Soul Returns to Hong Kong: From Tailor Shop to Richest Woman

After the equipment list for the second production line was approved, the entire factory worked day and night to fulfill the order.

When Liu Yang was at Institute D3, he felt he was already working hard enough. But after joining Yingchuang, he realized that there are different levels of hard work. Before, it was that experiments were never finished; now, even when experiments are finished, the production line is yelling at him from behind, the sales department is yelling at him from the front, the boss is signing documents in the office, and customers are pressing him on the phone.

When he entered Lin Ying's office carrying a stack of documents, he had dark circles under his eyes.

Lin Ying was somewhat surprised: "Your complexion... is the equipment broken, or are you broken?"

Liu Yang placed the documents on the table: "The equipment isn't broken yet, but I'm about to break down."

Lin Ying opened the file: "Let's get down to business."

Liu Yang pulled out a chair and sat down, skipping all formalities: "Boss, our business is getting bigger and bigger."

"I know."

"You may know that, but you probably don't know how many people contact me every day," Liu Yang said, counting on his fingers. "The production line calls me, the debugging team calls me, the after-sales backup team calls me, and the sales department calls me too. They ask me if I can deliver the goods ahead of schedule, and I tell them I'm not a machine that lays eggs."

Lin Ying smiled slightly: "You said that to the sales department?"

"I was being a little more tactful; I said that I don't have the technology to make televisions generate their own televisions for the time being."

Lin Ying understood: "You want to add more people?"

Liu Yang was waiting for this sentence: "Yes! And it's not just about hiring two people; we can hire ordinary technicians, but for core positions, we still need to find people who understand automation, engineering, and can understand human communication."

Lin Ying looked at him: "The last condition is quite difficult."

"That's why I thought of people from our class." Liu Yang leaned forward slightly. "Chen Jian and Sun Miaoshu, should we call them over and give it a try?"

Lin Ying said thoughtfully, "You reminded me."

She's been so busy lately that her secretary has been bringing her meals, and she's really forgotten about her old classmate.

Back then, there were sixteen people in the Industrial Automation 9101 class. She and Sun Miaoshu were the only two girls in the class, and Liu Yang and Chen Jian had also formed their own groups; in terms of professional foundation, they were at least more reliable than the engineers temporarily recruited from outside.

Lin Ying asked, "Do you have their contact information?"

"Yes." Liu Yang immediately perked up. "I spoke with Chen Jian on the phone a while ago. He's currently working at an electrical automation company in Nanzhou, doing production line control and equipment modification. It sounds like that would be a good fit for our current assembly line."

"Where is Sun Miaoshu?"

"She seemed to be in Shanghai, working on chips or hardware, I didn't quite understand; she talked a lot about packaging, boards, and verification, but all I remember is her saying that her salary wasn't high and her boss talked a lot."

Lin Ying nodded: "Sun Miaoshu is meticulous and quick-witted; if she's willing to come, she can handle hardware verification, supplier liaison, and quality tracking."

Liu Yang rubbed his hands together: "What about the annual salary? Boss, I'm doing this for recruitment efficiency; if they ask me about the money, I can't exactly say 'we'll see how it goes after they come,' can I?"

"The minimum is 100,000," Lin Ying continued. "We'll discuss the specifics after they arrive. I need to see what positions they're suited for; different positions have different salaries. If Chen Jian can directly take over the automated production line, 100,000 is just the starting point. If Sun Miaoshu can set up the hardware verification system, it won't be low either."

Liu Yang immediately replied, "Understood! I'll talk to them first, but I can't make any promises. I'll make sure the opportunity is clear."

"And one more thing," Lin Ying reminded, "Don't lure people here; Shenzhen isn't Beijing or Shanghai; once they arrive, it's factory work, they'll be busy day and night, and the high pay isn't free."

Liu Yang nodded: "I know that. I will tell the truth. Food and accommodation are provided because you can't even leave the factory."

Lin Ying looked at him and said, "The last sentence can be deleted."

After the National Day holiday in October, He Fangqin also delivered some good news.

She strode confidently into Lin Ying's office that day, holding a list of new employees in her hand: "Boss, this batch of campus recruits is finalized."

Lin Ying took the list: "How many people?"

"Twenty-five, all of them are graduates of Shenzhen University this year! Seven are in Materials Engineering, thirteen in Electronic Engineering, and five in Business Administration and Industrial Management."

Lin Ying flipped through the list: "Has the salary been negotiated?"

He Fangqin said confidently, "It's all settled. The salary varies depending on the position, ranging from 800 to 1,000 yuan per month including accommodation and a meal allowance. The training period is also 600 to 800 yuan! The school is very supportive after hearing the terms, and the students are willing to come."

Chen Guodong was stamping documents at the time. Not familiar with the situation for university students in mainland China, he asked curiously, "A thousand a month? Can universities really recruit that many?"

He Fangqin looked at him and said, "Mr. Chen, the way you're talking makes it sound like a thousand yuan isn't much."

Chen Guodong laughed: "That's not what I meant."

"These days, it's common for ordinary college graduates to earn four or five hundred a month; better companies can offer six or seven hundred, and there's a waiting list." He Fangqin put the list on the table. "We offer eight to one thousand, accommodation included, formal training, and a promotion path; it's almost October, if it were June I could recruit a hundred!"

Lin Ying nodded: "These people need to be trained well; don't just dump them online and leave them to their own devices."

"I've already made the arrangements," He Fangqin said. "The first two weeks will be for training on regulations, safety, and basic processes; materials engineering will be with Li Jia, electronic engineering will be assigned to Liu Yang and Engineer Sun's team, and management personnel will rotate through the workshops."

Just as Lin Ying was about to praise her for her efficiency, Liu Yang poked his head in from outside the door: "Boss, I just called Chen Jian, and he's interested."

He Fangqin turned her head: "What Chen Jian?"

Liu Yang walked in: "My graduate school classmate is in industrial automation. My boss asked me to contact him and come over."

He Fangqin casually asked, "What about the salary?"

Liu Yang was quite pleased: "The minimum is 100,000."

He Fangqin thought she had misheard: "How much?"

Liu Yang sensed something was wrong: "100,000 a year... Manager He, don't look at me like that, I'm just passing on a message."

He Fangqin looked at Lin Ying: "Boss, you're offering an annual salary of 100,000?"

Lin Ying: "The lowest."

He Fangqin sat down directly opposite Lin Ying: "Boss, I think I need to give you a rundown of the current job market!"

Liu Yang immediately stepped back: "I have something to do, I'll be going now."

He Fangqin: "Engineer Liu, you stay! You're also someone who needs science education."

Liu Yang stopped at the door: "I think I understand the job market pretty well."

"You don't understand, you only understand your 200,000 a year."

Chen Guodong looked down at the red stamp on the document.

Lin Ying: "You go ahead."

He Fangqin opened her notebook: "Ordinary factory workers in the surrounding factories earn between 200 and 300, with a maximum of 300! We are guaranteed at least 300, which is already considered high."

"Vocational school technicians earn 400 to 600 yuan; junior college technicians earn 600 to 700 yuan; and recent undergraduate graduates earn 800 yuan. A thousand yuan is enough to get school teachers to personally recommend us!"

She tapped her pen on the table: "For a typical engineer, an annual salary of 20,000 to 30,000 is considered good; those who can earn 50,000 are experienced and have projects; what does 100,000 mean? Many factory managers can't even earn that."

Liu Yang said softly, "That's why I really cherish my job now."

He Fangqin looked at him and said, "Go work overtime! Two hundred thousand."

Liu Yang immediately disappeared.

He Fangqin continued, "Boss, I'm not saying we can't pay high salaries; I understand paying 200,000 to Engineer Liu, Engineer Li, and Sister Liu, who came from the research institute, for their experience and ability to handle tasks; but you're asking for at least 100,000 now, how are we going to manage the salary structure?"

Lin Ying asked, "Are you worried that the long-term employees will feel resentful?"

"Definitely," He Fangqin said. "New college graduates earn 1,000 a month, while engineers from outside earn 100,000 a year. Workshop foremen will ask themselves what they are compared to them. Ordinary workers will also hear the rumors."

Chen Guodong then spoke up: "We already have a system to keep wages confidential, but there are too many people in the factory, so it can't be kept secret for long."

"That's right," He Fangqin chimed in. "The more you hide it, the easier it is to cause trouble; it's better to clarify the job levels and salary structure in advance."

Lin Ying asked, "Do you have a solution?"

He Fangqin handed over another document: "I wrote a version a few days ago: general workers, skilled workers, technicians, engineers, senior engineers, and expert positions, all separated."

Lin Ying opened it and read it.

He Fangqin said, "Salaries are not based solely on academic qualifications, but on job value, project experience, and results. Newly recruited graduates are initially at the first level, and after passing training and assessments, they are promoted to technicians; those who can handle problems independently are then promoted to engineers."

"For someone like Engineer Liu, it's a core R&D position; a high salary is acceptable, but the responsibilities and performance evaluations must be clearly stated. Otherwise, people will only see the money and not the pressure behind it."

After reading the proposal, Lin Ying asked, "If Chen Jian and Sun Miaoshu come, how should we decide?"

He Fangqin did not answer immediately: "We need to have a face-to-face meeting first. We can't set a price just based on the name. Everyone's salary must be included in the system. The boss can't just set it arbitrarily. Since the boss has already made it clear this time... the maximum is 100,000 before tax."

Lin Ying nodded: "I agree."

He Fangqin breathed a sigh of relief: "Boss, I'm not in charge of your spending; you feel great when you're spending money, but I'm stuck explaining until my mouth is dry; besides, these are all management costs!"