Chapter 147: The Cow Once Blown is Becoming Reality

An annual meeting is a place where things can easily go to two extremes. Some go happily, but end up sitting from 11:00 AM until 6:00 PM before the banquet starts. In between, besides listening to the company's directors and executives taking turns rambling on, they are also unlucky enough to be called by name to go on stage to perform for the leaders. In the end, when they leave, they don't get anything, and the banquet isn't even hot...

Others, well, they are like Dongling Gao Ke's, bringing their families to attend the annual meeting to eat the banquet, and by the way, draw a lottery. If they are lucky, they might even get the first prize of today's annual meeting: a Santana car!

Like last year, Huang Xiaopei, the wife of Chen Tao, the manager of the Dongling Gao Ke Technical Department, came to the annual meeting wearing a brand-new set of clothes. The difference was that last year she came holding a child, but today she was leading a little girl with two pigtails tied up, looking like a carved jade, into the venue.

Compared to last year, Huang Xiaopei was dressed much more fashionably. Now, Huang Xiaopei naturally didn't need to worry about her livelihood. Chen Tao's salary was now calculated on an annual basis. The material conditions of the Chen family were now considered top-notch even if placed in places like Yanjing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou.

Joining Dongling Gao Ke, Huang Xiaopei felt it was the most correct decision she and Chen Tao had made since they got married. In the research institute where Chen Tao was before, there were countless technical personnel who envied Chen Tao, and there were even more who came to Huang Xiaopei to pull strings, wanting to enter Dongling Gao Ke.

Huang Xiaopei saw that inside the venue, not only was she bringing her child, but quite a few family members and children were also present. The entire venue was very lively.

"Come, tell Uncle what your name is, and Uncle will buy you candy!"

Chen Qianqian, who was three years old this year, was looking around with her big, rolling eyes when a "strange uncle" appeared in front of her.

"I am Chen Qianqian!"

Chen Qianqian, who often went to Dongling Gao Ke to visit her father Chen Tao and was pampered by the entire Dongling Gao Ke Technical Department, said without any fear of strangers.

Zhang Ao pinched Chen Qianqian's little face, took out a thick red envelope, and stuffed it into Chen Qianqian's little hand. Seeing this, Huang Xiaopei hurriedly tried to decline.

"Sister Huang, this is for the child. Everyone has a share today!" After Zhang Ao said this to Huang Xiaopei, he left directly.

After Zhang Ao, Chen Qianqian successively received red envelopes from Hu Zi, Gao Peng, Li Dongshan, Yao Luoying, and others. Then, Chen Qianqian touched her little face, which had been pinched and rubbed who knew how many times, and said to Huang Xiaopei with tears in her eyes, looking pitiful, "I don't want red envelopes anymore..."

Seeing this, Huang Xiaopei couldn't help but laugh. However, seeing that her own daughter was really about to cry, she hurriedly coaxed her.

Looking at the bustling and noisy venue, and then thinking back to last year's annual meeting, Huang Xiaopei could visibly see how much Dongling Gao Ke's scale had expanded in this year.

However, this was also a characteristic of this era. The speed at which a company's personnel scale expanded was truly too fast. For companies in health supplements, beverages, and food, the fastest-growing department was the sales department. Like the "Giant" that invested in health supplements, the sales department grew by tens of thousands of people in this year alone!

As for Dongling Gao Ke, the growth was mainly in production line personnel, followed by the technical department. These two major departments were currently the departments with the most personnel in Dongling Gao Ke.

Like last year, this year's Dongling Gao Ke annual meeting didn't bother the staff, letting employees perform programs for Dongling Gao Ke's executives, but instead invited professional hosts and performance guests.

This made Gao Peng feel a bit regretful. He wanted to be a host again this year, and by the way, show off his singing voice. Last year, he sang in front of more than a hundred people. This year, it was in front of a large group of Dongling Gao Ke staff and their families. Gao Peng was even more enthusiastic and had specifically gone to karaoke to practice for a few days. As a result, there was no opportunity to be an "eye-catching clown" today, which made him quite regretful.

The person guest-hosting for the Dongling Gao Ke annual meeting was a host from Pingyang TV Station. There was no need to worry about professional ability and stage control ability.

After some opening remarks, Li Dongling came to the stage. At this moment, the area below suddenly became quiet, especially the hundred or so people who joined Dongling Gao Ke earliest, all looking closely at Li Dongling.

The "big pie" Li Dongling drew for them last year had basically been realized, and those that hadn't been realized also let people see the hope of realization. Most importantly, they all got the money, and their salaries were far beyond their peers.

"Just as I said last year, I am very happy that everyone could come today. I also hope that next year, I can see everyone again, and I hope even more that every year in the future will be like this!"

Li Dongling's gaze looked toward the stage. Face after face came into his view.

"Dongling Gao Ke can reach today, which is inseparable from everyone's hard work and efforts. Whether it is the Technical Department, Production Department, Sales Department, Administration, Personnel, Finance, or Logistics, they have all made huge efforts. Dongling Gao Ke will not forget all of this!"

When hearing this sentence, Tao Zhiliang, who was sitting at the same table with a group of supervisors, couldn't help but have red eyes. Others only saw that he was now a supervisor, had received a high salary, and was managing several production lines and staff. How many people remembered the scenes when he worked overtime for several days to build production lines and rush the schedule and output, sleeping on the floor in the workshop? Now that it was said by Li Dongling, it immediately made his eyes red.

Zhu Jing, who was sitting beside Tao Zhiliang, saw her husband's expression and held Tao Zhiliang's hand under the table. She knew how difficult it had been for Tao Zhiliang over the past year or so.

Previously, Tao Zhiliang was a technical worker at the Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1. After the wireless factory stopped production, he searched for work everywhere to support his family, but all ended in failure. No factory wanted people. After arriving at the Dongling Gao Ke Industrial Park, Tao Zhiliang truly worked his life away, supporting the entire Tao family again!

"Last year, Dongling Gao Ke's most important goal was to let Dongling Gao Ke survive. I am very happy that we did it!"

As Li Dongling's voice fell, the activity center suddenly erupted with thunderous applause.

Li Dongling waited until the applause died down a bit before speaking again. "Next year, Dongling Gao Ke still hasn't reached the point of being able to sleep without worry. As a tech company, it is always only one step away from bankruptcy!

Next year, Dongling Gao Ke's goal is still to survive, and to live a little better. The Dongling Gao Ke Board of Directors hopes that next year we can continue to increase everyone's wages, issue more bonuses and dividends, build more employee housing, and let more people live in new houses!

Next year, the childcare centers, kindergartens, and primary schools that Dongling Gao Ke cooperates with the education departments in Pingyang, the provincial capital, Guangzhou, and other places will be established. Dongling Gao Ke staff in these areas can choose to let their children enroll in these cooperative schools!

The Qilin Award will cover all Dongling Gao Ke staff. As long as the children of Dongling Gao Ke staff can get into college, they can receive a scholarship every year. Dongling Gao Ke is currently negotiating with insurance companies and health institutions in Pingyang and other places to let Dongling Gao Ke staff receive medical and insurance services, and can have a free physical examination with their families every year..."

The time Li Dongling spent speaking on stage was not long, less than 13 minutes, but when Li Dongling walked down, the applause in the venue continued. Although Li Dongling didn't say it, what he was doing was turning the "cows" he once blew into reality!

After Li Dongling finished speaking, they started serving dishes directly. Like last year, there were no fancy things. The dishes served were real "hard dishes"—chicken, duck, fish, mutton, beef, pork knuckles, etc., were all available, which did not disappoint the staff and family members who specifically waited for this meal today.

Today, alcohol was also supplied, from Kongfuyan liquor to Wenjun liquor, and then to Jiannanchun, Wuliangye, Moutai, etc., all were available. However, the one drunk the most was still the local brand Xifeng liquor in Hanxi.

In the venue, a special area was set aside as a sobering area, equipped with sobering soup and sobering medicine. Two doctors were also specifically found to wait there. Today's Dongling Gao Ke annual meeting was to be enjoyed to the fullest, but also to prevent any "moth" from happening.

Now, people didn't care about health preservation. Men, women, old, and young would all drink, and they all drank white liquor. The white liquor brand had won the CCTV advertising bid for several consecutive years, just because it could sell liquor. Now, the annual consumption of liquor in the country was much more than in later generations.

The invited performance guests also began to perform on stage. This year, the Dongling Gao Ke Logistics Department invited several small-name singers, as well as Hanxi's most famous drama troupe, crosstalk troupe, and acrobatics troupe to perform.

The entire scene was noisy, and there were also people with itchy throats who took the initiative to raise their hands to sign up for performances. Gao Peng was one of them. After howling a new song by Jacky Cheung this year, "Stealing Heart," he walked down with satisfaction. No matter how the people below felt, he felt refreshed anyway...

During the performances, lottery activities were held from time to time. Basically, those who won the lottery could get prizes, more or less. Some won bonuses in red envelopes, and some won televisions, air conditioners, and washing machines. Each lottery draw attracted the eyes of everyone in the venue.

"Cheers!"

Li Dongling and Yao Luoying, Ren Yuefeng, Hu Zi, Li Dongshan, Zhang Ao, Duan Youli, and other Dongling Gao Ke executives sat at a table. The group raised their glasses to toast, and all drank it in one gulp.

The spicy liquor surged from the throat into the abdomen, making a flush of wine appear on Yao Luoying's face. Her watery eyes looked at Li Dongling, and she poured another glass of liquor, raising it to Li Dongling. "Wishing that every year has today, and every year has this day!"

Looking at Yao Luoying, whose face was flushed and who had become a bit more tender and charming, Li Dongling raised his glass and toasted with Yao Luoying.

Performances were on stage, the atmosphere below was noisy, and applause and laughter never stopped. People kept running over to toast Li Dongling. Unknowingly, Li Dongling also drank quite a bit of liquor and felt a bit tipsy. Yao Luoying also blocked quite a bit of liquor for Li Dongling.

"I'll send you back!" Seeing Yao Luoying, whose eyes were already a bit blurry from drunkenness, Li Dongling said to her.

According to last year's annual meeting process, at this point, they should be setting off fireworks. But Duan Youli's management was quite strict, strictly forbidding open flames inside the industrial park. Smoking was not allowed, let alone setting off fireworks. In the end, the place for setting off fireworks was placed opposite the Dongling Gao Ke Industrial Park.

After the car drove out of the industrial park, fireworks rose in the sky. Li Dongling and Yao Luoying couldn't help but look toward the sky. The colorful fireworks, through the car window, were reflected on both of their faces.

"Happy New Year!"

Like last year, Yao Luoying said this to Li Dongling. When Li Dongling turned his head to look at her, Yao Luoying had already leaned her head on Li Dongling's shoulder and fallen asleep, breathing like an orchid. Looking at Yao Luoying's face, Li Dongling smiled and shook his head, draping his coat over Yao Luoying.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 148 =====