Chapter 160 Paying Salaries

Half a month has passed since He Caiwei joined the company. It's already the end of the month, which is also the busiest time for He Caiwei. There is no time clock now, so attendance is recorded by the group leaders of each group and submitted.

The current salary system is based on a one-month delay and one-month payment. So, before the end of the workday on the last day of the month, these record books are handed over to the personnel department. The personnel department then records each item in a form and sends it to the finance department.

There are too many people, so they are delivered in batches after the 15th of each month. Therefore, He Caiwei has things to do every day after the 15th.

Although He Caiwei studied computer science at school, factories like textile mills don't have computers yet and can only use abacuses.

Starting from the 15th, someone has been coming to the finance department every day to watch her use the abacus.

After He Caiwei came to Shenzhen at the age of 5, she began to learn how to use an abacus from her grandfather. Although so many years have passed, her childhood memories are still fresh. Calculating wages with an abacus was not difficult for her at all, and she was also very fast at it.

When the finance manager first took out the abacus, everyone thought she didn't know how to use it, since abacuses aren't taught in college. But when they saw her using the abacus, everyone was stunned.

The little girl's beautiful, slender fingers flew across the abacus. She was not only fast at calculating, but also accurate. The head of the finance department was initially skeptical, but after she calculated two tables, he picked one up and tried to calculate it himself. Not a single amount on it was wrong.

"Accountant He, have you been learning this since you were a child? How come you're so fast and don't make a single mistake?" The head of the finance department asked as soon as he saw her stop to rest.

“Yes, my grandfather used to be an accountant, and my mother also learned to do business and use an abacus. I started learning to use an abacus from my grandfather when I was 5 years old.” He Caiwei did not hide anything.

"So it's from a family with a long tradition of learning. But you're so fast! I've never even seen an abacus before. How could you be so fast, and not a single one wrong? You even calculated the fractions perfectly." The finance department head exclaimed in surprise.

"Our factory doesn't have the facilities for that. If we had a computer, it would be even faster." Modern computers, or PCs, are very large machines, and they are very rare in China.

"No matter what, it's not up to a small factory like ours to use computers. They're precious gadgets. Even the largest steel mill in the city doesn't have them. It won't be up to a small factory like ours for at least ten or twenty years." The finance minister was also interested. He had seen those machines when the school was recruiting students. The teachers there said that these things were very expensive, costing over 100,000 yuan to buy one.

Tens of thousands of yuan—that's several years' worth of their factory's income, and finding a way to buy this stuff is extremely difficult.

He Caiwei chuckled. She didn't think it would take that long; she just wouldn't tell the director right now.

These past few days have been payday, so the finance department has been incredibly busy. They're not only busy calculating salaries, but also busy rolling up the money into individual slips of paper. Each slip has a note attached indicating the number of days worked and the corresponding salary. The notes are written clearly and concisely, making them easy for everyone to understand. Even people who can't read can understand these pay slips as long as they recognize their own names, saving them a lot of trouble explaining things.

This method was conceived by He Caiwei. Although it took some effort from the finance department, it was a good way to save time when it came to paying salaries. After all, some people need to know if they have worked for the correct number of days, so every time salaries are paid, it takes a long time to figure it out.

This little note makes things much easier and more convenient.

After several busy days, it's finally payday. In the past, because of the time constraints, payday usually starts in the afternoon when people start work.

There were quite a few people; the entire textile factory took turns coming to collect their wages, which took an afternoon.

The finance minister wants to check how efficient these slips of paper are. If they are, they can be reused next month; if not, then forget it, it's a real waste of time.

I had just started work in the afternoon when a sweet voice came over the loudspeaker. It was the voice of Yang Hongying, the broadcaster from the textile factory.

"Brothers and sisters from the textile factory, the exciting moment has arrived again. Alright, from now on, come and collect your wages from Workshop 1."

When the broadcast came on, everyone in the textile factory held their breath and listened intently. When it was announced that wages would be paid, the workers in the entire factory were a little too excited.

He Caiwei was stunned when she heard the broadcast. She thought that the workshop foremen would bring their people to collect the goods, but instead, they were being asked to do so via broadcast. She wondered if the people in the other workshops would be waiting, and if the machines weren't turned off, it could be dangerous.

However, since they have always been like this, the workshop directors probably already have a plan, so she can't really say anything.

The entire finance department was running around like crazy all afternoon, but thanks to He Caiwei's payslip, efficiency was greatly improved.

Previously, we would leave work at 5:30, and the finance department would pay salaries as early as 8:00 on payday. But today, there was no fuss, no need to repeatedly check the attendance sheet, and He Caiwei was able to resolve any errors immediately. Surprisingly, the salaries were already paid out before we even left work.

He Caiwei just started working this month, so she doesn't receive a salary.

"Accountant He, we'll start using your method next month. It's clean, simple, and efficient. Like today, we can do much less work. I'll report your contribution. Don't go anywhere after get off work today, it's my treat. Let's go to Guangyuanlou. We just got paid today, we absolutely have to have a good meal." The finance department head was in a particularly good mood today and was thinking about treating everyone.

"Great, Minister, pick up your wife after get off work. Don't forget her if there's something good to eat." Accountant Hong from the finance department never forgets the minister's sister-in-law when there's something delicious to eat.

"Minister, I won't be going with you. My brother is coming to pick me up after get off work..." He Caiwei was interrupted before she could finish speaking.

"Is the factory manager coming? The factory manager hasn't been paid yet. Great, let him come to collect his salary. How could he not go? Let the factory manager come too." As soon as the department head heard Accountant He mention her brother, he immediately knew she was referring to the factory manager. Accountant He always called her brother when her factory manager delivered packages to her.

"Uh, okay, I'll ask him in a bit." He Caiwei didn't want to refuse the minister, so she nodded in agreement.

By the time they finished tidying up the finance office, it was already time to leave work. Lu Qingfeng knew that today was payday, so he arrived at the finance office a few minutes before leaving get off work.

He remembered that he was entitled to receive a salary today as well.

"The factory manager is here. He's the only one who hasn't received his salary today."