Volume 1: Laying the Foundation Chapter 40: Talents Flock to Him (Revised)

  Chen Xiaoqi's work had just returned to normal when the second batch of people arrived from home. The majority of these people were students who had studied abroad, and there were eleven who could be put to use right away, all of whom could be considered talents of this era. Among them, Liu Yupeng and Li Zengwen were both technicians at the De County Ordnance Factory, and by rights they should have been high-income earners in this era. However, what they said left Chen Xiaoqi crying with laughter.

  After Yuan Shikai's death, the Beiyang government basically neglected the ordnance factories in various parts of the country. The people on top were busy fighting for power and would start a big fight at the slightest disagreement. Naturally, they needed military supplies to support their battles. Apart from taking out loans to purchase foreign arms, they placed large orders with these ordnance factories. Among them, the most famous ones, such as Tianjin, Shanghai, Dezhou, and Gongxian, made the greatest sacrifices and had the heaviest tasks. However, without exception, all of these ordnance factories ended up with a large amount of foreign debt that they could not recover. It was extremely difficult for them to acquire new equipment. For example, the Gongxian Ordnance Factory once had an incident that was both laughable and pitiful. They ordered over 2 million yuan worth of machinery from the United States, but due to internal conflicts and lack of management, the equipment was left in a Shanghai warehouse for two years without being delivered because they could not pay the remaining 1 million yuan.

  The Deyang County Arsenal even went so far as to send telegrams to Hubei's Xiao Director, Shaanxi's Liu Director, Gansu's Lu Director, Jiangsu's Qi Xuan Yuan Director and Shandong's Tian Zhongyu Director asking for loans to expand the arsenal.

  It's not just the goods, but also the wages that have been owed for a long time. Starting from 2020, there has been a large amount of wage arrears. The managers above are still okay, they can deduct some money from the purchase of materials and export products, but the diligent technical engineers and worker apprentices below are not so lucky. It's not uncommon for wages to be owed, and it's often the case that people come and go, changing jobs frequently. This kind of thing is really unbearable. So when these two people heard about the high salaries being offered here, they secretly inquired about it and found an opportunity. At least the relocation allowance would be enough for them not to worry about their family's livelihood, so they took a deep breath and made the decision to come.

  Chen Xiaoqi was naturally very welcoming, as he was currently worried about how to expand his production capacity. To be sure, the production of military equipment is not for outsiders, and without a thorough understanding of the situation, it's easy to create chaos that can't be controlled. Although they had obtained a permit from the US government, this didn't mean that just anyone would be accepted. When recruiting externally, very few people came, and the two technicians from Germany were even hired as engineers. The production line was really short-handed, and the arrival of these two people perfectly filled the current gap, making Chen Xiaoqi overjoyed and welcoming them with open arms.

  Xie Guangsheng, a native of Linyi, Shandong Province, is in his thirties. He once studied at the University of Birmingham and later worked at the Hanyang Iron Factory for several years, rising to become the deputy manager of steel production technology. After Sheng Xuanhuai took over the factory, it became a processing plant that only provided rough materials. Later, it simply became a supplier of iron ore and coke to Japan, with annual losses year after year. Even in recent years, they could not produce more than a few tons of steel per year. This made young people like Xie Guangsheng feel very depressed. They couldn't help but make many suggestions, but unfortunately, no one adopted them. In the end, they simply drove away these disobedient people.

  After being idle at home for several years, Xie Guangsheng had also thought of raising funds to set up a steel factory, but as soon as he heard about the huge investment, others shook their heads and refused to participate. With the extremely low price of steel materials during this period, there was no hope for self-investment production. He himself was not good at management, so he had been depressed and useless for a long time. After Chen Xiaoqi's recruitment plan spread through Miao Handong's circle, he was moved and boarded the ship with a glimmer of hope, intending to see if this legendary "Little God of Wealth" could fulfill his dreams.

  Chen Xiaoqi and others have been waiting for a long time, he has been posting recruitment ads in Europe for a year, but the number of people who come is still very small. Moreover, most of the people he recruits are technical research personnel, and those responsible for actual production are even fewer. Furthermore, he currently does not have any steel physical entity, so there is little persuasive power, and the number of people coming is really insufficient. Xie Guangsheng can be said to have saved the situation, without saying a word, he was directly arranged to the Metallurgical Laboratory, where a research group had just been established, studying Chen Xiaoqi's epoch-making steelmaking technology - top-blown oxygen converter steelmaking and continuous casting and rolling technology.

  Chen Xiaoqi's father was in this line of work, and the house was filled with design documents from the unit. Chen Xiaoqi grew up watching these things, and it wasn't hard to imagine that he knew a lot about them. However, knowing something doesn't mean you can do it. For example, although Chen Xiaoqi could draw out the structural diagrams for steel furnaces like top-blowing, bottom-blowing, side-blowing, composite blowing, electric arc furnace smelting, and so on, actually achieving these things was not easy at all. Not to mention continuous casting and rolling. In this era, there were people who had tried the bottom-blowing technique, but the problem was that industrial oxygen production technology was still imperfect, making it impossible to provide the massive amounts of oxygen needed for production. If you couldn't get past this hurdle, everything else was just empty talk. Knowing something didn't mean you could achieve it; reality wasn't something that one or two people could change overnight.

  So apart from the steelmaking furnace and rolling technology, there are too many technical problems to be solved. Chen Xiaoqi is not stupid enough to wait for someone else to buy them, what he needs to do, the advanced technologies he knows, are far more than all the current steel mills, how to achieve it is the most critical thing, if these basic works are not done well now, everything will be a castle in the air.

  So this huge industry needs a lot of people, and every technical engineer who understands the production process is precious. Chen Xiaoqi can't expect to find a group of eight-nation coalition researchers, just coordinating work would cost his life, and the key is still Chinese people.

  Feng Yan, a graduate of the Nanyuan Aviation School in China. He can be said to be a loyal fan of Feng Ru, a pioneer in China's aviation industry, and with the same surname, so at a young age, this young man who had read about Feng Ru's deeds in the newspaper vowed to learn from his predecessor. Therefore, when the Beiyang warlord established the Nanyuan Aviation School, he joined without hesitation. However, it was unexpected that this school not only became a tool for the warlords to fight for power and influence but also became an accomplice to Yuan Shikai's attempt to become emperor. Feng Yan saw no hope for development and left his post in 1919 when he departed from the General Staff Department. Now, he has come to the United States, studying at the Chicago Flying School under the guise of studying abroad, but ended up with Chen Xiaoqi instead.

  His arrival made Chen Xiaoqi both happy and headache, happy that he finally had someone to help him set up a new crucial department, so his plan would be greatly advanced and didn't have to wait for several years to implement. But the headache was that the current social situation was placed here, he couldn't arrange more people to do this, because aviation is a much larger system, not only requiring a large number of talents and funds, but also requiring a large amount of experimental data and facilities, which requires a huge venue, and the planes flying in the sky all day, anyone can know what they are doing, which does not conform to his idea of not wanting to make Americans too vigilant.

  After some consideration, Chen Xiaoqi suddenly had an idea. He let Feng Yan continue to study at the Chicago Flight School, but focused his energy on aircraft manufacturing and design. At the same time, he arranged for a part of the group of over 100 people who came to study abroad to adjust to studying flight driving at the school, and then wait for the opportunity to establish a flying club-like free organization. In this way, they can work in Chen Xiaoqi's company under the name of trial flight training, achieving two goals with one move.

  After Meng Qing, the head is not small, it is the descendant of the old Meng family in Zhangqiu. Many people may not know this, but many people must know the famous "Rui Xiang Xiang". This silk kingdom, which created the first red flag of New China, expanded from Beijing's store to the whole country under the operation of legendary figure Meng Luochuan, becoming a well-known large company in this era. Meng Luochuan is a descendant of Mencius, because he disrespected the ancient teachings and went into business, he could not get the recognition of the Meng family ancestral hall, which was his lifelong regret.

  Meng Qinghou was his nephew's grandson. In his early years, he studied in the UK at Cambridge University. After completing his studies and returning to China, he had nothing to do at home, disliked everything he saw, and lacked enthusiasm for anything. As his uncle put it, the whole of Shandong Province couldn't contain him, so arrogant that he was unbearable.

  "Rui Xi Xiang" is a very traditional business, despite its rapid development, the core management philosophy and principles are all very traditional, including internal management adhering to the Meng family's rules and regulations, emphasizing integrity, honesty, and courtesy. After returning from abroad, Meng Qing felt that his family members were old-fashioned, and the patriarch, Meng Luo Chuan, would not allow him to constantly pick faults and find flaws, nor would he be allowed to wear a suit and tie in the store, eventually becoming fed up and sending him away.

  Meng Qinghou, with his prestigious university background and experience studying abroad, looked down on Chen Xiaoqi, the so-called "little god of wealth". However, he couldn't defy his father's authority, so he reluctantly boarded the ship. At first, when they arrived in Chicago, he thought it wasn't bad, after all, it was a major city in the world with a great environment and atmosphere. It would be comfortable to stay there for two years. But then he found out they had to transfer to Champaign and head to the suburbs, where the feeling became extremely awkward. In such a desolate wilderness with no village in front and no shops behind, wouldn't it be suffocating?

  Fortunately, Chen Xiaoqi's laboratory is now large enough to accommodate the sprawling stalls, and the towering cranes in the distance are intimidating. After entering, I found that the buildings were densely packed, the crowds of people coming and going, and the massive number of researchers, which made this arrogant young man somewhat restrained.

  Chen Xiaoqi learned about the young master's temperament from Chen Shouting's letter, and couldn't help but feel a wave of depression in his heart. What kind of place had this become? Having one Zhou Yunpeng was already enough to give him a headache; if it weren't for the fact that this little brat was still young and had so many people above helping to discipline him, Chen Xiaoqi wondered if he would be able to handle it at all.

  But this young master is not easy to deal with, he graduated from a famous university, came from a wealthy family, has seen and known much, and has a high self-esteem. He thinks of himself as an inventor, but it's not certain that he can be controlled. Such an arrogant person would be a troublemaker in any position, who would want to deal with someone like him?

  This young master can't be neglected, he can't be let go to do insignificant work, he can't do dirty and tiring work, but also can't let him manage important matters. People like this often create trouble for you with their high ambitions but low abilities. After some thought, Chen Xiaoqi suddenly had an idea, he called Stern over, discussed it with him, and then Mr. Stern reluctantly agreed with a frown on his face.

  Then, Meng Qinghou became Mr. Stern's follower. Of course, the title given to him was not small, Stern was a director of the company, deputy general manager, and manager of the external liaison department, and the supervision of the company's material procurement, product sales, and processing production were all under his control. As his secretary and assistant, Meng Qinghou looked like a high-ranking official with great power, meeting big bosses, big companies, and big financial groups every day, as well as representatives from various departments and factories within the company, which was very impressive.

  Not to mention whether this young master can finally become a useful person, Chen Xiaoqi couldn't care less about that, his main energy was still focused on arranging other people's affairs.

  Yu Qian, a German engineering student, had previously worked at Mercedes-Benz and had some practical experience in engine and vehicle production. This was easily arranged, as Chen Xiaoqi directly placed him in the Engine Research Institute, which was also mainly composed of Germans, but allowed him to work on both engine development and vehicle development departments. His future training goal was to become a key person in charge of the Chinese side of the automotive industry, and his responsibilities were heavy and his position was high until better talent joined the team.

  Madeleine, 20 years old, from Jining, Shandong Province, claims to be a relative of Ma Yongzhen's family and is also a Hui ethnic minority. He learned Chaquan, Tantui and other routines, as well as Taihangquan taught by Ma Yongzhen's sister Ma Suzhen. After actual combat with He Baowen and Zhu Dacheng, it was proven that this young man's kung fu skills were quite impressive, even surpassing those of the older men. What's more valuable is that he is clever and intelligent, has a lot of practical experience, and his understanding and comprehension abilities are not bad either. Chen Xiaoqi liked him very much, first sending him to Huang Zunshan's training camp for brainwashing and basic military training, and later Chen Xiaoqi would reuse him for other things, which will be told later.

  Wang Tianyun, Baoding Military Academy 8th term, Civil Engineering Department. This can be considered Li Junfeng's junior, but the two men's fates are similar. Li Junfeng left in a huff, while Wang Tianyun was extremely unlucky. The students of this term were selected from high school and first served as soldiers for nine months before entering the military academy. As a result, they performed well as soldiers, but the military academy was burned down by rioting soldiers and has not reopened since 1920. Due to the incident of military officers wearing uniforms and pulling carts on the streets, which shocked the nation and sparked public outrage, Wang Tianyun felt extremely humiliated and could no longer stay. It can be said that he did not graduate, but his combat experience was relatively rich, second only to Huang Zhen Mountain.

  Huang Zhen Shan had another helper, and the training ground could open one more subject, which made him happy. However, Wang Tianyun still needed to go back to the drawing board to familiarize himself with the new routine before he could further move into a management position and become one of the instructors in this training ground with less than 100 people.

  Chen Xiaoqi had no choice but to let these people mature, and every batch of talented individuals on the training ground was only in their tens. As soon as one batch was completed, they would be immediately pulled out to work in the security department under the company. Over time, more and more security personnel emerged from the training ground, and the original retired veterans were somewhat disgruntled. However, after a period of comparison, they had to admit that these guys who had never been on the battlefield had better basic qualities than them, whether it was shooting or hand-to-hand combat, they were all top-notch, not to mention playing with big knives and bayonets. This actually accelerated the integration of people from both China and the US.

  Jin Xueyou, formerly a comprador at the German firm's branch in Qingdao, spoke German and some English, making him a relatively senior commercial talent. During World War I, Qingdao was occupied by Japan, and his employer also fled, leaving him unemployed. He had no choice but to go to Shanghai to seek opportunities. However, he found it extremely difficult to find work there! There were many compradors like him, with qualifications far superior to his, and he didn't speak the local dialect. For a long time, he couldn't find a foothold, until he received news from home that Chen Xiaoqi, the "Little God of Wealth", was recruiting people, offering a substantial salary. He gritted his teeth and came.

  The arrival of Jin Xueyou made Chen Xiaoqi extremely excited, he is now in dire need of talented people, and of course needs more reliable personnel to share his worries and difficulties. This experienced industry insider was immediately put to good use after being assessed, however Chen Xiaoqi had no intention of using this talent in the US. He required Jin Xueyou to familiarize himself with the company's operations and basic rules and regulations as quickly as possible, and after training, would follow the next important project back to Shanghai to implement Chen Xiaoqi's strategically important link - international trade.