The opening ceremony was scheduled to take place at ten in the morning, a time said to have been specifically chosen by Old Master Chen with the help of a master astrologer.
To ensure everything went smoothly, Liu Chen was rousted out of bed by her mother at seven-thirty that morning. Her mother then insisted on applying makeup to her, helped her into a red suit jacket and black trousers, tied up her long, straight black hair, and put on a pair of black high heels.
If Liu Chen hadn't been so delicate-looking, combined with her slender build, she would have perfectly embodied the image of a rural female entrepreneur.
"Why are you dressed like this?" Chen Long asked, pushing the twins as he spotted Liu Chen heading out. Before he could finish his sentence, Old Master Chen slapped him on the arm.
"Why are you so talkative? Doesn't our Chen Chen know how to dress well? She's dressed like this today mainly to intimidate the factory employees, so they won't mistake her youthful appearance for weakness and start thinking about all sorts of nonsense."
Chen Long immediately understood when his father explained it that way.
"But... it's not necessary to dress like this, is it..."
Old Man Chen rolled his eyes. "Then how do you suggest she dress? You tell me."
Chen Long opened and closed his mouth a few times. Seeing Liu Chen approach, he said nothing more.
-
After getting into the car wearing the suit, Liu Chen deliberately avoided leaning back against the seat, worried about wrinkling the back of her jacket.
Fortunately, it was a Saturday morning, so there was no rush hour traffic. With the car heater on, the family arrived at the Meimei Factory parking lot precisely at eight-thirty.
Everyone got out and went to the administration building first. This time, the factory opening ceremony was to be held in the parking lot behind the administration building.
By then, the red carpet and flower baskets had already been set up on both sides, and a large banner had even been hung.
At nine-thirty, the first batch of 162 Meimei Factory employees began to arrive at the field, lining up according to their respective departments.
At nine forty, the local television reporters invited by Old Master Chen had their cameras set up. Ren Mo, Ren Yuanying, and Lai Jielun arrived.
Then came Mi Zhuzhu and her father, followed by Liu Fen's family and the elderly matriarch.
At nine fifty, the music was ready. Liu Chen, in her black high heels, walked downstairs and stood to the side, listening to the speeches of the department heads she had hired.
This was Liu Chen's requirement, to familiarize everyone with the management staff of the factory so they would know who to approach for assistance in the future.
At nine fifty-seven, after the introduction of all department managers, Liu Chen, as the boss, made her grand entrance.
Including her previous life, this was Liu Chen's first time speaking in front of so many of her employees. Fortunately, she had some experience from a previous television interview, so she wasn't rendered speechless by nerves.
"I'm very happy that everyone has chosen us, Meimei Factory... I hope our Meimei Food Factory can grow bigger and stronger, go beyond Zhonghua, and conquer the world!"
As Liu Chen reached the end of her speech, the host tapped his watch to remind her of the time, and she quickly concluded. In her heart, she thought:
"No wonder leaders always spout a lot of nonsense when they stand on stage. I have to say, standing on stage, facing hundreds of people listening to you speak, that feeling is truly amazing!"
Next, under the host's auspicious words, Liu Chen stood in the center. Old Master Chen, Chen Long, and Liu Fang holding the twins stood on one side. On the other side were Ren Yu, Yu Bing, and Chen Hu.
Standing together, they each held a ribbon from a red tassel. Liu Chen then used the red scissors in her hand to cut the red tassel.
"Bang bang bang!!! Crackle crackle!"
The confetti cannons and firecrackers placed on both sides were ignited, making the factory opening ceremony exceptionally lively.
Liu Chen, seeing the jubilant atmosphere, was also very happy. She raised the microphone and waved her hand:
"This month, everyone gets an additional bonus of five hundred yuan to celebrate the completion of our new factory!"
"Wow!!!"
As soon as the bonus was announced, the employees perked up.
"Boss is generous!"
Liu Chen smiled and waved, signaling for everyone to begin work. She then turned and walked up the stairs to the administration building.
The friends and family below were also invited by Liu Chen to come to the conference room for a chat.
Aunt Hu Min, as a factory employee, was also walking behind, pushing her own twins with Wang Dong.
Honestly, seeing her aunt and her mother both with twins, Liu Chen suspected that the pregnant women's milk she had given them might have a side effect of multiple births.
Thinking about this, Liu Chen decided she should never give this pregnant women's milk to anyone else in the future, or else she would eventually be suspected.
-
After Liu Chen and her relatives left, the department managers had to start their jobs.
Cui Jian, as the deputy manager of the Production Management Department, was now patrolling various workshops with Gong Na.
Cui Jian was handsome and well-dressed. During his scams, he always appeared neat and tidy, and he had taken advantage of many women during his scams over the years.
So this time, he set his sights on Gong Na.
Watching Gong Na, dressed in a suit, walk ahead, Cui Jian's eyes flickered. He then walked up to her, walked alongside her with a smile, and said, "Gong Na, hello. From now on, we'll be working together to manage our factory's production. Let me introduce myself first, my name is Cui Jian, and I am... currently single. If Manager Gong has any single friends, please introduce them to me!"
Gong Na listened, but her steps didn't falter. Having lived in the economically developed Fujian for many years, she had encountered many con artists.
Especially those who dressed particularly formally; she had learned to be wary of them from the start.
"My name is Gong Na. I'm a few years older than you. I have three younger brothers at home, and I'm still not married, so I'm afraid I can't help you find someone."
Of course, the part about three younger brothers was a pure fabrication. Generally, men who liked to show off would be scared away upon hearing that a woman had three younger brothers.
However, Cui Jian was not scared away as Liu Chen had expected. Instead, his eyes lit up.
Three younger brothers, didn't that mean they were desperately in need of money? And at over thirty, with no ring on her finger, she must be unmarried. Even if she was married, she must be divorced.
Furthermore, he heard that Gong Na would move into the factory dormitories immediately after signing the contract, so she probably didn't own property locally.
The more Cui Jian thought about it, the more he felt that Gong Na was like an angel sent from heaven!
With this in mind, Cui Jian became even more enthusiastic and attentive, intending to win over Gong Na with his charm, and then get her to help him with some of the procedures.
Once he got his hands on the formula, he would leave Gong Na here as a diversion. By the time the investigation reached him, he would probably have already had plastic surgery in America and be living a life of leisure.
-
It was noon.
On the first day of work, Liu Chen took everyone to the factory's staff canteen for a meal. As soon as she entered the private room, she saw Cui Jian trailing behind Gong Na, smiling and saying something. Gong Na, on the other hand, looked calm, as if his words were nothing but farts and she didn't care at all.
Liu Chen glanced at them and felt puzzled.
Was the professionalism of a commercial spy that low? If you're going to commit fraud, why engage in office romance?
While thinking, Liu Chen didn't stop moving, leading everyone into the private room for the meal.
After dinner, Liu Chen saw everyone off to a nearby mahjong parlor, and then returned to wander around the factory.
Liu Chen was completely confident about the production of Meimei sausages and Meimei pork jerky. She was only slightly worried about the production of the functional drinks.
Due to the secrecy of the formula, the production line for the functional drinks was somewhat different from the others. Liu Chen delivered 100 bottles of concentrated energy replenishment liquid to this production line every day.
The rest was bottling, sealing, and then inspection and packaging.
If this assembly line operated 24 hours a day, it could produce 10,000 bottles a day, which was 5,000 cases. Even Old Master Chen was envious, thinking Liu Chen had bought a high-end assembly line from abroad.
After all, Old Master Chen had inquired before. The channels through which he originally purchased production lines could produce a maximum of 3,000 bottles of beverages a day.
Because of its importance, the production workshop for the functional drinks was the closest to the administration building. Liu Chen could see everything happening inside from her office window, albeit with a telescope.
Of course, without a telescope, one could only get a general idea.
Since Liu Chen had never hidden her emphasis on functional drinks, Cui Jian could roughly tell that the Meimei sausage formula she intended to steal was not the most important thing.
Liu Chen walked through the workshop, toured it from end to end, and then took a bottle from the finished products. She unscrewed the cap, drank a few mouthfuls, and gulped it down.
It tasted good, a bit like iced black tea, but more refreshing. This was a flavor that Liu Chen and Professor He Long had jointly developed. Of course, to avoid copyright disputes, Liu Chen had legally purchased the formula with a formal contract.
And the price was not insignificant, two million yuan.
However, Liu Chen felt the money was well spent. With this taste alone, this beverage would not be a slow seller.
The only thing was that because Liu Chen slept so well, she really couldn't feel the energizing effect herself.
As Liu Chen inspected the production line, Yu Bing followed behind. She had now been promoted to Deputy Manager of the Meimei Factory area, as specifically requested by Liu Chen. Of course, her primary responsibility was still e-commerce marketing.
Liu Chen turned her head and saw Yu Bing, which reminded her of an idea she had since returning.
"Yu Bing, come with me. I need to discuss something with you."
Yu Bing thought Liu Chen was going to ask about e-commerce marketing and quickly nodded, following Liu Chen out of the workshop.
The two of them sat down on a bench by the green belt outside the workshop. Liu Chen sat sideways and said to Yu Bing, "The factory's development has accelerated, and I know you've been studying online marketing on your own."
When Yu Bing heard Liu Chen's opening words, her heart skipped a beat, and her mouth turned bitter. Logic told her that she was originally just an ordinary sales promoter, and her education was not as good as the colleagues she had hired this time...
But, but in the past six months, she had been studying online almost every night until she fell asleep... all to ensure her work ability matched her current position...
Thinking of this, Yu Bing felt as if the world had suddenly become hazy.
"I want to send you to learn e-commerce marketing properly. I've already consulted with Taobao; they have such courses. If you are willing..."
Before Liu Chen could finish speaking, Yu Bing quickly nodded.
"I'm willing! I'm willing! I can do it!"
Seeing Yu Bing's firm agreement, Liu Chen was a little surprised. She thought Yu Bing would need to discuss it with her family first. However, since Yu Bing had agreed, she wouldn't ask further questions.
"If you are willing, after the new product is launched and stable, you can go. I plan to launch Meimei Beef on May 1st. A portion of the recent output will be shipped to Beijing, and the rest will be distributed to various channels within the province."
Yu Bing nodded. Since it was her area of expertise, she pulled Liu Chen aside to discuss the idea of opening a store on JD.com and chatted about the holiday activities for the May Day festival.
It was only because Liu Chen was willing to spend money on landscaping that the roadsides were occasionally dotted with transplanted trees, blocking most of the sunlight. Otherwise, Liu Chen felt that after an hour, her face would have been sunburnt and peeling.
"Okay, I think the few plans you've proposed are good. You can try to implement one. I won't interfere this time. After you've done it, you can use it as a case study to ask your teacher at school."
Upon hearing this, Yu Bing couldn't help but show a mix of excitement and shyness on her face. The corners of her mouth kept turning upwards, and they wouldn't come down.
"Boss, thank you."
Liu Chen waved her hand. "What's there to thank? After you finish your studies and come back, you'll still be working for me, won't you?"
Yu Bing was not foolish. Hearing her boss say this, she felt even more grateful instead of being deceived. She secretly vowed that as long as the Meimei brand was still in business, she would work hard for the rest of her life!
Liu Chen, unaware of Yu Bing's thoughts, left her and returned to her office.
As soon as she sat down in the soft boss's chair, there was a knock on the office door. She opened it to find Ren Yu.
"I thought you were playing mahjong with my mom and the others?"
Ren Yu smiled. "Your mother-in-law needs company, and gifts need to be delivered."
Upon hearing "mother-in-law," Liu Chen couldn't help but glare slightly at Ren Yu. "Who's your mother-in-law? You're really shameless!"
Ren Yu smiled and didn't argue. He walked into the office, closed the door with his foot, and placed the carefully prepared gift with both hands on Liu Chen's desk from behind.
Liu Chen stared at the golden statue of the God of Wealth, astonished.
"This..."
Ren Yu raised an eyebrow. "Don't you like it?"
Liu Chen looked at the pure gold statue of the God of Wealth, which was about thirty centimeters tall, and honestly shook her head.
"I like it."
After thinking for a moment, Liu Chen was still somewhat shocked.
"But... it doesn't seem like a gift from you. How should I put it, it doesn't quite match your background as the boss of a gaming company..."
Ren Yu smiled and sat down in front of the desk.
"With this thing here, who do you think will be tempted?"
Hearing this, Liu Chen shifted her gaze from the God of Wealth to the smiling Ren Yu and shook her head slightly.
"Brother Ren Yu, you're really something!"