Free Web NovelChapter 195: Chapter 186: Are You Ready?
After the ribbon-cutting ceremony came the buffet reception.
Watching the bustling crowd, Lin Chu felt a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction that reached a new peak—at least, the highest he had felt in his first twenty-four years.
"President Lin, hahaha, congratulations! This is perfect timing. I have a small matter I’d like to discuss with you privately. Come, let’s find somewhere quiet."
Zhou Ming walked over and said with a smile.
He was wearing a dark red, traditional Chinese-style Tang suit today, which made him look a bit like a mascot.
In fact, he was.
His presence served two purposes: to say one last goodbye to the course that had been with him for ten years, and to signify a smooth handover of the club’s equity, assuring the old members that the change in ownership wouldn’t affect their interests.
Lin Chu glanced at him, and a thought immediately struck him.
’Here it comes.’
’What’s bound to happen will happen.’
He had actually thought about this last night during his bout of insomnia, so he was expecting it.
Even though Famous Real Estate had been the majority owner of a golf club like this, the web of interests behind it was bound to be intricate—whether on a political or business level, or involving his old comrades and former subordinates. All of these loose ends needed to be tied up.
After all, this was just the transfer of equity. When it came to the finer details, there would be much more to hand over.
’If that’s what he wants to talk about, then... he’s actually being quite decent.’
’Otherwise, the amount of time it would cost me to sort through all this myself would be immense.’
’Of course, with this sort of thing, there’s the quick and dirty approach, and there’s the more calculated approach. It all just depends on my own methods and resolve.’
"Of course. This way, please. Let’s head to the conference room."
Lin Chu said at once with a broad smile.
The two of them walked side-by-side to a conference room.
After closing the door, Lin Chu casually bolted the lock.
Seeing Lin Chu’s subtle gesture, Zhou Ming couldn’t help but smile. ’Looks like the young man has figured it out. Not bad. He’s quite mature.’
’He may be young, but he’s not wet behind the ears.’
"Are you ready?"
he asked suddenly.
Lin Chu was taken aback for a moment. Then, collecting himself, he nodded with a casual smile. "I’m mentally prepared."
"Good."
Zhou Ming took an iPhone from his pocket and casually handed it to Lin Chu.
"The files are all on here. How you deal with them is your business. This isn’t a personal favor; it’s just part of a normal handover. I just cleared the passcode, so go ahead and take a look." freēwebnovel.com
"Thanks."
Lin Chu’s thanks were sincere.
’He’d bought a golf course precisely for its networking potential. But with networking comes a history that’s never going to be squeaky clean.’
But Lin Chu had thought it through last night—nepotism and cronyism were secondary issues. Since it was a company, personal connections were unavoidable. It was just a matter of eliminating one group, supporting another, winning over a third, and suppressing a fourth.
’My bottom line is, as long as it doesn’t involve any major bombshells like ’phantom shares,’ I can accept it.’
He took the phone and unlocked it.
The home screen was clean, displaying only a series of spreadsheets.
They were extremely detailed spreadsheets covering the entire club’s 10 departments: the Executive Office, Finance, Procurement, Member Services, Golf Operations, Logistics, Food and Beverage, Hotel, Marketing, and Sales... accounting for all 417 current employees.
It also included the 348 current members, as well as 4,784 past members and temporary clients.
HSSS...
Even Lin Chu couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath.
’It seemed that in the past, Zhou Ming’s control over this club had been extremely thorough.’
’He knew everything, inside and out.’
’Knowing about something is one thing. Deciding whether or not to act on it is another matter entirely.’
"I’ve tiered them by color: red, orange, yellow, green, and white. The ones marked in red require special attention, and the importance decreases sequentially from there."
Zhou Ming said with a faint smile as he lit a cigarette, projecting the air of someone sitting back to enjoy the show from a comfortable distance.
Lin Chu glanced at him, gave a wry smile, and turned his attention back to the screen.
"You’ve been very thorough, President Zhou."
The first name on the red list.
General Manager of the Club: Li Ziming, male, 47. A 16-year veteran of the Famous Group Company. His father was in politics (retired Deputy Department Head), and his mother was a doctor (retired). He has two older siblings: a sister who has emigrated overseas, and a brother who is the vice president of a China Construction Bank branch in Shanghai.
Li Ziming’s past positions at the club include Sales Manager (2 years), Procurement Manager (2 years), and Deputy VP of Finance (3 years), before serving as General Manager for the last 2 years. His current annual salary is 2.3 million, with an additional 3 million on average from annual profit-sharing.
Note: Over the past nine years, his cumulative income from other, less-than-official channels totals approximately 26 million.
Tsk.
’Classy.’
’That phrasing, "less-than-official channels," is just... the perfect euphemism.’
’Clearly, this Li Ziming is a very capable man. He also seems to know his limits. He skimmed, but not excessively. Just a little on the side each year, never more than his official salary and bonuses combined. He probably just saw it as giving himself an extra reward.’
’His performance is probably solid, and his loyalty is likely decent as well.’
’Otherwise, Zhou Ming wouldn’t have tolerated him for this long.’
Reading this, Lin Chu couldn’t help but light a cigarette. He actually felt somewhat relieved.
He was the first on the list, and after scanning the rest of the "red list," Lin Chu saw no mention of phantom shares.
’It’s within my threshold.’
’Acceptable.’
"You’re just going to hand over your most capable subordinate to me, just like that?"
Lin Chu exhaled a puff of smoke, glanced at Zhou Ming, and asked with a casual smile.
Zhou Ming smiled. "That’s up to you. If you don’t want him, I’ll take him with me. He’s good at what he does, and I enjoy working with him. But I’ve already spoken with him. He said he’d rather not leave. After all, he’s grown attached to the place."
"He’s responsible for at least thirty percent of this club’s success. His ability, reputation, and credentials... nobody questions them."
