Yang Yun was shocked to receive Chen Zhe's call and remained stunned for a full half minute before speaking.
"You...you're not dead? Is Sister Hu with you?"
More than a week had passed since that incident, and Yang Yun had given up hope. Unexpectedly, she received a call from Chen Zhe at this moment.
"Manager Yang, this matter is a bit complicated. Let's talk about it in person."
"Okay, come over here... wait a minute, you'd better not come over. Go get a room, and then I'll come over."
"good."
The two agreed on a meeting place, and Chen Zhe set off. Just as he was about to leave, he ran into Wu Yuanyuan, whose eyes reddened when she saw him.
"Manager Chen, why did it take you so long to come back? Where have you been these past few days? Are you aware that our club is in trouble?"
"Yuanyuan, I went back to my hometown. What happened here?"
I can't get through to your phone either...
Wu Yuanyuan's tone was somewhat resentful.
"Don't talk about that yet. Just tell me briefly what problems we've identified, because I need to go out now."
"You're going out? Where are you going? Will you come back?"
Wu Yuanyuan was a little worried when she heard that Chen Zhe was going out.
"Of course I'll come back. Why would you ask that?"
“Manager Chen, many people are saying that our club might have to close down. These past few days, we’ve had a lot of people coming to investigate, even if there’s nothing wrong, they’ll find something wrong. Sister Li thinks this can’t go on, so we tried calling you, but we couldn’t get through. We contacted the East District, but they didn’t help us either. Just the day before yesterday, they told us to suspend operations for rectification. Several people have already resigned because of this.”
Chen Zhe nodded.
"Okay, let's talk about this when I get back. Call Sister Li over later, and the three of us can have a meeting."
"Okay, what time will you be back?"
"Don't worry, it won't be too late. Thank you for your hard work these past few days."
Chen Zhe patted Wu Yuanyuan on the shoulder and turned to leave.
"Manager Chen!"
Wu Yuanyuan called him again.
Chen Zhe turned around.
Because the light was dim, he couldn't see Wu Yuanyuan's expression clearly.
"What's wrong?"
"Manager Chen, is it possible for our club to continue operating?"
Chen Zhe paused for a few seconds, then smiled and said, "Of course, don't think too much about it, just wait for me to come back."
"Okay, I believe you. You must come back! We're all waiting for you!"
"Yes, I understand."
Chen Zhe left, and his mood was somewhat heavy as he walked out of the club.
It seems the problem is worse than I thought.
Because Sister Hu is not here, the higher-ups may be unable to keep things under control, and those people are taking this opportunity to cause trouble.
...
A high-end hotel.
Room 2047.
Shortly after Chen Zhe arrived, Yang Yun also rushed over.
Seeing Chen Zhe standing alive in front of her, she felt terrible.
Why isn't Sister Hu standing here?
"Manager Yang, can you tell me what exactly happened?"
Yang Yun sighed.
"After Sister Hu disappeared, it became difficult to maintain many relationships with higher-ups. Now, people from both the legitimate and criminal worlds are causing trouble. They either force us to suspend operations for rectification or send thugs to make our business difficult. Five branches of Linglong Club have already closed, and two more may have to close today."
"Is there no solution?"
“Unless Sister Hu comes back, I tried to negotiate, but they completely ignored me. They said they would talk if Sister Hu came in person. Those bastards, they probably caused Sister Hu’s accident. They know perfectly well that Sister Hu can’t come out now.”
"So what do you plan to do? Stop?"
Chen Zhe first asked Yang Yun for her opinion.
“I don’t know either. The finance department operates independently. Without Sister Hu’s signature, we might not be able to pay next month’s salaries. I want to keep going until Sister Hu comes back, but we’ve sent people out to look for her for a long time, and we haven’t been able to find her. Maybe…”
Yang Yun sat down on the sofa, looking somewhat distressed.
Chen Zhe also frowned.
Linglong Club is now unable to pay salaries, and both the legitimate and criminal elements are causing trouble. Is Linglong Club really going to go out of business?
Yang Yun's words implied that she felt Hu Ling wouldn't be coming back this time.
Chen Zhe felt a mix of emotions, a sense of heaviness in his heart.
He had thought about getting rid of Hu Ling many times, but now that he could finally get rid of her, he found that society was even more cruel than Hu Ling.
All the talents they had previously displayed were based on the platform provided by Hu Ling. Without Hu Ling here, these managers would be nothing.
This is what it means to have a powerful backer. Only with a powerful backer can one survive properly. Now that the backer has fallen, all the efforts made before will be in vain.
Maintaining the normal expenses of Linglong Club is a huge sum of money, which is obviously beyond the reach of Chen Zhe and Yang Yun.
At that moment, a name popped into Chen Zhe's mind.
"Have you gone to see Sister Lin?"
Sister Lin is Lin Meiyu. Hu Ling brought her into the partnership, and now she's the one who has the ability to solve this funding problem.
Yang Yun paused for a moment, then seemed to remember as well.
"That's right, Sister Lin! We can go to her!"
The two called Lin Meiyu.
When Lin Meiyu learned that Chen Zhe was still alive, she became quite emotional.
She is also in Donghai now; she rushed back after Hu Ling's accident.
She's been trying to pull strings these past few days, but it hasn't been very effective.
She clearly didn't have Hu Ling's abilities; she approached several people, but they all made excuses or refused to see her.
Where are you? I'm coming over now!
An hour later, Lin Meiyu arrived at room 2047.
Upon seeing Chen Ze, she quickly rushed over and hugged him, ignoring Yang Yun who was still standing nearby.
"You scared me to death! I thought you were dead too."
Yang Yun was slightly surprised by the relationship between Lin Meiyu and Chen Zhe, but obviously this was not very important at the moment.
"Sister Lin, have you found a solution?"
Lin Meiyu shook her head.
"I've asked everyone I could, but there seems to be some invisible pressure from above, and I can't find any specific person to talk to."
"What should we do then? Does Linglong Club really have to be dissolved?"
Yang Yun asked.
Lin Meiyu didn't know how to answer her.
"Did you go to see Sister Hu? Did you get any news?"
Yang Yun shook her head.
Then the two of them turned to look at Chen Zhe.
When asked what exactly happened that night, Chen Zhe recounted everything that had happened that night.
"Sister Hu wasn't in the same car as me, so to be honest, I don't know if she was hit by the car and ended up in the sea. So I don't know whether she's dead or alive."
Yang Yun and Lin Meiyu both sighed.
Sister Hu was such a strong person, but now she's disappeared without a trace, it's truly heartbreaking.
With Hu Ling's whereabouts unknown, the club is finding it difficult to stay afloat.
"Actually, money isn't the biggest problem. The biggest problem is how to deal with people from both the legitimate and criminal worlds. If we can't solve this problem, then it will be difficult for Linglong Club to continue operating."
Lin Meiyu said.
Chen Zhe and Yang Yun understood this as well.
After discussing it, the three of them finally decided to suspend all business operations. It was a very difficult choice, and none of them wanted to see this outcome.
They first returned to the Linglong Club in the East District.
Then he called over all the other managers.
The decision was announced.
Those people seemed to have been prepared, and there was no commotion. They simply asked the employees how to handle the situation.
One branch has about 100 employees, including technicians, chefs, waiters, receptionists, cleaners, security guards, and so on.
If all of the dozen or so Linglong Clubs close down, that means the livelihoods of more than 1,000 people, and they must be given an explanation.
After the business closes down, should salaries continue to be paid? If so, where will the money come from?
Without Sister Hu's signature, the money cannot be withdrawn. It would be unfair for Lin Meiyu to pay for all the money, since Linglong Club doesn't know when it will be able to reopen.
Given the current situation, announcing the end of the partnership might be the best solution.
This is the last thing anyone wanted to see.
All the managers were personally promoted by Hu Ling. They had been with Linglong Club for so long and had developed an affection for it.
Chen Zhe clearly didn't want to see Linglong Club disband, because if Linglong Club disbanded, the network of contacts he had built up in the early stages might also collapse.
But if they don't disband, all these problems remain.
They discussed it for a long time but couldn't come up with a definite and feasible solution.
The final result was that the business would be closed for ten days.
If a solution cannot be found after ten days, then disbanding will be the only option.
Every manager left the Linglong Club in the East District with a heavy heart.
When Mo Xiaohong and Wang Qianqian, the technicians, saw Chen Zhe, they quickly came to greet him.
"Chen Zhe, how is it? Can the club still stay open?"
Seeing the expectant looks in his close colleagues' eyes, Chen Zhe felt a little sad. These people were all living off Linglong Club. If Linglong Club collapsed, where would they go?
If I switch jobs to other places, will I be able to get such good conditions as Linglong Club?
Yang Yun walked over at this moment.
"You can all go back now. I'll talk to you about it in a meeting later!"
Faced with Yang Yun's attempt to drive them away, those people had no choice but to leave reluctantly.
When Chen Zhe returned to the Linglong Club in the North District, it was already 7 p.m.
As soon as he returned, he saw everyone waiting for him, whether they were employees from the bar, KTV, billiards room, massage parlor, security guards, cleaners, or chefs, all of them looking at him with expectant eyes.
"Manager Chen, is our club going out of business?"
One person couldn't help but ask.
"Yes, Manager Chen, we've been closed for two days. Will we be paid for those two days as usual?"
...
Everyone chimed in with their own concerns.
Thinking about the decision that was about to be announced, Chen Zhe suddenly felt a lot of psychological pressure. He realized that the company was not just one person's company, but the livelihood of many people.
Just a week ago, Hu Ling was making grand plans for the future development of Linglong Club. At that time, he also thought that Linglong Club would continue to grow and expand. But unexpectedly, man proposes, God disposes, and this behemoth of Linglong Club may collapse in an instant.
Seeing the expectant looks in everyone's eyes, Chen Zhe didn't want to let them down, but he couldn't make any promises to them.
He had no choice but to truthfully announce the decision made by headquarters.
"Linglong Club will be closed for another ten days. This is like giving everyone a break. If you have any questions, you can come to my office later. I'll always be there."
"Manager Chen, how should we calculate salaries? The company's closure isn't our problem, so salaries should still be paid as usual, right?"
"Yes! We can't stop paying wages!"
"That's right, we all have families to support!"
Countless people are fixated on the issue of wages.
Wu Yuanyuan shouted, "The company is facing difficulties now, and everyone should work together. What difference does it make if we don't take ten days' pay?"
Her statement immediately drew rebuttals.
"You make it sound so easy! People here at massage parlors earn such high salaries, and everyone has savings. Do you think we can be like you?"
"Yes! That's right! We have to pay wages, we can't not pay wages!"
"That's right!! Not only do they have to pay our salaries, but they also have to promise to give us three months' salary as compensation if the company goes bankrupt!!"
"That's right!!!"
I don't know who said that, but it resonated with many people, and as a result, these 100-plus people started making a fuss...
...
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