Fu Guangwei had given an insightful a.n.a.lysis of the industry. He remembered what the Deputy Manager told him, and he added some of his own thoughts. Fu Rongbing’s face was gleaming with happiness. His son had finally grown up!
“Are all these your own ideas?”
“Of course, Dad, you really think that I am not concerned with our family’s business?” Fu Guangwei asked with an innocent expression.
Fu Rongbing looked at Fu Guangzheng and noticed that Fu Guangzheng also had a shocked expression. Fe Guangzheng was not the one who thought him to say all these?
“Guangwei, I am pleased for you to have such foresight. But you are still too inexperienced on several aspects. But you are right on several points. One of them is about Guangzheng being the Chairman. This is very important. 30 million USD? I will invest in this venture. Guangwei, do you have the confidence to express your views on the board of directors?” Fu Rongbing was very happy to see his son grow up.
Fu Guangwei was elated. He knew what his father meant.
“Don’t worry. I am not a kid. Furthermore, Brother Guangzheng is around. The supermarket managers’ training will surely be handed over to us. Maybe we can even send our supermarket managers over. We will have total control over the mid-management staffs. What’s there to be afraid of?” Fu Guangwei pumped out his chest and said.
“Guangzheng, we will be sending our managers over?”
“We had discussed this. One supermarket will need at least 10 management staffs, managers, floor managers, supervisors, etc. We plan to set up at least 20 supermarkets. We can hire the locals for junior positions, but the supermarket managers must have the relevant experiences. At first, I had wanted to supply all the managers from our ParknShop Supermarkets. But Li Zekai pointed out one thing. Our managers do not know who to speak Mandarin. It will be hard for them to manage the staffs!”
“The Li Family’s staffs can speak Mandarin? They are also the same!” Fu Rongbing said unhappily.
“The Li Family’s Watsons had entered China a few years ago. They do have staffs that were familiar with the Chinese market and can speak Mandarin well.” Fu Guangzheng explained.
“How big are their shops? Can their shop managers manage a big supermarket?” Fu Rongbing said with disdain. Was it really that important to speak Mandarin? The ability to manage was the most important!
“We concluded that we will each pick 10 supermarket managers each for training at our supermarkets. Li Family’s staffs will teach our people how to speak Mandarin and how to communicate with the Chinese. In return, we will teach them how to manage a big supermarket. The a.s.sistant store managers and floor managers will be hired from the locals, as many places in China still speak their local dialects.”
Fu Guangzheng was also feeling very helpless over this problem. Although the Fu Family have lots of experiences in managing big supermarkets, the Li Family had entered the Chinese market earlier. The Li Family’s businesses in China was only a trial and had stores in only Beijing and Shanghai. But the Fu Family does not have any stores in China yet.
Fu Guangzheng laughed at the issue of speaking Mandarin. You can try speaking Mandarin in Shangdong. It is no difference in speaking Cantonese with them! But Feng Yu said that speaking Mandarin was very important and he had to give in.
Fu Guangzheng had to let go of some of his authority, and he was unhappy with it. Luckily, after their supermarkets were in operation, these managers will have to compete for the positions. He was confident that the managers from the Fu Family will win!
“If the Li Family’s managers cannot perform, sack them immediately. It is only 20 store managers. Any floor managers from our supermarkets can easily take on these roles. I will send Bai Yiming to help you. He is from Guangdong and should be willing to return back to China to work there. He is also capable and trustworthy. You see who else is suitable and I will transfer them over to help you.”
Bai Yiming was Wellcome Supermarket’s Deputy General Manager. His salaries were quite high, but he does not have any shares in the company. He will be returning back to China for work, and there will be no changes with his salaries. He will even get the opportunity to own the company’s shares. Also, he had already gained 1 million USD from the 1% shares. The Fu Family had given this opportunity to Bai Yiming, and Bai Yiming will surely pledge his loyalty to the Fu Family.
“Thank you, Uncle. With Deputy Manager Bai helping me, it will be easier for me to manage the company.” Fu Guangzheng was glad. His third uncle was sending someone capable to help him. This will make his job easier.
Fu Guanzheng left after finishing discussing the details. Fu Rongbing called Fu Guangwei over and gave him a lecture. He wanted Fu Guangwei to observe how the rest work and learn from them. If he encountered any problem, he should discuss with Fu Guangzheng and Bai Yiming. He can also call back home to ask for advice.
Fu Guangwei acknowledged. He knew his own capabilities, and he would not do well if he were to really manage the business. He admired Feng Yu for throwing all the work to others and gets to do whatever he likes.
“Guangwei, how is your sister and Feng Yu getting along? Have you asked your sister?” Fu Rongbing asked.
“I have not asked her. I will ask Feng Yu tomorrow when I see him. But both are hiding this matter from us, and they will not admit it even if I ask them.” Fu Guangwei replied.
“She is your sister, and you show to be more concern with her. Both of them do not want to admit it is not important. You must help to bring them together. If Feng Yu becomes your brother-in-law, you might be even more successful than Guangzheng in the future!”
Fu Guangwei suddenly realized this. That’s right. If Feng Yu becomes my brother-in-law, then his sister can help him ask Feng Yu to let him join in future investments.
“Dad, rest a.s.sured. I will make sure Feng Yu will fall in love with Sis!” Fu Guangwei said.
……
The next morning, Feng Yu received a call from Fu Guangzheng after his breakfast. Fu Guangzheng asked him to come to Hong Kong Guanghui Trading Company for a final discussion over the details of their venture.
Everyone was already there when Feng Yu arrived. Feng Yu saw that Fu Rongbing was not present, but Fu Guangwei was the one who came. Li Zekai was seated with another person who looks like him. This person must be Li Zeju. There were a few more people who Feng Yu had not met before. They should be higher management staffs from both families.
“Brother Feng let me introduce. This is Li Zeju, eldest son of the Li Family. This is Uncle Li’s a.s.sistant, Mr. Su. Mr. Su also has shares in Uncle Li’s company. This is Watsons Hong Kong’s Deputy General Manager Lin Jiang. This is Watsons China’s Deputy General Manager Huang Yishan. This is my Third uncle’s a.s.sistant, Hong Guofa. This gentleman here is Bai Yiming. He is the Deputy General Manager of Wellcome Superman. He is from Guangdong. This person is Wellcome Supermarket’s overseas operations manager, Yang Mingyuen……” Fu Guangzheng introduced everybody to Feng Yu.
Li Zeju was the one first to speak: “I have long heard of Brother Feng’s name. I can finally meet you today. My father cannot be here because of his work. That’s why he sent Mr. Su and me to represent him. My father is the one who is investing in this venture.”
Li Zeju will not be investing? That means Superman Li intents to leave the supermarket shares to Li Zekai in the future? But these were not important. Superman Li was investing in this venture, and this was a good sign!
Fu Guangwei proudly said: “My dad had handed this investment to me. The funds are already in my account.”
“Congratulations, Guangwei. You are finally independent.” Feng Yu laughed. If your father really thinks that you can do well, he will not send his a.s.sistant, Hong Guofa over. He was obviously keeping you in check!
Those 4 people should be the supermarket higher management staffs selected by both families. They should be the ones who will get those shares and will be in charge of the key roles.
5% of shares will be split equally to 5 people. Both families will each appoint 2 people, and Feng Yu will also need to select one person. This person was Tai Hua Agriculture Products Company’s Deputy General Manager. His name was Huang Zhigao. He was the one who Feng Yu had been grooming and monitoring Zhang Ming. Now, Feng Yu no longer needs to watch Zhang Ming, as he had proved his abilities and his character.
Huang Zhigao does not have 1 million USD to buy the shares. Feng Yu personally lend him the money, and he can slowly repay Feng Yu in the future. This made Huang Zhigao more loyal to Feng Yu!
Translator notes:
Watsons