Monday.
Jiang Ye sat down at his desk, and the dark screen immediately lit up.
"Commander, the information on the benefits you requested has been dug up and is in the desktop folder," read Liu Jizi's message.
Jiang Ye clicked on the screen. The desktop was filled with files. The latest one was named "Salary and Benefits." He clicked it open.
To poach people from the military, one certainly had to understand the current salaries and benefits of the experts. Jiang Ye had instructed Liu Jizi to find someone to do this on Saturday, and he was surprised to get the results so quickly. After taking a few sips of tea, Jiang Ye began to review them carefully.
[Geng Wenyiao, meteorological weapon expert, double doctorate, 6 years of work experience, served as assistant researcher, basic annual salary 4.6 million, research bonuses are variable, received 17 million in the past six years, allocated a villa in the science and technology industrial park, valued at 9.2 million]
[Wei Yanhui, stellar communication expert, one doctorate and one master's degree, 12 years of work experience, chief researcher, basic annual salary 6.78 million, research bonuses are variable, received 80 million in the past 12 years, allocated two properties by the unit, valued at 7.1 million]
[Lou Lesheng, pan-biochemical weapon expert, double master's degree, 28 years of work experience, chief researcher, basic annual salary 5 million, enjoys shares in the weapons company, annual dividends of approximately 3 million]
[Shu Qiong, gene-targeting weapon expert, bachelor's degree, 3 years of work experience, laboratory assistant, basic annual salary 880,000, no property]
The salary information for scientists was dense, totaling thousands of entries, and this was only a portion of what had been collected.
Jiang Ye's eyelids twitched.
No wonder the military's weapons and equipment were so advanced; it was all funded by money. Even a mere assistant earned several million a year. After a few more years and some financial management, they would be billionaires!
To recruit these people, one would indeed have to spend a lot of money.
Jiang Ye pondered for a moment, then picked up his phone and called Liu Jizi.
Liu Jizi hung up the phone.
Jiang Ye was stunned. During work hours, his secretary dared to hang up on him? Had her wings grown strong?
"Bang!" The office door was pushed open forcefully.
Liu Jizi's high heels clicked as she ran in. "Good morning, Commander! What's up?"
Jiang Ye's expression softened. "Do you have a way to find some private investigators?"
"Private investigators from where?" Liu Jizi was taken aback. "Who do you want to investigate? Can't we just use special agents?"
"Investigate these military weapon experts," Jiang Ye said. "Their salaries and benefits are too high. If we only rely on throwing money at them to attract them, it might be very costly. So, I want to take a shortcut and save some money by investigating them to see if there are other ways to impress them."
"Other ways... honey traps, charm offensives?" Liu Jizi blinked.
"That might be difficult to manage. Marriage is a serious matter; how can it be arranged carelessly?" Jiang Ye shook his head. "However... arranging blind dates for them could be an option."
"What I meant by other ways isn't just that!" Jiang Ye added. "Find out their preferences and taboos, understand their needs, and then tailor our approach."
"It's a bit troublesome, but I should be able to handle it," Liu Jizi thought for a moment. "If we secretly investigate them and these weapon experts find out, or if the military finds out, they might feel very offended. If we just want to understand their needs, why not directly issue a unified questionnaire to them, asking what benefits they want? This way, both the military and the experts can feel our sincerity."
"You mean, issue a questionnaire to the experts through the military?"
"Yes, the military should agree."
Jiang Ye considered it. "I think it's better to contact them privately. Hire some experienced negotiators to meet with the weapon experts individually in relaxed, discreet locations, such as private rooms in restaurants or quiet corners of tea houses, and then discuss the terms. When discussing, we need to show full sincerity, but we also can't let the weapon experts make exorbitant demands. We are buying a horse's bones for a thousand gold, but we shouldn't be the big sucker!"
"You've considered it thoroughly! Private contact is better for negotiation, and it's our negotiation team targeting one person, so we have an advantage. If the military issues a unified questionnaire and negotiates benefits uniformly, those weapon experts might band together to extort us," Liu Jizi nodded, her expression full of admiration. "Commander, you are truly amazing!"
Jiang Ye saw through her immediately. "You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"
Liu Jizi blushed. "What are you talking about?"
"Don't pretend. Your original intention was private contact, but you deliberately proposed issuing a questionnaire through the military to guide me to the final solution," Jiang Ye smiled helplessly. "Do you still need to use such tricks on me?"
"You figured it out, Commander? It seems I need to polish my acting skills when I get back," Liu Jizi's expression was awkward. "Isn't it to give you a sense of accomplishment, and also to speed up the decision-making process?"
"Alright, go do it," Jiang Ye waved his hand impatiently. "I won't nag you about the details. You're a veteran. This is important, don't disappoint me."
"Don't worry, Commander. I've already sent people to monitor the movements of the weapon experts these past few days, and I'll immediately send negotiators to contact them to get results for you as soon as possible!" Liu Jizi said with full confidence.
...
Friday.
Another early morning, and it was raining heavily outside. The raindrops hit the glass without a sound, and instead of condensing on the glass, they simply fell away.
This was special glass for the Commander's office, soundproof and water-repellent. Even a mortar shell would only produce a soft sound like snapping one's fingers. The purpose was to prevent changes in the rain from disturbing Jiang Ye's thoughts. Looking out from the office, the world appeared like a silent movie, giving a sense of unreality.
Jiang Ye sat down behind his desk, and the office door was immediately knocked. Liu Jizi slipped in, mysteriously carrying a metal case.
"About the experts?" Jiang Ye asked.
"That's right. We've made some preliminary inquiries and negotiated terms. I've reviewed them, and they seem acceptable. Please approve them and make a decision, and these weapon experts can proceed with the transfer procedures," Liu Jizi walked over, placed the metal case on the desk, and opened it by turning the combination lock.
The box contained preliminary contracts. Liu Jizi handed one to Jiang Ye and explained each one.
"Shang Heyu, this person is an orbital weapon expert. He's responsible for improving the performance of railguns in the military and is very skilled, having won many internal military awards. His wife's parachute failed to open during a jump, and she fell to her death two years ago. He's been immersed in grief ever since and wants to change his working environment to avoid constantly being reminded of her at home and on the streets," Liu Jizi said. "Therefore, he's willing to take a position on Jiang Ye Star without an increase in his current salary."
"Oh, such good news... I mean, I am very sorry for his situation, but I am very happy that he is willing to come without a salary increase," Jiang Ye nodded and picked up his pen to sign his approval.