A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 201 Unspoken Rules

Chapter 200 Unspoken Rules

Compared to Bie Ge, Li Mu naturally knew that he was just a greenhorn.

Brother Bie has been in the workforce for over a decade or two, experiencing countless ups and downs. If he says something's not right about this, then there must be something fishy going on.

Not to mention that Li Mu himself also realized something was wrong.

but……

"Brother Bie, something's not right?"

"..."

Bie Yan remained silent.

Instead, he remained silent, staring blankly at the files on the desktop.

He didn't come to his senses until the waiters started serving the dishes one after another.

After the waiter finished serving the dishes and closed the door to the private room, he said:

"I've been thinking about this before you came. Xiao Li... your question was that the GG fee shouldn't be deposited into a personal account, right?"

"Yes. Although I don't know much about the GG department, common sense tells us that any public property should be accounted for through public accounts, right? Just like when we get paid, we can't pay from private accounts, can we? Besides, like I said, what if these people take the money and run away? Income from a personal account belongs to that person, so it seems like they're evading taxes? I don't know much about taxes either, but this just doesn't seem right."

"Yes, that's true. From a common-sense perspective, this is wrong. But... in reality, it's practically an unspoken rule in the media industry."

"?"

Li Mu was taken aback.

Unspoken rules?

Seeing his puzzled look, Bie Yan sighed, picked up his chopsticks, and gestured for Li Mu to eat and chat at the same time.

"Actually, you're right. Normally, GG's revenue, as a group unit, should be directly deposited into the public account. Unified income... but..."

Bie Yan flipped to the front of the GG regulations in her hand, specifically to the third chapter, which detailed the GG income rebates.

It clearly states on the document: "Article Fourteen: After GG sales personnel complete their annual basic performance targets, any excess performance will be subject to individual bonuses calculated according to the following standards:"

For the portion exceeding the target by up to 100 million yuan, the provision rate is 8%.

For the portion exceeding the target by more than 100 million yuan but less than 300 million yuan, the provision rate is 10%.

For any amount exceeding 300 million yuan, a 12% provision rate will be applied.

"Do you know why he wrote it here?"

"have no idea."

"Then think about it, in the contract you signed when you joined the company, including all the incentive clauses, are there any clauses specifically targeting GG's income?"

Li Mu thought about it and realized that there really wasn't one.

But he immediately became even more puzzled:

"Does the company have no incentives for recruiting GGs?"

"To be honest, no."

Don't shake your head:

"Not a single one. Although every newspaper and magazine has GG (Gross Media Group) publications, and it's been around for many years, there has absolutely never been a commission clause for GG within the group. As for why not… we are a provincial newspaper agency, and the history of the group's founding and the nature of the provincial newspaper speak for themselves. Do you think such a credible organization would write these things down like it's a business transaction? Or, to put it another way, if this were decades ago, they would have immediately labeled us 'capitalists.'"

Following his line of thought, Li Mu suddenly had a breakthrough:

"I understand, Brother Bie, you mean... from a fundamental standpoint, we can't do business. Right? But to adapt to the market, some things are inevitable! Like this commission system, it's the same principle as the commission we get for publishing articles. The group won't explicitly say it in principle, but since it's not prohibited in principle, then..."

"That's right. You've hit the nail on the head. In principle, this isn't forbidden. So, in order to follow market rules, we offered commissions to attract male customers, and that's how it came about."

"But this is a shared account..."

"In principle, it's not forbidden, but it's not permitted either. Every newspaper and magazine's public account must specify its usage. You're opening a separate business account for someone else to collect commissions? How are you going to report those expenses? Even if it's an unspoken rule that everyone knows about, if you report it openly, then it's still not allowed."

"So... according to you, Brother Bie, transferring the payment to a private account is the normal procedure... the so-called unspoken rule?"

"That's right. And this money is usually transferred to the person who brought in the guy in cash."

Upon hearing this, Li Mu was taken aback, then seemed to understand immediately:

"Is that why, even though our salaries are deposited directly into our bank accounts, some people still take an envelope with them when they receive their paychecks?"

"That's right. That cash could very well be their commission for a particular month."

"Well……"

Li Mu chewed on a piece of beef rib and blinked again:

"That……"

He originally wanted to ask why something was wrong.

But as soon as the words were on the tip of my tongue, my mind started racing.

Why did Brother Bie say something was wrong...?

This isn't an unspoken rule that everyone knows about... huh?

Unspoken rules!?

"Brother, it's written in the regulations, so doesn't that... make it a rule?! It's not a hidden rule anymore, is it?"

A hint of relief flashed in Bie Yan's eyes.

Xiao Li's mind... really works fast.

So he nodded:

"Yes, didn't we say in the meeting that it would be implemented starting March 1st? Please take note..."

He flipped directly to the last page of the document.

The red seal of the GG department stood out prominently.

In other words, this regulation was personally stamped and issued by the office director of the GG department. Or to put it more bluntly, it was a GG regulation stamped and issued by the GG department of the Southern Metropolis Daily and recognized by the Southern Metropolis Daily.

If any disputes arise, you can file a lawsuit in accordance with this regulation.

"That's not right... Brother Bie."

Bie Yan pointed to the official seal, and after a few seconds of silence, Li Mu offered his hypothesis:

"Isn't it a bit too much to use this money for? For example, if someone wants to give me a gift and I refuse... but if I, as a manager, accept it, wouldn't they just report me to the authorities?"

Bie Yan's lips twitched.

I thought to myself, "Thank you so much, you didn't use me as an example."

But aren't you implying that you're talking about me?

But he still nodded:

"Okay, then I'll try a different delivery method. I'll manipulate it a bit, include it in GG's revenue, and use it as commission later. At least the procedures are legitimate."

"Hiss~"

Li Mu gasped instantly:

"So... there's just too much room for manipulation here? It's not just a simple set of regulations... Besides, to put it another way, the reason unspoken rules are unspoken rules is because they're something that can't be brought into the open. But now these regulations are like putting unspoken rules in the open! If the group investigates, this won't stand up to scrutiny! Right? And... because it's so easy to manipulate, although it can increase everyone's income, if some people need it... it can easily become a source of gray income?"

"Yes, all correct."

Seeing that Xiao Li could figure it out without needing to be reminded, Bie Yan didn't bother to say anything more.

After taking a sip of tea to cleanse his mouth, he pointed to the document:

"That's the main reason I feel something's wrong. You could say... as a new leader, you're all about making a splash and want to increase everyone's income, whether you call it winning people over or trying to create new glories. Of course, you can use this unspoken rule to encourage everyone to generate revenue. But to bring this unspoken rule out so blatantly... that's not right. There's nothing inherently forbidden about it, but that's because the principles haven't been violated yet. If you really do run into it, will the principles be ignored, or will you be utterly destroyed... who can guarantee that?"

"Do other newspapers and media outlets do this?"

"Of course there are. That's why you say it's an unspoken rule in the industry. But Xiao Li, you need to understand one thing: even within a newspaper, there are different levels. For example, our group is a provincial-level unit. In terms of the unspoken rules of authority, we can report on major events within the province."

But what if we're just a city-level newspaper? Then you can only report news within the district at most. You can't even make pronouncements on matters at the same level. Not to mention district-run newspapers, which are public service media; there's a difference.

The larger the organization, the more rules you have to follow. So, these are all unspoken rules for us. But if you go to the city's media outlets, or even private newspapers, you won't see these things; they've clearly defined things like kickbacks. So, this only applies to unspoken rules in public institutions.

Li Mu nodded, indicating that he understood the principle.

Then, silence fell over the dinner table once again.

After finishing a bowl of rice, he finally spoke, looking at Bie Yan:

"Then...Brother Bie, what should we do?"

"Actually, it has nothing to do with you."

Bie Yan shook his head:

"You're not in management yet, so frankly, if you really have to blame someone, you're one of those who aren't held accountable by law. As for me... although when I was a reporter, whether it was going out to interview or doing special interviews, I always ended up with some extra money. But that kind of money is different from this kind of money. I feel uncomfortable holding this kind of money that's exposed to the light of day. Besides... although it's not clear yet whether it counts as departmental or individual performance, I'm used to slacking off, so I won't get involved in this kind of thing."

"Understood."

Li Mu nodded:

"Then I won't participate. I was wondering when they brought out this regulation this morning... I was thinking, am I not a reporter? Why am I being asked to pick up guys? I went to university for four years, not to pick up guys for others."

"You don't need to. A new broom sweeps clean; don't you know how to be more tactful?"

After saying that, Bie Yan saw Li Mule.

"It's not about whether it's round or not. If you're not going to do it, Brother Bie, I certainly won't either. I'll see how Sui Kuan's attitude goes later... Anyway, I'm not going to do it. The day I had dinner with Director Zhang, both Brother Bie and the Director told me to focus on writing articles and honing my professional skills. Having sex... isn't part of my job. Forget it~"

"Aren't you afraid of upsetting Director Zhou?"

"I'm more afraid of being unhappy myself."

"...Ha, you."

Bie Yan seemed somewhat speechless, but ultimately, there was no coercion.

Instead, he shook his head with amusement, pointing at the roast goose:

"Eat quickly."

"Um."

Li Mu nodded.

He didn't think he made the wrong choice.

To be frank, he's a journalist, not a salesman.

What's more... sitting across from him was the older brother who had single-handedly raised him up.

As for other reasons, perhaps I'm still relatively new to this field and don't see things very clearly yet.