Journey 1995:Non-Stop

Chapter 431 Backbone
Yan Hui doesn't really like places like "job markets." His years of experience have taught him that if you find a reliable person to recommend you, then the person being recommended will also be relatively reliable.

If the person being recommended is unreliable, it means the recommender is unreliable.

Therefore, when it came to the issue of selecting personnel for both horizontal and vertical development, Yan Hui made a special trip to see Professor Wang.

Yan Hui has visited Professor Wang four or five times recently, much more frequently than when he was working in chemical engineering.

After meeting, Yan Hui said directly, "Professor Wang, I think Li Haifeng, whom you recommended to me last time, is a very good person. I have decided to participate in the bidding for this project, and I am confident that I will win the bid. The investment for mining, land purchase, and factory construction is about 5000 million. I need a group of reliable people. I hope you can recommend a few to me."

"That's really great news," Professor Wang said, perking up immediately and pouring tea for Yan Hui. "I know at least thirty or forty reliable students, but most of them are already working, many in state-owned enterprises or government agencies, so they probably won't come here. I can recommend about four or five people to you now, but they haven't graduated yet, and I don't think they'd be qualified for a project manager or similar position."

"Professor Wang, you misunderstand. It's not just your major; I'd like to recruit more outstanding graduates from the university this year, as long as they are honest and capable. My business manager also wants to recruit from here, but only if you recommend him, Professor Wang."

"Huh?" Professor Wang exclaimed in surprise, "A bunch of STEM people, doing sales?"

"It is indeed a bit of a waste of talent, but I think not all science and engineering talents are suitable for research and development. Some people may be burnt out. They might be interested in doing business or administration. My salary will definitely satisfy everyone," Yan Hui said.

"I understand what you're saying, but I think professional matters should be handled by professionals. Can these science and engineering students really handle business issues?" Professor Wang still didn't quite understand.

"Sure, what's so difficult about business?" Yan Hui chuckled to himself as he said this. Do business and sales really require a university education?
Over the years, Yan Hui has encountered some common corporate corruption problems while developing his business. The most serious of these was what happened to Lao San back then. Yan Hui discovered a problem: badness is a common human trait, but there is a limit to badness, while stupidity has no limit.

Is Lao San bad? Yan Hui has known Lao San for many years, and Yan Hui doesn't think Lao San is that bad. In fact, Lao San is just stupid.

Smart people who embezzle from companies think, "If I succeed in this project, how can I take more kickbacks without being caught?" Foolish people, on the other hand, sometimes think, "How can I satisfy my own desires as much as possible with this project?" They don't consider the consequences of failure; they don't have that concern in their minds. Companies are generally not afraid of capable people being greedy; they are afraid of fools making foolish mistakes.

Over the years, Yan Hui has had a very relaxed relationship with Song Zhiyuan, Chen Jian, and others. These people have very clear engineering and logical thinking skills, and they can easily discuss problems. After a few years, Yan Hui feels that Song Zhiyuan is much more professional than some so-called professional managers. Those who are only good at interpersonal communication and drinking culture have no real ability once they leave their comfort zone.

In short, Yan Hui believes that these science and engineering talents who can stand out in the college entrance examination in Shandong Province have no problem with intelligence and logical ability. Even if they make mistakes, they will not do stupid things that will kill themselves or their companies.

As for those who are even more outstanding, such as those who get into Tsinghua University, Peking University, or Beijing Institute of Technology, Yan Hui can't afford to recruit them even with a large-scale recruitment drive. Shandong University of Science and Technology is actually the best choice.

"Alright. I'll look around for you. You've come here to recruit people? How many do you want?" Professor Wang was somewhat speechless. Generally speaking, the master's students he supervised had good career prospects after graduation. Around this time in 08, most of his master's students could stay at the university to teach, many went on to pursue doctoral studies, and others went to state-owned enterprises, government positions, or research institutions.
This is the first time that a private company has been willing to pay high prices to poach large numbers of STEM talents, even without considering their major.

"I trust the people you recommend." Yan Hui thought for a moment, "At least 30 people, I suppose."

"So many!" Professor Wang had his own selfish motives. He originally wanted to solve the research work of four or five students, but he didn't expect Yan Hui to ask for 30 people at once.

"It's just a preliminary plan for now. Everything will depend on whether I win the bid. I'm only talking about it verbally right now. Professor Wang can take a look when he has time," Yan Hui said with a smile.

"President Yan, you are indeed an extraordinary person. We even did a research project on your polyurethane company before. To be honest, we never understood how someone like you, a newcomer to the industry with little to no chemical background, could build such a successful company. Now I'm starting to understand. Putting everything else aside, just the fact that you respect talent is something many people talk about, but you truly practice what you preach," Professor Wang remarked.

Yan Hui's efficiency is too high; even Professor Wang's personal desires are not enough!
"Of course I have my own style of doing things." Yan Hui stopped being modest; he needed to give Professor Wang confidence.

"That's true, I've learned my lesson this time. When is the earliest you can expect results for this project?" Professor Wang asked again.

Early March.

"Soon, I'll be quietly gathering information on some students and waiting for your reply. This timing is perfect; April to June is typically the peak job-hunting season for recent graduates. Early March means you can catch up on everything." Professor Wang's face lit up with joy.

"That means it's fate," Yan Hui said with a smile.

"Alright, then I'll wait for Mr. Yan's good news." Professor Wang glanced at Yan Hui, noticing the confident and spirited look on his face, which made him take the matter even more seriously.

Yan Hui's plan to recruit 30 people this time is not only for the mine and the calcium oxide plant, but also to build up talent reserves for Heng Hui Chemical. Song Zhiyuan's success has made Yan Hui realize the potential of this group of engineering personnel. If he can really recruit 30 people, even if each person earns a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan, the monthly expenditure will only be 300,000 yuan. And this 300,000 yuan can gradually support the framework of the two companies, which is really a worthwhile deal.

After leaving Professor Wang's office, Yan Hui began meticulous preparations. This 50 million yuan investment project was even more substantial than a 200-300 million yuan steel project; it wasn't just a transaction, it was a real investment. Following the government's requirements, Yan Hui continuously made revisions and began exploring the market for calcium oxide and concrete water-reducing agents ahead of time.

It's fair to say that even before construction began, Yan Hui was certain that the ordinary quicklime produced by the factory would have a market. His production capacity was limited, and so were others'; this portion of production wouldn't be difficult to sell. As for the refined calcium oxide, he would need to have finished products before gradually expanding the market—just like with polyurethane back then, there was no rush.

(End of this chapter)