Chapter 262: Annual Meeting (Part 2)
April 4, 2022
As Sun Tao left the stage, the applause and cheers continued unabated.
When Sun Tao returned to his seat, Li Dong jokingly said, "Sun Tao, it's about time you found a wife. Our Yuanfang employees are quite nice. Why not pick one?"
Sun Tao laughed and replied, "Mr. Li, if you lead the way, us old bachelors will follow you."
Nearby single executives also chimed in, teasing, "Yes, Mr. Li, don't let the good stuff go to waste. With so many beautiful women at Yuanfang, aren't there any you fancy?"
Li Dong pointed at everyone and said with a smile, "Stop teasing. Today's focus is on Sun Tao."
Sun Tao quickly clasped his hands and said with a grin, "I surrender. I'll leave finding a wife to you all."
Everyone laughed and joked. When the host asked for attention, the crowd quieted down.
As the noise from the audience gradually subsided, the host invited the next guest to speak.
The guests Yuanfang had invited this year were mostly suppliers and a few other partners, all of whom were powerful figures in their own right.
The guest representing Yuanfang's largest supplier took the stage.
An elderly man, not particularly striking in appearance, stepped up. Li Dong knew that this man's wealth was comparable to his own.
It was somewhat surprising that this guest personally attended Yuanfang's annual meeting.
The old man didn't overshadow the event. After Sun Tao's four to five minutes of speech, the guest spoke for just over three minutes, thanking everyone and then stepping down.
His speech was typical, praising Yuanfang's development, cooperation, and expressing hope for continued collaboration.
With the leadership and guests' speeches concluded, the meeting moved to the next segment.
Honoring Outstanding Employees!
This year, a total of thirty-six employees were recognized as outstanding.
The number was quite substantial, and the awards were presented by Deputy General Manager Wang Yue.
For these elite employees, Li Dong was generous, awarding each one 18,888 yuan in cash, in addition to their year-end bonus.
Including the year-end bonus, each outstanding employee received over 30,000 yuan this year.
Considering their regular salaries, earning 60,000 yuan annually wasn't difficult.
With an average monthly salary of 5,000 yuan, these employees earned more than many white-collar workers at that time. Yet, at Yuanfang, they were just ordinary employees.
The awards were given out on the spot. Seeing the delighted faces of the recipients holding their cash, while the ordinary employees looked on with envy, Li Dong smiled with satisfaction.
It was good to see envy and jealousy; it created motivation.
Otherwise, if everyone just went through the motions, development and breakthroughs would be impossible.
After the outstanding employees left the stage, the next award was for outstanding store managers.
Currently, Yuanfang had about a hundred store managers and reserve store managers.
There were eight awards for outstanding store managers.
Among them were some Li Dong knew, some he had only seen once or had no recollection of, and others he didn't recognize at all.
However, these individuals had made significant contributions to Yuanfang over the past year.
Each of these store managers had outperformed their peers in terms of achievements.
Li Dong noticed that Fang Hao was among the outstanding store managers. Li Dong was quite pleased with Fang Hao.
Fang Hao was a veteran of Yuanfang. When the Dongping store opened, Fang Hao was the operations manager at that time.
Initially, Li Dong didn't have a high opinion of Fang Hao.
On the opening day of the Dongping store, Fang Hao had falsified a lottery to make his own mother win. At that time, Li Dong was not impressed with him.
However, when Fang Hao became the store manager of Dongping, the store's performance consistently ranked among the best.
Later, when Fang Hao was transferred to the Tongshan City store as manager, the store's performance surpassed that of the Fucheng and Qingyang city stores, earning Li Dong's respect.
Li Dong thought about it and decided that if new cities like Nanhui and Mingcheng were developed next year, Fang Hao would be capable of handling things on his own.
The awards for outstanding store managers were presented by Sun Tao.
Compared to the outstanding employees, the bonuses for outstanding store managers were higher.
Each store manager received 38,888 yuan, which was more than the annual salary of some white-collar workers in Pingchuan.
For the store managers who could earn commissions, the bonuses were not the main draw; the real prize was the "Elite Store" flag held by Sun Tao.
This flag was a special honor for outstanding store managers. It not only represented honor but also tangible benefits.
Having this flag meant that if a promotion opportunity arose, these outstanding store managers would have priority. The company would conduct a preliminary review and, if they met the standards, promotion was almost guaranteed.
The store managers left the stage happily, and the first program began.
The host announced, "Next, let's welcome our colleagues from the Dongping store to bring us a choral performance—'Grateful Heart'!"
As the host spoke, the stage lights went out.
When the lights came back on, a group of Dongping store employees appeared on stage.
There were both men and women, with the lead being the current store manager of Dongping.
Li Dong shook his head slightly. Sun Tao noticed and asked with a smile, "Mr. Li, not to your liking?"
Although Dongping store's display of flattery was somewhat heavy-handed, Sun Tao was still quite satisfied.
Dongping was the starting point for Yuanfang, a banner of Yuanfang. Whether it was out of surface-level flattery or genuine gratitude, Dongping's attempt at flattery had hit the mark with Sun Tao.
Li Dong smiled lightly, "It's not bad. By the way, how's the investigation I asked you about going?"
Sun Tao, momentarily caught off guard, remembered and whispered, "Store Manager Lin may not be strong in business, but he's a decent person. The car was bought with a loan."
Li Dong nodded and didn't say more. Since the person hadn't been greedy, some flattery was acceptable.
As Li Dong and Sun Tao talked, soft music began playing on stage, and the singing started.
"Grateful heart, thank you for having you…"
"Grateful heart, thank you for fate…"
...
As the choral performance concluded, Li Dong, who had not paid much attention initially, was surprised when the performers left the stage.
Wu Mei!
Li Dong did not expect to see Wu Mei, Wang Jie's girlfriend, among the Dongping store's choir members.
Not long ago, Wu Mei was just an intern. Yuanfang's annual meeting was a rare opportunity, and Dongping store had sent only a few people. Li Dong hadn't expected Wu Mei to be among them.
Though surprised, Li Dong didn't approach her.
As the boss, every move Li Dong made was observed by everyone.
Approaching an intern from a branch store might create unnecessary complications, and Li Dong was more concerned about whether Wu Mei could handle the pressure.
Wu Mei, seeing Li Dong, was stunned beyond words.
The reason she was able to attend the annual meeting was mainly because she could sing well and looked presentable.
Performing in front of the entire company's leadership was a big deal, and only those who were up to standard could participate.
Wu Mei's presence as an intern at Yuanfang's first annual meeting was unexpected.
Moreover, she realized that the formidable boss she admired was actually Wang Jie's good friend!
No wonder Wang Jie had asked him to look after her. Thinking of this, Wu Mei was both nervous and anxious.
Her nervousness led her to falter and go off-key several times during the performance. Fortunately, it was a choral performance, so it was less noticeable. Even so, the store manager had given her a stern look.
However, Wu Mei's focus was no longer on the store manager's expression but on secretly glancing at Li Dong.
Coincidentally, Li Dong was also looking at her, startling Wu Mei.
Seeing Wu Mei looking like a frightened rabbit, Li Dong quickly turned away, finding it amusing but choosing not to comment.
Next to him, Shen Qian teased, "Mr. Li, are you smitten?"
Li Dong shot her a glance and said irritably, "She's a friend's girlfriend. Don't let your thoughts wander."
"You're the one with wandering thoughts!"
Shen Qian bit her lip, irritated by his comments.
Li Dong ignored her. The female host on stage had already started the next segment.
The lucky draw!
The lucky draw was eagerly anticipated. Not to mention the rumored car and cash prizes, just the pile of prizes was enough to excite everyone.
Even winning a phone or a computer would be great, and if luck wasn't on one's side, a bicycle or even a packet of laundry detergent would be fine.
Yuanfang was very familiar with conducting lucky draws.
The host explained, "This time, the lucky draw will be conducted in batches. After each program, we'll hold a lucky draw. Do you see the big screen behind me? In a moment, a series of numbers will scroll across it. When Mr. Sun calls 'stop,' the number displayed will determine the winner."
"Of course, Mr. Sun will decide who wins, but the prize depends on Mr. Li. When the winner is determined, the big screen will scroll again to reveal the prize. There are cars, 100,000 yuan in cash, and a ten-day trip for two to the Maldives… When Mr. Li calls 'stop,' the prize displayed will be yours!"
The host finished explaining, and someone in the audience suddenly shouted, "But I don't know
my number!"
The female host responded with a sad expression, "Oh, I forgot to tell everyone that the number corresponds to the last three digits of your entry pass number. All of you have entry passes except for me and Zhou Meng. We don't even have a chance to win. How pitiful!"
Sun Tao smiled and said, "Don't worry, Xiao Xie. Mr. Li and I discussed it. If the number is one, the prize is for you. If it's two, it's for Xiao Zhou."
The two hosts were thrilled and quickly thanked Mr. Li and Mr. Sun.
It wasn't so much about the prize but about being remembered by the two bosses. That was enough.
Moreover, numbers one and two were more than just numbers; they represented status.
Whether they won a prize or not, this was a worthwhile experience.