Chapter 247 - Fire
"Your father is in jail because he deserves it, it has nothing to do with me."
Xiao Luo answered her calmly. Fang Changlei's imprisonment had nothing to do with him. And insisting that it did, would be like saying that Fang Changlei failed in his attempt to frame Xiao Luo. The present demise of Fang Changlei and taste buds was his own undoing. It was he who perpetuated unfair competition and committed commercial espionage. He even spent money to bribe reporters and doctors to damage the reputation of Luo's Workshop. All of Fang Changlei's crimes could be likened to the "silkworm producing silk, and at the end bound by the cocoon it had spun."
"Pretty lady, don't simply accuse people, surely you can't fault us for defending ourselves when your father was the one trying to harm us. There's no such rule in the world, so you really can't blame us for what happened to your father." Zhang Dashan spoke up and nodded, in total agreement with himself.
"Shut up, you are birds of a feather, of course, you would take his side."
Fang Shulan shouted angrily, her glowering stare still fixed on Xiao Luo. She said to him viciously, "Xiao Luo, one day, I will take down your Luo's Workshop and take back everything that belonged to my father!"
"Alright, I'll be waiting."
Xiao Luo smiled slightly, he had no wish to argue with the woman, as an argument between them was, at the end of the day, entirely pointless.
A senior salesperson walked over hurried, looking sternly to Fang Shulan, and in a voice of reprimand, she said, "Shulan, how many times have I reminded you to serve your customers with a smile? How can you not remember my words? Please be more attentive and enthusiastic in your attitude toward customers, make them feel the sincerity of our service. If I ever see you speaking to your customers this way again, you don't have to come to work anymore."
She was obviously Fang Shulan's superior, and Fang Shulan quickly lowered her head and apologized with a slight bow. "I'm sorry, manager, I will definitely give it my best in the future"
"Alright, I will take care of these customers, you may take your leave now and pull yourself together. If you continue to serve customers this way, how will our outlet get any business done?"
The sales manager did not hear what Fang Shulan had said earlier, but she had been working in sales for almost a decade. She only needed to take one look at a salesperson's body language to know if they were providing service genuinely or not, and she was very dissatisfied with Fang Shulan's performance.
Fang Shulan had a reputation for being rude to her customers. Similar incidents had happened several times before. Once Fang Shulan had even argued with a customer and brazenly told him to go elsewhere to buy a cheap, locally-manufactured car if he couldn't afford it, and not loiter at an exclusive Land Rover sales outlet. Was this something a salesperson was supposed to say?
Fang Shulan left, thoroughly embarrassed.
"Gentlemen, I'm so sorry, she is new here, I hope that her poor attitude hasn't offended you in any way." With a warm smile, the sales manager said to Xiao Luo and Zhang Dashan.
"No, not at all. We are good," Zhang Dashan said, chuckling.
The sales manager smiled sweetly and pitched her sale, "Are there any particular models you would like to look at? We have the complete range of vehicles, and various models for both the Land Rover and Range Rover are available. If you buy a vehicle from our outlet today, you can even enjoy a 2% discount."
…
Zhang Dashan opted for a Long Wheelbase variant of the Range Rover SV Autobiography. When he informed the manager that he'd make the full payment immediately, the entire outlet of the exclusive Land Rover franchise buzzed in low murmurs. There were several of the younger salesladies that looked visibly stunned, with the word 'tycoon' clearly registered in their wide-open eyes. The vehicle cost a whopping two million dollars, so how rich would one have to be to pay in cash?
The sales manager didn't expect to have such prodigal big spenders to walk into her outlet today. It was an unexpected and welcome surprise.
"Old Xiao, aren't you going to buy one too?" Zhang Dashan asked Xiao Luo.
"For now, no."
Xiao Luo shook his head. He probably would not be in Jiangcheng next year, so it would have to wait until he completed his upcoming plans.
Zhang Dashan made an attempt to coax him, and said, "Damn, it is easier to get girls if you have such a vehicle. Believe it or not, when I drive this SUV out, pretty girls will definitely turn back to look at me more frequently than before."
"Yes, yes, sir, why not you pick one for yourself too. If you purchase two cars in one go, you can enjoy even more promotions." The eyes of the sales manager gleamed with hope and anticipation. The two men in front of her were like the gods of prosperity. If she could sell one more car, she would have a perfect new year celebration to look forward to.
Xiao Luo still didn't consider it. He definitely needed to buy a car, but not at this time.
Meanwhile, Fang Shulan was standing glumly in a corner, not knowing what to feel. Her father's company had gone bankrupt, and family friends and relatives that had so often visited them in the good days suddenly stayed away. Even her lover, Fu Jiawei, had dumped her. Strapped for cash, there was nothing she could do but to quit her studies and start working. Her brother had to also find work in a carwash. Everything had changed, and all of a sudden, she had been thrown from heaven into hell.
She still recalled what Xiao Luo told her at Fu Jiawei's villa that day. He said that every dog would have its day, and maybe, she would be the one having to look up to others when they met the next time.
She didn't give it any thought back then, convinced that Xiao Luo was ridiculous to say such words, and totally unaware of his social station. But now she realized what a terrifying man he was. It didn't take a couple of decades, but just several months, for her to have to look up to him.
Life… how ironic!
As for now, without financial help from Chu Yue, she probably couldn't even survive.
…
The next day happened to be the first of the month, and Luo's Workshop held their monthly meeting as usual.
All the managers of their stores in Jiangcheng and the senior management members attended the meeting. Besides reviewing the performance of the past month, they also had to discuss the details and goals of the plan for the upcoming month.
As the acting president of Luo's Workshop, the first thing Zhang Dashan said when he called the meeting to order was this: "Xu Guansong, you are fired!"
The people in the conference room were utterly stunned, and there was dead silence for a brief moment. The vice president had been fired, what was going on?
Then the room was suddenly abuzz with murmurs, and everyone started exchanged shocked looks, not knowing what had happened.
Recovering from the shock, Xu Guansong stood up and shouted at Zhang Dashan daringly. "Zhang Dashan, what's wrong with you?"
He raised his voice and even drowned out Zhang Dashan's, with no regard for his superior position.
At the same time, several trusted subordinates that Xu Guansong had nurtured also stood up and joined the fray in support of their mentor.
"President Zhang, surely you can't just fire Vice President Xu without giving us an explanation? Vice President Xu is one of the most senior employees of the company, do you really think you can fire him just like that?"
"Do you really think that you are the one in charge of Luo's Workshop and that you can fire whoever you like?"
"In terms of capabilities, Vice President Xu is way above you. Don't you assume unwarranted authority by flaunting your connections and forget who you truly are."
Like Xu Guansong, they had no respect for Zhang Dashan. As far as they were concerned, in the absence of Xiao Luo, Xu Guansong should be leading, with absolute control over all affairs of the company.
Li Zimeng, Luo Qi, and Lin Chongdong were unsure of exactly what was happening and were unable to speak up.
"President Xiao has put me in charge of the entire company, so I represent him. Disrespecting me is equivalent to disrespecting President Xiao. The way I see it, none of you all seem to want to work here anymore," Zhang Dashan said sharply. With Xiao Luo behind him now, he wanted to turn the tables on Xu Guansong and his clique.
Xu Guansong responded arrogantly, "Zhang Dashan, don't use President Xiao to subdue me. My contributions to the company are evident to everyone sitting here. Even if President Xiao were here, he would think twice before firing me, what more a person of your standing."
Back when Xiao Luo had been here, he was never this arrogant, but now he considered himself to have the prime mover of the company, and indispensable. Xu Guansong had no regard for any one of them, especially Zhang Dashan. He believed him to be useless and had only been given the job because of his relationship with Xiao Luo.
