New Plan

(Thanks to book friend 20190809172252334 and Yuan Hengzheng for the monthly tickets, and thanks to everyone for their support)

Li Zhou had an exceptionally comfortable New Year this year, probably because he had become the "child from someone else's family" that people talked about.

He didn't have to face blind dates right after graduation like his classmates, nor did he have his relatives trying to latch onto him now that he was successful.

The only annoyance was probably the increased number of visitors during the New Year's greetings this year.

There's a saying, isn't there? When you're happiest, time flies by; when you're most miserable and wish time would pass quickly, it drags on like an eternity.

When you're happy, you don't pay attention to time at all. Time is constant, but when you're happy, all your energy is focused on the things or people making you happy, and you neglect the issue of time. So, when you snap back to reality, you'll sigh, "Time really flies!"

When you're unhappy, you're bored and wish it would be evening sooner, or time to get off work, and so on. At these times, you're particularly concerned about time, so you notice it more and feel like time is moving slowly because all your attention is focused on it.

A month's holiday seems long, but visiting relatives during the New Year, getting together with siblings to brag and catch up, time just slips away quietly.

Today is the sixteenth day of the first lunar month, and it's also the first day of Future Technology's new year.

Early in the morning, Li Zhou got up bright and early.

Today was the first day back to work for the company's employees in the new year. According to custom, Li Zhou would stand at the company entrance and personally hand out a "opening red envelope" to every employee who came to work, signifying a prosperous start.

Yesterday, six people worked for half the day to stuff six hundred red envelopes, each containing six red banknotes of Mao Zedong.

Li Zhou, along with Zhou Song and the other three, who were carrying a cardboard box, arrived at the company at eight-thirty in the morning.

After Zhou Song and the others moved the tables to the entrance and set them up neatly, the five of them waited for about half an hour. Then, people started arriving one after another.

As soon as Wu Xiaoxiao reached the company entrance, she saw the boss sitting there. Seeing him, Wu Xiaoxiao was startled.

"Li... Director Li, good morning."

Seeing the first employee arrive, Li Zhou quickly got up with a smile.

"Good, good, good. Here, this is for you. Work hard and do your best in the new year."

Wu Xiaoxiao numbly accepted the red envelope, taking a moment to react.

"Thank you, Director Li!"

"Mm, you can go in."

After Wu Xiaoxiao sat down at her workstation and put down her backpack, she couldn't wait to open the red envelope.

One, two, three, four, five, six!

There were six bills!

Excited, Wu Xiaoxiao immediately sent a message in the group chat.

"Sisters, hurry to the company. The boss is at the entrance giving out red envelopes, and they're big ones too."

As soon as Wu Xiaoxiao's message was sent, the group chat exploded.

"Really?"

"It must be true. Big companies have this custom. I just don't know how much is in them."

"What are we waiting for? Sisters, I'm going first, paving the way for you."

"Let's go! Let's meet up."

In less than two minutes, the news of the boss giving out red envelopes at the company entrance spread like wildfire, and soon everyone in the company knew.

"Scum, I'm already on my way to the company."

[Image: Running.png]

"Damn, wait for me, man. You're too inconsiderate."

Meanwhile, Li Zhou and the others also noticed that employees were arriving one after another, and quite a few of the "tough girls" were running over, out of breath.

Li Zhou's lips twitched as he watched the employees suddenly arrive panting. He could probably guess why.

"Come, come, line up. Everyone gets one."

"In the new year, everyone work hard and strive for the company to reach new heights of glory."

"Thank you, Director Li!"

"Good, good, good!"

Halfway through, Li Zhou noticed Xiong Kexuan also in line.

When she saw him looking at her, she smiled.

Xiao Nuonuo was much cuter, waving her little hands at him non-stop.

When it was Xiong Kexuan's turn, Li Zhou gave her a red envelope as well.

Then, he took out another red envelope and handed it to Xiao Nuonuo in Xiong Kexuan's arms.

"Here, Xiao Nuonuo, this is for you."

As soon as the little one took the red envelope, she turned her back on him and buried her little head in Xiong Kexuan's arms.

"I'm going in now. Good luck, boss! ↖(^ω^)↗ I have high hopes for you."

By the time he finished handing out the last employee's red envelope, it was already nine-thirty. With no one left, Li Zhou stuffed the remaining dozens of red envelopes to Zhou Song.

"Take these and share them with the brothers. You all worked hard during the New Year."

Zhou Song didn't stand on ceremony. Firstly, the red envelopes were meant to bring good luck, and secondly, compared to other company employees, his brothers had indeed worked hard during the holiday period.

"Boss, I'll thank you on behalf of the brothers."

Li Zhou rolled his eyes at the four of them.

"Alright, you've been with me for half a year now. You know I don't like all this formality."

"Keep up the good work. Once the headquarters is completed, the security department might become independent and recruit heavily. Your character must be up to par then."

"Don't worry, boss, we're good at that."

After the joy of the red envelopes that morning, the employees' minds, which had been at ease with a month-long holiday, slowly refocused on work.

At three in the afternoon, the largest conference room was packed with all the company's employees.

As Li Zhou, Xiong Kexuan, and a few others walked into the conference room, the previously lively room quickly fell silent.

After sitting down, Li Zhou pulled the microphone in front of him a little closer.

"Colleagues, today is Future Technology's first day back to work in the new year. Today, we'll discuss our plans for the year."

"The IT department will be the busiest department this year. I will personally lead the development of a super system. I won't say more here until the system is ready, but the IT department should be mentally prepared. This will be a big test for you."

After Li Zhou finished speaking, the IT department members sitting below felt a bit uneasy.

"Another important matter is that the headquarters must be completed on time before June this year. The interior decoration, which is being done simultaneously, also needs to be expedited. According to the plan, we will move into the new headquarters building in July. You must keep a close eye on this."

"Also, around August, we will launch a product that will have a significant impact. Relevant departments need to be prepared."

"Regarding the proposal the county made to our company before the New Year to build a smart city based on artificial intelligence, please communicate with Huawei as soon as possible about network connectivity and provide me with a feasibility report for the smart city. Wang Fei, I want you to oversee this."

"These are the main things for this year. For the details, department heads need to coordinate well. Don't let me down."

After speaking, Li Zhou looked at Xiong Kexuan. He had nothing more to say.

Xiong Kexuan looked at everyone with a grave expression. "Don't underestimate the importance of this just because Director Li only mentioned it briefly..."