"This Xin Hailu used to work as an assistant to a vice president at a well-known foreign enterprise. Why did she leave? Her resume doesn't mention that."
Lawrence smiled and said, "President Pei probably doesn't watch the news much, huh? That vice president got inappropriate ideas after drinking and ended up messing with the wrong person. As a result, the VP was fired, and Ms. Xin resigned voluntarily."
"This incident seriously affected the company's reputation and was even widely discussed online recently."
Pei Qian was slightly shocked: "Sounds like a real heroine?"
Lawrence nodded: "You could say that. Perhaps she got tired of working in big corporations, so she doesn't mind joining smaller— I mean, startups. Honestly, from a professional standpoint, she's undoubtedly the best candidate for the assistant position."
Lawrence specifically added the phrase "from a professional standpoint," subtly hinting that if other factors were considered, she might not be as suitable...
Pei Qian immediately made his decision: "Fine, she's the one!"
"But I have one condition."
Lawrence nodded: "Please, as long as it's not unreasonable, everything can be discussed."
"She can only give me advice when I specifically ask for it. Otherwise, no matter what happens, she must remain silent and not ask unnecessary questions," Pei Qian said.
Lawrence smiled: "Of course, even if you hadn't emphasized that, it's the basic professional etiquette of an executive assistant."
. . .
Three days later, Monday.
A Porsche Cayenne stopped outside Shenhua Luxury Mansion, the most upscale office building in Jingzhou City.
"President Pei, we've arrived."
Xin Hailu opened the car door for Pei Qian and guided him toward the luxurious office building ahead.
With the headhunter's help, Xin Hailu had become the third employee of Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd., serving as the president's assistant.
Xin Hailu was the perfect example of a successful career woman: refined appearance, impeccable manners, and an outstanding figure wrapped in a blouse and professional skirt.
In every aspect, she was the ideal assistant Pei Qian needed.
Highly educated, proficient in three foreign languages, beautiful and elegant, articulate, diplomatic in social interactions, calm in emergencies, highly respected professionally, and never asking unnecessary questions.
After only a few days of working together, Pei Qian had just one impression:
Efficient and reliable!
Without hesitation, Pei Qian hired her at a salary 30% higher than her previous one, bringing it to slightly over 30,000 yuan per month.
This was 2009, when fresh graduates from Handong University were still striving to achieve a monthly salary of 3,000 yuan.
Such a high salary was justified by two main reasons: first, Pei Qian's "Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd." was a startup with little career development potential compared to Xin Hailu's previous foreign enterprise, naturally requiring a salary premium to attract her.
Given Xin Hailu's capabilities, she already had a high salary at the foreign enterprise, so an additional 30% naturally appeared very extravagant.
Secondly, Pei Qian aimed to recklessly spend money, so he deliberately chose expensive hires. Hiring capable professionals like Xin Hailu at a high premium was perfectly acceptable within the system rules!
After all, even someone like Ma Yang was being paid 3,000 yuan a month…
This Porsche Cayenne had just been rented in the company's name.
Pei Qian had initially wanted to buy a car under the company's name, but the system rejected this.
Buying a car was permitted, but the allowable budget depended on the company's current finances, making expensive cars unaffordable.
Pei Qian figured that buying a cheap car wouldn't be meaningful anyway.
So, he decided to rent a Cayenne to keep up appearances.
Although the rental and maintenance costs weren't enormous, every little expense counted.
Pei Qian wouldn't pass up any chance to spend money.
Today, Pei Qian had come to Shenhua Luxury Mansion to rent office space.
It was the most luxurious office building in all of Jingzhou City. Pei Qian roughly estimated the rent to be around five yuan.
Five yuan per square meter per day.
In this parallel world, it was now 2009, and Jingzhou City—the provincial capital of Handong Province—was considered a second-tier city.
If this were the capital in 2019, the price would easily triple.
In Jingzhou City, the average rent for office buildings was around two or three yuan per square meter per day.
But Shenhua Luxury Mansion featured ultra-high-end, sophisticated decoration, making it significantly more expensive.
For other companies, this was a disadvantage.
But for Pei Qian, it was a huge advantage!
He specifically chose it for its expensive price!
Xin Hailu walked into the lobby and headed directly toward the reception desk. With an assistant now, Pei Qian naturally didn't need to handle every little detail himself.
The staff at the office building were all impeccably dressed in suits.
Pei Qian, on the other hand, wore a simple jacket and trousers.
Yet, he didn't feel out of place in this setting; he only thought it was slightly chilly since the weather was getting colder.
It wasn't that Pei Qian was naturally confident, but mainly because Xin Hailu was beside him.
No matter how short, overweight, or unattractive a man might be, having an elegant, beautiful woman by his side would always give the impression of wealth.
Moreover, Pei Qian wasn't short, overweight, or ugly—in fact, he was reasonably handsome.
After all, in this era, ugly people couldn't possibly transmigrate.
It would negatively impact readers' immersion.
. . .
Moments later, a manager approached Pei Qian with a warm smile.
"President Pei, my surname is Zhang. Please let me know if there's anything I can assist you with."
Manager Zhang had no idea who Pei Qian was, but seeing Xin Hailu as his assistant, he instinctively felt that Pei Qian wasn't someone ordinary.
Pei Qian's clothing wasn't flashy, and he looked quite young—just like an unemployed nobody.
But having an assistant like Xin Hailu immediately gave Manager Zhang the impression that Pei Qian must be a wealthy heir who didn't care much about appearances and acted unconventionally.
Perhaps this was just how wealthy young heirs dressed nowadays?
So naturally, Manager Zhang wouldn't dare to neglect him.
"We plan to rent an entire floor here as our office," Pei Qian got straight to the point.
"Certainly. If you'd prefer renting an entire floor without sharing it with other companies, our 17th floor is currently vacant. It has an excellent view from above—would you like to take a look?" Manager Zhang asked tentatively.
Pei Qian nodded: "Sure, let's check it out."
Under Manager Zhang's guidance, the three arrived at the 17th floor of Shenhua Luxury Mansion.
Clean, tidy, spotless.
And completely empty, with nothing inside.
"Hmm, nice view."
Pei Qian stood near the floor-to-ceiling windows, taking in the panoramic city view, including a park and scenic area nearby.
He could lose money while enjoying beautiful scenery; working here would surely boost his mood.
Pei Qian glanced around to estimate the space.
The entire floor could easily fit seven or eight basketball courts, conservatively estimating around 3,000 square meters.
"If you're a startup, there are some preferential policies from the government. Shenhua Luxury Mansion can offer you a payment term of one month's deposit and monthly payments. This kind of arrangement is extremely rare among office buildings," Manager Zhang proudly explained.
Usually, office buildings required one or two months' rent as a deposit, and payments were made quarterly or semi-annually. Allowing monthly payments was definitely something worth boasting about—a considerable competitive advantage.
Of course, advantages in this aspect usually came with disadvantages elsewhere.
Like the price.
Additionally, such preferential terms were specifically provided to startups, and Pei Qian's company perfectly qualified.
"What's the price?" Pei Qian asked casually.
Manager Zhang smiled warmly: "Four yuan. I understand this might appear slightly expensive in Jingzhou City, but as you've seen, we provide premium facilities and excellent conditions here. You get what you pay for. Renting an office here would significantly enhance your company's first impression—"
"Only four yuan? So cheap?" Pei Qian couldn't help but frown.
"Ch—cheap?" Manager Zhang was dumbfounded.
- - - - - -
If you want to see more chapter of this fic for free, please go to my Scribblehub Account[1], I cross-poted this fic in there too.
Link: https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1589938/losing-money-to-become-a-tycoon-starting-with-games/[2]
[1] https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1589938/losing-money-to-become-a-tycoon-starting-with-games/
[2] https://www.scribblehub.com/series/1589938/losing-money-to-become-a-tycoon-starting-with-games/