Chapter 20: The Low-Key General Manager

“Brother Chen Xiao, do you want me to drive you? It’s unbearably hot outside today!”

Chen Xiao had initially planned to drive himself, but having a free driver didn’t sound too bad.

The elevator descended to the basement level, and upon exiting the elevator lobby, Ma Jing led Chen Xiao to her white Mercedes-Benz C260. The sleek, stylish white body was indeed fitting for a woman’s car. This vehicle cost around 260,000 yuan!

Chen Xiao opened the passenger door, sat down, and fastened his seatbelt.

Ma Jing pointed toward a Mercedes CLS ahead through the windshield and asked Chen Xiao, “Do you know what kind of car that is?”

Chen Xiao glanced at his own car but didn’t answer; of course, he knew what car he had.

Ma Jing continued, “That’s a CLS, an original imported Benz, pure and unadulterated. The cheapest one is nearly 500,000 yuan. It’s not like mine—it’s an entry-level model. Manager Yuan’s car is the real show-off PLUS!”

Since she kept praising her own car, Chen Xiao felt a little embarrassed and could only say, “You’re still young, driving a C-Class is already very good. Many white-collar workers are still driving Volkswagens. Of course, if you just use it as a means of transportation, it doesn’t really matter what car you drive. The era of judging people by their cars is long gone!”

“Brother Chen Xiao, you’re really magnanimous!” Ma Jing stopped herself, not wanting to hurt his pride by saying too much. After all, he didn’t even have a car, and here she was complaining that her Benz C was an entry-level vehicle—too pretentious!

“Alright, let’s go. This car is comfortable, high-end, elegant, and classy!”

Ma Jing felt a little pleased inside at his compliment and smiled, saying, “Brother Chen Xiao, I almost forgot—does this gear shift go into Reverse or Drive?”

Chen Xiao had just reclined the seat to lie back but suddenly sat up at her words. “Hey, Ma Jing, maybe you should ride in my car instead!”

“Your car? What car do you have?” Ma Jing was momentarily confused; in her understanding, Chen Xiao didn’t own a car.

“That one right across,” Chen Xiao said, pointing at the Mercedes CLS.

Ma Jing giggled, “Brother Chen Xiao, you’re kidding me... Really?”

As she spoke, Chen Xiao pressed the car key, and the daytime running lights of the car opposite lit up.

“Let’s go!” Chen Xiao stepped out first. It was too scary—if you couldn’t even tell Drive from Reverse, how could you be on the road? Then he thought of Bai Lu, who seemed similar—also driving a white Mercedes C. This model was really popular; it seemed to be everywhere!

Getting into Chen Xiao’s Mercedes CLS, Ma Jing looked around curiously, touching one spot here and there. Finally, she said, “Brother Chen Xiao, it turns out you’re the biggest show-off in the company!”

“It’s nothing special; this is just a commuter car, entry-level,” Chen Xiao replied.

“You’re even more pretentious than me!”

The car smoothly entered the underground parking lot of Yunfeng Tower. Chen Xiao asked Ma Jing to wait at the 22nd-floor reception while he went to the property office to collect the property certificate. He didn’t want to bring Ma Jing along; he was not fond of showing off.

The property office was on the first floor. After Chen Xiao introduced himself, the front desk immediately informed the property manager, who came out with a smile that creased the corners of his eyes and bowed slightly to shake Chen Xiao’s hand.

“Hello, General Manager Chen!”

He sized Chen Xiao up and thought, Wow, not even 25 years old and already paying in full for an office building worth nearly 30 million yuan with more than 1,000 square meters. What kind of family background was this?

“Manager Liao,” Chen Xiao greeted politely, shaking his hand. Manager Liao handed him the prepared materials and said, “General Manager Chen, Mr. Li from Zhongjian knows you’re here and is waiting nearby. Would you like to meet him?”

Of course, Chen Xiao wanted to meet him. The annual rent for this place was over two million yuan. The 22nd floor had 1,180 square meters of usable area, renting at 150 yuan per square meter, not including property fees.

The tenants paid the property fees directly to the property management. Following Manager Liao’s lead, Chen Xiao arrived at the property company’s reception room.

Inside was a middle-aged man, looking nearly fifty, fair-skinned and well-fed.

Seeing the two enter, he immediately stood up and approached with a smile.

“Let me introduce—this is General Manager Li Guoqiang of Jiangzhou Zhongjian Equipment Co., Ltd., Mr. Li. And this is General Manager Chen.”

Li Guoqiang smiled like a jovial Buddha and shook Chen Xiao’s hand.

“Oh, General Manager Chen, so young and accomplished!”

“Not at all, just lucky,” Chen Xiao replied honestly. Without the system, he was nothing.

They all sat down. Manager Liao brewed tea, while Li Guoqiang got down to business with Chen Xiao.

“General Manager Chen, regarding the rent situation, let me give you a report.”

“It’s not that they’re intentionally behind on rent. Last year, they asked the previous landlord for a pause because they were renovating the company extensively and had heavy capital ties. The former landlord was a good friend, so the rent was temporarily deferred.”

Chen Xiao nodded in understanding, though he wasn’t sure how the system had handled this and assigned the debt to him.

“Mr. Li, your company is so big, surely it’s not about this small amount of rent arrears?”

“Ah, you don’t understand our industry. We’re a general contractor. Although our turnover looks huge, we only make a small margin.”

“On one hand, due to fierce competition, the contract prices we negotiate with owners are very low, resulting in thin profits. On the other hand, we cannot delay payments to suppliers.”

“So although our annual turnover is large, our net profit is less than 5 million yuan, and our renovations alone cost over 3 million!”

Chen Xiao asked straightforwardly how they planned to resolve this.

“We will start with this quarter’s rent payment by paying half a year’s rent each time, meaning every quarter we repay the rent for the previous quarter, clearing it within a year.”

“Mr. Li, that money could earn significant interest if invested elsewhere.”

“I know that, General Manager Chen. That’s why I’m asking for your help!” Li Guoqiang almost pleaded, likely fearing that a lump-sum payment would break their cash flow.

Chen Xiao knew companies like this actually relied on connections to earn middleman fees. Though they seemed flashy, they certainly didn’t earn as much as the technically skilled suppliers.

“I’ll have to consider it. I’m not fully clear on your company’s operations and debt repayment ability yet.”

In saying this, he was leaving room for negotiation; otherwise, he would have refused outright.

Li Guoqiang expressed deep gratitude. “Thank you so much, General Manager Chen, for lending us a hand!”

Chen Xiao remained silent, keeping his position flexible.

“General Manager Chen, why not come to my office? You must join us for lunch today!”

Ma Jing was still on the 22nd floor, so Chen Xiao went upstairs with Li Guoqiang, with Manager Liao naturally tagging along.

Once upstairs, Chen Xiao introduced Ma Jing as his colleague to Li Guoqiang.

Li Guoqiang was momentarily caught off guard, unsure where she worked, but remained extremely polite, praising Ma Jing’s beauty and good taste. Anyone associated with General Manager Chen must be exceptionally capable.

Ma Jing listened to Chen Xiao’s introduction of Li Guoqiang as the general manager of Zhongjian Equipment Company. She never would have imagined he was so low-key and found herself inwardly surprised.