Sun Kangle

Zhou Qi didn't know yet that Cao Song was actually planning to go to Northern Myanmar.

He searched through the group chat and found Sun Kangle's WeChat, then sent him a private message.

"How's the logo design coming along?"

"It's done! I've sent it to Linlang to apply for a trademark!" Sun Kangle replied immediately. "The new design has also been imported into the printing equipment on the production line. As for whether it's in production yet, I don't know!"

"OK!" Zhou Qi nodded and went to contact Mo Jiakang.

"Director Mo, how's the production line adjustment going? Can we start production?"

Mo Jiakang didn't reply as quickly, as he wasn't at his computer. Sun Kangle, however, sent another message.

"Boss, I see a lot of your relatives have joined various departments, and some are even in leadership positions. How long can I keep my position as department head?"

He had a pretty good impression of Sun Kangle. Although the guy was a bit sloppy, he was efficient and not a sycophant.

So, Zhou Qi replied, "Don't worry. Even if your position is taken, your salary won't be reduced."

"Okay!" Sun Kangle sent another message. "Then, General Manager Zhou, there's a question I'd like to ask you. I don't know if it's appropriate..."

"What is it? Just ask."

"Did you get some kind of Rich Tycoon System that gives you cash back when you spend money?"

"..."

"What are you talking about? Why would you ask that?"

"Because it's unreasonable!" Sun Kangle said. "I can understand nepotism. I can even understand you taking back the supermarkets, internet cafes, and canteens – keeping it all in the family, so to speak. But the canteen, accommodation, and internet access, I don't get. And then suddenly raising salaries so high, and not letting workers work overtime... you can't even describe this as charity, it's clearly just throwing money away! This plot is very similar to some Rich Tycoon novels I've read!"

"Is that so?" Zhou Qi was speechless. "What are you guessing? What kind of system exists in this world? We have to believe in science..."

"But science can't explain your actions!" Sun Kangle said. "General Manager Zhou, I understand this kind of thing. I won't report you. I just hope you'll give me a chance to be your lackey..."

Zhou Qi put his hand to his forehead. This guy had a wild imagination.

And he was surprisingly accurate.

These webnovel authors are something else. Why couldn't they just write romance novels? Why did they have to write Rich Tycoon stories?

"I don't have a system. You can report me if you want. If you're innocent, you have nothing to fear!" Zhou Qi said.

"Don't worry, General Manager Zhou, I have absolutely no intention of reporting you!" Sun Kangle quickly replied. "Only a fool would report you. What's in it for me? A banner and five hundred yuan? And then I'd offend a golden finger owner. What would I gain?"

Zhou Qi was helpless. The key was that what he said made a lot of sense...

Yeah, if someone around me really awakened a system, I'd be trying to curry favor, not report them.

But the point is, Sun Kangle isn't surnamed Zhou!

"I don't have any system, don't overthink it. I just happen to have a mine at home!" Zhou Qi said.

"Okay, okay, no golden finger!" Sun Kangle nodded repeatedly. "But, boss, have you ever considered what would happen if your series of reforms were actually implemented in the current environment dominated by 996?"

"What would happen?"

"As soon as one person posts about it on social media, they'll be pushed onto the trending list by all sorts of curious and enthusiastic netizens. Our Morning Star Pharmaceutical Factory will instantly become a viral sensation. And the result of becoming a viral sensation is that it will attract all sorts of influencers and become a tourist attraction, a place for influencers to check in. Then, our factory's front and back gates will be filled with influencers live-streaming. Every time a worker enters or exits, it will attract a crowd of reporters..."

"Holy crap?" Zhou Qi was shocked. Wait, this kind of thing... it might actually happen?

"And I don't know if you've been paying attention to the official media like Xianhuashe. A few days ago, they just announced that 996 is illegal. If we pop up at this time, we'll probably be used as a case study. Their total fan count across the entire network is four or five hundred million!"

Zhou Qi's expression stiffened. "No, it can't be that bad, right? Won't those big corporations suppress the trending topics?"

"They might, but they might not!" Sun Kangle said. "You can't deny that there's a real possibility of this going viral, Chairman Zhou. Do you want our factory to live under the spotlight?"

Of course not! That's why I moved the pharmaceutical factory from Nanhe to East Guangdong!

And now there's still a possibility of it going viral?

"I was too hasty!" Zhou Qi broke out in a cold sweat. He had already seen that Linlang had almost finalized the salary standards, and they were due to be released in the next couple of days!

If he had discovered this a day later...

Right now, only Sun Kangle has noticed the problem, but then it will be netizens all over the country.

Wouldn't everything about me be dug up?

My sources of funding might even be investigated!

Zhou Qi thought for a moment and sent a message to Xu Shiqin: "Send me Sun Kangle's file!"

Then he asked Sun Kangle, "So, what's the correct approach?"

"Increasing the basic salary by 300 yuan is enough. Overtime will still be worked, but the working hours will remain 8 hours. The remaining 4 hours can be converted into study time!" Sun Kangle said. "Many people talk about eight hours for sleep, eight hours for work, and the remaining eight hours for themselves. But that's all nonsense. If you really give them eight hours, they'll probably spend it all on Douyin and Kuaishou!"

"Instead, why don't we organize workers to study? This way, the daily working hours will still be the past 12 hours, but the actual working time will only be 8 hours, with an additional 4 hours for study. The salary can also meet the standard you set. Isn't that perfect?"

"This..." Zhou Qi stroked his chin. It seemed... to have some logic?

After all, although he wanted workers to have their own time, he didn't want them to waste it on meaningless short videos.

If that were the case, it would be better to have them come back to work.

"Those in offices are the same. Technically, the workday is 8 hours, but you have to stay for 12. We can't be the first to stick our necks out, at least not until we've grown big and strong!"

"That makes sense!" Zhou Qi nodded. He admitted his past ideas had been a bit naive.

He had intended to keep a low profile, but his reforms had indeed been rather unconventional.

His mind had only started to become more flexible in the past few days. He had definitely been too one-sided in his thinking before.

Ding...

A message from Xu Shiqin arrived.

Zhou Qi clicked on the file and glanced at it, letting out a surprised exclamation.

Sun Kangle, age 26, native of BJ City, SX Province, Bachelor's degree, graduated from: HLJ University of Technology, Major in Intelligent Manufacturing Engineering!

"You're from HLJ University of Technology?" Zhou Qi asked. That school was incredible; its graduates could build rockets!

"Yeah..." Sun Kangle replied.

"As a top graduate from HLJ University of Technology, why are you working in operations at a pharmaceutical company?" Zhou Qi asked. "Isn't that overkill?"

"Take a look at my employment contract..." Sun Kangle said.

"Huh?" Zhou Qi was stunned for a moment and quickly asked Xu Shiqin to send it over. This time, it arrived almost instantly.

Zhou Qi opened it on his computer and flipped through the pages. He then found Sun Kangle's position.

Sun Kangle was specially hired as Baofeng Pharmaceutical's Production Line Design, Manufacturing, and Maintenance Engineer, with an annual salary of 240,000!

"You're a production line designer?" Zhou Qi asked. "Why did you switch to operations?"

"Keep reading..." Sun Kangle continued.

"This..." Zhou Qi was speechless and could only continue reading.

Then he saw more clauses.

Sun Kangle shall obey the Party A's leadership, cooperate with Party A in completing all tasks, and shall not violate or resist reasonable work assignments.

Further down, the contract term was effective from June 22, 2017, to June 22, 2037. Either party in breach of contract shall pay the other party liquidated damages of 30 million...

"Damn it!" Zhou Qi was speechless. "They trick talented people into coming, then make them work in operations?"

"No!" Sun Kangle said. "He hired me mainly to show off. I joined with the ideal of changing the domestic pharmaceutical ecosystem and expanding our market share. But after joining, he never let me touch the production line, nor did he let me handle any manuals or documents. Every day, he'd have me dressed in a suit and tie, accompanying him to business meetings, and he'd say to everyone he met, 'Look, Sun Kangle, this is a top graduate from HLJ University of Technology; ordinary factories can't hire him!'"

"I was like a monkey, being paraded around for two months!"

Zhou Qi fell silent. He didn't know how to comfort the young man.

The key was that he knew this wasn't Sun Kangle making things up; it was true.

He had experienced something similar himself. When he was at Jiancheng Machinery, a boss brought in a top graduate from Tsinghua University for business talks.

"I can't afford the liquidated damages, nor do I have the face to ask my teachers for help, so I just gave up!" Sun Kangle chuckled. "I stopped wearing a suit, stopped washing my hair or showering, and came in dirty every day so he couldn't take me out anywhere."

"He did scold me a few times, but I didn't care. The contract was there; 30 million, I couldn't pay it, and he wouldn't want to lose it! The crucial thing is that I was still cooperative in other ways. Besides not showering, if he told me to work on the production line, I would; if he told me to guard the door, I would. Anyway, I was getting 20,000 yuan a month, might as well take it..."

"Amazing!" It really was amazing. After all, this kind of life, dressing in a suit every day, being treated to meals, and earning 20,000 yuan a month was truly a life Zhou Qi had envied.

He could only say that he hadn't reached Sun Kangle's level. Geniuses and ordinary people were, after all, different.

"It's just so-so. After all, I'm just an ordinary person..."

"I thought I'd be wasting away here for another 15 years, but I didn't expect my luck to turn so quickly," Sun Kangle said. "Chairman Zhou, I haven't stopped learning for the past five years, so I can guarantee my knowledge level hasn't fallen too far behind. I can definitely help you!"

"..."

Zhou Qi typed an ellipsis. He had never encountered such a situation and didn't know how to respond.

"I can do anything, and I can learn what I don't know!" Sun Kangle said. "I understand the rules, and I can sign a non-disclosure agreement!"

"You can do anything, even murder?" Zhou Qi asked.

"Yes!" Sun Kangle replied quickly.

"Huh?" Zhou Qi was taken aback and replied, "You're acting strange. There's something wrong with you!"

"There's nothing wrong with me. I just believe in you. Someone willing to insist on an eight-hour workday for employees wouldn't ask me to harm innocent people!" Sun Kangle said. "I also see your ambition; you're declaring war on the capitalist system! Even if you asked me to kill, you'd probably be targeting capitalists."

Typing on the keyboard, Zhou Qi typed a string of symbols on the screen, his mood extremely complex. After a long while, he deleted all the symbols.

"You're too amazing. I'm afraid I won't be able to control you..." At this moment, Zhou Qi inexplicably began to understand the Third Hokage.

With such an incredible disciple, of course, the teacher would be restless!

Zhou Qi was afraid that one day, inadvertently, he might reveal something, or say something that would be analyzed.

His personality wasn't complicated, and he hadn't studied the art of ruling. Facing a truly high-IQ talent, he was no different from a blank piece of paper.

"Is Liu Bang stronger than Han Xin?" Sun Kangle retorted. "Or is Liu Bei stronger than Zhuge Liang?"

"Chairman Zhou, your destiny is extraordinary; you are destined to soar to the heavens. My talent is only slightly better than ordinary people. If this already makes you fearful, what will you do when you encounter people from Tsinghua, Stanford, or MIT? Will you turn them all away?"

"Besides, no one is born with management talent. But if you don't practice it, you'll never have it!" Sun Kangle said. "Since you have to practice it sooner or later, why not start with me!"

Zhou Qi remained silent for a long time before asking, "Are you sure you're an engineering student?"

"I am an engineering student, but that doesn't stop me from reading the Strategies of the Warring States..." Sun Kangle replied.

Zhou Qi had to admit he was a little persuaded.

Indeed, if he, just a student from Heilongjiang University of Technology, was so timid, what would he do when he encountered someone from Princeton or MIT in the future?

What if talents like Lu Zhou or Wang Hao came seeking his patronage, but he refused them out of fear?

What was there to fear? How much worse could things get!

At worst, he could just confront the country!

"OK!" Zhou Qi replied directly. "You've successfully convinced me!"

"Long live the boss!" Sun Kangle immediately asked, "Does the boss have any tasks to assign? I'm very efficient!"

"I'll add you to Linlang's group chat, and you can share your opinions with them!" After a series of operations, Zhou Qi thought of Cao Song again.

After some thought, he asked again, "Speaking of which, there's someone who might expose my secret, but isn't one of us. What should I do?"