Sail across the sea

Chapter 530 doesn't conflict with this, does it?

“I believe you can definitely do it,” Zheng Linong said.

Gao Fan laughed and said, "Minister Zheng, are you kidding me? I'm here to ask you for instructions. I'm here to poach staff from the Chemical Engineering Design Institute, not to help them with poverty alleviation. If I help them make money and they start giving generous sums to their researchers like the Fenglin Institute, will I still be able to poach staff?"

These words left Zheng Linong speechless. He instinctively felt that Gao Fan's words were wrong, but he couldn't think of a good way to rebuke him.

If Gao Fan were his subordinate, he could certainly say that this was a task he assigned, and Gao Fan had no choice but to do it.

But Gao Fan is just a private entrepreneur. He has done a lot of good things for the chemical industry over the past decade, but he has not received much in return.

Gao Fan's current company was originally a burden that Zheng Linong pushed onto him. He single-handedly turned that disliked labor service company into a cash cow.

Gao Fan gave Feng Lin advice and helped him start Shuangye Company. This was his decision, even though he could have chosen not to help.

In modern terms, it was a favor he did to help the country, and his right not to. Zheng Linong really had no right to force Gao Fan to do anything.

Gao Fan made it very clear: he came to Zheng Linong today to ask for instructions on work, his purpose being to poach staff from the Chemical Engineering Design Institute. He could have easily not come to ask for instructions, because there were indeed some people at the Chemical Engineering Design Institute who wanted to leave. Gao Fan only needed to raise the recruitment flag, and he could naturally recruit people; Zheng Linong couldn't interfere at all.

Now that people respect you and come to you for instructions, you not only refuse to help them but also make them work for a chemical engineering design institute. Why should they?

To put it bluntly, if someone is unhappy, they can just stand up and leave, and there's nothing you can do about it.
“Helping others and poaching employees are not mutually exclusive,” Zheng Linong said, his tone a little hesitant. “The compensation you can offer is definitely better than what the design institute can provide, so those who want to leave with you won’t stay just because the design institute’s compensation has improved.”

"If you help the design institute find some ways to make money, you can help them retain their remaining staff and prevent their work from being affected. This will also reduce some obstacles for you when you're poaching talent, right?"

Hearing Zheng Linong say that, Gao Fanxian felt embarrassed. He had just made a casual remark out of habit, but unexpectedly, it made the old man feel guilty, to the point that he had to soften his tone. How could he accept that?

Gao Fan genuinely respected Zheng Linong. He was a senior leader with experience, ability, and high moral character, a veteran in the industry. No matter how arrogant Gao Fan was, he wouldn't dare to show disrespect in front of such a senior.

"Minister Zheng, I was just talking nonsense, please don't take it to heart." Gao Fan quickly apologized. "The Chemical Engineering Design Institute is the highest research institution in the chemical industry, and it is related to the rise and fall of our country's chemical industry. How could I stand by and watch it die? However, I am just a nobody, and even if I wanted to give the design institute some advice, I'm afraid they wouldn't be willing to accept it."

"In the past, Dean Song disliked me because I was too arrogant. Now it's Dean Cai, who is a well-known chemical expert in China. Wouldn't it be pointless for me to point fingers at him?"

"If I told you that Dean Cai asked me to ask you for help, would you believe me?" Zheng Linong asked with a smile.

"Dean Cai requested this? How is that possible?" Gao Fan was stunned.

Zheng Linong didn't explain. He picked up the phone on the table, dialed a number, and after the other party answered, he said, "Gao Fan is here with me now. Come over here." Then he hung up the phone.

Not long after, there was a knock on Zheng Linong's office door. Zheng Linong responded, the door was pushed open, and Cai Muqing, the current dean of the Chemical Engineering Design Institute, walked in breathlessly.

"This must be President Gao, right? President Gao, hello, hello!" Before Gao Fan could react, Cai Muqing had already walked up to him, grabbed his hand without saying a word, and shook it vigorously several times.

"Dean Cai, you're too kind. Just call me Xiao Gao."

Gao Fan was somewhat at a loss, and also a little amused and exasperated. The Chemical Engineering Design Institute and the Chemical Industry Association were next door to each other, but in two separate courtyards, and it was quite a distance to walk over, let alone drive. Judging from the time it took Cai Muqing to arrive, he had practically run all the way here, which made Gao Fan feel flattered.

It's worth noting that Cai Muqing is over 50 years old, which would be considered middle-aged in the past and thus fall into the category of elderly people. Looking at his spindle-shaped physique, he's clearly a homebody, and his exercise level today must have exceeded expectations.

Gao Fan had known Cai Muqing before, but they had never interacted directly. Cai Muqing knew of Gao Fan and had even brushed past him a few times at the Chemical Engineering Design Institute, but she had never matched his name with his face.

This time, it was indeed Cai Muqing who had mentioned it to Zheng Linong, wanting to ask Gao Fan for advice on how to increase their revenue. Zheng Linong had originally planned to find an excuse to invite Gao Fan, but unexpectedly, Gao Fan came to them on his own initiative.

Upon hearing Zheng Linong's call, Cai Muqing hurriedly took the elevator downstairs, then stopped a staff member who had just returned from outside at the building entrance, asking the person to take him to the association's building by bicycle before rushing up the stairs. To be honest, he didn't get much exercise, but because he was in such a hurry, his heart was inevitably racing.

"I have long admired Mr. Gao's name, and it is only today that I have the pleasure of meeting him. He is indeed a man of great talent."

Cai Muqing pulled Gao Fan's hand and sat him down on the sofa, showering him with compliments as if they were free.

Gao Fan calmly withdrew his hand, a smile on his face, and said, "Dean Cai, you flatter me. You are a world-renowned authority on chemical processes and have presided over the design of the 30-ton domestic synthetic ammonia plant in Shuainan Province. My little reputation is nothing but a firefly in front of Dean Cai."

"No, no, no, Mr. Gao's talent is well-known, and Minister Zheng has mentioned it to us many times..."

"That's because Minister Zheng cares about me."

"And Director Teng of the Chemistry Department at Peking University also recommended you to me..."

"Alright, Mu Qing, Xiao Gao is no stranger to us, so there's no need for such formalities."

Zheng Linong couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted Cai Muqing's nagging.

You're a dean, a department-level cadre, a professor-level senior engineer. Is it appropriate for you to be so respectful to a young person?

"Mu Qing, you said you wanted to invite Gao Fan to diagnose your research institute, and now I've brought him here. If you have any questions, just tell Gao Fan directly. However, I have something to say beforehand: Gao Fan came to me because he needs something from your research institute. In the end, you have to exchange what you can get; you can't let Gao Fan do the work for you for nothing."

Zheng Linong set the tone for the subsequent talks.

(End of this chapter)