Chapter 5: Persuading Others to Lay Bricks

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Chen Xiao didn’t understand her thoughts; otherwise, he would have felt insulted. After all, he was guaranteed a monthly minimum income of 240,000 yuan, yet he was expected to work with the same intensity as someone earning 80,000 yuan. Wasn’t that implying he wasn’t working hard enough? That was a blatant slander.

Bai Lu sneered, “Dr. Feng’s robot is quite generous to employees, huh? The compensation seems pretty good!”

Chen Xiao replied, “Not really. Starting next month, it’s being cut by 4,000 yuan!”

Bai Lu, initially mocking him, was surprised. “Why? Are you not working hard?”

Before Chen Xiao could protest, she continued, “That can’t be right. You’re someone who loves hard work so much!”

That was more like it. This evaluation was quite fair, so Chen Xiao didn’t bother arguing with her first remark.

“Will you still be working here next month?” Bai Lu wondered. With a 4,000 yuan pay cut, he surely wouldn’t stay, right? If he’s not working here, what’s the point of discussing business?

Chen Xiao answered without hesitation, “Of course, I’ll stay here. I’ll be hard at work in this company until I’m old!”

He was joking—leaving here meant being sidelined by the system for a year. He wasn’t about to do something so foolish!

Bai Lu looked at him in surprise, then felt a bit ashamed. Here he was, still so dedicated despite losing 4,000 yuan, while she earned 20,000 a month and constantly grumbled! The contrast was stark.

“Mr. Chen, I truly admire your dedication. Your work ethic is something I should learn from! Regarding our procurement business, I won’t hide it from you—we have a budget of 3 million yuan this year. The proposals from the companies we’re negotiating with are all quite similar. Please draft a detailed plan for using this drone technology for automated inspections of bridges and tunnels. I’m inclined to favor your proposal since it’s innovative, but if you can make some breakthroughs on key technical points later, that would be even better!”

Hearing this, Chen Xiao suddenly felt energized. Bai Lu’s meaning was clear: she was basically ready to cooperate. What had caused her to change her attitude? He still hadn’t figured it out. He had been mocking her all along and even forced her to skip her morning beauty routine. By rights, she should have kicked him out, but instead, she entrusted the business to him. Was she some kind of masochist?

Chen Xiao pictured many scenarios in his mind. Little did he know that Bai Lu had been moved by his dedication despite the 4,000 yuan pay cut. Bai Lu herself didn’t realize that he earned 4,000 yuan a day. If she did, she might have spat blood and gone on strike right then!

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“That’s wonderful! Assistant Bai, I’ll draft a detailed quotation and send it to you immediately! Also, regarding the development of this drone application technology, we’re currently conducting detailed market research to understand client pain points clearly. We aim to make a significant technological breakthrough!”

Bai Lu nodded, “For the subsequent development, if you need to understand end-user demands, I can arrange for our technical team to communicate with yours. If this research direction proves valuable, we can provide an additional 2 million yuan in research funding as a scientific project. However, that payment will be made after you achieve results, and any awards from the research must be shared with us!”

Wow, what a surprise! Did Bai Lu really have such power? Chen Xiao couldn’t help but look at her through tinted glasses: a young assistant, stunningly beautiful, wielding such authority? Such a person either had a powerful father or a powerful patron!

As for what kind of father she had, Chen Xiao didn’t delve deeper. At the moment, what mattered was the 5 million yuan. Just the company bonuses and commissions would total 250,000 yuan, plus a 500,000 yuan dedication award from the system—75 million yuan in total. Instant wealth!

“Assistant Bai, do you realize you’ve made me rich overnight?” His gaze toward Bai Lu was filled with desire.

Bai Lu had simply been moved by his dedication and helped him within her ability. Considering his 4,000 yuan income, she felt she was doing a good deed. Now his bonus commission would be substantial, and with 4,000 yuan daily earnings, he could live very well!

Little did she know, he already lived far better than her!

After Chen Xiao left, Bai Lu sat behind her desk and earnestly tackled her work. She now felt that if she didn’t work tirelessly, she’d be unworthy of the 20,000 yuan the group paid her. Whenever she felt like slacking off, she reminded herself of that 4,000 yuan, boosting her work enthusiasm.

“Ding~! Enjoying moving bricks yourself is momentary pleasure; persuading others to move bricks is lasting joy! Detected the host has spontaneously grasped ‘Encouraging Virtue’ on the path of moving bricks, rewarding once. Reward amount = monthly salary of the persuaded × dedication value of the persuaded!”

“The persuaded: Bai Lu, monthly salary 20,000 yuan, dedication value 24. Host receives a reward of 480,000 yuan, deposited into the host’s China bank account!”

Is that even possible? Chen Xiao was struck by this unexpected windfall. Seeing his bank balance approach 500,000 yuan, Bai Lu truly made him rich overnight. At this moment, he was grateful to her, even to the extent of thanking her ancestors. He even thought that if Bai Lu made some “improper” requests now, he might agree. After all, the Buddha once cut flesh to feed an eagle; to encourage virtue in others, he could sacrifice his own dignity!

Bai Lu sat in her office, feeling inexplicably cold down her spine but strangely warm in her lower back... What a weird sensation!

That afternoon, Chen Xiao returned to the company. Now the office had only a few people, a few hundred square meters, empty and somewhat desolate.

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

Feng Feifei was now overwhelmed—rebuilding the team on one hand and trying to secure funds on the other. The money in the account wasn’t reassuring. The company’s products lacked competitiveness, and the chances of quickly securing orders were slim. She hadn’t placed too much pressure on the sales team yet.

Hearing a knock, she called out, “Come in!”

“Chen Xiao, you’re back! How did it feel going out on your first sales run?”

Feng Feifei was very approachable, like a gentle big sister. But Chen Xiao knew she also had a decisive, ruthless side. The recent team restructuring was a gamble but a thunderous move.

Letting some people leave on their own showed she realized there were problems with the old team; otherwise, there wouldn’t even be product definition issues. She had to take leadership responsibility, but ultimately, the workers below weren’t diligent enough.

“Not bad. I was just about to report today’s situation and request some support from the company.”

Oh? Feng Feifei saw his confident expression and was somewhat inspired, but deep down, she remained cautious. Many salespeople feel confident after their first client meeting, mistaking polite words for genuine interest, only to find no deals materialize.

In B2B business, no one closes a deal on the first meeting.

“What support do you need? Just say the word! The company will fully back you!”