“Ah, right, I was also accompanying you on visits, which makes even less sense.” Cui Bingbing laughed and joked her way through it. But Liu Jun saw that Jiali’s face looked very unnatural, her expression somewhat stiff, while Qian Hongming was still chasing after Cui Bingbing for discussion, obviously not paying attention to his wife’s expression. At this moment, Liu Jun felt that Qian Hongming’s heart was truly hard. After leaving the Qian home, Cui Bingbing said, “I won’t hand over the knife, but I remind pedestrians to keep to the right.”
Liu Jun nodded, “Fortunately, you’re crafty and scheming while I’m honest and pure-hearted, so we shouldn’t reach that point.”
Cui Bingbing laughed heartily and didn’t contradict by claiming she was an innocent little white rabbit. “I also need to remind you, don’t meddle in Jiali’s affairs anymore. Didn’t you notice Qian Hongming’s attitude toward you has become a bit stiff? No one likes their wife getting too close to other men.”
“I have my boundaries. Hongming’s stiffness toward me started when I admonished him not to live it up and carouse outside. Some words stimulated him, and this involves… It’s hard to explain in a few words, there’s history.” Facing Cui Bingbing’s questioning, Liu Jun hesitated for a moment, then told her about the past affair between his father, mother, and Qian Hongying.
The two had already turned into a restaurant and taken their seats. Cui Bingbing even forgot to look at the menu she cared most about, staring at Liu Jun and shaking her head. “What am I to say about you, you Tang Monk. Even if you’re atoning for your father’s sins, why use this method? But strangely, Qian Hongming is also brotherly beyond belief toward you. I can’t understand it—even more twisted than mine.”
“Apart from his improper private life and wronging Jiali, Hongming has nothing else to criticize. He’s a very good person, not to mention we have a friendship from childhood to adulthood.”
“I can sort of understand your perspective, but I don’t understand Qian Hongming’s thinking. Such a sensitive and complex person—doesn’t he feel tormented facing you every day? Even I don’t want to face the Li family and fled far away to Shanghai. Don’t tell me love can resolve everything—I’m only mortal. But perhaps there are times when people become possessed and can disregard everything.”
“I’m possessed when it comes to you.”
“You’re possessed about everyone, unlike me—I’m exclusively possessed about you alone.”
The two sweetly bickered, monopolizing each other’s every minute and second. Cui Bingbing especially wished she could split herself in two, letting another body accompany her parents so she could be with Liu Jun day and night during the Spring Festival holiday. But Cui Bingbing always harbored vague worries in her heart. Never mind that her old classmate Qi Wei had taken a fancy to Liu Jun at first sight—with Liu Jun’s talent and family background, how many girls would flock to him? She had captured Liu Jun today through schemes, but what about tomorrow? Should she find a way to make Liu Jun propose?
Cui Bingbing returned to Shanghai after the Spring Festival holiday ended, and Liu Jun threw himself into Tengfei Company’s new round of major construction. Moreover, this time it was blooming on two fronts—the workshops on the former micro-bearing factory land and the R&D center in the technology park began construction simultaneously. Although the company had gradually accumulated quite a few talented people in their prime, each one individually useful, everyone normally had their designated roles with full workloads. Now, suddenly branching out, manpower immediately became stretched thin. Fortunately, Tengfei had been operating for several years and had at least earned a solid reputation in the industry: wages and benefits were quite good, development prospects looked promising, and there were many opportunities for personal learning and development. Therefore, when the administrative manager announced expanded hiring, application resumes flew in like snowflakes, soon requiring scales to weigh them. Liu Jun felt quite proud—didn’t this mean society’s recognition of him?
However, Tengfei simultaneously became a benchmark for headhunting in the industry. First, someone exposed that a company was negotiating with Engineer Liao about high-salary poaching. Reportedly, they would give him a house in the provincial capital’s central district upon entry, with an annual salary of 400,000 yuan, bonuses calculated separately. Then, Engineer Sun came to tell Liu Jun that his former employer had approached him, hoping he would return to develop in his hometown. As long as he returned, they offered 800,000 yuan in settling-in fees, 500,000 yuan annual salary, plus many other preferential treatments and reward measures. Not only did his former employer personally come to persuade him, but they also mobilized his relatives and friends to act as mediators together. A project leader in his thirties was even more direct—he simply and efficiently completed all resignation procedures, immediately rented a machinery factory not far from Tengfei, set up a new company, and began developing and manufacturing similar products. If customers came to visit Tengfei on-site, starting from the city center, they could see this new company’s eye-catching billboards along the way—who wouldn’t go in for a look and comparison? Several of Tengfei’s customers were immediately drawn away. Moreover, the new company’s new boss was full of confidence, abandoning the rigid rules of Liu Jun’s management. Based on his experience at Tengfei and grasp of the market, he deliberately formulated management systems that played to his strengths and avoided weaknesses, receiving quite favorable reviews from some customers. Inevitably, the new company began a price war with Tengfei. Naturally, skilled workers also left. Liu Jun considered this natural metabolism—he had done everything he could do and could only helplessly watch the flowers fall. However, Engineer Liao and Engineer Sun were practically the two pillars of the R&D center—how could they leave?
But reality was extremely cruel. Those enterprises that came poaching only needed to use standout high prices to poach one engineer, use high-priced engineers trained by other companies to lead development of a series of products, have many cheap workers mass-produce them—this was enough to live well for several years, until the price war spread nationwide like wildfire. Then there were plenty of ways to abandon the original high-priced engineers and go to benchmark enterprises to poach another seasoned research personnel to develop a new series, repeating this cycle. But because Tengfei had different aspirations, Tengfei had to support so many engineers, competing day and night with advanced foreign technology. Naturally, it was impossible to give everyone the standout prices offered by other companies. When Engineer Sun came to talk with him, Liu Jun could only lament: “Engineer Sun, with that kind of offer, I’d want to go too.”
But Engineer Sun smiled and said, “Manager Liu, rest assured, I won’t go. The company gave me very good wages plus bonuses last year. Most importantly, we can see the company’s future long-term stable development path, and our personal development trajectory is also very clear, organically integrated with the company. For people like us who have no intention of starting our businesses, our company’s transparent and consistent reward and punishment measures make us very secure in our positions. The company’s continuous training and exchanges also allow us to make rapid improvements. But I worry that some young people can’t see this, and some people might be hot-headed and short-sighted, unable to see that running to other companies for high salaries is draining the pond to catch fish, and that experience at other companies won’t help improve their actual capabilities. Manager Liu should still find opportunities to highlight our R&D center’s advantages in meetings, letting those with restless hearts see clearly.”
Liu Jun was greatly comforted and blurted out, “Engineer Sun, you scared me to death.”
Engineer Sun laughed happily, but then seriously instructed: “If someone truly wants to leave, pursuing a new environment, Manager Liu needn’t let this affect your mood. That’s not because you haven’t done enough, but because people have different aspirations—you can’t force it. I won’t leave because I already consider myself one with the company, but others might not think this way. Manager Liu, please be sure to talk with Old Liao when you have time.”
Liu Jun was very moved. “Engineer Sun, in management, I’m the boss, in work, we’re colleagues, but in many matters of human relationships, you’re my elder. Thank you.”
Engineer Sun smiled, but left immediately after finishing his business, never lingering, not even exchanging pleasantries.
Engineer Liao, whom Liu Jun sought out for conversation, was even more sparing with words. Just as Liu Jun outlined his discussion points, Engineer Liao smiled and said: “I didn’t tell Manager Liu because I was afraid you’d mistakenly think I was using threats to demand a raise.”
Liu Jun was once again greatly comforted. From the company’s early days of shadows and suspicions everywhere, when everyone was a suspect, to now having stalwarts like Engineer Sun and Engineer Liao, over these years, he has not only developed and strengthened Tengfei but also made a group of like-minded friends. “My way is not alone”—this made Liu Jun feel doubly gratified.
However, someone else had encountered trouble. Rumors were spreading throughout the city that after Yang Xun’s wife Ren Xia’er went abroad, her wings had grown strong, and she was resolutely demanding a divorce.