Far beyond Song Guangyuan's expectations, after hearing this, his precious daughter Song Jia actually let out a long breath, then put on a very strange smile.
"Ah, so that's how it is. It would be best if he didn't get that 30,000-yuan bonus."
"Alright, I'm going back to my room to play on the computer."
Having said that, the satisfied Song Jia walked back to her room.
Before going in, she did not forget to turn back and remind him, "Dad, we agreed—the 30,000-yuan bonus absolutely must not be given to Liu Shang!"
Just as Song Jia's bedroom door closed and Song Guangyuan was still standing there in surprise, stunned, his frowning wife Wu Caiyun pulled him straight into their bedroom.
"Tell me, Old Song, what did we say last time?"
"Regarding our daughter dating, especially this Liu Shang fellow, weren't we supposed to guide her?"
Song Guangyuan spread his hands. "Yes, wasn't I guiding her just now?"
"It's just that Jia Jia seemed a little unusual today, didn't she?!"
Wu Caiyun sighed at that moment. "Old Song, how was that guidance? You were clearly sternly warning our daughter to stay away from Liu Shang."
"Think about it. She must have heard the news from someone else at the company—that Liu Shang was about to receive a 30,000-yuan technical bonus."
"A freshman receiving such a huge bonus—our daughter must have found it curious, exciting, and impressive."
"That was why she happily rushed home from school, only for you to dump a bucket of cold water over her head."
"You know our daughter's personality. She has always gone her own way. The more we stop her from doing something, the more likely she is to do it."
"If she was only at the stage of being curious about Liu Shang, then what we just did may have pushed her to Liu Shang's side instead."
"There's an even worse possibility. In her mind, that 30,000-yuan bonus belonged to Liu Shang, but it fell through because of her."
"Do you think she might compensate Liu Shang in some other way, with something else?"
Wu Caiyun did not say the rest, but judging from Song Guangyuan's gloomy, worried expression, he had clearly begun worrying about it as well.
"Ah, what you fear is what comes true. Why has this girl become even more troublesome after going to college?"
"Let's leave it at that for now. Tomorrow, I'll see what Manager Zhong has to say when I meet him."
Early the next morning, Manager Zhong, who had just arrived at the company, was invited into Song Guangyuan's office.
"Manager Zhong, I looked over the technical bonus allocation list you submitted yesterday. Did you make a mistake with Liu Shang's bonus amount?"
Manager Zhong raised his head in surprise. "I marked Liu Shang's bonus as 30,000. I also checked the list carefully. There shouldn't be any mistake, should there?"
Hearing that, Song Guangyuan was visibly taken aback. Then he lit a cigarette for Manager Zhong and said gently, in a casual tone:
"Manager Zhong, Liu Shang is a fine kid. He's quite likable."
"But he's only a freshman and has only been with our company for a week. Aren't you spoiling him a little too much?"
Faced with Song Guangyuan's relatively tactful questioning, Manager Zhong merely smiled. Then, looking him in the eyes, he asked, "President Song, in all my years of work, have you ever heard or seen me use my position for personal gain or mix personal feelings into my work?"
Song Guangyuan hurriedly smiled and explained, "Manager Zhong, please don't misunderstand."
"For all these years, you've been known for being conscientious and for keeping public and private matters separate."
"Then does that mean Liu Shang really made such a great contribution in such a short time?"
Manager Zhong also sighed softly. "President Song, it's understandable that you would question this. If I were in your position, I'm afraid my reaction would be even stronger than yours."
"But the fact is, Liu Shang's contribution to this technical project was even greater."
"Because of his arrival and his technical suggestions, the completion of the entire technology was accelerated by at least a month and a half."
"President Song, think about it. Just during that month and a half, how much manpower, materials, and money would we have consumed?"
"So, giving Liu Shang 30,000 yuan was actually shortchanging him. It wasn't truly distribution according to work."
"In my original plan, Liu Shang should have received at least 35,000, perhaps even 40,000."
"But after considering many factors, I ultimately settled on 30,000 for him."
After hearing Manager Zhong, Song Guangyuan still frowned deeply. "To be honest, Manager Zhong, even now I can't imagine Liu Shang making such a major contribution."
"But I absolutely believe what you say, Manager Zhong. Yet, as you said, this matter will have a huge impact on the entire technical department, even the whole company."
"I'm afraid quite a few people will raise doubts, perhaps even accuse us to our faces."
Manager Zhong waved it off dismissively. "President Song, don't concern yourself with this. Leave it entirely to me."
"When the time comes, I'd like to see who has the nerve to jump out and nitpick in front of me, Zhong Gaokuang?!!!"
"You receive however much bonus your contribution deserves. Distribution according to work—we're aboveboard about it."
"Forget that we're a private company. Even back in the oil field, I would have dared, and insisted, on doing things this way!"
"If you're dissatisfied? Fine, then show us what you can do!"
"If anyone lacks the real ability but still jumps out to find fault with everything, then get the hell out of our technical department. I, Zhong Gaokuang, have no need for such people!"
This was the backbone of Zhong Gaokuang as a lifelong technical professional. Throughout the entire oil field, this had always been his work style, and everyone admired him for it.
Seeing him put it that way, Song Guangyuan signed the document directly and handed it to the finance department to proceed with the next steps.
Thanks to the joint efforts of Song Guangyuan and the many hands-on members of management, Huahai Company operated with exceptional efficiency.
Before lunch, Liu Shang received a text message from the bank informing him that 30,000 yuan had been transferred into his bank card.
This counted as a small step forward for him. At the very least, he would no longer be constrained by the most basic necessities of food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Like Liu Shang, the other members of the technical team also received text message alerts from the bank one after another.
It should have been something worth celebrating, yet for some reason, it did not make them particularly happy.
If it had been Manager Zhong himself, no one would have questioned it even if he had received 40,000—or even 140,000.
Manager Zhong had the ability and technical expertise. Everyone accepted it wholeheartedly!
But you, Liu Shang, were merely a freshman who had joined the company one week ago. What right did you have to receive so much money?
Not only did the people on their technical team feel this way, but almost everyone else in the company who was not involved in the matter shared the same viewpoint. They believed Liu Shang had pulled strings and was completely undeserving of so much money.
Before you continue