Chapter 600: The New Year’s Goals

At that moment, listening to Jiang Fu’s report on the company’s finances, Lin Chu seemed unconcerned, his smile unwavering on the video feed. However, many of the company’s senior executives were frowning slightly.

Noticing this, Lin Chu glanced at Lu Ming and saw his serious expression and thoughtful gaze. For a moment, something stirred within him.

‘This is getting interesting.’

‘The company’s revenue wasn’t even a billion, yet he’d injected ten billion, and the vast majority of it was paid out in employee benefits… A company like this was clearly one of a kind in the entire world.’

‘Perhaps only the state-owned enterprises of a bygone era could compare.’

‘He, for one, didn’t have a problem with it.’

‘However, this group of brothers who had gotten rich first had, by and large, already sensed that something was off.’

‘That was perfectly normal.’

‘It’s just human nature.’

‘After all, they were all on the same corporate ship. From the perspective of normal business operations, the current situation clearly had some problems.’

‘A company’s long-term growth requires surplus value. Only by accumulating that surplus value can it build the capital advantage needed for further development…’

‘It’s like a family—only when you have grain to spare can you afford to go out and cultivate new land.’

‘Distributing all the money was, of course, a good thing for each individual employee, but it wasn’t necessarily beneficial for the company’s long-term development.’

‘It was a soul-searching question.’

“President Lin, fellow executives, that concludes my report. That’s the general situation. I’ve only been with the company for less than a quarter, so this is all I’ve been able to sort out so far. There are bound to be some omissions. If anyone has any comments, please feel free to share them, especially since we’re all here.”

“As for next year’s work plan, we don’t have a general direction yet. That, of course, is for President Lin to decide.”

Jiang Fu finished speaking and muted his microphone.

He could already tell from the video feed that the atmosphere seemed subtly off.

“Alright. Thank you for your hard work, President Jiang. Get a drink of water and catch your breath.”

“Why does everyone look so glum? Old Liu? Say a few words.”

Lin Chu said with a casual smile, calling on Liu Junfeng not because he was the most provocative, but because he was the most eloquent.

Liu Junfeng studied Lin Chu’s eyes carefully through the screen but couldn’t discern any particular emotion. To be honest, he was still somewhat baffled by the company’s income and expenditure for the fiscal year.

‘We gave out that much?’

He hadn’t realized the extent of it until it was all tallied up, and the final figure was a shock.

After all they’d been through, everyone was well aware of Lin Chu’s style—he definitely spent money like water. But to take it to this extreme still felt… strange.

‘Boss, did you start this company just to run a charity?’

‘Outrageous.’

‘Absolutely outrageous.’

“Haha, as for the next fiscal year, I think it’ll definitely be our time to shine. The base in Dubai is under construction, the island in the Philippines is under development, the luxury stores are expanding rapidly, the club’s development is going well, and that’s not even mentioning our media division… I suggest we can set our goals a bit higher.”

“Of course, I also have a little idea. Since the group is financially focused and has abundant cash flow, we could consider making more external investments. Whether that’s equity investments or investments in the financial markets. If the equity investment market is really sluggish, we could even get into the personal loan business. After all, the credit reporting system is so well-developed now, and getting a license isn’t difficult.”

Liu Junfeng said with a broad smile, his phrasing deliberately cautious.

As a veteran of the world, he keenly sensed that Brother Chu’s original vision was now subtly diverging from that of the other executives in the meeting.

Of course, he counted himself as one of those executives.

He, too, had his doubts about giving away so much money.

But that was all they were—doubts.

The six words, “The employee benefits are too good,” couldn’t be said. They *mustn’t* be said. The moment they were uttered, you’d be a villain to everyone.

Not only would Lin Chu get the wrong idea—’What’s this? Now that you’ve had your fill, you want to kick over everyone else’s rice bowl?’

At the same time, if word got out, he would become an “enemy” in the eyes of the regular employees. To block someone’s path to wealth was as unforgivable as murdering their parents.

So he could only hint at it subtly, beating around the bush. ‘If we have the money, we should be making more external investments!’

‘Let the money go out and breed!’

‘Lending is so profitable these days!’

Almost every major company with sufficient cash flow was doing it.

At that moment, after hearing Liu Junfeng’s words, many others in the meeting cursed inwardly, ‘Old fox.’

‘He said a lot without ever getting to the point. A true master of waffling, just rambling on about nothing.’

“Equity investments are fine, but I don’t agree with lending.”

“Let’s get to the point. What’s your take on the company’s employee benefits being too high?”

Lin Chu seized on the unspoken point and threw it right back at him, his expression calm and tinged with a faint smile.

‘It wasn’t that he had to take a “my way or the highway” approach.’

‘After all, everyone has a different perspective.’

‘But now that the company was bigger, he had to do his best to find a balance between his own vision and that of his people.’

Liu Junfeng: “…”

‘Er…’

‘He had so carefully tried to avoid this sensitive topic, but he never thought Lin Chu would drag it right back out.’

He chuckled again. “Well, I think there’s an old saying: live within your means. If the company were making twenty billion a year, I wouldn’t have any objection to giving it all to the brothers. I suggest that employee benefits should be linked to the company’s revenue. We set aside a fixed percentage, and everyone benefits together.”