Chapter 64: Special Person
Early Saturday morning, Lin Yao took the subway to her college. Glancing around the car, she spotted several future classmates dressed like her, their T-shirts emblazoned with the college logo. She'd gotten a new haircut the night before: long, collarbone-length hair with wispy bangs. At her stylist's suggestion, she'd dyed it a honey brown. She checked her phone's selfie mode, feeling the color was too striking, and pulled her white baseball cap down. A new group had been created on her phone, discussing the division of labor for the next two days' activities. No one wanted to be team leader, with all the thankless work involved, so she took it. People who rely on connections have utilitarian goals, and they wanted to build relationships. They'd split up several classes and divided them into ten groups, each drawn from a different class—just what she wanted. She wanted value for money in her MBA program, and she wanted to find resources from within her class, from other classes, and from the entire alumni community. A group of about twenty people gradually arrived, and she added everyone on WeChat. While adding them, she chatted with them briefly, coordinating the division of labor like a pangolin. Their current activities were a popular pre-school orientation tradition at the college before each MBA class began, featuring competitions in business planning, micro-films, and sandbox management. Lin Yao's group consisted mostly of mature men and women in their thirties. She had a rough idea that most of them worked at law firms, the Big Four, and banks, with a small number of mid- and senior-level corporate employees, including one or two civil servants from the tax bureau or similar. Two people from her own class were in her group, coincidentally. One was Ruan Yiyan, who had provided her with information about the nursing home, and the other was someone she particularly cared about, Fang Qin, the HR director of a large appliance manufacturer. She was a bit older, about thirty-four or thirty-five. Most headhunters knew that Fang Qin's company had a significant annual headhunting budget. Ruan Yiyan sat next to her because she was taking the political science exam, and after adding her on WeChat, they often chatted and even provided information. Since they were in the same class and group, they naturally bonded, acting like old acquaintances, enthusiastically assisting her with her work. In the morning, there was an outdoor icebreaker game, a competition between groups. It was almost time, so Lin Yao picked the first group to go up, picking the men first. After a quick look, her eyes fell on the face of someone behind her. Lin Yuxun had arrived at some point and was standing to one side behind her. Everyone else was wearing the same printed T-shirts, but he was wearing his own, a strange presence. "Which group are you from? Your name isn't on my team," she asked sternly, as if she didn't know him. Everyone looked at him. "I'm from a different group, just here to observe and learn," he said. This answer would have caused protests from the group. Given the nature of the competition, the group had come together to discuss a winning strategy. Everyone was highly motivated, and they were going to compete for two days...
Early Saturday morning, Lin Yao took the subway to the college. She glanced around the car and saw several future classmates who were dressed like her, with the college logo printed on their T-shirts.
She got a new hairstyle last night, with long hair cut to the collarbone and light air bangs. At the hairstylist's instigation, she dyed her hair a honey brown color. She took a look at it in selfie mode on her phone and thought the color was too eye-catching, so she pushed her white baseball cap down.
A new group was created on my phone last night to discuss the division of labor for the next two days' activities. No one wanted to be the team leader, as it would require a lot of thankless work, so she took it. People who rely on connections for a living have utilitarian purposes, just to accumulate goodwill.
The students from several classes were split up into ten groups, each composed of people from different classes, which was exactly what she wanted. She wanted value for money in her MBA program, and she wanted to find resources from within her class, outside of it, and even from the entire alumni community.
There were more than 20 people in a group, and they arrived one after another. She added everyone on WeChat and chatted with everyone for a few words, coordinating the division of labor like a pangolin.
The activities they were currently running were a popular pre-sessional orientation tradition at the school before each MBA class began, featuring competitions in business planning, micro-film production, and sandbox management. Lin Yao's group consisted mostly of mature men and women in their thirties. She had a rough idea: most were from law firms, the Big Four, and banks, with a small number of mid-level and senior corporate executives and one or two civil servants from tax bureaus and other organizations.
There were two people in her class who were in her group. Coincidentally, one was Ruan Yiyan, who provided her with the nursing home information, and the other was someone who deserved her special attention, Fang Qin, the human resources director of a large home appliance manufacturer. She was a little older, about thirty-four or thirty-five.
Most headhunters know that Fangqin Company has a considerable headhunting budget every year.
Ruan Yiyan sat next to her because he was taking the political science exam. After adding her on WeChat, they often chatted and Ruan Yiyan also provided information help. They were in the same class and were assigned to the same group, so naturally they had a good relationship. He was like old acquaintances and enthusiastically helped her with her work.
In the morning, they played an outdoor icebreaker game, competing against each other. When the time was almost up, Lin Yao picked the first group to go up, picking out the men first. After a quick look, his eyes landed on the face of the man behind him.
Lin Yuxun had arrived at some point and was standing to one side behind her. Everyone else was wearing the same printed T-shirts, but he was wearing his own, a strange presence.
"Which group are you from? Your name is not in my group." She asked him seriously, as if she didn't know him.
Everyone looked at him.
"I'm from another group. I'm here to observe and learn," he said.
This answer would have caused protests from the group. Given the nature of the competition, the group had come together to discuss winning strategies. Everyone was highly motivated, eager to compete for a place in the two-day event.
"Spies, if you're not in the same group, don't come here to spy on the situation. Go back to your own group!"
I don’t know who in the Lin Yao group was joking, but I scolded him and he left.
"Lin Yuxun! Where's Lin Yuxun? Lin Yuxun! Go up, go up!"
Someone called him. It was the young boss of the business suit company, Sheniu Zhuang Fei. She was the leader of another group and had just met Lin Yao and said she wanted to fight her. Lin Yuxun must have been assigned to her group and was under her command.
He didn't know if he was unhappy with the people who scolded him for leaving, or if he was annoyed by Sheniuzhuang Feicha sending him, but he didn't respond in time. Seeing Lin Yao turned around and ignored him, he pushed the bottle of sports drink into her hand before walking away, "Drink water!"
Seeing what was going on, the other members of the group started to make a fuss, and Lin Yao blushed in front of everyone.
After he disappeared, she didn't see him playing games. She was too busy to care about him.
Each team was assigned two senior students as guides. Their role was to offer advice and provide guidance. Each year, registration was open to alumni, and spots were limited, so competition was fierce. One senior in Lin Yao's group was over an hour late, significantly impacting her team's performance.
Someone came and greeted her, "Hello, Team Leader! I'm late, sorry. I'm Tang Yi."
"Seniors are here. Our group is lagging behind. Please give us some guidance. Let's strive to be in the top three!" She took off her baseball cap.
It was scorching hot outside. She had just finished a campus orienteering competition, and had clocked in at several checkpoints. She'd been so aggressive with her time that her face flushed red. The other girls in her group had some free time, slacking off, hiding from the sun and applying layers of sunscreen. She was the unlucky team leader, shunning everyone and coordinating everything.
"No problem. Come on, come on!" Tang Yi was in seasoned mode.
He looked to be in his forties, a bit plump, with a cheerful face. He boasted that he signed up every year to be a mentor to the seniors, and that he had plenty of experience to ensure that their group would catch up.
The two added each other on WeChat and looked at each other's signatures, which were particularly dazzling under the sun.
Peers, competitors.
Tang Yi introduced himself, "I'm Yima Headhunter, specializing in manufacturing."
"I'm Lin He, and I work in the medical field." Lin Yao fanned his face with the hat in his hand.
A beautiful woman from another group glanced over from a distance. Tang Yi waved at her and leaned closer to Lin Yao and said, "That beautiful woman is also in the same industry. She works in manufacturing and the internet. She competed with me for orders before. We're old friends."
Lin Yao could tell from the color of the T-shirt she was wearing that she was also a senior guide.
She chuckled inwardly. Headhunters were everywhere, even in business school, with so many veterans hunting her, while she, a newbie, was still inexperienced.
Another senior sister who was serving as a guide came over to remind her, "It's our group's turn now. We need to go and get ready."
She walked a few meters with her senior student before looking back at Tang Yi. He'd just promised to help guide her to a good rank, but he hadn't even come along. Instead, he'd slid up to Fang Qin and tried to get close. He'd made the first move. Speechless, she thought, no wonder he'd stayed here for six years straight after graduation. His MBA was incredibly cost-effective, and he'd grabbed every resource from every class.
The competition in this group of games is relatively simple. It involves a man carrying a woman on his back while running 50 meters in a relay race while stepping on balloons. There is no strategy required. The thinner one carries the thinner one, and the stronger one carries the stronger one. It's purely for the fun of the atmosphere.
Lin Yuxun was wandering around and hadn't participated. Zhuang Fei couldn't coordinate him, so she ran over and said a few words to him, "Lin Yuxun, you come to play in a group, carry one on your back, and make a contribution."
“I can’t play.”
"Huh? Why can't you play? You are so big, you can run away with any beauty on your back." Zhuang Fei had a hard time coordinating people, and there was nothing he could do about him, so he raised his voice.
"I don't feel well." He said as he looked at Lin Yao, who was lying on the back of a male classmate on the grass, covering his mouth and laughing, having a great time.
He probably felt uncomfortable.
The boys had to carry the girls on their backs for a 50-meter run, a significant challenge. At the finish line, they had to step on balloons on the grass for one minute to count the time. Anyone who fell off midway lost points. Some teams would even throw themselves onto the grass while someone was running. This was a test of the boys' stamina, and everyone was laughing.
He said he was not feeling well, and everyone in the group heard it. They thought he was acting up and gave him the cold shoulder, ruining his popularity completely.
At noon in the cafeteria, Lin Yao was queuing up to get food. Tang Yi came over, took the tray and pulled her to the corner to eat together.
"I promise to give my all in the sand table this afternoon, and we have a chance of getting a good ranking. Sorry for the morning, I got a client, and I came here just for her." He was very direct.
"You mean Fang Qin? Did you know him before?"
"I don't know her. It's just a simple matter for some of my MBA classmates to dig out some information about her."
Fang Qin's company holds internal competitions every year, and an MBA is a plus for employees seeking promotion. Their internal training and learning system is transparent. If an employee is admitted to the business school's MBA program, they sign a service agreement and the company covers the hundreds of thousands of yuan in tuition—a valuable learning benefit. Every MBA class at this business school includes several people from their company.
"This Fang Qin took the exam for three years in a row and finally passed this year. I've been keeping an eye on her for three whole years before I finally caught her. It's so hard to get the orders from her." He shook his head. This is the meat I've been eyeing for a long time, so it's time for me to eat it. You should stop staring at me.
"Did you gain anything?" She was surprised that he still had such a long-term spirit.
"I specialize in manufacturing. I brought my resume to her and made an appointment to meet her at her company."
"Their company has a package deal, and you have a chance to get it, congratulations." She skimmed off the layer of chopped green onions on the surface of the soup bowl.
"Those of us in this business know this. Trying to close a deal now is like going on a pilgrimage. It's not a deal until the money arrives. You don't do manufacturing deals, do you?"
"Of course I'll do it if there's an order. Fang Qin is my classmate." She knew he was afraid she would snatch it away, so she deliberately frightened him.
He nodded and smiled, the spoon in his hand scraping against the stainless steel plate, "You can tell from the looks of it that this schoolgirl is suited to being a headhunter."
"I'm here to learn, and the rest is up to fate."
"You can't just leave it to chance. You can still get it by using some connections. The orders I got from alumni were several times the tuition."
"How do we dig? Senior, can you please guide me?"
"Honestly, in this kind of MBA program, recruiting candidates shouldn't be a problem. They've all been screened by the school, have high overall qualities, and most have a good image and temperament. If you're looking for general management positions like finance, HR, or strategy, you can pick any one you want. But don't count on recruiting clients; you'll be disappointed."
"Then where did you get the bill for several times the tuition?"
He paused and smiled mysteriously, "EMBA class."
"How do I contact you?"
"You'll get the hang of it. Many of our previous EMBA classes are in the pharmaceutical industry. Just work hard."
Lin Yao felt that he had just listened to a lot of nonsense, showing off his experience without explaining everything.
"Which alumni are working in medicine? Seniors, please share your experiences."
"State-owned enterprises such as Changyao, listed companies such as Anli Gene and Qimai Pharmaceutical all have them."
Lin Yao didn't feel anything after hearing these things. Except for the fact that they were trying to poach someone from Qi Mai, he had never had any contact with the other two companies before, but he had heard of them. There were not many positions available and the HR was difficult to deal with.
She asked, "Who is Qimai?"
"Boss Song Changhe, formerly from the EMBA Shenzhen class."
She had been looking at the resumes of the management team in Qimai's annual report the other day. He was indeed an alumnus. Now he was working to undermine him, and it was a company in Shenzhen. She had no interest in him personally.
"Junior sister, are you interested in considering cooperation?" He suddenly had an idea.
"What kind of cooperation?"
"I actually have some pharmaceutical client resources, but I stick to the manufacturing sector. Since you're also in the pharmaceutical business, how about splitting the orders? I'll introduce the pharmaceutical orders I've found to you. How about a 50-50 split?"
“Can we reach customers directly?”
"You are responsible for the candidate phase, and I will contact the client. We can sign an agreement. Of course, I just need the right person. I can do it whether you sign it personally or your company signs it." He reminded her that she could do private orders.
Lin Yao thought to himself, he'd rather part with half the money to buy resumes. Resources in the pharmaceutical industry must be so scarce, he simply can't find anyone. Providing him with candidates would essentially be selling him his own candidate pool. He'd cling to his client base, and while it might seem like both parties benefited, doing so long-term would only pave the way for him, the nominal supplier, to take over the pharmaceutical industry. Furthermore, there were numerous risks associated with information leaks, unclear division of labor and responsibilities, and inconsistent service standards and expertise.
She took out a tissue and handed it to him. "I won't consider that. If we're really considering cooperation, whoever places the order will have direct contact with the customer. We can consider another way to share orders. If you expand into the health industry, you can do it for me, and I'll expand into manufacturing, and I'll do it for you. Both of us will directly connect with customers. We can consider signing a long-term cooperation agreement, focusing on what we are good at, and working together."
Tang Yi smiled. "He's just a small headhunter. In this market, they just take orders and share the profits. Why would they want long-term cooperation?" He was about to say no when Lin Yuxun quietly sat down beside her, carrying a tray of food.
"Is this classmate in our group?" Tang Yi asked him.
"Can't people from different groups sit here?" He said in a harsh tone.
Tang Yi glanced at Lin Yao and said, "Sure, sure, sure. You guys chat. I'm done eating. Good luck everyone this afternoon!"
He took the plate and walked away.
"We were talking about business and you're interrupting us." She buried her head in her food.
"You're talking business with someone you just met today? What do you mean by not discussing my agreement?"
"It's nothing. We're all alumni. If he wants to discuss business, then let him discuss it. Your order is a bit special and unconventional. Isn't it normal to take a little longer to consider it?"
He turned to her and said, "Special? Am I someone special? Do I need to be treated specially?"
She glanced sideways at him.
She couldn't bear to look at his face. As soon as she saw him, she would remember that she had bitten him. She felt uncomfortable all over when she thought of him.
"Weird." She took the plate and walked away.
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