August 19th, Sunday, was also Qixi Festival.
Changzhou is not particularly far from Yongcheng.
During the period of contact with Changzhou, Tan Jincheng would return to Yongcheng every weekend.
Today was Qixi, and also the weekend, and even his birthday.
Tan Jincheng naturally spent it at home in Yongcheng.
For someone like Tan Jincheng, who had never seriously held a job nor studied much, the concept of a weekend wasn't very significant.
Weekends in both his previous and current lives were spent busy with business, with rest being random.
"Shanchi Technology gave everyone a raise?"
"Yes, employee morale has been very high recently, especially among grassroots employees."
"Exactly, there are quite a few registered Shanchi users on Kaixin.com, showing off every day."
After eliminating the unstable factors, as part of the anniversary promotion plan, the HR department quickly announced a company-wide salary increase plan and also began to fill the vacant positions.
As a star enterprise in Beicang District, coupled with intentional publicity, the company-wide salary increase created quite a stir.
The district even praised Shanchi, and the second boss specifically came to Shanchi for an inspection.
This was a show of support for Shanchi, making other companies wary of causing too much trouble.
It must be said that Shanchi, this little butterfly, to some extent raised the basic wage level of ordinary employees in Beicang District, at least significantly higher than the average level Tan Jincheng knew from his previous life.
Shanchi's salaries were so high, and with their new factory set to start production in a few months, a large number of employees would need to be hired then.
Not raising wages was simply not an option.
The Beicang area, which already had a decent wage level, consequently attracted more migrant workers, leading to an increase in rents.
How could the district government not be happy?
Good enterprises bring many positive ripple effects to local governments, just like that large supermarket in Xuchang in his previous life, which attracted a large number of out-of-town tourists to visit because of its excellent service and good treatment of employees.
A single supermarket was more popular than most hot tourist attractions, and this foot traffic alone could bring a lot to Xuchang.
Due to its corporate nature and the era, Shanchi knew it couldn't achieve that, but its average salary level after the company-wide raise was already among the top private enterprises in Beicang.
Recently, some employees in Shanchi's office were poached.
After Tan Jincheng subtly hinted about it, Chen Jinwen's recruitment work became much simpler, with resumes pouring in.
Additionally, grassroots employees have shown much higher enthusiasm for voluntary overtime recently.
Therefore, the problem of enterprises struggling to hire is essentially non-existent; employees aren't truly unwilling to work.
It's merely that the psychological expectations between the enterprise and the employees differ too greatly.
Gu Qingqing sat primly on a single sofa, while Tan Jincheng still lay sprawled on the large sofa.
Tan Jinyue occasionally climbed onto her brother, tugging his hair, fiddling with his clothes, and playing with him.
The scene before her made her smile knowingly.
Just as the family was chatting, Zhang Qingliang's family arrived.
Zhang Qingliang was carrying a cake, and as soon as little Jinyue saw the cake, she abandoned her brother, hugged her uncle's leg, and asked him for cake.
"Wait a bit, we'll eat it during dinner. Jinyue, have something else first."
Zhang Qingliang said, smiling as he patted little Jinyue's head.
"Wenzuo is here, huh? School starts in just over 10 days, are you nervous?"
With his uncle's family having arrived, Tan Jincheng naturally couldn't keep lying down.
However, his first words were a jab.
Zhang Wenzuo came at the beginning of this year and had taken a half-year leave of absence from school.
Tan Jincheng found him several tutors for remedial lessons.
Usually, the boy was quite miserable, only recently getting some relaxation when Shanchi set up a daycare for left-behind children during the summer vacation and let him play there.
Zhang Wenzuo, 11 years old, was used to the wild life in the countryside.
When he first arrived in Beicang, although he was with his parents, he wasn't as comfortable as he was in his rural hometown.
Every day was nothing but studying, and he also knew that his cousin had arranged for him to come.
His cousin, who used to be agreeable and often bought him delicious treats and fun things when he returned to the village, now looked disagreeable no matter how he saw him.
As soon as he entered, he was told that school was starting soon.
Children dislike being asked about their studies the most.
Zhang Wenzuo wore a bitter face, which made Tan Jincheng burst out laughing.
Tan Jincheng's mentality towards these younger siblings was actually different from his previous life now.
Zhang Wenzuo was also a poor student, and Tan Jincheng actually enjoyed teasing him.
Next semester, Zhang Wenzuo would still be in fourth grade.
Although he had been tutored for over half a year, his foundation was still too poor.
Additionally, the learning methods in the two places were different, and a hasty promotion would mean he couldn't keep up with the learning progress, which would also be detrimental to building his self-confidence.
The educational environment in the countryside still couldn't compare to Beicang.
Fortunately, the boy was still in elementary school and could be brought around; it would be difficult if he were in middle school.
"Wenzuo, ignore him, come over and have some soda."
Gu Qingqing chuckled.
When Zhang Qingliang's family entered, Gu Qingqing got up to get drinks from the fridge, clearly acting the part of a hostess.
After serving as CEO for over a month, Gu Qingqing's demeanor had become vastly different from when she was in school.
Wu Lamei took the mineral water handed to her by Gu Qingqing and couldn't help but secretly observe her.
This girl was getting more and more beautiful.
"Thank you, cousin,"
Zhang Wenzuo replied, looking down, somewhat hesitant to look at the beautiful sister.
The Tan family's way of addressing each other was rather peculiar.
Among sisters-in-law and brothers, the term 'sister-in-law' would not appear; they were generally referred to as 'sister' to sound more intimate.
"Buying a cake for the family to celebrate is enough. You're his elder, why are you bringing gifts?"
Zhang Suzhi scolded, staring at the tote bag Zhang Qingliang handed her.
"It's not for Jincheng. Lamei bought you a dress. A son's birthday is his mother's day of hardship, so why buy him a gift?"
Zhang Qingliang chuckled.
Zhang Suzhi's eyes lit up:
"For me?"
"Yes, Sis, try it on later to see if it fits."
"Then I'll go try it on, Lamei, come in with me."
Zhang Suzhi said happily.
Zhang Qingliang knew how to handle things; he hadn't wasted his time outside these past years.
Relatives' relationships also needed to be maintained, not just one-sided taking.
There was nothing wrong with an uncle buying a gift for his nephew's birthday, but the nephew wasn't short on money, and even the best gift might not impress him.
It was better to buy a gift for his older sister, which both expressed his thoughtfulness and didn't seem ingratiating.
After school started, his wife would no longer work in the cafeteria; she was arranged a cleaning job with flexible hours, which would make it convenient to drop off and pick up their son from school.
All of this was thanks to his nephew's care.
While his mom went to try on clothes, the doorbell rang again.
Gu Qingqing couldn't help but wonder,
"Is there anyone else?"
Today was just a family gathering; no one else was invited.
Tan Jincheng was also a bit puzzled:
"Is it Old Zhang? He's not in Beicang, is he? Could it be that he's back?"
Old Zhang was referring to Zhang Xupeng.
This guy had been even busier than Tan Jincheng recently, traveling all over the country, heavily purchasing retail properties to prepare for GXG's offline stores.
Before Taobao Double Eleven went online, GXG's sales were still primarily offline.
On one hand, it was to establish the brand; on the other hand, properties were cheap these days, and owning some retail spaces was also part of the company's investment.
In the future, when the clothing business becomes difficult, they could still maintain daily operations by selling retail properties, referencing Meibang.
Besides him, his two assistants, and the driver, only Gu Yanning had visited once, and not just anyone could enter Liren Garden.
Tan Jincheng really hadn't guessed wrong; the only one who could come directly to his house was Zhang Xupeng, because he was also an owner in Liren Garden.
The moment the door opened, Zhang Xupeng's tanned face appeared with a grin:
"Surprise, surprise! Look who your buddy brought back for you."
With that, he reached out and lightly tapped the corner of the wall.
"Dad, why are you here?"
Tan Jincheng said with some surprise.
It was Tan Lihua.
Tan Jincheng didn't know how Zhang Xupeng convinced him; not only did he not notify them in advance, but he even hid in the corner to cooperate with Zhang Xupeng's performance.
"Peng Ya happened to be passing by Yicheng, so I came along with him to have a look."
Tan Lihua said, smiling as he walked into the room.
Tan Jincheng, following behind him, playfully punched Zhang Xupeng:
"You rascal, still playing surprises on me! How do you have time to come back today?"
"I made a trip, came back to organize my thoughts; can't be too reckless. Besides, the factory progress over in Wangjiang is too slow. I'll probably have to stay in Wangjiang for a long time to supervise it later, so I brought your dad along for a reunion."
Tan Jincheng nodded:
"Indeed, the progress there is too slow. My logistics center has barely seen any movement. Fortunately, we don't need it right now."
"You're humble-bragging again, aren't you? You don't need to brag to me about how well your products are selling."
Zhang Xupeng said, displeased.
"I'm telling the truth; we really don't need it right now. Let it be; it's fine even if it's completed two years later."
"Ah, the efficiency of small county towns really can't compare to big cities,"
Zhang Xupeng sighed.
It wasn't that Wangjiang wasn't putting in effort, but rather that the infrastructure was too poor, and construction progress simply couldn't be sped up.
To be fair, Tao Qinian was more anxious than Zhang Xupeng, but this matter was beyond his control.
"Then pick another plot of land in Beicang, or directly buy a company and transform its production lines; that would be much faster. My suggestion is that buying a factory directly would be even better."
Acquiring a factory was indeed the fastest way for GXG to enter the industry.
The factory progress in Wangjiang was too slow; who knew when it would actually be completed and put into production?
How much valuable earning time would be wasted?
"No money. I've bought quite a few shops recently, which has drained a lot of Jin Peng's cash flow. Plus, there's still renovation and hiring sales associates to do."
"You don't have to open all those shops at once. Rent out some, mortgage others, and I can also help you connect with people here in Beicang. What company doesn't take out loans?"
"Alright, Peng Ya has finally come back, and all you talk about are loans, loans. If you have anything to discuss, go to the company. Don't talk about work today."
Tan Lihua said, interrupting them, finding it hard to listen.
This son, he was practically raised for nothing.
He came to Beicang, and his son merely greeted him and that was it.
More importantly, after not seeing her for several months, even his daughter wasn't close to him anymore.
(End of chapter)