.
Hence, he would only make changes piecemeal. They had acted according to Boss Pei’s wishes and worked hard to change their games, rescuing Shang Yang Games’s reputation. This was a small achievement that could be rewarded.
Enacting an across-board raise as well as giving a few benefits should not be that unreasonable.
As for their office workplace, office chairs and tables, computers, etc.; they could all be made the same as Tengda’s. After all, this was a way to increase working efficiency and productivity. This could be justified and would not be disputed. This way, Pei Qian would be able to splurge another one million-odd for Shang Yang Games.
However, all these were still a little insufficient.
Pei Qian thought about this again. His own Tengda employees—the two hundred-odd of them—should get some more compensation.
From where, though?
Clothing, food, accommodations, and means of traveling: the first two had been compensated; Pei Qian could work on the latter two.
He had already been providing assistance for the latter two, by providing for overtime taxi reimbursements. However, he had not given anything yet for their daily traveling expenses. Pei Qian decided to give everyone another 500 yuan a month for transport expenses. This would cost another hundred thousand.
Accommodations could be a significant spending area. Pei Qian tested the system and then decided everyone would be given 1000 yuan as a housing allowance! That was another two hundred thousand out of the window. Although this amount was little, it was the limit the system would allow.
Pei Qian actually wanted to fork out some money to build a company dormitory for his employees. However, it was evident the system felt that at this stage, building a dormitory was a little too luxurious; and it had not agreed.
Pei Qian could only put up with what was allowed and gave everyone a 1000 yuan housing allowance.
After making all these decisions, Pei Qian started to relax slightly.
Not bad. If I continue working hard before this settlement, I should be able to create losses of around a million this time.
Although the official games platform had suddenly changed the profit splitting amount to thirty-seventy and had thrown Pei Qian off his footing, after doing some detailed planning, Pei Qian still managed to remedy the situation.
Or at the very least, this wouldn’t be fatal to the settlement a week from now.
The biggest impact this would have would be after this cycle. However, Pei Qian could think about that in the future. In the next cycle, Pei Qian could continue thinking of other loss-making ventures. At the very least, he could open a few more Fish-Catching Internet Cafes and buy-over a few more loss-making companies; all these would help.
After smoothing out his thoughts more or less, Pei Qian comfortably leaned into his chair; he felt much more relaxed.
Knock, knock!
Someone knocked on the door. Assistant Xin had returned.
“Boss Pei, we have already successfully rented the entire floor above us. The contract has been signed, and the money has been transferred,” Assistant Xin reported.
Pei Qian nodded. Assistant Xin was really efficient.
“These are the new benefits that I have thought of for everyone. They include housing allowance…”
Pei Qian explained his rough thinking to Assistant Xin.
Assistant Xin smiled slightly and said, “Boss Pei is indeed generous. As the saying went, a good act will be rewarded; this is really true.”
Pei Qian was confused.
A good act would be rewarded? What was the meaning of this?
Assistant Xin smiled again, “Speaking about the rent, I actually have a piece of good news.
“Manager Zhang said that ever since Tengda had rented a floor at Shenhua View and become a model and benchmark for all companies, our collaboration this past half a year had been very good. As such, Manager Zhang has waived all the deposits and estate fees. The rent has also been reduced from 4 yuan to 1.5 yuan per square feet.
“Just like this, our rent for both floors would be reduced by over four hundred thousand monthly!
“Boss Pei, when good things come, the heavens and earth would do their best to support as well; this is a very joyous event!”
Pei Qian, “???”
Don’t lie to me just because I didn’t study much; how could Manager Zhang have such authority to make this decision?
Chapter 169 - There’s a Mole!
“Did you… bargain?” Pei Qian asked.
Assistant Xin smiled. “I had wanted to, Boss Pei. In the end, I didn’t even manage to say anything; and Manager Zhang proactively raised the topic.”
Pei Qian felt that he was growing a little dizzy. That made sense though. No matter how eloquent Assistant Xin might be, how could she have unilaterally cut the rent by so much?
There was more than meets the eye!
Manager Zhang was only the manager for Shenhua View; where would he get so much authority to decide on reducing rent and waiving a deposit?
If 4 yuan had been the standard, cutting it to 3.5 yuan would already be not bad while reducing it to 3 yuan would be a very generous discount. However, it was immediately cut all the way to 1.5 yuan per square feet?
Who was he trying to kid?
In an instant, that was several hundreds of thousands less a month. If Manager Zhang had this authority, he would have long moved on to something better instead of just being a manager of this building, right?
There must be something going on behind the scenes!
If it was someone else, they would have happily accepted this offer.
Pei Qian couldn’t.
Reducing a small sum might be alright; Pei Qian could still try to do something else before this cycle ended. The crux was this was a substantial amount and a huge problem for him!
This time was reducing rent; what about the next time?
Something worse might even happen!
Hence, Pei Qian was determined to find out the chief culprit; once he knew his enemy, then he would know how to fight and overcome. He would be able to take into account all these uncertain variables when he calculated his losses next time. If not, he might bring himself everlasting grief with just one misstep.
Pei Qian thought for a moment. “Bring me to go find Manager Zhang.”
Assistant Xin nodded. “En, my thoughts exactly. Boss Pei should make a trip yourself.”
Assistant Xin also felt that something was fishy, and this matter needed investigating? Indeed, great minds think alike!
Pei Qian couldn’t help but think that.
A knock rang out as an administrative assistant handed Assistant Xin a bag of fruits.
Pei Qian, “?”
Assistant Xin said, “Manager Zhang had been so generous in reducing our rent by so much; I also felt that Boss Pei should personally pay a visit to thank him. I had arranged for someone to buy some fruits to bring along.”
Pei Qian, “???”
Was this what I meant when I said I wanted to go and find Manager Zhang? Who said I wanted to thank him?!
However, seeing Assistant Xin carrying the fruits and waiting for him, Pei Qian was speechless as he stood up. “Let’s go, then.”
The two went straight to Manager Zhang’s office.
The door was ajar, and Manager Zhang was busy with some work.
Pei Qian wanted to knock on the door to catch Manager Zhang’s attention when Manager Zhang already saw Pei Qian as he stood up and said, “Boss Pei! What brings you here today? Please come in and have a seat!”
Pei Qian was a little flabbergasted.
Something was indeed up!
Manager Zhang had not been like this the last time.
Although Manager Zhang had been polite the previous time, it had been more of professional courtesy as part of the service he provided. Whenever Manager Zhang spoke to the bosses of companies in the building, he always had the same manner and posture.
This time, Manager Zhang’s attitude was more respectful, a little like when someone was addressing his superior.
Pei Qian sat down suspiciously.
“Manager Zhang had given Tengda such a big discount for our rental; Boss Pei has especially come to express his thanks,” Xin Hailu left the fruits on the table as she smiled and said.
Pei Qian begrudgingly forced a smile. “Yes… that’s right.”
Manager Zhang hurriedly said politely, “Sigh, Boss Pei, you shouldn’t stand on formalities! It is our honor that Tengda has decided to set up shop in Shenhua View. It is part of my job to look out for our tenants; how could I accept your gifts? It should be me going to pay you a visit, actually.”
Pei Qian was speechless, “…”
Something was not right; something was really amiss! Pei Qian was more and more certain that some things that
he didn’t know about were happening behind his back; these were important facts at that.
Pei Qian decided to cut to the chase.
“Manager Zhang, let’s be frank with each other. Reducing the rent to 1.5 per square feet… it wasn’t you who made this decision, right? Regarding this matter, I am very grateful and I wish to know which saint had rendered aid to Tengda. I hope that one day, I would be able to return the favor.”
Pei Qian was very sincere.
“Errr, regarding this…” Manager Zhang was a little hesitant.
Indeed, to reduce the rent by so much; it was not something a small manager like him could have decided. He definitely needed approval from above.
Boss Pei wasn’t stupid. Manager Zhang knew that if he said that there was nothing of the sorts; that would not fly with Boss Pei.
Furthermore, Boss Pei wasn’t here to look for trouble or exact revenge; he just wanted to know who had helped so that he could return the favor. It seemed as if there was no reason to hide anything.
The problem was… Manager Zhang actually wasn’t very sure himself where this order had come from.
Manager Zhang was in a bind. He smiled along and said, “Boss Pei, I was only following orders; please don’t make things difficult for me. Actually, I am not sure what is going on as well. This was an order that came personally from a high-level superior within Shenhua Real Estate. As for which boss made this decision… I really don’t know.”
An order personally from a Shenhua Real Estate’s high-level superior?
There was something wrong. There was something terribly wrong!
Why would someone high-up from Shenhua Real Estate know about Tengda Games? Could it be that they also played Tengda’s games?
What am I thinking? No way!
Seeing Manager Zhang’s face, he evidently didn’t know who had given the order. Pei Qian could only give up as he exchanged some pleasantries and left.
Manager Zhang repeatedly emphasized and asked that if Tengda encountered any problems in Shenhua View in the future, Pei Qian should let him know immediately to not put him in a tough spot.
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