I'm back in 1990

Chapter 363: No Wage Delays Allowed

During his stay in Shanghai, Zhang Gaolei made a point of spending a day visiting Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, since it was his alma mater and it wouldn't be right not to go after receiving the invitation.

The school arranged a special speech for him, with the aim of having him share his entrepreneurial experience and life insights with his younger schoolmates.

As a former student and now a billionaire, Zhang Gaolei's arrival caused a sensation on campus. The auditorium was packed with students eager to hear his story, hoping to draw inspiration and strength from this legendary alumnus's experiences, and also to get his autograph.

Zhang Gaolei shared his experiences and gratitude to his alma mater with the students in the audience on five themes: perseverance and hard work, innovation and adventure, learning and growth, social responsibility, and affection for his alma mater.

Zhang Gaolei also emphasized the importance of learning and growth. He believes that continuous learning and self-improvement are indispensable regardless of one's circumstances. He also discussed social responsibility, stating that as an entrepreneur, one should not only pursue commercial success but also create value for society and give back to it.

He also hopes to inspire more younger students to strive for their dreams through his own experience.

After the speech, Zhang Gaolei donated one million US dollars to purchase books for the school library out of gratitude to his alma mater. In return, the school awarded him a graduation certificate and a bachelor's degree with honors.

Of course, he certainly doesn't have a million dollars to his name right now; he borrowed that money from Huang Xiaochuan.

Before Zhang Gaolei was invited to the school, the two met briefly. Huang Xiaochuan had already considered this issue and offered to lend Zhang Gaolei some money, the amount depending on how much Zhang Gaolei donated.

At first, Zhang Gaolei thought that donating three to five hundred thousand US dollars would be enough, but when the atmosphere got heated and he felt like he was being fawned over, his blood rushed to his head and he blurted out that he was donating one million US dollars.

At noon, the school leaders arranged a commemorative banquet at the small canteen on the second floor that Zhang Gaolei and Huang Xiaochuan used to frequent. Returning to the old place, but with their identities changed, Zhang Gaolei felt a surge of emotions.

He held back several times before revealing that Huang Xiaochuan was the major shareholder of Gaze Company. This guy kept himself too well hidden and was never interested in such things that required him to be in the public eye.

After Zeng Lijuan efficiently completed her grandson's household registration, she was in a hurry to go home. All she could think about now was her precious grandson, which made Huang Xiaochuan quite jealous.

There's a saying that the eldest grandson is worse than the youngest son, and that's absolutely true. Huang Xiaochuan realized that his mother's love had drifted away from him.

"Mom! Stay a couple more days before you leave! Yu Xiang and I will go shopping with you to buy some things. What's the rush?"

"Your sister-in-law is too busy to manage everything at home by herself, and I'm the one who puts Mianmian to sleep every night," Zeng Lijuan said to Huang Xiaochuan while packing her luggage.

Seeing this, Huang Xiaochuan stopped trying to persuade her. He knew his mother best; all her thoughts were on her precious grandson. If it weren't for the need to register her household in Shanghai, she would never have left her grandson for so many days.

Since Huang Zemian was born, he has only stayed at his maternal grandmother's house for three days. That was after he finished his postpartum confinement period, which was in accordance with custom to stay in a different place for a few days. However, as soon as the three days were up, Zeng Lijuan took him back. This left his sister-in-law's family speechless, but they couldn't say anything, since Zeng Lijuan was Huang Zemian's biological grandmother.

Moreover, the Huang family treated their daughter and grandson very well. Not only did they buy a house in Shanghai, but Zeng Lijuan also generously gave her sister-in-law Jiang Rong a red envelope of 100,000 yuan as soon as Huang Zemian was born.

Such an arrogant act directly shocked the Jiang family. Moreover, Zeng Lijuan usually helped take care of Xiao Mianmian. For this reason, Zeng Lijuan took a long leave from her work unit. Seeing how good her in-laws were to Jiang Rong, the Jiang family couldn't say a word against it. They could only sigh that their daughter had such a good mother-in-law.

"I've packed all the gifts Yu Xiang bought. I'll put them in your car tomorrow so you can take them back to your sister-in-law and Xiao Mianmian. She's on duty for a whole day and night, so she won't have time to deliver them to you tomorrow. I'm representing her on her behalf."

Yu Xiang is interning while preparing for her professional qualification exam. Although there is still some time before the official exam, she needs to start preparing in advance. So Yu Xiang is quite busy. During the few days that Zeng Lijuan came, she only spent half a day with her.

Zeng Lijuan discussed with Huang Xiaochuan, "You should talk to Yu Xiang and tell her not to work so hard. Our family can manage as long as you can earn money. Why don't you come back and help take care of the family?"

Upon hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan quickly gave his mother a heads-up: "Mom! I'm giving you a heads-up beforehand. You're not allowed to mention this in front of Yu Xiang. She has her own career. I'd rather she be a doctor who saves lives than a housewife. What a joke it is to make a medical student, whom we've trained for years, a housewife. That's disrespectful to knowledge."

"Fine, I won't ask anymore! I was just saying it offhand, I don't have time to deal with your business right now." Seeing Huang Xiaochuan's strong reaction, Zeng Lijuan quickly said she wouldn't care anymore.

The next morning, after saying goodbye to her grandmother and aunt, Zeng Lijuan got into the van that Huang Xiaochuan had arranged for her and went home.

In the morning, Huang Xiaochuan went to his office in Xujiahui. When he entered the office, the hot water had already been boiled, and Huang Xiaochuan began to make himself tea as usual.

After drinking two cups of tea, Mai Guangde appeared in the office as if he had timed it perfectly.

"Mr. Huang, this morning the South China Morning Post will accompany you to inspect the Pudong project that is currently under construction."

Huang Xiaochuan nodded to indicate that he understood, as this had been agreed upon beforehand. However, Huang Xiaochuan still said to Mai Guangde, "Give her a call and tell her not to come here. Tell her to wait for me at the project site. We'll go there in a bit."

"Then I'll call President Nan right now."

At 10 a.m., Huang Xiaochuan arrived at the Pudong project site. Nan Hui was already waiting for him there. Huang Xiaochuan took the safety helmet handed to him by Nan Hui and entered the construction site.

Although the Spring Festival is approaching, the earthwork project is still under construction, with dump trucks coming and going in an endless stream. Although the site is busy, it is orderly.

Since the project was launched, Nan Hui has been extremely busy. The nominal chairman, Cao Charlie, has not been involved in the specific work at all, and all the work has fallen on Nan Hui's shoulders. As an outsider, it is extremely difficult for her to do this. Fortunately, a professional team was hired to share a lot of the work, but the final decision-making work is not something that those people can do.

There are seven or eight meetings a day, with countless miscellaneous matters to attend to, such as equipment coordination meetings and construction progress meetings.

Upon entering the project office, the chief engineer of the general contractor greeted Nan Hui immediately, while Huang Xiaochuan continued to look at the blueprints on the table.

In fact, Huang Xiaochuan could only look at the general architectural plan; he couldn't understand things like structural construction drawings or equipment installation drawings at all.

However, his behavior still aroused the interest of the general contractor's chief engineer in his identity. Since Huang Xiaochuan looked relatively young, the chief engineer did not know who he was, so he asked Nan Hui for information.

"Mr. Nan, who is this?"

Following the pre-arranged script, Nan Hui introduced Mr. Hu to the chief engineer of the general contractor: "Chief Engineer Hu, this is Mr. Huang, the assistant to our group's chairman. He is here on behalf of the chairman to inspect the project."

Huang Xiaochuan proactively extended his hand to shake hands with Chief Engineer Hu: "Hello!"

"Hello, hello!" Chief Engineer Hu quickly responded.

Nan Hui then said, "Please ask Chief Engineer Hu to inform our Chairman's Assistant about the current construction progress."

"That's natural."

Chief Engineer Hu immediately told Huang Xiaochuan about the current construction status.

"Because Pudong is an alluvial plain and is close to the Huangpu River, the groundwater content is very high. Moreover, the excavation volume for this project is as high as 260,000 cubic meters. Therefore, we are going to use a new construction technique to ensure the buoyancy resistance of the foundation pit concrete."

Chief Engineer Hu talked at length about the specific construction plan.

Huang Xiaochuan finally asked, "How long is the entire project scheduled to take?"

"It takes one year and nine months, and is expected to be completed before May 31, 1997."

Huang Xiaochuan then asked, "The Spring Festival is just around the corner, will the wages be paid on time?"

"Well, it's like this. We're just the general contractor. We've already subcontracted the earthwork, but we've been paying for the work strictly according to the construction schedule."

After hearing this, Huang Xiaochuan looked directly at Nan Hui.

Nan Hui immediately understood.

"Chief Engineer Hu, our contract stipulates that regardless of which company the project is subcontracted to, the general contractor must track the payment of workers' wages. We will conduct random checks from time to time. If there are any cases of wage arrears, we will deduct them directly from your general contractor's fees in accordance with the contract, and we will pay these funds directly to the relevant workers."

"President Nan, please rest assured, although this matter is not under my jurisdiction, I will report to our general manager immediately and will definitely give you a satisfactory answer."

Huang Xiaochuan waved his hand: "It's not an answer for us, but a satisfactory answer for the construction workers. The Spring Festival is coming soon, and this money is the hope of the whole family. It's for New Year's goods, new clothes for the New Year, and tuition fees for the children next year."

After saying that, he turned to Nan Hui and said, "Arrange for someone to conduct an investigation this afternoon to ensure that every worker receives their wages before the holiday, without any discounts or reductions."

"Okay, Mr. Huang, I will personally follow up on this matter." Nan Hui immediately agreed.