Chapter 5: Persuading Others to Lay Bricks

Chen Xiao didn't know her thoughts; otherwise, he would have felt insulted. He was a man who made 240,000 a month in minimum guarantees. To be compared to someone making 80,000 was practically an accusation that he wasn't working hard at his brick-laying, and that was a blatant slander.

Bai Lu sneered, "Dr. Feng’s robot company is certainly generous to its employees. The compensation is quite good!"

Chen Xiao replied, "Not really, it’s dropping by 4,000 starting next month!"

Bai Lu had intended to mock him, but she hadn't expected an 8,000 salary to drop to 4,000. Curious, she asked, "Why? Are you not working hard?"

Before Chen Xiao could protest, she continued herself, "That’s not right, you’re someone who loves brick-laying so much!"

That was more like it. He found this assessment quite accurate, so Chen Xiao didn't hold the previous comment against her.

"Then are you still going to work here next month?" Bai Lu wondered. With his salary dropping by 4,000, he surely wouldn't stay, right? If you’re not even going to work here, what kind of business are you here to discuss?

Chen Xiao said without hesitation, "I’ll definitely be here. I’ll be laying bricks at this company until I’m old!"

Just kidding. If I leave here, the system will banish me to the cold palace for a year. I’m not doing something that stupid!

Bai Lu looked at him in surprise, then felt a bit ashamed. Look at him—even with a 4,000 salary, he was still so dedicated to his job. And what about herself? She made 20,000 a month and still complained all day long! The contrast made the difference in character immediately clear.

"Mr. Chen, I truly admire you now. Your spirit of dedication to your work is something I should learn from! Regarding our procurement business, I won't hide it from you: we have a 3 million procurement budget this year. The proposals from the few companies we've talked to so far are all about the same. Go back and put together a specific proposal for this drone used for automated inspections of bridges and tunnels. I’m leaning more towards yours; it has some innovation. But it would be even better if there could be some iterations and breakthroughs in key technical areas later on!"

Chen Xiao’s spirits lifted instantly. Bai Lu’s meaning was clear: she had basically signaled her willingness to cooperate. What had caused her to change her attitude? He still hadn't figured it out. He had been mocking her the whole time and even forced her to give up her beauty appointment that morning. By all logic, it would be a miracle if she didn't kick him out, so why did she suddenly hand him the business? Was she a masochist?

Chen Xiao’s mind raced with various scenarios. He had no idea that Bai Lu had been moved by his spirit of dedication despite only making 4,000 yuan. Bai Lu also didn't know that this guy was making 4,000 a day; if she had known, she probably would have coughed up three liters of blood and gone on strike on the spot!

"That’s fantastic! Assistant Bai, I’ll go back and draft a detailed quotation proposal to send to you immediately! Also, regarding the R&D of this drone application technology, we are currently conducting detailed market research to understand the pain points of the client side so we can make a major technical breakthrough!"

Bai Lu nodded. "For subsequent R&D, if you need to understand terminal requirements, I can arrange for our technical team to communicate with you. If this research direction proves valuable, we can provide an additional 2 million in research funding in the form of a research project. However, that will be paid after you achieve results. Also, any awards from the research declaration must be shared with us!"

Damn, an unexpected surprise! Did Bai Lu have that much power? Chen Xiao couldn't help but look at her through colored glasses. A young assistant, beautiful as a flower, and with so much authority? Someone like this either had a powerful father or a powerful "sugar daddy"!

Whichever father was powerful, Chen Xiao didn't care to investigate. All he could think about now was the 5 million. The company’s commission alone would be 250,000, plus the 500,000 dedication bonus from the system—that was 750,000 all at once. He was rich overnight!

Assistant Bai, do you know? You’re the one who made me rich overnight! The look he gave Bai Lu was filled with desire.

Bai Lu was simply moved by his dedication and wanted to help him out where she could. She figured that with his 4,000 income, she was doing a good deed, and his commission would probably be enough to help him live quite well!

Little did she know, the guy was making 4,000 a day and was already living much better than she was!

After Chen Xiao took his leave, Bai Lu sat behind her desk and began to work diligently. She felt that if she couldn't work until she forgot to eat and sleep, she wouldn't be worthy of the 20,000 the group paid her. Whenever she felt like slacking off, she would think of that 4,000, and her motivation would instantly soar.

"Ding~! Laying bricks yourself is a joy for a moment, but convincing others to lay bricks is a joy forever! Detected that the host has spontaneously realized the 'persuading others to do good' on the path of brick-laying. Reward granted: Reward Amount = Monthly Salary of the Persuaded Person X Dedication Value of the Persuaded Person!"

"Persuaded person: Bai Lu. Monthly salary: 20,000. Dedication value: 24. Host receives a reward of 480,000, which has been deposited into your Huaxia Bank account!"

This works too? Chen Xiao was struck by the unexpected surprise. Seeing his bank balance nearing 500,000, this Bai Lu really had made him rich overnight. At this moment, he felt like thanking her—he even felt like thanking her ancestors for eight generations. He was even thinking that if Bai Lu made some "inappropriate" requests right now, he might just agree. After all, even the Buddha once fed his own flesh to an eagle; he could sacrifice his own body for the sake of persuading others to do good!

Sitting in her office, Bai Lu didn't know why, but she felt a chill down her spine, while her backside felt strangely hot. How bizarre!

In the afternoon, Chen Xiao returned to the company. With only a few people left, the hundreds of square meters of office space felt empty and somewhat desolate.

Upon arriving, Chen Xiao went straight to find Feng Feifei.

Feng Feifei was currently overwhelmed. On one hand, she was rebuilding the team; on the other, she was trying to find funds. The little money left in the account gave her no sense of security. The company’s current products lacked competitiveness, and there wasn't much hope of getting orders quickly. She hadn't put too much pressure on the sales team, though.

Hearing a knock, she called out, "Come in!"

"Chen Xiao, you're back! How did it feel to go out and run business for the first time?"

Feng Feifei was very approachable, like a gentle older sister, but Chen Xiao knew she also had a ruthless side. Like this company reorganization—it looked like a gamble, but it was actually a decisive, thunderous move.

Letting some people leave on their own showed she realized the old team had problems. Otherwise, it wouldn't have reached the point where even product definitions were flawed. She had to take leadership responsibility, but ultimately, the people doing the work below were just too careless.

"Not bad. I was just about to report on today's situation and also need the company to provide some support!"

Oh? Feng Feifei looked at his confident appearance and was infected by it, but deep down, she didn't take it too seriously. Many salespeople felt they did well on their first run, unable to distinguish between the polite pleasantries of a client and actual intent. When it came time to finalize, nothing ever materialized.

In B2B business, who ever closes a deal on the first meeting?

"What kind of support do you need? Tell me! The company will definitely support you fully!"