"Oh, that’s enough indeed. Some people might not be after your money." Pike’s mouth twitched, choked up.
What a cheesy movie protagonist template.
After getting the car keys from the reception staff, Allen Zhang drove Pike to the office building in the downtown business district, located on the 26th floor of the building.
There wasn’t much to see, as the General Sect Leader himself had also rented an empty shell of a building for the Foundation’s office location, which was basically unoccupied on normal days.
Pike had already informed the company’s executives in advance. After arriving at the business building and parking the car, a few middle-aged men in suits and leather shoes came to greet them. Among them was Allen Zhang’s acquaintance, Manager Reko.
"This is the new boss of Pike Company, Juan Jin. You can call him Mr. Jin," Pike introduced after getting out of the car.
"Hello, Mr. Jin!" A group of people eagerly greeted him, flattering him.
"Hello everyone." Allen Zhang smiled, turned to Reko, and said: "Congratulations, my old friend, you’ve been fired!"
The group instantly stiffened.
"Hahaha, I’m just joking!" Allen Zhang immediately patted Reko on the shoulder, "I’ve already bought your shares, you can go to your boss for the money. Although you’re no longer a temporary shareholder, I still need the help of an old employee like you."
"You really scared me," Reko wiped the sweat from his forehead, truly thinking Allen Zhang had taken over the company and was going to settle scores from the past. After all, he wasn’t without his own abuses of power.
Upon entering the building and taking the elevator to the business floor, they toured the office on the 26th floor, which had only about a dozen computers, offices, and partitions.
Allen Zhang mainly checked the accounts and revenue situation and found that in the previous months there had always been positive revenue. If not for the malicious competitive arson, there would have been no bankruptcy issue.
The contracts of Pike Company with various departments were still in place, and the processes were not overly problematic—the shutdown was merely due to a severe lack of funds, most importantly a debt of 20.6 million US Dollar to the bank.
A problem that can be solved with money is a minor problem; the General Sect Leader currently lacks everything but money.
After visiting Pike Company’s office building, Allen Zhang sent a message to the Beggar Gang Disciples to follow him to the suburbs to inspect a newly acquired venue, convenient for recruiting internal staff to start work later.
Driving the Cullinan with Reko and Pike to the suburban factory, upon arrival, they saw graffiti all over the warehouse doors.
There were also about a dozen tents of various sizes pitched on the roadside, and people by the roadside junction were holding dining utensils and eating. At first glance, Allen Zhang thought he had come to a homeless community in a poor neighborhood.
The graffiti on the walls spelled out ’Geneva! Pay back the money!!’ ’Heartless boss! Pay our wages!!’ ’Return our hard-earned money!!’
The entrance also had barbed wire stretched across it, and several armed security personnel were constantly monitoring, watching the employees like thieves, preventing them from getting close to the factory equipment.
Seeing this, Pike helplessly said, "Can’t they wait a couple more days? I’m already trying to raise funds. Haven’t we been good to them on regular days?"
Reko was equally helpless, "It’s the union people doing this, they keep pushing us to pay the salaries. Honestly, a 3000 US Dollar monthly wage for the employees doesn’t really foster a sense of belonging to the company. They are people with low education, some haven’t even graduated from high school, they just want their wages back, and it’s basically impossible to communicate with them. Moreover, they have been quite restrained."
It’s fortunate they didn’t recruit Black people, or else the place would have been smashed up already, valuable equipment being looted overnight.
Even these security personnel had been personally paid by Manager Reko out of his own pocket, hiring random security guards from the roadside at a daily wage of 200 US Dollar. He really treats the company as if it was his own family business.
Unfortunately, his shareholder experience card had already expired; the Pike boss had run off, and as the new boss, the General Sect Leader would not offer him shares.
The security fees had not been defaulted, after all, if even the bodyguards were not getting paid, no one would be willing to serve them.
Allen Zhang also sighed, "The situation at the company after running out of money and incurring debts is even more serious than I imagined."
"Luckily, Mr. Jin is here. With you, a billionaire backing the company, they are really fortunate!" Reko eagerly added.
Pike also strongly agreed.