Arrangement

The whispers gradually died down as curious eyes turned toward Xu Yifan.

Xu Yifan stepped into the middle of the crowd and stopped. "Good afternoon, everyone. I'm Xu Yifan, director of Jiuzhou Automobile Factory. You can call me Director Xu!"

"Many of you are probably seeing me for the first time. That's all right. We'll get to know each other very well soon enough."

"First of all, congratulations to everyone who recently joined our Jiuzhou Automobile Factory family. And while I'm at it, I'd like to wish you all a happy New Year in advance!"

At his words, the team leaders led the employees in a round of enthusiastic applause.

After all, the factory paid their wages and treated them well. There was no harm in clapping a little harder.

"You're all already working hard. I don't like calling people into meetings all the time, and I'm not going to give you a bunch of empty platitudes."

"I've been keeping an eye on everyone's work lately, and you've all been doing a great job!"

Anyone who hadn't done well had already been let go during their probationary period!

"But it's almost New Year, so I should show my face and wish you all a happy New Year. I also have a few things to announce."

"First, let's talk about the holiday schedule."

"You should all know that the factory's production schedule is packed, and there are still plenty of customers who've paid deposits and are waiting for their products."

"We definitely can't shut the factory down completely."

At that, some of the workers below looked disappointed.

Even though the pay was good, the workdays weren't long, and the benefits were great, they couldn't help feeling a little let down.

Seeing their reaction, Xu Yifan quickly continued.

"But I know you also need time with your families, to catch up with friends, and to visit relatives over the New Year. So we'll be staggering everyone's days off."

"We'll switch from our usual three-shift schedule to two shifts for the next half month. Each shift will get five days off, and after that we'll return to normal!"

The employees who'd thought they wouldn't get any time off immediately felt much better.

"Great!" one employee shouted before he could stop himself.

"That works for me. I can go visit my father-in-law with my wife."

"Same here. We all have relatives to visit and families to spend time with. The factory's really thought of us."

"So we get five days off and work ten days over the next half month? Not bad, not bad. Five days is plenty."

"My wife's from the countryside. It'll take about two days to make the round trip for New Year visits. The main problem is that we don't have a car. If I earn enough next year, I'll buy one of our Jiuzhou Minis. It'll be reassuring to drive something we made ourselves!"

"The factory makes money, the factory spends money—don't expect to take a cent home?!"

After a while of excited discussion, the noisy crowd finally quieted down a little.

Xu Yifan continued, "Of course, when you do the math, you're not getting much time off. But if you work, you'll be paid for it!"

"During the seven-day New Year holiday, you'll get triple pay. It doesn't matter whether you take your time off before or after the holiday!"

"That means ten twelve-hour shifts will pay the same as twenty-one days of your old eight-hour shifts."

"Work is my favorite thing! Anyone here who doesn't want to work? I'll take your shift for you. Just give me the triple pay!"

"Boss, please don't treat me like a person!"

"Not having time off is great! I'm ready to give everything for the factory!"

"The boss is so generous! I love working!"

"These benefits are amazing. I hope they stay this good. I don't mind not having a holiday!"

Another burst of excited chatter rose up. Xu Yifan gently pressed down with both hands, and everyone quieted down again.

"Next, we'll be paying this month's wages early. After lunch, you can go to the finance office to collect them."

Before the workers could start talking, Xu Yifan hurried on.

"And since it's New Year, the factory wants to recognize how hard you've worked this past year. Well, a lot of you have only been here for less than a month, but we've taken that into account too!"

"Everyone who joined in the latest hiring round will get a two-hundred-yuan New Year bonus. Long-time employees will get a five-hundred-yuan bonus!"

A thunderous round of applause filled the cafeteria. The men clapped until their hands turned red!

The din of conversation was impossible to hold back now, and everyone was bursting with excitement.

"Boss, you're so generous—you'll have eight wives in no time!"

"Hohoho! We're getting paid! We'll have a great New Year—not only are we getting wages, but bonuses too!"

"Two hundred yuan! That'll buy so many New Year goodies—fruit, food, all sorts of things. Not bad at all!"

"Those who joined a few months before us get higher wages and bigger bonuses, too. I wish I'd seen Jiuzhou's job advertisement back then. I'd be a long-time employee by now! Maybe not a team leader, but at least a skilled worker!"

"Five hundred yuan is a lot! It's more than a quarter of my wages!"

"The more I look at the boss, the better he looks!"

After waiting for the crowd to settle down a little, Xu Yifan pressed down with his hand again. Once everyone was quiet, he said with a smile,

"Our factory only turned a profit recently, so the bonuses are a little small this year. I hope you don't mind. Next year, if you all work hard, the bonuses will be bigger!"

"Let me give you a little something to look forward to. I'm sure you all know that just a few months ago, I took over Jiuzhou Automobile Factory. We only had a few dozen employees then, but now we have nearly six hundred."

"We've grown from a factory on the verge of closing to a mid-sized operation."

"Of those few dozen employees we started with, many are now team leaders in their departments, aside from those who were let go."

"Even the employees hired during our first expansion have only been here a few months, but those who've worked diligently and have excellent technical skills have already become team leaders."

"And next year, we'll keep expanding just as fast. As long as you work hard and take your job seriously, you'll have a chance to achieve all of that too!"

"Ugh, I don't want New Year to come. I want to work, ahhh!"

"Work hard! The factory is my home, and I love Jiuzhou Factory. Anyone who dares badmouth it will have to answer to me!"

"It's not too late for us, either. We can become skilled workers, get raises, and become team leaders!"

"My future's looking bright!"

"For our wives and kids, we've got to work hard and seize the opportunity Jiuzhou Factory has given us."

"In short, if you do your job well, Jiuzhou Automobile Factory will never let you down. Those who deserve promotions will be promoted, and those who deserve raises will get them."

"All right, that's everything I wanted to say. Finally, let's all raise a glass!"

After spending a few minutes explaining the key arrangements, Xu Yifan raised a bottle of beer that had already been opened and lifted it toward the employees.

The workers stood up one after another. Some poured themselves drinks, while others poured beer.

All the employees raised their glasses and drank together!

The New Year's banquet officially began. Everyone tucked into the food, occasionally clinking glasses with familiar coworkers at their table, whether with beer or other drinks.

Xu Yifan joined the crowd and raised his beer bottle at each table. "I won't say much. Happy New Year, everyone! Eat and drink your fill!"

The employees at the table stood up one after another.

"Director, I'll finish mine. You just have a little!"

"It's our honor to work at Jiuzhou Factory!"

"I'll definitely work hard!"

Xu Yifan raised his bottle and took a big gulp.

"Great! The director's a real man!"

After sharing a drink with each table, Xu Yifan had downed two bottles of low-alcohol beer by the time he made his way through the room!

Finally, he stopped at the table of several battery research staff and sat down.