Sail across the sea

Chapter 531 One person does the work of two

"Equivalent exchange?" Cai Muqing was somewhat surprised. He looked at Zheng Linong, then at Gao Fan, and finally said to the latter:
"President Gao, if there's anything your design institute can help with, just let us know. In front of Minister Zheng, anything we can do will be done without hesitation."

Gao Fan was speechless. Could his request be stated to someone's face?

Seeing Zheng Linong cast a teasing glance at him, Gao Fan organized his thoughts and said:
"Dean Cai, our Canghai Chemical Company plans to launch a number of new fine chemical projects, but the current difficulty we are facing is a lack of high-level engineers. We intend to establish an in-house research institute, and we have always known that chemical design institutes are full of talented people. I wonder if Dean Cai could provide us with some support?"

“No problem…” Cai Muqing stopped mid-sentence, then realized something was amiss. He looked at Gao Fan with suspicion and asked, “Does Mr. Gao mean…”

"What I mean is, if the chemical engineering design institute has any surplus talent, could you spare a few for us?"

"How could we possibly have extra talent? We don't even have enough people right now."

"But as far as I know, some engineers in the design institute don't have a full workload. Some take leave to do private work, and others are busy memorizing vocabulary and taking the TOEFL. The rest leave on time, so there's really no sign of a shortage of manpower."

Gao Fan was going all out; after all, Zheng Linong insisted on breaking the ice. Since Zheng Linong told him to speak frankly, he would. Even if Lao Cai was unhappy, he wouldn't dare to lash out in front of the former minister.

Sure enough, upon hearing Gao Fan's words, Cai Muqing's face immediately turned pale, as if her sore spot had been touched.

Cai Muqing was well aware that the design institute was overstaffed. But he also knew that the reason everyone was slacking off and doing personal work during work hours was not because there wasn't enough work. On the contrary, the design institute had many tasks they dared not take on because the projects currently under development were still far from being completed.

Ultimately, the problem lies in the poor compensation and benefits within the institute, which fails to motivate everyone. Everyone has tasks to complete, and during meetings, everyone complains that the workload is too heavy and they can't finish on time. After the meeting, everyone goes about their usual routine of drinking tea and reading newspapers.

When the dean personally came to inspect, everyone would pretend to look at a document or make a few sketches on the design drawings. When he wasn't around, everyone would rest and leave work on time.

Scientific research work is somewhat different from producing parts in a factory. In a factory, you can use a piece-rate system, calculating standard working hours according to the process flow. If you don't complete the task within the specified time, your wages can be deducted.

Scientific research is mental labor and cannot be directly quantified. You can't stipulate how many drawings must be produced in a day, because people say that a certain problem has not been fully understood, and hasty design will have problems later.

If you dare say these issues don't need to be clarified, they'll dare design a flawed piece of equipment for you. Many chemical equipment operations involve high-temperature, high-pressure, and toxic environments; even the slightest mistake can lead to a major accident. Are you willing to gamble with your safety?
If the institute has money, there are ways to motivate engineers, such as stipulating a bonus for completing the design ahead of schedule. A generous reward will surely attract brave men.

In addition, when the company's benefits are good, everyone will work harder. Engineers are generally reasonable; they believe that working for money is a natural right.

These circumstances are an open secret. The reason people aren't working isn't because there are too many people and no work to do; it's because there is work, but no one is willing to do it. Since Gao Fan was able to say that some people in the design institute were doing private work, he undoubtedly knew the truth. Yet he pretended not to know, claiming the design institute had a surplus of staff, and shamelessly asked to "allocate" a few to him—this was simply outrageous.

Get your ass to me!
These were the words Cai Muqing most wanted to shout at Gao Fan, but he couldn't bring himself to say them.

Not to mention that the former minister was sitting right next to him, the fact that he needed Gao Fan's help made it impossible for him to say anything harsh to Gao Fan. "President Gao is criticizing me as the director. Indeed, there are some such phenomena in the design institute, mainly because my management ability is limited. However, we have a lot of national tasks to undertake, and there are some tasks that we dare not take on for the time being. In terms of manpower, we are already very tight, and we really cannot spare any more for President Gao."

Cai Muqing said, sounding aggrieved.

“Dean Cai, I’ll help you raise money. In return, you can spare me a few engineers. We can do what Minister Zheng said and make an equal exchange. What do you think?” Gao Fan suggested.

“I really have no right to give you these people. These engineers are the property of the state. How could I have the right to give them away privately?”

“I don’t need Dean Cai to make private deals. I just hope that when these engineers apply for transfers, Dean Cai will not create artificial obstacles.”

"This……"

Cai Muqing turned her head to Zheng Linong, which meant she wanted Zheng Linong to make the decision for her.

In this day and age, if someone within the system wants to switch jobs, their employer can create obstacles. The most basic one is to hold onto their household registration and personnel file.

Gao Fan wanted to recruit people from Beijing to Maolin. This didn't involve the issue of transferring their household registration, since the other party was generally unwilling to give up their Beijing household registration. However, their personnel files were something that couldn't be bypassed.

If your employer holds onto your personnel file, you're essentially without legal status, which is quite troublesome these days.

In a few years, this obstacle will be less obvious. Organizations outside the system won't need personnel files at all; if the original employer wants to hold onto them, so be it. Those who want to switch jobs will simply leave with nothing.

Besides household registration and personnel files, there are also invisible obstacles stemming from the pressure of power. Researchers are generally cautious and wouldn't dare to directly confront influential institutions like chemical engineering design institutes.

Gao Fan told Cai Muqing not to create obstacles for job seekers, meaning that if anyone was willing to work at Canghai Chemical, he hoped Cai Muqing would give them the green light.

Zheng Linong noticed Cai Muqing's expression and asked, "Comrade Muqing, how many researchers have left this year so far?"

“12,” Cai Muqing answered honestly. “Six of them applied to study abroad, four were transferred to other units, and two resigned to start their own businesses, supposedly in the south.”

“Isn’t that it?” Zheng Linong said. “Since you can lose 12 people a year, if you let these people go to Gao Fan, it won’t be any different from your current situation.”

"In exchange, Gao Fan can help you with some revenue-generating projects, allowing you to earn a few million a year. With money, you can motivate your researchers, making one person do the work of two, thus making up for the lost personnel."

(End of this chapter)