From legendary short seller to god of American capital

Chapter 340 The Federal Investigator from the Eastern United States

Chapter 340 The Federal Investigator from the Eastern United States

That evening, all the employees of 717 Convenience Store were called back to the company headquarters—Mr. K's warehouse—for a grand but enthusiastic performance review meeting.

Of course, it was nominally a performance review meeting, but all the convenience store employees who came to attend had no idea what performance was or what a review meeting was.

Most of the employees were Italian-American young men, whispering amongst themselves in Italian. The smaller number of other ethnic groups in Beigang were also mostly descendants of immigrants.

Before entering the convenience store, they had already gone through a round of screening by Mr. K, so those appearing at the venue now were all energetic and quick-witted young men.

When they sat together, they were like a group of energetic middle school students; after a few brief words of discussion, they immediately broke into quiet laughter and playful banter.

Mr. K glared at the young employees, trying to stop them from fooling around, but Larry didn't care. After everyone had arrived, he slowly walked towards the makeshift wooden platform.

Larry wasn't wearing his suit jacket, but only a crisp, starched white shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, revealing his well-defined muscles.

As Larry walked onto the wooden platform, the dozens of young men in the audience instantly fell silent—many were seeing this legendary "boss of the boss" for the first time, and might have imagined him as an elderly man with a white beard.

But when Larry actually stood on the platform, they were all speechless, their mouths agape in disbelief. This was their real boss.

Some people even stood up unconsciously and looked at Larry.

"Sit down!" Larry's voice wasn't loud, but it instantly silenced all the astonishment.

Everyone quickly took their seats; some had no chairs and had to sit on sacks. Larry didn't insist. He stood on the wooden platform, his gaze slowly sweeping over each young, flamboyant face, and nodded silently.

"Many of you are meeting for the first time, so let me introduce myself. My name is Larry Livingston, and I'm the owner of our convenience store company. I'm very grateful to you all, my dear brothers—thank you for coming to this company and helping us build this business together!"

After Larry finished speaking, the audience gasped in amazement.

"Boss, what do you mean? What do you mean by thanking us? Isn't working and earning money a job given to us by the boss? Why should he thank me?"

"Yes! My mother also said that I met a kind boss, and I was able to support my family before I was even 14 years old—"

—She even kept telling me to thank the boss!

The crowd below buzzed with discussion. Larry frowned, surprised that his casual remark had elicited such a strong reaction.

Once everyone quieted down, Larry continued, "Mr. K will review the specific performance results, but I'm here to share something with you all—I have some good news to tell you first!"

As he spoke, Larry turned around and wrote three words on the blackboard that had been prepared beforehand: Service Home!

Larry then turned to everyone and said, "Starting today, anyone who is certified a qualified employee at our convenience store for three consecutive years will receive an additional employee bonus of $100 per year, beginning with the third year!"

The audience was stunned. They had no concept of this whatsoever—for ordinary workers, the relationship with the company was simply that of employer and employee. If the boss didn't deduct wages and paid them on time, they were already considered a good person.

But what is my boss saying now? There's even an annual dividend—$100 a year!

For a junior store clerk earning five dollars a week, that's almost half a year's salary! If it were converted into bread, it would be enough to feed a family of five for a year!

Before anyone could even cheer upon hearing the news, they stared wide-eyed, trying to determine whether it was true or false.

Mr. K glared at them and roared, "What the hell are you all standing there for? Hurry up and thank the boss!"

""

The crowd then seemed to wake from a dream and began to applaud enthusiastically.

Larry smiled and waited until they had all calmed down before continuing, "This is just a basic reward. For each convenience store, we will select one store manager and one trainee store manager. The store manager will be responsible for nurturing the trainee store manager."

If the convenience store meets its performance targets, we will transfer the store manager to develop new stores. He will receive a commission on sales and a seniority bonus, while the trainee store manager will become the new store manager—this is an apprenticeship-style store manager training program. For the first two years after the new store manager takes office, 5% of his sales commission will be given to the previous store manager.

The employees clapped and looked at each other, confused. They understood Larry's encouragement for the employees to be promoted to store manager, but they didn't know what this apprenticeship system meant.

Mr. K, standing to the side, explained with exasperation, "What the boss means is that we'll be opening many new stores in the future! As long as you work hard, you'll all have the opportunity to become store managers! And the senior store managers will pass on all their experience so that when you go out into the world, you can collect commissions from the new store managers—understand?"

The young men then realized that this was an encouragement to quickly move into management positions and make big money! "But remember! All your gains come with a prerequisite: you must learn to smile!" Larry turned around and wrote another line on the blackboard: "Smile for the customers!"

Turning his head, Larry's face broke into a smile, not just any smile, but a standard American smile that revealed eight teeth.

"See that? Just like the boss! You have to show eight teeth!" Mr. K, who had already been reminded by Larry, was now acting as a loyal straight man, helping the boss explain to the employees.

The dozen or so young men sitting below strained to mimic their boss's smile. The rest mostly looked bewildered; they found the scene somewhat comical but held back their laughter.

"Now you all do what I do! You have to smile, you have to smile at the customers!" Larry said with an exaggerated laugh, directing all the young men to imitate him.

The other children followed suit, and soon everyone was showing eight teeth.

Larry nodded to the audience. "I know you think smiling is like flattery. But in my store, smiling is a responsibility, professionalism, and a reason for customers to remember our convenience store! From now on, you must all smile at customers and actively and enthusiastically solve their problems! Understand?"

"Understood!" everyone answered in unison.

"That's not enough!" Larry stepped off the stage, picked up an empty glass bottle, and walked to the front of the group, continuing, "On the first day, a lady buys milk and you hand it to her with a stern face. On the second day, she'll go to McBride's Grocery Store because the people there will say: 'Madam, your hat looks beautiful today!'"

As he spoke, Larry looked around at everyone, "From now on, every customer who enters the store, regardless of their wealth, must look them directly in the eye, smile for three seconds, and sincerely ask, 'How can I help you?' Anyone who fails to do this will be reassigned to the warehouse to clean!"

Mr. K chimed in loudly, "Do you understand? If you can't smile at customers, go smile at spiders in the warehouse!"

Everyone shrank back; the pay in the warehouse was meager, and the work of moving things back and forth was incredibly tiring. Nobody wanted to go back to the warehouse, preferring the leisurely life of a convenience store clerk.

Larry returned to the podium and continued, "Remember, this is not flattery; it's an extension of our work ethic! Your work must be respectable, your service must be excellent, because God is watching every detail!"

Everyone understood Larry's meaning and nodded in agreement.

Larry and the crowd below the stands understood his meaning, nodded, and smiled again.

The second good thing —

The people below the stage were still whispering when they suddenly heard the big boss say the second piece of good news. They quickly shut their mouths and stared at him expectantly.

"Starting today, every store that ranks among the top five in sales for three consecutive years will receive a complimentary apartment! Located in Nangang. A ground-floor apartment with running water and a private bathroom! The property rights belong to you and will never be taken back!"

The entire place was deathly silent.

Compared to the dividend distribution just mentioned, the boss's proposal to gift real estate is far too extravagant.

No one had ever considered this before, and they couldn't even believe in their wildest dreams that such a good thing could exist.

Dozens of people's brains simultaneously went blank; their mouths were agape, unable to utter a single word, and the entire warehouse was utterly silent.

Just then, an Italian boy's Adam's apple bobbed, and he forced out a sound, "You mean the apartment? For us?"

"Yes, here you go." Larry nodded in agreement, then continued solemnly, "This isn't charity, it's a reward! Your sweat and smiles are worth it!"

In an instant, some people sniffed, and others clenched their fists. In Boston at that time, even a high-level store clerk earned no more than eight dollars a week. And an apartment with a toilet would cost at least $300.

To everyone else, the boss's promise was nothing short of divine intervention.

After a while, the crowd began to stir with excitement—clapping and cheering for Larry while eagerly inquiring about the specific reward system and criteria.

Larry ultimately passed the buck to Mr. K, asking him to explain to everyone later.

This is essentially a welfare housing system. The key is to lock in and cultivate loyal employees. Influenced by his past life, Larry knows that no reward system is as good as giving employees housing.

Because employees who own houses are more likely to be loyal! We can buy some cheap wasteland near Nangang and then divide it up into their future "welfare houses" in the most basic and simple apartment building style. This will effectively bind core employees.

Moreover, this will greatly promote healthy competition among convenience stores, encouraging them to work hard to increase their sales!

And foster a competitive, wolf-like culture within the company.

Of course, the key to cultivating wolf-like competition is to feed the wolves! Larry is determined to become the "Fat East" of 19th-century America!

The idea is to feed their employees with generous benefits and then let them expand their territory in other places!

If we want to expand our convenience stores across the United States as quickly as possible, we must establish an effective talent development and reward system to encourage them to work hard!

In addition, we need to bind them with long-term benefits so that they cannot switch jobs and can work for us with peace of mind!

Larry doesn't want to be the "Whampoa Military Academy" of this era!

At this moment, a young shop assistant stood up shakily and asked, "Boss, our convenience store is located on the riverbank! The foot traffic is naturally much less than the main store at the train station, so doesn't that mean we'll never be able to get a table at your apartment?"

Larry paused for a moment, then realized that what the other person said made sense; even convenience stores with low foot traffic needed to be managed well.

The most important thing in management is to give your subordinates something to look forward to.

After thinking for a few seconds, Larry nodded and said, "What you said makes a lot of sense! In that case, in addition to the performance competition between stores, we will score each employee's individual performance! We call this a points system!"

Ordinary employees can get a house by accumulating enough points!

The difference is this! For those who earn a house through performance, the company will immediately pay out! But for those who earn a house through points, the payment will only be made according to the company's schedule after a house is acquired! In short, you will definitely get a house, but whether you get one depends on your hard work—oh, and your smiles too!

The shop assistants smiled, a strange fire burning in their hearts! They couldn't believe the news they'd heard tonight was true, but since the big boss had said it himself, how could it be false?

Now, these young people suddenly have a lot of energy! They wish they could always have a smile on their face so they can own their own house as soon as possible!

Finally, Larry walked to the blackboard and wrote the third line: "Ears and eyes."

"Now, I'm going to say the most important thing!" Larry's face turned serious, and his voice became extremely low, but every word he uttered was like a nail hitting the ground.

"You'll meet hundreds of people and hear thousands of words every day! I want you to remember three types of information. First, you need to pay attention to the movements of high-ranking officials and dignitaries, such as who went to which tavern, what gifts they received, and what new policies they have. I want you to have a basic understanding of the important figures in the area, and this understanding will come from your daily gatherings —"

The scene fell silent again, and everyone stared at Larry.

"Secondly, I want to know any of our competitors' trade secrets! Whether it's Fort River Shipyard or Carnegie Steel, I need all useful business intelligence, whether it's purchase prices, new store locations, or new bank loans they've secured! This information is the most important, and you must report it immediately!"

Seeing everyone nod silently, Larry stated the most important third point: "Third, pay attention to any rumors, conspiracies, or violent threats that might damage our convenience store's reputation or interests! This is the most important point. You are my eyes and ears. If the information you provide is confirmed to be effective, I will promote you to senior employees ahead of schedule. Senior employees will receive additional personal rewards! Do you all understand?"

"Understood!" everyone answered loudly in unison.

"One more thing, remember, a single piece of evidence is invalid! Your statement must be corroborated by at least two people who heard the same thing, or there must be physical evidence to corroborate it. Otherwise, it's considered spreading rumors, and such people will be expelled from the company and never hired again!"

"Sir, is this considered espionage?" a young man asked tremblingly.

"No!" Larry shook his head firmly. "This isn't espionage, it's vigilance. Our business is doing well, and the whole city is watching us, trying to bring us down! So your ears are your eyes, and your tongue is your shield!"

Don't think of yourselves as spies; you should be—well, investigators! I, Livingston, am an investigator throughout the Federation!

I want you to understand that if you follow me, you'll have meat to eat. If you want meat, you must put our common interests above all else!

As he spoke, Larry pulled a thick booklet from behind the blackboard, held it up, and showed the cover to everyone: "Business Principles."

"Sign it, and you'll be part of Livingston! Houses, dignity, security—I'll give you everything!"

But if you're going to betray us—"

Larry slammed his hand on the book cover and said solemnly, "I'll make sure you can't even get a bowl of hot soup in Boston!"

"Boss, don't worry, we'll sign! We're all Livingston's people from now on!" said one of the men following K.

"The young man who had been to New York shouted loudly."

Immediately, his shout became the shared sentiment of all the young people in the warehouse!

The group of Livingston lads clapped enthusiastically! It was as if they had endless energy to release. Mr. K also clapped incessantly, his face full of determination.

"Let's start signing!" Larry placed the copy of "Business Guidelines" on the desk.

Mr. K was the first to rush onto the stage, took a pen, and signed his name on it.

Then, dozens of people stepped forward to sign their names. When the ink spread on the paper, it looked like a drop of blood or a seed!