There were just six people at lunch.
From Dr. Feng's Robot were Feng Feifei, Yuan Kai, and Chen Xiao.
From Central Inspection were Li Guoqiang, Yang Ming, and an assistant.
Feng Feifei, naturally, took the host's seat. Li Guoqiang and Yang Ming sat on either side of her. Based on their ranks, Chen Xiao should have sat next to Yang Ming, with Yuan Kai seated next to Li Guoqiang.
But Feng Feifei had specifically arranged for Chen Xiao to sit next to Li Guoqiang!
This was absolutely the most frustrating meal Yuan Kai had ever eaten. From hero to zero—who could possibly understand how that felt!
Normally, they wouldn't drink at lunch, but everyone was happy today, so they let loose and enjoyed themselves. Except for Feng Feifei, everyone else had a little to drink.
As the host, Feng Feifei should have had a little to drink, but Li Guoqiang was particularly considerate about this today, repeatedly stressing that if President Feng couldn't drink, she didn't have to.
Feng Feifei didn't stand on ceremony and told Yuan Kai and Chen Xiao to entertain their guests well!
During the meal, Li Guoqiang called Yang Ming over to toast Feng Feifei together. Then, they both came over to toast Chen Xiao!
"President Chen, here's to a successful collaboration!"
Chen Xiao politely stood up and clinked glasses with them. "Thank you both for your support!"
They drained their glasses. Li Guoqiang sat back down, but Yang Ming, holding a liquor pitcher, said to Chen Xiao, "President Chen, I was out of line before. Please, be the bigger man and forgive my rudeness. I'll drain my glass, you just have a sip!"
Chen Xiao was looking for an opportunity to complete his task. 'He's serving himself up on a platter. I can't miss this.' He pulled Yang Ming aside. "It's fine. We wouldn't have gotten to know each other if we hadn't fought, right? I'll drain my glass, too!"
Yang Ming felt incredibly respected. As the alcohol started to hit him, he slurred, "President Chen, if you're still mad, just slap me!"
Chen Xiao replied, "How could I do that? I'm pretty strong, you know. Ha ha!"
'Holy crap, you really do want to slap me, don't you? So you're not over it. This is bad. If you don't let this go, President Li is going to have my hide later!'
He said, "President Chen, just slap me. If you don't, I won't be able to live with myself!"
He was definitely a bit drunk; otherwise, he never would have said something like that!
While those two were muttering to each other, Feng Feifei was chatting with Li Guoqiang, leaving Yuan Kai to make small talk with the assistant.
"Alright, President Yang, I can't actually slap you. How about I just give you a little tap?"
With that, he reached out and patted Yang Ming's bald head three times. It was an extremely disrespectful gesture, but it was certainly better than a slap!
"President Chen, you are truly magnanimous! I'll toast you again—all my feelings are in this cup!"
Chen Xiao drank another glass with him, though he had no idea what "feelings" were supposedly in the cup.
"DING! Task completed: Pat Yang Ming's bald head three times."
"Task Reward: Endurance +10, Diligence Points +4"
"Congratulations to the Host for reaching 10 Diligence Points. Daily basic stipend has been upgraded to Level 2."
He opened his character panel:
[Host: Chen Xiao (Diligence Points: 10)]
[Profession: Dr. Feng's Robot - Business Specialist]
[Height: 178cm, Weight: 75kg]
[Constitution: 80, Endurance: 75, Health: 70, Charm: 80]
Daily Basic Stipend Level 2: 16,000 yuan/day
Diligence Reward: Bonus x Diligence Points
[Assets:
Balance: 2,286,000 yuan
Real Estate: Hai Run Mansion (50 sq. m. apartment), 22nd floor of Yunfeng Building
Vehicle: Mercedes-Benz CLS 300]
'Endurance is at 75! I'm so happy I could cry. I wonder if this officially makes me a real man!'
'My daily basic stipend is Level 2, so my daily income has doubled! This is awesome!'
'Plus, with my Diligence Points at 10, when the bonus is calculated next month, it's going to be another huge windfall!'
'The money's coming in too fast. A guy who's used to being poor has no idea how to spend it all.'
'The most ridiculous part was, back when I had no money, I had nothing to spend. Now that I'm rich, there's a beautiful woman giving me even more money to spend. Who could I even complain to about this?'
Both sides were very satisfied with the visit—with the exception of Yuan Kai, of course.
Although he would get a 45,000 yuan bonus from the 9 million yuan order, compared to his expectations, it was nothing to write home about.
Moreover, after this incident, he worried about how his colleagues and Feng Feifei would see him. He felt that his path forward would be very difficult.
'It's all Chen Xiao's fault.' But the Chen Xiao of today was a monster. Fifteen million in orders for the company in a single week—who could even compete with that? What sales champion was ever this much of a beast!
A sales champion like that was a king in the company. Untouchable. Absolutely no one could afford to get on his bad side.
And sure enough, the moment she got back to the company, Feng Feifei called Chen Xiao into her office.
"You're really full of surprises!"
'Here we go again,' Chen Xiao thought helplessly. 'Don't you go framing me. My Endurance was only 60 before; I didn't have the ability to make you "eat essence" every day!'
"It's truly unbelievable. Even now, I still don't know how you managed to do it!"
"But you single-handedly saved the company. Chen Xiao, I'm planning to promote you to manager. Of course, manager is just a transitional position; you know promotions in this company can't happen all in one go!"
Chen Xiao's face fell, and he refused immediately. 'Are you kidding me?' he thought. 'This woman is bad news! Why else would she repay my kindness with such cruelty?'
'I worked my ass off to get 10 Diligence Points, and you want to wipe them out? I finally reached Level 2 on my daily basic stipend, and you want to reset it all!'
She couldn't understand why he had so little ambition as to turn down a promotion.
"I'm not interested in management!" was the only explanation Chen Xiao could offer.
"Then what about raising your professional grade and salary, but not your title?"
'Huh, there's an idea. I wonder if the system will go for it.'
"As long as your position remains the same, a grade increase will not affect your Diligence Points!"
Receiving a positive response from the system, Chen Xiao decisively accepted Feng Feifei's kind offer.
That afternoon, the Human Resources department sent out an announcement via internal company email:
In light of Chen Xiao's outstanding performance, an exception has been made to grant him full employee status ahead of schedule next month, and his professional grade will be raised from P5 to P6.
Of course, what excited Chen Xiao the most was when the HR manager told him in private that President Feng had personally approved his new salary. Not only would it not be reduced next month, but his base salary would actually be raised to 12,000 yuan.
Yuan Kai, a P8, had his salary cut to 6,000. This just went to show the depth of favoritism Chen Xiao enjoyed—though, of course, his contributions were also immense.
Company salaries were confidential. As long as HR and Chen Xiao kept quiet, no one else would know.
He had been brooding over his daily income getting cut in half next month, but now he was actually looking forward to it.
'With this adjustment, my annual income is nearly 10 million, but the best part is that I'm only taxed on a 12,000 salary. Tell me that's not enough to make someone jealous!'
"Congratulations, Chen Xiao!"
"Congrats! You have to treat us to dinner!"
"Congratulations, Chen Xiao, you're amazing!"
"Brother Chen Xiao, I want to have your puppies!"
'Get lost, who are you calling a dog?' Chen Xiao thought. 'What is that mischievous girl Ma Jing even saying!'
The air was filled with congratulations. Only Yuan Kai remained silent, shedding a river of tears in his heart.
'That bastard Chen Xiao has corrupted the office culture,' Yuan Kai fumed. 'Look at Ma Jing. She's only been here two days, and she's already learned to serve him tea, massage his shoulders, and dote on him. Meanwhile, I'm her actual boss, and she just teases me!'
'The world's turned upside down! I have to work harder! I have to land more orders! I have to surpass... wait, no. I'll just focus on surpassing myself.'
'That bastard Chen Xiao is an animal. I'm not going to compete with him!'
In the afternoon, the rent payment from Central Inspection came through: 1,062,000 yuan. After it was deposited, Chen Xiao's account balance reached 3,348,000 yuan. The absolute number might not seem huge, but many business owners who appeared to do hundreds of millions in business couldn't easily produce 3 million in liquid cash.
"Brother Chen Xiao, want to grab dinner and a movie tonight?"
'Get lost. Who wants to go to the movies with a rookie like you?' he thought. 'I have a goddess at home cooking for me. Wouldn't it be better to just go home?'