14: Talent Recruitment Program

Whew…

Li Mubai leaned back in his chair, his eyes half-closed, letting out a long sigh.

The bright, white lights overhead kept urging him to sleep.

Tired,

So tired!

At this moment,

He felt a soreness and swelling all over his body, unable to muster even a trace of strength.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier, as if he would fall into a dead sleep the next moment.

Three days had passed since the agreement was signed with Zhao Zhenghua.

Having reached an agreement with the country, there was no need to worry about orders.

But then another problem arose.

The factory was severely understaffed.

For these three days, he and Lao Xiao had been working in the Steel Factory from morning till night.

However, for a Steel Factory of this size,

Two people were still far too few.

Even if they worked overtime until 8 PM, they still couldn't produce much.

"We must recruit workers as soon as possible."

Li Mubai pondered to himself.

He didn't plan to recruit ordinary workers, but rather wanted to recruit top students.

As exchange points accumulated,

He would be able to exchange for various military weapons from the system in the future.

Some weapons had complex manufacturing processes.

He could manufacture them alone, yes.

But personal energy was limited, and even if he could barely produce them,

The time required would be immense.

To shorten the time,

He would need others to assist him.

Furthermore,

These people couldn't be ordinary workers; they had to be highly skilled professionals.

Only then would communication be convenient and quick.

And they would be able to understand what he said more clearly.

Thinking of this,

Li Mubai couldn't help but open his starry eyes.

He had decided on a target university: Yanjing University!

Yanjing University,

Was founded in the last century, specifically at the end of the 19th century.

From then until today,

It had a history of over a hundred years.

After so many years, it was now one of the best universities in the country.

Its faculty was strong,

Many of whom were famous figures in various fields.

The investment in education here was also the largest.

The students came from all over the country, outstanding talents from every corner.

Most importantly,

The county where Li Mubai was located was not too far from this university.

Therefore,

The students here were undoubtedly the first choice for the Steel Factory's talent recruitment.

What's more,

Graduation season was fast approaching.

The students at the university

Would soon start looking for their own jobs.

Recruiting at this time was undoubtedly the best period.

As for whether these university students would be too proud

And look down on this small Steel Factory?

Regarding this,

Li Mubai wasn't worried at all.

If they looked down on it, it only meant the salary was too low.

As long as the salary was raised,

Even an unknown small factory would still attract people.

Knock knock…

The office door was knocked.

"Come in."

Lao Xiao pushed open the door and walked in.

"Boss, the factory is all cleaned up."

"Then let's go home."

Li Mubai nodded, then stood up and walked over to Lao Xiao:

"Lao Xiao, you've worked hard these past few days."

As he spoke,

He pulled out a pack of cigarettes he had prepared from his pocket.

Then he handed them to Lao Xiao.

"Lao Xiao, just a small token of my appreciation, please take it. Thank you for working overtime with me these past few days."

"Boss, working overtime is what I should do. What's more, you've already given me such a big raise. So I absolutely cannot accept these cigarettes."

Although Lao Xiao's hand was pushing them away, his tone was full of gratitude.

Although he had been working overtime these past few days,

He had no complaints at all; instead, he was very grateful that Li Mubai gave him the opportunity to work overtime.

Because Li Mubai had said that

For every hour of overtime,

Each hour counted as three hours of work.

In other words,

If he worked overtime for just three hours,

He would earn two days' worth of wages for that day.

Plus, Li Mubai had already given him a raise, so now working one day was equivalent to working four days before!

Such a good opportunity, of course, he cherished it greatly.

And he was filled with gratitude.

You know,

The monthly salary for ordinary workers in other factories was only seven or eight hundred yuan a month.

And these factories required unconditional overtime.

As for overtime pay, that was out of the question.

If you didn't work overtime, you could be fired by the factory the next day.

Even so, there were still plenty of people scrambling to get those jobs.

And what about him now?

His monthly salary had been raised by Li Mubai to 1500 yuan a month.

This was the kind of salary only highly skilled technicians could earn.

Not to mention the overtime pay for working extra hours.

Even if Li Mubai didn't mention overtime or offer overtime pay, he would still be eager to work extra hours.

Since Li Mubai gave him a raise,

His family's situation had improved so much.

In the past, he would only buy a little fatty pork every four days.

Now, they could have a meat dish every three days.

His wife, who was ill and couldn't move freely, had much better color in her face these past two days, much rosier.

If it weren't for Li Mubai,

He would probably still be worrying about buying medicine now.

So, from the bottom of his heart, he was grateful to Li Mubai, his benefactor.

"Lao Xiao, one thing at a time. This pack of cigarettes isn't anything special. Just take it. If you don't take it, I'll feel bad about it."

Li Mubai said, forcefully pushing the cigarettes into Lao Xiao's hand.

Seeing that the words had gone this far, Lao Xiao no longer refused, only his eyes were moist, and he thanked him from the bottom of his heart:

"Boss, thank you."

He secretly vowed in his heart.

Even if Li Mubai asked him to go through fire and water, he would not hesitate!

"Thank me for what? It's all as it should be."

Li Mubai smiled and walked out of the office.

As the power was cut,

Darkness immediately swallowed the factory building.

Walking out of the factory,

It was already late.

Stars twinkled, dazzling brightly.

A crescent moon hung high in the sky, casting down large swaths of brilliant light.

Dressing the earth in a layer of silver.

Li Mubai's home was in the county town, while Lao Xiao's home was a few kilometers from the county town, so their paths didn't align.

After exchanging a few more words,

Both of them rode off on their bicycles.

The bicycle Lao Xiao was riding was one Li Mubai had bought a few days prior.

Considering Lao Xiao's special family situation,

He had bought a bicycle.

The purpose was to let Lao Xiao get home earlier to take care of his sick wife.

As for why Li Mubai didn't drive, but chose to ride a bicycle instead?

The factory area was on the edge of the county town, very close to home.

A bicycle was sufficient.

…

On the way home,

Lao Xiao's heart was filled with longing for a better future.

Life was getting better and better.

He no longer had to live in constant fear as before.

In his joy,

Even the speed at which he pedaled his bicycle increased by three points.

Just then,

He suddenly noticed a dark figure appear ahead on the small path.

Seeing this,

He quickly rang the bell on his bicycle.

Ring ring…

After two rings, the figure ahead moved aside, clearing the path.

This small path was only wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side.

A bicycle on it felt a bit crowded, so he could only ask the other person to move.

"Thank you."

Lao Xiao said with a smile, habitually thanking them.

Then, without looking further, he rode his bike straight towards home.

He was worried about his wife,

So he seemed a bit anxious and hurried.

Just as he rode past the person who had moved aside,

The person behind him suddenly called out to him.

"Lao Xiao?"

The voice was very familiar.

So Lao Xiao stopped his bike and looked back.

The figure in the distance jogged over, quickly reaching Lao Xiao.

At this close distance,

Lao Xiao finally saw who it was.

It was none other than his former colleague from the Steel Factory.