Chapter 109: The Way of the Gentleman

The salary standards Yang Hui proposed were definitely above the current industry standard in Qingzhou City.

The most outrageous part was that sales associates would get no less than eight days off per month. Considering the stores already operated on half-day shifts, if you could still earn over ten thousand a month on top of eight days off, what more could you possibly ask for?

That was even higher than the income of a department manager at many retail companies, with more time off and less pressure.

"Are you opening these stores just to provide employee benefits?"

Yang Na asked, her eyes smiling.

"Providing benefits for our employees, offering the best service to our customers, and then earning a reasonable profit—isn’t that the ideal model?"

It was indeed the ideal model, but many people couldn’t achieve it because human nature is greedy. Bosses always want to make all the money themselves and have their employees take home less.

And employees always hope to do less work for more pay.

"That’s why from the very beginning, we need to establish a clear profit-sharing model. No matter what, we must guarantee our sales staff a base income of no less than 8,000 yuan and provide them with full social insurance and housing fund contributions. This way, they won’t have to worry about making ends meet and can focus their energy on their work, providing better service to customers.

Giving them at least eight days off each month is for the same reason—so their work doesn’t interfere with their family life. When they’re off, they can focus on living well. When they’re at work, they can focus on their jobs and on serving the customers.

Of course, we’ll also set strict management requirements for their service standards. We’ll need them to treat customers like they’re family."

Yang Na suddenly felt that the two years of operations management she’d learned at Ruijing Commerce were utterly useless. Inventory analysis, visual merchandising standards, greeting positions, sales pitches—Yang Hui didn’t seem to care about any of it.

He wasn’t focused on techniques, but rather on having his employees serve customers wholeheartedly—treating them like family, not like gods.

And in reality, everyone treats their family better than they treat God.

"So, Yang Na, the store openings are just around the corner. You need to draft the employee compensation standards according to what I’ve said as quickly as possible.

At the same time, we also need to prepare a pre-employment training and management guide for the store’s operational requirements. I’ve roughly considered a few points—"

"Hold on—let me grab something to write this down."

She stood up and bent over to get a notebook and pen from a cabinet. The fabric of her skirt tightened, accentuating her full, shapely hips, seemingly showcasing her fantastic figure to Yang Hui at every opportunity.

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he quickly gulped down some tea to cool himself down.

He collected his thoughts and began to explain his ideas across several dimensions: appearance, code of conduct, on-the-job procedures, and complaint handling.

"Appearance Requirements: Employees must maintain a clean and professional appearance. Hair—for men, not touching the ears or collar; for women, tied back. Face—no beards, light makeup. Hands—clean nails."

"Age Requirement: 18-35. Since we’re dealing with trendy brands, this age group will better understand the needs of our customer base."

"Dress Code: The company will provide a uniform—the clothes from the brands we sell. Employees must wear a standard ID badge, and their shoes and socks must be uniform."

"Service must be provided with a smile at all times, using polite language. Proactively greet customers and patiently answer their questions. During work hours, picking your ears or nose, gathering in groups to chat, and making or taking personal calls are strictly forbidden. Violators will be punished according to the disciplinary system, with penalties ranging from a warning to termination of contract."

"Pay attention to environmental hygiene. The checkout counter must be neat and orderly. The break room must be kept clean and tidy. Use high-end air fresheners in the fitting rooms and clean them promptly."

That was all he could think of for the moment. Yang Na jotted it all down.

"We can discuss more later based on the actual situation once we’re operational. But in short: serve the customers wholeheartedly. This isn’t just a slogan. It will be our corporate culture, something that must flow through the very veins of our company."

As he said this, his expression was serious. Each syllable landed like a steel stamp on an iron plate, his jawline so tense you could see the muscles quiver.

The relaxed, joking expression on Yang Na’s face was also gone, replaced by solemnity.

She knew this was Yang Hui’s business philosophy. It was still too early to talk about corporate culture, but she had a feeling that if they really grew the company according to his principles, it would bring good things to countless people—both the company’s employees and the customers it served.

They finished the pot of tea, and when Yang Na moved to prepare a new one, Yang Hui stopped her.

"No more for me. It’s getting late, and I should be heading back. I’ll have to trouble you to get the hiring done quickly over the next few days."

With only two stores for now, they didn’t need as many functional departments as Ruijing Commerce. They didn’t even need a supervisor at this stage; Yang Na would be handling it herself.

However, departments like finance, HR, and logistics were necessary. The rest could be established gradually.

They weren’t just focused on the store employees’ income; they naturally wouldn’t neglect their corporate staff either. Salaries were set at basically 30% above the highest industry standards, which was highly competitive in the Qingzhou market.

The only thing that might give people pause was that the company was too small and a startup, which would make interviewees doubt its stability.

Hearing Yang Na say that, Yang Hui had a strange thought. ’If I ever have to look for a job again, maybe I should look for a startup. If it goes bankrupt quickly, I can quit quickly too.’

He immediately dismissed the thought. Who could be so heartless as to open a company only to shut it down a few days later?

"By the way, the sales representative from NLB Brand Company in charge of business in Qingjiang Province is coming to Qingzhou next week. They’ll stop by the company for a meeting. Will you be there?"

Yang Hui waved his hand. "Don’t go out of your way to wait for me. From now on, you’ll handle all company matters except for business-level issues that absolutely require my attention. I just want to be a hands-off boss."

Yang Na huffed. "So you just want to run your mouth and not do any actual work."

He picked up his teacup and took a sip. "You’re right. I intend to follow the path of a gentleman."

’The path of a gentleman?’ Yang Na didn’t understand what he meant.

"A gentleman uses his words, not his hands!"

She immediately rolled her eyes. "You’ve got to have some thick skin to say something like that with a straight face. I thought you didn’t want to join because the representative is also going to Futong Commerce, which might be awkward for you. Turns out you’re just lazy."

’Futong Commerce?’ Only then did Yang Hui remember that NLB’s biggest client in the Qingjiang region was probably Futong Commerce, not Yanghe Commerce.

After all, Futong Commerce had directly acquired the previous distributor’s market, which came with four existing stores, whereas Yanghe Commerce didn’t have a single one yet.

So it made sense that when the brand company’s representative came, they would visit their biggest client and not just a small, newly established company like theirs.

"Then they’ll probably go to Futong Commerce first. When they do, I’ll help you get a feel for what kind of person they are, which should make it easier for everyone to cooperate later on."

"Okay. This is my first time dealing with a brand representative. I’m a little nervous."