Li Changye, at this moment, felt somewhat amused and exasperated.
Riding his secondhand bicycle, he creaked away from the company, under the admiring gazes of the new employees.
Returning to his rented room in the urban village, which cost eight hundred a month and was less than ten square meters, Li Changye collapsed onto the hard bed, feeling sore all over. This was even more exhausting than when he had distributed flyers under the scorching sun a few days prior.
Being a boss, especially a one-man boss, and having to pretend to be confident, was truly both a physical and mental workout.
After lying down for a while, he got up from the bed, his stomach rumbling with hunger.
He felt his pockets. Inside were the dozen or so yuan left from his one hundred yuan lunch allowance, plus a few crumpled banknotes he originally had.
"Sigh, even as Chairman Li, I still have to be frugal with dinner."
He sighed, walked to the small electric hot pot in the corner of the room, skillfully tore open a five-yuan packet of braised beef noodles, added a one-yuan-fifty egg, and then extravagantly threw in a two-yuan hot dog sausage.
Only after the steaming hot noodle soup was in his stomach did Li Changye feel alive again.
He lay back on the bed, staring at the mottled ceiling, and began to ponder a serious question.
"Sky International Center Tower A, 88th floor, an entire floor is my office... The system said it's for permanent free use, with all utilities and property management included..."
His eyes lit up, and a bold idea emerged.
"I have such a luxurious office, why am I still living in a rented room? The money for just one sofa in the office is enough to pay ten years' rent for this shabby rented room. The key is, it's free!"
Once this thought came into being, it grew like wild grass.
Save money! Safe! And close!
"System, can I live in the company office? Like... just sleep on the floor at night?" Li Changye asked cautiously.
The system was silent for a moment, seemingly retrieving relevant regulations: "The system does not prohibit the host from reasonably utilizing space within the company property. However, please note that it must not affect the company's normal operations or image."
"It won't affect it! Absolutely not!" Li Changye was overjoyed. "I'll just be in the Chairman's office. That place is huge; I'll find a corner, and no one will see me! And I promise, I'll restore everything to its original state during the day!"
No sooner said than done!
The next morning, Li Changye contacted a small moving company.
Actually, he didn't have much: a few changes of clothes, a four-year-old laptop, a pile of professional books, plus that small electric hot pot and some miscellaneous daily necessities.
The mover arrived in a small truck downstairs from his rented room. Seeing Li Changye's meager "belongings," his mouth twitched: "Brother, with just this much stuff, couldn't you just carry it yourself? Why call a moving company?"
Li Changye gave an embarrassed smile: "It's just that... the place I'm going is a bit far."
When the small truck drove all the way to the core financial district of Yan Province's CBD and stopped downstairs at the magnificent Sky International Center Tower A, the mover's jaw nearly dropped.
"Brother... you... you work here?" He looked at Li Changye directing him to move things inside, his eyes changing.
"Hmm, something like that," Li Changye vaguely replied.
Under the slightly surprised and confused gazes of the building's security guards and front desk ladies, Li Changye led the mover and moved his "entire belongings" into the VIP private elevator, straight up to the 88th floor of Huanyu Group Headquarters.
Zhao Lei and the other twenty-seven new employees had already arrived.
Each of them was dressed in a suit and tie, or their most presentable clothes. They were gathered in small groups, exclaiming at the office environment, which was comparable to a five-star hotel, and discussing their future work.
When they saw Li Changye and the mover carrying an old box, a snakeskin bag, and an electric hot pot clearly used for cooking instant noodles, everyone froze.
"Chairman Li... you... what is this?" Zhao Lei was the first to react, stammering.
Li Changye's expression remained unchanged. He calmly directed the mover to move the items into his absurdly large Chairman's office, then pulled out cash from his pocket and handed it to the mover: "Thank you for your hard work, this is the agreed-upon one hundred and fifty."
After sending off the bewildered mover, Li Changye clapped his hands and explained to the equally bewildered employees outside: "Oh, it's nothing, just some... uh... important office supplies and some... personal collectibles. Yes, collectibles. Don't worry about it, everyone."
The employees: "..."
They looked at the lonely small electric hot pot in the corner of the Chairman's office, and the slightly old bedding, then at the somewhat faded T-shirt Li Changye was wearing. In their hearts, they gained a completely new understanding of this young Chairman's "simplicity" and "unconventionality."
"Chairman Li is truly down-to-earth! With a net worth of billions, he actually moves things himself!"
"And look, Chairman Li even uses an electric hot pot! What does that show? It shows he hasn't forgotten his roots! He constantly experiences life at the grassroots level!"
The employees whispered among themselves, their admiration for Li Changye deepening by several points.
Li Changye had no idea that the employees had conjured up so many "profound and inscrutable" images for him.
He settled his personal belongings in the Chairman's office, which even had a separate luxurious bathroom. He decided that this would be his "bedroom" from now on.
After everything was settled, Li Changye cleared his throat and walked to the office area.
"Good morning, everyone."
Looking at the serious and diligent expressions of the many employees, Li Changye felt a pang of guilt.
Yesterday was the first day; everyone was excited, getting familiar with the environment, getting to know each other. In the afternoon, he had further hyped them up with his "grand blueprint," and leaving early was a bonus. But what about today?
He couldn't just play games all day, could he? Although he personally wouldn't mind.
He saw twenty-eight pairs of eyes fixed on him, filled with a desire for work and aspirations for the future.
These were all "elites" he had personally recruited, with a minimum monthly salary of ten thousand.
"Ahem," Li Changye cleared his throat again, breaking the silence: "Everyone has just arrived, and our company is also in its initial stage. As the saying goes, everything is difficult at the beginning. We must first clarify the first strategic direction of our Huanyu Group."
He pretended to pick up the tablet on the table and swiped a few times, even though the screen was black.
"After I went back yesterday, I thought deeply about it."
Li Changye spoke nonsense with a straight face, "Our Huanyu Group, named 'Huanyu,' naturally aims for the stars and the sea. However, you have to eat your food bite by bite and walk your path step by step."
"A successful enterprise must first be able to meet the people's growing needs for a better life. So, what do the people of Yan Province need most right now? They need spiritual solace, physical relaxation, and a warm harbor in their weary lives!"
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the young faces full of curiosity, and his tone became impassioned: "I found that although Yan Province is a first-tier city with rapid economic development, there is still a huge market gap in the high-end leisure and entertainment industry, especially places that allow people to completely relax their minds and bodies and experience ultimate enjoyment!"
"Especially, a place that can integrate traditional wellness with modern entertainment, providing a one-stop, immersive experience..."
He deliberately drew out his words, keeping everyone in suspense, then announced in a groundbreaking tone: "...High-end comprehensive leisure and wellness clubs! Simply put, the first project we are going to do is to build the most top-tier—bathhouse—in Yan Province, no, even the entire country!"
"Bath... bathhouse?"
In the meeting room, the solemn atmosphere, which had been created by the Chairman's "strategic deployment," instantly froze, then was replaced by gasps and uncontrollable whispers.
The twenty-eight highly paid "elites," including Zhao Lei, who had been temporarily appointed as the head of the Human Resources Department, and Sun Zhen, were all dumbfounded, their faces filled with disbelief.
They had imagined countless possibilities: high-tech projects, internet platforms, financial investments, cultural creativity... Even real estate would sound more impressive than a "bathhouse"!
They were employees of Huanyu Group, their office located on the 88th floor of the Sky International Center at the pinnacle of Yan Province's CBD, with an average monthly salary of over ten thousand, and yet their first project was... scrubbing backs?