Chapter 159: The Meeting

After dropping Wenfang off and returning home, Zhang Wei lay in bed, still pondering the idea of starting his own real estate brokerage firm. The reason this thought crossed his mind was that the store manager's commission was simply too low, failing to meet his expectations anymore.

A store manager's commission was based on the overall performance of the entire branch. Zhang Wei estimated that his branch would generate around one million in performance that month, yet the income he could take home was less than one hundred thousand. Such petty cash was no longer worth his attention.

However, if Zhang Wei were to open his own brokerage firm—even if it consisted of just a single branch—and that branch achieved a million in monthly performance, after deducting various expenses, he could still net a cool five hundred thousand in pure profit.

Zhang Wei still had over a million in capital, which was more than enough to support the operating expenses of a single agency branch. Yet, he did not want to resign from his position at Zhongtong; instead, he intended to hire a branch manager while remaining the big boss behind the scenes.

In this way, Zhang Wei could cultivate connections and learn Zhongtong's management model while simultaneously running his own store to make money. This would accelerate his career progression and shorten the time needed to accumulate primary capital.

Currently, as a branch manager at Zhongtong, Zhang Wei worked less than three hours a day, leaving the majority of his time completely free. Furthermore, no one questioned his whereabouts. Even if he secretly operated another store, his colleagues at Zhongtong wouldn't notice.

Once this idea took root in his mind, Zhang Wei was too excited to sleep. However, after pondering for a long time, he still could not think of anyone suitable to hire as his company's store manager. After all, his network of connections was still far too narrow.

Actually, this person did not need to be overly experienced or exceptionally capable; as long as they had worked in the real estate brokerage industry and could help manage the store and recruit new employees, that would be enough.

If they encountered any major clients or unresolved issues, Zhang Wei could rush over with a single phone call. One could say Zhang Wei's requirements were not particularly high, but even so, he still hadn't thought of a suitable candidate.

Zhang Wei pondered deep into the night until he finally drifted off into a hazy sleep...

The next morning, after arriving at the store, Zhang Wei led the morning meeting as usual, then instructed everyone to handle their ongoing work during the morning. At noon, they were scheduled to head to the Berlin Style branch to collect their salaries, after which Xu Ming was going to hold a district-wide meeting.

At eleven o'clock, Zhang Wei and his group arrived punctually at the Berlin Style branch. This was Zhang Wei's first time attending a district meeting since officially stepping into the role of store manager. As the youngest and least experienced store manager in the entire district, he drew considerable attention from the agents of other branches.

Many agents in the district were unconvinced by Zhang Wei's promotion. Some of them had been agents for three or four years, and both their seniority and network surpassed Zhang Wei's. In their eyes, the only reason Zhang Wei became the manager of the Yayuan branch was largely due to Xu Ming practicing nepotism.

Some veteran sales agents were even hoping Zhang Wei would make some mistakes or prove incompetent as a store manager. If that happened, Zhang Wei would surely be dismissed, giving them a chance to compete for the Yayuan branch managership.

In truth, Xu Ming's situation was quite similar to Zhang Wei's. He had also just become a district manager. If he failed to perform well in this role, he could potentially be pushed out by other senior store managers, meaning both men currently needed to produce tangible results.

Following Xu Ming's prior instructions, everyone collected their wages and headed down to the basement conference room. This was Xu Ming's first formal meeting since being promoted to district manager, as the former district manager, Han Zhong, had been transferred elsewhere to serve as a regional director.

Securing his position as district manager was no easy task for Xu Ming. What he needed to do right now was stabilize the performance of the majority of the branches and keep the total performance of the entire district on an upward trajectory. Only when the overall performance of the district remained stable could he be considered a competent district manager.

If the district's store managers collectively boycotted Xu Ming, causing every branch's performance to decline and dragging the district's total performance downward, then when higher-ups demanded accountability, the first to face the consequences wouldn't be the branch managers, but Xu Ming, the district manager.

Of course, a decline in a branch's performance did not mean the staff were slacking off—even if a store manager wanted to slack off, the agents still needed to make a living. Thus, the primary reason for falling performance was store managers condoning private deals, keeping signed transactions unrecorded and unreported to the district.

Naturally, this method of deliberately hiding deals and lowering branch performance also carried risks for the store managers, and not every manager would adopt such tactics. After all, driving Xu Ming out would only open up a single district manager position; without the capability to contend for that role, there was no need to serve as cannon fodder for others.

At the level of district manager, Xu Ming had to exercise the art of balance. He had to win over weaker store managers—or those without the capacity to contend for the district manager position—and ensure their branch performance remained stable, thereby guaranteeing the stability of the district's overall performance.

Only when the district's overall performance was stable could he firmly secure his position as district manager, allowing him to free up his hands to deal with those store managers who deliberately stirred up trouble in pursuit of the district manager seat. Only in this way could he establish his authority.

Of course, these matters were easy to talk about but far from easy to execute in practice. Those store managers who truly coveted the district manager position often wouldn't jump out to stir up trouble directly; instead, they would incite other store managers and agents to cause chaos while they waited to reap the rewards as the third party.

At that moment, dozens of employees had gathered in the basement conference room. The store managers and agents from all five branches had arrived, filling the basement with a chaotic buzz. The store managers were seated in the front row of the conference room.

"Brother Xu is here!"

Someone with sharp eyes shouted out, causing everyone to look toward the entrance of the basement meeting hall. Sure enough, they saw a thin, short figure walking in—it was none other than the newly appointed district manager, Xu Ming.

"Clap, clap, clap... Everyone quiet down, let's officially start the meeting," Xu Ming walked up to the podium, clapped his hands, and said.

Having spent these past few days inspecting various branches and interacting with most of the agents, Xu Ming had already established a certain level of authority within the district. As soon as he spoke, the room instantly quieted down.

"This is my first formal meeting since becoming district manager. I've basically spent these past few days wandering around all the branches, so I assume there's no one here who still doesn't recognize me!" Xu Ming joked.

"No way! We all recognize Brother Xu."

"Exactly, if someone didn't even know Brother Xu, they might as well be fired on the spot," several mischievous agents laughed and said.

"Alright, jokes are jokes, let's get down to business," Xu Ming pressed his hands downward in a calming gesture and said, "You lot sitting in the front row as store managers are sitting there looking like Maitreya Buddhas. Go on, speak up!"

"Brother Xu, this is a district meeting. Us minor store managers aren't qualified enough. You should be the one to speak," said Song Min, one of the district's store managers.

"Do you think I asked you to give an acceptance speech? Don't bargain with me; I want you to report your branch's performance," Xu Ming glared at him and said, "Hurry up, one by one in order from left to right!"

"Our branch had 6 rental deals, with a performance of fifty-eight thousand," Song Min, sitting on the far left, spoke first.

"Our branch had 1 sales deal and 3 rental deals, with a performance of 120,000," the second store manager said.

"Our branch had 5 rental deals, with a performance of..." the third store manager said.

"Our branch had 7 rental deals, with a performance of..." another manager began.

"Our branch had 1 sales deal and 5 rental deals, with a performance of 150,000," the fourth store manager said.

"Our branch... our store manager didn't come!" A short young man stood up and grinned foolishly.

"Ha哈哈哈..."

As soon as the short young man's words fell, a burst of uproarious laughter erupted among the agents. While the previous store managers had been reporting increasingly impressive numbers, when it came to his turn, he actually shouted that their store manager hadn't even shown up.

"Your store manager didn't come, why are you causing a commotion?" Xu Ming, who had also been amused, put on a straight face and scolded, "Next."

"Our branch had 2 sales deals and 7 rental deals, with a performance of four hundred thousand," store manager Liu Zhenguo shouted loudly.

"Good grief, as expected of the top-performing store manager in our district, pulling in four hundred thousand in performance in just half a month."

"Indeed. Old Liu is a strong contender for the district manager position; how could his capabilities be anything less than formidable?"

"That's several times our branch's performance. I really wish I could work under Manager Liu!"

Liu Zhenguo's words immediately drew a chorus of amazement from the crowd. His single branch's performance could rival that of three other branches combined, and since everyone worked in the brokerage industry to make money, they naturally wanted to follow a capable store manager.

"Who was the one who just shouted 'I really wish I could work under Manager Liu'? Don't you know several store managers are sitting right here? You've got some nerve!" Store manager Song Min stood up, looking displeased. Among all the managers reporting their figures, their branch's performance was currently the lowest.

Just as everyone was looking around at each other, the same short young man stood up once again and grinned foolishly, "It's fine, our store manager didn't come!"

"Ha哈哈哈..."

As the short young man's words dropped, another wave of loud laughter echoed through the basement, and even Xu Ming on the podium couldn't help but smile.

"Clap, clap, clap... Quiet down, stop laughing," Xu Ming pointed at the short young man and said, "You, keep quiet too. No more talking."

"Zhang Wei, tell us about your branch's performance," Xu Ming pointed at Zhang Wei, who was sitting on the far right, and said.

"Our branch closed 1 rental deal, with a performance of..." Zhang Wei stood up and said with an expressionless face.

Currently, only Li Lin in Zhang Wei's team had closed a rental deal. Although Guo Bin and Wang Jian were both negotiating deals, none of the clients had signed contracts yet. Similarly, while Mr. and Mrs. Chen Jiansheng had paid a deposit, they also hadn't signed formal contracts. Therefore, strictly speaking, Zhang Wei's team had only completed a single rental deal in the first half of the month.

As soon as Zhang Wei's words came out, it once again sparked heated discussions throughout the conference room. Everyone directed their spearheads at Zhang Wei, attacking him for being unqualified to be a store manager.

"Look, I've said all along that this Zhang Wei has no capability to be a store manager. Half a month has passed and the store has only produced a single rental deal. What gives him the right to be the manager of the Yayuan branch?"

"Exactly, this is sheer nonsense! With performance under ten thousand yuan, I'd even do a better job as store manager than him."

"Look at Liu Zhenguo—he's also a store manager, yet he pulled in four hundred thousand in half a month, which is fifty times more than him. What a gap!"

"I reckon his career as store manager will come to an end by the end of the month!" (To be continued)