Chapter 112: The Year-End Bonus (Seeking First Subscription)

“See, I told you the money we have on hand definitely isn't enough for our boss to spend.”

After hearing Li Fu’s words, Zhong Yun, the head of finance, couldn’t help but shake his head with a smile. He had long grown accustomed to the boss’s extravagant spending habits. This money would barely warm his pocket before it would flow right out again.

“Haha, money is meant to be spent; otherwise, it’s just a string of numbers,” Fang Zheng and the others chuckled along. Li Fu’s ability to spend was roughly proportional to his ability to earn.

“Now that we’ve covered the company’s plan for next year, let’s move on to the Spring Festival arrangements. This is the first Lunar New Year since our company was established, so everything must be organized properly. The year-end events can’t be neglected either. Also, Lao Zhong, have you finalized the year-end bonus plan?”

Li Fu smiled as he brought up the topics of year-end activities and bonuses.

As a boss, Li Fu knew he couldn’t just appeal to his employees’ sense of passion or dedication; he needed to motivate them with tangible rewards. That’s why he had always been quite generous with salaries and benefits. The company’s compensation for regular staff aligned with international standards, and for research personnel, it was even higher.

He spoke to his employees about ideals and dreams, but he also made it clear with cold, hard cash that if they worked well for him, their futures and fortunes would be secure. The year-end bonus was a matter everyone cared about deeply, so Li Fu naturally took a personal interest in ensuring all employees had a good New Year.

“The year-end bonus distribution plan is ready. Everyone, please take a look,” Zhong Yun nodded and sent the proposal to the senior management via their virtual machines. The advent of virtual technology had simplified meetings greatly; there was no need for printed documents—they could send everything directly to the relevant parties. Soon, the entire leadership team had the year-end bonus plan appear in their minds, and Li Fu studied it carefully.

The 2018 year-end bonus scheme followed the three principles Li Fu had always emphasized: fairness, justice, and transparency. It was divided into two systems: one for ordinary employees and one for research personnel. The ordinary employee system had nine levels, based on length of service, position, and contribution, ranging from half a year's salary to the top level—like Fang Zheng—who could earn a bonus as high as 100 million yuan.

The research personnel system was roughly half a tier higher, with the lowest level receiving bonuses equivalent to 12 months’ salary. The highest-level researchers—project leaders like Yan Zhang, Chen Bin, and Yu Liang—received nearly 100 million yuan bonuses as well, just slightly less than Fang Zheng.

At first glance, it seemed the highest bonuses for researchers were a bit less than those for ordinary employees, but the overall research staff bonuses were much higher—many earned millions, and quite a few brought in tens of millions. In contrast, ordinary employees' bonuses, even among senior executives, were comparatively modest.

“Hmm, the company made a good profit this year. Isn’t this year-end bonus a bit low? The company account has plenty of money. I think we can afford to give a little more,” Li Fu said slowly after carefully reviewing and roughly calculating the figures. The big boss was in no shortage of funds and was willing to be more generous.

“This distribution is already quite high. Many employees have long tenure here, though the company itself is still young. If we pay too much all at once, it’ll be harder to manage bonuses in the coming years.”

“Consider that employees from the company’s early days are considered veterans and mostly hold management roles, with bonuses in the millions. Many joined fresh out of university, so comparatively, these bonuses are already quite generous. Even as a high-tech company, these year-end bonuses rank among the highest globally.”

Fang Zheng shook his head in disagreement. With extensive management experience and insight into human nature, he believed salary increases should be gradual. If bonuses suddenly became too high, managing future distributions would become more difficult.

“Old Fang is right. This plan is already quite generous. There’s no need to go higher, especially since many expenses are lined up for next year,” agreed Luo Yunchang, the seasoned HR director. Both he and Fang had significant management experience and understood the delicate nature of compensation.

“Hmm, you all have good points. How about this: keep the mid- and lower-level employees’ bonuses the same but double the top executives' bonuses. Ordinary employees get half to a full year’s salary, but the top executives only get about half a year’s worth now. That’s not acceptable.”

“If we can’t increase the bonuses, then at least improve employee welfare in housing next year. We have cheap land, and building houses won’t cost much. Middle and senior staff can get villas, and the lower ranks can have apartments.”

“But all housing must be strictly regulated, only for internal employees. If someone leaves, their ownership reverts to the company. If an employee is promoted and moves to a villa, their previous residence is reclaimed,” Li Fu pondered carefully, then nodded slowly before continuing.

The company had acquired large tracts of land in towns surrounding Sanjiang. Part of this land was designated for employee housing.

Since Li Fu purchased property in the capital city, he had become acutely aware of how terrifying housing prices had become. His property in Huaxia Garden was worth over 20 million yuan. For ordinary people, buying a home in the capital city is nearly impossible without a lifetime of working.

Of course, Sanjiang Town in Meijiang County couldn’t compare to the capital, but with the rapid development of Fuyun Technology Group in Meijiang, vast amounts of capital being invested, and a recent announcement from Foxconn to build a massive factory employing 300,000 workers, housing prices in Meijiang had surged dramatically.

Prices that had once hovered around 4,000 to 6,000 yuan per square meter were now pushing past 10,000. In Sanjiang Town, many developments worked around the clock, easily listing prices above 15,000 yuan per square meter—an astounding figure that seemed almost unreal. The real estate market was truly wild.

Li Fu understood that to truly retain talent—especially the many young employees—he needed not only competitive salaries but also a chance for them to settle down. If they built their homes in Sanjiang Town and stayed in Meijiang County, the future development of their hometown was secured.

More importantly, Li Fu wanted to seize the current advantage when acquiring land was still easy. Whenever Fuyun Technology Group asked, the Meijiang government was accommodating, so he secured a lot of land early on to build a home base for employees. No matter how high housing prices soared in Sanjiang or Meijiang County, his employees could live and work in peace.

Hearing Li Fu’s words, the senior executives exchanged amused glances. When the year-end bonus plan was first drafted, none of them dared to allocate themselves large sums since the boss was footing the bill. Even the highest-level executive, Fang Zheng, had only received about 100 million yuan before tax—after taxes, it was tens of millions.

Now that Li Fu had doubled everyone’s year-end bonuses, they were all overjoyed, especially the younger stars like Yan Zhang, Yu Liang, Chen Bin, Yang Yiping, and Cao Haitao, who all laughed and smiled brightly.

“Thank you, boss! Thank you, boss!” they exclaimed.

...

The year-end bonus distribution plan of Fuyun Technology Group was soon publicly announced to all employees. Each person could calculate their own bonus according to their position, rank, and contribution. If there were any questions, they could raise them with their superiors. It was truly fair, just, and transparent.

After reading the plan, every employee carefully counted on their fingers and gradually broke into smiles. Li Fu’s generosity had far exceeded their expectations, promising a very good New Year for all.

The plan quickly spread throughout Sanjiang Town and all of Meijiang County, becoming a hot topic among the locals.

At the vegetable market behind the dormitory area of Fuyun Technology Industrial Park, Li Jialiang was organizing pork while shaking his head and discussing the year-end bonuses with Old Li Er beside him.

“Really, people comparing themselves to others gets you mad. I thought after working so hard all year, we’d be okay, but compared to them, there’s just no contest. I asked several people, and the year-end bonuses start at over 300,000 yuan. One young guy even got more than 2 million.”

“Exactly! Just today, a young woman came here to buy native chicken, and her year-end bonus was over 500,000 yuan. She just graduated not long ago.”

Old Li Er shook his head repeatedly, unable to comprehend where Fuyun Technology Group got so much money to give such large bonuses.

“Old Liang, my eldest brother’s daughter just turned 21 this year. Maybe we can help find her a position at Fuyun Technology Group,” Wang Sao, Li Jialiang’s wife who had been helping nearby, chimed in.

“Your brother’s daughter is quite pretty and lively. If she can find a suitable match at Fuyun Technology Group, that’d be great. But she only has a middle school education. These university graduates might not find her attractive, especially with their high incomes,” Li Jialiang pondered and shook his head.

“Marriage is unpredictable. I’m no empty talker as a matchmaker. Every year at New Year’s, I arrange several matches. This year, I’m targeting the young men and women at Fuyun Technology Group. I’m confident I can match a few couples,” Wang Sao said.

“Many people have already asked for my help. These young men and women at Fuyun Technology Group have education, talent, and jobs. Many people are interested.”

It turned out Wang Sao was a well-known matchmaker in the area, passionate about arranging marriages with a keen eye. Every year she successfully matched several couples, and working at the market this year only increased the number of people seeking her assistance.