Chapter One Hundred Fourteen: Journey to the Provincial Capital

The next day, He Zhixing went to the provincial capital at once. He personally visited several major job markets and posted recruitment notices for his company. Unfortunately, as soon as people heard they would have to work in remote mountain districts, they all said no and refused to go.

With no other choice, He Zhixing went directly to Nuofeng Fashion Garment Company and convened an emergency meeting with its senior executives. He announced new incentives and promotions for employees who voluntarily applied to work in the Nuofeng Countryside Specialty Industry Park. On top of the original base salary, the company would raise pay by another three hundred. Those who applied for business, sales, or marketing roles and achieved results would be eligible for an annual salary ranging from one hundred thousand to three hundred thousand.

Beneath heavy rewards, there was bound to be brave men. Indeed, a few unmarried young men and women were willing to give it a try. At last, He Zhixing felt some relief. Just then, his phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number.

He answered. "Hello, may I ask who this is?"

The caller said, "Hello, Mr. He. I’m the boy who registered for the interview yesterday at the People's Park square in the city. My name is Shen Hanming. I called my friends after I went home yesterday..."

"Oh?" He Zhixing said. "And what did your friends say?"

"I asked my friends, and when I got home I also checked your company carefully. I never expected that you were there yourself conducting the interviews yesterday. My friends wanted to know if they could go too."

"Oh," said He Zhixing. "How many friends do you have in total? Are they about your age? What’s their education level?"

"Yes, that’s right. There are five of us altogether, three women and two men. One of them is my girlfriend. All of us have education from primary school to junior high level. I don’t know whether Mr. He would want us. If you do, then we’ll all go."

"We do, absolutely we do. Tell you what: if you’re really coming, I’ll come back early tomorrow morning to pick you up. Just wait at People's Park square at noon. I’m in the provincial capital at Nuofeng Fashion Company right now, so I may not be able to get back today."

"Oh, that’s fine. We’ll wait at the park square at noon the day after tomorrow."

"All right, good."

After hanging up, He Zhixing went to Hu Li and asked her to inquire within the company whether there were any university graduates or postgraduates from prestigious schools. He wanted her to ask if anyone had classmates or friends specialized in beverage formula blending and related fields, and to let them know that the company was willing to offer high salaries to such talent. He also asked Hu Li to post this recruitment notice on both the inside and outside bulletin boards of the company.

In addition, He Zhixing put a large talent-recruitment notice in the provincial newspaper, and took time to visit Sister Lan’s shop, as well as his own supermarket and collection store, to inspect the work there.

What pleased him was that the companies, supermarkets, and shop fronts were all showing a steady upward trend, and every employee under his management was working diligently. The saying that effort leads to results truly carried deep truth.

Early the next morning, He Zhixing hired a Tour Lion minibus, took along seven or eight young men and women from the company who were willing to try, and then set off in his own off-road vehicle to lead the way back toward the city.

By the time they arrived in the city, it was noon. He picked up the five people including Shen Hanming, then found a large restaurant in the city and treated them and the driver to lunch before heading back toward the Five Towns.

Not long after getting on the road, with He Zhixing still driving the off-road vehicle in front to lead the way, his phone rang again. This time it was Liu Ying, the manager of the Five Towns Country Specialty Collection Shop. As soon as He Zhixing answered, the girl said anxiously, "Mr. He, something bad has happened. A competitor has appeared!"

He Zhixing was startled. "A competitor? Tell me quickly, what’s going on?"

Liu Ying said, "While you’ve been away these past few days, that business fanatic Li Tianlai saw how hot your countryside specialty products were, and he wants a piece of the action too. He’s sent people up to the villages to buy those countryside specialties from scattered households that never signed contracts with us. I heard they’re offering slightly higher prices than ours. After buying them, they plan to sell them to supermarkets in the provincial capital or in the Jiangsu and Zhejiang area..."

He Zhixing said, "That madman Li has gone crazy. His hydroelectric power station investment is already keeping him so busy, yet he still wants to poke his nose into my business. What a man. I only snatched one quota from him in Chang Village, and he’s been holding a grudge ever since. People like him are willing to use any means at all just to make money..."

Liu Ying said, "Mr. He, what should we do? We have no authority to stop those scattered households that never signed contracts from selling to others. Luckily, those households don’t have much in the way of specialty products, only small quantities, but gathered together it can still amount to several hundred pounds. As the saying goes, even a sparrow, though small, is still meat. Watching them buy up our uncensored farmers’ specialty goods really breaks my heart. What should we do?"

He Zhixing said, "Liu Ying, don’t panic. Wait until I get back and we’ll talk. I’m on the road back from the city now. Once I’ve arranged the people I recruited, I’ll come find you."

"All right, Mr. He."