Chapter 34: Poaching?
Chapter 34: Poaching?
Zhang Xing walked into the room, put his briefcase on the sofa, and slumped down.
During this time, the company had a lot of problems. It was smeared online, and the servers were often under attack.
Even though the company avoided one smear with a two million reward, rumors among coworkers started that big money was suppressing the company. This small ant probably couldn’t last long.
He thought he had joined a good company, but soon after starting, this mess happened.
Some new employees were already thinking about finding other jobs. After all, if the company got taken over or restructured, they might lose their jobs and struggle to find new ones.
Zhang Xing was also thinking about it.
He had been there less than a month and didn’t feel much loyalty to Legion Ant Company. Now he worried about all the gossip because where there’s smoke, there’s fire.
Bzzzt…
While he was still considering quitting, his phone buzzed.
“Hey, Lao Zhou, what’s up?”
“I started at a new company, and they need people here. Want to come help? It’s a salesman job, just beginning, pay isn’t high, over 4000 yuan, but things look good. The pay will definitely go up, and there’s plenty room to move up.”
“Really?” Zhang Xing hesitated, his eyes flashing. “I’ll call you tomorrow at ten in the morning.”
“Okay, see you then.”
After hanging up, Zhang Xing sat up from the sofa. He searched in the cabinet, pulled out an envelope and paper, thought for a bit, and started writing.
The next day.
Inside Legion Ant Company, the mood was gloomy. The air felt heavy. Many faces were down because people around them kept handing in resignation letters and leaving.
“Brother Zhang, are you really quitting?” Lu Hongyi looked at Zhang Xing packing things, doubt in his eyes.
“The company is on big money’s radar. It won’t be long before it gets bought or changed. As someone who’s seen this before, I say find another way out early so you don’t get stuck jobless.”
Zhang Xing leaned close to Lu Hongyi’s ear, whispering softly. Once he finished packing, he took his resignation letter and walked to the office. Lu Hongyi watched him leave, looking unsure, then shook his head and got back to work with his head down.
Li Lingfeng looked unhappy. Over the last two days, he got ten resignation letters.
These folks were just hired not long ago. Who knew that after the company was attacked just days ago, now there was a wave of people leaving?
If it went on like this, other workers would surely panic.
What upset him more was that two middle managers he brought into the company quit and jumped to new jobs. That felt like a betrayal.
Someone had to be poaching them on purpose.
After thinking it over, he picked up the resignation letters and went to Zhao Min’s office.
“General Manager Zhao, my boyfriend and I are planning our wedding. I need steady work to pay for our home and car, so…”
In Zhao Min’s office, her female assistant Xiao Li stood nervously in front of her, looking sorry.
“So, did you find another job?” Zhao Min asked calmly.
“Yes, a friend helped. I got a post at a listed company as an assistant manager.”
“I get it. You can go now.” Zhao Min rubbed her temples, speaking to the assistant in front.
“Sorry, General Manager Zhao. Sorry, Mr. Li.” With Zhao Min’s okay, the assistant apologized and left.
“General Manager Zhao, I’ve got ten resignation letters here.” Li Lingfeng put the letters on the table, his face showing he wasn’t happy.
“Zhu Li just came too. The market team had five resignations, all from important middle-level jobs. Old Luo’s research team had quite a few tech folks quit. Zhang Yi’s finance team had two accountants leave.”
Zhao Min’s voice was calm as she turned to the window. “One problem not done, and another comes. They came after you too?”
“Yes. Last night after work, an old pal invited me to his company for double my pay here.” Li Lingfeng said.
“And then? Said yes?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?” Zhao Min asked.
“It was thanks to General Manager Zhao’s help and training that I can do what I do today. Plus, I think the company is great and has a bright future. I believe you can get us past this trouble.”
“It’s not trouble. The company never had trouble—no money problems, no debts. Just a low spot; some people couldn’t take the test.”
Zhao Min turned to face the window, her expression plain.
“Go back to your normal tasks. For everyone who quit, approve it all. Fill those open spots with the best people we have. As long as our key managers are still here, let the others do as they please. If they can’t stick through tough times, it’s good they left now. Get ready for hiring.”
“Good.”
Seeing Zhao Min so calm, Li Lingfeng sighed in relief inside. Zhao Min was their rock; if she was steady, he felt a bit calmer too.
After Li Lingfeng left, Zhao Min grabbed her phone and rang Chen Mo.
“Chairman, someone’s poaching our people.”
In the shop, Chen Mo stopped drawing characters and gave a soft laugh. “Did they take you too?”
“They couldn’t pay enough.”
“Good enough. As long as you’re still here, others can go wherever.”
“Do you see me as your hole filler?”
Zhao Min got annoyed enough to laugh—after others got poached and left gaps, she was stuck plugging them. This chairman sure was a bother.
“What’s your next plan?” Chen Mo said.
“Filling your gaps. Our name is out there now, but we don’t have people or the right folks to keep up. Simple as that, we’re all bark and no bite. You can’t run the place alone. I’ll head over to your school and get some trainees.”
“Fine, your call.” Chen Mo said. “Watch mobile quality close. For Butterfly Eye numbers, figure it out yourself—just stop making them at the right time.”
Now that someone targeted the company and smeared it, if anyone messed with the phones, it could be real trouble. This small bug couldn’t handle the fuss, so better stop while ahead.
After getting the company news, Chen Mo ended the call and went back to his work on the Chinese Character Programming Language. Those key words, characters, and data jumbles wore his mind down a little.
Still, the bright side was he made progress. Over the last two months, to move faster, after finishing his four hundredth book, he grabbed another on creating computer code languages from the Science and Technology Library.
After studying this long, he had built many key words—a big leap forward. He felt he’d soon have the base of the Chinese Character Programming Language sorted.
Once he got focused, he didn’t stop until evening, only breaking when Xiaoyu’s tired voice came.
“Chen Mo.”
Chen Mo put his pen down and looked over at Xiaoyu. Seeing her worn-out face gave him a twinge of worry. “What’s wrong? Bad sleep?”
“Insomnia all last night, skipped naps at noon too. Eat your dinner fast and take me out tonight.”
Chen Mo felt both tickled and annoyed at Xiaoyu’s answer. Why drag him out when you’re pasted? But he didn’t say no—gave Xiaoyu his chair to sit in, grabbed her lunch box, and started eating.
“Does this happen a lot?”
“Now and then, gets worse during that time of the month.” Xiaoyu leaned back on the chair.
“Then why go out? Bed early tonight.”
“Wouldn’t sleep anyway, so you’re taking me—going or not?” Xiaoyu set her jaw firm.
“Going. Wait here—let me finish dinner first.”