Sail across the sea

Chapter 523 What achievements are you referring to?

"I don't really have any requirements for salary."

These are the words Yuan Xiaoyan spoke to Gao Fan after they met in a small teahouse near Peking University.

After hearing from Xia Shihui that Yuan Xiaoyan wanted to switch jobs to Canghai Chemical, Gao Fan first went to his sister Gao Min to verify it.

From Gao Min, Gao Fan learned that Yuan Xiaoyan had been thinking about leaving the newspaper for some time, for various reasons, including her being single and beautiful. However, this was a private topic between close friends, and Gao Min did not reveal much to Gao Fan.

Gao Fan had some understanding of Yuan Xiaoyan's abilities and character, and Gao Min also offered her assessment. The siblings largely agreed that while she had a tendency towards vanity, she was generally quite ethical in her work. As for her network, planning skills, writing ability, and comprehension, they were considered top-notch in the workplace.

With these preparations laid, Gao Fan decided to take the initiative to contact Yuan Xiaoyan for a face-to-face meeting. The meeting wasn't scheduled near Yuan Xiaoyan's workplace, but rather near Peking University. After all, both of them were graduates of Peking University and were quite familiar with the area.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Gao Fan got down to business, repeating what he had said to Xia Shihui, claiming that the company warmly welcomed Yuan Xiaoyan to join the company and that she could name her salary and benefits.

Gao Fan, who was emotionally intelligent, naturally didn't mention the limiting phrase "no more than 20," assuming that Xia Shihui had already hinted at it to Yuan Xiaoyan.

After hearing Gao Fan's promise, Yuan Xiaoyan said this:
"I don't really have any requirements for salary."

Gao Fan wasn't a newbie in the workplace anymore; he knew that such words could be interpreted in various ways. Just like when he and Lin Ruoyi went to a restaurant, Lin Ruoyi often said, "Anything is fine with me," but time and time again, the harsh reality told Gao Fan that it was easier to simply hand over the recipes to her.

"No way, anyone would know that what's free is the most expensive. I won't feel at ease unless you name a price."

Gao Fan said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

Yuan Xiaoyan smiled and said, "I'm still single now. My parents don't expect me to support them. I'm the typical person who only needs to feed myself. In the company, my annual income, including salary, bonuses, and some labor fees paid by the company, is about 5 yuan. Just pay me according to that standard."

Gao Fan said, "No way, you must get ten or twenty thousand yuan a year just for doing public relations planning for my sister's and my company, right?"

Yuan Xiaoyan said, "I added this amount of money, otherwise where do you think I earned so much money?"

"Aren't reporters always busy collecting travel expenses until their hands cramp up?"

“We’re a major newspaper, we have rules. Besides, many of the organizations we report on are ministries and government agencies, and some are even high-ranking officials. You don’t think I would dare to accept travel expenses from them, do you?”

"No wonder many newspapers are now adding supplements," Gao Fan commented.

It's a popular practice for newspapers to publish supplements these days. Some supplements take an entertainment approach, attracting attention and earning subscription fees by publishing celebrity gossip. Others focus on social news, charging reporting organizations travel expenses or hush money.

The supplements disregard propaganda discipline when publishing social news, and they are even more unscrupulous in accepting money.

Therefore, in that era, some journalists earned very high incomes. This phenomenon might even continue for another twenty years. "I want to go into business, not for the sake of income," Yuan Xiaoyan said, then added with a smile after thinking for a moment, "I should say, it's not entirely for the sake of income."

"What's the reason for that?" Gao Fan asked.

“Work is too dull. I’m worried that if I stay here any longer, I’ll become completely useless,” Yuan Xiaoyan said.

Gao Fan chuckled to himself.

The system is like a walled city. Those outside the system feel comfortable inside, with a guaranteed income regardless of circumstances, and can even flaunt their status. But those inside find their work routine, their relationships complex, and their income as bland as a chicken bone.

The result is that on one hand, there is a surge of people taking the civil service exam, while on the other hand, many civil servants are leaving to switch jobs and start their own businesses, leaving many units with only the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, and pregnant women holding on.

"In the past few years, I have traveled all over the country, visited many places, interviewed many organizations, and had in-depth conversations with people from all walks of life. I feel that social values ​​are undergoing drastic changes. Some things that people used to cherish, such as a secure job or a high rank, are being abandoned by society."

"Society is becoming increasingly diverse, and the criteria for evaluating success are no longer how high your position is or what kind of awards you have received, but other things."

Yuan Xiaoyan recounted in a serious tone.

"Others? You mean, wealth?" Gao Fan asked.

Yuan Xiaoyan shook her head and said, "It's not just about wealth. Of course, wealth is also a very important criterion. For example, you, Mr. Gao, are considered a successful person among our classmates from the class of '82. At our last class reunion, several classmates asked me if I knew how many billions you were worth. Everyone guessed that it was probably no less than 100 billion."

"It seems that poverty has limited my imagination," Gao Fan laughed. "My ideal is to earn 100 billion by the time I retire, but I didn't expect everyone to think that I should have 100 billion now."

Yuan Xiaoyan smiled but did not answer. She had cooperated with Canghai Chemical on many occasions and was familiar with its business operations.

She knew that Gao Fan didn't actually have a net worth of 100 billion, but he didn't need to wait until retirement to achieve this small goal; perhaps three to five years would be enough.

Discussing someone's wealth with a rich person is an awkward thing, so Yuan Xiaoyan naturally wouldn't dwell on that topic.

"Generally speaking, it should be called achievement," Yuan Xiaoyan summarized. "Wealth can also be used as a measure of a person's achievement, but the scope of achievement is much broader than that of wealth."

“I am self-aware enough to know that I can’t do business like you, let alone achieve the same success as you. But that doesn’t mean I can’t have my own achievements.”

“But I still don’t understand what you mean by achievement. You just said that the standard for evaluating success is not what awards you have received. If you can win a domestic journalism award or an international award, such as the Pulitzer Prize, wouldn’t that also be considered an achievement?” Gao Fan asked.

Yuan Xiaoyan gave a disdainful look and said, "You know how domestic awards are. It's not enough to just write good news; you need other things too. As for the Pulitzer Prize, I think it's still a long way off for me. Just like you said, getting it before retirement would be enough to make me happy."

(End of this chapter)