Chapter 368: Wang Xin: When Will This Ever End? Give Me a Break! The 25-Yuan Wage Hike Storm!

Shencheng, Zhongsha Technology Park, Orange Phone Factory Headquarters.

Outside the packaging workshop, a production supervisor in his forties beamed at the sea of frontline workers and called out: “Good news, uh, cough, my throat’s a bit dry.”

A young man pushed forward from the crowd, holding a pack of cigarettes and a lighter, eagerly offering them: “Brother Xiang, here’s a Huazhi to moisten your throat!”

“I remember you’re Zhu Ancheng, right?” Brother Xiang took the cigarette and lighter, smiling as he asked.

“Brother Xiang, you’ve got an amazing memory!” Zhu Ancheng immediately gave a thumbs-up in praise.

“Zhu Ancheng, Packaging Workshop B7, openly violated company safety regulations—fine of five hundred yuan, second offense: termination.”

Brother Xiang raised the cigarette and announced loudly.

Zhu Ancheng’s smile vanished instantly.

But smiles never disappear—they only shift; other coworkers in the same workshop burst into laughter, grinning like they were watching a clown.

Zhu Ancheng dared not argue and slunk back into line, dejected.

“Alright, let’s get back to the real matter—our boss just made a new decision.” Brother Xiang paused halfway.

“Brother Xiang, spit it out!”

“Is the boss coming to Shencheng for the annual meeting?”

“Are we getting laid off? Other factories pay ten yuan an hour—we pay twenty. I’m scared the boss can’t afford it!”

Hearing the workers’ chatter, Brother Xiang smirked with disdain, then waved his hand: “Orange Phone sold fifty million units last year, smart speakers over ten million—do you think we can’t afford your wages?”

“Starting in February, the minimum hourly wage rises from twenty yuan to twenty-five yuan!”

But after he spoke, there was no cheer as expected—everyone exchanged uneasy glances, unable to believe it.

“Brother Xiang, did you mess up? Did you mean fifteen yuan instead of twenty-five?” someone couldn’t help asking.

“Absolutely correct—Boss Cao just finished the meeting with us and told me himself,” Brother Xiang laughed loudly.

“What the fuck? Twenty-five?”

“Aaaah!”

“Long live the boss!”

“Can I sleep with the boss? Otherwise, I won’t feel right taking this money.”

“Pfft! Daydreaming in broad daylight? You ungrateful little shit!”

Everyone in Packaging Workshop B7 erupted in cheers!

Dozens of meters away, Packaging Workshop B6 also erupted in chaos!

Employees from A1 SMT, C6 Assembly, B3 Screen Production, D9 Antenna, and dozens of other workshops couldn’t help but cheer and clamor!

Brother Xiang grinned until his eyes vanished—he’d risen from the factory floor and knew how vital hourly wages were to workers.

Raising the hourly wage from twenty to twenty-five yuan meant the base salary jumped to 3,300 yuan.

Overtime on a workday: 37.5 yuan per hour.

Overtime on weekends: 50 yuan per hour.

Overtime on holidays: 75 yuan per hour.

Under current factory rules, workers could work up to four extra hours on weekdays, six on weekends and holidays—easily earning eight to nine thousand a month; during National Day, Spring Festival, or May Day, hitting ten thousand before tax wasn’t hard.

Workers on screw-tightening assembly lines making over ten thousand a month?

It was 2013—this job, though exhausting, paid more than white-collar salaries in Beijing or Shanghai.

News of Orange Phone’s wage hike spread through Zhongsha Technology Park, then to Saige Software Park and Huaqiangbei, eventually trending nationwide.

At first, netizens thought twenty-five yuan an hour wasn’t impressive—but once they calculated overtime pay, they lost their minds.

“Based in Lucheng, bachelor’s degree in humanities, currently a website editor, salary four thousand, no meals or housing, no social insurance.”

“I’m crying! I work as an operations officer in Shanghai—base salary six thousand, plus attendance bonus and incentives, take-home eight thousand—but after rent and food, I can’t save four thousand.”

"AliP5 wage slave, my boss psyches me out every day, take-home pay just over nine thousand—but I still think I'd rather be tightening screws."

Netizens, eyes red with envy, left bitter comments.

Internet workers typically worked 9 to 10, five to six days a week—no easier than screw-tightening—but their pay was no higher than assembly-line laborers, shattering many illusions.

“@Chen Yansen I’m a loyal Orange Phone user—can I get priority hiring?”

“@Chen Yansen I’m a 2006 graduate of Xu Yuan—on the grounds of alumni ties, can you hire me first?”

“@Chen Yansen You think money makes you special? Don’t you understand you’re wrecking Shencheng’s labor market?”

“Who forgot to zip their pants and let the lunatic out?”

Soon, netizens flooded Chen Yansen’s Weibo comments—some joking, others sincerely seeking jobs.

Base salary and overtime pay at Orange Phone were just part of the income—not all of it. There were also quarterly bonuses, 20% monthly housing subsidies, meal allowances, five insurances and one fund, holiday red packets, free health checkups, and more.

Altogether, with four days off per month, pre-tax income exceeded ten thousand yuan.

Plus meals and housing included—saving a hundred thousand a year was possible.

At this point, an economics professor published a scathing article: “Orange Phone’s wages are too high—they must be lowered to a reasonable level.” A factory owner immediately followed up, raging on Weibo: “Orange Phone maliciously raised wages and disrupted Shencheng’s labor market.”

Netizens burst into laughter—could raising wages be “malicious”?

“If raising wages is malicious, then let this malice come even harder!”

“I can’t sleep! Who the hell is this professor? I suggest cutting his salary to three thousand—see if he still complains!”

“Our county sanitation workers make only fifteen hundred a month—let him try doing their job for a few days.”

Netizens swarmed, forcing the professor and factory owner to shut down their comment sections—but when they checked private messages, they found nothing but sweet, flattering words about their relatives.

Both fled, deleting their accounts overnight.

Meanwhile.

Chen Yansen hadn’t noticed the online uproar—he’d spent the whole afternoon in a meeting with Wang Teng and others.

First, Orange Tech would establish the official open-source community for Aurora Future System—AuroraFutureOpenSourceProject, abbreviated AFOSP—open to global developers to advance the Aurora Future open-source project.

The source code repository contained all necessary components to build the Aurora Future OS—developers could customize and develop using these codes; anyone could download, view, modify, and redistribute them.

Second, launch the Aurora Future Bug Bounty Program with a reward pool of thirty million U.S. dollars.

Anyone who discovers a system bug and submits verified proof to the official team immediately receives a reward of no less than fifty thousand U.S. dollars.

Chen Yansen knew clearly: the more users Aurora Future OS had, the stronger its vitality.

After finalizing the plan with Wang Teng, he sent a video conference invite to Mao Chaorong.

Next, Orange Tech would fully promote Aurora Future OS through Mimo short videos, developer BBS, Facebook, and Wired magazine.

“Old Wang, help me win this battle.”

As he stepped out of the meeting room, Chen Yansen clapped Wang Teng on the shoulder.

“Yes, boss,” Wang Teng nodded firmly.

Just now in the meeting room, Chen Yansen had fired him up.

Fuck it—overthrow Android and iOS dominance in smartphones, build China’s own mobile OS.

“Boss, the wage hike at Orange Phone has gone viral online,” Ye Qiuping rushed over, holding a file.

“Think I’m too stingy?” Chen Yansen joked.

“They’re accusing you of malicious wage hikes,” Ye Qiuping said slowly, each word deliberate.

Chen Yansen shrugged, amused—Orange Phone’s hourly wage was only twenty-five yuan, base salary just 3,300 yuan—he didn’t think that was high at all.

“Nobody praises me?” Chen Yansen asked, frowning.

“Everyone else wants to go tighten screws at Orange Phone—your Weibo DMs are overflowing,” Ye Qiuping said helplessly.

“Handle it yourself,” Chen Yansen said dismissively.

He had protection above—he didn’t give a damn!

With Meng Yuanzhi’s connections, he could walk sideways in Hui’an!

As for Cao Dahua—if real trouble came, he wouldn’t skimp—he’d at least get him a titanium alloy urn.

Ye Qiuping watched Chen Yansen’s back, a faint smile slowly forming.

She’d once thought Chen Yansen was a mess in every way except looks, physique, earning power, and emotional intelligence—womanizing, perverted, lusting after her body.

But now, she saw he wasn’t utterly rotten—he genuinely cared for his workers.

Even Yun Su’s couriers and Kuai Run’s delivery riders received valuable stock options.

Meanwhile.

The “Dialogue” team’s host, Chen Hongwei, froze upon hearing the news—he recalled Chen Yansen’s remarks on the show. Had he planned this all along?

Before the episode even aired, Chen Yansen had already triggered a major scandal.

It was easy to imagine the impact when the episode finally aired.

“Teacher Chen, the producer wants you in a meeting,” came a voice from outside.

Chen Hongwei replied, pushed his thoughts aside, turned, and walked out of the lounge to the control room behind the studio.

The director, producer, and editors were all there.

“We just got a call—they told us to delete every sensitive topic from Chen Yansen’s interview,” the producer sighed.

If they cut everything, what was left to sell?

“Wasn’t yesterday’s version already approved?” Chen Hongwei asked, then added: “Is this related to today’s news?”

“They want Chen Yansen as a public face, not a lightning rod—of course they’ll protect him,” the director chuckled.

“A few shots need reshoots, Old Chen, you’ll have to work hard,” the producer added.

Chen Hongwei nodded—he’d seen this countless times; he was used to it.

That night, discussions about Orange Phone’s benefits dwindled on Weibo, forums, and major portals—all related reports were quietly buried.

Wang Xin, thinking the storm had passed, immediately received new news: the Tang City Consumer Association had received massive complaints demanding Meituan issue an official explanation and resolve local customer grievances within three working days.

Wang Xin knew that Pei Yi had struck again, and muttered under his breath: When will this ever end!

(End of Chapter)