madnovel Chapter 76 This property management fee, I feel like I'm being ripped off.
Chapter 76 This property management fee, I feel like I'm being ripped off.
Chu Jiang put away his backup phone and looked down at the virtual screen on his wrist.
【Title: Shanghai Landlord (Unique)】
[Effect: Within your territory (Shanghai), you have absolute control over the rules. All revenue generated here (spiritual energy, faith, merit, etc.) will automatically have 1% deducted as property management fees.]
He stared at the "1%" and his brows furrowed.
"System, come out."
【…】
"Stop playing dead, I know you're here. One percent? Are you trying to fob me off?"
[Ding! According to Article 3 of the "Basic Law for Working People in All Realms," the management fee charged by trainee guides in newbie worlds shall not exceed 1%.]
"There's such a method?"
[This is a basic rule designed to protect the host from dimensional backlash caused by excessive exploitation of the novice world, resulting in failing performance evaluations.]
Chu Jiang curled his lip.
"Alright, can we change this title of 'landlord'? It's too tacky and it's bad for my company's image."
[The title, "Heavenly Law," is automatically generated based on the host's behavior and cannot be changed.]
Chu Jiang sighed and posted the selfie in the internal group of the "Three Crossings Ferry Management".
Caption: The first large-scale team building activity of the Yangjian Business Unit was a complete success. Thank you all for your hard work.
In the photo, he stands on the edge of a rooftop, with the city shrouded in a golden net behind him, and light raining down like a waterfall. He makes a peace sign and smiles brightly.
The group chat exploded the next second.
Programmer Li: "[Boss kneeling in admiration] Boss is awesome! You are our one and only true god!"
Bruch: "Great Father! Your radiance is like the magma of the deepest hell! Please allow me to offer you my virgin blood, which I have treasured for eight hundred years!"
Shen Gongbao: "Boss, you're incredibly powerful! I've done some calculations, and this is an omen of a dragon's rise! Fellow Daoist, please wait a moment. I see your forehead is glowing; you're definitely destined for greatness!"
King Qin Guang (Neighbor Wang): "[Image: A blurry picture of middle-aged women giving a thumbs-up while square dancing]"
Meng Po: "[Image: A new type of milk tea with heart-shaped bubbles]"
Chu Jiang put away his phone with satisfaction, turned around and went downstairs.
As soon as I got back to the milk tea shop, I saw two deliverymen, Red Boy and Augustine, standing there staring blankly at the outside while pressed against the glass door.
The once chaotic streets are now orderly.
Those cultivators and demons who were fighting to the death before are now lining up like elementary school students, waiting for the golden chains to scan their identities one by one.
"Beep! Wang Laosan, illegally occupying public green space for cultivation, fined 200 Yin Virtue Points."
"Beep! Hu Erniu, flying in a no-fly zone at 180 km/h, is seriously speeding. 12 points deducted, flying sword license revoked."
"Beep! Li Gou Dan, you're urinating and defecating indiscriminately, polluting the environment. You're fined 50 Yin De Points and ordered to clean up."
A mechanical, emotionless voice echoed through the street, more despairing than a driving instructor's reprimand.
"This...it's done already?" Red Boy rubbed his eyes.
Augustine, the vampire prince, looked at the golden net with eyes filled with awe for the unknown power.
"A miracle, this is absolutely a miracle."
Chu Jiang pushed open the door and poured himself a glass of water.
"Don't panic, this is standard procedure."
As soon as he finished speaking, Li the coder's holographic projection popped up with a "snap." This time, his face was no longer filled with panic, but with a distorted expression that mixed fanatical worship with the verge of collapse.
"Boss, the application is working perfectly."
"It directly turned the spiritual energy network into a server, and the application has covered the entire city, with full signal strength and never dropping the connection."
"But something big has happened, boss."
Li's voice trembled with tears again.
"Our complaint hotline is about to be overwhelmed!"
"Those 5.7 million users who participated in the lottery are now divided into two factions!"
"One group of people who didn't win are blocking our company's entrance, accusing us of false advertising and demanding another draw!"
"There's another group... the one who won the lottery. He's currently being besieged at home by a group of people who want to buy his 'one year of lifespan,' and the offer has already gone from one million to one hundred million! He called for help, saying he's about to be torn apart!"
"And there's more! Those who bought our Lycoris Radiata Essence Water are now finding it really does make them immune to all evil spirits. They're all posting pictures online, saying we're a conscientious company and demanding we restock immediately!"
"Our customer service hotline has been completely overwhelmed! The scalpers outside have raised the price of a cup of our milk tea from fifty to five thousand!"
Chu Jiang picked up his water glass and took a sip.
"Okay, I understand."
His reaction was as indifferent as if he were listening to a weather forecast.
Li, the coder, was stunned.
"Boss, just... just one 'I understand'?"
"Otherwise what?" Chu Jiang put down his water glass. "It means our marketing was very successful, our product positioning was accurate, and our user loyalty is high. That's a good thing."
"Your bonus this month will be doubled."
Li's sobbing voice vanished instantly, replaced by a fawning smile.
"Thank you, boss! You're brilliant! I'll optimize the server architecture right away!"
After seeing Li the programmer off, Chu Jiang took out his phone and dialed Lin Fan's number.
The phone rang for a long time before being answered, and the background noise was as loud as a vegetable market.
"Feed? Boss?" Lin Fan's voice was hoarse, filled with exhaustion and panic.
"It's me." Chu Jiang leaned back against the bar, shifting into a more comfortable position. "How's it going being the new CEO? Are you settling in well?"
"Boss! Don't even mention it! I can't take it anymore!" Lin Fan's voice sounded like he was shouting. "The company building is packed with people! Some are here to return goods, some to join the franchise, some to protest, and there's a bunch of reporters with their cameras and microphones, saying they want to interview the mysterious CEO who controls the economic lifeline of both the Yin and Yang worlds!"
"I'm even afraid to go to the toilet, boss!"
"Hmm, not bad." Chu Jiang nodded. "This shows that your work has attracted widespread attention in the market. This is a stage victory."
Lin Fan remained silent on the other end of the line.
He felt that he and his boss were not talking about the same thing.
"Boss, what do we do now? Please think of something!"
"A solution?" Chu Jiang smiled. "Lin Fan, you're the CEO of the Yang Realm Business Division now. You need to be able to handle things independently. These are minor issues; you need to learn to manage them on your own."
"Haven't you always wanted to prove yourself? Now, your chance has come."
"This...this opportunity is just too good to be true!"
Just then, a screeching sound of brakes rang out outside the milk tea shop.
A dozen or so black luxury cars were parked in a row on the side of the road, all with consecutive license plate numbers.
The car door opened, and a group of bodyguards dressed in black suits and wearing sunglasses stepped out and quickly cleared a path.
Immediately afterwards, several imposing middle-aged men got out of the car.
The one in the lead was Zhou Wanshan, the older brother of Zhou Fuhai, who had been sentenced to death by Lin Fan, and the president of the Shanghai Business Federation.
They ignored the crowd queuing outside and walked straight toward the milk tea shop.
Lin Fan's voice changed tone on the other end of the line.
"Boss, Zhou Wanshan and the others have arrived. The chairmen of all five major conglomerates are here."
"They said... they wanted to meet with the top leader of our 'Santu Express' to discuss cooperation regarding the future economic order of Shanghai!"
Chu Jiang glanced at the group of serious-looking "business tycoons" outside the window and smiled slightly.
He picked up the "Celestial Master's Seal" that he used as a paperweight on the bar counter, weighed it in his hand, and felt that it felt good.
"Lin Fan".
"Yes, boss!"
"You are the highest-ranking person in charge."
"Huh?" Lin Fan was stunned.
"Go, talk to them."
"Talk...talk about what?" Lin Fan's voice was trembling with tears.
"What else can we talk about but money?" Chu Jiang said slowly, toying with the Celestial Master Seal.
"Tell them that our company welcomes all forms of cooperation and investment."
"However, given that we have just completed a technology upgrade and market expansion, the company's valuation may need to be recalculated."
Lin Fan, on the other end of the line, nervously swallowed.
"How...how do we calculate it?"
"Simple." Chu Jiang casually placed the Celestial Master Seal on the table, making a muffled sound.
"Let's add up the total assets of their five major conglomerates, and then... add three more zeros."
"This is the starting price for our Series A funding round."
"Oh, right," Chu Jiang added, "remember to remind them to charge by the hour."
"Your consultation fee, starting today, will be one million per hour."
US dollars.
After saying that, Chu Jiang hung up the phone.
He looked at the "Property Management Fee" column on his phone screen, where the numbers were jumping up and down like a heartbeat.
[+0.01 merit points]
[+0.1 Spiritual Energy]
[+0.005 Faith Power]
……
He pursed his lips again.
"Only one percent? That'll take forever."
"Looks like we still need to find a way to generate some revenue."