Chapter 9
I was born with sensitivity, especially in November. My mom used to get impatient when I was naughty. The good part is that I can quickly find solutions to protect myself when I feel in danger. The bad part is that I tend to put on a tough front in front of others.
There was a voice in my head that I have to leave this project with SB because I followed “No trust no business”. I started investing in food delivery again because it’s a good option during isolation. I asked friends to help me check the government’s economic data, and I spent about 2 months exploring the area that interests me. Then I made a plan for pizza delivery with a former colleague who left our company over 2 years ago. Hiring.Branding.Licensing.Negotiating leases, dormitories, and suppliers were easy for me, but I have no idea how to run an online food business by myself. It requires a lot of credit burning. I’m better at consulting than operation. Another life mistake learned!
I got laughed by several suppliers which was fine and I changed concept to a Mika light food delivery.Its a brand with some Taiwan friends.After a year.Thats another lesson!
Soon, after Partner SB couldnt change any shares of partner David. He began to discuss my shareholder duties regarding "support on backoffice" with all partners via email. In response, I outlined the actions I have taken, such as saving the shop and offering solutions to the company through email or by answering Partner Mathild's call. However, they still feel that it is not enough. Additionally, Partner HK Tailor sent an email to all partners stating that the company will start paying an extra 4k monthly to SB because Ken is not fulfilling his HR responsibilities as a partner.Operation partner SB got all HR duties for his free sweaty equities in our investment contract signed. Personally, I am okay with whatever they want to blame because its my fault to not spend more time or trust with SB after decoration cost issue.I don`t believe in him,
Another day, Mathild informed me that his wine business was not doing well. I immediately purchased 5k worth of wine from him, which made him quite happy to see me. He also mentioned that our partner SB was losing control and planning to open another restaurant with our designer and key staff members. He believes it may be my fault, I suddenly realized why partner SB was not happy with my cost control with that French designer. I reminded Mathild about our investment contract. It’s hard to believe that the French designer would stoop to stealing like this. I told Mathild that trust is essential in business, and he agreed with this logic, assuring me that he would take action if necessary. This is the same Mathild who warned me during our first cooperation about burying me in the forest of Paris if I broke a contract - so you can see he takes things very seriously. Mathild said that he would catch the bad snake.
I have been reaching out to various lawyers for advice.It`s about comparing advice and legal cost, and one of my lawyer friends was really interested in my story. They offered me a part-time assistant job at their firm so I can learn more about the legal field.
Soon another Christmas season came. Mathild called me and David’s wife to meet up at a French restaurant on Huaihai Road. Mathild updated us about the situation of our business partner SB’s new shop, mentioning that he had visited SB’s place to discuss how to split costs between two different restaurants. I also invited our mutual friend Mr. Xin for a quick lunch. After Xin left, Mathild, David’s wife, and I moved to another place for more wine. As a token of appreciation for Mathild’s help, I covered the bills. We took a photo together and David’s wife posted it in her WeChat group, which upset Mathild’s wife, after the photo.David`s wife left quickly due to her kids. Despite this, I continued drinking with Mathild.
After 6 or 7 bottles since lunch time, Mathild mentioned that he met my ex-partner Mr. Oliva the other day. He said that Oliva advised him not to do business with me. I was surprised and reminded him to call Oliva in front of me about if I ever broke the contract which I signed with Oliva,if Mr.Oliva got loss during our cooperation. also as this isn’t the first investment together with Mathild. I handed Mathild my new name card as an assistant at a law firm, and his face turned pale as he congratulated me. I pointed out that our contract prohibits stealing key staff members like chefs or managers, which made me realize why our partner SB insisted on high salaries for them. I suggested taking legal action to protect ourselves.
Mathild said “Noooo”legal case immediately because we should let a bad apple drop down by itself and the lawyer will cut the whole company into pieces. Then Mathild starts to tell more truths that partner SB offered him a chance for the wine business in their new shop. He said we should let partner SB leave and I should give away more shares.I realize that he got a new deal to keep sure of his behalf by selling me out.
We continued to enjoy our drinks until 9pm, and I mentioned that I wanted to leave after settling the bill. However, Mathild brought up the topic of his French chef friend MiMi coming around 10pm, and since I’ve met MiMi several times before, I agreed to stay. Chef MiMi arrived around 10:30pm after his job. We had a few more drinks, and then Mathild started discussing a new project with Chef Mimi that involved changing my share with SB. It was unexpected, what`s that for and why not consider it?
That night I was shocked because the Chinese proverb was to create a new chance for the guy who you want to kick him out.