Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 234 Choice is more important than effort (First update, 3800+ words)

Anjie Security's main clients are the businesses under Li Song's name. This is due to the large number of its own employees, as background checks are conducted on each person, their network of relationships is investigated, and various equipment and procedures are trained.

On the other hand, most of the security on Hong Kong Island is handled by their own security companies, such as large corporations, while smaller companies don't need such security.

As for armed escorts, it's not easy to get orders for these things; they're all for those with connections.

When Li Song was in Hong Kong, some staff members from several electronics research institutes in mainland China were summoned for questioning.

Semiconductors are currently being researched in China by the Institute of Electronics, specifically the Shudu Electronics Research Institute. A leader of the institute is currently having a conversation with a 30-year-old young man.

"Xiao Li, you're 32 this year, right?" the leader asked kindly.

"Yes, boss." Xiao Li nodded, a little nervous, wondering what it meant for the boss to want to talk to him alone.

"Your family is from the countryside, and you have two older brothers and a younger sister. Are they all farmers?" the leader asked again.

"Hmm." Xiao Li nodded, somewhat puzzled.

"Your wife is also from the countryside..." the leader continued.

Seeing that Xiao Li was a little uneasy, the leader said, "Xiao Li, you are hardworking and reliable, but you still lack in interpersonal skills."

“Sometimes you should fight for what you deserve. Like last time when the houses were allocated, you could have gotten a house if you had made a fuss, since neither you nor your partner owned one.”

"Of course, our leaders can't say it directly because the number of houses is limited. This time, however, there's an opportunity for me to talk about the benefits there first," the leader continued.

"First, you need to take unpaid leave. If you don't like what you're doing, you can come back anytime."

"The other party is a corporate research institute, and they offer a settlement allowance of 10,000 yuan. As long as you work there for three years, the settlement allowance will not be refunded."

"Sign a five-year contract, and you'll be allocated an apartment, in an apartment building with an elevator. Once you've worked there for fifteen years, the apartment is yours."

"In addition, your spouse can also be arranged to work locally."

"Also, if you sign a fifteen-year contract, your family members can be arranged jobs. For example, your older brother, your second older brother, or even your parents and sister can be helped. You can also transfer your household registration," the leader continued.

"What?" Xiao Li was a little surprised; there was such a good thing.

"Boss, this?" Xiao Li asked, still somewhat incredulous.

"I personally came to talk to you, and you still have doubts?"

"Of the ten people we reported, they only liked you because you are reliable and capable."

"Of course, it's all on a voluntary basis. Whether you go or not has little to do with your position in the institute," the leader continued.

The leader didn't actually know which company he was going to; he guessed it was some kind of experimental department set up by higher-ups.

"Boss, I need to discuss this with my family." Xiao Li was indeed tempted. Household registration? His whole family's household registration could be transferred?
Back then, Xiao Li's entire family, including his wife, supported his education.

So now that both of them are working, they have to support their families, which has led to Li's financial difficulties. This is partly why Li doesn't compete for jobs at work.

An organization is a microcosm of society.

This kind of thing has happened in several electronics institutes.

After getting off work in the afternoon, Xiao Li returned home. He was staying in the company dormitory. His wife worked at another materials research unit and had been working overtime frequently since the end of last year.

The dormitory is a dual-income dormitory, which is just a corridor with dormitories on both sides.

The hallway was filled with all sorts of things. In this common area of ​​the hallway, whoever occupied the most space had the strongest connections at work. Of course, there were also those who were unreasonable.

Xiao Li was tempted. How wonderful it would be if his older brother, second brother, younger sister, and parents all had jobs and houses.

The dormitory is not big to begin with, and it is filled with all sorts of things. Every item has its place, and you have to put it back after using it, otherwise there will be no room.

I don't have to worry about the kids; my workplace has a daycare center, kindergarten, primary school, and middle school.

Xiao Li looked at the documents in his hand: relocation allowance! Salary and benefits! Job arrangement by his parents!

These are all advantages, but there are also disadvantages, namely that this is a business-type enterprise.

Xiao Li was unaware that this was a privately owned enterprise, because neither were the leaders in his department.

After school, the children go out to play after finishing their homework. Xiao Li starts cooking when it's time, even though the cafeteria has food, it's cheaper to cook for themselves.

After preparing the meal, Xiao Li called his child back to eat from the window, while he himself delivered the meal to his wife.

My partner's workplace isn't far either; to be precise, they're both in the same area.

Xiao Li doesn't even own a bicycle. His wife is from the countryside, and his parents sometimes need financial assistance.

"Ten thousand yuan!" That ten thousand yuan was all that was on Xiao Li's mind.

"Something on your mind?" Xiao Li's wife asked while eating her lunch in the aluminum lunchbox.

"Okay, we'll talk about it tonight!" Xiao Li nodded.

"I don't know what's going on, but since last year there have been a lot of tasks. Fortunately, these tasks are not very difficult." Xiao Li's wife works at the Institute of Metallurgy, which is a place that studies metal materials.

"My supervisor talked to me, saying there's a research institute that's essentially a business..." Xiao Li said, taking out the documents his supervisor had given him.

"What kind of company is it? Is it a newly restructured entity?" Xiao Li's wife was intrigued after hearing this.

"A settlement allowance of 10,000 yuan for three years, that's 277 yuan a month. How about you sign a three-year contract and come back if you don't like it? The salary and benefits will definitely not be lower than your salary in the institute." Xiao Li's wife was tempted.

Ten thousand yuan!
Think of how many problems it can solve!

"Actually, I'd like to be bolder and ask for fifteen years. I'll get the house first, since they've already allocated it to me, and I can take it back later, right?"

"In addition, I'll arrange jobs for other family members. I'll ask my boss tomorrow if it's possible to arrange jobs for my spouse's family members. If so, I'll give your brother a spot."

"Anyway, you can transfer your household registration. Once it's transferred, can you transfer it back? Even if you do, you'll have made money, right?" Xiao Li said.

"Oh, that makes sense." Xiao Li's wife's eyes lit up when she heard this.

The reason why urban household registration is so sought after now is because it comes with various benefits. Since most of the country was still under a planned economy, as long as you had an urban household registration, you could get all kinds of ration coupons.

Even if you don't want these receipts, you can still make a profit by reselling them.

Because now even if you have money, without tickets, it's difficult to buy many things.

"I'll tell you when I get home tonight."

"Ok!"

That evening, the young couple whispered to each other about how to divide the 10,000 yuan if they got their hands on it.

It's only natural for people who work outside to help their families, like older sisters helping their younger brothers, or older brothers helping their younger siblings.

Of course, this was indeed helping, unlike Voldemort later on, who practically gave everything in his house to his brother.

The next day, Xiao Li reported the problem to his supervisor, who then reported it to the higher-level department.

The higher-level departments discussed it and then made a decision to limit each person to a certain number of slots, so that even if Li Song didn't solve the problem, the higher-level departments could.

After receiving the reply, Xiao Li discussed it with his partner, and his partner decided to stay there while he went over to take a look first.

Xiao Li then completed the procedures for taking a leave of absence without pay and received a letter of introduction to report to the Guangzhou Science and Technology Commission. Xiao Li was very anxious on his way to Guangzhou, after all, he was leaving home.

My child and loved one are still at home, and the future is uncertain!

The Yangcheng Science and Technology Commission sent someone directly to pick up Xiao Li at the platform.

"Huh?" Xiao Li realized that the car didn't seem to be heading to the Science and Technology Commission.

"Comrade, where are we going?" Xiao Li asked, somewhat puzzled.

"You'll see when you get there," replied the person in charge of reception from the Science and Technology Commission.

Xiao Li saw the Pearl River, the dock, and then a large area of ​​brand-new factories and a huge construction site.

"BMW Motorcycle Manufacturing Plant!" Xiao Li was quite surprised when he arrived at a factory.

BMW motorcycles are the only motorcycles on the market that can be purchased without a ticket.

It is said to have been produced by a foreign-invested enterprise.

Xiao Li had a bad feeling. Could this research institute of the company he came to be a joint venture?

"Comrade Li, welcome, welcome." Ma Shengli greeted Li at the guesthouse next to the BMW Motorcycle Factory.

The guesthouse used to be inside the motorcycle factory, but later, as business increased and people came to visit relatives, the guesthouse was separated into its own space.

"I'm Ma Shengli. Please stay here first. If you don't like it, you can always go back to your original workplace," Ma Shengli introduced himself.

"Leader." Xiao Li was surprised to be received by such a high-ranking leader.

Semiconductor research could also be placed under the jurisdiction of the Science and Technology Commission, and it would be inconvenient to add more departments.

Xiao Li was surprised to find that there was an elevator on the fifth floor. Looking at the guesthouse room, Xiao Li found it to be larger than his own dormitory, with a color TV, a refrigerator, a living room, a bathroom, and tiled floors.

A two-meter-wide bed, a sofa, and a wardrobe!
"This is where relatives and clients stay when they come to visit."

"Comrade Xiao Li, take a day off first, and we'll talk again tomorrow when everyone is here."

"Also, it's lunchtime. The cafeteria is right there in the back, and all the food there is free." Ma Shengli walked to the window and pointed behind him.

Xiao Li then realized that he could see the Pearl River from this spot.

Half an hour before the meal, staff members knocked on each door one by one.

When Xiao Li arrived at the cafeteria, he found that some people were already getting their food, and they were all getting their own.

Roast duck, braised fish, stir-fried pork with celery, steamed eggs, stir-fried squid, a green vegetable dish, and an egg and seaweed soup.

Eat as much meat as you want!

"Hello comrade, where are you from?" asked the person behind Xiao Li as he waited in line for food.

"Over in Chengdu."

"I'm from Northeast China."

"You're here for the corporate research institute too?"

"The same to you?"

"My name is Wang Huadong!"

"My name is Li Fuqing."

The two of them got their food together and then sat down together.

The two had in common complaining about their workplaces, and Li Fuqing discovered that the relationships within research institutes in Northeast China were even more complicated than in Chengdu.

If you don't have a good relationship with your boss, you can forget about getting anything.

"Sigh, I have elderly parents to care for and young children to raise. By coming here to work, my family will have less space to live in." Wang Huadong sighed helplessly after saying this.

“Me too, I signed a 15-year contract this time,” Li Fuqing said.

“Me too!” Wang Huadong chuckled and replied.

The two exchanged a smile, clearly having the same plan.

The following afternoon, Li Fuqing was notified to attend a meeting in the small conference room on the second floor.

"Hello everyone, my name is Ma Shengli, and I am..." Ma Shengli introduced himself at the beginning of the meeting.

"Let me first explain to you in detail the research unit you are coming to. It is a wholly foreign-owned research institute, mainly engaged in semiconductor research, which is microelectronics research."

"As you may have guessed, this research institute, BMW motorcycle factory, and BMW outboard motor factory are all owned by the same person."

"Although it is a foreign-invested enterprise, only the capital is foreign; the rest is domestic."

"First of all, you've already learned about the benefits, so I'll repeat them again." Ma Shengli then explained the benefits for joining the company.

"Then there's the salary. The base salary is 300, the research institute provides room and board, and there's a year-end bonus of no less than two months' salary. Of course, they don't provide rice, flour, oil, or anything like that," Ma Shengli continued.

"The rest is performance-based pay, which means the company will assign you tasks. Take a look at this pay sheet; this is the pay for the technical department at BMW Motorrad Factory."

"The tallest ones you see represent those that have completed mass production technology for a particular motorcycle model," Ma Shengli said.

"Twenty thousand!"

"Fifteen thousand!"

"Eight thousand five hundred!"

"So many, eight thousand five hundred!" A form was distributed to everyone.

A gasp immediately followed, because the highest performer received a performance bonus of 20,000.

There are a few left with 15,000, a dozen or so with 8,500, and of course some with a few hundred.

“Before each project is assigned, there will be a performance bonus, which will be paid out when the project is completed.”

"That's why we chose practical talents like you," Ma Shengli continued.

“Your family members will be assigned to these factories in the future. Take a look at this payslip; it’s for the factory cleaners, the ones who sweep the floors.” Ma Shengli took out another piece of paper.

"One hundred and eighty!" Li Deqing and the others looked at the payroll and were surprised to find it was so high.

This is much higher than what ordinary workers earn. Everyone looked at each other, and they were all tempted. Their parents farmed back home and sometimes even had to pay them extra.

In the past, many people in large collectives had to pay out of pocket when calculating work points.

"Go back and think about it carefully. You can also call home."

"If you have any questions, you can come to me," Ma Shengli said after finishing his sentence.

(End of this chapter)