Chapter 220: Petty

Returning to Pingchuan from Dongping, Li Dong had a lot on his plate.

The first thing he did was hold a high-level meeting.

As soon as the meeting started, Li Dong calmly said, "It seems that the plans for the Yuanfang Building and the Distribution Center have been leaked. Can anyone explain what happened?"

Everyone looked at each other, clearly not expecting Li Dong to start by assigning blame as soon as he returned.

Sitting at the upper right, Wang Yue spoke up, "Mr. Li, it might not necessarily be a leak. The company has been conducting research recently. It wouldn't be hard for others to guess what we're planning. I think they might have figured it out on their own."

Wang Yue wasn't trying to cover for anyone; she just thought it was inappropriate to discuss this in the meeting. Yuanfang was currently in a critical period of adjustment, and stirring up trouble would be detrimental to the upcoming work. Wang Yue didn't want to face such a problem right after joining the company.

Of course, there was a bit of self-interest involved. By stepping in at this moment, she could win some goodwill, which wouldn't hurt. Besides, she knew Li Dong wouldn't hold this against her.

Li Dong smiled without saying a word.

Guessed? How could it be such a coincidence? The plans were just made, and someone guessed them? Moreover, they even followed them all the way to Dongping.

In fact, the Yuanfang Building and Distribution Center weren't very important. It didn't matter much whether the information was leaked. The key was that Li Dong wanted to give them a warning. This time, it was unimportant documents that were leaked, but what about next time? Business is like war. If a crucial secret is leaked one day, it could severely impact Yuanfang.

Of course, verbal warnings alone wouldn't do much. Li Dong just wanted to send a message. He had already asked Zhou Haidong to arrange for someone to investigate. It would be better if they revealed some clues in their panic. Whether the leak was intentional or accidental, such people couldn't stay in Yuanfang.

Seeing Wang Yue speak up, Li Dong decided not to dwell on the issue and said, "Let's set the leak aside for now. Since the news is out, let's discuss the Yuanfang headquarters and the Distribution Center."

"Director Xu, did you investigate the locations for the Distribution Center?"

Xu Haoran quickly replied, "Yes, we've identified three potential sites, all of which seem suitable. We're currently assessing them, and once the evaluation is complete, we'll start negotiations with the government."

"Okay, let me see the materials later."

Xu Haoran nodded and added, "What about the Yaohai District government?"

"Did you choose a site in Yaohai District?" Li Dong asked.

Xu Haoran shook his head, "Yaohai District isn't suitable. The Distribution Center requires a large area and convenient transportation, which Yaohai District doesn't offer."

"I see. I'll handle the negotiations with the district government."

Li Dong was not surprised by Xu Haoran's answer. Indeed, Yaohai District wasn't suitable for building a Distribution Center. Otherwise, Hu Sicheng wouldn't have gone all the way to Dongping. However, Li Dong wouldn't change his plans just because of Hu Sicheng. Business is about making money, not handing out political achievements to Hu Sicheng.

Li Dong then casually listened to the reports from several directors before concluding the meeting.

As they left the meeting room, Shen Qian approached him, "Mr. Li, the sports event is ready. It will be held this Sunday at the city gymnasium. We're still one person short on the basketball team. Would you like to join?"

Li Dong pursed his lips and replied irritably, "Do you think I have time?"

"Mr. Li, this is a great opportunity to boost morale…"

Before she could finish, Li Dong interrupted, "Less nonsense. Let Mr. Sun handle it. If I'm free during the awards ceremony, I'll come by."

Hearing this, Shen Qian looked a bit disappointed. After all the effort in organizing the event, the boss wasn't going to participate. Wasn't this all in vain? The Public Relations Department currently had nothing to do and no opportunities to make a mark.

After sighing for a while, Shen Qian reluctantly said, "Well, make sure you attend the awards ceremony. The employees are all looking forward to receiving their prizes from you, the boss."

Li Dong chuckled. She made it sound so real.

Ignoring her, he was about to dismiss her when he suddenly thought of something, "Are you free tonight?"

"For what?"

"Accompany me to a dinner."

"No! Tonight is after hours, and that's not part of my job."

"Up to you. But if you don't go, the deputy general manager…"

Shen Qian pouted angrily, "Fine, I'll go. Can you stop using that to threaten me? It's so petty!"

Li Dong was speechless. Who's petty?

Not wanting to argue with her, Li Dong reminded her, "Seven o'clock tonight at the Flying Bird Restaurant. Don't forget."

"Got it, so annoying!"

Shen Qian muttered, not caring about Li Dong's reaction, and turned away with a humph.

Li Dong's mouth twitched. He really wanted to smack her. She was getting more and more unruly. But on second thought, he let it go. If he really hit her, his little arm might not be able to take it for now.

Not wanting to bother with Shen Qian, Li Dong entered his office and asked Liu Qi, "How were the sales in September?"

He hadn't been in the company for the past few days and hadn't had a chance to look at the September reports.

Liu Qi immediately replied, "The sales were pretty good. Fucheng's sales reached 120 million this month, Qingyang 80 million, Tongshan 110 million, and Pingchuan, including the convenience stores, totaled 100 million."

Li Dong calculated and found that the total monthly sales had reached 400 million.

That was no small number. The total number of operating stores, including five convenience stores, was only thirty.

Thirty stores generating 400 million in monthly sales, and Tongshan had only opened on the 8th of last month. With a little more effort, 500 million might be within reach.

Based on the current profitability, the net profit for the month was at least 40 million.

This meant that his daily income exceeded one million. At this point, Li Dong finally understood why the rich keep getting richer.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Li Dong asked, "How are Mr. Sun and Mr. Wang getting along while I was away?"

Liu Qi smiled, "Quite well. Mr. Sun is in charge of internal affairs, and Mr. Wang handles development. Mr. Sun even handed over the responsibility of Pingchuan's store coverage plan to Mr. Wang, who has done a great job without any issues. Your judgment was spot on, Mr. Li."

Li Dong raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything, waving Liu Qi away.

After Liu Qi left, Li Dong frowned and scribbled something on a piece of paper.

Soon, his frown eased. No matter what Sun Tao thought, the current situation was probably the best outcome.

Wang Yue was a newcomer and had no close ties within Yuanfang. No matter what achievements she made, she wouldn't overshadow Sun Tao for the time being.

And now that Sun Tao was not in charge of external affairs, focusing solely on internal management, his authority wasn't much reduced. He had more free time, still earned well, and wouldn't face any insurmountable challenges.

The balance between the two allowed Li Dong, as the boss, to feel more at ease.

This was for the best. Li Dong certainly wouldn't treat Sun Tao unfairly. Having a good beginning and end was what Li Dong wanted.

Li Dong exhaled deeply. Shen Qian had called him petty, and that was quite accurate.

Otherwise, why would he always be on guard? It was all because of sudden wealth. After all, he was still inexperienced and lacked management skills.

Li Dong pondered whether he should enroll in a management training course. Not to expect drastic improvement, but at least to broaden his horizons a bit.

Being cooped up in the company every day wasn't ideal, especially now that Wang Yue and Sun Tao were around. The company wouldn't fall apart without him.

After thinking for a while, Li Dong temporarily set the idea aside.

Now wasn't the right time. Maybe in a while.