409 Winners of the Zero Overtime Competition

January 28th, Friday…

Cui Geng apprehensively walked into the 17th floor of Shenhua View, where Tengda's games department was located.

Now, his role was as a 'special observer'.

Boss Pei had given him very extensive rights.

As a 'special observer', Cui Geng could venture wherever he wanted around Tengda. Even the heads of various departments could not stop him.

He could organize his own work schedule, and he did not need to report to anyone. He enjoyed the same benefits and treatment as the official employees of the company. All the departments had to unconditionally comply with any request he made.

Those rights reminded Cui Geng of the imperial envoys who held imperial swords in the evil, old days. Just hearing that list of rights could make anyone feel smug.

However, while those rights sounded good on the surface, how would they help Cui Geng in reality?

He could not be certain.

On one hand, he did not know why in the world Boss Pei thought so highly of him to grant him such an important role.

On the other hand, he worried that he would be ostracized by people in the other departments for being a 'special observer'.

It would be just like when the imperial envoys wielding imperial swords made their rounds. The officials on the ground would look courteous on the surface but criticize them in their hearts.

Take his trip to the games department today for example.

Tengda's games department was the oldest and most experienced working department in all of Tengda Corporation. The in-charge had changed several times, but no matter what, the department had maintained a stronghold in the entire group of companies.

What's more, there were a few very senior employees in the department. Those employees had been around ever since the company was established, and they were very familiar with Boss Pei.

Further, Tengda Games was the most profitable and reputable business at the moment. It bore the important responsibility of nurturing talents for the other businesses.

Everyone in the games department probably thought highly of themselves.

Now, a 'special observer'—who was not subject to anyone's control—was going to come in. Not only would he be of no help to them, but they would also have to unconditionally accede to all his requests.

Could he expect them to be nice to him?

Thus, Cui Geng felt apprehensive. He instinctively wanted to retreat and go somewhere else.

However, when he recalled that he had a job to do and that he had to finish The Butterfly Game, he gritted his teeth and walked in.

The 17th floor was set up in a very similar manner to the 16th floor. The only difference was that the employees on the former floor looked much more passionate about their work.

The 16th floor mainly housed HR, administrative, and finance staff. Apart from the finance staff that was relatively busier, everyone else looked very free. The atmosphere there was more relaxed, and many people either watched shows or slept.

On the other hand, people at Tengda Games on the 17th floor had been working on research and development of GOG. They had just released the game for internal beta testing this week, and there were a whole bunch of bugs that they had to fix.

Thus, almost everyone on the floor was too busy to chat. In fact, not one of them even looked up at Cui Geng.

Li Yada was already getting up to welcome him.

"You're Cui Geng, right? Hello, I'm Li Yada. I'm in charge of Tengda Games at the moment."

Li Yada shook Cui Geng's hand and led him to his desk.

That desk had been empty since Ruan Guangjian left. Cui Geng might as well sit there.

The ostracism and condescension that Cui Geng had expected weren't there. Instead, everyone at Tengda Games seemed to be quite welcoming towards this 'special observer'.

Of course, that was only what Cui Geng saw on the surface.

When he sat down at his desk, Cui Geng felt the need to say some things upfront. "We've already talked about my job scope in this position. I hope that all of you would be able to cooperate with me whenever I need to gather material—"

Before Cui Geng could finish his sentence, Li Yada nodded and smiled as she said, "Of course, all of us will unconditionally cooperate with the 'special observer' when you need it.

"Don't worry. We're all one family under Tengda Corporation. Since Boss Pei had appointed you to be a 'special observer', that must mean that you're going to contribute very meaningfully to the entire group of companies. All of us will do our best to assist you."

Hearing Li Yada's words made Cui Geng feel more relaxed.

It looked like he had been paranoid when he had imagined that everyone would resist him!

Bound together by the Tengda Spirit, all of Tengda's businesses were close-knit. On a certain level, they had become friendly competitors. There were no fighting and scheming between the individual subsidiaries.

Furthermore, Boss Pei's will was of the highest priority in Tengda Corporation. Even if an outsider was parachuted in—as long as he had been assigned by Boss Pei, everyone would trust him completely.

Cui Geng could not help but feel emotional. Boss Pei was very good at managing his subordinates!

Skills and capabilities aside, his talent in management alone was far better than other entrepreneurs.

The atmosphere infected Cui Geng as well, causing him to be filled with fighting spirit.

"You can go back to work, then. I'll organize my thoughts before I start gathering material," said Cui Geng.

Li Yada smiled and nodded. "Alright. I've already assigned an old employee to answer your questions. He has been here since Tengda first started recruiting. We call him the 'living fossil'. You can go to him if you want to ask anything."

Cui Geng switched his computer on. He was prepared to spend the morning writing new chapters for his old book and then tidying up the framework for his new book. He would speak to Bao Xu, 'the living fossil', in the afternoon to learn about Tengda Games' history.

"There are a lot of things to do. I have to make the most of my time.

"According to my original plan, I'm supposed to publish my book during Chinese New Year. That means I have to finish the old book over the next few days. At the same time, I have to firm up the new book's framework as soon as possible.

"At the very least, I have to get its basic design and a summary of the first hundred thousand words out. If I don't do that well, there might be hidden dangers that would increase the chances of me having to drop the book halfway through.

"Once the computer switches on, I'll create a new document and start writing."

Cui Geng had already thought this through. He could not look at the computer specifications. Otherwise, he would want to start playing games.

The computer switched on very quickly.

Cui Geng was just about to right-click on the desktop to create a new folder, but before he could do that, he paused.

There were icons of games all over the screen.

Every game in the market—big and small, standalone and online—had their icons on the desktop!

With a cursory browse, Cui Geng spotted a few large-scale games that he had always wanted to play, but his computer had not been good enough to run.

Cui Geng, "…F*ck!"

Are you trying to make my work extra difficult?

With so many temptations on the desktop, how can anyone not get distracted?

Cui Geng became alert at once. "Could it be Li Yada and the others trying to set a trap for me on purpose? Are they picking on me?"

He suspiciously glanced at Li Yada's desktop.

Unexpectedly, he discovered that there were game icons all over Li Yada's desktop as well!

However, Li Yada could completely ignore them and click on documents to edit them. She was extremely focused—not at all affected by the game icons.

"I was thinking too much!"

Cui Geng could not help but feel guilty. It looked like every employee in Tengda was living out the Tengda spirit.

They had already struck a perfect balance between play, rest, and work. When it was time to work, none of them would be distracted no matter how many temptations lay before them.

"It looks like I haven't achieved that level of mental discipline."

As if infected by the Tengda spirit, Cui Geng decided not to care about the games on the desktop. Instead, he created a new document and began working.

Cui Geng's typing made crisp tapping noises that blended perfectly with the other tapping noises throughout the office area.

In the afternoon, Cui Geng walked to Bao Xu's desk and asked him about Tengda Games' strange or remarkable stories from its lifetime.

Bao Xu looked reminiscent. "It's a long story. Back then, I was an internet addict, playing games in an internet cafe…"

…

…

January 29th, Saturday…

Today was a workday in lieu and the last day of work before the Chinese New Year. The Chinese New Year in the year 2011 was to be on February 3rd. The holiday began on February 2nd.

However, thinking that people would want to travel, Pei Qian decided to give everyone an off-day on February 1st and made January 29th a workday instead of January 31st.

That way, everyone's holiday could last three days more than other companies' employees.

Pei Qian was not free to bring forward workdays without limit. For instance, he could not insist on two workdays and five rest days in a week. However, he would have no problems adjusting for them to work for two or three days in light of a national holiday.

Although this was the last day of work before the Chinese New Year, there was a lot of work to be done.

The winner of the Zero Overtime Competition and the Best Employee, who was to be selected on February 1st, were going to be chosen today.

Once the selections were done in the morning, everyone was free to go home and celebrate the New Year.

During this period, the administrative department and the HR department had little work to do other than to prepare for those selections.

The core employees and people in charge of the various departments had rushed down to the hotel near Shenhua View to fill up all the seats at the location.

Although the event could not be compared to the scale of the annual meeting, it was still very lively.

Fruits and nuts covered the table, along with various candies and chocolates. They were what traditionally could be found on people's tables as they celebrated Chinese New Year. However, the nuts and candies there were obviously more expensive.

Everyone munched on nuts and candy, drank tea, and waited for the selection to take place on the screen.

Li Yada watched the big screen excitedly and softly said, "The Best Employee Selection is becoming more and more formal. In the past, we voted online; and Boss Pei merely handed out the prize. Yet, this time, we even booked a special location for the selection."

Bao Xu, who was seated beside her, said nothing in response. He kept his head lowered and continued munching on the snacks, looking slightly unwell.

It was almost time. Everyone was here.

Xin Hailu walked to the huge screen, said a couple of words, and then immediately kicked off the selection of the Zero Overtime Competition's winner.

The names of people from various departments who had worked overtime flashed across the screen, along with figures like the number of hours that they had worked overtime.

Li Yada peeled a tangerine, obviously uninterested in what was happening on the huge screen. "It wouldn't have anything to do with our department. We've had a lot of work this year, and we worked overtime several times. I guess we can work harder next time."

Bao Xu continued to keep his head lowered, munching on his snacks and not uttering a single word.