Chapter 263: New Year, New Beginnings

“They’ve all been taken out and placed into new pots.”

Wu Yu sat on a nearby chair and poured himself a glass of water.

He’d just spent some time directing the workers to arrange the greenery, and his throat was a bit dry.

“Oh, right, Brother Shen, I’ve already contacted HR and uploaded the recruitment info for streamers on Boring Short Video.”

“Good.”

Li Shen nodded. Since Boring Short Video didn’t have many downloads yet, there weren’t many people who even knew about the streamer recruitment through the app.

To attract more streamers, he had no choice but to post the job listings on recruitment websites.

“How’s the hiring for content reviewers going?”

“We’ve filled about half the planned positions. It’s enough to keep the company running for now,” Wu Yu replied.

Li Shen let out a breath of relief.

After a month of preparation, Boring Short Video was finally starting to find its footing.

The content reviewers were a critical part of the platform. They were responsible for reviewing streamer profiles to determine whether they qualified to go live, and for monitoring live content to ensure there was nothing fake or unprofessional.

Because of that, reviewers needed to be highly educated and well-qualified.

Even with the high salaries he offered and having started recruitment before the New Year, they had only managed to hire half the planned number.

Still, it was enough to keep things running.

……

At Pet Park,

Pang Tao and Xu Zhengming were sitting inside a makeshift office, staring at a hand-drawn map of the park, deep in thought. The map had many marked zones, most of which were labeled.

Only one large area remained unnamed.

Pang Tao held a steaming mug of tea, took a small sip, and a glint of excitement flashed in his eyes.

“I’ve got it. I know exactly what to do with that last area.”

“You’ve got a plan?”

Hearing the excitement in Pang Tao’s voice, Xu Zhengming quickly asked.

After President Chen invested another five million right before the New Year, he and Pang Tao had reworked the layout of Pet Park.

But in the end, there was still one section left that they didn’t know what to do with.

Turning it into a basic pet living area felt like a waste—especially with that five million in extra funding. It wouldn’t be put to good use.

They had racked their brains for a while and still couldn’t come up with a good idea.

And now, out of the blue, Pang Tao had a breakthrough.

“Yes! We can build a castle in that area.”

Pang Tao pointed excitedly at the blank section on the map.

“A castle?”

Xu Zhengming looked at him, puzzled. He didn’t understand what building a castle had to do with anything.

Sure, a castle would use up President Chen’s extra investment, but they couldn’t just spend money for the sake of spending. It had to benefit Pet Park somehow.

Seeing Xu Zhengming’s confusion, Pang Tao smiled and explained.

“Not a castle for people—this one’s for cats. A Cat Castle.”

“President Chen’s Cat Café is a huge hit, right? Tons of customers line up just to take pictures and post them online. It’s even become a hotspot for influencers.”

“If the Cat Café can do that, why can’t we?”

“We can totally turn the Cat Castle into an influencer check-in spot.”

“I’ve looked into it on short video platforms. The influencer effect is no joke. If the Cat Castle becomes a trending check-in location, it’ll definitely bring more visitors to Pet Park.”

As Pang Tao spoke, Xu Zhengming’s eyes lit up too. He added,

“Then we need to make the castle big enough for the cats to roam freely inside. Since it’s for cats, the design should be cute and whimsical. We can add stairs and viewing platforms inside for visitors to take photos.”

“Exactly! Once the Cat Castle is built, Pet Park will have more to offer than just pet shows.”

“……”

The two of them chatted excitedly, their expressions like they’d just solved a long-standing puzzle.

……

Time passed,

And soon, it was early March.

Chen Mo arrived early at Mingri Group—it was the first workday of the new year.

“Good morning, President Chen!”

“Good morning, President Chen!”

“……”

On the way up and down the elevators, every employee he passed greeted him respectfully.

Once he entered his office,

Chen Mo first glanced at the spot where the plants were placed. Seeing that the old Money Tree had been replaced with new greenery, he nodded in satisfaction.

Now that’s more like it.

He leaned back in his chair, took a sip of the coffee Shen Rou had made, and looked at her as he spoke calmly.

“Notify all department heads in the Office Building to gather in the conference room. We’ll start the meeting in ten minutes.”

“Yes, President Chen.”

Shen Rou nodded and left.

About ten minutes later,

Chen Mo glanced at the time, slowly got up, and walked out of his office.

The conference room was on the top floor, reserved for meetings with company leadership. Each subsidiary had its own separate meeting space.

At the door of the conference room,

He gently pushed it open and stepped inside.

“President Chen, everyone’s here,” Shen Rou said softly as she approached.

Chen Mo swept his gaze across the room. Everyone he had asked to attend was present, including Jiang Cheng, who wasn’t based in this building, and Song Xia and Su Dan from Nanhe Coffee.

Those two companies weren’t located in the Office Building, but he had informed them about the meeting in advance.

The only ones not present were Pang Tao and Xu Zhengming from Pet Park. Since the park was still under construction, there wasn’t much for them to do at the moment anyway.

“Good morning, President Chen!”

As soon as Chen Mo stepped into the main seat at the conference table, all the company executives rose to their feet in unison, their faces lit up with excitement.

Most of them were practically founding members of the company—they had watched it grow step by step into a full-fledged corporation, now proud owner of a ten-story office building.

Ever since they arrived at work today, stepping into that building and watching the elevator rise floor by floor, their hearts had been filled with pride and emotion.

“Everyone, please take a seat.”

Chen Mo looked around at the group and gently raised his hand, signaling for them to sit down.

“Today’s meeting is mainly about planning the company’s future development, as well as some changes in positions and adjustments to salaries.”

“Let’s start with the salary changes.”

“A new year brings new beginnings. For those who joined the company last year and have been with us for at least six months, your salary will be increased by 1,000 yuan. For those who haven’t yet reached six months, the raise will be 500 yuan.”

“And as for benefits, we’re also making some upgrades. We’re adding a new tier of shopping card—1,500 yuan. Any employee who has worked here for six months or more will be eligible to receive it.”