Chapter Ninety-One: Reunion and Gratitude

Finally, Zhou Xuan said, "Thank you all for your hard work this year. The sales of the company's internet cafe management system have achieved a complete success for this stage. I hope you will keep up the good work and achieve even better results in software sales. Of course, the company will not treat you unfairly; year-end bonuses will be distributed based on everyone's performance, and I am sure you will all be satisfied."

"Next, the company's primary focus will be promoting my cash register system and ERP system, so training the sales staff is of the utmost importance. This is quite different from promoting the internet cafe management system. Our sales personnel must be thoroughly familiar with the software's features and its advantages over other similar products. If the previous internet cafe management system was a hard necessity for internet cafes, our current software is a soft necessity. Therefore, how to train a batch of qualified sales personnel for our company requires the concerted effort of everyone here."

Subsequently, Zhou Xuan discussed the company's organizational structure with Wei Lian and Zhou Changxing. The company now had nearly three hundred employees.

Among them, there were over one hundred and twenty software development personnel, more than one hundred and thirty sales staff, with the remainder consisting of human resources, finance, and other administrative personnel.

It could be said that the current workforce fairly well met the company's present business demands. However, the company was still severely lacking in senior talent.

As a newly established startup, general manager Wei Lian was only in his early twenties and still fell short in many aspects such as business negotiation, coordination abilities, operations, and marketing.

Although Wei Lian was improving rapidly, Zhou Xuan felt that his progress could not keep pace with the company's development. Moreover, various departments within the company required talented individuals to fill vacancies, such as the software department, sales department, and operations department.

In the next phase, Wei Lian's plan was to recruit several exceptional talents to join the company, formalize its operations, and establish a corporate culture.

Furthermore, the instant messaging software scheduled to start in the second half of the year would be the focal point of Zhou Xuan's future work. Just thinking about going head-to-head with Old Ma in the future made Zhou Xuan feel a little apprehensive.

That was a towering giant of an entrepreneur; even with the advantage of rebirth, he might not necessarily defeat him. Of course, this applied to Old Ma's legendary reputation from his previous life, as well as the uncertainties of post-rebirth events.

Who said that one could effortlessly crush all opposition and dominate the martial world simply by being reborn? Rebirth merely grants a grasp of opportunities, yet who truly knows the hardships and compromises Ma and his peer endured behind those opportunities?

The success of entrepreneurs stems not only from catching the pulse of the times and possessing genius ideas, but also from the companions who weathered difficulties and marched forward alongside them. Although Zhou Xuan had Wei Lian, his Third Uncle, and others, their current vision and perspective were far too limited to support a future business empire.

What Zhou Xuan needed were professional managers who could fully comprehend his intentions with just a simple instruction, coupled with deep industry insight, foresight, and creativity. This would liberate him from burdensome operational details, leaving him responsible solely for the company's grand strategy and direction.

Over the next few days, Zhou Xuan kept an eye out for exceptional talent while developing the instant messaging software inside the apartment he had purchased.

On November 11th of the second half of the year, Old Ma from Pengcheng was set to establish his company, and QQ was scheduled to be released next February.

Zhou Xuan decided to establish Universe Technology Company in September and launch the instant messaging software on November 11th. The instant messaging software would be named "YY". He wondered if Old Ma, upon seeing that YY already existed next year, might cancel the QQ project altogether.

Two days later, while Zhou Xuan was busy programming at home, he unexpectedly received an unfamiliar call. To his surprise, once connected, it turned out to be from Jiang Yun, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Brother Jiang, have you graduated already? Where are you planning to work?" Since Jiang Yun had graduated, he would undoubtedly enter the official establishment; the only question was where he would go first for seasoning.

Jiang Yun's laughter came over the line: "Ha-ha, Zhou Xuan. I'll be arriving in Rongcheng tonight, let's the few of us get together then."

Hearing that Jiang Yun had arrived in Rongcheng, Zhou Xuan felt a surge of pleasant surprise and readily agreed.

At eight o'clock in the evening, at a grilled fish restaurant, Zhou Xuan, Jiang Yun, Wang Ximing, and Deng Cheng gathered for the first time in half a year.

As soon as Deng Cheng saw Jiang Yun, he asked, "Brother Jiang, where on earth have you been assigned? I'm terribly curious."

"Ha-ha, everyone, let's have a toast. We can hang out together often from now on," Jiang Yun said, raising his glass as he looked around at everyone.

"Really? Brother Jiang, are you going to work in Rongcheng?" A wave of astonishment swept through Zhou Xuan's heart.

He hadn't expected Jiang Yun to come to Rongcheng for work, especially considering that the place was currently governed by that particular political heavyweight. Although Mayor Zhou's downfall last time had somewhat dampened that person's prestige, it still seemed rather peculiar that Jiang Yun's family would allow him to take such a risk here.

However, if Jiang Yun could come here, there must certainly be benefits to it. With a Beijing aristocratic scion stationed here, at least Secretary Yu and the others would face less pressure.

Jiang Yun lowered his wine glass and smiled, "That's right, I'm going to work in the Provincial Youth League Committee."

"Not bad at all. The Provincial Youth League Committee is an excellent department. After a year or two being sent down to a county level, you'll at least hold a deputy position—boundless prospects," remarked Wang Ximing, who was well-versed in the intricate pathways of officialdom.

Jiang Yun smiled and said, "These past couple of years are easy, but once I'm sent down to the grassroots, it's hard to say. When that time comes, I'll have to rely on Zhou Xuan and Deng Cheng for plenty of support. I've heard that Zhou Xuan's company made tens of millions within just a few months."

"To be honest, none of us expected Zhou Xuan's company to be so lucrative back then. Now I see things crystal clear: Zhou Xuan is an absolute genius. Even my dad agrees wholeheartedly; our group's next strategic direction actually came from Zhou Xuan's suggestion to my dad." Deng Cheng currently held the utmost admiration for Zhou Xuan.

To say the least, judging by the high regard Deng Ting'an held for Zhou Xuan—Deng Cheng had never witnessed his own father being so invested in anyone else, constantly hearing Deng Ting'an at home praising what a genius Zhou Xuan was.

Hearing these remarks, Jiang Yun cast a deliberate glance at Zhou Xuan. He certainly hadn't anticipated back then that Zhou Xuan possessed such commercial talent. He resolved to maintain a close relationship with Zhou Xuan from now on; perhaps when he was eventually sent down to the local level, he would need Zhou Xuan's assistance in many ways.

"Come, Zhou Xuan, I propose a toast to you. Thank you for saving me in Heizhugou back then." Jiang Yun raised his glass to Zhou Xuan, then leaned in close to his ear and whispered softly, "My dad asked me to pass along his thanks to you, thanking you for your help to Uncle Wang and the others a while ago."

Hearing Jiang Yun's words, Zhou Xuan felt a jolt in his heart. He hadn't expected that incident to reach the ears of Jiang Yun's father; it must have been reported by Secretary Yu and the others. Now that the factional heavyweight in the province had lost an arm, things had been much calmer recently. Presumably, seeing this situation, Jiang Yun's father had arranged for Jiang Yun to come to the province.

"Brother Jiang, why are you being so polite? There will be plenty of times in the future when I'll have to trouble you, and you mustn't brush me off when that time comes," Zhou Xuan laughed.

"Of course not, absolutely no problem at all. Ha-ha, the few of us are bound by fate to gather here. From now on, we're all in Rongcheng, so everyone should get along well. Come, cheers!" Jiang Yun laughed happily.

"Alright, cheers!"

"Cheers!"

...