Yang Ying then began teaching Zhang Yu how to look at property listings; he would soon be a real estate agent.
A while later, a woman with glasses arrived at the agency on a bicycle. She was simply dressed and greeted Yang Ying immediately upon entering, "Good morning, Ms. Yang."
Yang Ying returned the greeting politely, and the woman with glasses went to the restroom, grabbed a mop, and began cleaning. The floor, already clean, became gleaming like a mirror after her mopping.
The agency opened at eight o'clock, and by the time the woman with glasses finished cleaning, it was almost time. Her seat was next to Zhang Yu's, and shortly after she sat down, people began to enter the agency.
These people were dressed in various styles; some looked like white-collar workers, some were very fashionable, and others had an artsy vibe. The eight seats on either side gradually filled up, leaving only the seat furthest inside opposite Zhang Yu empty.
When people saw Zhang Yu, they assumed he was new, but his rather unfashionable attire drew murmurs from the others.
At 8:10, a man in his forties arrived late. As soon as he entered, the real estate agents rushed to greet him, each more enthusiastic than the last. "Brother Lin, you're here!" "Good morning, Brother Lin!" "Good morning, Brother Lin!"...
Especially a woman in her thirties sitting opposite him, who said in a affectedly coquettish tone, "Brother Hai, I've already made your coffee."
The middle-aged man was dressed in dress pants, a red shirt, and shiny leather shoes. He carried a handbag under his arm. Judging from his demeanor and the enthusiasm of the crowd, one might mistake him for the boss. He nodded to everyone as a greeting, then smiled slightly at Yang Ying, who was sitting in the middle, and said, "Ms. Yang, good morning."
Yang Ying nodded and said, "Good morning." After the middle-aged man sat down, he spoke again, "Everyone's here, let's have a morning meeting. We have a new agent today, his name is Zhang Yu. He's inexperienced, so we'll need your help. Zhang Yu, please greet everyone and introduce yourselves."
As Zhang Yu was mentioned, Yang Ying's gaze followed him.
Zhang Yu immediately stood up, a simple smile on his face, and said somewhat shyly, "My name is Zhang Yu. Please take care of me in the future..."
Seeing Zhang Yu's appearance, some people laughed out loud, while others even showed disdain.
Yang Ying knew Zhang Yu's clothes were shabby, but unfortunately, her leg was injured, so she couldn't take him shopping for clothes right away.
She turned to the middle-aged man and said, "Lin Hai, Zhang Yu is new and has no experience. Could you mentor him for a while and let him learn from you?"
Usually, when the boss says this, it's considered very polite, and the other party will readily agree.
Lin Hai glanced at Zhang Yu disdainfully and said coldly, "I can't handle a simpleton like him. You'd better find someone else."
"Where did this country bumpkin come from? He actually needs Brother Hai to mentor him. How can we sell houses with him around? Customers will just run away at the sight of him," the woman next to Lin Hai immediately said sarcastically.
"Exactly, how can we manage a bumpkin like that? He's like a blockhead," a young man to the woman's right chimed in.
The others didn't dare to say anything. After all, Yang Ying was the boss, and they didn't have the experience of Lin Hai and his two companions. However, they seemed to agree with Lin Hai's words, some nodding slightly.
Zhang Yu felt awkward, and Yang Ying was even more embarrassed. But she couldn't bring herself to get angry with Lin Hai, because he was the top salesman in the store, accounting for 40% of the sales, and had a certain reputation in the real estate brokerage industry. Therefore, the salespeople in the store treated Lin Hai with utmost respect, and even Yang Ying dared not easily offend him.
Yang Ying glanced at everyone in the store, finally turning her gaze helplessly to the girl with glasses, and said, "Su Hong, let Zhang Yu go with you for now."
"Okay..." the girl with glasses nodded hesitantly.
"Hahahaha..." "Hehehehe..." "Pfft..."
Upon hearing this, Lin Hai and the two beside him burst into laughter, while the others covered their mouths and stifled their giggles. The girl with glasses lowered her head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"I think they make a good pair, a country bumpkin and a silly girl!" The woman couldn't stop laughing.
The young man beside her said, "Ms. Yang, should our agency turn into a charity? We're hiring all sorts of people. That silly girl's been here for three months and hasn't sold a single house. All she does is clean and serve tea to clients. Now another one's here; do we have to do all that work? Since Anmei Agency opened across the street, our business has suffered. I don't care if you have money and don't need their base salary, but they're seriously damaging our agency's image and hindering our profits."
The woman's name was Han Yanyan, and the young man's name was Chen Zhongping. Their words infuriated Yang Ying, but she couldn't lash out. These two were Lin Hai's right-hand men; their combined monthly sales accounted for 70% of the agency's total revenue. In other words, these three were practically half the agency's business. Especially now, with the new real estate agency opening across the street, posing a significant challenge to her Jiabao Agency, without them, the agency would essentially collapse.
Suppressing her anger, Yang Ying said, "Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's get on with our work."
She had no choice but to endure it; the agency's rent was due at the end of the month, and she was counting on these three to make money.
"Ms. Yang, have you finished with your business? I have something I'd like to say," Lin Hai suddenly said.
"What is it?" Yang Ying asked.
"The thing I mentioned to you last time, I wonder what your thoughts are?" Lin Hai asked with a faint smile.
What he was referring to was unknown to others, only to Yang Ying. After the old man died, Lin Hai proposed to Yang Ying, but Yang Ying knew that Lin Hai was of questionable character, had entanglements with many women, and had been divorced twice with two children. Yang Ying already regretted her past vanity, and the experience of being a stepmother was equally unpleasant. Given Lin Hai's character, how could Yang Ying possibly agree? Because of her lawsuit with the old man's son, she was too busy to attend to the shop and had to rely on Lin Hai. So she gave a perfunctory answer, saying she needed to think about it.
Unexpectedly, Lin Hai openly brought it up today, clearly trying to force her to comply.
Yang Ying decided to continue being evasive, saying, "I haven't thought it through yet. I've had a lot going on at home lately, as you know. How about this, I'll give you a definite answer at the beginning of next month."
"It'll take that long..." Lin Hai's voice deepened. He continued, "Then forget it."
Seeing Lin Hai say this, Yang Ying breathed a sigh of relief, but immediately a bad feeling arose; something seemed off about Lin Hai's words.
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