The two work environments were worlds apart.

The other employees at the Jade Shop knew she was close to the big boss and had been placed there by him, so they treated her with the utmost respect. There was no shortage of calculating employees who took the initiative to curry favor with her.

"Sister Huanhuan, your Americano." An intern named Xiaolin brought a Starbucks coffee and tapped lightly on the doorframe. A heart had been drawn on the cup sleeve in lipstick. "The display cases downstairs have been restocked. Do you want to go inspect the new items now, Sister?"

"Okay!" Chen Huanhuan stroked the armrest of her leather swivel chair, her lambskin boots making a crisp sound as she stood up.

Downstairs, Chen Huanhuan conducted a careful inspection and thoughtfully offered several suggestions. "The lighting angle for the floating flower bangles in this case is off. When customers look down at them, the cotton-like inclusions will be too visible."

"This Jade Guanyin needs to be a little higher, and tilted a bit more to the right."

...

It had to be said that after Chen Huanhuan’s inspection and minor adjustments, all the jewelry seemed significantly more appealing.

That evening, Chen Huanhuan posted a selfie from her new job, along with many photos from her previous visit to Li Xiang’s home.

The photos included a side-profile shot in front of the Chicken Blood Stone Jungle from her visit to Li Xiang’s home, a view of snow-covered wintersweet blossoms, a red fox nibbling an apple, a little hedgehog basking in the sun while hugging a winter jujube, a gosling teasing an orange cat, and a panda cub rolling on a swing. She also posted a selfie from the high-speed train, a panoramic shot of the glittering Jade Shop showroom, and a photo of her private office against the Ji City CBD nightscape. In the office photo, a lucky cat with a jadeite paw took center stage on her pink marble-patterned desk, its paw pressing down on a gilt-lettered employment contract that revealed the words, "Deputy Manager Chen Huanhuan."

She captioned the post: "A new beginning. Grateful for this opportunity."

As soon as she posted the nine-photo grid and its caption, it naturally received a flood of likes and comments, like a stone dropped into a calm pond.

Her former colleagues were also set off by the post. Some, in a fit of pique, unfriended both Li Xiang and Chen Huanhuan.

’All she does is show off, show off, show off. So what if she’s doing well? Big deal,’ someone sneered, fuming inwardly.

Of course, many others were filled with regret, wishing they had gotten on better terms with Li Xiang before. If they had, they could be going to work for him now, just like Chen Huanhuan.

There were also some new employees who had no idea who Li Xiang was. Hearing all the talk at work, they couldn’t help but ask about the gossip and ended up deeply impressed.

In reality, it was extremely rare for a former employee to remain such a hot topic at their old company. But Li Xiang had become an internet celebrity with over fifty million followers, so he was a popular subject of discussion not just at his old company, but in many other places as well.

...

During the New Year’s holiday, Li Family Village held a village assembly. At the meeting, Li Xiang announced the scenic area’s profits for the year: a total of over 3.2 million, a net profit surpassing many major publicly listed companies.

This was just from the scenic area. The village held no shares in Li Xiang’s other businesses, such as Eternal Night Media (which handled online livestream sales) and the Jade Jewelry Shop, so their profits were not included in this calculation.

Because the village provided the land, it held a 10% stake, while Li Xiang held 90%. Therefore, the total amount available for the village’s dividend was a full 326,000 yuan.

’In truth, he had earned far more than this.’ Li Xiang had concealed the real amount, mainly because letting everyone know he earned too much could undermine their unity. ’When the Apocalypse comes, there will be many times the village will need my protection and support.’

Li Xiang announced at the meeting that 180,000 of the 326,000 yuan would be used to renovate or rebuild the Li Family Village ancestral hall. The hall was dilapidated and old, with paint peeling in many places and some pillars rotting. It was high time for repairs.

No one at the meeting had any objections to this.

There were families with other surnames in Li Family Village, such as Jiang Jianguo’s family. The Li Family ancestral hall had nothing to do with the Jiang Family, but Jiang Jianguo didn’t object. As Li Xiang’s prospective father-in-law, he naturally had to support his future son-in-law’s work.

Next, with 26 households currently in the village, each family would receive a dividend of 5,000 yuan, for a total of 130,000 yuan. The remaining 16,000-plus yuan would be used to buy rice, flour, and oil: two large barrels of extra-grade pressed peanut oil, three large bags of rice, and three large bags of refined flour for each household.

"For the New Year’s feast this year, we’ll have a grand celebration! And from now on, we’ll distribute more and more every year!"

As soon as Li Xiang finished speaking, the villagers cheered in unison. They then joyfully began the distribution. Respected elders like Li Jinyu, Li Yucheng, and Jiang Jianguo were in charge of registration and handing out the items, while Lei Jiaming and Lei Xiaonan led some security guards and a few young people who had returned to Li Family Village to help carry everything.

Since the young people in some families hadn’t returned yet and the elderly were too old and frail to carry the items, and because some were solitary seniors like Third Granny, Li Xiang had the security guards help deliver the goods directly to their homes.

For a time, Li Family Village was bustling with extraordinary energy, filled with the endless sound of laughter and cheerful voices.

Jiang Cai’Er had also returned for the holiday and was there for the entire lively event.

With so many elderly people in the village, Li Xiang decided not to organize a trip this year. He was afraid the rigors of travel would be too much for them, and it would be terrible if something happened while they were away.

Li Xiang mused to himself. ’Many of the village elders probably won’t live to see the Apocalypse. Letting them enjoy their golden years in peace and live comfortably for the remainder of their limited time is one of my goals.’

The villagers of Li Family Village were all related in some way. A few generations back, their ancestors had all lived under the same roof.

Besides the dividends and goods for Li Family Village, Li Xiang’s other businesses were also busy with the same thing. The Jade Processing Factory, the Jade Jewelry Shop, Eternal Night Media—every single employee received a share.

Because his Little Aunt was so diligent and was also family, Li Xiang gave her an especially large bonus: a full 800,000 yuan.