Chapter 122: From One Hand to the Other (Please Support with Votes)
Southern Ming City. Headquarters of Huakun Group.
These days, Lu Kun’s main activities were reviewing documents, signing papers, and occasionally accompanying important figures to tea houses and dinners.
“Boss.”
“Do you need something?”
Sun Bowen’s voice sounded in Lu Kun’s ear.
Lu Kun looked up, stood from his seat, stretched lazily, and patted Sun Bowen on the shoulder, gesturing for him to sit on the sofa so they could have a chat.
Sun Bowen was not comforted by Lu Kun’s enthusiasm; instead, he felt a surge of nervousness.
Based on past experience, whenever the boss spoke to him kindly, it never ended well.
“Old Sun, you know, Huakun Group is already a big company. Don’t you think it’s time to improve some of our rules and regulations?” Lu Kun hinted.
Rules and regulations?
Sun Bowen was a little confused, secretly wondering what scheme his boss was plotting this time, and hesitantly nodded.
Before figuring out what the boss meant, Sun Bowen dared not voice his own opinions lightly.
Seeing Sun Bowen nod, Lu Kun’s mind stirred slightly and he continued probing, “The investment in our stores isn’t small, right?”
Sun Bowen looked at Lu Kun’s wolfish smile and felt a chill all over, growing even more wary.
“You see, the cost I put into these stores is very high, isn’t it?” Lu Kun winked, indicating something.
Suddenly, Sun Bowen stood up from the sofa, eyes wide in shock. “Boss, Huakun Group is still in a fast-growth phase. You can’t just do things like this!”
“I know, I know. Sit down, sit down first. I’m still discussing this with you,” Lu Kun said patiently.
Sun Bowen’s chubby frame trembled.
Discussing? No way!
Almost every time it was just a formality, and he ended up taking the blame.
Sun Bowen took a deep breath and said with difficulty, “Boss, just say it straight if there’s something.”
Lu Kun: “...”
Could you not make it sound like such a heavy burden?
How big of a deal could it be?
“I want to spin off all the stores of Huakun Group into an independent subsidiary company for separate operations,” Lu Kun said solemnly, though it was a lie.
Bang.
Sun Bowen nearly slipped and fell, startled.
...
This idea had occurred to Lu Kun long ago.
There needed to be a clear separation between public and private affairs.
Otherwise, a huge mess would inevitably arise.
Back when the Hong Kong investment was introduced, Lu Kun had already left himself a backdoor.
At that time, Huakun Group’s brand value was being estimated by Lu Kun to the sky.
“Boss, if you do this, the total assets of Huakun Group will shrink drastically,” Sun Bowen said urgently.
He had to stop him. Must stop him.
That was the only thought in Sun Bowen’s mind.
“Don’t rush. All the stores can still be used by Huakun Group as usual,” Lu Kun paused.
Sun Bowen was about to relax but was shocked again by Lu Kun’s next words.
“As long as the stores pay rent on time according to market rules.”
Sun Bowen: “...”
Looking at his boss’s bright and handsome face, for some reason, Sun Bowen wished he could spit right on it.
Silently, he spat in his heart and swallowed his saliva before continuing, “Boss, you’re openly planning to transfer Huakun Group’s funds out, aren’t you?”
Lu Kun was a little embarrassed.
Indeed.
That was exactly his plan.
Once the ownership of the stores was stripped away, a steady stream of rent would flow directly into his personal hands, greatly aiding his next ventures.
In truth,
It was just a shell game—left hand to right hand—but with legitimate justification.
If any sucker wanted to forcibly invest money into Huakun Group in the future, they would be at Lu Kun’s mercy.
How much rent to raise would be up to him.
If he got annoyed, he could make Huakun Group’s books show losses year after year—want dividends?
No way!
Once this move was complete, Huakun Group would become a cash cow in Lu Kun’s hands. No matter how he siphoned off funds, no one could complain.
Moreover,
Lu Kun had a secret thought.
What if Huakun Group goes public someday?
This way, it would be easy to skim profits.
All of Huakun Group’s stores were located in prime spots locally; charging higher rent was not unreasonable.
Of course,
Listing on the mainland was out of the question.
That was the private domain of certain people, not somewhere he could just barge into. Otherwise, he’d become a fat sheep in their eyes.
The cancer stocks were proof.
A dull knife to cut flesh hurts the most; Lu Kun had to keep a trick up his sleeve.
...
“So, boss, what about the previous accounts?” Sun Bowen opened his mouth helplessly.
“Hmm, don’t worry about that. Just treat it as a regular corporate loan. Huakun Group can transfer the previous store funds and interest to my newly registered company account,” Lu Kun said.
Sun Bowen: “...”
Still with interest...
Sun Bowen’s face darkened.
...
Lu Kun would never hold these store assets in his personal name.
After all, personal income tax was always a huge pitfall.
Better to establish a shell company to hold these physical stores.
Although this would make the capital flow subject to some regulatory oversight, that was clearly not something to worry about now.
“Go help me manage the other executives, make sure they don’t have any psychological burdens.
Right now, our most important task is to make Huakun Group bigger and stronger. What I promised you before still stands! Go!” Lu Kun patted his shoulder.
To be honest, if the management team could keep pace with Huakun Group’s growth and make outstanding contributions to its development, Lu Kun naturally wouldn’t be stingy.
What deserved to be given, would be given.
But control must always remain in his own hands.
The most awkward thing in life was to put on a show in front, only to have your “own people” fight for power behind your back, even stabbing you in it.
...
Having convinced Sun Bowen, Lu Kun finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Although he wasn’t afraid of the management team quitting, he still didn’t want a large-scale personnel shakeup at this critical time.
In recent years, the stock market concept had been hyped wildly.
Various wealth-creation legends frequently appeared in the news.
Even some in the inland Huakun Group management had started dreaming about the company going public—wondering whether they would become ten-thousandaires, millionaires, or even multimillionaires.
To those people, Lu Kun only wanted to say: Dream on!
You’ve only been with Huakun Group for a year or so and already want shares?
Do you think Lu Kun is running a charity?
You’d better pray you don’t get fired for underperformance.
With a strong push, Lu Kun left the management team with headaches but finally got the asset spin-off plan approved at the full management meeting.
P.S.: Thanks to reader Beila for the 500-coin tip!