Chapter 542: Chapter 525 First Day at Work

Lu Jiaxin had agreed with Nie Zhan to start her job after the Lunar New Year, but she wasn’t in the mood for traveling and decided to start working after resting at home for two days.

Upon her arrival at Green Forest, Xu Yue and Susan were there with the company’s middle management to welcome her. Such scenes used to only appear in idol drama shows, where the company’s leaders would line up to greet the domineering CEO. Now, well, it was becoming a reality.

Lu Jiaxin didn’t mind the gesture from the two; it was their way of letting the company’s middle management meet her personally. Although Lu Jiaxin had visited twice before, the company had recruited some more senior employees during this period, and these people did not know her.

In her office, Lu Jiaxin saw a computer on her desk and a bottle of lush and thriving Lucky Bamboo.

Lu Jiaxin asked with a smile, “Who bought this Lucky Bamboo?”

Susan replied with a smile, “I bought it after specially asking Heyuan for his advice.”

In Su Heyuan’s office, there were Money Trees, and he had told her that bosses always hope to make a big fortune, so selling those was a surefire bet. Susan thought that Money Trees were too common and that Lu Jiaxin wouldn’t like them, so after some consideration, she decided on the Lucky Bamboo. It turned out that her choice was correct; the boss preferred something more elegant with a good omen.

Lu Jiaxin asked Xu Yue and Susan to stay while the other senior employees returned to their work. Before they left, she said, “We’ll have a meeting in the conference room in half an hour.”

“Okay.”

Last year, Lu Jiaxin made a fortune in the stock market and transferred thirty million to Green Forest’s funds. Both of them used this money to buy storefronts.

From its establishment to now, Lu Jiaxin had invested over fifty million into Green Forest. To quickly capture the market, the profits were then reinvested into the company, so no dividends had been paid out yet. Lu Jiaxin had her eye on the future; as the sole investor in the company, it operated completely according to her guidelines.

Although Green Forest wasn’t listed, it was valued at over three hundred million. The company had purchased eight storefronts (bought with mortgages), and this number was set to grow.

According to Nie Zhan’s plan, Green Forest would go public by a reverse takeover next year. Lu Jiaxin agreed with this, as going public would make it possible to raise funds without always borrowing from the bank, where the interest was not low.

Susan reported to Lu Jiaxin the sales and cash recovery situation and then proposed, “Boss, we’re planning to borrow forty million more from HSBC Bank to open two new branches in Sham Shui Po and Kowloon City. Here is the proposal.”

Lu Jiaxin took the proposal and set it aside, saying, “You both can go too. See you in the conference room in half an hour.”

“Okay.”

After the two left, Lu Jiaxin walked over to the window. Her office had floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a clear view of the office building opposite.

Lu Jiaxin saw someone making coffee in the opposite office and frowned involuntarily. Green Forest was renting twenty-two floors, with the company on the eighteenth floor and her office in the prime location on that floor. However, now she could see the people in the opposite office building, and likewise, they could see her. Moving the office wasn’t just a matter of saying so; it required multifaceted consideration. Moreover, if they were to relocate, it would be necessary to integrate Five Auspicious Jewelry and the future cosmetics company together.

Half an hour later, Lu Jiaxin arrived in the conference room where everyone had already gathered.

After a few opening remarks, Lu Jiaxin first praised Green Forest’s outstanding performance and affirmed everyone’s efforts. Then she pointed out some mistakes and shortcomings, which, if not corrected, would affect the company’s future development.

Lu Jiaxin’s words were substantive, and everyone was convinced. The two new senior employees felt they had made the right decision joining the company.

After discussing Green Forest’s operational situation, Lu Jiaxin said, “I’m planning to create a casual brand that includes both men’s and women’s clothing.”

After finishing, she looked at the audience and said, “The casual brand is just the first step. Later, I also plan to create children’s brands, underwear brands, and trendy brands.”

Susan and Xu Yue knew she had always wanted to create her own brand but hadn’t had the time before. With a smile, Susan said, “Boss, then we need to recruit designers from the society.”

Recruiting designers was just one of the steps; additionally, she was planning to build her own factory to avoid relying entirely on outsourcing.

Xu Yue asked, “Boss, what’s the name of the brand?”

Lu Jiaxin, who wasn’t good at naming, said, “Preferred.”

Er, Susan asked, “Preferred, as in, choose our brand first when buying clothes?”

“Yes, that’s both the brand name and our goal.”

Everyone felt the name wasn’t great, but Lu Jiaxin was the boss, and since she thought it was good, nobody raised any objections.

Lu Jiaxin’s requirements for clothing were, first, the selection of good fabrics, because she believed the comfort of the fabric was of utmost importance; second was the design; third was good service.

The meeting started at nine-thirty and ended at noon. By the time it was over, Lu Jiaxin felt like smoke could come out of her throat. Drinking two cups of water during the meeting didn’t help; she had talked too much.

Just after she sat down in her office, Lu Jiaxin received a call from Nie Zhan, “I’d like to go straight home and lie down after work; I don’t want to go out for dinner.”

“What’s wrong with your voice?”

“Talking too much doesn’t feel good,” Lu Jiaxin said sullenly. It had been a long time since she’d been at work and she had somewhat lost her bearings; in the future, she’d take it easy, throw out the issues for them to brainstorm solutions.

Although she was standing on the shoulders of giants, she had many deficiencies, and some technologies had not yet been developed in her current environment. Like printing and dyeing technologies, they certainly weren’t as advanced as they would be in thirty years, so it was also important to listen to her subordinates’ opinions more.

Nie Zhan felt he had been neglectful, but he hadn’t expected Lu Jiaxin to be such a talker: “Then you rest first; I’ll come pick you up after work.”

“Okay.”

After resting in the office for a bit, Miao Na brought the meal over, with three meat dishes, three vegetable dishes, and a soup, all nutritionally balanced.

Haunted by her past life’s experiences, Lu Jiaxin didn’t like eating at street stalls and was even less willing to dine at noisy eateries, preferring home-cooked meals instead. As for eating out, an occasional indulgence was okay, just needed to be kept in moderation.

After eating and resting for ten minutes, Lu Jiaxin walked on the treadmill for twenty minutes, then went into another room to rest.

In the afternoon, she talked separately with Susan, Xu Yue, and the financial director. By the time Nie Zhan came to pick her up after work, her throat was completely hoarse.

Nie Zhan said sternly, “You already felt uncomfortable from talking too much in the morning, you should have gone home to rest in the afternoon. Jiaxin, you’re really not taking good care of yourself.”

At this point, Lu Jiaxin didn’t want to talk; she just wanted to go home early.

Ignoring Jiaxin’s protests, Nie Zhan took her to see a doctor. They saw a highly reputable traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who gave her an examination and prescribed ten small packets of medicine: “Brew a packet when you get home and drink it, and for the next few days, talk less.”

Lu Jiaxin nodded.

On the way home, Nie Zhan said, “Jiaxin, let me handle Green Forest. You do as before, invest in stocks, trade in foreign exchange, go traveling when you’re free.”

Lu Jiaxin knew he was concerned about her health, but if she was to become a Rice Weevil, she had her previous life’s unfulfilled dreams to achieve first: “Ten years.”

In ten years, Green Forest and the brand she created should have reached every corner of the world. If not, well, then she’d give up the idea of traveling around the world.