Chapter 122: This World Still Has More 'Good People'!

Chapter 122: This World Still Has More 'Good People'!

The next morning, as soon as Zhang Lin arrived at the farm, he saw two people in police uniforms patrolling the area.

The two officers had batons and radios attached to their belts.

Seeing the additional tourism police emblem on their arms, he immediately recognized their identities.

He hadn't expected the county to act so quickly, with the tourism police already stationed at the farm by morning.

This was a good thing.

If unruly tourists ever showed up, the farm security might not know how to handle them. In the modern world, people of all kinds of moral fiber could be found.

After entering the office, Zhong Miaoying came in with a form and said, "Mr. Zhang, this is a document from the Operations Department and the HR Department. They need your signature. I’ve already printed it out. Once you sign it, I’ll deliver it to both departments."

"Give me the document!" Zhang Lin nodded, acknowledging that this was part of a secretary’s duties.

Previously, the Operations and HR Departments had to come to him personally, and sometimes, when work got busy, it wasn’t convenient to find the right moment.

Now, it was much simpler. The two departments could send the documents to Zhong Miaoying, who would print them out, have Zhang Lin sign them, and then send them back to the respective departments.

Zhang Lin glanced at the two documents. One was a request from Lin Muxue for 500,000 yuan in operational funds, naturally for the skincare cream project.

When their skincare cream goes live online, they plan to find 'good' bloggers to criticize them, creating buzz. Once the criticism reaches a peak, they will make a dramatic turnaround, leaving a deep impression and forging a brand.

Creating a strong brand is best achieved through memorable public impressions.

This way, when the farm has more specialties in the future, they can spin off a subsidiary.

Naturally, this assumes that the current operation goes well.

Finding 'good' bloggers online isn't always easy, so they would have to pay to find 'good' people first.

This was his own suggestion from the night before.

Therefore, he signed the document for Lin Muxue's request right away.

The next document was from the HR Department, regarding labor protection.

It covered two main points: one was the decision to issue labor protection on the 5th of every month, with the first issuance the day after tomorrow.

With so many employees now, this had to be properly managed.

Labor protection typically refers to two things: protective gear for employees during production and a labor protection allowance, which is a welfare benefit. Although the amount isn’t much, it’s very popular among lower-level employees.

This is also mandated by national laws.

Companies can issue consumption vouchers, health subsidies, living subsidies, and fitness equipment to employees each month.

In office-based industries, consumption vouchers are common, allowing employees to use them at specific places.

Health subsidies are another common form of labor protection, allowing employees to undergo regular health check-ups, purchase health supplements, and receive medical expense subsidies to ensure their well-being.

However, in factory and farm environments, living subsidies are more common, such as towels, laundry detergent, toilet paper, shampoo, and toothpaste.

This time, Lin Mengyao planned to issue two bottles of laundry detergent, a bag of dried fruits, and a pack of Xiangxiang paper towels, totaling 50 yuan.

Naturally, the monthly labor protection would vary, unlike some companies that issue the same items every month, leading to a surplus of items like toothpaste and toothbrushes when employees leave.

Zhang Lin signed the document and had Zhong Miaoying send it to the two departments.

When Zhong Miaoying returned, she reported, "Mr. Zhang, the HR Department has scheduled several financial applicants for interviews in three days. They need to know your availability!"

"Let's do it in three days!" Zhang Lin nodded.

A finance position is unavoidable in any company. If it weren’t necessary, he wouldn’t want to hire a financial officer so quickly.

Once a financial officer is hired, even if he holds 100% of the farm’s shares, he wouldn’t be able to use the farm’s funds as freely.

For example, buying a Mercedes S-Class, without a financial officer, he could directly allocate the funds from the farm’s account. In smaller companies, all owners operate this way, as long as taxes are paid, and any inquiries can be handled with some negotiation.

With a financial officer, buying a Mercedes S-Class would require a formal company vehicle requisition, registration under the company, or a dividend transfer to another account before the purchase, or borrowing the money from the farm and repaying it during the next dividend distribution.

Yes, even a 100% shareholder sometimes has to borrow from their own company.

It’s that complicated!

Even if all taxes are paid, the procedure and legal policies must be followed.

However, without a financial officer, how would the company manage financial statements, tax calculations, employee benefits, and tax filings at a certain scale?

Liyuan Farm had reached that scale.

As Zhong Miaoying replied to Lin Mengyao on her phone, Zhang Zhao appeared at the office door with a man in his forties, knocking.

"Brother Zhao, come in and sit down!" Zhang Lin immediately stood up to greet them, while instructing Zhong Miaoying, "Miaoying, make some tea!"

"Sure, Mr. Zhang!" Zhong Miaoying immediately sat at the tea table to prepare the tea.

Zhang Lin also sat down with Zhang Zhao and the other person, then asked, "Brother Zhao, who is this?"

Zhang Zhao quickly explained, "Xiao Lin, let me introduce you. The county plans to set up a new police station at the farm, and this is the head, Chief Cao!"

"Mr. Zhang, nice to meet you. I hope we can work together in the future," Chief Cao hurriedly extended his hand, his attitude very courteous.

"Chief Cao, let's cooperate!" Zhang Lin also smiled in response.

He always reciprocated courtesy when others were polite to him.

Zhong Miaoying quickly brewed a pot of tea and poured a cup for each of them.

After drinking a cup of tea, Zhang Lin asked, "Brother Zhao, Chief Cao, is there anything specific you need my assistance with today?"

Chief Cao quickly replied, "Mr. Zhang, today is just to get to know each other. After all, our work will rely a lot on the farm's cooperation. However, most of the time, Deputy Chief Zhang will handle the farm's affairs."

Zhang Lin understood what he meant. The county was placing a lot of importance on the visitors to Liyuan Farm, and this visit was to set up a new organizational structure.

So, he smiled and said, "Chief Cao, you can count on us. We'll definitely cooperate."

"Mr. Zhang, hearing that from you puts my mind at ease." Chief Cao beamed, his purpose for the visit achieved.

Being courteous and showing goodwill to Mr. Zhang had its benefits.

He wasn't foolish; Mr. Zhang clearly had considerable influence in Youcheng.

Firstly, the county's focus on the farm was evident, with the establishment of a night market specifically for farm visitors.

The Tourism Bureau also placed great importance on the farm.

The bureau's director, Zhao Han, had mentioned that Youcheng could stabilize at an average of 40,000 visitors per day next year.

Moreover, the girl brewing tea, Zhong Miaoying, seemed familiar. He recalled seeing her at a leader's son's wedding, and she was apparently the daughter of the Zhong family.

If her daughter could work here as Mr. Zhang's secretary, it was clear they had a close relationship.

As long as Luyuan Farm continued to thrive in a small place like Youcheng, the connections and influence of Mr. Zhang were easy to imagine.

The Tourism Bureau was newly established, and Chief Cao and Zhang Zhao were quite free. With the patrol personnel arranged and the office set up, the two of them had plenty of time to chat and drink tea with the farm owner, Zhang Lin.

Southerners often build relationships over tea.

They chatted leisurely for the entire morning, and by the afternoon, Zhang Lin had added Chief Cao's contact information. They had become quite familiar. Chief Cao then took his subordinates on a tour of the farm, inviting Zhang Lin along.

Naturally, the main purpose was to introduce Zhang Lin to his subordinates to avoid any misunderstandings that could lead to awkward situations.

During the tour, they heard the sound of fireworks as they approached the Bamboo Maze. A visitor was seen holding a certificate, looking excited.

This certificate was only given to the first 500 visitors who successfully navigated the Bamboo Maze!

Naturally, the winner would also receive a 2000 yuan prize.

Even though the path through the maze had been made public, and some lucky visitors had even shared it online, very few people had managed to complete it in the past two days.

The 800,000 yuan prize pool still had over 500,000 yuan left.

Many people were posting online about their failures, with some blaming their girlfriends for distracting them and causing them to forget the path.

Experts were even analyzing the reasons, suggesting that the Bamboo Maze at Luyuan Farm used repetitive and similar scenarios, rapid transitions, and a complex block maze to create significant mental pressure, making it difficult to focus.

Zhang Lin never responded to these analyses, leaving it to the experts to draw their conclusions.

Regardless, the popularity of the Bamboo Maze hadn't decreased in the slightest.

"Mr. Zhang, this Bamboo Maze is really popular online. You're truly talented, turning a simple bamboo forest into something extraordinary," Chief Cao couldn't help but comment, looking at the bustling scene at the Bamboo Maze.

After work, Zhang Lin headed to the Operations Department.

Lin Muxue had completed the marketing plan for the moisturizing cream and was about to launch the promotional campaign that evening, so he naturally wanted to check on the progress.

When he arrived at the Operations Department, Lin Muxue was already leading her team in a heated discussion, working overtime.

This was a common characteristic of online operations; the day might be relatively relaxed, but evenings were often busy, especially when launching new campaigns. The prime time for online activity was in the evenings, and it was getting later every day.

Previously, 6 PM was considered prime time, followed by 8 PM.

Now, 6 PM was no longer prime time, and 10 PM was the new standard.

This was evident from the timing of record-breaking events by top influencers, who usually announced their preparations at 9 PM and officially started at 10 PM.

Even midnight was now more popular than the traditional 6 PM prime time.

Everyone seemed to be night owls.

A recent survey even showed that among adults under 35, 80% were night owls, staying up past their regular bedtime.

"Mr. Zhang!" Lin Muxue was holding a meeting with her team, assigning tasks to two bloggers. Seeing Zhang Lin, she greeted him and introduced the bloggers: "Mr. Zhang, these two are the 'good guys' we hired for 150,000 yuan each. After we release the promotional video, they will criticize us or spread negative comments to create controversy. We'll also spend another 200,000 yuan to hire trolls to support them."

”

  “With the current popularity of our Liyuan Farm, their videos will soon go viral. At this moment, our farm will not respond, creating the illusion that what they say is true. By the time of the trial event, we’ll reveal the results and turn the tables.”

  “Unfortunately, our limited funds mean the two ‘good guy’ bloggers we hired have limited followers and influence. With our farm’s 8 million followers, the effect might be greatly reduced.”

  “Hmm.” Zhang Lin understood the situation.

  The farm now has many loyal fans, and the positive impression it has left before makes it difficult for two low-level ‘good guys’ to completely tarnish their products. However, there’s no way to find bigger bloggers to play the role of a ‘good guy.’

  Finally, the latest promotional video for Linyuan Farm was released: The Farm's Latest Event is Here! Using a special traditional technique, we’ve created a unique moisturizing cream from rapeseed oil. Tomorrow afternoon, we will select lucky visitors to participate in our moisturizing cream trial event. Several popular bloggers will also join the trial!

  As soon as the video was released, it attracted a lot of attention from fans. As the popularity increased, many passersby were also drawn in.

  “Is this real? Linyuan Farm is making skincare products?”

  “I can’t believe it. Can rapeseed oil really be used to make moisturizing cream?”

  “I’m planning to visit Linyuan Farm tomorrow anyway. I might as well give it a try, but I wonder how effective it will be!”

  “...”

  From the comments, it was clear that the farm’s fans and passersby were quite surprised and skeptical about Linyuan Farm making moisturizing cream.

  It was like if a phone company decided to make cars. It would be unbelievable, but when that phone company actually became a car company, the results would be astonishing. Now, who hasn’t heard the joke about a billion-dollar Lei Jun opening the car door for you?

  After the video was released, Lin Muxue let it ferment. By 8 PM, she instructed Liu Qian, “It’s time. Have the two ‘good guy’ bloggers make their move.”

  “Okay, Sister Lin, oh...” Liu Qian was about to act when she suddenly exclaimed. She operated something on two phones and then handed them to Lin Muxue and Zhang Lin with a strange expression: “Sister Lin, President Zhang, take a look at this video.”

  Lin Muxue took the phone, saw the video, and was surprised: “Zhao Lili! She’s one of the most popular skincare bloggers in the country!”

  In the video, Zhao Lili’s voice was heard: “I received an invitation to the Linyuan Farm moisturizing cream trial event, but I declined because I felt it was unnecessary to know the result. Let me show you some data...

  “...As you can see from the data, the elements in rapeseed oil are not suitable for moisturizing cream. Moreover, brands like Lancome and L'Oreal have also examined rapeseed oil and ultimately abandoned it!”

  “Since these big brands have verified that rapeseed oil is unsuitable as a material, it’s questionable that Linyuan Farm is using it to make moisturizing cream. Even though their fields of rapeseed flowers are beautiful, I’m not completely dismissing the possibility that Linyuan Farm can create a moisturizing cream, but the likelihood is very low, after all, it’s just a farm!”

  “She’s attacking us!” Lin Muxue’s eyes suddenly lit up.

  Zhang Lin also saw it and couldn’t help but exchange a glance with her. They both saw the same meaning in each other’s eyes: “There are still many ‘good guys’ in this world!”

  Lin Muxue didn’t hesitate and quickly instructed Liu Qian, “Have the two bloggers we hired change their strategy. Have them share Zhao Lili’s video, support her, and hype up her video. Also, allocate 200,000 to the trolls to support Zhao Lili and fiercely criticize us.”

  “What a big fool. We’d be wasting it if we didn’t take advantage of this!”

  Meanwhile, in Lili Fragrance Studio.

  Zhao Lili and her planner were checking the data of the video she just posted on several computers and phones.

  The planner laughed, “Lili, just as you said, Linyuan Farm is using a traditional method to make moisturizing cream, claiming it’s a heritage technique, but they’re actually using rapeseed oil. I’ve never heard of it before, and it doesn’t even meet the basic requirements for moisturizing cream.”

  Zhao Lili nodded, “Using rapeseed oil to make moisturizing cream is indeed a bit far-fetched. After all, brands like Lancome and L'Oreal have tried using rapeseed oil and ultimately abandoned it because it’s unsuitable.”

  The planner added, “Now we should spend some money to hire trolls to support our video. This way, we can leverage Linyuan Farm’s popularity, and the video will go viral quickly, which should attract enough new followers for you.”

  But at that moment, an operator reported, “Sister Lili, your video doesn’t need trolls. The likes and comments are increasing very quickly, more than ten times faster than a normal video. At this rate, it will go viral soon. Moreover, two cosmetic bloggers have already shared our video, showing their support!”

  “So bloggers are already jumping on the bandwagon? That saves us some money.” Zhao Lili opened the videos of the two bloggers and her expression changed slightly.

  Something wasn’t right.

  At that moment, the operator also said, “Sister Lili, take a look at these comments. They seem a bit off!”

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end