Chapter 2: Salary Reduction

“That’s right, I’ve raised another 3 million to pay everyone’s salaries and to make one final stand!” Feng Feifei said.

“3 million? What’s that going to do? Can it even support us until the new product is finalized?”

“Yeah, even if it is finalized, what if the R&D direction goes wrong again? What then?”

“I understand your concerns. I am grateful for everyone’s loyalty to the company and to me throughout this journey. The future is unknown, and I don’t have much confidence myself. Therefore, to thank you for your hard work, for those who choose to resign now, the company will still provide N+1 months of compensation!”

Forget about voluntary resignation; many companies go to great lengths to avoid paying severance during layoffs. For Feng Feifei to do this during such a difficult time, one had to admit that this woman’s character was worth praising.

“I have to say, even though President Feng is a woman, she’s truly magnanimous!”

“So what do we do? Do we stay or go? If we just walk away after she’s treated us like this, it seems a bit heartless.”

“Heartless? If you leave now, you get N+1 compensation. Once she goes bankrupt, even if she wanted to pay you, she wouldn’t have the money.”

“That’s true. We can’t be soft-hearted. Let’s take the money and go.”

In the end, the vast majority chose to take the compensation and leave. Only two people remained on the scene.

Feng Feifei’s mood was complex; she felt a sense of relief, sadness, and surprise all at once.

With everyone gone, it was essentially a second startup for her—she could start with a clean slate, no longer burdened by the guilt of facing old employees.

With everyone gone, none of the old staff were willing to stay and weather the storm with her. Although she had expected it, experiencing the cold reality of human nature left a bitter taste.

What surprised her was that someone was actually willing to stay. One was the finance officer, Xia Yun; since finance staff were essentially her own people, it wasn’t strange for her to stay. The other was a new employee who had only been with the company for a month.

Chen Xiao was someone she had interviewed, so she remembered him. He was a young man with no prior industry experience, having just finished his onboarding training a month ago; he hadn’t even had contact with a single client yet.

“President Feng! Everyone’s gone!”

As the others headed to the HR department to settle their salaries and compensation, the remaining finance officer, Xia Yun, said with a hint of sadness.

“Yes, those who shouldn’t have left, left!”

Chen Xiao’s face fell. What was that supposed to mean? Did it mean the people who *should* have left didn’t?

Feng Feifei clearly noticed Chen Xiao’s expression and quickly said, “Chen Xiao, don’t misunderstand. I meant that even the R&D and marketing staff have left; the core team will have to be reorganized from scratch!”

Chen Xiao thought to himself, “Whether it’s a misunderstanding or not doesn’t matter. Even if you really think I should leave, for the sake of my ‘minimum subsistence allowance,’ I’m not going anywhere.”

He stepped forward a few paces and said, “President Feng, don’t be discouraged. With a technical genius like you and a salesperson like me, we will definitely be able to make a comeback!”

Feng Feifei was amused. She didn’t know where he got his confidence from. She wasn’t worried about the technical side—as she was doubling as the Chief Scientist, she could handle the product R&D as long as the client’s needs were clearly researched. The key was whether the funding could keep up.

As for him doing sales, Feng Feifei really didn’t have much hope. He had only been here a month and hadn’t even passed his probation period.

“Chen Xiao, thank you for your encouragement and support! To be honest, I don’t have that much confidence, because 3 million is a drop in the bucket for product R&D. Besides, after subtracting the compensation for everyone, there will be less than 2 million left. This is all the money I have!”

Perhaps because Chen Xiao was the only non-inner-circle person to stay, or perhaps because his genuine concern for the company was so apparent, she even had the feeling that Chen Xiao cared more about the company’s growth than she, the boss, did!

But as a newcomer, he was oversimplifying things. The business Feng Doctor Robotics did was B2B or B2G; without strong connections, it was very difficult to push sales.

The company’s previous sales team hadn’t landed any orders in the past year, and the few they had were holdovers from previous years.

Perhaps not wanting to dampen Chen Xiao’s enthusiasm, she said in a very gentle and apologetic tone, “Chen Xiao, the company definitely can’t rely on just the three of us, so we will need to add new people soon, especially for the sales team!”

Chen Xiao nodded. This was expected. Not only did the sales team need to expand, but they also needed pre-sales staff—people responsible for product solution design, roadshows, and explaining technical points, working in close coordination with the sales staff.

“However, the company’s cash flow is very tight right now. For future sales staff, I plan to lower the base salary and increase the commission. This way, if there are no orders, the company’s expenses are reduced; if there are orders, the sales staff get rewarded for their hard work.”

There was another layer of meaning here: screening. Those who weren’t confident in landing orders wouldn’t come. Those who dared to come would be confident that they could earn more through high commissions. Such people often had good industry connections and strong networks.

She needed the latter type of person now.

She had announced the company’s financial situation to everyone today partly out of a sense of responsibility toward her employees, and partly to let those who couldn’t weather the storm leave on their own. This achieved the effect of streamlining personnel, and those who stayed were the ones truly willing to fight alongside her—these would be her future core team.

The first goal was achieved, though the streamlining was a bit excessive, and the people who stayed were unexpected.

Chen Xiao’s face looked a bit grim. Looking at Feng Feifei, who seemed to have more to say, he said, “President Feng, please be direct!”

Feng Feifei said apologetically, “You know, we have equal pay for equal work in the same positions, so your compensation might need to be adjusted accordingly. After the adjustment, the base salary will be 4,000 yuan per month, and the sales commission will increase from 2% to 5%. I know this is hard to accept, so if you choose not to accept it now, I understand, and I’m willing to give you an extra month’s salary as compensation!”

By “same position,” she meant the same level of sales staff. For example, Chen Xiao’s department was the Sales Department, and his level was P5. A newcomer would also be P5, so they should have the same pay. Of course, there was the issue of seniority; those who had been there longer would get a small raise, but since Chen Xiao had only been there a month, that clearly didn’t apply.

Chen Xiao certainly didn’t want to accept it. His heart was bleeding. *Miss, do you know how much my "minimum subsistence" income has been reduced by your policy?!*

“Chen Xiao, I’m sorry. You can think about it—stay or leave. I can accept either result!”

Chen Xiao’s expression looked like he was suffering from constipation. He said through gritted teeth, “I’ve thought about it. I’m staying!”

Feng Feifei was somewhat moved. What a great employee; even though work abused him a thousand times, he still treated it like his first love.

(End of chapter)