22: That's crazy, working six hours a day!

"You like watermelon?"

Li Mubai asked.

Without waiting for Ruan Xiu to answer, he walked to the other end of the freezer.

He lifted the lid of the freezer and reached in to pull out a large, green watermelon.

He felt the temperature of the watermelon's surface.

Li Mubai nodded in satisfaction:

"This watermelon was delivered at noon. After two hours, it should be chilled now."

There was a blunted fruit knife in the lounge.

The watermelon was quickly cut into small pieces and placed on a large iron tray.

Li Mubai took a piece, then offered it to Ruan Xiu.

Taking the watermelon Li Mubai handed her, Ruan Xiu asked with a complex expression:

"Are these drinks, and the watermelon, all free?"

She found it a bit hard to believe that these were all employee benefits.

Even state-owned factories and foreign companies weren't this extravagant, with free sodas and watermelon.

"Of course."

Li Mubai casually picked up a piece of watermelon, took a bite, and continued:

"Employees create value for the company, so they naturally deserve to be treated well. Only when they are happy and comfortable can they fully dedicate themselves to their work."

"So these waters, and watermelons, are delivered by a dedicated person every day, without interruption."

Without interruption?

Ruan Xiu's delicate hand trembled.

The piece of watermelon she held nearly slipped and fell to the ground.

Is this factory even making any money?

She glanced at the freezer, packed full of drinks.

A look of incomprehension appeared in her eyes.

Although her major had nothing to do with business management,

this didn't stop her from roughly estimating the value of these drinks in her mind.

Such a large freezer, completely full.

How much would that cost?

It definitely wouldn't be less than one or two hundred.

And these items are provided daily, so how much would that add up to in a month?

It would almost rival the salaries of several employees.

She had never seen a company that didn't try to cut costs, but instead increased them.

Surprised, she took a small bite of the watermelon.

The cool, refreshing taste instantly filled her mouth, accompanied by a sweetness.

After a few chews and swallows,

a cool sensation traveled down her throat to her stomach.

The oppressive heat throughout her body dissipated.

Although she didn't know what Li Mubai was thinking, she truly loved the factory's benefits.

Not only were the wages higher than other places, but even the benefits were better.

This was simply the long-awaited dream job for university students!

While she was enjoying the watermelon,

Li Mubai had already left the lounge and called Old Xiao over.

He then instructed him to take the sliced watermelon out and distribute it to everyone.

Old Xiao happily accepted the arrangement.

Soon,

only Li Mubai and Ruan Xiu remained in the lounge.

Watching Old Xiao leave with the tray,

Ruan Xiu showed a hint of lingering desire, but it quickly vanished.

Watermelon was one of her favorite fruits.

However, she rarely got to eat it.

Even though she received a monthly allowance, she was reluctant to buy it.

At school,

she mostly used her allowance to buy study materials.

As for luxuries like fruit,

most of the time, she could only look at them.

As for buying them,

she had thought about it, but after some hesitation, she still decided to save the money.

Noticing this, Li Mubai smiled faintly.

Then he walked to the freezer again and took out another watermelon.

These benefits were insignificant to him.

Most importantly,

in his previous life, he had endured the blessings of 996 (working 9 AM to 9 PM, 6 days a week).

So now, as a factory owner, he didn't want the factory's employees to be so tired.

Actually,

under this kind of management,

the university students' enthusiasm for work in the factory had increased even more.

During working hours,

everyone worked diligently, and there were very few instances of slacking off.

The watermelon was cut into small pieces and placed on a tray.

Carrying the tray,

Li Mubai came to the sofa, bent down, and placed the tray on the coffee table in front of Ruan Xiu's seat.

"Boss, if we eat the watermelon, what will they eat?"

As soon as Li Mubai sat down, Ruan Xiu asked worriedly.

"There are still several watermelons in the freezer, more than enough. There are always two or three left over every day. These watermelons are chilled and can't be stored, so at the end of the day, they have to take them home to eat."

Regarding Ruan Xiu's concern,

Li Mubai just chuckled, completely unconcerned.

"Ah? It can be like that?"

Ruan Xiu was extremely surprised.

She had thought

that even if these watermelons weren't eaten, they would be kept in the freezer.

She never expected it to be like this.

Whatever wasn't eaten, the factory employees took home.

"Of course it's like that. Our factory isn't short on that little bit of money."

This small expenditure

was completely insignificant to Li Mubai.

Although he wasn't a big millionaire, he could still afford these benefits.

The lounge was very cool due to the air conditioning.

The two of them sat on the sofa, chatting back and forth.

From material technology to national affairs, they talked about everything.

Initially,

Ruan Xiu had a serious expression, her voice soft and low, seemingly cautious with every word she spoke.

By the end,

after they got to know each other better,

she also let down her guard and, under Li Mubai's verbal artistry, smiled.

Time flew by.

After finishing a sentence, Li Mubai raised his hand and looked at his watch.

The hands pointed to 5:23.

Seeing this,

Li Mubai stood up and looked at Ruan Xiu:

"It's already five-thirty in the afternoon. Let's go, it's time to get off work. I'll take you to eat."

"What? It's already time to get off work?"

Ruan Xiu almost thought she had misheard.

She had thought Li Mubai stood up to go to the restroom, never expecting him to directly say it was time to get off work.

It was only five-thirty!

They started work at two-thirty in the afternoon and finished at five-thirty?

Only three hours had passed, how could it be time to get off work? At the very least, it should be until eight or nine in the evening!

"So, if we get off work now to eat, do we have to continue working tonight?"

She suddenly thought of another possibility.

This was a common working method in other factories.

Getting off work early to rest, eating to replenish energy, then going back to work at night, continuing until late night, or even all night.

"Work what? After eating, just go home and lie down. Of course, if you don't want to lie down, that's fine too. It's your personal time, do whatever you want."

Li Mubai said casually.

At this,

Ruan Xiu was completely dumbfounded.

It was really time to get off work? Wasn't that too exaggerated?

How many hours had they worked?

During their conversation, Li Mubai had told her the working hours.

One was at nine in the morning, and the other was at two-thirty in the afternoon.

When she heard these working hours, she subconsciously assumed they would definitely work overtime in the evening.

So she didn't ask about the finishing time.

After all, in other factories, if these were the working hours, they would work overtime in the evening.

Otherwise, the salary would be too easy to earn.

And now,

what did she hear?

Go home and lie down after eating, and the rest of the time is personal time.

The meaning was too obvious.

That meant five-thirty in the afternoon was the normal overtime end time at this factory.

How was this possible?!

Ruan Xiu still couldn't quite believe it.

If this were true, then workers would only work six hours a day.

And they could earn over a thousand in wages just like that?

Was he crazy?

With doubt,

she followed Li Mubai out of the lounge.

She hadn't noticed the changes in the factory earlier, but as she walked out of the lounge, she suddenly realized that the entire factory had quieted down.

The rumbling machinery had now stopped operating.