Mid-October, on the fifteenth, the faces of all employees at Candy Technology were filled with happy smiles.
Why? No other reason! Just because itâs payday again.
As soon as work started in the morning, everyone was checking to see if their salaries had been deposited.
According to past patterns, salaries are typically deposited at 8:01, but the phone message confirming it arrives an hour later.
In the office, Li Xuanyu watched everyone excitedly checking their pay, and just shrugged her shoulders.
"Xuanyu, why arenât you checking your salary?"
"Iâm an intern, and I just joined the company, so I donât have a salary."
"Not true, the companyâs policy is to pay on the 15th of each month for that monthâs work."
"You should check it too."
"Our companyâs intern salary shouldnât be too low either."
With everyone encouraging her, Li Xuanyu decided to check.
How to say it, at that moment Li Xuanyu felt very conflicted inside.
She feared there might be nothing in her salary account, yet also feared the company had paid her.
She was very conflicted overall.
"(âoâ) Wow, a 5000 stipend for an intern, almost like Jing City!"
Looking at her account that morning, more than four thousand had been deposited, annotated as an intern stipend in the transaction details.
The 5000 stipend, after tax, left over four thousand.
Near lunchtime, as she was about to leave, Li Xuanyu went to HR to inquire about the stipend.
The HR pulled up Li Xuanyuâs pay slip, smiled, and said:
"Thereâs no issue with the salary we paid you. You scared me for a moment; I thought we made a miscalculation."
Lip-biting, Li Xuanyu wasnât entirely satisfied.
"Sis, why is the intern stipend so high, as much as 5000?"
"Oh, thatâs because the local government set up a special subsidy to attract more talent."
"Okay, thank you, sis."
"Youâre welcome."
That night, lying in bed, Li Xuanyu tossed and turned, constantly thinking about this 5000 yuan.
Even though it was past nine, she couldnât help but call home.
...
"My daughter, is that why youâre calling?"
"Oh my, your call in the middle of the night almost scared me and your dad to death."
Her daughter had just recovered, and receiving a call from her in the middle of the night could scare anyone.
Li Xuanyu coquettishly said, "Mom, youâre exaggerating."
"Alright, you can decide for yourself on this matter."
"But in my momâs experience, that big boss friend of yours definitely wonât take your money."
"If it doesnât work out, you can take the money and invite him to a meal."
"Doesnât he have a little sister? Buying some toys for the little girl is also an option."
"Okay then, Iâm just giving you suggestions. Do whatever you see fit; youâre a grown-up now, still acting coy, ugh... it gives me the chills."
Beep beep beepïœ
Before Li Xuanyu could say anything more, her mom hung up the phone.
As she lay back in bed, Li Xuanyu made a decision; the money would be spent on Candy.
Yes, thatâs decided.
After all, she considers herself half a mom to Candy.
A few afternoons later, Mo Jingchun was in the lab, listening to the researchers report on the latest progress in graphene battery research.
After more than an hour of reporting, Mo Jingchun couldnât help but frown.
The research on graphene batteries was progressing too slowly.
Even with his deliberate guidance, theyâve covered less than a tenth of the distance needed for mass production.
In the lab, all the research staff waited for their boss to speak.
In the past, they naĂŻvely thought the boss didnât understand graphene batteries.
But every time they hit a research snag, the boss always came up with solutions.
After so many times, anyone still thinking the boss knew nothing would be the real fool.
"These are some of my ideas; you can use them as a reference."
Leaving behind some materials, Mo Jingchun got up and left.
After he left, everyone gathered around.
Treating the thin sheet of paper as a treasure.
"Holy crap, be careful, donât tear the paper."
"Couldnât you guys make a copy first?"
......
Meanwhile, downstairs in the terminal development lab, Mo Jingchun turned green upon seeing the phone handed to him by the research staff.
An android-based open-source system is fine; after all, thereâs no UI designer.
But whose idiot design was this? Such a thick phone, is it from a decade ago?
Itâs thick, heavy, and very ugly.
Mo Jingchun took a deep breath, forcing himself to be consoled that this department is just being maintained.
Thereâs no expectation for them to generate profits for the company in the short term.
"Keep working hard; you have a long way to go."
With that, Mo Jingchun left; staying any longer, he feared he might die of anger here.
No, the lab is full of men with no aesthetic sense, this canât continue.
No arguments; HR must recruit some female researchers.
Especially designers!
In the lobby on the first-floor reception, Huang Min was a bit embarrassed as she faced the weathered-looking man who claimed to be a village chief.
If she hadnât seen his ID, Huang Min wouldnât have believed the man in front of her was just over thirty.
"Uncle, I can only ask the bossâs secretary for you."
He Youhua said sincerely, "Thank you! Thank you!"
The receptionist Huang Min dialed Xia Xiaominâs desk phone, reporting the situation truthfully.
"Alright, got it."
"Please have him wait a moment; Iâll confirm his identity."
"Okay, Xia."
On the top floor, after confirming the man was indeed the village chief of Mo Family Village, Xia Xiaomin immediately went downstairs.
The boss was still in the lab at this time, and when heâd return was uncertain.
"Hello, are you the village chief, He Youhua?"
"Yes! Hello, hello." Clutching a briefcase, He Youhua stepped forward to shake hands.
Xia Xiaomin smiled and said: "Our boss is still in the lab, would you like to come upstairs and have some tea while you wait?"
"That... would be asking too much of you."
Once, He Youhua was an ambitious college graduate.
Responding to the countryâs call, he went to work in the countryside right after graduation, determined to lead the villagers to prosperity.
However, this path proved far more challenging than He Youhua anticipated.
In the blink of an eye, ten years had passed, and he became the village chief. Though, with his efforts, the village had changed in many areas.
It still has a long way to go to reach his initial goals.
In the elevator, Xia Xiaomin smiled and asked, "Chief, if itâs not too forward, could you tell me whatâs brought you to see the boss this time?"
He Youhua sighed and replied, "Itâs a bit embarrassing to admit, but Iâm here seeking help."
"Since the year I graduated, Iâve been down in Mo Family Village, and ten years have passed, yet I havenât managed to do much for everyone."
Xia Xiaomin was momentarily stunned, looking at Chief He Youhua with newfound respect.
Ten years of youth, just given to a small village far from his hometown.
```