"Wow, what beautiful weather! A new year truly brings a new atmosphere."
He then noticed Torifu in the yard and asked, "Big Brother, did you do this, or was it already like this?"
Torifu chuckled and replied, "I don't know about earlier, but it was like this when I woke up. I thought there'd be smog today after all the fireworks last night, but there isn't. It's truly amazing."
Amado also exclaimed, "Indeed. Not only is there no smog, but there's not even a hint of gray in the sky. It's a wonderful year."
With that, Amado took a deep breath of the air, feeling much more invigorated.
"By the way, yesterday I asked you to go out and see if you could find a suitable girl. How did that go? Any good news?"
Amado had been relaxed, but when Torifu suddenly brought this up, a hint of panic flashed across his face.
Still, he forced himself to appear calm. "Huh? A girl? No, I didn't find anyone suitable. I told you it would be impossible to just 'find' a girl. These things are all about fate, Big Brother, please don't rush me."
Torifu's gaze shifted slightly upon hearing this. "Alright, it seems fate hasn't aligned yet. So, what did you do last night? Don't tell me you just went shopping the whole time."
Amado nodded repeatedly, even putting on a helpless expression. "Yes, I was hoping to run into some acquaintances yesterday, but I didn't see anyone I knew. I just wandered around by myself for a while and then went home."
Something was definitely amiss.
Torifu had clearly seen Amado and Anka chatting and laughing on the street for quite some time before they left together.
Yet, from Amado's account, he had simply been shopping alone and hadn't met anyone.
He concealed the fact that he went shopping with Anka. Could there really be something going on between those two?
However, Torifu didn't press Amado. "Is that so? What a pity. Well, these things are best left to fate, but you should still put in more effort. Go out and about. If you always stay home, you'll never find anyone."
Amado scratched his head, a hint of embarrassment on his face. "Yes, yes, Big Brother, I understand. I'll listen to you."
Torifu smiled. "Good."
"You must have finished improving the bicycles by now, right? When can they officially go into production?"
At the mention of this, Amado's professional side emerged. "The bicycle tests are complete, and all the issues found during testing have been fixed. The second-generation bicycle is now a perfect product. I'll inform Kon to set up the factory later, and you should also release the recruitment notices, Big Brother."
Torifu nodded. "Good. Organize the training details as well. We'll build the factory and conduct training simultaneously. Also, the range hoods should be ready for production, shouldn't they?"
"Yes, that's right. Since the new year has passed, and we have enough fireworks for large-scale external sales, I plan to temporarily shut down the fireworks factory and convert it into a range hood production facility."
Torifu acknowledged this. "Alright, the fireworks factory can indeed be closed. Proceed as you suggested."
Afterward, the two discussed other matters. Currently, Amado had no new electrical appliances that required research and production.
Torifu also wanted to observe Amado's activities during this period, so he didn't assign him any new appliance tasks.
Another crucial reason was that Konoha Village was actually short on manpower.
The number of adults in Konoha Village was currently around sixty thousand, but there were already over a dozen factories, each employing several thousand people.
The remaining villagers were engaged in various other professions. If they recruited excessively without restraint, the villagers would undoubtedly be drawn by the attractive benefits and welfare offered by Torifu and quit their original jobs.
This would leave the foundational work of Konoha Village unstaffed, which would impact the village's basic operations.
Therefore, Torifu decided to temporarily halt Amado's development of new appliances.
It wouldn't be too late to develop more appliances once Konoha Village's new generation of children had grown up, which would be in the next two years or so.
Currently, most of the essential appliances beneficial to the villagers had already been produced.
They could pause the production of appliances for now.
For the next two years, Torifu planned to focus on developing technology, bringing Konoha Village's technological level up to par with these electrical appliances.
This would require Amado to bear some hardship, and once he got immersed in research, it would be even less likely for him to find a girlfriend.
That was why Torifu was so anxious.
Amado hadn't left yet, so Torifu dialed Anka's number in front of him.
"Hello, Anka, are you in the office?"
"I am, Hokage-sama. Your shadow clone is also in the office. Is there something you need?"
Upon hearing Nara Anka's voice, Amado's body visibly stiffened, and he seemed somewhat nervous, making several subtle movements to try and calm himself.
Torifu observed all of this but didn't pay him any mind.
"It's like this, Anka. Amado and I discussed it, and we'll start building the bicycle factory today. Please issue a recruitment notice for two to three thousand people."
Anka was very professional when it came to work. Hearing Amado's name didn't cause her even a flicker of unease.
Torifu wasn't surprised by this; he had worked with Anka for so long and highly approved of her work ethic.
As soon as Torifu finished speaking, the sound of a pen writing could be heard from the other end of the phone.
"Understood, Hokage-sama. The recruitment information will be the same as usual. I'll draft it immediately and post it on the notice board. Any submitted resumes will be forwarded to the Human Resources Department staff."
"Good, I trust you to handle it."
With that, Torifu hung up the phone.
The Konoha Village Human Resources Department was a division Torifu had established long ago, as each factory needed to recruit two to three thousand employees, and there could be tens of thousands of applicants.
Torifu himself didn't have time to review all those resumes, so he had to establish a Human Resources Department.
Anka served as its head, making it a fairly powerful department, yet she never abused her power. Every employee recruited into the factories passed rigorous vetting.
Sometimes Torifu felt that he was making Konoha Village more and more like a corporation; he had even set up a Human Resources Department.
He just wondered when it would be able to go public.
After finishing his call, he looked up at Amado and saw him deep in thought about something.
He seemed to be in a daze, his right foot continuously rubbing circles on the ground, which momentarily left Torifu bewildered.