On the morning of the third day after the rocket launch, three workers from the tractor factory walked into the factory arm in arm.
"Damn, we're actually making rockets now—just last month I was machining tractor transmission shafts."
"Is this the rainfall device? How does the rocket make it rain?"
"You don't understand, huh? The weather bureau uses artillery shells for artificial rainfall, but isn't one of our rockets worth thousands of those shells? Rainmaking is nothing!"
"Hey, hey, the engines we make are the best in Asia; even the little Japs can't keep up. The day before yesterday, I saw a repost online of their netizens' comments—oh, the envy."
The transformation from tractor factory workers to rocket engineers excited many and greatly sparked their enthusiasm for work.
Just the thought of creating high-tech machinery that could reach the skies made them work three times more seriously.
When the three workers reached the factory gate, they found Deputy Factory Director Guo... now general manager Guo at the entrance, with the earlier arrivals lining up to do something.
"Research and Development? Training?"
Once all the workers arrived at the factory, they discovered Guo Shen had issued a new decision:
Every technical position, whether it be in design or manufacturing, had to participate in R&D department training—15 days of theory and 15 days of practical training, for a total of one month—with theoretical studies taking place outside of the factory.
Of course, this was actually Lin Ju's directive.
He wanted to pull everyone into the System Research Institute, so that the workers who learned there would become "apprentices" to the System staff, which not only increased safety but also improved the workers' qualifications.
The research institute could achieve minimal guaranteed improvements by simply increasing investment, which was much more efficient than actual output.
Moreover, the fifteen days of theoretical study outside the plant were just in time for the factory's secondary upgrade, as the duration of the C-level base upgrade card had been extended to 15 days.
According to the system description, the C-level base's land area, processing capability, and technical levels would all be elevated once more.
Fortunately, the tractor factory had ample land, and the remaining space was just enough to accommodate the expansion. After the upgrade, the factory would need at least 200 workers to operate at full capacity, qualifying it as a medium-sized aerospace enterprise.
As the workers dispersed, the factory was immediately closed off, and the high-level foreign construction team from the American Connecticut-based Oak Tree Engineering Company arrived with over thirty trucks, rapidly encircling the factory.
...
At the Sixth Institute, Chen Rong, along with a few outstanding workers, was transferring K120 documentation and answering questions. The liaison was also a specialized team from the Sixth Institute.
"Professor Ai."
"You're too kind; just call me Ai. Besides, Chen, you are the one here to guide us. I'm truly humbled."
Chen Rong, an honest and straightforward man, replied courteously to the astonished young researcher before him:
"That's not true at all. I only have a high school diploma, and you are a Ph.D. student. Calling you 'Professor' is perfectly fitting. Also, we are both over thirty. You are the backbone of the Sixth Institute. It's almost your Sixth Institute. You have plenty of experience too!"
"This... well." The researcher surnamed Ai wanted to say something, but when he thought of the word "experience," he swallowed his words.
What's the biggest drawback within the system? That would be seniority, which is both loved and hated.
Those who love it see themselves as "veterans who have toiled," not terribly wrong nor particularly meritorious, yet able to get by quite well with their years of experience.
But for the younger and ambitious, it's very frustrating, as the avenues for advancement are limited. It's a one person per slot system, and waiting for seniority can take an eternity.
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This rule was born with the system and is almost impossible to change, so knowing about it doesn't help at all.
"Professor Ai, I, Chen, have worked at the tractor factory for half a lifetime, and now it's only a bit of dumb luck that's better. The real future still belongs to young people like you!"
The more Chen Rong praised, the more he sighed.
"Chen, stop it... please stop..."
However, Chen Rong acted as if he hadn't heard and continued on his own:
"You don't know, Lin, the young factory director, doesn't give a damn about us old folks anymore!
The young people and outstanding college students we recruit from university factories start with a salary almost like mine, with an annual pay of at least 400,000..."
"Four hundred thousand?!" The researcher Ai exclaimed in surprise when he heard this figure.
"Exactly, you see, these youngsters get four hundred thousand just like that, even coming from a second-rate university. I told the factory director—the chairman—what if we recruited senior engineers from the aerospace bureau, how would we pay them? Guess what he said? A million! At least a million annual salary, plus shares!"
"Ah... this, this doesn't seem fair." Researcher Ai was also shocked by the figure of a million and joined Chen, the honest man, in feeling the injustice.
He also felt something was wrong. If those from second-tier universities could get that much, Lin Ju was giving out too much.
If he went over, wouldn't he be in the million bracket too? At the least.
"Well, our private companies can't recruit such senior talents anyway, or else how many millions would we have to offer? But I've heard that the chairman is in touch with the Chinese diaspora at the American Aerospace Bureau… Anyway, enough of this, back to work."
Researcher Ai hummed in response, but a sense of crisis was rising within him.
Indeed, how many can get a million? Even for those who have worked in America, that's a lot.
But he had no idea that all this was Chen Rong's tactic.
It wasn't that the Sixth Institute was eager to let people go as if they were picking two disliked piglets to rush out; they simply allowed Lin Ju to poach people to some extent, giving him the green light without putting up any obstacles. But this was not announced within the institute.
Now that it's 2014, leaders within the system had seen many capitalistic tricks; the siren call of cash is irresistible to many when laid out in front of them.
So Lin Ju didn't openly put up job postings but sneakily eroded the foundations through technology transfer.
Deputy Director Chen might not be flexible enough for the business side, but after living for decades, no one is a fool; hoodwinking materialistic youth is like shooting fish in a barrel.
It must be said that there is always the stereotype that good technicians are old masters, but there are still plenty of young talents in the space bureau.
In just seven or eight days, the leadership at the Sixth Institute became restless.
It was one thing for four or five young people in their thirties and forties to show signs of impatience and wanting to leave, but now even people in their fifties were hesitantly indicating they wanted to seek other opportunities.
"Lu, oh Lu, you're a family man, why do you also want to leave? Hasn't the Sixth Institute treated you well?"
The master welder before them was one of only four or five at the Institute with equivalent skills. It was not easy to train someone like him, which caused the leadership great concern.
"Boss, all three of my sons are getting married, and I don't have a single apartment yet. We can't all keep squeezing in together, right? I know there are quotas, but if it drags on, they'll be over thirty, and the girls too old."
The leader held his forehead, first sent Master Lu on his way, and then immediately called the technical team interfacing with the K120 engine:
"Learn as quickly as possible! We must master the K120 technology in the shortest time and keep them at the Sixth Institute!"
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