Zhu Laosan gave Fang Yang a detailed report on the situation of the music department. Only then did Fang Yang realize that the music department was now completely different from what it used to be. The composition department alone had more than 50 people. According to convention, each composer must submit a song every quarter. In the past six months, the company's song library has already had 70 or 80 songs. Among them, the majority are beginner songs, more than 50 songs, nearly 20 intermediate songs, and fewer advanced songs, less than 10.

Because Zheng Xiuli did not select any songs from the song library, the high-level songs were all taken by the six little devils who were originally designated as key trainees. They are currently working on rehearsing the songs. In addition, this summer, the company recruited more than a dozen recent graduates who are still in the learning stage and are being trained as trainees. Their training focuses on physical appearance, etiquette, handling news interviews, and professional singing skills.

"The music department is doing very well right now, but we must adhere to the principle of 'better to have none than to have bad ones' when it comes to recruitment. We must be very careful about the character of the people we recruit, and we must not let one bad apple spoil the whole bunch."

Fang Yang instructed Zhu Laosan that if a singer isn't easily recognizable, there's no need to recruit so many. He thought twenty-odd people were just right. Since they've been recruited, they should be properly trained. It's unacceptable to recruit people and then abandon them; that would be disrespectful to oneself and irresponsible to others.

"Don't worry, Mr. Fang. Although we always adhere to the business philosophy of treating people kindly, we won't be pushovers. Our department also has a set of effective performance evaluation systems. If you don't meet the requirements, parting ways amicably is the best outcome. As for that young man who was poached by someone else last time, although we didn't make things difficult for him, there's absolutely no chance he'll come back."

Fang Yang knew that someone in the company had been poached, but he hadn't asked about the specific reasons. Besides, it was just a new employee who hadn't been with the company for long, and Fang Yang didn't remember him at all, so he naturally didn't care. But now that Zhu Laosan brought it up himself, Fang Yang remembered it and asked curiously, "I've heard about this before. What exactly happened?"

Zhu Laosan laughed and said, "It's nothing much. After the New Year, the company recruited a senior music student and signed a trainee contract. This student had previously signed up for a music variety show in his own name. We saw that he had also signed a contract, so we let him fulfill the contract first. If the results are good, the company will also provide assistance."

Fang Yang asked curiously, "That's a good thing, so how did it end up with someone else poaching your talent?"

Zhu Laosan shook his head and sighed, "That's why young people these days are so impetuous and lack patience. This student is quite good-looking, very popular at school, and has solid fundamentals. That's what the company valued in him, which is why we signed him. But after gaining a little fame on that music variety show, he was intimidated by another company and wanted to break his contract with us. I saw that he was very determined, and he had only been with the company for a short time without costing us any resources. You can't force a melon to ripen, so we let him go without hesitation. Anyway, the company doesn't need another trainee."

Seeing Zhu Laosan's indignant look, Fang Yang said that although he said he didn't care, he probably felt a little embarrassed. He laughed and said, "Even if you have achieved some success, you haven't debuted yet. No matter which company you're in, you can't escape the fate of being a trainee."

Zhu Laosan clapped his hands and sighed, "That's exactly right! But this young man doesn't understand. He thinks that once he gains some fame on music variety shows, the company should coax him, improve his treatment, and give him a formal singer contract. After the company refused, he turned around and joined another company. The information I've heard is that this company saw that he had some fame, so they encouraged him to come to their company to terminate his contract and join their company. They even offered him a formal contract and a large signing bonus!"

Fang Yang was speechless. How much could a trainee like you possibly earn in signing fees? Fifty thousand? One hundred thousand? Sooner or later, it would all be deducted from your income.

"Since he's climbed up the social ladder, let's wish him success and not have any further contact with this kind of person."

Fang Yang didn't care. A company has thousands or even tens of thousands of employees, so it's normal for people to come and go. There's no such thing as a banquet that doesn't end.

Zhu Laosan chuckled and said, "I thought this matter was over, but I didn't expect that a while ago, around New Year's Day, this person wanted to invite me to dinner again. I didn't have the time, so I refused. I didn't expect that he would beg me so much, but I insisted on not going. In the end, he said on the phone that he wanted to come back. I don't know where he got the courage to say such a thing. Maybe it's because I'm usually too easy to talk to."

Fang Yang chuckled, "Perhaps the cost of leaving the company is too low, which allows these people to see the loopholes. But they will never think that these loopholes are actually a touchstone. Otherwise, we would never know who is truly loyal to the company."

Zhu Laosan laughed and said, "So that's what it means. I didn't understand it at first either. I thought that the company spends so much effort to cultivate a talent, which is not easy, but when an employee leaves, they can easily leave by just paying back the cost the company spent. Isn't the company cultivating talent for free?"

Fang Yang shook his head. "Every company has training methods. We're just wasting a little time. Besides, the world has no shortage of talent. Only those who can make the best use of their talents are truly talented; otherwise, they're just mediocre."

Zhu Laosan chuckled and said, "A boss is a boss. His mindset is beyond what ordinary people can match. Speaking of which, you're only twenty-three years old now, right? You look like an old fox at first glance, and you can never tell how deep you are."

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