Chapter 55

After Mr. and Mrs. Li were convinced by Li Mu, they went to the Xiling Coal Mine the next day, preparing to voluntarily apply for the first batch of layoffs this year.

However, when Li Mu's parents arrived at the Xiling Coal Mine Union, they had not yet had the chance to state their purpose when a union director said to them, "Oh, you two came just in time. I've been looking for you for a few days, but you both took leave."

Li Mu's parents were somewhat surprised. Only then did the director, with an apologetic look, explain, "Daoping, Yunfang, you two have always been model couples in our Xiling Coal Mine. Now that the mine is in a difficult period, there are some issues that we can't help but ask you two to set an example."

The union director didn't know how to phrase it. Although they had been studying the layoff list, they had been avoiding putting both spouses of a dual-income family on the list for the first batch of layoffs. According to the mine's customary practice, in dual-income families, they tried to arrange for the female spouse to be laid off.

However, a few nights ago, Vice Chairman Xue Guilan of the union called him at home, specifically asking him to add Li Daoping and Xiao Yunfang to the layoff list for this month. The union director didn't want to do such an unpleasant task, but thinking of Xue Guilan's position and her husband being the top leader of the Xiling Coal Mine, he had no choice but to go through with it.

He had been waiting for Li Daoping and his wife for several days, and today they finally appeared.

Li Daoping was somewhat surprised, "Director, there are many dual-income families like us in the mine. What kind of example can we set?"

The union director hesitated and struggled for a moment, avoiding their eyes, and said, "Another batch of workers is about to be laid off, and we also have a production reduction plan for the second half of the year. More and more workers will be laid off in the future..."

Li Daoping frowned, puzzled by the union director's vague words, and blurted out, "Director, just say what you have to say. We'll be confused if you keep beating around the bush."

The union director sighed, looked at the two of them, and said resolutely, "Alright, I won't beat around the bush. The union has decided to add you two to the layoff list for the end of this month."

Mr. Li was somewhat surprised. Although he and his wife had come to apply for layoffs voluntarily, the union's request for them to be laid off was unexpected. Moreover, layoffs were a serious matter, not something that could be added casually. The list was usually announced in advance, and employees were notified. It was unusual to add names at the last minute.

When Mr. Li expressed his confusion, the union director's expression became evasive.

It was difficult to explain something that didn't follow the rules, especially something that could ruin someone's livelihood. If Li Daoping started spreading the word and causing a fuss, he would be cursed by all the workers in the mine.

So, the union director said, "Actually, the layoff of dual-income families is inevitable. If not this batch, it will be by the end of the year. If you don't believe me, I'll show you something."

The union director took out a roster from the drawer and handed it to Li Daoping, "Take a look. This is the draft of the second batch of layoffs. All names with an 'S' mark are from dual-income families. See how many there are."

Li Daoping glanced at it. Although he didn't count, at least half of the names had the 'S' mark, and he found his and his wife's names as well.

The list given by the union director was genuine. Li Daoping and his wife were originally on the second batch of layoffs for the year, but they had been moved to the first batch.

Li Daoping still didn't understand why they were moved from the second batch to the first, but his wife, Xiao Yunfang, reminded him, "Alright, Daoping, don't forget why we came here."

Li Daoping nodded. He and his wife had indeed come to apply for layoffs voluntarily. It was just strange and absurd that they were directly arranged for layoffs without any prior notice.

But he thought it wasn't necessary to delve deeper. Both of them had been convinced by their son to start a business, so why bother with these details?

Li Daoping put down the roster and said seriously to the union director, "Director, to be honest, we came here today to apply for layoffs voluntarily. Since the union also wants us to be laid off, we have nothing more to say. However, you need to approve us for a long leave, starting from tomorrow until the official layoff notice is issued. We won't be coming to work during this period."

The union director was almost in tears. This was great. Regardless of whether Li Daoping was sincere, with his words, he could say that the couple applied for layoffs voluntarily, not that he forced them. This would save him from being criticized by everyone.

As for the long leave, that was easy!

The union director immediately issued the long leave approval and stamped it. He even called their departments to inform their superiors, and thus, Li Mu's parents easily obtained the long leave application.

The union director was also cunning. When he called their superiors, he emphasized that the couple had applied for layoffs voluntarily.

Thus, Li Daoping and his wife became famous in the Xiling Coal Mine.

At a time when everyone was terrified of layoffs, the couple who voluntarily applied for layoffs became the subject of discussion throughout the mine.

...

While his parents were applying for layoffs at the mine, Li Mu didn't bother going to driving school. He stayed home and continued developing his Yiting website.

In the morning, Zhang Kexuan sent Li Mu several photos of their performance via email. There were over twenty, all carefully selected and post-processed. They looked quite professional, especially Zhang Kexuan, who was undeniably cool and handsome.

Li Mu immediately sent these photos to Zhao Kang and gave him his first task: to promote the Simple Plan band on major forums and websites within the province, especially local websites in Jinling, with a focus on the Jinling University campus forum.

Then, Li Mu asked Zhao Kang to contact the editors of major portal websites and devise a PR strategy to publish news articles promoting the Simple Plan band. The focus of the promotion would be on two points: one, that the band was excellent, and their original song "Li Bai" was a hit; and two, to subtly convey the band's youth and pop style, as too much rock might not be accepted by the mainstream market.

After giving these instructions, Li Mu didn't bother with the specifics of how Zhao Kang would execute them. He just reminded him, "The 50,000 yuan is for operational expenses, including your personal PR costs. If you think it's necessary, you can go to Yanjing to build relationships with the portal website editors. It's still relatively easy to reach them now, but once the portals become major platforms, it will be much harder to connect with the editors."

That afternoon, Zhao Kang packed a few clothes and a laptop and went to Jinling. Before boarding the plane to Yanjing, he sent a message to Li Mu: "I'm about to board the plane to Yanjing and will try my best to complete the task."

Li Mu replied, "PR requires investment. Don't be stingy with money. Try to connect with all the content editors you can find. You decide how to spend it."

After sending this message, Li Mu was impressed by Zhao Kang's execution. This childhood friend, if he could maintain this passion, would surely become his best partner in the future.

Mr. and Mrs. Li completed all the procedures at the Xiling Coal Mine in the morning. When they got home, they hadn't even had time to eat when the phone started ringing non-stop, both at home and on their mobile phones.

The calls were mostly from their coworkers, who, upon hearing that the couple had voluntarily applied for layoffs, called to inquire and express concern. This was indeed a shocking move, and the coworkers also suspected that they must have better opportunities, so they called partly to find out more.

The constant ringing of the phone was giving Li Mu a headache, but he still smiled and teased his parents, "Dad, Mom, your voluntary application for layoffs has caused quite a stir at the Xiling Coal Mine!"

Li Daoping smiled bitterly, "What stir? The calls are from colleagues, just curious why we applied for layoffs and if we have better opportunities."

Li Mu asked casually, "The mine leaders must be curious too, right?"

"They're not curious," Li Daoping was puzzled, "It's a coincidence. When we went to the union to apply for layoffs, before we could say anything, the union director vaguely mentioned that the leadership had decided to add us to the layoff list for the end of the month."

Then, Li Daoping recounted the strange events of the day.

Mrs. Li, unconcerned, said, "If they want us to be laid off, so be it. We decided to do it anyway, so why worry?"

"True," Li Daoping smiled and waved his hand, "I guess our place will be crowded with coworkers after work. Since we don't have to go to work, let's take Xiao Mu to visit my parents in the countryside for a couple of days."

Mrs. Li nodded, "We should visit. I'll pack some clothes and buy some things in the afternoon."

Then, they started preparing to go to the countryside after lunch, not thinking much about the layoffs, but Li Mu felt something was off.

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PS: Today is New Year's Eve. I wish everyone a happy new year!