After the Xinghai Shopping Mall closed, Fang Bai had all the employees line up inside the mall, preparing to distribute Spring Festival gifts.
Once everyone was lined up, Fang Bai stood before them, scanned the nearly thirty-person strong line, and said in a clear voice:
"After five days of opening, all the employees have worked hard. Both the big boss and I have seen it. On behalf of the company, I thank all employees for their hard work."
"The company can pay salaries on time. The company's good performance means it won't treat anyone unfairly, and benefits certainly won't be lacking."
"When the company distributes benefits, everyone receives the same treatment."
"However, if the company's performance isn't good, these benefits will definitely be reduced. I hope all employees continue to work hard after the Spring Festival when we reopen."
"Later, we'll all go to the restaurant for New Year's Eve dinner. Some employees need to go home for their New Year's Eve dinner. I wish everyone a happy new year."
Fang Bai had discussed the holiday benefits with his parents. Each full-time employee received a 5-jin bottle of cooking oil, a 10-jin bag of flour, and a two-jin box of dried fruits and candy. The total value was not low, and there was also a 30-yuan red envelope.
Part-time students only received a red envelope and the boxed dried fruits and candy; they did not get flour or cooking oil.
All employees had just started, so no year-end bonus was distributed this year; they needed something to look forward to.
If it were given this year, and then the same amount next year, there would definitely be a sense of disappointment.
Of course, the main reason was that the company had just started operating. Having holiday benefits was already good, not worse than some other companies.
There was also a specific way to distribute benefits: employees shouldn't feel it was an entitlement, but rather something given because the company was doing well. Benefits shouldn't become a burden on the company.
Otherwise, if the company's performance was poor one year and it didn't give benefits, or gave less, employees would feel the company owed them.
Fang Bai had his parents personally distribute the red envelopes to the employees, which could establish their authority in front of the staff.
If Fang Bai went to college, the company's 'hammer of authority' would definitely have to be transferred to his parents.
Therefore, Fang Bai also needed to explain to his parents how to establish authority, rather than being the only one who could direct the employees.
When a high-level executive is parachuted into a company, they might not be able to direct veteran employees, or they might not be effective, even worse than newly hired staff. This is actually the same principle.
From an employee's perspective, they might scoff at a new leader, not wanting to follow their commands, thinking they know nothing and just give nonsensical orders.
A little later, after Fang Bai's parents finished distributing the New Year's goods and red envelopes, everyone gathered at the pre-booked restaurant for New Year's Eve dinner.
Walking on the road, Fang Shi thought of his elderly parents.
Yesterday, Fang Shi bought some New Year's goods and took some time to go back to his hometown to give them to his two elderly parents. He was even scolded by his old mother, who complained that the vegetables planted at home hadn't been watered or managed for days, and the fields were full of weeds. A few weeds were mixed in with the vegetables picked for his Second Aunt, and she had even picked them out and grumbled.
Fang Shi felt a surge of anger after hearing this. He was being blamed for it. Some time ago, his wife had talked about the New Year, saying she didn't want to go back to their hometown to celebrate. She said buying some New Year's goods for the two elderly parents would be enough. As a son, he should bear the responsibility of supporting his parents, but their relationship was usually not harmonious; they couldn't even sit at the same table for a meal.
The two elderly parents treated their two sons differently, looking down on their younger son.
Now that business was busy, Fang Shi had even less time to eat New Year's Eve dinner in his hometown, and his wife was even more unwilling to go back.
Fang Bai's grandparents also found it a bit strange. Their younger son Fang Shi's family no longer lived in the countryside. They didn't know what he was doing. They heard people say he bought a new motorcycle, so he might already be making money in the city, but they didn't believe it. They knew their younger son's capabilities all too well. The motorcycle might even be borrowed, and he was probably working for some boss over the New Year.
Not to mention the two elderly parents, even Fang Bai's Second Aunt Chen Xia noticed that Fang Bai's mother wasn't at school, but Chen Xia didn't go to inquire, preferring to keep her out of sight, out of mind.
...
After 7 PM, Fang Bai's family had their New Year's Eve dinner and went for a stroll in the nearby night market street.
The family had been busy for so long; it was a rare chance to relax.
On the night market street, clothing stores and watch shops were open. The family each added some new clothes for the New Year, buying whatever they wanted.
Fang Bai bought his sister an electronic watch to tell time easily. It wasn't expensive; he wouldn't dare let her wear anything too pricey.
As for himself and his father, Fang Bai bought each of them a branded wristwatch, which cost a lot of money, used for social occasions to save face.
After the New Year, the Xinghai Shopping Mall would need to install landline phones, which would make it easier to contact manufacturers for ordering goods.
The family strolled until after 9 PM when the shops closed before returning home. They sat on the living room sofa, watching the Spring Festival Gala and discussing plans for the coming year.
Fang Bai sat on the sofa watching the Spring Festival Gala, and looking back, it felt like a dream.
This year's Spring Festival Gala was hosted by Ni Ping, and from then on, she became famous in one battle.
The young Ni Ping truly deserved the description "bright eyes and white teeth"; her features were very delicate, and when she smiled, her eyes curved, making her very approachable. No wonder Zhao Xiaopin once said, "Ni Ping is my dream lover."
Fang Bai saw the young appearances of actors like Zhao Xiaopin and Song Dan, and then recalled their looks thirty years later, truly time spares no one.
"Son, aren't you going to visit Shuyu's parents during the New Year?" Liu Fengqing asked playfully, chuckling.
Fang Bai scratched his head: "Oh, Mom, why bring that up? Shuyu's parents don't know about this yet. If they did, it would definitely fall through. Let's wait another year or two."
"Big brother, you're amazing! You got sister-in-law in high school, and even her parents don't know. Ho ho!" Fang Tingting sat cross-legged on the sofa, happily cracking melon seeds and laughing.
No sooner had she finished speaking than her brother glared at her, threatening that her red envelope for tomorrow was gone.
"Big brother, you have to give it! Otherwise, I'll tell sister-in-law bad things about you." Fang Tingting quickly hugged her brother's arm, a threatening smile on her face.
"Hehe, then you go tell her. It'd be a miracle if your sister-in-law believed your nonsense. She's visiting relatives for the New Year and doesn't have time to come over and play; you won't see her."
"Brother, I was wrong."
"What were you wrong about?"
"Everything!" Fang Tingting pleaded. For the red envelope, she had to admit her mistake, as her brother managed all the money at home.
Liu Fengqing watched the siblings bicker and muttered, "Eh, what's there to be embarrassed about? Is my son that bad?"
Fang Bai smiled wryly. Which parent wouldn't say their child was the best? He advised with some concern, "Mom, don't interfere with this. Just pretend you don't know."
"Alright, alright, I won't interfere. I'll just pretend I don't know. Anyway, you have to treat Shuyu well. Don't mess around just because you have money."
"Mom, you're actually doubting your son's character."
"I used to believe you more, but now, I don't know where you learned so many strange things. The schemes in your head are really bad." Liu Fengqing snorted, thinking about what he said to his employees and what he said to the leaders. No one taught him those things, and after he said them, he would come home and explain the meaning behind his actions to her and her husband.
At first, she didn't think much of it, but after listening, she realized there were so many crooked theories within.
Just take the benefits distributed that afternoon; he insisted they distribute them personally, not let others do it, saying it would lose its meaning otherwise. He said that only by distributing them personally would employees feel grateful to them.
Fang Bai lowered his head and smiled silently, listening to his mother's nagging.
"Back then, it was hard to eat meat usually; only during the New Year could we eat our fill a bit more.
Now, we're tired of eating crabs and only pick the roe. Your dad will make a braised pig's head tomorrow to take back to the hometown for offerings; you two don't need to go back. I'll watch the Xinghai Shopping Mall, son, you go take care of your own business."
Fang Bai said "Oh." After the third day of the lunar new year, he needed to visit a few contacts. He asked, "Which day are we going to Grandma's house?"
His mother and father were from the same town; their hometown was only a few kilometers from his grandmother's house.
In the era when his parents got married, daughters didn't marry very far away.
Fang Bai's maternal grandparents were both still alive, both over sixty, and currently in good health.
Before, it was inconvenient to visit relatives without a car. Usually, his mother would take him and his sister, and his father wouldn't go. A bicycle couldn't carry so many people, or the whole family would walk, which took an hour.
Borrowing a car was very difficult, especially during the busy New Year period when everyone needed their vehicles.
Now, the family had a motorcycle, barely enough to carry the whole family.
The family's motorcycle had already been registered and licensed. Fang Bai still planned to buy a new motorcycle; one wasn't enough for daily use, and they weren't short of those one or two tens of thousands of yuan.
At the same time, after the New Year, he planned to buy all the nearby land, and inquire if he could buy the few hundred square meters behind the Xinghai Shopping Mall to expand it.
He used to worry about funding, but now that he could borrow money, he wasn't worried anymore.
"Let's see on the fifth day of the lunar new year, depending on how busy the Xinghai Shopping Mall is."
"Okay, since the family has money, Mom, you can decide. For Grandma's house and some close relatives who are in need, help them if you can." Fang Bai didn't plan to interfere with these trivial matters; it was best for his mother to handle these social affairs.
As a junior, it wasn't his place to interfere.
"Okay, I'll arrange it." Liu Fengqing said happily. Now she could finally help her side of the family. She glanced at her husband, who was busy cracking melon seeds and watching the Spring Festival Gala, and asked if he had any objections.
"I have no objections, wife, you just do as you see fit." Fang Shi shook his head and continued cracking melon seeds. Now that his son was capable, he had the lowest status in the family.
The family chatted and watched the Spring Festival Gala, and time quickly reached midnight.
"Crackling..."
"Boom, boom, boom"
On TV, the New Year's midnight chime sounded. Simultaneously, fireworks and firecrackers were set off by every household, their deafening sounds echoing throughout the entire street.
Most families living in the county town were not short of money and could afford fireworks and firecrackers. In those days, fireworks were not yet prohibited.
Fang Tingting heard the firecrackers and ran to the second-floor rooftop to watch the fireworks. From afar, she could see fireworks being set off in all directions.
The fireworks of that era were mostly hand-held pearl-emitting types or rockets; display fireworks were relatively rare. If one was set off, it was definitely the most dazzling in the vicinity, a very pure display of wealth.
Fang Shi was responsible for purchasing the family's firecrackers and fireworks every year. In the past, he was reluctant to spend money on firecrackers, and certainly had no fireworks. Now that they weren't short of money, he bought many firecrackers and some fireworks for the children to set off.
He still felt a bit pained when buying them; fireworks were such a money burner.
Fang Tingting watched for a while, then ran back to the second floor to move the fireworks, shouting to her brother in the living room: "Brother, hurry up! Let's set off fireworks! You're too slow!"
"Coming, coming!" Fang Bai stood up and helped move the fireworks.
His father was going downstairs to set off firecrackers. His mother didn't even want to move her butt, her eyes fixed on the Spring Festival Gala program on the TV.
The weather at midnight was really cold, especially on the rooftop, where the wind was quite strong.
Fang Bai ran to the second floor, lit an incense stick, and then ran up to the rooftop. His sister urged him to set off the fireworks quickly, but she was afraid of lighting the fuse, standing by the rooftop door with her ears covered.
Fang Bai quickly arranged the two display fireworks, lit both directly, and then quickly moved away, genuinely fearing that the quality of fireworks from that era wasn't good and they might explode immediately.
Just as the night quieted down for a moment on his side, a sudden, louder sound broke the breathless silence once again.
A cluster of colorful light rapidly ascended, leaving a trail of gray smoke.
Pop!
A 'flower' bloomed and unfurled in the sky.
It split into countless tiny points of light, illuminating the night sky.
Then, "Boom, boom, boom...", two fireworks simultaneously soared into the sky, and brilliant, scattered small fireworks poured down from above as they exploded.
Seeing such beautiful fireworks, Fang Tingting happily squealed.
Soon after, the firecrackers in front of the shop on the first floor also started to go off, competing with each other.
After a while, the firecrackers downstairs finished. Fang Bai played with his sister and some fireworks for a bit before returning to the second floor.
After midnight, his biological clock kicked in, and Fang Bai quickly showered and went to bed.
That night, two petty thieves stood outside the Xinghai Shopping Mall. One of them chuckled slyly: "Everyone's setting off firecrackers right now. We should take advantage of this to pry open the door and smash the glass to get in. No one will hear the glass breaking; they'll think it's firecrackers. Don't you think I'm smart? The boss of this mall will definitely not expect this, hehe."
As the two were about to approach, they suddenly spotted two fully armed security guards patrolling with flashlights and clubs. Seeing this, the two exchanged glances and cursed under their breath: "What the hell are we stealing? There are security guards!"
"Damn, this boss is really smart."
"Damn it, you thought you were smart enough, but they're even smarter than you."
"Let's try another place. This one is hard to steal from. Maybe there are even people guarding inside the mall. If we go in, there might be a 'surprise'."
The next few chapters contain many foreshadowing elements, making the main plot seem blurry, but in reality, each part is interconnected. Please read patiently. If you don't understand and want to skip ahead, check chapter 94 after "Explanation of Xinghai Plaza Investment and Scratch-Off Activities" to understand. The author believes his business layout is decent, so please feel free to follow along, even if his writing style is poor.