The three of them happily decided in the office how to spend all the money in the department's slush fund.

"What do you two think? Where would be a good place to go?" Yi Anguo asked with great interest.

"That's not right! We're going on a team-building trip. It's to better leverage the company's competitive edge, unite everyone, and work together for the company's development. Having fun is just a side benefit, a way for everyone to relax. Everyone's under a lot of work pressure normally, so it's a good thing to use the holiday to relax together and release some tension."

"If we're going to have fun, let's really have fun, so we definitely need to choose a good place. How about we go to Sanya? We'll charter a flight there and back, leaving Friday afternoon and returning to the office Monday afternoon. That way it covers the weekend but doesn't affect the company's work."

As Yi Anguo was getting excited, Zhou Mengdie interjected, "Mr. Yi, even if we go, we can't leave until after work on Friday afternoon, can we?"

"And another thing! We'd have to come back Sunday night, otherwise it would affect work on Monday."

"How would that work? That's too rushed. On Friday morning, everyone can hurry to finish their tasks. Then, no need to work in the afternoon; we can head straight to the airport and fly to Sanya. We can fly back around 10 a.m. on Monday and be back for work in the afternoon, so it won't affect our jobs."

Zhu Dandan spoke up with some concern, "What if the expenses exceed the budget? If we spend all the money in the slush fund, wouldn't it be very troublesome if we need funds for something in the future?"

"Why don't we just find a place to have fun nearby? Renting two buses won't cost much. If everyone flies there and back, the plane tickets alone will be astronomical. Mr. Yi even wants to charter a flight, which is even more expensive. We'd also have to pay for hotels there, and I hear the cost of living is really high. With the little money we have in our account, how could it possibly be enough for all that?"

It's true what they say, Zhu Dandan thought with a bitter laugh, you don't know how expensive things are until you're the one paying the bills. It wasn't easy for me to save up this little nest egg, and now he wants to blow it all in one go. At this rate of spending, how could it possibly be enough? No matter how much is in the slush fund, it's not enough for him to spend like that.

Yi Anguo thought it over. She has a point. I guess I was getting ahead of myself.

"Here's what we'll do," he said. "I'm the manager, so I'll personally contribute 30,000 yuan. You prepare a form and print it out. List my name, the deputy managers, the project supervisors, and everyone else in our department. Tell everyone that I'm organizing a departmental team-building activity: a four-day, three-night trip to Sanya. It will cost 300 yuan per person, and those who want to go should sign up. Put my name at the top, indicating that I'm contributing 30,000 yuan. Then take the form to the deputy managers and supervisors. Tell them if they want to join, they have to chip in at least 300 yuan each."

"Also, family members are welcome, but they will also need to pay at least 300 yuan each. First, get the form ready and see how many people sign up, then we'll see how much money we can collect."

Seeing that Mr. Yi had personally put in 30,000 yuan, Zhu Dandan felt she couldn't say anything more.

After preparing the form, Zhu Dandan wrote down the 30,000 yuan contribution next to Yi Anguo's name. She then started visiting the deputy managers and supervisors one by one, inquiring if they wanted to participate in the team-building event initiated by Mr. Yi. Those willing to go were to sign up and pay a minimum of 300 yuan. They could bring family members, but each additional person would also cost at least 300 yuan.

The first deputy manager Zhu Dandan approached was Gong Bin.

When Gong Bin heard Zhu Dandan's explanation and saw that the new Mr. Yi had put in 30,000 yuan, he cursed inwardly. Thirty thousand yuan for team building? For that much money, I could take a woman to Sanya and have an amazing time. I could do whatever I want. What kind of bored person with nothing better to do organizes a team-building trip? The key thing is that the manager already put in thirty thousand. How could I possibly just give three hundred? If I really only paid three hundred yuan and went on this trip, what would my colleagues, superiors, and subordinates think? How would they look at me? I don't even need to think about it to know the answer.

Besides, Mr. Yi still hasn't settled the score with me over that last incident. The company's vice president did talk to me and expressed his dissatisfaction, telling me to resign promptly if I didn't want to do my job. He'd said that Mr. Yi wasn't someone I could push around, and his abilities weren't something I could question. He asked me, 'Do you think the company would hire someone without any ability to manage this department?' He also said, 'It's only because Mr. Yi is kind and good-tempered and doesn't want to stoop to your level. Otherwise, you'd have been kicked to the curb by now.'

Gong Bin was actually quite puzzled. Logically, Assistant Zhou must have already told Mr. Yi in detail how he had deliberately targeted him that day. But Mr. Yi had never approached him about it, nor did he seem to have any intention of punishing him.

Just when he thought the matter had blown over, he was hit with this sudden move. What a brilliant tactic!

"Dandan, why don't you go to the other deputy managers first, then come back to me? I'll make a call to see if my wife and kids want to come along," Gong Bin said after a moment's thought.

"Okay then! I'll come back to you later!" Zhu Dandan didn't overthink it, feeling his request was quite normal.

Zhu Dandan took the registration form and went to find the next deputy manager, Chen Zhijun.

After listening to Zhu Dandan's explanation, Chen Zhijun looked at the list and asked, "Shouldn't you be following the order on the list and going to Manager Gong first? Did he say he isn't going?"

"No! Manager Gong needed to call home to ask if his wife and kids want to go to Sanya," Zhu Dandan explained.

"I see! What about Mr. Yi? Did Mr. Yi say anything about bringing his family?" Chen Zhijun asked.

"Mr. Yi said he might bring several family members, but since he's already contributed 30,000 yuan, taking a few family members shouldn't be a problem, so he didn't register them separately," Zhu Dandan said with a smile.

"In that case, I'll contribute 50,000 yuan! I'll let you know exactly how many family members I'm bringing after I've decided," Chen Zhijun generously declared.

"Wow! Manager Chen! Are you serious? You're contributing 50,000 yuan?" Zhu Dandan asked in both shock and delight.

"Of course I'm serious. Why would I lie to you? Mr. Yi hasn't been at the company for long, yet he put in 30,000. I definitely have to show my support!" Chen Zhijun said with a laugh. "Our Financial Investment Department should have held a team-building activity long ago. Now that Mr. Yi has finally initiated one, I must naturally support it. The regular employees don't earn much, and asking them to pay 300 yuan wouldn't even cover their plane tickets, let alone food and accommodation. We leaders make a bit more, so of course, we need to contribute some money to show our support and build solidarity. It will make work easier in the future."

"Haha! You really see the big picture, Manager Chen!" Zhu Dandan laughed happily.

In high spirits, Zhu Dandan left Manager Chen's office and continued to the next deputy manager.

The next deputy manager was named Yao Wenzhang. After understanding the situation, he didn't offer 50,000 yuan but only 20,000. Contributing too much was beyond his means, but giving too little would be a loss of face. He knew the contribution amounts would be made public; everyone would know who gave how much. It couldn't be kept secret.

Subsequently, some deputy managers gave 30,000, some gave 20,000, and others gave 10,000, but no one contributed less than 10,000. A round-trip flight, hotel stay, and seafood meals would cost several thousand yuan per person. As deputy managers, how could they have the nerve to contribute only 300 or even a few thousand yuan? If they did, would they have any face left? Would their subordinates still respect them?

The other supervisors also felt it would be improper to give too little, but they didn't want to give more than the deputy managers, so they generally contributed between 10,000 and 15,000 each.

Meanwhile, people in the Physical Economy Investment Department, the Business Department, and the Public Relations Department heard about the Financial Investment Department's team-building trip to Sanya and grew restless.

The Business Department Manager, Long Shaojun, immediately signed up with a contribution of 100,000 yuan, while the Public Relations Department Manager, Shen Xue, joined in with 50,000 yuan. The managers of the Physical Economy Investment Department, Human Resources Department, and Administration Department also heard the news and came forward, donating generously. Zhu Dandan was both shocked and overjoyed; her hands went numb from collecting all the money.

When Yi Anguo heard Zhu Dandan's report, he was quite surprised, not understanding what had happened.

I just wanted to take my department out for a trip to relax and do some team building. How did the other departments get involved? If everyone goes, even a chartered plane won't be big enough.

Eventually, word of the event reached Chen Ting, who called Yi Anguo directly to ask what was going on.

Yi Anguo had no choice but to recount the events, then said with a wry smile, "I didn't expect it either. I have no idea how the other departments got involved."

"I heard you're bringing family members, and quite a few at that. Why haven't I received an invitation from you?" Chen Ting asked, her tone filled with dissatisfaction.

"If you want to go, then go. Who can stop you?" Yi Anguo replied with a chuckle.

"That shows no sincerity at all. I wanted to go as your family member, not as the company's vice president," Chen Ting said helplessly.

"Fine! Then I'll just tell everyone you're my family. That should be good enough, right?" Yi Anguo responded decisively.

"You agree? Are you going to make our relationship public? Are you going to announce to everyone that I'm your girlfriend?" Chen Ting asked, both shocked and thrilled.

"What's so hard to admit? You are my friend, and you are a girl. If you're not my girlfriend, what are you, my boyfriend?" Yi Anguo said, laughing heartily.

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