My minimum living allowance is credited to my account every day with 1000 million yuan

Chapter 501 Revenge
JOY turned her head and saw TOM walking this way with a foreigner.

"I don't recognize him. He must be from their headquarters. Judging from how Tom acted when he was with him, he must be a big shot."

TOM has been feeling a bit uneasy lately because Adidas's presence has suddenly become more prominent. The collaboration between Adidas and all 18 stores in Junxiaocheng to become high-end stores has sparked a lot of discussion in the industry. Almost every business gathering or conversation has brought up this topic.

I don't know how Jack, an executive director and vice president at the group headquarters, found out about this, but he made a special trip to China. NK and Adidas can be said to be lifelong rivals, but in recent years, Adidas has been declining and its performance has been getting worse, while NK has remained relatively stable and is now gradually looking down on Adidas.

However, strategic disregard doesn't preclude tactical attention. Adidas's massive publicity has put considerable pressure on NK, especially regarding brand influence, which is a top concern for global headquarters. If Adidas were to launch a counterattack in the China region, things would be disastrous.

After so many years of effort to bring it down, it's not good news for NK to let it rise again. So Jack came to see what was going on.

Upon arriving in China, Jack visited some of his Chinese friends over the past few days and naturally heard more news that he couldn't hear in the US. He learned that there were rumors that Adidas was going to open more than 40 high-end stores at once, including 18 in Junxiaocheng. Even more terrifying was that they were planning to open stores in the basement of the original Huijin Plaza. With this momentum, NK was completely overshadowed.

TOM continued to explain to Jack: "Some friends also called JOY, the head of Adidas China, and he gave a vague answer. Many people believe that he is just bluffing and trying to create hype. Whether a store can be opened here is still unknown. At least most people in the industry do not believe that a high-end Adidas store can be opened here."

Jack shook his head. "NO, NO, TOM, you need to realize the seriousness of this matter. If Adidas opens a high-level store here, but NK doesn't, then you need to do a thorough self-examination. If Adidas has partnered with all 18 Junxiaocheng stores to open large stores, but NK still can't get in, then you need to prepare to go back to headquarters to report for duty."

Tom was somewhat flustered. Thinking about it these past two days, he genuinely regretted his impulsive actions in Jiangzhou, which had offended Xu Jun. He hadn't expected Junxiao Commercial Management's retaliation to come so suddenly and without any restraint—they were actually going to close all the NK stores. He hadn't even told Jack about this yet; if Jack found out, he'd probably be in serious trouble. The most important thing right now was to deal with Jack so he could have time to make amends. But how? How to repair the relationship? He couldn't think of a good solution in the short term. Xu Jun, the chairman of Junxiao Commercial Management, seemed to be a man with a temper.

They came to the basement just to wander around and see if there were any suitable locations for Adidas to open a high-end store. As competitors, they naturally knew exactly what size Adidas stores needed. They didn't even think about good locations. NK opened large stores in several lower-ranked Junxiaocheng malls, but they only got corner spots on the second floor. Good locations are usually occupied by high-end luxury brands with two stores, and some first-tier light luxury brands. NK was lucky to get any location at all; they didn't have the right to be picky.

In their view, Adidas's influence is far inferior to NK's, and its location is even worse. Just as they were about to walk towards a less popular part of the street, TOM looked up and saw JOY and Luffy. He was immediately stunned—why were they standing here? Could this be Adidas's target store? If so, TOM really wanted to swear. On one side was Arc'teryx, the No. 1 outdoor brand, and on the other side was another international first-tier luxury brand. Adidas was placed in the middle; how could it be worthy of it? If this location were given to NK, he could brag about it to everyone for three years.

"What's wrong?" Jack asked, turning to look at him when he noticed his strange expression and his hesitation.

He could only reply: "The one in front is JOY, the president of Adidas China."

Although the two companies are competitors, they are in the same category at some business conferences and are often invited to attend and placed at the same table, so they are certain that they know each other.

Jack stared at Joy as he walked towards him, saying to Tom, "It seems very likely that Adidas will be minding the store here?"

Tom was unlucky; he had originally intended to make excuses, but now he had no choice. Jack walked up to Joy and extended his hand, saying, "Hi, I'm Jack. Executive Director of NK Global Headquarters."

Upon hearing this position, Joy knew it was a high-ranking position at NK, so she didn't dare to be negligent. After shaking hands, she introduced Luffy: "This is Mr. Luffy from Jiexun Sports."

"Jiesun Sports?" Jack immediately recognized it as a sports brand distributor and didn't take it too seriously. At that moment, Tom arrived and greeted Luffy and Joy. Upon seeing Luffy again, Tom regretted his actions even more. If he hadn't been so assertive that time, Adidas wouldn't have gotten away with it, and he wouldn't be in such a passive position now.

Jack was clearly very interested in Joy. "I heard that Adidas is planning to open a top-tier store here. I wonder which location it will be?"

Luffy glanced at him. Foreigners are straightforward when asking questions. If it were a Chinese person, they would probably be more reserved. Consider this: after all, they are competitors, and they may not tell you the truth.

However, Jack was clearly very confident. As the absolute head of the NK brand, even though Joy was from a competing brand, he figured it was wise to leave her an out in the future. Who knew if he ever wanted to switch jobs, NK would be a fantastic option. Therefore, he believed Joy would definitely tell him, and it would definitely be the truth.

And that was indeed the case. In front of such a person, one either doesn't speak at all, or if one does, one naturally wouldn't lie. Pointing to the shop in front of him, he said, "This is it."

Jack's eyes narrowed, and his hands clenched instinctively. This position was too good. If only NK could have taken it, how could it be Adidas? What was Tom doing? There were outsiders present, so he couldn't curse, but he gave Tom a cold look that made him feel as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and his spine went cold. He knew that Jack was extremely dissatisfied with him.

"Adidas is amazing. This is one of the world's top shopping districts. You guys managed to get such a great location."

Joy smiled and said, "We dare not take credit for this. It's all thanks to President Lu's efforts. We were just responsible for cooperating."

Hmm? Jack finally started to take Luffy seriously. "Does this shop belong to Luffy?"

In the past, Luffy would probably have wet his pants if he met a big shot like Jack, but now he can even speak to President Chen, so he naturally has no fear of Jack. He even looks down on these brands now.

"That's right. We thought this place was good, so we took it over to open a high-end store. Adidas happened to have the support, so we hit it off immediately."

Jack looked at Luffy intently, his words sounding rather arrogant, as if he could simply take the position if he wanted it. At the same time, another question lingered: this guy was a sports brand distributor, did he only distribute Adidas and not Nike?

Tom was sweating profusely, but Jack still asked, "Doesn't Mr. Lu have any cooperation with NK?"

Luffy was overjoyed. He had thought that getting revenge on Tom might take some time, but who knew it would come to him so quickly? He was going to make things difficult for Tom.

“We used to have a partnership, and I’m not afraid to offend Joy, but NK has always been our most important partner brand and a key brand for our company’s development. We’ve always hoped to deepen our partnership. Unfortunately, Tom didn’t think much of us, and last month, we terminated our partnership.”

What? Jack glanced at Tom, and from his expression, he could tell that what Luffy said was true.

He didn't shy away from asking Joy a question that even Luffy could feel the chill in: "Mr. Luffy, if we are still cooperating, this store is very likely to be a high-level NK store?"

Luffy chuckled, "Of course, it's not just this one store. I'm planning to open a high-end NK store in all 18 Junxiaocheng projects across the country. It's just a pity that Boss Tom doesn't think much of us and won't grant us authorization."

"Fuck!"

Tom's expression changed drastically. This bastard Luffy was trying to kill him! Seeing that he might be finished if he didn't speak up, he quickly said, "Mr. Luffy, you say you can open this place whenever you want? Who knows if you're just bragging? Right now, there are rumors in the industry that this is a marketing ploy by Adidas."

He knew perfectly well that with Xu Jun's support, what Luffy said was definitely true, but he absolutely couldn't admit it now. Even if it was true, he had to let Jack know that he hadn't thought Luffy had the ability to open the store there. If he knew Luffy had the ability, and instead of cooperating, he chose to completely terminate the partnership, Jack would probably skin him alive. Once Luffy returned to global headquarters, he might be laid off in no time.

Jack was clearly hesitant after Tom's words. Yes, he didn't trust his own China regional president, but trusted a small distributor? Even NK headquarters couldn't handle this project, let alone a small distributor. Thinking of this, the burning passion in his eyes when he looked at Luffy earlier gradually cooled down.

"Hey, Mr. Lu, why didn't you go upstairs?"

Luffy turned around and saw Huang Guangyuan standing not far from him. He quickly greeted him, "Mr. Huang, are you here to inspect the store?"

He then introduced Joy to Huang Guangyuan, saying, "This is the president of Adidas' China region." He deliberately didn't introduce the two from NK, as he was currently furious with NK and would only discuss cooperation after defeating them.

Then he introduced Joy to Mr. Huang, the general manager of this project. Mr. Huang is also the executive vice general manager of the Junxiaocheng system. He personally arranged the location of our 18 Adidas flagship stores.

Joy quickly stepped forward to shake hands: "Mr. Huang, hello!"

This guy is a real talent. Don't let his lower rank fool you; he's the executive vice president of Junxiaocheng, and he has all the power to recruit and transfer people within Junxiaocheng. He's the kind of person any brand would want to curry favor with.

Jack and Tom were both angry and shocked. They were angry that a small-time agent didn't take them seriously at all, not even bothering to mention them during the introduction. They were also shocked that this "General Manager Huang" was the Executive Vice President of Junxiaocheng's system and the General Manager of this project, wielding considerable power.

Looking at his somewhat arrogant attitude towards Joy, but his equal and friendly attitude towards Luffy, Jack completely believed that Luffy was able to enter the 18th Junxiao City. His personal connections were impressive.

He snorted at Tom, indicating that they would settle the score later, then strode forward and said in Chinese, "Hello, Mr. Huang, I am Jack, the Executive Director of NK Global Headquarters?"

NK? Huang Guangyuan was so familiar with Xu Jun and was also Chen Xiao's protégé, so he naturally knew what attitude NK had towards them now. Why was their global headquarters' executive director with Luffy? Was there some kind of turning point? He couldn't help but look at Luffy. "Just happened to run into him," Luffy said, spreading his hands.

Huang Guangyuan immediately understood, and as if he hadn't seen Jack's outstretched hand, he completely ignored Tom. He said to Luffy, "You're here minding the shop? I thought you came with President Chen?"

"What?!" Luffy exclaimed, startled. "President Chen is on the project?"

Huang Guangyuan nodded, "Yes, I received a notification from Zhang Ziqian and am heading over to meet her now. Okay, I need to hurry over, otherwise I can't handle it if President Chen gets angry."

Jack stretched out his hand for a long time, but Huang Guangyuan ignored him. Jack's anger surged up. How dare this man? Even if he was the executive vice president of Jun Xiaocheng's system, Jack was the executive director of NK's global headquarters. As a sports industry behemoth with a market value of hundreds of billions of US dollars, what right did Huang Guangyuan have to ignore him?

Huang Guangyuan didn't care about him. Knowing his boss was unhappy with him, he figured this was a good opportunity to prove himself. Besides, what did NK's success have to do with him? He could simply stop using the Junxiaocheng brand; it wouldn't affect him at all. On the contrary, NK needed to enter the Junxiaocheng market to increase its brand influence and market share.

Upon hearing that Chen Xiao was at the project site, Luffy couldn't stay there any longer and immediately said to Joy, "Excuse me, I'll go up with President Huang. Let's reschedule for another day."

Joy had originally wanted to go upstairs and greet President Chen, but now it seemed there was no chance. Watching Huang Guangyuan and Lu Fei walk briskly towards the first floor, almost like they were jogging, he sighed. It seemed he still had to perform well so that he would have a chance to show his face in front of President Chen in the future.

After saying goodbye to Jack and Tom, Luffy could ignore them, but he still had to be careful, since they were in the same circle.

Jack asked, "Who is this Mr. Chen they're talking about? Is he the general manager of Junxiaocheng?"

He could tell that Huang Guangyuan and Lu Fei were extremely nervous when Mr. Chen was mentioned.

"No, that's the boss of Junxiao Group."

After Joy finished speaking, she left the two of them staring at each other in bewilderment. She was the first to leave.

After a long silence, Jack said, "This is a major mistake for NK, and you are largely to blame. If you can't salvage the situation, you'll be fired. Also, try to arrange a meeting with that Mr. Chen for me. I need to talk to him; perhaps he can help us resolve NK's current predicament."

Tom was stunned. "Help you arrange a meeting with President Chen? Do you think too highly of yourself? You think he'll actually see you?"

Tom thought that if they wanted to ease the tension between them, it would be best for Jack to talk to Xu Jun. It would be good enough if they could even get an appointment with Xu Jun, let alone that big boss. But he knew that he couldn't refuse at this point, or he would be finished. He could only try to make an appointment first.

On the first floor of Junxiao City, Chen Xiao and Zhang Shijie came out after taking a look around the shop. They had just started doing basic renovations and the place was covered in dust, so they couldn't see anything clearly yet. To see the final effect, they would have to wait until the props were brought in.

Several people were standing at the store entrance, next to Hermès and Chanel. The store was currently under renovation with a hoarding, and many consumers couldn't help but glance at it. They could even hear many people whispering among themselves.

"What brand is 'Starry Night'? I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"Look at the girls standing next to that young man, they're all stunning beauties. He's so lucky. Those two must be almost 185cm tall, look at those long legs."

Several people even tried to strike up a conversation. Although they could tell the young man was quite wealthy, everyone who could afford to spend money here must have some ability. Besides, with so many beautiful women, they couldn't all be his, could they? But as they got closer, they were all blocked by bodyguards. They gave up, realizing that this young man was indeed someone important, traveling with so many bodyguards. If you looked closely, the bodyguards were positioned every few steps, forming a circle around them.

"President Chen—"

Chen Xiao turned around and saw Li Man being stopped outside by bodyguards. He gestured for the bodyguards to let her in. "Have you been in Shanghai lately?"

When Li Man heard from her subordinates that a VIP had entered the store, she was very perceptive and had them describe the visitor's appearance. Upon hearing the description, she broke out in a cold sweat. She hadn't expected that President Chen would personally come to Shanghai, so she rushed over. When Chen Xiao asked her, she quickly replied, "Yes, I will be in Shanghai for most of the time during the renovation of this store. After all, it's the first store, and we will do our best to create a model. The renovation of other stores will be much simpler later."

"Hmm, I'm relieved to have this idea. This store can't afford any mistakes, otherwise you shouldn't do this project in the future."

"Understood, understood, Mr. Chen, I will definitely not let it go wrong." When Li Man first met Chen Xiao, she thought he was a handsome salesman and even wanted to have him as her boyfriend. But after she found out his true identity, she was terrified and dared not have that thought again.

After standing there for a while, Chen Xiao saw that a lot of people had gathered around and were pointing and talking about this place. He knew, of course, that these people were not there because of him, but because of the several beautiful women with different styles around him.

"Alright, that's enough for today. Let's head back to the hotel."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Huang Guangyuan and Lu Fei arrived. The bodyguards recognized them and did not stop them.

Luffy explained that he was there to coordinate with Joy on Junxiao City's location. Chen Xiao nodded, showing no interest in such matters; he figured Luffy could handle it.

Huang Guangyuan wiped his sweat and gave Zhang Ziqian a grateful look. If she hadn't reminded him, he wouldn't have made it to meet with President Chen this time. No wonder those high-ranking officials in ancient times had to maintain good relations with the emperor's close ministers.

"Mr. Huang, you should also check on the 'Xingque' store regularly and report any problems you find in a timely manner."

"President Chen, don't worry, I will make a round every day to check on things." Every one of President Chen's trusted subordinates knows his ambitions regarding "Star Palace".

For retail brands, positioning themselves in the mid-range market has limited potential. Luxury goods, on the other hand, offer significant pricing power, astonishing profit margins, and a much larger market size ceiling.

For Chen Xiao, a project with a ceiling that can't reach a trillion-yuan scale isn't of much interest. In the retail sector, the only project he's truly interested in is this "Star Palace."

Zhang Shijie, Li Man, and Huang Guangyuan were all present today. Chen Xiao gave them a second briefing, telling them to be on their best. He personally gave them a pep talk, warning anyone who dared to make a mistake that they would be fired by President Chen.

Zhang Shijie returned to the headquarters of Yinuo Group, while Chen Xiao took the women back to the hotel to rest. The others were not allowed to accompany him and had to stay in Junxiao City with regret.

It's been a long time since I've seen Meng Ziyi, so I definitely need to go back to the hotel for some exercise. I also have to meet with Xu Jun tonight. President Chen's life is always so busy.

Inside the suite at the Bund Junxiao Hotel, Meng Ziyi, as expected of a superb actress, was wearing a white shirt with all the buttons undone and a silk scarf around her neck. Chen Xiao had pressed her face down on the sofa. They had been back at the hotel for more than two hours.

Zhang Ziqian was in the secretary's office, occasionally glancing over—President Chen was too wicked; wasn't Meng Ziyi wearing her shirt now? She was dressed more like a secretary than she was. She couldn't go out; Meng Ziyi wasn't like Han Xue and the others, whom she was used to seeing. She could only lock herself in her room, occasionally hearing the crackling sounds outside.

Xiao Yuting and Zhang Ruier were staying in the presidential suite next door. They weren't that familiar with Meng Ziyi yet, and it would probably be difficult for Chen Xiao to get them together in the short term, as both of them were relatively inexperienced.

Ultraviolet by Paul Pairet
As the world's first "sensory restaurant," it features 20 dishes with immersive projections, and the average cost per person is over 5000 yuan.

However, reservations are required to dine here, and often several months in advance. As a result, many people can only look on with envy. On the one hand, the prices are too high, and on the other hand, the waiting time is too long. Who can wait for months just to have a meal?

But this applies to ordinary people. Given Liu Pinhua's status in Shanghai's business circle, he definitely has special access. Besides, it's to entertain President Chen. If the restaurant doesn't give him a seat, Liu Pinhua will remember it for the rest of his life.

Chen Xiao's current food standards are much better than Ultraviolet's, but when it comes to food, you get tired of eating the same thing all the time, so it's nice to try something new every now and then.

The original plan was to invite Xu Jun to dine at Junxiao Hotel and take the opportunity to learn about the negotiations with Hengyuan Plaza. Later, Xu Jun asked him for permission—Liu Pinhua wanted to invite him to dinner that evening and asked if he could do him the honor.

Chen Xiao had a good impression of Liu Pinhua, so he gave him this opportunity.

(End of this chapter)