Chapter 920: New Headquarters Officially Activated (Part 3)

“Hehe, rookie, hang in there. As long as you stick with New Era, sooner or later you’ll get your turn at an apartment quota. And before that, the company will also build a batch of apartments for rent to temporarily solve your housing problem!”

“Yes, senior, I’ll definitely work hard!”

“…”

No one was happier than the employees of New Era.

Being able to work at such a grand new headquarters with complete supporting facilities was absolutely a blessing for them; their mood could be great every single day.

Drums, lion dance, speeches, ribbon-cutting—after the ceremony, it was ten o’clock, and the office building was officially put into use.

Led by Yang Fen, the executives, guests, and employees entered the New Century Center in a mighty stream.

Right at the entrance stood a cute doll taller than a person—this was the mascot Xiaoxin that Su Zelin had created when he opened the Zhejiang University store back then, and it had now become New Era’s signature character.

The internal structure was oval; in the middle of the oval was the lobby on the first floor, while the buildings on both sides looked like giant ships. The irregular yet smooth lines created a strong sci?fi vibe and were full of creativity.

Brand-new, minimalist, avant-garde—that was the first impression the new headquarters office building gave people.

Its exterior walls and roof used a large amount of glass, so the vast indoor space was very bright, and through the floor-to-ceiling windows one could take in the courtyard scenery outside at a glance. The view was wide open, which helped avoid the discomfort brought by enclosed spaces as much as possible.

The New Era headquarters building had been completed at lightning speed, but that didn’t mean they cut corners; its design was absolutely presentable for this era.

Photographers from various media outlets hoisted their cameras and started shooting, among them were reporters from CCTV.

Because of last year’s Spring Festival Gala sponsorship, CCTV and New Era had a good relationship. Plus this “super headquarters” project had been hyped up quite a bit beforehand, so CCTV had sent people over to do interviews.

The microphone was once again pointed at Yang Fen: “President Yang, could you briefly introduce your company’s new headquarters, and also the purpose behind New Era spending so much money to build this super headquarters?”

Wearing a suit, Brother Xiao Yang smiled and said, “Our New Century Center is a comprehensive building that integrates multiple supporting service functions such as offices, conferences, commerce, leisure, fitness, and dining. Not to be modest, it’s one of the biggest and best headquarters in the country, so we call it a super headquarters. As for why we wanted to build this headquarters, our goal is to create a green, eco-friendly, convenient, and stress-free work and life environment, to ensure our employees’ physical and mental health as much as possible…”

While Brother Xiao Yang was answering the reporter’s questions, not far away, Su Zelin was in charge of receiving business guests, and at this moment Old Ma was standing right beside him.

These days, New Era and Ah Li were practically like brother companies in Lin’an—two godsons of Zhejiang Province. They had cooperated before and had a very good personal relationship; whenever one side had a big event, they’d invite the other.

Old Ma gave a thumbs up. “Younger Brother Su, this headquarters you built is awesome. Just based on the environment alone, your employees will definitely be full of energy and vitality when they come to work!”

He’d always thought he was quite visionary, yet this young man was even more bold in his actions—once he decided to do something, he just did it without a hint of dithering.

It was a pity that such a genius might very well choose to retire while at his peak two years later. Whenever he thought of this, Old Ma couldn’t help feeling regretful.

Even though they weren’t partners in the same company, having such a like?minded and understanding friend in the business world was truly rare.

“Brother Ma, you flatter me.”

Seeing Old Ma’s itching expression, the rascal thought that maybe Ah Li’s new headquarters would also come out earlier than planned. Because of his existence, Ah Li had gone on the Spring Festival Gala eleven years earlier than in his previous life, so it wouldn’t be surprising if their new headquarters was moved up on the agenda too.

They casually toured the headquarters building, and whether it was the employee offices, meeting rooms, leisure areas, or fitness areas, all of it opened the eyes of the media reporters and guests.

Finally they arrived at the staff cafeteria, and it was almost lunchtime. Everyone was once again stunned.

The dazzling array of dishes made foodies’ heads spin—basically all the famous Chinese cuisines were covered, and on top of that there was Western food too.

However, compared to how rich the menu was, what really made people’s hearts flutter was the price.

A five-yuan meal ticket set included four meat dishes and two vegetable dishes.

Even in 2005, this price was absurdly low in a big provincial capital like Lin’an. It was literally at cost, even cheaper than a university cafeteria.

If a female employee with a small appetite couldn’t eat that much, she could get a two-meat-two-veg set for three yuan, or a three-meat-two-veg set for four yuan. In this way, living costs were invisibly lowered.

New Era never planned to make money off the staff cafeteria. It was pure welfare; they couldn’t even recoup the ingredient and labor costs.

After seeing off the media and guests, he got a call from Qin Shiqing.

“Where are you? We’re about to go have lunch, want to come with?”

Just like the other employees, Qin Shiqing was very excited today—you could hear it in her voice.

Working at the new headquarters was a joy, practically a kind of enjoyment; wherever you looked was pleasant scenery. The old Dingsheng Mansion couldn’t compare at all.

“‘We’?”

Su Zelin asked curiously.

“Me, Yuwei, Qiu Wen, and Panpan!”

Qin Shiqing said with a laugh.

The old headquarters had been too small; everyone ate fast food and belonged to different departments, so they hardly ever got the chance to have lunch together at noon. Now that there was a staff cafeteria, they could finally make plans.

She had casually invited Yan Qiuwen as well, and unexpectedly the female consultant had agreed. That was a bit of a surprise, because Yan Qiuwen wasn’t the type who liked lively crowds; she was always used to quietly staying by herself.

“Alright then, I’m in the lobby. I just walked the reporters and guests out the door, I’ll head over now.”

It was lunchtime and Su Zelin was a little hungry too.

“What do you want to eat? I’ll go get it for you first!”

Qin Shiqing asked again.

“Just the usual. Anything’s fine!”

Childhood sweethearts knew each other’s preferences too well; there was no need to say much.

“OK, see you in a bit!”

He hung up, went back to the cafeteria, and by then it was already packed with employees, bustling and noisy. Everyone wanted to be the first to experience the new headquarters cafeteria.

He found the table number according to the text message Qin Shiqing had sent.

The four women had already started eating and had gotten a portion for him too.

Pineapple chicken, steamed pork with rice flour, sweet and sour ribs…

All were Zhao Lixia’s specialties, the home?style dishes he craved the most.

“Zelin, the dishes at our new headquarters are so many. I was just now looking until my eyes went blurry, almost didn’t know what to pick!”

As soon as the rascal sat down, Qin Shiqing couldn’t wait to say.

“The key thing is it’s cheap. This set of mine is only four yuan, and it actually has three meat dishes and two vegetables. It’s way cheaper than fast food outside!”

Song Yuwei added with a smile.

“It tastes pretty good too. I thought with it being this cheap, it wouldn’t be that tasty, but I was wrong. The portions are huge as well. Senior Shiqing, I can’t finish all this. How about I give you this pig’s trotter?”

The little junior also shared her opinion. She’d gone on a clicking spree just now and unknowingly ordered a full tray; now she was staring at the mountain of lunch boxes in distress.

“Ugh, I’m on a diet. Panpan, if you really can’t finish that pig’s trotter, give it to Zelin. Anyway, he works out all the time; he doesn’t gain weight easily!”

Qin Shiqing declined.

Huang Panpan was stunned.

She’d done this kind of thing a lot in private, but this time it was in front of so many people.

And it was actually Qin Shiqing who suggested it.

She hesitated for a moment, then still picked up the pig’s trotter and placed it in Su Zelin’s bowl.

Even Su Zelin was a bit surprised.

In his previous life, although his childhood sweetheart had a very high tolerance for the little junior, she would definitely never have taken the initiative to suggest something like this.

Yan Qiuwen, who hadn’t spoken this whole time, shook her head.

This was exactly what people meant by “boiling a frog in warm water.”

It could even change a person’s personality and habits, making them accept and even get used to things they originally couldn’t bear.

But it seemed she was the same. At first she’d been coaxed by Su Zelin into eating fried dough sticks, then drinking alcohol, and finally even gnawing on skewers—once she got on the “just enjoy it and it’ll be fine” road, there was no turning back.