Chapter Thirty-Nine: Leaving Behind Xiao Dai

  Zhang Xiao Lin furrowed his brow, deep in thought for half a day. Finally, he let out a long sigh and waved his hand heavily: "Forget it! After all, the water in this bay is too shallow, and if Xiaodai's talent is suppressed here for too long, it will be a waste of his abilities! That wouldn't be worthy of being a big shot! Xiaodai, from now on, follow Old Master Chen, work hard, and make something of yourself. When you return home in glory, let us big shots have some face too. People who come out of my door are all dragons! From now on, call me Boss! This matter is settled!"

  Dai Chunfeng did not immediately stand on Chen Xiaoqi's side, but instead helped Zhang Xiaolin up and sat him in the correct position facing south and north. Then, kneeling on both knees, he respectfully knocked his head three times, with tears in his eyes, and said sorrowfully: "Since entering the door, Rain Nong has been fortunate to receive Master's doting love and teachings. This feeling and intention will not be forgotten for this life. From today onwards, I will no longer be able to serve by your side. I hope Master will live a long and healthy life. Although Rain Nong is far away, he will never forget to pray and bless you."

  Zhang Xiaolin seemed to have been moved by his true feelings, and quickly helped him up with both hands, dusting off the dirt on his knees. Finally, he patted his shoulder and said: "Alright, alright! Ah, good, it was worth meeting you, you're a man of sentiment, I'm just not lucky enough to keep you, take care of yourself from now on, I'll go back and explain things to Yuexing. From now on, follow Old Master Chen well, work diligently, Old Master Chen is a man who values relationships, he won't treat you poorly."

  Dai Chunfeng nodded in agreement and then turned around to stand before Chen Xiaoqi, bowing his head and saying respectfully: "Boss!"

  Chen Xiaoqi excitedly jumped up, grasping Dai Chunfeng's arm with both hands, and couldn't help but laugh loudly: "Great! Great! I got Rain Nong's help today, just like Liu Xiang got Zhu Long! Hurray! Hurray! Rain Nong, don't worry, from now on, as long as you follow me, with Chen Xiaoqi's one mouthful of food, I definitely won't let these brothers suffer!"

  Dai Chunfeng still replied humbly and calmly: "Thank you boss! Yunong will definitely do his best to repay!"

  "Alas! Brother Chen! I'm a bit regretful now, such a great talent, why didn't I grasp it well before? You say... this... uh! Forget it! Forget it!"

  Chen Xiaoqi was in a great mood, and he chuckled: "Zhang older brother, it's too late for you to regret now. Whatever you say, I won't let Rain Nong go back! You don't have to sigh anymore! I know that the master has many talented disciples, and even if half of them come out to help, this is still a reasonable request."

  Zhang Xiaolin just shook his head and sighed. To be honest, now he really found that Dai Chunfeng was a talented person. Not to mention how he performed in the past, but just today's performance is enough to show that this is a good young man who knows how to advance and retreat, and has a sense of propriety. As long as he is properly trained and given more opportunities to practice, who says he won't become a hero?

  Dai Chunfeng was actually not a disciple of Zhang Ailing, he was originally a vagrant in Shanghai who didn't get the top spot, and coincidentally got to know Du Yuesheng, who valued him and regarded him as a brother. Zhang Ailing was actually one generation higher than Du Yuesheng, so it shouldn't have been Dai's turn to kowtow to him, after all, he had never submitted his disciple certificate to him. However, the other party today did things in such a way that he couldn't find any fault with them, being polite and giving face, what a pity to let such a capable person go!

  Chen Xiaoqi tolerated Old Zhang's presence, letting him wallow in regret. After arranging for Zhang to rest, he pulled Dai Chunfeng back to his own place, intending to have a good heart-to-heart talk and give him a "peace of mind" pill, so that from then on, this person would be firmly tied to his side, not allowing others to take him away as an ultimate weapon to deal with himself.

  When they arrived at their own house, Chen Xiaoqi invited Dai Chunfeng to sit down and then yelled at Hu Qian to pour tea and bring water. Hu Qian served while grumbling: "Boss! You're being a bit biased, aren't you? When we brothers came, you first scared us half to death, then tormented us, leaving us battered and bruised. I've never seen you treat us so well before. To keep Dai brother here, you must have spent a fortune, right? Ah, it's just not fair! Not fair!"

  "Get out of my sight! What kind of person is Brother Dai, can you bastards compare to him? Don't you have enough to worry me about every day? Stop wasting words, go back and do your job, and bring Wu Sheng over for me! I have something to instruct him!"

  Hu Qian and the others had basically gotten used to Chen Xiaoqi's lazy habits, laughing and scolding him without taking it seriously. However, when it came to getting things done, there was no room for ambiguity. With a single response, he quickly closed the door and left in a flash.

  Chen Xiaoqi invited Dai Chunfeng to have tea, but Dai sat there stiffly and looked at him seriously, saying: "Boss Chen, today I'm grateful for your kindness. From now on, Yunong will follow you and do things for you. However, there's one thing that Yunong must ask clearly in order to feel at ease. You and I met only today, and we didn't know each other before. May I ask why you're treating Yunong with such favor? Please enlighten me and dispel my doubts."

  Chen Xiaoqi knew that if he didn't make it clear, Dai Chunfeng would absolutely not be able to settle down and work for him. If the situation were reversed, he would be the same. Suddenly someone appears out of nowhere and is extremely nice to you, flattering you with all sorts of good words. As the saying goes, "No one gives something for nothing; either a thief or a liar." People aren't stupid like Zhu Dacheng, as long as you give them money and good food, they don't care what you're thinking.

  Wiping the smile off his face, Chen Xiaoqi straightened his back, his eyes calm and deep, without a hint of impurity, staring intently at Dai Chunfeng. He said seriously: "Rain Nong, I know you must have some doubts in your heart, this is human nature, I can understand. Everything you said is correct, before today, we absolutely did not know each other, especially me, I didn't even know someone like you existed, so all of this was not intentional. The first impression I got from seeing you today is exceptionally deep, you are a person who pays great attention to details, whether it's your appearance or demeanor, everything is taken care of meticulously. Moreover, from our conversation, I can tell that you have breeding, vision, and most importantly, you know what's high and low, and understand when to advance and retreat, this is extremely rare. Adding to that, your behavior and actions are moderate, not too hot or cold, and you respond appropriately. You already possess all the conditions necessary to become an excellent talent who can stand on their own. Among my subordinates, there isn't a single person who can compare to you. So, how could I possibly let someone like you go easily? You should know that I'm a person who does big things, and this is something I don't hide from my brothers. Only with great hopes can we give everyone greater motivation, and make us more united. My organization lacks talent, extremely so, but I've been stuck in countless matters and couldn't find the time to spare. I urgently need someone trustworthy who can complete tasks for me and put my mind at ease. And then today, I found you. If it were you, what would you do?"

  Dai Chunfeng's eyes fell, looking at the teacup in his hands, and he said in a low voice: "But today is just a brief encounter, and making such a hasty decision seems..."

  "Seems a bit too rash, doesn't it?" Chen Xiaoqi chuckled and stood up, his hands behind his back, standing sideways by the window, gazing out at the twinkling lights in the darkness. He let out a deep sigh and said, "Rainong, to be honest with you, I don't have time to wait until I fully understand someone before doing what needs to be done. I wish I could split one day into three halves! You're not standing in my shoes, you don't know how much anxiety is in my heart. Our cause succeeds a little more each day, but our country and nation suffer a little more each day. Millions of compatriots are living in hardship, countless brothers' bones are buried abroad, waiting for us to avenge them! Do you think I have time to weigh and deliberate? Compared to the losses I might suffer from misjudging someone, I'd rather do more to maximize my chances of achieving my grand goal! Do you understand what I'm saying?"

  At that moment, Chen Xiaoqi turned around, and the moonlight outside the window shone on his body, reflecting a silver halo, as if he were possessed by a god, majestic and towering, like a mountain. Dai Chunfeng was shocked by his words and his current image, and he was speechless for a long time.

  Many years later, Dai Chunfeng still couldn't understand why a strong halo appeared around Chen Xiaoxi's body when the light inside the house was much stronger than the moonlight outside.

  The silence lasted for a long time, until someone knocked on the door and broke the tranquility. Wu Sheng walked in with a clip in his hand, nodded to Chen Xiaoqi first, then smiled at Dai Chunfeng, and quickly walked up to him, saying softly: "Boss, do you have any instructions?"

  "Chen Xiaoqi pointed at Dai Chunfeng with his hand: "This brother Dai is new to our team, from today on, calculate his salary according to Carter's level, and the extra allowance and settlement fee will be handled in the same way as yours."

  "Wu Sheng exclaimed: "Boss! Carter is at the deputy general manager level! And this Brother Dai...!"

  Dai Chunfeng was startled and quickly stood up, saying: "Boss! It's not possible! As a newcomer, Yunong has already been treated with extra kindness, it's absolutely impossible to take advantage of this, it's not beneficial for either the public or private interests!"

  Chen Xiaoqi waved his hand to stop him and said, "Alright, this matter is settled here. You don't need to say anything else. Old Wu, just fill in the document here and let Yu Nong take a look. If there's no problem, file it away and we'll proceed tomorrow."

  Wu Sheng knew that the boss's decision was not something he could intervene in, so he nodded and quickly sat down at the table, opened his folder, and pulled out a form that appeared to be printed in standard format. Wu Sheng took out his pen and quickly filled in the blanks with a "swish swish swish" sound, finishing it off in no time, then handed the form over to Dai Chunfeng.

  Dai Chunfeng was perplexed, and he lowered his head to examine it carefully. He discovered that this was a very detailed personal information survey form, which basically had the identity, place of origin, family members, social status, special skills, educational background, past experience, etc. of the person filling out the form written clearly. Even the beneficiary of insurance, something he didn't understand, was included. And in the column for funeral expenses, it was boldly written: 100,000 US dollars!

  Although Dai Chunfeng's mental quality is extremely good, he couldn't help but sweat at this time. He somewhat understood what Chen Xiaoqi said and did earlier, which might not be just boasting, but actually true. The fact that he could arrange himself to the core as soon as they met shows Chen Xiaoqi's decisive and bold decision-making, as well as his exceptional vision and strong wrist. Such a person, once in power, can soar to great heights and become unstoppable! It seems that this person has already laid the foundation for such success and is accumulating strength to make a breakthrough! To win him over, he actually made such a huge investment!

  Ambition, courage, aura, skill, strategy, and luck are the conditions that a person must possess to achieve great things. In a short period of time, Chen Xiaoqi has already demonstrated a large part of these qualities, which makes Dai Chunfeng, who has not yet fully understood himself, feel both surprised and uneasy. However, seeing Wu Sheng, who can see through people with just one glance, remain calm and composed as if it were normal, he realizes that he is not an exceptional individual in this large group, but rather one of many who have already existed for some time. The fact that Hu Qian has been following him all along is already unusual, and the seemingly harmless young man Zhou Yunpeng from the Zhou family is serving as a junior follower here, which also surprises him. Earlier, when Old Wu came in, he vaguely saw several people following behind, who are now probably standing guard outside the door. Are they protecting Wu Sheng or the person Wu Sheng has in his grasp?

  What kind of organization is this, what kind of people are they? This Old Chen is so young, yet he can suddenly pull off such a big scene, what kind of person is he?

  Unconsciously, the innate talent in Dai Chunfeng's bones gradually emerged, and his curiosity about this group of people, this boss, made him look forward to tomorrow's work with some hidden anticipation. Today's sudden events and changes, on the other hand, became less important.

  The next morning, Dai Chunfeng received a complete set of work uniforms, a dormitory of his own, an ID badge representing his identity level, a detailed set of rules and regulations for new employees and the company's basic laws, and a large package of documents. His appointment to the position also came down, which was the newly established Confidentiality Department, where he would serve as the department head, responsible for the company's confidential security and internal personnel investigations. In short, his job was similar to that of an imperial guard or secret agent, responsible for eliminating any threats to the company's core secrets before they could develop. Chen Xiaoqi also told him explicitly that there were no external tasks to be performed for the time being, due to insufficient manpower and unfavorable environmental conditions, but this would gradually expand in the future. His work was very important and heavy, and whether he could eliminate events that threatened the company's core secrets depended on how well he did his job.

  He himself applies for funding, he himself selects personnel from existing trained members, how to carry out the work, he plans it himself, who to ask for help, he can do whatever he wants. In short, his power is too great!

  Dai Chunfeng was somewhat surprised and excited, because this represented his first time as an actor on a relatively decent stage. The width of the stage was still unknown, but he knew that in the not-too-distant future, it would be wide enough for him to perform freely. On his first day at work, he discovered that within this seemingly formal and standardized large factory, troops were secretly being trained!

  Not to mention the newly joined Dai Chunfeng, Zhang Xiaolin left with Chen Xiaoqi's cooperation agreement and a complete set of technical materials for "Hei Suo Jin" explosives, "Ammonium Nitrate Fuel Oil" explosives, and "Sulfanilamide" drugs after staying for two days. With this complete set of technical data, as long as the equipment is in place, anyone can easily produce the three highly profitable products! This is simply a treasure trove of gold that will never run out! Chen Xiaoqi is not enough of a hero, he willingly gave up hundreds of millions of dollars in annual income for the sake of so-called family affection. He's really not a big shot, sigh... it seems that doing business requires ruthlessness and cunning, hundreds of millions of dollars! Who wouldn't sell?

  There was a moment when Zhang Xiaolin really thought about swallowing this thing himself, and then finding someone to start working on it, making a lot of money! It's much more comfortable than smuggling tobacco and being nervous and fearful all the time! But thinking again, he completely gave up the idea, because he couldn't afford to offend the Japanese. This was something the Japanese had paid a high price for him to do, and he had already made a big profit from it. If he became too greedy and didn't know when to stop, he would be asking for trouble. Besides, is that chemical plant so easy to set up? Forget it! It's better to just do some safe and stable business, making a little profit is not bad at all, why bother with so much trouble?

  It just so happens that with Zhang Yaolin's arrival, Chen Xiaoqi inadvertently brought up the Mandarin issue, which suddenly caught his attention. This is also a part of language rights. Currently, China doesn't even have one radio station. If he can be the first to establish one, not only will he occupy the advantage of being the first, but the series of regulations he proposes will become the industry standard! A top-notch enterprise setting standards is absolutely a good deal! This is extremely beneficial for future business!

  So he immediately began to promote Mandarin Chinese within his own company, first requiring all ethnic Chinese employees to learn Mandarin after work. To do this, he had to put aside some of his other work and personally provide initial training to a group of more eloquent individuals, who would then pass on their knowledge to others. Once this got underway, it became a huge undertaking! Chen Xiaoqi's idea was unstoppable; he first had the electronics lab hastily assemble an experimental wired broadcasting system, which they installed in every factory within the research park. Every evening after work hours, Chen Xiaoqi himself would broadcast, and since there were so many things that could be taught, he decided to start with the "Three Character Classic", reading it aloud in standard Mandarin while providing explanations, truly achieving a great deal at once. This earned him widespread praise from the Chinese workers.

  To know that in this era, these people who left their homes to come to the United States have basically gone through several generations of reproduction, and basically can't write Chinese characters, and those who understand culture are very few. Although Chen Xiaoqi started compulsory cultural learning training when entering the factory, the time was too short, there were too few useful people in hand, and there was no experience, so this work was done very slowly. Moreover, China's land is too vast, and people's spoken language is varied, making it difficult for them to communicate with each other, let alone teach classes.

  But after he started this standard broadcast, the results were completely different. Every Chinese person had a small textbook in hand, and Chen Xiaoqi read it aloud every day according to a fixed schedule, allowing these people to gradually correct their pronunciation by following along. As they progressed step by step, the literacy group also continually corrected its methods and pronunciation, striving to enable these people to listen, speak, write, understand, and use the language in the shortest possible time. Within half a year, the vast majority of people recognized over 500 characters, which was basically enough.

  When Chen Xiaoqi was exhausted from explaining articles every day, with a dry mouth and tongue, he hoped that the recording device would be invented as soon as possible! However, in this era, it was almost an impossible task. The most convenient and effective magnetic recording technology was not unfeasible, but it definitely wouldn't appear in a short period of time. There was also a crucial problem - ultra-thin plastic tape was currently beyond the capabilities of the technology, as the materials were not suitable, and Chen Xiaoqi's plan had not yet been implemented. For now, only mechanical recording was available, but due to the inadequacy of phonograph technology, those short-lived insect-shell records were meaningless. It wasn't until the 30-minute dense-groove record was manufactured that Chen Xiaoqi's workload could be thoroughly liberated.

  Pained to the point of desperation, Chen Xiaoqi began screening all Chinese employees under the company's umbrella, selecting two with decent voices and verbal expression skills to be retrained as announcers. He then intensively trained these two individuals in his spare time, enabling them to quickly take over basic broadcasting duties from him. At the very least, they could read literacy texts with correct tones and intonation, achieving a preliminary goal.

  Chen Xiaoqi, who was determined to make a name for himself in his hometown, added a special item to the list of people he wanted to bring back for the third time. He demanded that a large number of eloquent men and women be brought here, not for anything else, but to prepare for future broadcasting business and literacy training classes. Otherwise, it would take him and his current group of rough soldiers forever to complete this task.

  In this way, Chen Xiaoqi's laboratory, factory and training camp began to form a preliminary training process. First, literacy was taught, followed by spoken language, then rules and regulations, and finally professional skills. After going through this routine, people with no foundation could meet the basic quality requirements of lower-level workers in half a year or a year at most, and they would be consolidated regularly in their future work.

  At the same time, from the day these people enter the door, ideological education is tracked throughout, and young and strong people also need to undergo regular militarized training. This is very beneficial for improving their ideological awareness and team spirit. These effective methods, which have been repeatedly cited in later generations, are constantly explored, adjusted, summarized, and applied by Chen Xiaoqi, step by step forming a complete set of teaching materials, and then cultivating a group of teachers to train and pass on this system.

  As a result, the complexity of personnel composition and organizational structure has increased again, and Chen Xiaoqi needs to hire more people. Many things he originally planned not to do so quickly have been put on the agenda ahead of schedule. The company's expansion has also accelerated, and many funds that were originally used elsewhere had to be temporarily diverted to deal with these unprofitable matters, frustrating Chen Xiaoqi who was at his wit's end.