Chen Lei grew more interested and asked eagerly, “Brother Zhang, tell me quickly! I’m very curious!”

“Are you saying that Mr. Pei’s suffering journey wasn’t just a sudden whim but had a deeper purpose?”

Zhang Yuan nodded, “Exactly!”

“Wu Bin from the Human Resources Department saw someone distributing booklets that misinterpreted the Tenda Spirit test during recruitment. He went to report it to Mr. Pei but ended up getting a lecture instead.”

“That’s when he decided to redefine the Tenda Spirit, especially exploring the relationship between work and entertainment.”

“His theory is quite profound, with concepts like ‘alienation of labor’ and such. I didn’t memorize all of it or understand it thoroughly, but after Wu Bin’s explanation, I did grasp a simpler, more straightforward interpretation.”

“Previously, we all believed that work and entertainment were two distinctly separate things. Work was supposed to be difficult, exhausting, and painful, and we worked hard to enjoy better entertainment. Entertainment was seen as a supplement and support for work.”

“But clearly, in Mr. Pei’s view, this is wrong.”

“Work and entertainment should be two sides of the same coin. Work should be enjoyable, and entertainment can be the work itself!”

“Mr. Pei’s goal is to change the alienated state of labor, returning it to its most original form, making work no longer painful and draining, but instead full of joy.”

“Wu Bin said that while these two viewpoints might seem similar, both encouraging entertainment, they’re fundamentally different. The philosophical depths between them are like heaven and earth.”

Chen Lei listened in amazement: “Wow, I always thought playing games at work in Tenda was ridiculous enough, but now playing games at work has risen to a philosophical level?”

“Your Human Resources Department is really full of hidden talents.”

“Is Mr. Pei’s thinking really that profound? Well… I guess if it were anyone else, I wouldn’t believe it, but for Mr. Pei, it’s quite credible.”

“But what does this have to do with you avoiding disaster?”

Zhang Yuan explained: “I was very inspired after hearing Wu Bin’s theoretical research findings.”

“I had been trying to find common traits among the first batch of department heads on the suffering journey, hoping to discover some general pattern to understand what kind of people Mr. Pei would send to suffer.”

“After extensive research, apart from discovering that they all held leadership positions in important departments and had achieved good results, I couldn’t find any other commonalities.”

“I was confused. Logically, other departments were making good money too, so why did Mr. Pei prioritize these people?”

“Later, combining Wu Bin’s insights, I understood. It’s because these people kept work and entertainment most separate, which contradicts Mr. Pei’s philosophy!”

“Look at Huang Sibo from Fei Huang Studio, Hu Xianbin from the Gaming Department, Xiao Peng from Slackin’ Internet Café, Rui Yuchen from Slackin’ Delivery, Ye Zhizhou from Shangyang Games, Shen Renjie from Numa AI Lab, Ma Yiqun from Terminus Chinese Web…”

“These people all share one trait: they’re dedicated to their professional duties, focusing solely on their departmental work with little recreational activity. They complete their work methodically, only concerned with making money, rarely doing anything creative or fun.”

“This clearly doesn’t meet Mr. Pei’s expectations for them!”

“Now look at the department heads who weren’t selected.”

“At Thrill Lodge, Chen Kangtuo regularly plays in the haunted house himself;”

“At Headwind Logistics, Lü Mingliang does his job well but has a free-spirited personality and never focuses solely on making money. Only recently did he decide to expand the market to include courier services;”

“At the Food Court, Zhang Yahui manages the food court while personally selling cold noodles, enjoying the process;”

“And me, I used to regularly watch matches in person or play games with Mr. Ma and the DGE team members.”

“Comparing these, the difference is very clear!”

“Those chosen by Mr. Pei all focus solely on work with little or no recreational activities, keeping work and entertainment strictly separated. Those not chosen all enjoy their work, blend work and entertainment well, and are full of creative spirit!”

“So, Mr. Pei’s suffering journey clearly has deeper meaning.”

“He’s obviously urging these department heads to quickly change their incorrect work attitudes, to stop being so serious, and to return labor to its original joyful state. They need to enjoy more fun in their work to better create value!”

Chen Lei’s expression was like he had heard an outlandish tale.

Goodness, at first hearing, this theory sounded absurd!

Could Mr. Pei really be complaining that the department heads were working too seriously?

But after Zhang Yuan’s analysis, especially with concrete examples comparing those who went on the suffering journey with those who didn’t, it was quite convincing!

Chen Lei remained silent for a moment, then said: “So you’re saying Mr. Pei believes these department heads appear to work diligently, benefiting the company, but in reality, their rigid work mindset limits their potential and suppresses their creative inspiration at work, so they need correction?”

Zhang Yuan nodded: “I think it’s the only reasonable explanation.”

“So, to keep myself off the next suffering journey list, I must make more changes.”

“The first batch who needed the most correction have already returned from suffering. The next batch will be those with relatively smaller issues but still in need of correction.”

“I’m likely to be on the second batch list because I clearly haven’t achieved the work state Mr. Pei expects—’enjoying entertainment at work and creating happily through entertainment.'”

“Therefore, I need to take advantage of this critical moment during the GOG competition to increase my visibility and show Mr. Pei my transformation. Only then might I avoid suffering!”

Chen Lei completely believed him and found himself nodding involuntarily.

“Being a department head at Tenda isn’t easy. People without sharp minds can’t even get the position.”

“Mr. Pei’s depth of thinking is truly beyond most people’s comprehension.”

Zhang Yuan said: “That’s why department heads need to work together to interpret his intentions! The power of one person is always limited.”

“If Wu Bin hadn’t pointed it out, I could’ve racked my brains and still never guessed that this was Mr. Pei’s intention.”

“Well, let’s not talk about this anymore. The warm-up match is almost over, and we need to get ready to go on stage.”

“Let’s sing one more song together, then I’ll do a prize draw for the audience. That should be enough exposure for today, and I’ll continue tomorrow before the match begins.”

Zhang Yuan stood up, adjusted his performance outfit, and prepared to go on stage again.

……

At this moment, Pei Qian was at home, munching on chips while watching the match on his big TV.

When he saw Zhang Yuan on stage, Pei Qian was momentarily stunned.

“What’s Zhang Yuan up to? Is he letting loose?”

“Has ordinary work become so boring that, to reminisce about his time as a lounge singer, Mr. Zhang has decided to… become an idol?”

“Well, this kind of behavior should be encouraged!”

Looking at the stream of comments saying “Mr. Zhang sings so well” and “Suggest Mr. Zhang debut as an idol right now,” Pei Qian couldn’t help but find it amusing.

All department heads should learn from Zhang Yuan!

Don’t just think about money, money, money all day. Within the scope of your professional responsibilities, do more fun things, entertain the public more—isn’t that good too?

Putting effort into these areas and using company resources to pursue your hobbies is worth encouraging.

You can do whatever you want, just don’t always think about making money for me, and there won’t be any problems.

“It seems transferring Zhang Yuan from Slackin’ Internet Café to DGE Club was a very correct decision.”

“If he had stayed at Slackin’ Internet Café, he’d probably be suffering in Shennongjia with Xiao Peng right now.”

“Now that he’s lost his dreams of Slackin’ Internet Café and ROF Computer Assembly, his entire person has become laid-back, with singing as his only pleasure, only able to perform during GOG matches.”

“Hmm, good, good. It seems we can temporarily remove him from the next batch list and replace him with others.”

Pei Qian calculated that the first suffering journey activity was almost over, and those department heads would soon return to their work posts.

Happiness was, after all, short-lived.

But next, he could start arranging the second batch of department heads, capturing all those who had slipped through the net before, such as the second-in-commands of various departments and those who had been secretly plotting behind his back.

Originally, Zhang Yuan was also on this list.

After all, DGE Club had been making money by selling players. Although the profit wasn’t huge, it was extremely insulting.

If DGE had really invested significant resources in training these players, then selling them at high prices would be understandable. But in reality, many players sold for high prices simply because they were naturally talented and just came to DGE Club to add a layer of gold to their resumes!

Just with this gilding, the players’ value skyrocketed.

Before entering DGE Club, as trainees, their annual salary was just a few hundred thousand. After leaving DGE Club and being bought by other clubs, it increased tenfold.

Add to that DGE Club’s team uniforms, merchandise, and so on—this money-making was enough to make Pei Qian want to vomit blood.

As for the Esports Business Division, with various events flourishing, Zhang Yuan clearly shared responsibility for that too.

So, no matter what, he couldn’t let him escape the next suffering journey.

But seeing today’s situation, watching Zhang Yuan letting loose on stage and entertaining the audience, Pei Qian felt his condition wasn’t that serious and could be given a reprieve.

Maybe the current state of DGE Club and the Esports Business Division wasn’t entirely Zhang Yuan’s fault?

After all, these two departments had started at a high level.

Judging from Zhang Yuan’s work attitude, it was worth observing him further.

As long as he continued like this, occupying the position of department head while pursuing his dream of being a singer, he should be kept as a department head. Even if he made money for the department, it would certainly be less than what a newly promoted person would make.

Pei Qian didn’t dare casually promote new people anymore. Every time he promoted someone new, they made even more money than their predecessors.

It was better to remove Zhang Yuan from the list and replace him with department heads who needed to suffer more.

Pei Qian made up his mind and decided to finalize the list on Monday. If there was room, Qiao Laoshi and Ruan Guangjian’s priorities could also be moved up.

Of course, the prerequisite was to come up with a convincing explanation that would persuade them to participate willingly.