65: Chapter 65 Headhunter Frenzy, Thunderous Recruitment Night

Director Li Jianguo patted Lu Chen on the shoulder, looking at him with a complex gaze for two seconds.

"You need to be careful. When conglomerates like those foreigners get desperate, they'll stop at nothing. Call me if anything happens."

Lu Chen nodded at him and stuffed the lighter back into his pocket.

"Back to the hotel."

He called out to Da Biao and Wu Dong, then led the way out of the Municipal Public Security Bureau.

...

3:15 AM, the temporary office building at Jinlan Hotel.

Old Zhou had four or five empty Red Bull cans piled in front of him. His eyes were bloodshot from exhaustion. He grabbed the landline on the desk, fished out a business card, and dialed.

Huaying Headhunting, one of the top three premier human resources companies in the country.

The phone rang for a long time before it was picked up.

"Who is this in the middle of the night! Are you sick or something?" The extremely irritable voice of Manager Zhang Ming, a partner at Huaying, came from the other end of the line.

"I am Zhou Jianjun, Administrative Manager of Chenguang Electronics Factory." Old Zhou's voice was hoarse.

"What crappy electronics factory? Never heard of it! If you have business, call the front desk or customer service tomorrow!" Manager Zhang Ming roared directly into the phone, preparing to hang up.

"Our boss just approved a special fund pool of five billion, specifically for poaching talent." Old Zhou spoke unhurriedly.

The other end of the line went instantly silent.

Three seconds later.

"Manager Zhou! Brother Zhou! The signal was bad just now." Manager Zhang Ming's voice instantly sobered up, laced with flattery. "Five billion in special funds? What level of executives are you looking to poach? Is it for local Jiangcheng or orders from Beijing, Shanghai, or Guangzhou?"

"We don't want management. We only want semiconductor engineers." Old Zhou opened the notebook on his desk and repeated the exact words Lu Chen had given him: "Those sitting on the bench in joint ventures, marginalized people squeezed out by foreign capital, and old-school technicians teaching basic physics in colleges who aren't valued."

Manager Zhang Ming was stunned.

"Brother Zhou, are you joking?" Manager Zhang Ming asked tentatively. "These people aren't worth anything in the industry anymore; they're washed up. Many have changed careers to sell insurance or drive ride-hailing cars."

"The less they're worth, the better. How many people can you bring in within three days?" Old Zhou asked.

"Regardless of how many we bring in, their market value is what it is. Even if they're struggling, moving to Jiangcheng for no reason—their wives and children would all have to move too. It's unrealistic."

"That's not for you to worry about. Our boss has his own arrangements."

"Listen carefully to the requirements: specifically poach those who have been jointly boycotted by foreign capital, those marginalized and pushed out by major firms, stubborn types in research institutes who only know how to do technical work, and old professors who aren't valued at prestigious universities."

Old Zhou took a deep breath.

"As long as their technical skills are solid, the starting base salary is ten times their current one. For those unwilling to leave their hometowns, we'll take cash directly to buy them houses. Chenguang Electronics will cover jobs for their wives and children, and we'll guarantee medical care for their parents."

Old Zhou wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"Three days. I only have three days. If I can't spend these five billion, my boss will send me to the workshop to screw in bolts."

A thud came from the other end of the line, followed immediately by Manager Zhang Ming's gasp of pain.

"Manager Zhou, I've been a headhunter for ten years, and I've never fought such a wealthy battle."

Manager Zhang Ming's voice was trembling. "Brother Zhou, you're trying to monopolize the domestic pool of foundational semiconductor talent! Huaying will take this deal! Is it exclusive?"

"Not exclusive! I'm about to call the other two top headhunting firms!" Old Zhou tapped his fingers on the desk. "First come, first served. For every successful hire, I'll add an extra commission of 100,000 per head. Now go get to work."

After hanging up, Old Zhou didn't pause and continued to dial the next number.

In a high-end apartment in Beijing.

Manager Zhang Ming stood barefoot on the floor, scrambling to pull out his work phone and immediately initiated a group voice call in the company's executive emergency group.

"Wake up, everyone! A huge deal has arrived!" Manager Zhang Ming roared into the phone.

In less than half an hour, the entire top-tier headhunting circle in the country completely exploded.

Hundreds of gold-medal headhunters took taxis overnight to rush back to the CBD office buildings. The office buildings were brightly lit in the middle of the night, and the sound of keyboards clicking filled the air.

"Dig out all the resumes of semiconductor technicians who have retired from the industry in the last three years!"

"Old Li's annual salary last year was 100,000? Call him right now and tell him Chenguang Electronics is offering one million! And a three-bedroom apartment in Jiangcheng, fully paid for!"

"That Professor Wang who was fired from teaching at Haida—send a car to his house first thing tomorrow morning to wait at his door. We must pick him up!"

Messages scrolled frantically through the major headhunting groups. The headhunters' eyes were bloodshot; the five-billion fund pool had completely ignited the drive of the entire industry.

Dawn broke.

Pengcheng, urban village.

Old Chen sat in a rental room of less than ten square meters. The wall plaster was peeling, the corners were piled with instant noodle cups, and half a bowl of unfinished dried noodles sat on the table. The soy sauce bottle wasn't closed tightly, leaking a bit of dark liquid.

His phone screen lit up with a rent reminder text from the landlord.

Old Chen touched his mostly bald head. He used to be a top-tier chip architect in the country.

Three years ago, he refused to sign over three core architectural patents in his possession to a foreign joint venture at a dirt-cheap price and was jointly boycotted by industry giants.

He had sent out hundreds of resumes, all of which disappeared without a trace. Now in his forties, his wife had left him, and he couldn't even pay next month's rent.

Bang!

The rusty iron door of the rental room was kicked open. Old Chen trembled in shock, the bowl of noodles in his hand nearly dropping to the floor.

Two men in suits walked in, their leather shoes stepping on the greasy floor tiles. The man in front didn't say a word; he pulled a thick contract out of his briefcase, along with a brand-new tablet, and slammed them both onto the oil-stained folding table in front of Old Chen.

"Chen Jianming." The man glanced at the documents. "Come with us. Guaranteed monthly salary of 200,000, and a signing bonus of two million."

Old Chen stared at the contract on the table and swallowed hard.

"You've got the wrong person. I offended the people at Morgan, and no one in the industry dares to hire me." Old Chen wiped his hands on his pant legs.

The man in the suit picked up the tablet, tapped it a few times, and pushed it forward. The screen lit up, showing a transfer screenshot.

"The two-million relocation fee has already been transferred to your ICBC card ending in 9527. Go check!"

Old Chen's limbs went stiff. He didn't take the tablet, just stared fixedly at the man.

"Who exactly are you? What do you want me to do? I won't do anything illegal."

The man looked down at Old Chen from a height, pulled a cigarette from his pocket, and lit it.

"Jiangcheng, Chenguang Electronics Factory." The man exhaled a smoke ring. "Our boss said to invite you to Jiangcheng to lead the effort to hand-build a domestic Lithography Machine. Are you going or not?"

Old Chen's brain buzzed, and blood rushed to his head. He pushed the noodle bowl off the table; it hit the ground and shattered into two pieces, noodles spilling all over the floor.

He grabbed the black gel pen from the table. His hand was shaking violently. He took three deep breaths, then the tip of the pen landed on the last page of the contract, and he signed his name heavily.

The force was so great that it tore through the paper.

"Let's go now. I don't want my things anymore." Old Chen said in a hoarse voice.

...