After the applause had completely died down, Yun Cheng finally spoke.
"Young Miss, everyone has already gathered at the banquet hall of the Lakeside Hotel. They are waiting for us to arrive."
Liu Yutong nodded: "Good, let's go over now."
Upon hearing this, everyone felt a stir in their hearts, their emotions a mix of excitement and complexity.
It's here, it's here, the real main event is about to begin!
In truth, all the discussions earlier about revenue reports, employee numbers, and the like were merely appetizers.
The upcoming core member promotion ceremony is the true highlight of today.
Within the Wanlong Society, this is referred to as [Opening the Incense Hall].
Although Liu Yutong has always emphasized that this is just an ordinary internal ceremony for core members to become full-fledged, and everyone superficially nods in agreement, saying "whatever the Young Miss says goes,"
whether they truly think that is another matter entirely.
Take Ma Da and the others, for instance. They believe the Young Miss has never forgotten her original aspirations, wholeheartedly dedicated to building the Wanlong Society bigger and stronger.
Of course, "bigger and stronger" here should be in quotation marks.
Nowadays, the Young Miss has indeed expanded the Wanlong Society's scale, making it look more and more like a legitimate corporation. Yet, under these circumstances, she continues to expand the number of core members.
Why would a normal corporation need to develop so many capable members dressed in black?
Especially since core members receive double salaries, enjoy fully-loaded social insurance and housing fund benefits, along with family care welfare, and so on.
Isn't this precisely the Young Miss ensuring in advance that every core member has no worries holding them back?
Only without worries holding them back can they work hard to conquer territory and expand influence. This point is mutually understood without being spoken.
The Wanlong Society already dominates Mingzhu City, but the Dragon Country is vast in territory. How could the current manpower be sufficient?
Expanding outward is an inevitable trend.
Moreover, Ma Da and the others already know the Young Miss's next target: Danan City, the provincial capital of neighboring JH Province.
As a first-tier city, though not comparable to super-first-tier metropolises, Danan City's scale far exceeds that of Mingzhu. It is a true ancient historical capital and will be the next main target for Wanlong Society's practical businesses/ventures.
Wanlong Supermarkets, Wanlong Shopping Centers, and other related enterprises will gradually be established there.
The reasons the Young Miss suddenly chose Danan City are twofold: first, it's close to them, and second, they have already established connections there who can help resolve some commercial issues.
When the time comes, they will use Danan City as a center to gradually radiate influence to cities across the northern and southern regions of JH Province.
Within HS Province, they will use Mingzhu City as a center to gradually radiate to cities across its northern and southern regions.
Industrial development cannot grow as rapidly as internet companies. Furthermore, the industrial projects under the Wanlong Society Group must be guaranteed to be the best, executed to perfection. Their strategy, for now, can only advance city by city.
Otherwise, blind and reckless rapid expansion would ruin the hard-earned commercial reputation and the absolute cohesion of the employees.
Since the next target is Danan City, the first stop outside the province, naturally more manpower must be brought along.
In terms of execution capability, no one is more suitable than core members who have undergone ideological baptism.
Just like now, the group is growing larger, with employees numbering six to seven thousand.
Generally speaking, as the organization expands, more parasites will inevitably infiltrate, and management difficulty increases exponentially.
Yet, the Wanlong Society doesn't have this worry, or at least very little of it.
The Wanlong Society Group still hasn't implemented a clock-in attendance system. Why do employees still come to work on time, rarely being late, with few trying to loaf on the job?
Besides the attraction of high benefits, it's because every department has core members present, imperceptibly creating a subtle deterrence.
Don't think about causing trouble, or trying to fish in troubled waters or steal while guarding.
Before considering doing anything bad, first think about how core members deal with those hoodlums and those societal big brothers outside.
Those societal big brothers and hoodlums have been dealt with submissively, let alone ordinary people.
As the group continues to grow, the selection mechanism for core members has also been continuously optimized.
Initially, anyone who joined the Wanlong Society was a core member.
Later, as the numbers grew, it changed to requiring active application, followed by study and assessment to join.
Now, it requires certain contributions, outstanding performance, and passing study and assessments to join.
Additionally, the Wanlong Society has requirements for core members' physique. Men must not have a potbelly (Ma Da excepted), must exercise regularly, and having abdominal muscles is best.
The requirements for women are relatively lower, but they must also exercise regularly.
In short, when needed, core members of the Wanlong Society must present their best appearance to embody the spirit and style of the Wanlong Society.
Currently, there are over five hundred core members in the Wanlong Society.
The first quarter of this year has already passed. Coupled with preparations to advance into Danan City, it's estimated that four to five hundred more will be added.
This ratio has already exceeded the approximately 10-to-1 ratio Liu Yutong originally planned.
However, the current situation is special, so an exception is made to recruit more, as roughly half will be transferred to Danan City later.
...........
Inside the banquet hall of the Lakeside Hotel, over a thousand people were already seated.
All core members and the candidate core members were all in their seats, about to be promoted this time.
The colors in the venue were roughly half black and half assorted/miscellaneous colors.
The atmosphere inside was exceptionally solemn, the air seemingly permeated with tension and excitement.
The Wanlong Society's core member recruitment time has now been changed to once per quarter. This was all Ma Da's doing, mainly because the ceremony to become full-fledged at last year's annual meeting was so effective.
It made Ma Da feel that this type of ceremony must be preserved. Core members must have their status personally bestowed by the Young Miss to appear solemn and to make everyone more united!
Not long after.
Liu Yutong emerged from the elevator with a group of executives who also held core member status.
On both sides of the corridor leading to the banquet hall, every five steps stood a core member in a crisp black suit with an earpiece, standing solemnly.
Each of them had an upright posture, looking handsome and cool.
As Liu Yutong entered the corridor, the two rows of members in black immediately bowed in unison to greet her.
"Young Miss!" X over twenty voices.
Upon hearing the voices coming from outside, the Wanlong Society members already seated inside the banquet hall instantly sat up straight, assuming their best posture as they awaited the Young Miss's arrival.
As the two heavy carved doors of the banquet hall were slowly pushed open by two members stationed beside them,
Liu Yutong's figure appeared at the entrance.
Whoosh!
Inside the hall, over a thousand core members and candidate core members abruptly stood up in unison!
Their gazes, burning with an intensity that seemed almost aflame, focused on that slender figure appearing at the doorway.
Each person's eyes were filled with anticipation, excitement, fervor... and other such emotions.
Liu Yutong wore a custom-tailored matte black velvet suit today, a crystal-like dragon brooch pinned at the collar, complementing her cool, refined makeup. Her originally shoulder-length black hair was swept back into a low chignon, revealing a smooth forehead and a slender, swan-like neck, adding an ethereal, icy allure to her beauty.
Behind her, core executives like Yun Cheng, Yu Xin, and Ma Da followed closely, like stars surrounding the moon. Their presence further accentuated the uniqueness of the figure leading them.
As she fully entered the hall and stood at the foot of the raised platform at the end of the red carpet...
Thud!
The black-clad man at the very front slammed his right fist heavily against his left chest, over his heart, producing a solid, muffled sound.
The next second!
Almost in unison, the entire assembly—over five hundred core members in black and more than four hundred probationary core members—mirrored the gesture, striking their chests with their fists in unison.
Immediately after, this crowd of over a thousand people shouted in near-fanatic unison.
"GOOD MORNING, YOUNG MADAM!!!"
The roar was immense, thunderous enough to make one's scalp tingle.
