Chapter 49 Shi Shi, Be Braver

Long Weihe entered the industrial park and found a biotech company called IM on the innermost lower floor. She'd mentioned it to Lin Yao the previous day, saying she'd researched it. This biotech company, which had been operating for three or four years, was developing innovative oncology drugs, with a pipeline focused on small molecules and antibodies. They also claimed that R&D was king, and their pipeline was their lifeblood. Such companies ultimately faced either financial ruin or acquisition, with a low chance of going public. Since they were past their startup phase, staffing at this point was likely based on project progress. Lin Yao explained that if they'd proactively approached her, it must have been through a referral, a kind person who had done the good deed, and asked her to meet and discuss it. A recruiter met her at the front desk and said, "Sorry, we're on a tight schedule right now, so we're working half-days on Saturdays. Could you please come over this weekend?" He led her directly to the HR manager's office. This young woman introduced herself as Feng. After some business pleasantries, Ms. Feng stated her purpose. "Our company's investor recommended you, Lin He, saying you're professional and quick to hire. We're looking for you for a few positions, and we need you urgently." "Who's your investor?" Long Weihe politely collected the other person's business card. "Mr. Fang." Long Weihe didn't even know the man. "What kind of positions do you need?" "Supplemental clinical project management, government affairs, registration and regulatory affairs." Long Weihe immediately determined that their project was in the clinical phase or about to launch. These positions were something Lin He had handled frequently, and finding people quickly wouldn't be difficult. She then asked for more detailed information about the positions and said they could find candidates as soon as possible, but she needed to ask a few key questions. "We're looking for candidates to join the biotech industry, mostly in the early stages. Candidates involved at this stage are focused on the company's next steps. Could you please describe the company's future plans?" The other person paused, then replied, "Our core drug is in Phase 3 clinical trials. We're confident we'll obtain positive data, and we've initially determined its efficacy and safety, so there's no problem entering the market. We'll soon be collaborating with a large pharmaceutical company, and we're currently strengthening our efforts to accelerate the project. Of course, this shouldn't be widely announced on recruitment websites. Since the investor recommended you, they must trust your professional ethics, and we hope you can uphold this." "Which pharmaceutical company are you collaborating with?" "It's inconvenient to disclose, as it might affect the candidate's judgment. But we can reveal that it's a strong pharmaceutical company, and the key terms of the partnership will ensure the team remains, so there's no need to worry about stability. We'll also include this in the employment contract..."

Long Weihe entered the park and found the biotechnology company called IM in the innermost lower floor.

Yesterday, she told Lin Yaoti that she had checked. This biotech company, which has been operating for three or four years, is making innovative oncology drugs. Its pipeline is divided into small molecules and antibodies. It also said that R&D is king and the pipeline determines life and death. The ultimate fate of such companies is either a collapse due to lack of funds or being acquired. The chances of them being listed are too low. They have passed the start-up phase. At this time, the recruitment is likely to be based on the progress of the project.

Lin Yao said that they took the initiative to find someone and that someone must have introduced them to her. She wanted to meet that enthusiastic person and ask him/her which one did the good deed.

The other party's recruitment specialist came to the front desk to pick her up and said, "I'm sorry, we have a special task during this period. We will work half a day on Saturday. Please come over this weekend."

He took her straight into the HR director's office.

This was a young lady who introduced herself as Feng. After some business pleasantries, Ms. Feng stated directly the purpose of her visit.

"Our company's investor recommended you to Lin He, saying that you are professional and can hire people quickly. We would like to hire you for several positions and are in urgent need."

"Who is your investor?" Long Wei politely collected the other party's business card.

"Mr. Fang."

Long Weihe didn't know this person at all.

"What kind of position do you need?"

"Supplement clinical project management, government affairs, and registration and regulatory affairs."

Long Weihe immediately determined that their project was in the clinical phase or nearing market launch. Lin He had often filled these positions, so finding someone in a short period of time wasn't difficult.

She then learned some specific information about the position and said that she could find a candidate as soon as possible, but she needed to ask a few key questions.

"We're looking for candidates to join Biotech, and most of them are in the early stages of the startup process. At this stage, we're looking for candidates who will be keeping an eye on the company's next steps. Could you please share some of the company's future plans?"

The other party thought for a moment and responded, "Our core drug is in Phase 3 clinical trials. We are confident of obtaining positive data. We have initially determined the product's efficacy and safety to be favorable, so there will be no problem entering the market. We will soon be collaborating with a major pharmaceutical company, and we are currently strengthening our efforts to accelerate the project. Of course, this cannot be widely announced on recruitment websites. Since the investor recommended you, they must trust your professional ethics, and we hope you can uphold this."

"Which pharmaceutical company are you working with?"

"I'm not in a position to disclose this, but if it affects the decision-making of the candidates you're recruiting, we can reveal that it's a strong pharmaceutical company, and the key terms of the partnership will ensure the team remains, so there's no need to worry about stability. We'll also guarantee this in the employment contract."

Long Weihe thought that since it was called cooperation, it was most likely for a sale. Before the sale, the clinical data should be developed for the acquisition and value assessment.

“What if they don’t cooperate?” she asked, considering the candidate’s concerns about what would happen if they couldn’t sell.

"We have the ability to enter the market, and entering the market will be more favored by capital and large pharmaceutical companies. Whether we do it ourselves or seek cooperation, our survival will not be affected."

Long Weihe is familiar with the current situation of some biotechnology companies. When they reach the critical stage of Phase 3 clinical trials, they are likely to face financial difficulties, financing difficulties, and no money to continue. Investors force the founders to sell their green fruits to other companies for money and then get out.

“Are you a scientist-started business?”

"yes."

She was even more convinced that it was going to be sold.

After talking for more than an hour, both parties agreed to submit the headhunting contract on Monday and provide the recommendation report as soon as possible.

Long Weihe thought of asking Li Xuan. She was in the field of business development and was very familiar with the market acquisition transaction dynamics. She might be familiar with this company.

When Li Xuan made the inquiring call, she asked how she had gotten to know this company. Shi Zhenglin had introduced her to the company's founder, an investor and co-founder who was planning to sell the company, and she had been working on this since she joined.

Long Weihe said directly that he would do their order now.

It's not a question of trust or not. Li Xuan signed a confidentiality agreement and she never communicates commercial confidentiality with non-related people. She said that she knew about this company, that its pipeline was good and it would not go bankrupt, so she could place orders with confidence, but she was not clear about other details.

When I got home, Lin Yao and Qian Duoduo were playing flying chess.

Seeing her come in, Lin Yao got up from the floor and said, "I've been playing children's chess with you all morning. If I keep playing, I'm going to become mentally retarded."

The game was halfway through and Qian Duoduo was very interested. He watched her stop playing and started to get a little mad.

When she explained the situation, Lin Yao said that no matter who introduced them, it was a win-win situation for all parties. IM was in a hurry to produce fruits and sell them for money, the buyers were waiting to eat the fruits, and Lin Heren was the supplier of ripened fruits, so everyone could eat good fruits. Just do it and find someone quickly.

Tan Ming was the only person capable of handling these positions; neither Song Yihui nor An Nan could do them. IM was desperate for help, so they planned to assign two of the positions to Tan Ming and then find people for the other two themselves.

It's not difficult; there are candidates in the talent pool, but it takes time to find someone to talk to. Long Weihe has contacted several people working in registration and regulatory affairs, and one of them is available tomorrow afternoon. That coincides with the class schedule sent by the skateboarding instructor. He had also reminded them in the group chat this morning.

In the past, she might have canceled tomorrow's meeting with the guy, but she hesitated.

Aunt Xu contacted her last night, saying she'd be taking Shi Shi to learn skateboarding the next day and politely asking what to prepare. She was surprised by how indifferent her parents were, unaware of helmets, knee pads, elbow pads, and other essentials for skateboarding. She reminded her to get these things. Aunt Xu was proactive, having probably bought them this morning and even sent them to her.

The little girl failed on her first attempt, but after thinking about it, she decided not to cancel. She made an appointment with the candidate at a cafe near her home to chat at a later time. She would go back after learning skateboarding, but she was in a hurry.

The next afternoon, around 3:00 PM, she took Qian Duoduo to the large open plaza in the park where they were learning skateboarding. Aunt Xu hadn't brought Shi Shi yet, so the young man took Qian Duoduo to stretch his limbs.

At about the same time, she saw someone from afar. It was Shi Zhenglin who was carrying a pile of things and leading Shi Shi over.

She always thought that it would be Aunt Xu who would accompany her.

"Sorry for the delay."

He came to her and looked into her eyes.

She went to see Shi Shi instead.

Even today, she still feels a sense of oppression and discomfort when he is near her, even when he is dressed casually and smiling.

The coach told him that the parking lot here is indeed far away, but this park square is a good place for children to learn skateboarding. If they are interested in learning more difficult skills in the future, they can go to the skate park.

The two children were very excited to see each other, and Qian Duoduo was eager to show off his steering and brakes to Shi Shi.

Shi Zhenglin praised him for being so good, put the skateboard on the ground, squatted down, opened the black equipment bag, and took out a helmet and knee pads for Shi Shi to wear.

In the past, Long Weihe would bring an adult skateboard and wait for boredom to set in, then learn from Qian Duoduo. Today, she reserved this time for chatting with the candidate. She stepped aside, stood in a corner of the square a few dozen meters away, and began to make a phone call.

He dressed Shi Shi, handed her to the coach, and glanced at Long Weihe who was hiding away.

The guy slid a few meters on his skateboard, did a cool dolphin jump, and then turned back and did a rear wheel slide. He always started with some tricks to stimulate Qian Duoduo's interest.

Qian Duoduo's mouth opened wide, and Shi Shi looked a little scared.

After showing off, he came back and told Qian Duoduo to practice braking by herself, while focusing his attention on Shi Shi. He first taught her about skateboards and familiarized her with their basic structure and functions, and then asked her to stand on the skateboard without doing any movements to feel the balance.

Shi Shi was scared. She panicked as soon as she stood up and squatted down with her legs bent.

The young man probably had no experience in dealing with a frightened little girl, so he advised her to be brave and try.

Qian Duoduo slid over and said, "Shi Shi, be brave. This is fun."

Shi Zhenglin didn't intend to interfere with the young man's teaching, so he just watched and looked at the person who was calling from time to time.

After Shi Shi was held by the boy and slid for two or three meters, she became frightened and said she didn't want to play anymore and wanted to get off the skateboard. The boy continued to encourage her to be brave, saying he wouldn't fall while holding her, and continued to pull her to try. She burst into tears and told Shi Zhenglin she didn't want to learn anymore and wanted to go home.

Shi Zhenglin carried her down and told her to wait and see how Qian Enming played. She could try again later if she felt like it. Perhaps she was frightened by the experience, worried that the boy would pull her up again, so she started crying again and demanded to go home. Qian Duoduo rushed over to try and persuade her, but to no avail.

The young man, who had promised to take care of both children, was now sweating profusely, scratching his head, and said to Shi Zhenglin, "The children are too young. How about we try again next time? Or I'll give you my money back."

The two men couldn't do anything to Shi Shi.

Long Weihe was on the phone, and the difficulties here were all visible to her. She also heard Shi Shi crying, so she hung up the phone and came over.

She asked the boy to bring a lot of money so that she could try.

"Auntie was also very scared when she played with it for the first time, thinking it would suddenly run away. But later I found that a skateboard is like a small pet. As you get familiar with it, it will listen to you obediently." She squatted in front of her to comfort her.

Shi Shi stopped crying and looked at her without saying a word.

Long Weihe pulled Shi Shi's skateboard over and said, "We can sit on it first and paddle it slowly like a boat. You hold my hand and make sure you don't fall. Let's try it? Just sit on it."

Shi Shi was willing to sit, with her butt on the skateboard and her feet on the ground, and she felt safe.

"Hold on tightly with your hands, he won't run away. We can try lifting our feet up, it will be less tiring."

She assisted her to lift the foot she was willing to lift, and bent over to pull her to slide.

"Isn't it fun? We can skate out a rainbow route, or a snake-shaped route—" She deliberately pulled the skateboard to create a slight drift, and Shi Shi's face showed some excitement.

"It's more fun when I stand up. Look how we play now that I'm not scared anymore."

She asked the boy for his skateboard, stepped on it and slid forward about ten meters, then turned back and looked at the person who had been silent with her. Her heart was hit hard.

Shi Shi no longer had a refusal expression. She helped her onto the skateboard and helped her stand firmly.

"Let's take it slow and steady, starting with a straight line. From now on, your pet will go wherever you want it to. Brother knows how to train it for you. He's a teacher, much better than Auntie. How about letting him teach you?"

Shi Shi nodded.