98: Chapter 98 Hearing someone clapping at night

Cao Kun let out a long breath. In those few minutes just now, cold sweat had completely soaked the clothes on his back.

But once the crisis passed, an even stronger sense of excitement surged up. The two continued their unfinished business, and this time, Cao Kun let himself go completely.

It wasn't until past three in the morning that the two finally stopped, exhausted.

Just as Cao Kun was about to get up, the system's notification sound suddenly rang in his mind.

【Ding! Congratulations to the host for completing the mission: Help Zhang Wei by satisfying his wife, Zhi Tianzhen, and making her truly happy from the bottom of her heart. Mission Reward: 200,000 huaxia coins have been deposited into the host's account.】

【Ding! Detected that the host has completed ten system missions, triggering an additional reward: 10,000,000 huaxia coins have been deposited into the host's account.】

Cao Kun was ecstatic.

Ten million has finally arrived!

He was now a true multi-millionaire!

He glanced at the sleeping Zhi Tianzhen beside him, then at Zhang Wei, who was snoring like thunder on the other side, and suddenly felt that this world was truly absurd yet wonderful.

Dressing quietly, Cao Kun left this dramatic room.

Before leaving, he looked back at the couple sleeping soundly on the bed, a meaningful smile playing on his lips.

...

The next morning.

Zhang Wei woke up with a splitting headache, sunlight already streaming into the bedroom through the gaps in the curtains.

He rubbed his temples and sat up, his memories of last night a complete blur.

"Awake?" Zhi Tianzhen came out of the bathroom, already washed and dressed in loungewear.

"Head hurts, right? I told you to drink less, but you wouldn't listen."

"Last night... did I drink a lot?" Zhang Wei struggled to remember.

"Of course, you drank almost the entire bottle of red wine by yourself." Zhi Tianzhen sat down beside him and helped massage his temples, "But you were quite well-behaved after getting drunk; you just fell asleep immediately."

Zhang Wei frowned: "I seem to have had a strange dream."

"What dream?"

"I dreamed... someone was clapping next to me, clapping non-stop, the rhythmic kind."

Zhang Wei tried his best to describe it, "It felt like it was right by my ear, ringing constantly. Did you hear any sounds?"

Zhi Tianzhen's hand paused slightly, but she immediately resumed her massage rhythm: "No, I slept quite soundly. You must have been dreaming; people who are drunk are prone to having strange dreams."

"Is that so..." Zhang Wei was still a bit puzzled, but his headache prevented him from thinking deeply.

"Alright, stop overthinking things." Zhi Tianzhen stood up, "I'll go make you some hangover soup. Don't you have to see a client today?"

"Right, right." Zhang Wei shook his head, trying to push that strange dream to the back of his mind.

Watching his wife's back as she walked out of the bedroom, Zhang Wei felt something was off, yet he couldn't put his finger on it.

Finally, he chalked it up to a post-hangover hallucination, shook his head, and got out of bed to head to the bathroom.

...

Half a month after Cao Kun and Ji Guangli resigned from Xingchen.

His new company was finally established.

Cao Kun deliberately named it Xinghui Company.

The company wasn't large, only about a third the size of Zhang Wei's Xingchen Company.

The total number of employees was currently less than twenty.

However, the base salary was about five hundred higher than at Xingchen.

On the opening day, as the boss, Cao Kun treated the entire company to a meal.

The banquet was held at a mid-range restaurant in Zhongzhou, and Cao Kun booked the largest private room.

Three round tables were packed to capacity.

Aside from the three founding members—Ji Guangli, Zhang Fangfang, and Liu Chaopeng—the rest were all new employees recruited during the past half month.

After a few rounds of drinks, Cao Kun stood up and raised his glass.

"Colleagues," his voice was loud and clear, and the room immediately fell silent, "Today Xinghui Advertising officially opens. Thank you all for choosing to join our new team. I, Cao Kun, don't like empty talk, so I only have three things to say."

He held up three fingers: "First, at Xinghui, as long as you work hard, your salary and bonuses will not disappoint you."

"Second, we don't do that office politics nonsense. If there's something to say, say it; if there's a difficulty, bring it up directly."

"Third," he paused and looked around, "Work with me, and while I can't guarantee everyone will get rich, I guarantee that as long as the company doesn't go bankrupt, the employees will never be the first to suffer!"

"Good!" several young employees took the lead in clapping.

Cao Kun signaled for everyone to be quiet and took a handbag from Zhang Fangfang: "Opening red envelopes, two thousand for everyone, just a small token of my appreciation."

The red envelopes were handed out one by one, and the employees' faces lit up with joy. Two thousand wasn't much, but it was enough for these newcomers to feel the company's sincerity.

After finishing the red envelopes,

Cao Kun said,

"Now, let's have our General Manager Ji say a few words."

Warm applause rang out in the room.

Ji Guangli then stood up. Today she was wearing a light gray skirt suit, looking capable yet elegant.

"Hello everyone, I am Ji Guangli, the General Manager of the company. I won't say much either, just one thing to add."

"Xinghui doesn't keep idlers, but it will never let those who do the work lose out. Starting tomorrow, we officially get to work; the tasks for each department have already been issued."

"After the meeting, everyone enjoy tonight. Tomorrow at nine, see you at the company."

There were no long speeches or empty slogans; the opening banquet was simple and practical.

The employees toasted each other, and the atmosphere was lively.

...

Ten o'clock the next morning.

The office area of Xingchen Advertising's Sales Department Two.

Several employees gathered in the pantry, discussing in hushed tones.

"Did you hear? Cao Kun's side opened, and every employee got a two thousand yuan red envelope!"

"That's not all; the base salary is five hundred higher than ours!"

The speaker was a young girl with black-rimmed glasses named Wang Xiaoyu, a design assistant who had just graduated and joined the company last year.

Her tone was full of envy: "If I had known, I would have followed Supervisor Cao when he left."

"Are you stupid?" a man in his thirties scoffed; he was Li Qiang, an old employee from the Business Department.

"What kind of company is Cao Kun's? Just a newly opened small workshop! Our Xingchen is at least a name to be reckoned with in the Zhongzhou advertising industry. He's giving out red envelopes? That's just burning money to win people over. Once the money's gone, you'll see if those employees run or not."

"But General Manager Ji went too," Wang Xiaoyu countered softly. "Someone as capable as General Manager Ji is working for Supervisor Cao, which means they must be confident."

"Ji Guangli?" Li Qiang snorted, "A woman—long hair, short sight. She can't handle big responsibilities."

"I heard..." another female employee chimed in mysteriously, "Cao Kun seems quite rich. He drives a top-of-the-line aito m9, which costs several hundred thousand!"

"Rented, probably?" Li Qiang said dismissively. "Young people nowadays care about appearances; renting a luxury car to put on a front is too common."

As they were talking, Su Hongliang, the manager of Department One, walked over with a teacup.

The group immediately dispersed, pretending to get water or make coffee.

Su Hongliang gave them a cold sweep: "Gathering here to chat during work hours? Is all the work done?"

"Manager Su, we're heading back now," Li Qiang said with a forced smile.

Su Hongliang didn't say anything else, but his face was dark as he turned away.

He walked straight toward the General Manager's office.

...