Last Love chapter 82
Establishing a company required much more effort than Wen Ke had anticipated.
He initially rented a small office for fifteen people in the Gemini Tower and then aimed to further expand the LITE team.
During those days, Fu Xiaoyu went to Europe on business, so Wen Ke had to handle everything on his own. Though it was a bit exhausting, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
He was unsure whether he should immediately inform Fu Xiaoyu that he knew about the IM Group’s situation. It felt awkward to bring it up, yet not saying anything was also bothering him. So, the timing of Fu Xiaoyu’s business trip turned out to be convenient.
Administrative tasks like finance and human resources could be outsourced, but what was crucial was recruiting programmers and UI designers for app development.
Wen Ke entrusted people to post job advertisements on various websites while also actively searching for candidates privately.
His most valuable contacts were those established during his involvement in Future, a talent program at Zhuo Yuan’s Corporation. Many elites who participated in the program remained with Yuanteng, while others left after fulfilling their contracts to explore new opportunities.
Wen Ke never mentioned these connections to Zhuo Yuan. Although some decisions at the company had caused the loss of talented individuals, Zhuo Yuan tended to view these departures as betrayal. Due to this mindset, Zhuo Yuan didn’t consider Wen Ke’s performance in the Future program successful, leading to his removal from the project.
Ye Cheng was one of the first outstanding students selected for the Future scholarship. After working as a backend engineer at Yuanteng for three years post-graduation, he left immediately after completing his contract and had become quite renowned in the industry. Wen Ke contacted him first.
Ye Cheng was enthusiastic when he received the call. Wen Ke briefly explained the recruitment situation and arranged to meet him for dinner on the weekend.
Wen Ke booked a private room in an upscale Japanese restaurant, providing a more intimate environment for discussing business. When they met, Ye Cheng greeted him with a cheerful “President Wen.”
Wen Ke was taken aback for a moment before responding with a smile, “I’ve just become the boss, and you suddenly call me that; it caught me off guard.”
After LITE was established, all four members became shareholders, and no one had addressed him this way before.
“You’ll have to get used to it,” Ye Cheng chuckled. “People will be calling you that a lot in the future.”
Ye Cheng, an Alpha slightly younger than Wen Ke, struggled with various aspects of life when he first went to study in Switzerland. Wen Ke had helped him a lot back then, and their personal relationship had always been good. However, after Ye Cheng left, their communication had become infrequent due to some unpleasantness with Yuanteng.
The two ordered a sashimi platter and a Sukiyaki pot. After a few sips of sake and a bite of snow crab leg, Ye Cheng got down to business.
“Hiring people is not easy, as you know. Frontend and backend engineers are relatively easy to find, but experienced middle-level managers who have successfully developed apps and can lead teams are scarce. If you want to quickly recruit them, not only does the compensation need to be generous, but the project must also have real potential. Wen Ke, I can recommend a few candidates based on your requirements, but you need to be transparent about what you can offer. These people are all top-notch, and I won’t have face if the compensation is not competitive.”
Wen Ke calmly looked at Ye Cheng and said, “Ye Cheng, I trust your judgment. For talents of that caliber, I’m willing to offer a seven-figure annual salary. Can you secure them?”
“Phew!” Ye Cheng almost choked on his sake. He carefully examined Wen Ke and said, “Damn, Wen Ke, how much investment did Blue Rain put into your company?”
He wasn’t shocked by the high salary, just surprised that a startup like LITE could afford such figures. He, a top-tier professional in the industry, earned a similar annual income, including stock dividends, working for one of the top three companies in China.
Wen Ke smiled and remained silent.
Ye Cheng wasn’t going to pry into this confidential matter. He held his sake cup and contemplated for a moment before saying, “Well, I might need to reconsider. The candidates I had in mind might not require such high compensation. However, if you’re offering such a competitive package, there’s one person with some connection that I can consider—Wen Ke, do you remember Wang Jinglin?”
“Wang Jinglin,” Wen Ke widened his eyes and immediately responded, “Of course. Who could forget him?”
Wang Jinglin, a recipient of the second Future scholarship, studied computer science at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, just like Ye Cheng. After returning to China, he became an essential figure in several major projects at Yuanteng, being considered one of the core pillars.
As one of the most outstanding talents gathered through the Future program, Wang Jinglin was hailed as the “Java Emperor” of Yuanteng. Wen Ke would never forget him.
“But Wang Jinglin is not possible, right?” Wen Ke, recovering from his initial surprise, shook his head and continued, “I know the treatment Zhuo Yuan gave him. He has been with Yuanteng for so many years, receiving substantial stock dividends every year. How could he consider changing jobs?”
“You’re mistaken.”
Ye Cheng smiled and said, “As his senior, I know some inside information. The treatment you’re talking about is from the previous years. After you left Future, you might not have paid much attention to Yuanteng’s situation—many people have left over the past two years, and the Future program has stopped. In other words, they can’t sustain it financially and can’t afford long-term training. Wang Jinglin endured it for a long time, and he vaguely mentioned some things to me in recent months. Originally, there was a major app project planned for this year. He had completed half of the architecture, but a few days ago, it seems there were significant financial issues again. They couldn’t secure external investment, and now the project has been shelved. Can you imagine how dire the financial situation is? Combined with internal management issues at Yuanteng, he feels that it’s not working anymore. Wen Ke, he’s still hesitating and hasn’t leaked any information. You know, once this news gets out, every headhunter will be blowing up his phone. This is my first-hand information. So, what do you think? Do you want to consider it?”
Wen Ke was surprised by what he heard.
Yuanteng’s app project being shelved at this time…
Upon careful consideration, it was likely the social dating app.
He initially thought that Yuanteng had simply failed to secure Blue Rain’s investment. However, hearing from Ye Cheng, it seemed that Yuanteng was struggling even to cover the development costs.
Peeping at a tiger through a pipe, although it was just a bit of sideline information, Wen Ke keenly sensed the ominous signs from Zhuo Yuan.
It was worth noting that Zhuo Yuan had also experienced a period of unprofitability in its early days, but back then, he never slipped up like this. The Future program and company benefits were still generous, mainly because the Zhuo family was wealthy enough to withstand challenges.
So, was the Zhuo family unable to make money now?
“Well…”
Wen Ke hesitated a bit; he was not unwilling to spend money. Still, he couldn’t help but have some concerns, “Poaching people from Zhuo Yuan in this situation felt a bit awkward.”
“You two are already divorced, right? What’s there to worry about regarding loyalty when you’ve already separated? Poaching people depends on your abilities, and there’s no need to feel embarrassed about it.”
Staring at Wen Ke, Ye Cheng said, “Let me be straightforward with you. When I left Zhuo Yuan back then, it was because I thought the boss was an idiot. At that time, the domestic industry was still a blue ocean, with capital and the courage to take risks making it easy to profit. But now, it’s not the same. Zhuo Yuan had a shortsighted strategy from the beginning. It’s normal not to retain people—Wen Ke, even though you’re an Omega, honestly, I think you have much more courage than him. Don’t be overly concerned now. Do you remember what you said to me back then?”
Ye Cheng was obviously a bit drunk, his face turning a bit red, and he became more straightforward while speaking.
He had been dissatisfied with Zhuo Yuan for a long time, and even Wen Ke knew about it.
When he left Zhuo Yuan that day, he was quite drunk, and he shed a few tears when he called Wen Ke.
He was young at that time, feeling that he needed to stick to his principles, so he felt sorry for Wen Ke’s care. He was quite upset.
In fact, if he were more mature, he shouldn’t have made that call, as venting these emotions to the omega of the idiot boss was neither appropriate nor dignified.
But the words Wen Ke said to him at that time were something he never forgot.
Wen Ke neither got angry nor comforted him too much at that time. He calmly said to him, “Your scholarship was earned by yourself. You fulfilled the contract, and you owe no one. People live to realize their own value. If the company can be a win-win, then stay. If the company can’t—then leave, no need to hesitate.”
Wen Ke fell silent for a while. He certainly remembered the words he said to Ye Cheng at that time.
Now, thinking about it, those words might not have been just for Ye Cheng but also something he subconsciously wanted to say to himself—
Beneath his gentle exterior, there was a hint of determination in his soul.
Unable to drink alcohol due to pregnancy, Wen Ke lowered his head to slowly fill a bowl of soup for himself. Once it was ready, he made a decision without showing any signs.
“Alright,”
Wen Ke said decisively, “Help me convey a message to Wang Jinglin. Whatever Zhuo Yuan is offering him—I’ll add thirty percent directly. If he’s interested, he can contact me directly.”