Fang Bai returned to his bedroom, currently excited, grinning widely with a mouthful of white teeth, and then passionately kissed his right hand a few times.
"Oh, it leveled up!"
Yes, his Fang Bai's Middle Finger Golden Finger finally leveled up!
"Personal Wealth: 17.201 million yuan" (after taxes and all activity expenses)
"Hint: The Middle Finger Golden Finger can be upgraded. Do you want to upgrade?"
Fang Bai silently thought "confirm," and his Fang Bai's Middle Finger Golden Finger immediately upgraded to Level 4.
Suddenly, he felt a warmth in his right middle finger, and the wound began to itch again.
"Damn it, it's that feeling again. Can't it be something different?"
Fang Bai couldn't help but complain; there was no novelty left.
A moment later, the warmth subsided, and the itching stopped.
His previously swollen middle finger was no longer swollen; its size was now the same as his left middle finger, and the joint was much more flexible than before.
However, the scar remained and was still somewhat stiff.
Now, it had recovered another 10%, feeling much more flexible, with just a tiny bit of stiffness remaining, but it would certainly be enough if it wasn't for doing stimulating things.
Fang Bai was referring to normal activities.
He tried lifting heavy objects, and surprisingly, it was much stronger than before, almost capable of normal use.
However, Fang Bai still thought it best to avoid lifting heavy objects as much as possible.
Overall, being able to upgrade to L4 made him very excited.
"Great, it seems that if all three fingers reach Level 4, they'll be pretty much normal. There's hope!"
Fang Bai's smile gradually spread across his face, the corners of his mouth turning slightly upward, and he finally couldn't help but burst into laughter, his laughter filling the entire room and echoing in the air.
However, as he laughed, tears streamed down his cheeks.
Whenever others saw his swollen finger, he could feel their pitying gazes.
Although he was used to it, he still wanted to be more normal; every time he saw his swollen finger, deep down, he still felt a sense of inferiority to varying degrees.
A moment later, his smile became resolute, and his mindset gradually returned to calmness.
"Sigh, my index finger is still LV1; it can only be upgraded after I go to university."
"At least my ring finger has reached Level 2, and it's not far from Level 3."
"Forget it, let's take it slow."
Now, Fang Bai had come to terms with the speed of his finger's recovery, knowing that rushing wouldn't help.
After the middle finger upgraded, it gained an additional function.
"Middle Finger LV4: Analyzes design problems in mechanical and electronic equipment design drawings; LV2-LV4 analysis capability increased to 70 points."
Seeing this function, Fang Bai couldn't remain calm and delved into further research.
An hour later, he generally understood it.
For example, with his own bicycle, at LV3 (analysis capability of 60 points), he could already identify many design flaws. Now that his ability had improved, he found even more problems.
For example, if a chamfer was too small, it would prompt "Chamfer too small," but it wouldn't suggest the appropriate chamfer size.
If he just modified the design drawing a few times, he could always find the right one, without having to manufacture a physical object for analysis like before.
This was a qualitative improvement!
It could be said that the leap from Level 3 to Level 4 was from "basic" to "qualitative change."
In other words, this analysis function raises the lower limit of design and craftsmanship. If 60 points is the level of a mid-level engineer, then 70 points should be the average level of a senior engineer.
This means that the analysis capability of this Fang Bai's Middle Finger Golden Finger is the combined ability of many senior engineers, instantly giving Fang Bai the analytical capabilities of a senior engineer in the fields of mechanical and electronic equipment.
Of course, it's more comprehensive and won't make low-level mistakes.
Previously, it could only analyze physical objects; now, as long as there is a design drawing, it can perform analysis.
If Fang Bai had a research institute and an employee gave him a design drawing, he could just glance at it and find design problems.
This would be of great help to Fang Bai's future scientific research.
After this event, Fang Bai planned to first deal with the land matters, then focus on reviewing for the college entrance examination. After the exam, he would make good use of these Golden Finger to embark on the right track of entrepreneurship.
The next day,
During breakfast in the morning, Fang Bai told Fang Bai's parents that he wouldn't bother with renovating TVs anymore and was preparing to focus on studying for the exam.
TVs depreciate very quickly, and this isn't a long-term career. Now, the Golden Finger has undergone a qualitative change, and its functions are very powerful. If he uses them well, it will definitely be more promising than him renovating TVs.
In addition, renovating TVs truly isn't presentable. If he invents revolutionary inventions that can promote national scientific and technological development, his social status would be completely different.
When Fang Bai's parents heard their son say this, they remembered that their son still had the college entrance examination. They had been so busy making money that they had forgotten about it.
When their son first told them he wanted to start a business, they were still somewhat against it.
But now, their thoughts were completely different; they felt that not going to college wasn't a big deal, but it would be better if he could go, they just wouldn't force it.
"That's good too. The family has enough money now. Just leave the Xinghai Shopping Mall to us," Fang Shi said, "I'll go give them bonuses in a bit. They're probably all waiting for this, haha."
"Leave the Xinghai Shopping Mall matters to your father and me. We're familiar with the business now. If this were a few months ago, I really wouldn't know how to manage the accounts, and your father probably wouldn't even know how to make a phone call," Liu Fengqing chuckled. In these past few months, the family had changed so much.
Fang Shi added, "Hmm, after we're done with this, I'll figure out a way to recruit a few more retired soldiers for security."
"Alright, after you hire the right people, add a santana car to the fleet," Fang Bai suggested.
"Do we need to buy a car? We don't need it right now, do we?"
Fang Bai said, "It'll be more convenient for business trips and travel. When the weather gets cold, riding a motorcycle is cold and unsafe."
"Alright, that's true. We're not short on that two hundred thousand. We'll buy it after we recruit people." Fang Shi felt that they really should get a car. It wasn't because they had too much money, but because his son often had to take public transport for business trips, which was too troublesome. And in winter, riding a motorcycle for business wasn't just cold; if it rained and the ground was slippery, it would be even more unsafe.
He now understood that he not only had to learn how to make money but also how to spend it.
Liu Fengqing stood up, chuckling as she cleared the dishes. She felt that their family's life was getting better and better; they were getting a car, hiring more people, and she had also become the boss of a large company.
At 8:50 AM, Fang Shi arrived at the Xinghai Shopping Mall to open it.
He was responsible for opening and closing the Xinghai Shopping Mall every day. The company required employees to start work at 9:00 AM, but there was no strict requirement to arrive exactly at 9:00 AM, as long as they weren't frequently more than ten minutes late.
Business was slow before 10:00 AM, so Fang Bai told Fang Bai's parents not to be too strict with employees, as they sometimes worked late and weren't paid overtime.
Therefore, when the company's business improved, they compensated employees with better benefits.
However, at 9:10 AM, all personnel had to stand in line in the Xinghai Shopping Mall and shout out their presence, then collectively shout the slogans designed by Fang Bai:
"Hello, hello, please take your time, come again often!"
"Our service philosophy is: Everything for the customer, for the customer everything, for all customers!"
"Service first, leading the era, creating value, welcome to Xinghai Shopping Mall!"
Finally, they would sing a short song edited by Fang Bai, "Grateful Heart," "How much love do I have left \ How many tears do I have left; Let heaven know \ I won't give up; Grateful heart \ Thankful for you…"
The song was quite pleasant to listen to, just a bit short; it would be better if it were longer. The employees all loved this catchy song.
Since Spring Festival, all personnel had to line up and shout the slogans before work to boost their spirits and also to practice speaking loudly and bravely, to dare to greet customers and treat them politely.
Fang Shi had to admit that his son's management approach was really effective. The employees' morale had improved significantly; it felt like a legitimate company, and customer feedback indicated that their Xinghai Shopping Mall's service attitude was much better than those state-owned department stores.
What Fang Shi didn't know was that this set of slogans would become commonplace in twenty or thirty years, and singing "Grateful Heart" was purely brainwashing.
Of course, Xinghai Company's salaries and benefits were quite good, so employees were happy working there.
Therefore, employees generally arrived at the company before 9:00 AM, as starting work at 9:00 AM was considered relatively late; many factories started at 7:30 AM.
Starting work at 9:00 AM allowed them to leisurely eat breakfast at home in the morning, and then unhurriedly ride their bikes to the company, or walk if they lived nearby.
After everyone finished singing, Fang Shi took out his written summary of the event speech and read it aloud, announcing the activity rewards.
After speaking, he first distributed the prepared red envelopes to the ordinary employees, one hundred yuan per person, with the remaining two hundred yuan to be distributed in the middle of the year. Three hundred yuan was equivalent to two months of their basic salary, which was a pleasant surprise for ordinary employees.
After the New Year, all factories raised their wages, and Xinghai Company followed suit.
The basic salary for ordinary non-sales employees at Xinghai Company was 150 yuan, with performance bonuses based on monthly sales. Bonuses varied for different positions.
Sales representatives had a basic salary of only 50 yuan; they earned commissions, and their overall income was significantly higher than other positions, but the job requirements were also higher, demanding politeness, good communication skills, and an above-average appearance.
After Fang Shi finished distributing to ordinary employees, he gathered the management personnel in the office, giving each a thick red envelope. Everyone was very surprised and thanked Boss Fang for his generosity, promising to work hard.
The two students who had originally planned to wait for school to arrange their jobs no longer hesitated and had decided to stay at Xinghai Company.
After distributing the red envelopes, Fang Shi instructed, "The event is over, everyone is tired, and you're also starting school soon. Come to the company to help when you have time.
Fang Bai needs to study for the college entrance examination, so TV renovation is suspended. You should inform the part-time university students that there won't be much time to manage the Xinghai Shopping Mall before the college entrance examination. The management of the Xinghai Shopping Mall will mainly rely on everyone working together. If you don't understand something, you need to find information to self-study and explore.
Our company's next work focus will be on the future Xinghai Plaza. We need to prepare to open a comprehensive supermarket according to Boss Fang's requirements. He has already explained the concept of a comprehensive supermarket to us before.
Currently, supplies are scarce, and procurement channels are key. In addition to utilizing previous procurement channels, we also need to find more product procurement channels. We need to finalize the procurement channels before Xinghai Plaza is built. At that time, everyone will have more business trips.
Everyone can rest for three days first, then come back on Sunday for a meeting to discuss Xinghai Plaza matters."
"Okay, thank you, Boss Fang. We will work hard," Li Meng was the first to express her commitment.
"Yes, we must let Boss Fang study well; we can't let him worry too much."
"Let's work together and cheer for the company!"
The others expressed their commitment in turn. With good company prospects and excellent benefits, everyone worked with great passion, especially with the thick envelope in their hands, which made them feel even more secure and proud, and gave them a good explanation to their families. Who said private enterprises were bad?
Fang Shi gave some instructions and ended the meeting.
At ten o'clock in the morning, the sales representatives arrived at the Xinghai Shopping Mall, and Fang Shi settled their sales income.
"I didn't give it to you in advance because I was afraid you'd use it to buy lottery tickets. If you didn't win the grand prize, wouldn't it be all for nothing?" Fang Shi said this to each sales representative as he distributed the money.
"Boss Fang, when will there be another event like this?" a sales representative asked.
"There won't be any more in the future."
"Oh, I see. It's quite profitable, you could still do it in the future." The sales representatives were disappointed to hear this.
"We have to pay a lot of taxes, and the various expenses are too high. We didn't make much money from this event at all," Fang Shi shook his head, saying as his son had instructed, that they shouldn't let outsiders think their family was making a lot of money, even if the sales representatives roughly knew the turnover.
After the sales representatives learned that there would be no more lottery events in the future, they all felt very regretful. They had been busy for ten days and received over two thousand yuan, which was a considerable fortune for them.
Everyone left Xinghai Shopping Mall after receiving their commissions, walked a few steps, and then looked back, truly reluctant to leave.
It wasn't just the generous commissions, but also the lingering passion.
Those ten days had left a profound impression on them.