One Yuan First Recharge: I'm Actually the Boss Behind a Fortune 500 Company

After seeing Chen Tao, Lao Zhang, and Lao Liu off, Zhou Jianjun stood at the company gate and watched them get into a taxi and drive away. Only then did he feel truly relieved.

He took out his phone and glanced at the time—6:30 PM.

In the provincial capital, it doesn't get dark early in April; a touch of orange-red sunset still hangs on the horizon.

He stood on the factory steps, took a deep breath, then opened "Behind the Scenes" and sent a message to Wang Hao:

"Boss, the person has been sent away."

The talks went very smoothly, and Engineers Chen, Zhang, and Liu all decided to join us.

They said they needed to go back to Shenzhen to take care of some things, and they would all come back to report for duty in a week.

After sending the message, he leaned against the car door, waiting for a reply.

About three minutes later, Wang Hao's reply arrived:

"Okay, thank you for your hard work, Lao Zhou. You must be tired these past few days, get some rest early tonight."

Zhou Jianjun replied with "Okay, boss," then put away his phone and got into the car.

Instead of going straight home, he went to the Economic Development Zone Management Committee first to confirm the specific review progress of the framework agreement with Deputy Director Yang—Deputy Director Yang said it could be released as early as the day after tomorrow.

After leaving the management committee, he went to the entrance of the 10,000-square-meter factory building and took a look from the outside.

The empty factory buildings stood quietly in the twilight, like a silent behemoth.

He stood there for a while, thinking to himself—a week later, when those three people are in place, this place will no longer be empty.

He got in the car, started the engine, and went home.

That evening, in an apartment building in the provincial capital.

Wang Hao sat on the sofa in the living room, holding his phone, the screen displaying the message sent by Zhou Jianjun:

"Boss, the person has been seen off. The talks went very smoothly."

He leaned back on the sofa, placed his phone on the coffee table, and let out a long sigh of relief.

The R&D team situation is finally settled.

He had already seen the resumes of those three people in the system—Chen Tao, with a background in chip design, had worked in the industry for more than ten years and had participated in the research and development of several mass-produced chips;

Zhang Hao, hardware architect, has six years of experience and a solid technical foundation;

Liu Mingyuan, a systems engineer, specializes in low-level drivers and system optimization.

These three people would be considered core members in any mobile phone company.

Spending 800,000 yuan a year to poach him from the provincial capital is not a bad deal.

But Wang Hao wasn't thinking about those three people right now.

He leaned back on the sofa, his gaze fixed on the thin crack in the ceiling, but his mind was preoccupied with something else—

Long-term employee.

The group of people who started from scratch with him.

Zhou Jianjun, Zhang Wei, Yu Xinxin, Lin Wei, Sister Wang, Chen Ming, and Lei Zhen—these seven people are the foundation upon which Xingyue Media has come to where it is today.

When the company was just starting out, everyone was paid a regular salary.

Zhou Jianjun earned a little over 10,000 yuan, while Zhang Wei and Yu Xinxin earned around 7,000 to 10,000 yuan.

Later, as the number of projects increased, some bonuses were awarded, but compared to the newly recruited R&D staff, the gap was still too large.

Annual salary of 800,000.

When this number is placed in the provincial capital and in front of these long-time employees, it would be a lie to say there is no sense of disparity.

Wang Hao sat up straight, picked up his phone, and opened the system interface of "Behind the Scenes Player".

He glanced at the current financial situation—Star Moon Media's accounts showed a relatively ample cash pool and healthy cash flow.

He thought for a moment, typed a line in the dialog box, then deleted it. He typed another line, then deleted it again.

Finally, he simply pressed the voice chat button and said, "Old Zhou, are you there?"

Less than a minute after the message was sent, Zhou Jianjun replied: "Yes, boss. What are you looking for?"

Wang Hao thought for a moment, then pressed the voice button and slowly said:

"Old Zhou, I want to discuss something with you."

"Since the company started, you few veteran employees have been working with me for more than half a year."

To be honest, the company wasn't doing well back then, and I remember how grateful everyone was for staying.

He paused for a moment, then continued, "I gave the new R&D team an annual salary of 800,000 yuan."

They are the core backbone, and this salary is reasonable for them.

But I'm also thinking—you long-time employees have been with me for so long, your salaries should be increased too.

"My idea is this: each of you seven core employees will have your annual salary increased to 500,000."

From now on, everyone will receive an annual salary. The company will allocate several thousand yuan each month for daily expenses, and at the end of the year, everyone will also receive a bonus.

"Could you take a look at this plan for me? Do you think it's feasible?"

About ten seconds after the message was sent, Zhou Jianjun replied with a voice message.

His voice sounded strained, clearly shocked by the number:

"Boss... are you serious?"

"A five hundred thousand annual salary? All seven of us... got that much?"

Wang Hao sensed the shock and uncertainty in his tone and chuckled softly: "Yes, they've all gone up."

There was a few seconds of silence on Zhou Jianjun's end, then his voice rang out again, this time with a hint of hesitation:

"Boss, isn't this...isn't this too much?"

The highest salary we ever received was just over ten thousand.

"That suddenly jumped to 500,000, a 40-50 fold increase... I'm worried the other employees will have something to say if they find out."

"And to be honest, boss, although we've worked for the company for so long, we've only done basic work. Compared to the new technical backbone, we're actually... not that valuable."

After listening, Wang Hao did not rush to answer.

He leaned back on the sofa, thought for a moment, and then pressed the voice button to say:

"Old Zhou, don't think like that."

"The company has grown to its current size not because of me alone."

All seven of you contributed to this process.

Zhou Jianjun, you've been with me since the company started, working your way up from administrative supervisor to where you are now. You've always been the one handling everything, big and small.

Zhang Wei, Yu Xinxin, Lin Wei, Sister Wang, Chen Ming, Lei Zhen—each and every one of them is a hero of the company.

"Without you, there would be no Xingyue today."

He paused, his tone carrying an undeniable firmness:

"That's settled then."

Don't refuse anymore. Our company is where it is today because everyone is united.

I can't let the new R&D team get high salaries while you old employees are still getting your old salaries.

This is not my style of doing things.

"Here's what we'll do—this week, you organize a team-building activity."

"Let's all seven of us core employees go out and relax. You choose the place, and the company will cover the expenses."

"Then, during the team building activity, I'll take the opportunity to tell everyone about the salary increase."

There was a long silence on Zhou Jianjun's end, then he sent a voice message.

His voice trembled noticeably.

"Boss... I thank you on behalf of everyone."

Wang Hao smiled and said, "Alright, no need to thank me."

You've worked hard these past few days, get some rest. Let me know when you've made the team building arrangements.

"Okay, goodnight, boss."

The next morning, Zhou Jianjun sat in his office, holding a pen in his hand and a notebook open in front of him.

He scribbled on it, listing several team-building locations—hot spring resorts, farmhouses, seaside guesthouses… and then crossed them off one by one.

Finally, he wrote a name in his notebook: "Stargazing Camping Base".

There is a newly opened camping site on the outskirts of the provincial capital, located halfway up a mountain. It offers a wide view and you can see many stars at night.

He had seen it online before; the environment was nice and suitable for the team to go out and relax together.

He picked up his phone and dialed the number for the campground.

"Hello, is this the Stargazing Camping Base? I'd like to book for this Friday night..."

"Yes, there are about ten of us..."

"Okay, okay, let's agree on this for now."

After hanging up the phone, he made a mark on the calendar, then opened the company's core group chat and sent a message:

"Everyone, the boss said that we're organizing a team-building activity this Friday night."

The location is a stargazing camping site in the suburbs, where everyone can go out and relax together.

Everyone needs to be there. I'll send out the details later.

As soon as the message was sent, Zhang Wei was the first to respond:

"Camping?! Great! I haven't gone camping in ages!"

Yu Xinxin replied with a happy emoji: "The boss is treating? Then I have to go!"

Lei Zhen then replied, "Manager Zhou, could I bring a camera? The starry sky over there must be beautiful."

Zhou Jianjun smiled and replied with a single word: "Take it."

Sister Wang chimed in, "Oh my, camping? Will this old man be able to sleep in a tent?"

Zhang Wei immediately chimed in, "Don't worry, Sister Wang, I'll lay out three layers of moisture-proof mats for you!"

Chen Ming also sent a rare message: "Thank you for your hard work, Supervisor Zhou."

Lin Wei's reply was the most concise, just two words: "Received."

Zhou Jianjun looked at the lively replies in the group and a slight smile appeared on his lips.

The boss is right—these people deserve better treatment.

Friday at 5 p.m.

A minibus departed from the headquarters of Xingyue Media, carrying seven people, and headed towards the stargazing camping base in the suburbs.

The bus was bustling with activity. Zhang Wei, sitting in the front, hadn't stopped talking since he got on. One minute he was bragging to Lei Zhen about how big a fish he'd caught during his last camping trip, and the next he was turning to Sister Wang to tell her he'd grill skewers for everyone when they arrived.

Yu Xinxin and Lin Wei sat together. Yu Xinxin was looking at a guide to a camping site on her phone, and as she looked, she said to Lin Wei:

"There's a barbecue grill here, we can grill our own food..."

Lin Wei tilted her head to look out the window, a faint smile playing on her lips. She didn't reply, but she was clearly in a good mood.

Lei Zhen sat in the last row, holding his camera in his arms with the lens cap open, occasionally taking a few pictures out the window.

Sister Wang sat in the middle, holding a bag of sunflower seeds, chatting with Chen Ming next to her as she ate them:

"Xiao Chen, how's your beauty treatment going lately? I heard from Manager Zhou that it's selling quite well?"

Chen Ming nodded: "It's alright, the turnover exceeded ten million last month."

"It's broken ten million?" Sister Wang's eyes lit up. "Then you have to treat us, right?"

"Please, please, please, the barbecue is on me tonight." Chen Ming smiled, a rare occurrence for him.

Zhou Jianjun sat in the back seat behind the driver, holding a schedule in his hand, glancing at his phone every now and then to confirm that the route was correct.

After driving for about forty minutes, the car turned onto a mountain road. After another ten minutes or so, the view suddenly opened up – a wide, open mountain plain appeared before us, with a dozen or so white tents scattered across the lawn. In the distance were rolling mountains, and the afterglow of the setting sun bathed the entire campsite in a golden hue.

"Wow—" Yu Xinxin exclaimed first, "This is so beautiful!"

After the car came to a complete stop, everyone got off.

The air in the mountains is much fresher than in the city, carrying the scent of grass and earth.

The evening breeze was cool and refreshing, washing away all the fatigue of the day.

The campsite owner, a middle-aged man in his forties, wearing an outdoor windbreaker, greeted us with a smile:

"Mr. Zhou booked this, right? Welcome, welcome! Your tent is all set up, and the barbecue grill and food are ready. Feel free to have fun tonight!"

Zhou Jianjun shook hands with him: "Thank you for your hard work, boss."

Everyone put their luggage into their tents. Zhang Wei chose the largest tent, threw his sleeping bag inside, and started wandering around the campsite, taking pictures and posting them on his WeChat Moments.

The sun quickly sank behind the mountains, and the sky gradually darkened.

The camp lights came on—strings of warm yellow lights hung from the ropes between the tents, illuminating the entire campsite in a cozy and bright light.

A campfire was lit, its orange flames dancing and crackling in the night.

Everyone sat around the campfire, each holding a bottle of beer or a soft drink.

The charcoal on the barbecue grill was already burning, and Zhang Wei volunteered to be the head griller, flipping chicken wings and lamb skewers while showing off:

"Let me tell you, when it comes to grilling, the heat is the most important thing—look at these chicken wings, grill them until the surface is slightly browned, brush on a layer of honey, and then grill for another thirty seconds..."

"Alright, alright, stop bragging. Give me a skewer to try first," Lei Zhen interrupted him with a smile.

Zhang Wei handed him a skewer of freshly grilled lamb. Lei Zhen took a bite, his eyes lighting up: "Wow, this is really good!"

"Absolutely!" Zhang Wei said smugly.

They ate and chatted, their laughter carrying far into the night.

After drinking and chatting for a while, the atmosphere became more and more relaxed.

Sister Wang suddenly spoke up: "Manager Zhou, did you call us all here today because you have some good news to announce?"

Her words silenced everyone, and they all turned to look at Zhou Jianjun.

Zhou Jianjun put down the beer bottle and smiled:

"Sister Wang, the way you're saying that makes it sound like I only invite everyone out to have fun when there's something good going on."

"That's different," Sister Wang said with a smile. "You're usually so busy that you don't even have time to breathe, so the fact that you took the initiative to organize team building activities means you must have something on your mind."

After listening, Zhou Jianjun smiled and did not deny it.

He put down his beer bottle, stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked at everyone sitting around the campfire.

"Since Sister Wang has said so, then I won't hide it anymore."