Reborn Rich: Prices Dropped, My Savings Didn't novel Chapter 217

Chapter 217: Chapter 215: Who Should Be Afraid?

Cecilia Sterling wasn’t particularly fazed by Elvira Underwood’s reaction. The industrial park’s management department had existed since the park’s inception and was already a well-established system. Her absence wouldn’t have affected their normal operations.

Besides, salaries were still being paid every month, and the tenants in the industrial park were still supposed to pay rent.

"Please, have a seat. We can talk this over slowly."

Elvira Underwood nodded, but she couldn’t help sizing up the woman before her. ’I thought the new boss would be some middle-aged powerhouse,’ she thought, ’not someone this young. She’s about my daughter’s age.’

Cecilia Sterling slowly scanned the department’s office. The environment was decent, and while the space itself wasn’t particularly large, it felt rather empty due to the small number of people present.

"Are these the only employees? There are so few," Cecilia asked.

Elvira Underwood gave an embarrassed smile. But Cecilia was the boss, so she couldn’t hide the truth. "Some of the out-of-town employees have already gone home for the New Year," she admitted. "A few of them left days ago. The ones remaining are either not going home for the holiday or are Lorcain locals."

’But the official national holiday is still several days away.’

Before Cecilia could ask, Elvira spoke up. "I won’t hide it from you, Miss Sterling. With you not showing up for so long, people’s minds started to wander. Many assumed you weren’t planning to take over and were just going to flip the property. As a result, work ethic has certainly taken a hit."

"Those of us who are still here, we’re the responsible ones. Whether you showed up or not, our salaries were still being paid every month, so we figured we should keep doing our jobs."

Cecilia wasn’t angry. It would be pointless. The employees had already gone home; she couldn’t take her frustration out on Elvira Underwood.

Her name tag said "Head of Finance," not "Head of HR." This wasn’t her responsibility to manage.

Even the general manager wasn’t at his post.

"Thank you all for your hard work. Every employee on duty today will receive an extra bonus," Cecilia said.

Elvira Underwood smiled upon hearing this, but her expression quickly clouded over with worry again.

Cecilia’s brow tightened at the sight. "What is it? Are there other problems with the industrial park?"

Elvira Underwood sighed. "I’m the head of finance, so normally it wouldn’t be my place to bring this up. But since you’re here today, I have to inform you."

"Our park might be old, but it’s in a prime location and covers a large area. We have over a hundred tenant companies, ranging from large to small. But every year, we have some who are delinquent on rent. It’s gotten much worse since last year. Right now, there are dozens of companies that are over six months behind. We’ve tried being nice, we’ve tried being tough, but we can’t get them to pay."

"As soon as the news broke last year that the park was being auctioned, all these tenants knew there would be a new owner. Government auctions are already complicated, so they figured that with a new boss, the money they owed the old boss would become a bad debt that could be written off. How could that be possible?"

"There’s a huge deficit on our books for this year. After factoring in the park’s normal maintenance and operating costs, we’re actually in the red."

"Plus, with no word from you these past few months, the staff in the management office lost their motivation to chase down the debt, which only further emboldened these deadbeat tenants."

"Miss Sterling, since you’re the one who bought this industrial park, I’ll just be frank. This place is rotten from the inside out. We barely have any reasonable tenants left."

Elvira watched Cecilia’s face as she spoke, expecting her to become furious. Instead, Cecilia’s expression remained perfectly calm the entire time, as if she were listening to a story about somebody else entirely.

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