"The company’s business is not doing well at the moment. There’s not much for them to do here, so most of them have taken leave," the manager said nervously, his heart yearning to fabricate an excuse but ultimately succumbing to the truth in front of Ye Fei.
"Unpaid leave?" Ye Fei asked indifferently.
"Well..."
The manager hesitated for a moment before whispering, "It’s paid, but without bonuses or anything. The company isn’t making money. If it weren’t for the support from the headquarters, we might not even be able to pay salaries. But with just the base salary, employees can’t support their families. Many of them have part-time jobs outside and come to the office on a rotating basis."
Ye Fei responded with a nonchalant "Hmm," his thoughts inscrutable to everyone around him.
He then asked, "Who made this decision? I assume if no one had approved it, the employees wouldn’t be so undisciplined?"
The manager gritted his teeth, took a deep breath, and spoke honestly, "I told them to do this. Everyone works to make a living. If they can’t even support their families, I believe it wouldn’t take long for all the employees to leave."
"What’s your name?" Ye Fei suddenly asked. He wasn’t angry with the manager anymore because the man was right. If one couldn’t even support their family, who would stay at such a company?
Even with the Ye family’s influence, employees would eventually leave if they had no other choice. It wasn’t their fault; it was the company’s fault. The fact that the manager had made this decision showed he cared about his employees.
"My name is Cheng Hui—Cheng as in ’journey,’ and Hui as in ’brilliance.’ I’m the general manager of Lingyun Film and Entertainment Company," the manager replied nervously, unsure why Ye Fei was asking his name.
"Manager Cheng, right? Judging by your decision, you seem to care about your employees, and I believe they support you as well," Ye Fei said with a smile.
"However, being likable alone won’t make a good general manager. How about this: Manager Cheng, you’ll temporarily step down to the position of deputy general manager.
As for the general manager’s position, I’ll leave it vacant for now until I find someone more capable. Do you have any objections?"
"No objections, none at all!" Cheng Hui nodded hastily. He was far from objecting; in fact, he was overjoyed. He had already prepared himself for the worst, expecting to be kicked out of the company.
In Wang Hai City, no one would dare hire someone dismissed by the Ye family, and moving to another city would be a daunting challenge. His entire family’s future seemed doomed.
But to his surprise, Ye Fei not only kept him but also promoted him to deputy general manager.
How could he not be thrilled?
Ye Fei nodded and continued, "You should be able to contact those employees who have part-time jobs, right? Inform them to come to the office this afternoon. Don’t worry about salaries; I’ll triple them from now on. How can employees of the Ye family resort to part-time jobs outside?
However, there’s one condition: they must work hard from now on. No more laziness. Otherwise, even if they don’t resign, I’ll dismiss them myself. You have no objections to this, right?"
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"Of course not!" Cheng Hui replied.
"Most of them are long-time employees who want to see the company succeed. Given this opportunity, they’ll definitely work hard."
"That’s good to hear," Ye Fei smiled. "It’s almost noon. Notify all the employees here that I’m treating everyone to lunch."
"Sure!"
The conversation between Ye Fei and Cheng Hui had already drawn the attention of almost everyone in the room.
Ye Fei didn’t lower his voice, and the employees couldn’t help but cheer.
Of course, their excitement wasn’t because of the free lunch. Instead, they saw hope for the company’s future in this sixteen-year-old boy.
In the future, being an employee of "Lingyun Film" would no longer be a source of ridicule but of envy!
As everyone was about to head to the restaurant, the receptionist suddenly reminded Cheng Hui, "You haven’t called Miss Situ yet, have you?"
"Oh, right, right. I almost forgot about her. Go notify her quickly," Cheng Hui said hurriedly. Seeing Ye Fei and the others looking at him curiously, he explained, "Miss Situ is our company’s talented woman. Her full name is Situ Ying. She studied directing and has been with Lingyun since she graduated. It’s just that the company has never been very successful, and her talent has been buried all this time."
"Hmm?" Ye Fei’s interest was piqued. "Why hasn’t she moved to a bigger company? And since our company hasn’t produced any works, how do you know she’s talented?"
Cheng Hui replied, "We’ve all read the screenplays written by Situ Ying, and they are truly exceptional—far better than those from the famous screenwriters in the country right now. As for why she stays at Lingyun, we’re not sure.
To be honest, after seeing her scripts, we didn’t want such great work to be buried. We once advised her to pitch her scripts to bigger companies or even sell them, but she never agreed. And over the years, she’s been the only one who comes to the office every day."
Seeing that Cheng Hui didn’t seem to be lying, Ye Fei became genuinely curious about Situ Ying and decided to wait for her with everyone else. Ye Ningsuan and the others were also curious about this individual.
Soon, the receptionist emerged from the office, followed by a thin, petite woman who looked to be in her late twenties. Her appearance was at best plain, with thick glasses perched on her face, making her seem utterly ordinary.
However, Ye Fei was never one to judge a book by its cover. He didn’t dismiss Situ Ying based on her appearance. Before she could get closer, he walked up to her, extended his hand, and said, "Miss Situ, hello. I’m Ye Fei."
"Ah, Mr. Ye, hello," Situ Ying’s face turned slightly red as she nervously extended her small hand for a brief shake. She had already heard about Ye Fei’s identity from the receptionist and couldn’t help but feel a bit shy.
Ye Fei was somewhat surprised that this talented screenwriter, whom Cheng Hui and others highly regarded, behaved like a teenage girl. He guessed that she must have been so focused on her work that she rarely interacted with the outside world.
Situ Ying’s demeanor slightly disappointed Ye Fei.
Even if her screenplays were excellent, her personality seemed ill-suited for a successful director.
However, at this moment, Ye Fei had no idea that Situ Ying, whom he deemed unfit for directing, and Xu Weier, whom he thought was unsuitable for acting, would bring immense glory to Lingyun Film in the near future.
Regardless of Ye Fei’s disappointment, lunch was still a necessity.
The group went downstairs and enjoyed a hearty meal at a nearby hotel.
Facing the disdainful glances from others, Ye Fei silently vowed that soon he would host a victory banquet for these employees at this very hotel, leaving everyone else utterly astonished!
After lunch, Ye Ningsuan and Mu Ling left first, leaving only Xu Weier to stay with Ye Fei.
She was about to become a member of this company, so naturally, she needed to attend the afternoon meeting. Cheng Hui had already informed every employee about Ye Fei’s meeting in the afternoon, and they were all excited, though they hadn’t arrived yet.