Chapter 945: 940. Preliminary Agreement (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

It can be said that Jiao Zhen also put in a great deal of effort to fully preserve the various rights of Maikai Supermarket.

Don't look at how he only proposed a few things today; in reality, he had thought them over carefully, needing to avoid touching Zhang Ran's bottom line, such as financial power.

And he needed to secure corresponding benefits for the Group Company side.

Regarding the area of financial power, Jiao Zhen truly did not dare to bring it up in front of Zhang Ran; it was just that over these past two years, Zhang Ran had struck ruthlessly regarding finances, and many people still had lingering fears.

So everyone also understood that the financial area was Zhang Ran's forbidden zone.

However, Zhang Ran also took the initiative to release some goodwill, "Regarding the financial area, I believe you all have your own considerations.

I can tell you all this in advance: the Headquarters will not interfere with the finances of each Group Company."

Once these words were spoken, everyone's eyes lit up all at once, and they were incomparably astonished in their hearts; how did Zhang Ran suddenly become so generous?

Zhang Ran actually also knew that if a company did not have independent finances, then it was not a complete company.

Zhang Ran managed the financial area relatively strictly because once a problem appeared there, it was a major problem.

But he could not possibly manage the finances of all the Group Companies; the probability of problems appearing in the Group Companies would be very high—no, it would be one hundred percent certain that problems would appear.

This would also make the power of the Headquarters become too great.

The Headquarters indeed needed greater power, but this did not mean that the power of the Headquarters could completely override the Group Companies.

This was also not good.

A degree of balance was needed here!

Zhang Ran was currently discussing a suitable degree of balance with Jiao Zhen and the others.

"Regarding the financial area, from now on your Group Companies will operate completely independently, but every year you must submit complete financial statements to the Headquarters; there cannot be any omissions.

Moreover, the Headquarters will also dispatch specialized personnel to audit the accounts every year; once problems are discovered, what needs to be handled must be handled," Zhang Ran stated his thoughts.

Once these words were spoken, Zhao Lifeng was the first to become excited; the financial personnel Zhang Ran had arranged at Fengli Group had truly left him with unspeakable bitterness.

"Mr. Zhang, I absolutely support this point. Please rest assured, regarding the financial aspect, we will absolutely follow the strictest standards to regulate it," Zhao Lifeng said.

Zhang Ran looked at him with a half-smile and said, "You really have the nerve to say that; your Fengli Group's travel expenses this year have already reached nearly sixty million, haven't they?"

Once these words were spoken, everyone looked at Zhao Lifeng in surprise; was it this crazy? Sixty million in travel expenses? What was this for?

Of course, it was called travel expenses, but in reality, it encompassed many things; if it were truly just expenses for business trips, Zhang Ran could have kicked Zhao Lifeng out.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Lifeng began to pour out his grievances, "Mr. Zhang, I know this is a bit much, but there was no other way. There are many things that truly require some money to get done; not to mention anything else, just..."

"Forget it, I don't feel like listening to you say these things. In any case, it definitely won't be like this in the future. Every year, a fixed amount will be given to you for reimbursement; once it is exceeded, either you produce a plan that can completely convince the Headquarters, or you resolve it internally yourselves." Zhang Ran did not want to listen to Zhao Lifeng's complaints.

Although there were various reasons for it, in reality, the travel expenses could not possibly be this high; there were definitely some problems within them.

But such problems were no longer worth Zhang Ran making a big fuss over; that would only make matters even harder to control.

Zhao Lifeng gave a sheepish laugh and did not say anything more on this issue; he of course also knew the situation, but sometimes, if you don't bring out money, it is truly difficult to get things done.

And this much money was actually mostly spent abroad; the amount spent domestically was actually very little.

"You all are the same; from now on, every company will be given a fixed public relations budget. Of course, it can be discussed every year." Zhang Ran spoke bluntly about the travel expenses—they were public relations fees.

The rest of the people also had no objections; Zhang Ran understood these matters. Although this would make them feel slightly unaccustomed, it was still acceptable.

It was just that it would not be easy to spend money lavishly in the future.

In the past, everything was done according to the highest standards; things that could clearly be accomplished for one hundred yuan had to cost one thousand, or even ten thousand yuan.

Immediately after, Zhang Ran discussed some other matters with everyone and finally said, "There is one more point: the Headquarters will establish an advisory team. The specific number of people is not yet decided, but all your companies must dispatch one person over.

The specific positions will be discussed in detail later."

"And for this advisory team, if you want to enter it in the future, it won't be as simple as just a recommendation; it will require more rigorous screening."

Zhang Ran threw out the final topic, and everyone's eyes flickered as they listened.

They actually understood Zhang Ran's meaning immediately.

This was strengthening the Headquarters' control over the subordinate groups. If they were recruited entirely from the outside,

let alone their capabilities—even if they were all very capable—if these people were to guide the work of the subordinate groups, believe it or not, no one would pay them any mind.

At that time, they could indeed report to Zhang Ran, and Zhang Ran could also step in, but if Zhang Ran had to appear for everything, then why did Zhang Ran establish this Headquarters in the first place?

Just to pay out more salaries?

This was clearly impossible.

But what if the people were recommended by these Group Companies?

Then they would naturally have an understanding of these Group Companies, and at the same time, they would have a certain amount of prestige.

And once these people were transferred from the Group Companies to the Headquarters, it would only take a period of time for their thinking to stand completely on the side of the Headquarters.

Because at that time, the Headquarters would represent their interests; this is the principle of 'where you sit determines where you stand.'

However, even knowing Zhang Ran's intention, everyone could only cooperate; otherwise, no one would have any fruit to eat.

Actually, this could also be considered a good thing, because this advisory team could also be treated as a training camp for Group executives.

At that time, there would definitely be people sent back down, and by then, their positions would have been promoted.

For some people, this also held an extraordinary temptation.

Zhang Ran was chatting happily here, and Zhang Sicheng's side was no less so. At the beginning, Zhao Xiaoyu and the others were still a bit nervous, but very quickly, under the lead of Meng Mingxuan, they all became active.

Everyone was young, and even those who were slightly older quickly integrated into the group.

The content of their conversation, compared to Zhang Ran and the others, appeared simpler and more youthful, and most of it revolved around Zhang Sicheng's Biao Xue Company and the companies of Meng Mingxuan and Huang Xunceng.