Chapter 61: High Mountains and Flowing Water

Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 had completely stopped production. The old factory director Xu Yongjin had also retired, and Liu Jiande, who had the most hope of becoming the new factory director, had been arrested. No one dared to touch this hot potato, fearing they would be implicated and end up in the police station.

Xu Yongjin retired, and those factory leaders of Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 who had connections all tried their best to transfer to other units or factories.

As for ordinary employees, very few could be transferred to other state-owned factories. Most employees had two paths: either internal retirement, and then not knowing when the pension would be issued, or resigning and being laid off. But no matter which one they chose, the employees had to find work themselves.

The old ox Song Yajun was naturally in this line. Many employees of Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 were recommended to join the Dongling High-Tech Electronic Industrial Park, and this side also prioritized hiring employees from Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1.

But Song Yajun heard that the Dongling High-Tech Electronic Industrial Park was Li Dongling's company. It was the "newcomer" who established the company that he had ridiculed at the technical department meeting last year...

Now Song Yajun really wanted to slap himself a few times. Why was his mouth so cheap back then? Who knew that it had only been such a short time, and the sky had completely changed.

Up to now, the hope of letting his son replace his formal state-owned enterprise job was gone. Wanting to join Dongling High-Tech as a cow or horse, Song Yajun was afraid they wouldn't want him. If it were known that he had dared to be disrespectful to the founder of Dongling High-Tech, it would be strange if the recruitment personnel dared to want him!

Song Yajun hadn't not looked for other state-owned enterprises, but none wanted him. He, like the other old ox Zhou Wenyang, had spent most of his life at Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, honestly working as a beast of burden in the factory for more than ten years. Where did he have any connections outside? Wireless Factory No. 1 collapsed, and the life he had spent more than ten years on also collapsed with it.

After wandering around the factory gate for half a day, the security department personnel of the industrial park had their eyes fixed on Song Yajun.

Finally, gritting his teeth, Song Yajun walked inside. He needed this job. He had to support his family. His son hadn't gotten married yet. These all needed money. If he didn't work as a cow or horse, what would his family eat? Where would the color TV, motorcycle, and bride price his son needed for marriage come from?!

"Master Song!"

Just as he entered the queue, Song Yajun, who was hanging his head, afraid that acquaintances would recognize him, heard a crisp voice asking him, "You came over too?!"

Looking up, Song Yajun saw that the person speaking was Wei Hongying, and many acquaintances were also here. Zhang Ao, Fan Xugang, and others were also on the side.

Zhang Ao was now the sales manager of Dongling High-Tech, and Fan Xugang, Wei Hongying, and a group of original Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 employees had also joined Dongling High-Tech. The industrial park needed manpower recently, so they also came over to help.

Seeing these acquaintances, Song Yajun felt a bit awkward. Wei Hongying was enthusiastic toward him, but Zhang Ao had a playful expression when he saw Song Yajun. He remembered the incident at the technical department meeting last year.

Song Yajun mumbled a few words and was considering whether to leave first when a tiger-headed Mercedes drove straight over and stopped in front of everyone.

"General Manager Li!" "Brother Li!"

As soon as Li Dongling got out of the car, the group called out to him, and then Li Dongling saw Song Yajun standing there, seemingly wanting to retreat.

Seeing Li Dongling walking toward him, Song Yajun's already hunched back became even more hunched, and his body trembled slightly. Song Yajun had heard rumors that Liu Jiande was arrested not only because he had done those messy things, but also because of the grievances between him and Li Dongling, and even the latter was the main reason. Otherwise, why were there so many factory leaders at Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, but only Liu Jiande was arrested?

Whether this news was true or false was hard to say, but since it could be spread, there must be some inside story. Even Liu Jiande, a big figure who covered the sky with one hand at Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, had fallen. How could Song Yajun not be afraid when facing Li Dongling?

He had already prepared to be publicly humiliated and scolded by Li Dongling, just like the factory leaders like Xu Yiqiao and Liu Jiande did to him at Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1.

But the scolding and cursing he imagined didn't appear. Song Yajun, who was at a loss and didn't know where to put his hands, had his hand held, and then heard a voice: "Master Song, welcome to Dongling High-Tech!"

Hearing this, Song Yajun opened his eyes wide, his throat moved. How long had it been since he heard this "Master Song"? And the humiliation he expected didn't arrive. Li Dongling actually let him join Dongling High-Tech. The 40-something-year-old Song Yajun's eyes were even a bit red.

"Handle the entry procedures for Master Song. From now on, Master Song will be the most important engineer in Dongling High-Tech's technical department!"

Li Dongling said to the group. Hearing this, the original Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 employees queuing on the side whispered to each other, and many were envious of Song Yajun.

"Tsk, Old Song is going to make a fortune!"

"I heard Old Song even offended Boss Li before."

"This Song guy really has luck."

Amidst various chattering voices, and envious or even jealous gazes, Song Yajun was taken by the personnel department to handle the procedures. You know, although the industrial park hadn't started production yet, personnel hired by the Dongling High-Tech Industrial Park could receive a portion of training subsidies as long as they participated in training.

Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 hadn't started production for almost half a year. Many employees' families hadn't received salaries for more than half a year, relying on eating their savings. For those with heavy family burdens, they were really close to not having enough to eat, relying on borrowing money to maintain. Dongling High-Tech provided them with a training subsidy of 8 yuan per day during the training period, which was enough to solve the urgent needs of many people. At least they didn't have to starve their families.

"How many people have been recruited now?!" Li Dongling asked Zhang Ao, Wei Hongying, and others. They knew Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1 inside and out, so having them interview and audit the applicants meant they didn't have to worry about old loafers or troublemakers sneaking in.

"1,300 people have been recruited," Wei Hongying looked at Li Dongling and asked, "Should we continue recruiting?!"

The industrial park hadn't started production yet. Even if they only issued training subsidies, the money paid out to employees every day required an expenditure of over 10,000 yuan, and 300,000 would be needed in a month!

"Continue recruiting. Not just Xicheng Wireless Factory No. 1, personnel with technical skills from other state-owned factories can also be recruited, and wages can be increased!"

Li Dongling said. The electronic pet machine project was about to start, and it needed a large number of people, especially technical workers.

At this time, whether it was production lines or other production department operators, they all needed technology. The level of automation of production lines wasn't that high yet. Even the final product inspection was mainly manual inspection, which tested the technical workers' experience and level very much. Unlike the "life-taking" assembly lines of later generations, which didn't need experience and only needed human machines to work there, anyone could do it; what was needed was speed.

Like technical personnel such as Song Yajun, they weren't scarce now, but they were definitely reliable people. Their academic qualifications might not be high, but their experience was sufficient. They might not be able to come up with any creativity or play with new technology, but their experience was there. Whether developing new products or solving problems encountered in production line production, they could help solve them. With such an old ox, who knows how much worry could be saved. How could Li Dongling bear to drive him away...

After returning to Dongling High-Tech, Hu Zixian came to the door and complained to Li Dongling, "The expenditure is a bit too large now. Building the joint laboratory, the electronic industrial park—now the liquid funds in the account are less than 60 million. Selling electronic pet machines also requires overseas advertising, and the expenditure will be even greater!"

Electronic pet machines definitely need to be sold to the overseas market. At that time, they need to find agency distributors, and they need to spend a lot of money on advertising and promotion. At that time, it will really be spending money like water.

Like the current domestic health supplement industry, health supplement brands like Sanzhu Oral Liquid, Fengtian Feilong, and Sun God all spent money in the millions when playing advertisements, spending tens of millions to play advertisements on TV stations, newspapers, magazines, and radio stations, and even running to towns to write advertising slogans on walls and distribute flyers, using advertisements to exchange for revenue.

Why did Giant Shi Laoban claim to invest 500 million in health supplements? In fact, developing health supplements doesn't cost much money. The key is advertising and ground promotion. Shi Laoban was prepared to mobilize more than 30 Giant branches, prepare to form a sales promotion team, plus the personnel hired, and the cost of feeding and paying these people was very high. One could imagine how high the cost was.

This was still playing advertisements domestically. If they went to play advertisements overseas, the cost would likely be even greater, and the risk would be higher. Who knows how much money could be earned back after investing a large sum in advertising.

"These expenditures are necessary!" Li Dongling said to Hu Zixian. "Dongling High-Tech needs to form an R&D

"These expenditures are necessary!" Li Dongling said to Hu Ziyang. "Dongling Gao Ke needs to establish an R&D center, and it also needs a production center!"

"We need to go to Pingyang University for campus recruitment and recruit another batch of people!" Hu Ziyang said to Li Dongling as he left. Now that Dongling Gao Ke's operations were gradually expanding, the need for manpower was also increasing.

Private companies nowadays all lack talent; this has nothing to do with where the headquarters is located. Even companies headquartered in Yanjing are equally short of all kinds of talent.

University students, especially those from prestigious schools, are very precious nowadays. Although some go to private enterprises, they are the minority. Most graduates still enter municipal departments, public institutions, or state-owned enterprises. Even if they do go to private firms, foreign enterprises are the first choice, followed by large companies offering high salaries. As for small companies, don't even count on it.

Even if the Dongling Gao Ke headquarters were moved to the provincial capital, Yanjing, Shanghai, or Pengcheng, it wouldn't be impossible to recruit people from top universities, but if you recruit them only to have them work as ordinary clerks or technicians in the workshop, would those proud sons of heaven who graduated from top universities do it? Just thinking about it with your toes, it's impossible.

This situation will only change in four or five years after the university enrollment expansion. During this period, it is actually easier to recruit people from Pingyang University or other universities to join Dongling Gao Ke.

As for a few years later, if Dongling Gao Ke still cannot become that "high mountain" that attracts top talent with high salaries and fame, then even if the headquarters were placed in Silicon Valley, it wouldn't have much effect. Just like famous mountains and rivers, those who want to catch a glimpse of their style will travel through wind and waves to get there, even if they are thousands of miles away; they won't expect the mountains and rivers to run to their homes themselves.

Those giant companies of the past life, even if their headquarters were thousands of miles away, could establish R&D centers all over the world and collect a large number of talents for their use. If possible in the future, Dongling Gao Ke can also establish R&D centers all over the world!