Ever since the various affairs of the bathhouse were on track, with major and minor construction contracts signed, design plans finalized, and construction teams on site, the newly recruited industry elites each performed their duties, managing everything in an orderly fashion.
Li Changye was surprised to find that he, as the Chairman, had once again successfully “hollowed himself out.”
He still went to the construction site for “inspections” every day, rain or shine, enjoying the work meals that were comparable to a five-star hotel buffet, occasionally giving pointers on certain details, and reveling in the pleasure of being the “Party A Dad.”
But more often than not, he just aimlessly wandered around the construction site, watching the workers sweat profusely, listening to the roar of machines, yet feeling a sense of emptiness in his heart.
This emptiness was even more intense than when he used to stare blankly at the ceiling in his office.
After all, back then, he still had a “great bathhouse dream” supporting him.
Now, with the dream being realized in an orderly manner, he no longer knew what his next goal was.
More than once, in the dead of night, he lay on that six-figure luxurious bed, pondering the meaning of his existence.
His parents passed away in an accident when he was very young, and his grandmother painstakingly raised him.
He still remembered his grandmother’s calloused yet exceptionally warm hands; she would always tremblingly pull out a few candies from her pocket for him, and he remembered her often saying, “Changye, you must live with a clear conscience. Your grandmother doesn’t ask for you to be rich and famous, only for you to be safe and sound, and to be a good person.”
But after his grandmother passed away, he became an orphan.
If it weren’t for this “Conscientious Entrepreneur System” that descended from the sky, he would probably still be struggling for a living in some third-tier city, leading an ordinary and perhaps equally confused life.
The system gave him a seemingly lofty mission and a platform where he could freely squander company funds, but deep down, he was still the person who longed for family warmth, longed to be understood, and longed for a simple love.
“Improving the employment environment, benefiting the public…” he murmured to himself, “It sounds very grand, but I haven’t even figured myself out yet.”
This confusion, like a plague, quietly spread to the employees of Huanyu Group who were not part of the “Spa Center Project Team.”
Zhao Lei’s Human Resources Department remained one of the busiest departments because the Spa Center was still continuously recruiting various service personnel, from cleaners to security guards, from greeters to technicians, with immense demand.
However, other departments, such as the “Strategic Development Department,” which had just been established and was supposed to offer advice for the group’s future development direction, or the “Brand Marketing Department,” which was preparing to promote the group’s various businesses, now seemed somewhat at a loss.
They earned salaries far above the industry average, sitting in the luxuriously decorated 88th-floor office area, staring blankly at the company data and industry reports on their computer screens, which they had long since memorized.
Huanyu Group currently seemed to have no other clear business direction besides that “super bathhouse.”
These elites, who were poached with high salaries, had no place to display their skills and could only watch enviously as the Spa Center Project Team worked feverishly, while they themselves were like a group of forgotten spectators.
“Brother Wang, you say… what exactly is Chairman Li thinking?” a young man whispered to his senior colleague in the next cubicle. “Our Strategic Development Department is almost becoming the ‘Strategic Staring Department.’”
The middle-aged man, referred to as Brother Wang, pushed up his glasses and gave a wry smile: “Who knows? Don’t try to guess Chairman Li’s thoughts. But honestly, I’m also feeling uneasy. Our salaries are high, but being idle like this every day isn’t good. If this continues, I’m really afraid we’ll be ‘optimized’ one day.”
The word “optimized” hung like an invisible sharp sword over the heads of every idle employee.
They began to unconsciously arrive early and leave late, even if there was nothing to do, they would pretend to be diligently studying business.
In the office area, the sound of keyboards tapping rose and fell, but if one listened carefully, many people were actually secretly playing Minesweeper or Solitaire, or switching back and forth between different news websites, pretending to collect industry trends.
Lin Wanqing remained the most beautiful sight at the front desk.
She keenly sensed this strange atmosphere within the company and also noticed Li Changye’s increasingly frequent “daydreaming” recently.
He seemed to come to the company less often, and even when he did, he often had a slight frown and looked preoccupied, no longer pretending to be a domineering CEO as he used to.
Now, he was more like… a lost child.
Finally, a month later.
The head of the Strategic Development Department, a middle-aged man named Zhang Bowen, amidst the lamentations within the department that “if we don’t act soon, we’ll all be collectively unemployed,” mustered his courage and knocked on the Chairman’s office door.
Li Changye was staring blankly at the towering buildings outside the window, contemplating whether to eat pickled pepper beef noodles or mushroom and sliced chicken noodles for dinner.
Hearing the knock, he returned to his senses with a hint of impatience: “Come in.”
Zhang Bowen carefully pushed open the door, forcing a slightly stiff smile: “Good afternoon, Chairman Li. I hope I’m not disturbing you?”
“Oh, it’s Manager Zhang. Is there something?” Li Changye rubbed his temples, trying to appear more energetic.
Zhang Bowen took a deep breath, as if having made some kind of decision: “Chairman Li, it’s like this. Our Strategic Development Department… uh… recently, everyone has been thinking and discussing the group’s future development direction. The Spa Center project is progressing smoothly, and we would like to know if the group has any new project plans in other areas? So that we can… prepare and research in advance.”
He spoke very tactfully, but Li Changye still understood the subtext: Boss, give us some work to do, if we don’t work soon, we’ll all go moldy!
Li Changye was stunned by the words.
New projects?
All his previous thoughts had been focused on that “bathhouse,” and he really hadn’t considered anything else.
The system’s instruction was to “improve the employment environment and benefit the public,” which was too broad a scope.
He looked at Zhang Bowen’s face, filled with anticipation and nervousness, and then thought of the other employees in the office who also earned high salaries but might be idle.
He suddenly felt that he was being a bit irresponsible as Chairman.
Yes, he had hired so many people, he couldn’t just let them study instant noodle flavors in the office every day, could he?
But what kind of project should he undertake?
His mind was blank. Finance? Real estate? High-tech? He knew nothing about them. Catering? Retail? They seemed too ordinary and wouldn’t reflect the “chosen one’s” prestige.
His gaze swept around the office, and suddenly, his eyes fell on a copy of the Yan Province Urban Daily at the corner of the table, left by who knows whom. The headline on the front page boldly read: “City’s birth rate hits new low, single youth marriage and dating issues draw attention.”
A thought struck him like a bolt of electricity!
Li Changye slapped his thigh abruptly, startling Zhang Bowen.
He suddenly turned around, his face showing a profound and heartbroken expression of “everyone else is drunk, only I am sober,” and in an impassioned tone, he righteously declared: “I understand! I finally understand what our Huanyu Group should do next!”
