30,000 Yuan Bonus

Upon hearing that Liu Shang was also invited, Jiang Ruolin's gaze visibly sharpened.

Liu Shang casually mentioned that Zhou Liang had added him as a friend on QQ, which made Jiang Ruolin frown even more.

She had already heard some rumors about people planning to cause trouble for Liu Shang, so her original intention was to persuade Liu Shang not to attend this pointless gathering.

As for Zhou Liang, who had invited Liu Shang, he was known within their circle for being cunning and full of schemes.

The teacher they had found last time to persuade Liu Shang to leave the student union seemed to have acted under Zhou Liang's manipulation.

To Liu Shang, a smiling tiger like Zhou Liang, who put on a different face in public and behind the scenes, often posed a greater harm and threat.

However, since Liu Shang had already accepted the invitation, Jiang Ruolin couldn't say much more and could only take things one step at a time.

Over the next few days, Manager Zhong's surface sub-distribution process technology was progressing in full swing.

The customization of the wellhead tools, the preliminary surface trials, and the first underground experiment all went as Manager Zhong had predicted, almost succeeding on the first try.

This was at least a month ahead of schedule.

The savings in manpower, resources, and finances were substantial.

And all of this was primarily thanks to Liu Shang.

The boss, Song Guangyuan, was also extremely pleased with the successful trial of this technology. He issued a company-wide commendation order in his capacity as chairman, adding an extra fifty thousand to the innovation award bonus for the entire technical team.

The Technology Innovation Award was a significant feature of Huahai Company and a testament to the personal drive of boss Song Guangyuan.

As long as genuinely beneficial and useful technology was developed for the company, rewards were never lacking.

According to the established procedure, the initial project proposal, team formation, progress and trials, final report, and ultimately the bonus distribution were all to be coordinated by the project leader.

Moreover, given Manager Zhong's position and authority, no one would typically raise any objections.

However, this time, for this particular technological project, some unusual voices had emerged.

As always, the entire technical team was compensated based on their contributions; those who contributed more received larger bonuses.

It was a comprehensive distribution, ensuring that everyone who participated received some reward, even the young ladies in the office who helped with stamping documents and serving tea and water got a share of the bonus.

However, some people's objections were directed at Liu Shang!

According to Manager Zhong's initial draft for bonus distribution, Liu Shang, who had only been with the company for a week and was still a freshman, was allocated a bonus of 30,000 yuan.

His share was second only to Manager Zhong's 40,000 yuan, ranking second in the project.

Technical manager Old Lu, for example, received only 25,000 yuan, while others received even less, ranging from 8,000 to 15,000 yuan.

This led to private discussions among some people in the company, especially within the technical department, who harbored a great deal of hostility and dissatisfaction towards Liu Shang, whom Manager Zhong considered a favorite.

Because she was on good terms with some of the younger girls in the company's HR department, the news of Liu Shang about to receive a 30,000 yuan technology bonus reached Song Jia's ears.

Upon hearing this news, Song Jia was so shocked her jaw nearly dropped!

In her impression, Manager Zhong had always been a straightforward and principled person, separating personal and professional matters.

He would never engage in favoritism just because he favored someone, nor would he bring personal dissatisfaction into his work.

But what was happening this time? Liu Shang had only been with the company for a week, and he was being proposed a bonus of nearly 30,000 yuan?

And he ranked second in the entire technical team!

This was simply unimaginable, utterly unbelievable!

With the Friday gathering approaching, the countdown to the decisive confrontation against Liu Shang by the small clique of Tan Feng and Zhou Liang was about to begin.

At this crucial juncture, Liu Shang was taking a huge bonus of 30,000 yuan from his own company. If Tan Feng and Zhou Liang found out about this, he wouldn't be able to clear his name even if he jumped into the Yellow River.

Oh my god, that was 30,000 yuan!

Even for people like Song Jia and Tan Feng, 30,000 yuan in personal savings was a considerable sum.

No! She absolutely had to prevent this from happening!

Even if she hadn't participated in the subtly insidious trap plans meticulously designed by Zhou Liang and others, she absolutely couldn't hinder progress or aid the enemy!

Therefore, on Thursday evening, Song Jia declined invitations from many friends and returned home directly to await her father, Song Guangyuan's, arrival.

Song Guangyuan was clearly in a good mood today, and he seemed even happier upon seeing his beloved daughter, who was supposed to be at school, as soon as he got home.

He even had a small drink with the not-so-lavish dinner.

After dinner, Song Jia chose the perfect moment, when Song Guangyuan was in the best mood, and quietly asked, "Dad, I heard the technology that Manager Zhong and his team developed was successful?"

Song Guangyuan was already accustomed to his daughter's being well-informed, so he nodded and smiled.

"Yes, it was very successful."

"If this technology is promoted in the future, it will be a huge opportunity, a strong shot in the arm for the company's development!"

"I must say, it's our good fortune to have secured seasoned experts like Manager Zhong and Professor Xu."

After listening to Song Guangyuan's excited explanation, Song Jia changed the subject. "Dad, I heard that in this bonus distribution, Liu Shang himself received 30,000 yuan, ranking second in the entire technical team, just behind Manager Zhong?"

"Is he really that capable?"

As expected, upon hearing Liu Shang's name, Song Guangyuan's face immediately darkened, and a sensitive spot within him churned with rising anger.

It seemed his earlier worries were justified. His precious daughter had indeed been drawn to that Liu Shang.

This was absolutely unacceptable! And a very dangerous situation!

Thus, Song Guangyuan intentionally let a hint of his anger show, letting out a cold snort.

"Hmph, how many times have I told you, don't mention that Liu Shang again!"

"And don't you focus your attention on him anymore!"

Upon hearing this, Song Jia felt utterly wronged. 'Dad, I don't want to mention him either! I certainly don't want to focus my attention on him.'

'But your company insisted on doing this. They're clearly trying to set me up to fail!'

Seeing that Song Jia remained silent, Song Guangyuan promptly regained control of his emotions and changed the subject.

"Jia Jia, I told you last time, Liu Shang is indeed different from other children his age. He's more mature and technically stronger."

"However, he's absolutely not as strong as you think or imagine."

"This time, the distribution of the technology bonus is just a draft submitted by Manager Zhong. I wasn't at the company today, so I didn't get to meet with Manager Zhong."

"Liu Shang, being just a freshman who has only been with the company for such a short time, absolutely cannot receive a 30,000 yuan technology bonus."

"If I'm not mistaken, Manager Zhong probably added an extra zero to his initial draft. Given Manager Zhong's usual fair and impartial way of handling things, it's quite possible Liu Shang might receive a 3,000 yuan encouragement bonus."