May 2nd, the first workday after the May Day holiday.
At the Shanchi Technology workshop factory, employees resumed their normal schedules after two days of rest.
The next long holiday would be National Day, still five months away, a thought that filled them with despair.
Salaries and benefits were good, but there were too few regular holidays, which was probably the only drawback.
Even during this two-day May Day holiday, some production lines encouraged employees to work overtime for triple pay.
As one of the first batch of "veteran employees" to join the factory, Xu Xinglei, by the end of June, would have 24 months of service.
Employees with 24 months or more of service could be evaluated based on their usual performance and arranged for promotion.
For this group of initial employees like Xu Xinglei, who haven't resigned, as long as their performance isn't too poor, promotion is almost a certainty.
After promotion, in addition to increased salary and benefits, there will be internal training.
After passing, they will be assigned to the new industrial base at the end of the year to serve as a team leader, which is an entry-level management position.
For those who don't pass the training or aren't suitable for management positions, it's fine; their salaries and benefits will still increase.
This means completing two full years of work guarantees at least one pay raise opportunity.
After becoming a team leader, those with excellent performance also have the chance to be promoted to line leader or transferred to other entry-level leadership positions, doing easier work.
Xu Xinglei didn't actively work overtime during the May Day holiday.
Firstly, his income was higher than that of newly joined employees; he had already saved some money last year and wasn't short on cash this year.
Secondly, he wanted to use the two holiday days to read and reflect.
His current goal was to be selected as a team leader.
Shanchi Technology's grassroots employees also had their own career paths; although entering middle or senior management was almost impossible, a grassroots leader was still a leader, and having a goal was always better than just tightening screws.
At noon in the Shanchi Technology cafeteria, Xu Xinglei ran into his good friend Zhao Xinbin.
The two were no longer on the same production line, and due to day and night shifts, they hadn't met during work hours for a while.
"You changed shifts?"
Xu Xinglei asked happily.
"Yeah, are you on the day shift too? Why didn't you work overtime on May Day? It was triple pay."
Zhao Xinbin also greeted him happily.
"Too tired, just rested for two days. Last year's bonus isn't even spent yet."
Xu Xinglei dared not mention he had secretly gone to Xinhua Bookstore to read.
Reading and studying aren't really embarrassing, but young men often feel a sense of shame about it, even some university students.
Ah, I'll just secretly study, can't let you guys know.
If I don't fail, I can nonchalantly show off, saying I just took the exam casually.
If I do fail, I can also say I didn't study.
"Oh, right; hey, look over there, the boss is eating. Do you dare to go say hello?"
Zhao Xinbin didn't mind, pointing to a corner in the cafeteria.
The foot traffic there was noticeably heavier than elsewhere, with people occasionally passing by carrying metal lunchboxes.
"Why is there a little girl? Is that the boss's daughter?"
Xu Xinglei asked somewhat puzzled.
"No, that's the boss's younger sister. The boss isn't even 21 yet and isn't married, so where would a 2-year-old daughter come from?"
"How do you know so much? Did you go ask?"
"Don't you go online? The internet has practically dug up the boss's ancestors eight generations back. I used to think the boss was a rich second-generation, but I never expected him to be self-made, that's incredible!"
Zhao Xinbin exclaimed with admiration in his eyes.
That's truly incredible, starting from scratch and earning 1 billion in 3 years since graduating high school!
Earning 1 billion in three years, what kind of inhuman feat is that?
That's just insane!
At this time, animosity towards the wealthy wasn't so severe, and the antagonism between ordinary employees and bosses was also manageable.
Moreover, Shanchi Technology's employee benefits were quite good, so employees already had a favorable impression of the boss.
After the news broke online, they discovered that the boss was actually one of them, from an ordinary family background, and his father was also from a rural area.
This even led them to imagine that the excellent benefits were due to this reason.
Zhao Xinbin greatly admired Tan Jincheng.
To earn so much money with his own ability, a boss like that was truly amazing!
"Let's go, let's go up and say hello too."
Xu Xinglei was also tempted; since everyone else was going, it wouldn't be abrupt.
"Okay!"
Zhao Xinbin also wanted to make an appearance.
The boss rarely showed up in the cafeteria, so it was a rare opportunity.
The two mustered their courage and followed the line to the corner where Tan Jincheng was seated.
They saw the boss taking care of his younger sister, cutting the braised pork into small pieces with a spoon before placing them in front of the little girl.
"Hello, boss!"
"Hello, boss!"
Xu Xinglei and Zhao Xinbin greeted simultaneously.
"Hello everyone, you've worked hard!"
Tan Jinyue, waiting for her brother to prepare her meal, said with a serious expression.
Tan Jincheng had just said this sentence many times, and the little girl remembered it.
Seeing her brother hadn't said it yet, she couldn't wait and spoke first.
Xu Xinglei and Zhao Xinbin looked bewildered.
Tan Jincheng also smiled upon hearing it, glanced at Xiao Jinyue, then shifted his gaze to the two of them.
"Hello there, huh? You look a bit familiar, your surname is Xu, right?"
Tan Jincheng said, sizing up Xu Xinglei.
With hundreds of employees in the company, he couldn't possibly know everyone.
So when people came to greet him, Tan Jincheng could only respond robotically, and if someone looked familiar, he would praise them with a "keep up the good work."
"Yes, boss, I was transferred from the old factory. You and Manager Chen interviewed our batch back then."
Xu Xinglei was a little excited, not expecting the boss to remember him.
Shanchi Technology employees were accustomed to calling the factory in Xiapu Industrial Zone the old factory, and the one in the Export Processing Zone the new factory.
They wondered what they would call it once the industrial park in Daqi was completed.
"Oh, I remember now. You're almost at two years; keep up the good work, strive to become a team leader, and then a line leader."
Tan Jincheng encouraged with a smile.
Tan Jincheng generally didn't participate in grassroots recruitment.
There was indeed a batch of employees whom Tan Jincheng had helped recruit with Chen Jinwen, but he couldn't remember why; perhaps it was out of boredom.
"Okay, thank you, boss."
"Don't thank me. You work hard, and this is what you deserve. If anything, I should be thanking you."
Immediately after, Tan Jincheng turned to Zhao Xinbin and said,
"You too, work hard and progress with Xiao Xu. Strive to buy a house in Beicang and bring your parents over."
"Okay, I'll definitely work hard. By the way, boss, we're also from Anhui Province."
Zhao Xinbin was much more astute than Xu Xinglei.
The boss didn't know him, but what did that matter?
Saying a few more words to get noticed was good too.
"From Yingzhou, right? I can tell your accent, and I can understand some of your dialect, but you wouldn't understand our Yicheng dialect."
"Yes, yes, we're from Yingzhou."
Zhao Xinbin nodded repeatedly.
"Hmm, there should be quite a few people from Yingzhou in our company. Work hard, set an example. Our company might be a bit tough, but making money is never easy, right?"
Zhao Xinbin wanted to say something else, but Xu Xinglei tugged at him, pointing to Tan Jinyue nearby.
Zhao Xinbin then realized:
"Okay, we definitely will. We won't disturb your meal, boss."
The little girl seemed a bit displeased, probably because the boss was talking to the two men and hadn't noticed her unhappiness.
"Mm, go ahead."
Tan Jincheng nodded.
Yingzhou is a major city for population outflow; there are probably several million Yingzhou people working in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, right?
After the Beicang base officially starts production, along with the lithium battery factory and the Zhongtai Automobile factory, labor demand will greatly increase.
At that time, they could establish a partnership with the Yingzhou government and sign a labor import agreement, which would make recruitment much more convenient.
Hmm, a similar cooperation agreement could also be signed with Wangjiang.
While such employment agreements couldn't compare to direct investment promotion, they were quite popular in these years.
In an environment of population growth, some relatively poorer prefecture-level cities or even provinces wouldn't mind population outflow.
Being able to provide jobs was already very good.
The news of the big boss bringing his younger sister to work spread throughout the company after lunch.
Zhang Qingliang, working in the paint shop, secretly smiled as he listened to his colleagues discuss his nephew.
Such discussions had actually started since the end of last month; his ears were practically calloused from hearing them.
A net worth of 1 billion? It didn't look like it at all, but he was indeed busy.
The last time he saw his nephew was when his sister visited.
Today, his nephew didn't bring his niece to the paint shop, which Zhang Qingliang didn't mind.
If Zhang Qingliang claimed to be unfazed by discussions about his nephew's wealth, it would certainly be false.
He would even chat with his wife about it at night before sleeping.
But the more this was the case, the more low-key Zhang Qingliang became at the company.
He was rather happy that his nephew didn't bring his niece today.
If she had come and called him 'uncle,' it would have been a bit awkward to work in the workshop later.
He was quite satisfied with his current life.
Both he and his wife were uneducated, but now their combined annual income was considerable, and they didn't have to endure wind and sun.
His nephew had also helped solve his son's schooling problem.
In the future, if this kid just turned out to be a decent person, he could always ensure a carefree life for him through his connections.
If he were to jump out and demand something now just because his nephew was rich, wouldn't that harm the whole family?
So, being a low-key ordinary worker at the company and honestly earning money was the right way.
Save money for two years, then buy a house, turn his son who wasn't good at studying into a city dweller, and when he grew up, have him hang out with his cousin.
Meanwhile, back in his office, Tan Jincheng helped Tan Jinyue take her afternoon nap during his lunch break.
In the afternoon, he had Zhao Xinyi notify all finance personnel to come for a meeting.
Thank you everyone for your monthly passes~~
Some readers commented that the previous chapter was 'watery.'
Here's an explanation: a book always needs some daily life and showing-off plots.
Constantly pushing the plot forward makes it easily turn into a mere chronicle of events.
Snatching the Olympic sponsor spot from Xinri was a great point for showing off, so I wrote a few extra chapters about it.
Additionally, the plot has indeed advanced; Shanchi Technology is already about to enter a group-based operational model.
(End of chapter)