Chapter Ninety: A Conversation with the Employees

Gui'an County, Huakun Supermarket Headquarters.

Today, Lu Kun was to convene a full management meeting of Huakun Supermarket here.

The conference room was packed to capacity. Luo Chunhong, manager of the H County branch, was tugging at Li Wenhao, head of the Statistics Department at headquarters, pressing him in a low voice, “Manager Li, I heard the company called this conference to prepare for some big moves?”

“Exactly, Manager Li, can you give us a hint—is there going to be a major personnel change this time?” Lin Weiping, manager of the Dongqu branch in Fengyang City, chimed in with a cheerful grin.

Zhang Weiguo, manager of the Baolin County branch, glanced at the two and teased, “Even if the company is looking to promote people, it won’t be you two. How long have you even been in your current positions?”

Zhang Weiguo’s interjection gave Li Wenhao an excuse to slip away from Luo Chunhong and Lin Weiping, which he did at once.

“Old Zhang, don’t get cocky. Promotions won’t fall to your lot either,” Luo Chunhong shot back.

“That’s right, that’s right. If our Fengyang East branch hadn’t opened later than yours, we’d have surpassed your Baolin store’s sales with ease,” Lin Weiping added.

“If I were the manager of Baolin County branch, with all the support from headquarters, our results would be nothing short of stellar.”

…

While everyone was engaged in light banter, Lu Kun and Sun Bowen walked into the conference room.

Lu Kun swept his gaze around the room, a faint smile playing on his lips.

Sun Bowen leaned in close and said softly, “Everyone’s here on time.”

Lu Kun nodded and gave Sun Bowen an approving look.

“I’m very pleased to have this chance to gather with you all. Over the past two quarters, your performance has been remarkable—truly commendable and worthy of praise!”

A wave of smiles broke out among the attendees, and applause echoed through the room.

Once the conference room had quieted again, Lu Kun continued, “I’ve been on the road for business trips, and since returning, I’ve had a mountain of matters to handle. I haven’t found time to bring everyone together and talk about the developments and achievements of Huakun Supermarket over the last two quarters.”

“I won’t dwell on formalities. Today, I have several items to discuss. But before that, let me announce the quarterly bonus rankings for each branch. Ah, I almost forgot—our Huakun branches in Fengyang City are not included in the quarterly bonus rankings, since you’ve been open for less than a quarter.”

As soon as Lu Kun finished speaking, many people in the room stifled laughter, while only the managers of the two Fengyang City branches and the six campus supermarkets managed a wry smile.

Seeing this, Sun Bowen quipped, “The moment President Lu mentions bonuses, the whole room perks up.”

“We’ll save the bonus disbursement for the end. After I announce the bonus allocations for each branch, Vice President Sun will report on the achievements of the Huakun group over the past two quarters.”

…

“With the matter of quarterly bonuses settled, let’s have Vice President Sun present our achievements over the past two quarters. Please welcome him with applause!”

Sun Bowen waved his hand, signaling for quiet, then began, “The Gui’an branch, our first Huakun Supermarket, opened on the sixth day of the third lunar month. By last Sunday, it had achieved total sales of 1,107,000 yuan, with profits of 280,000 yuan.”

Applause broke out as soon as Sun Bowen finished.

“In addition, the Gui’an branch oversees three campus supermarkets, which together achieved total sales of 560,000 yuan and profits of roughly 165,000 yuan.”

Sun Bowen continued, “The H County branch, from its opening to last Sunday, achieved total sales of 960,000 yuan and profits of 240,000 yuan. Its three campus supermarkets brought in 570,000 yuan in sales, with profits of 130,000 yuan.”

“The Baolin County branch, from opening to last Sunday, had a total of 940,000 yuan in sales and profits of 235,000 yuan. Its three campus supermarkets brought in 510,000 yuan in sales and 117,000 yuan in profits.”

“The two main branches in Fengyang City, East and West, plus their six campus supermarkets, have been open just over a month. In that time, they’ve achieved total sales of 1,300,000 yuan and profits of 330,000 yuan.”

Lu Kun did some quick calculations—so far, Huakun Supermarket had generated total profits of 1,497,000 yuan.

Yes.

He recalled that his initial investment had been a million yuan, and later he had transferred another 2.5 million out of Huakun’s accounts.

So what Sun Bowen had said about Huakun’s tight cash flow was, in fact, true.

Of course, that wasn’t the whole picture. Huakun Supermarket had grown to a considerable size by now; it was child’s play to hold off payments to small suppliers.

As a result, there was still over half a million sitting in Huakun’s accounts.

That money was reserved for emergencies and couldn’t be touched.

Honestly, in just two short quarters, for Huakun Supermarket to have achieved nearly 1.5 million in profits was a pleasant surprise—even to Lu Kun himself.

After all, many of these branches hadn’t been open long. To pull off such profits was truly impressive.

…

“Next, let’s invite President Lu to speak. Please give him a round of applause!” Sun Bowen, having finished his report, sensibly stepped aside.

“Ahem.” Lu Kun cleared his throat and took over. “Over the past two quarters, we’ve gone from nothing to something, and then to becoming stronger and bigger. We’ve faced many challenges, but fortunately, we’ve overcome them all. Here, I want to thank you all for your hard work and sincere cooperation.

We are a team, a collective, united by a common goal: to build Huakun Supermarket into something great.

Let me give you an example.

In the Journey to the West, the monk Tripitaka, driven by a strong sense of mission, achieved enlightenment; the loyal and capable demon-fighter Sun Wukong also became a Buddha; Sha Wujing, who did the thankless and exhausting work, became a golden-bodied arhat; and even Zhu Bajie, who was always talking about quitting but stuck with the group to the end, became the Cleanser of the Altars.

Why is that?”

The crowd exchanged glances and whispered among themselves, clearly stumped by the question. It was easy to understand why the others attained enlightenment, but Zhu Bajie, whose contributions were neither great nor arduous, still attained his reward.

“It all comes down to one thing,” Lu Kun continued after a pause. “He chose the right team! Here, I promise all of you: as long as you stick with Huakun Supermarket to the end, I, Lu Kun, will not let you down!”

Applause rang out in the room.

But the warmth in Lu Kun’s motivational speech was laced with unspoken conditions. If their ability and quality didn’t keep pace with the company’s development, there was no way they’d make it to the end with Huakun Supermarket. Any promise of future rewards would be no more than an empty check.