The Female CEO Falls in Love with Me

(These past few days, with everyone enjoying a short holiday, I've been swamped with social obligations as well. I apologize for the delay in updates. To fulfill what I said earlier about resuming on Thursday, I'll spend the whole night writing, ensuring updates exceeding ten thousand words tomorrow!)

The employee meeting concluded quickly, marking a temporary pause in the strike incident. However, Zhang Yurong couldn't leave right away. Li Yan had already addressed the discovered issues during the meeting, and she also needed to direct Li Minghui on the handling solutions and outcomes.

Hu Jiaping, identified as a leech within the management, was to be absolutely removed. As for the other members of the finance department, or other officers with similar issues, Li Minghui was instructed to observe their subsequent performance, making it currently impractical to dismiss them all. If the approach of punishing one to warn others still did not work, then a complete replacement would be necessary. The employee representatives who were bribed and then betrayed by Li Yan would also become direct contractors of this incident and must be dismissed.

Of course, Zhang Yurong herself was not a ruthless capitalist. After understanding the general income level of the lower-echelon employees, she had already instructed Li Minghui to implement normal salary adjustments for the base wages. However, regarding overtime pay, a significant portion of their income, she demanded better adjustments. She also tasked the management to make proper arrangements to prevent time-padding issues. This meant that employees could potentially work fewer hours for the same pay as long as they completed their tasks, rather than having to endure extended hours.

She had only given general directives, leaving the specific arrangements to the factory management led by Director Li Minghui. Having taken care of all this, it was almost twelve noon — lunchtime.

Seeing the CEO about to leave, even the straightforward Li Minghui realized it was a rare chance to host her, eagerly requesting her to stay for lunch, stating that a reservation had been made at a nearby restaurant to thank the CEO for her special visit to resolve the issue.

Even for the CEO of a large corporation, opportunities to have a meal with Zhang Yurong were scarce. Why would she socialize with the likes of Li Minghui and his team? She immediately declined coldly.

However, at this moment, Li Yan suggested, "Miss Zhang, I think we should stay for a meal."

Zhang Yurong gazed at him coldly, wanting to understand his reasoning.

I'm your wife! Someone invites me to lunch, and you support it? Haven't you ever eaten? At this moment, she felt a bit displeased, even preferring if Li Yan had invited her to a private lunch instead.

Li Minghui nodded eagerly, but Li Yan's next words tempered his enthusiasm, leaving him anxious.

"President Zhang, why have the employees been stirred up? Isn't one reason the inadequate welfare? We can't personally experience every situation in the factory, but now that we're here, we can see how the meals are. I suggest at noon we eat at the employee canteen like regular staff. By experiencing it firsthand, you'll have a better grasp on improving welfare in the future."

Li Minghui silently lamented, knowing that the strike had also impacted the canteen staff, who hadn't been working for days. Although work had resumed earlier, and they had promised extra meals and dishes for everyone today, it was only feasible to do so for dinner. Lunch would likely consist of leftovers and hurriedly purchased ingredients — the conditions wouldn't be great.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yurong nodded in agreement. "Alright, just as you wish. Director Li, please help arrange it. We'll eat on the same terms as the most ordinary employees."

Li Minghui quickly agreed. With the time already this late, there were no other options. If it was outside at a restaurant, better arrangements could be made anytime, but the canteen didn't have such leeway. Serving a meal for a thousand people was already commendable. Trying to do something special at this time was feasible, but raising the standard for everyone was impossible to achieve.

...

Growing up in a well-to-do family, Zhang Yurong typically had Ke Yunyun order her meals to be delivered to her office. Even at the company's headquarters restaurant, she had visited only a few times. This factory canteen was vastly inferior to the headquarters' restaurant in every aspect.

Holding onto a tray prepared by Li Minghui, she followed Li Yan, lining up behind a long queue, which filled her with a sense of novelty. However, she stood out too much, and nearly every employee's gaze fell upon her, making her feel unnatural.

The factory's dining area was divided into two parts: a large canteen for the employees and a smaller one for managers and above. The food was basically the same, but the latter had soup and allowed diners to take as much as they liked, with a slightly better environment.

The CEO rejecting the director's hospitality to line up for food in the employee canteen seemed like a publicity stunt to many, who didn't bother to pay attention. Only Li Minghui had no choice but to follow along to get food here as well.

While employees suspected the two were merely putting on a show, they hoped the CEO genuinely intended to understand the workers' reality and improve conditions, as they always wanted better meals. Today, however, they all hoped for the opposite — that the food would be as bad as possible so the CEO would be compelled to insist on improvements.

After queuing for a while, the two got their food and searched for a seat in the large canteen.