Chapter One Hundred and Fifteen: The First Meeting

Page 1 of 3

Hearing Zhong Di’s question, not only did his father fall silent, even his mother did too.

Among them, only Shao Hong had a faint smile on his face. At first he did not understand Zhong Di’s approach, but after a few times, Shao Hong understood it as well.

Just as Zhong Di had said, work is not the whole of life. If one chases only after empty, ephemeral luxuries, the heart is still hollow and brings little true joy.

Human desire is endless. Only by keeping desire in check can one settle the mind and feel the reward of one’s own effort.

“Mm… listening to what you said, I am rather happy too. I can only remember playing like this when I was a child,” Zong Tian said hesitantly, and he gradually understood what Zhong Di meant.

Yes, with the income the son has now, is that not enough? How much must one earn before it is considered enough?

“Alright, hurry up. After we finish what’s on our desks, let’s use the time and wrap this up early; we’ll leave before regular closing time. Today, Zack will roast mutton skewers for everyone.”

Zhong Di patted Zack on the shoulder, then suddenly turned and asked, “So you can do mutton skewers, right?”

“Yes. Red Willow barbecue, whole roasted lamb, grilled buns, hand-pulled noodles—I can do them all,” Zack said with a little smile.

His Mandarin is very good. Aside from being a bit slow in expression, their communication has no obstacle.

“Good. Red Willow barbecue, then. Meeting first. After we finish, we’ll slaughter a sheep and eat Red Willow barbecue.” Zhong Di confirmed the plan quickly.

Soon everyone gathered around the round table, drinking tea. Zhong Hui and Shao Hong even brought a notebook, making the meeting look fairly proper.

The first formal meeting of the Leisure Orchard Farm had begun.

“First, I’ll summarize our past achievements. One, we tidied up the whole farm and put it on a proper footing.”

“Second, sales and promotion are being handled very well on my side; no issues at all, just keep it steady. Third, on the finance side, my sister has done a preliminary organization. We need to keep formalizing it. In the future, everyone will receive a base salary and orchard profit sharing.”

“I’ll discuss the specifics with my sister later and then announce it.”

Page 2 of 3

“This is what we’ve achieved. Sister, later I’ll give everyone one thousand yuan. Buy whatever you need, everyone included, even Zack!”

“And for the uncles and aunties who come here often to work, when we settle accounts at month’s end, pay extra by the number of visits: ten yuan more each time. Keep proper records. Whoever comes most often gets an extra one hundred yuan.”

Zhong Hui kept writing furiously in her notebook. Zhong Di was in no rush, and only when she paused did he continue.

“Next, we need to make responsibilities clear. Everyone should note down what each person must handle.”

“First, Shao Hong. Planning and coordination should still be yours. Follow our growth plan and push it forward steadily. If this part needs immediate coordination with my sister, your load is heavier.”

Shao Hong nodded.

“Sister, for your part, you do not need to join any manual labor. You only need to handle the finance and the orchard’s publicity, guest reception, and some rule-making.”

“Of course, you should also prepare concrete plans, such as the trash-can installation and the graffiti wall. Once your plans are ready, hand them straight to Shao Hong for implementation.”

Zhong Di knew well how capable his sister was. The farm’s finances are not that complicated, or he would have hired someone just to handle accounting.

Then he could free her to focus on designs and plans.

“Fine, no problem,” Zhong Hui replied.

These days she had found not only work but also a sense of accomplishment. Especially when she designed things, all she felt was fulfillment.

With the jobs Zhong Di assigned to Chen Chen as well, they earned a good amount. It was a decent, comfortable life. The pressure had vanished, and everything went more smoothly.

“Next is Dad. Anything involving hardware construction in the orchard—digging fish ponds, building guesthouses, those kinds of tasks—belongs to Dad. Tell sister how many people you need.”

“For Mom, take charge of the planting side first, such as vegetable growing. If there is work, lead people to do it; when there is none, rest a bit, do odd jobs.”

“Dad and Mom, over there is also a reforestation-after-reconversion project. At some point, it will probably need you to keep an eye on it.”

After thinking for a moment, Zhong Di added: reforestation must be done. He plans to bring in some fruit products and see if they can be built into an entire supply chain.

Page 3 of 3

Of course we need someone responsible. Zhong Di is willing to let the profits flow outward so others can earn more from this money.

“Finally, Zack’s part: whenever guests come who want whole roasted lamb and similar services, Zack is in charge. Also, Shao Hong, you need to find someone to cook home-style stir-fried dishes. That must be arranged, agreed?”

“Okay, I’ll find someone.” Shao Hong answered without hesitation. If he had disagreed earlier, he might have argued. Not now.

“Finally, let’s go over what needs to be done next.”

“Keep all current projects moving forward. Also, whatever exists now should be put into one clear list, with labels.”

“Then there’s the greenhouse construction over the fish pond, the guesthouse renovation, hardware facilities in the orchard, greenhouse building, and replacing the fruit trees after the jujubes mature. That’s about it. Take it slowly, no rush.”

“Alright, that’s all for now. Meeting over.”

After laying out the future tasks, Zhong Di quickly announced the end of the meeting.

The overall direction was already clear in his mind; he was now assigning it step by step. Just normal development is all that’s needed—a sort of management style for the idle-minded, effortless as it sounds.

As for what Zhong Di himself would do, he would simply do whatever he wanted: lend a hand when free, explain technical matters when others had questions.

Or write a few technical articles and contribute something to China, then live a pleasant life at the end of it.

“What? Leave already? It’s still two hours before quitting time. The meeting was done in such a short stretch?”

Mom checked the time and quickly reminded him. She had expected a meeting to last much longer. In all this, there wasn’t even ten minutes. She remembered meetings usually went on and on—more often than not, well over an hour.

“It’s over,” Zhong Di said. “What else was there to say? Everyone’s responsibility and what comes next are already clear.”

Meetings are meant to be like this. Anything that can be said in ten minutes, he would never drag out for an hour. That would be pointless.