Super Tycoon: I Beg You, Stop Pulling Stunts

That was quite high praise.

No wonder.

Lin Chu nodded.

After some thought, he said, "I’ll give you an answer within three months."

’I haven’t sorted anything out yet. At the very least, I need to go through the handover and see what this guy is like... Slow and steady is the way to go.’

Zhou Ming smiled and nodded as well.

Lin Chu continued to read.

The club had five vice presidents in total: VP of Sales, VP of Membership, VP of Finance, VP of Procurement, and VP of HR.

All of them were marked in red.

For the VP of Finance and VP of HR, Zhou Ming had made a note that he would be taking them with him.

That was perfectly reasonable.

After all, those were the two most critical departments. Even if Zhou Ming didn’t take them, Lin Chu would have had to replace them anyway.

A general manager is like a commander in the field. To some extent, he can and must have a will of his own. He could work independently of Zhou Ming, but the same couldn’t be said for the heads of Finance and HR.

Lin Chu didn’t even bother looking at the files for these two.

’I’ll have to think about who to bring in for these roles later.’

He moved on to the other three vice presidents.

The VP of Membership, Ma Lin.

Looking at his file, Lin Chu sighed to himself.

Ma Lin’s parents were both government officials in the construction sector, and they were still in their posts.

The man was twenty-nine, a foreign-educated graduate, and his VP salary plus bonuses amounted to nearly two million a year.

He had a pretty cushy life at the club.

Zhou Ming was in real estate. Keeping someone like this on the payroll wasn’t purely for the golf club’s sake. It was also for the benefit of his main real estate business. When needed, this connection would come in handy.

Spending two million a year to keep someone on staff could yield returns far exceeding two million.

For example, if a permit could be approved ahead of schedule, the capital costs saved on a real estate project would be immeasurable.

However...

For Lin Chu, however, a person like this was now a bit of a hot potato.

’I’m not in real estate, after all.’

But as the new boss, it wouldn’t be appropriate to fire him right off the bat.

His parents hadn’t retired yet. Although they didn’t have direct jurisdiction, they could easily cause trouble, which would be a major headache.

’I’ll set this one aside for now.’

Lin Chu put his file aside for the time being and looked at the information for the VP of Sales.

The VP of Sales was named Xin Fu. He was 38, from Xiangjiang, and had started his career as an insurance agent. During his years in sales, he was the top performer almost every year.

His father was a former TVB actor, his mother was deceased, his older brother worked in finance in London, and his younger sister was a lawyer in Xiangjiang.

’This guy’s got some substance.’

It seemed Xin Fu had reached his position largely through personal ability, with his family background playing a minor role.

Over the past couple of days, Lin Chu had also chatted with Zhu Yixian. Apparently, many of Peng City’s golf course clients actually came from Xiangjiang. After all, the prices here were relatively cheaper, and the facilities were better.

Finishing one cigarette, Lin Chu lit another.

He continued reading the file for the last person, the VP of Procurement.

The VP of Procurement was named Li Jianshe, a 54-year-old Peng City local. He had run a transportation business in his youth but went bankrupt. He then served as Zhou Ming’s driver for nearly ten years before being placed here five years ago, essentially for retirement.

He was drawing an annual salary of 1.2 million with a 300,000 bonus.

Surprisingly, his record was clean. There was no mention of any "income from irregular channels."

Tsk.

’Zhou Ming really knows how to manage his people.’

Lin Chu couldn’t help but glance at him again.

To be fair, the personnel situation at this club was relatively clean. There was some nepotism, of course, but it was within a reasonable, acceptable range.

Zhou Ming’s approach to real estate was stable, clear, and even conservative. The golf club was run in a style that reflected this.

"I’m definitely keeping the VP of Sales."

"I’ll think about the VP of Procurement. Letting your man retire here isn’t a big deal; it’s only a cost of about a million a year."

"And the VP of Membership? You don’t need him?"

Lin Chu looked at Zhou Ming, having already made his decision.

’What’s the point of leaving your construction-sector government connection with me?’

’It’s best if he takes him along.’

"His father is retiring the year after next,"

Zhou Ming said with a smile, then paused. "I’m also preparing to retire."

His tone and expression even held a hint of a mischievous old man’s cunning.

Lin Chu was speechless.

Tired of beating around the bush, he stated his position directly: "The young man has a bright future ahead of him. He can find work anywhere, can’t he? As for your former driver, let him stay. We can demote him without cutting his pay. He’s a 54-year-old man; where would he find another job at this point?"

This was a kind of trade-off.

’Lin Chu had considered firing them all, of course.’

’But there was no need for that right now. It was better to do a slow transfusion of personnel. If he got rid of all the old-timers before the replacements were ready, the club’s operations would be severely affected.’

Zhou Ming shook his head and smiled. "Just keep him on for two more years. It’s hard for young people to find jobs these days, too."

He wanted to buy Ma Lin two more years, allowing him a graceful exit once everything had settled.

Lin Chu kept the smile on his face, but his tone was resolute. "I can’t keep him. I’m afraid that in a couple of years, his reach will extend too far, and I’ll have to personally send him off to ’further his studies’ in prison. If it really comes to that, it would be quite ugly, and it would also be irresponsible toward his future."

Zhou Ming let out an almost inaudible sigh.

That was true.

He just hadn’t expected Lin Chu to be so firm, to the point of saying something like that.

After a quick mental calculation, Zhou Ming stood up with a smile. "Aren’t you going to meet them?"

Lin Chu rose as well. "Of course. I’ll meet all of them. Will you have a couple of drinks with me later?"

"I can’t. I have gout and I’ve been off alcohol for almost five years."

Zhou Ming waved his hand, smiling.

The two of them walked out together.

As they walked out the door, Lin Chu took the opportunity to password-protect the file on the phone again and also sent a copy to his own device.

A thought surfaced in his mind: ’I hope there’s nothing falsified in this document.’