I Want to Slack Off at the Demon Bureau

Chapter 60

After Ye Huayu had said so much, Chu Zhishui indeed couldn't stay any longer.

Coincidentally, New Perspective Video was about to launch a new campaign. After collecting feedback from the flagship store, they quickly adjusted their new product designs, and Chu Zhishui needed to return to Huaijiang for preparations. She finally booked her flight and headed back with Xin Yunmao.

When Ye Huayu learned of this news, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. His mood considerably improved, and keeping his promise, he helped the Economic Development Department monitor the store. He even paid out of his own pocket to create a peacock standing sign for the storefront.

Du Zigui sent photos of the storefront to Chu Zhishui, assuring her that the flagship store was doing well and that she could focus on her work in Huaijiang.

The flashy peacock sign in the photo dazzled Chu Zhishui's eyes, but since she was already back at the Huaijiang office, she couldn't comment on Director Ye's aesthetic choices.

At Dragon Knowledge Company, the ongoing tension between Observation Bureau's flagship store and the company's collective stores was draining their accounts, putting pressure on the executives.

"CEO Li, if this continues, the internal financial pressure will be too great. Plus, with New Perspective launching another campaign, we'll need significant spending to compete for traffic."

"That's right, and New Perspective doesn't have collective store operations. They just arrange for merchants to open stores and help with promotion, which makes them more flexible in crisis situations," someone said. "Collective stores boost company data, but the subsequent quality control and management are time and labor-intensive. It's not sustainable."

While Observation Bureau's flagship store only sold their own brand products, Dragon Knowledge's collective stores featured multiple brands. It sounded more impressive but was harder to operate.

Li Longke remained silent for a long while. He rubbed his palms together and declared, "Let's hold on until New Perspective's next campaign ends. As long as we make our numbers look good this time, we'll gradually raise prices or close stores on a large scale afterward."

"What?" someone exclaimed in surprise. "But some stores have just opened, and several more are in preparation."

"Then we'll keep operating them. It'll help with the financing evaluation. We can close them after securing the funding."

The crazy cycle of opening stores only to close them soon after would impact many people's jobs. The only benefit would be securing more financing through the collective store plan.

Everyone exchanged glances. Even though they knew this was about raising money to save the company, they were still shocked by CEO Li's decision. Perhaps it's difficult for people to truly empathize with others' suffering. While the executives felt conflicted internally, none spoke up to oppose the plan.

Soon after, New Perspective's National Brand Special Sale kicked off. As one of the key promoted stores, Observation Bureau, after months of extensive marketing, was set to launch their new products across all platforms that day.

These products were previously only available in the flagship store, but now they were being updated and upgraded, with new features based on customer feedback.

Chen Zhuhui had been using various platform accounts to help build anticipation for New Perspective's National Brand Special Sale.

[Observation Bureau: Thank you for your patience. After months of new product re

When it rains, it pours - no one expected the final straw that would break Dragon Knowledge would come from within, from their own employees.

In the Economic Development Department, Jin Yu was shocked by what she saw on her phone. She turned around and asked, "Was that company you used to work for called Dragon Knowledge?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Some employees have gone public demanding unpaid wages, and they're criticizing the current boss for embezzling company funds!"

Chu Zhishui was stunned. She quickly pulled out her phone and found the article online. The account claimed to represent a group of Dragon Knowledge employees seeking payment, and they were willing to reveal their identities at a crucial moment to expose Li Longke's long-term improper practices.

The article described Dragon Knowledge's normalized overtime culture, months of unpaid wages after busy promotional periods, and colleagues falling ill from overwork while still being forced to handle tasks. It detailed severe internal conflicts, rapid expansion followed by sudden store closures leading to debt in many locations, and mass deletion of customer complaints in an attempt to quell after-sales issues.

Most importantly, someone angrily accused Li Longke of misappropriating company funds, not only paying himself an excessive salary with investors' money but also pushing out other founders and allegedly enriching himself through various illegal channels.

They demanded the investment team investigate thoroughly, believing Li Longke had not used the funding for its promised legitimate purposes, potentially breaking the law.

Aliali: 674843b7c4f3f33ac47659ac

In such cases, if investigations proved these claims true, the investment team would have every right to demand compensation and could withdraw their original investment!

The article was written with heart-wrenching detail, moving readers to tears, clearly demonstrating the copywriting skills of the employees behind it.

Chu Zhishui hadn't expected Li Longke would dare to misappropriate money. Such things hadn't happened when she was at the company - she'd thought he was just pushing the boundaries with fundraising, not crossing into illegal territory.

After reading the emotional article, Jin Yu had tears in her eyes and empathetically said, "I thought my situation was bad enough making less than 2,000, but you had it even worse - they actually withheld your wages."

Chu Zhishui was surprised to find Jin Yu feeling sorry for her and quickly said, "No, no, no, when I was at the company, they weren't withholding wages! It wasn't that bad!"

After all, she had been a founder, so her pay wasn't withheld.

"Then why did you leave?"

"Because I got sick at the time..." Chu Zhishui looked at Jin Yu's peculiar expression, her voice getting smaller as she continued, feeling guilty as she added, "and had to go to the emergency room?"

Jin Yu exclaimed, "And you still say it wasn't that bad! This is exactly what the article described!"

"..."