Chapter Twenty-Nine: Everything Is Ready

The first person Li Dongling met in the conference room was Hu Zhixian. Hu’s resume was remarkably impressive, far outshining those of the other candidates who had been applying to Dongling High-Tech in recent days.

However, the resume only detailed his life up until his arrival in Pengcheng; he glossed over the past year or two he had spent in Yazhou. It was clear something had gone wrong there, or he wouldn't have returned to Pingyang.

Hu Zhixian sat there, observing Li Dongling in turn, trying to gauge his identity and what kind of background he might have, given how remarkably young he looked.

In recent years, countless university students had "dived into the sea" of business. While the movement seemed grand, very few had actually made a name for themselves—only a handful of people like Boss Wan of Stone Group, Boss Shi of Giant, and Qiu Bojun of Kingsoft.

During his time in Pengcheng, Hu had seen many young graduates try to start businesses, most of whom ended up battered and broken. Those who could afford offices and hire staff from the very beginning were usually well-connected.

Coupled with the decor of Dongling High-Tech he had seen upon entering, Hu pegged Li as belonging to the latter category. Most young entrepreneurs would be huddled in some residential house with three or five people, brainstorming projects or tinkering with prototypes; they wouldn't rent such a large office or hire so many people.

There were no flaws to be found in Hu’s resume, and as for his time in Yazhou, Li could easily guess what had happened without needing to ask.

Li looked at him. "Mr. Hu, is it? I’m not particularly interested in what happened to you in Yazhou. I only hope that if you join Dongling High-Tech, you can handle our payroll, finance, and tax matters properly!"

"You can rest assured on that point," Hu replied with the confidence of a professional. "I can develop a salary structure and bonus system for Dongling High-Tech, and I can also assist with the company's tax affairs..."

Li reached out to stop him. He knew Hu had handled some shady dealings for companies in Pengcheng, but Li had no interest in that approach. Sometimes, a single mistake could ruin everything; trying to cut corners for small gains could lead to a massive downfall.

"I don't want to see any problems with Dongling High-Tech's taxes!"

Seeing the serious expression on Li's face, Hu hesitated for a moment before nodding. "I understand!"

"Mr. Hu, if you take the position of Finance Manager, your expected salary would be..."

"My annual salary cannot be less than fifty thousand!" Hu interrupted before Li could finish.

When he arrived, Hu had noticed that most of the office space was still empty. He assumed Dongling High-Tech didn't have much business yet and couldn't be making much money. He figured that if he asked for too much, Li might not agree.

"A fifty-thousand-yuan annual salary," Hu stated—a astronomical figure in local Pingyang, amounting to over four thousand yuan a month—"but I require that I only sign a two-year contract with Dongling High-Tech!"

After he spoke, Hu noticed Li looked stunned for a moment, followed by an inscrutable expression. Hu’s asking price was half of what he had earned as a financial controller at a foreign firm. He had treated the last two years in Pingyang as a vacation, and once he had rested, he intended to return to Shanghai or go back to Pengcheng.

"You might want to reconsider. Dongling High-Tech will have quite a bit of business in the future..." Li tried to persuade him.

But before he could finish, Hu interrupted again. Thinking Li was trying to haggle, he remained firm. "No need to reconsider. That is my bottom line!"

"Welcome to Dongling High-Tech, Manager Hu!"

Seeing Hu’s firm stance, Li had actually intended to offer him a higher salary, but since he had adamantly refused, Li had no choice but to let it go.

After standing up to shake Hu’s hand, Li said directly, "Dongling High-Tech has a backlog of financial issues and tax filings that need your attention, Manager Hu!"

After Hu left, Li sat down to have a drink of water, and the conference room door was knocked on again.

A woman in red entered the room, placing her resume before Li. "I am Yao Luoying, and this is my resume. I would like to apply for the position of Chairman’s Assistant!"

Li looked up, and at a fleeting glance, he couldn't help but be struck by her beauty.

Yao Luoying had a round face, phoenix eyes, thick eyebrows, and a high bridge of the nose. Her eyes occasionally flickered with a mischievous, clever light. Her bone structure was such that one couldn't help but think: "True beauty lies in the bones, not the skin."

After that brief moment, Li withdrew his gaze and looked at her resume. After reading it for a few seconds, he looked up. "Why did you decide to return to Pingyang?"

Like Hu, Yao came from a prestigious background. After graduating from a university in Beijing, she had gone to Hong Kong to pursue a one-year program in business. With such a resume, she would have been highly valued at foreign firms or major companies in Beijing or Shanghai.

"Doesn't Chairman Li feel the same way, having returned to Pingyang?"

Yao sat there, her gaze fixed on Li, and fired back a question that made Li chuckle.

"My father admired Wang Yangming. He told me that one doesn't have to go to famous mountains to achieve enlightenment; one can find it in Longchang as well. I believe I am qualified for this position!"

With her slightly wavy hair cascading loosely, Yao looked full of confidence. She was essentially saying that she didn't need to go to those big companies to build a career.

Li considered her. Her expertise was indeed what Dongling High-Tech needed. Once she joined, she could handle his daily affairs and temporarily oversee human resources. Next year, as Dongling High-Tech's products were bound to expand overseas, her background would be an asset.

With Hu managing finance, Yao taking charge of HR and daily affairs, and Li building his own technical team, Dongling High-Tech was basically ready to launch its new operations.

A moment later, Li stood up and reached out to Yao. "Welcome aboard!"

Hu Zhixian went to his office as Finance Manager. Pushing the door open, he found a spacious, elegantly decorated office equipped with a computer and all necessary office supplies. Although his new subordinates in the Finance Department were mostly green graduates from Pingyang University's finance program, Hu felt it was quite decent.

"Bring me the financial statements for all major business operations since Dongling High-Tech was founded!"

Hu instructed his staff, and a moment later, when a large stack of documents was piled in front of him, he felt a vague sense of unease.

Opening the financial statements, he saw the business dealings with the Shangguan Town Component Factory. When he reached the second entry—a profit dividend of nearly 3.8 million yuan from satellite dishes—Hu felt his blood rush to his head. Recalling his earlier salary negotiation with Li Dongling, he felt as if his heart were bleeding. He suddenly realized that Li hadn't been trying to haggle him down at all...

But the contract was already signed. Hu could only swallow his regrets; after all, he had turned down the offer himself. Who else could he blame?

After composing himself, Hu examined the project with the component factory. As a finance expert, seeing the frantic sales volume of the satellite dishes through these reports made him gasp. The massive profits and popularity of the satellite dishes far exceeded his expectations.

He had thought this was just a small, newly established company playing around, but he discovered that Dongling High-Tech was far more significant than he had anticipated.

As for taxes, Li was far more law-abiding than Hu had imagined. Even in areas where they could have easily evaded taxes or taken advantage of loopholes, Li had chosen to pay.

Looking at the funds Li had raised, Hu realized he was preparing for a new project. As the saying goes, "Before the troops move, provisions go first." As a veteran in the field, Hu could see the signs of what was to come from the subtle movements of the company's capital.

At this point, Hu no longer felt anxious or pained about his salary. If Dongling High-Tech’s new project really made money and Li continued to play by the rules, then as a key contributor, he would earn far more than just his annual salary—his bonuses could potentially be several times his salary.

Even if Li didn't play by the rules and failed to give him a large bonus, if Dongling High-Tech succeeded in one or two projects, he could use this experience to jump to another company as a Finance Manager or CFO, perhaps even joining a board of directors.

Everything hinged on Dongling High-Tech’s development. Hu didn't dare dream of it becoming a conglomerate like Stone Group or Giant, but even if it achieved half or even a fraction of their success, he would still come out ahead. Therefore, he would do his absolute best to help Li Dongling—he was doing it for himself.

As Gao Peng was going down the stairs, he brushed past Yao Luoying. He couldn't help but turn back to look. Yao was indeed stunning at first glance, but Gao felt a vague sense of familiarity, as if he had seen her somewhere before.

However, once he entered Li’s office, he pushed the thought aside. "Brother Li, I've found a car trading company. They have quite a few imported cars; we can go and take a look at any time!"