Amidst a chorus of cheers, Meng Hao and Cheng Hua continued their leisurely stroll and serious discussions within the Huatong Industrial Park.
"Uncle Cheng Hua, you need to pay close attention to the expansion of our staff!"
"Also, scout for any existing factories that we can acquire through mergers and acquisitions... Acquiring other factories will definitely be more cost-effective than building our own production lines."
Despite Meng Hao currently having 1.3 billion in his account, which seemed like a substantial sum, it was merely a small figure when faced with mature industrial production lines capable of supporting later industrial upgrades.
In the automotive industry, for example, establishing a fully functional production base with mature four major processes would cost at least 5 to 10 billion yuan. Even if Meng Hao settled for less and acquired factories that had failed in industrial upgrades or been phased out, the cost would still be over a billion yuan.
Furthermore, Meng Hao's call to develop Huatong Industrial's latest product was essentially equivalent to an automobile manufacturer developing a new car, requiring an investment of no less than 500 million yuan. Even though Meng Hao's technical blueprints were directly redeemed from the system mall, the subsequent complex processes such as resetting machine tool data, optimizing production lines on a large scale, and refining module parts would still necessitate an investment of at least two to three hundred million yuan.
This illustrated how large-scale industrial production was extremely capital-intensive, and it was no wonder that modern industry was hailed as the backbone of a nation.
Towards the end of their conversation, Meng Hao brought up the issue of sales channels.
"Uncle Cheng Hua, I think Qin Muyan is a good candidate. Let's bring her to our offline operations!"
"Transition her from short-term employment to long-term hiring. Her base salary can be slightly lowered, around twenty thousand yuan would be appropriate... However, we can set performance bonuses and commission for sales, which would bring her monthly salary to over fifty thousand yuan."
Fifty thousand yuan a month? To hire a fresh graduate? This price would likely attract many big streamers. Their young boss was truly extravagant.
However, Cheng Hua had observed the girl named Qin Muyan a few times. She was indeed quite attractive. Fifty thousand yuan a month was indeed expensive for hiring a streamer. But if it were to "keep" a beautiful and professional female college student, it could be considered worth the price.
"Yes, Qin Muyan is indeed attractive. If the young boss doesn't plan to get married in the next few years, having a beautiful woman by his side wouldn't be bad..."
Seeing Cheng Hua's increasingly lecherous gaze, Meng Hao quickly placed his hand on his forehead, interrupting his wild thoughts.
"Uncle Cheng Hua."
"I simply feel that Qin Muyan is a good girl. When the entire internet was criticizing us as a military enterprise, she still endorsed our products despite the risk of being taken away for questioning!"
"Besides, this girl already has over a million followers. Although we helped her gain that traffic, replacing her at this moment would surely cause unrest in the livestreaming room."
"Whether it's to continue promoting that Huatong Industrial is not a military enterprise, or to continue building our strong brand image, I believe this girl is quite qualified and competent!"
Oh? Is that how it is? Cheng Hua glanced at Meng Hao sideways, half-believing, half-doubtful, and finally said nothing. Young people... it's not wrong for them to have their own ideas. He had been young too. He knew the saying that life is wasted without youthful romance! Alright. Since the young boss said so, let's humor him and believe him for now.
...
Qin Muyan's heart was pounding. She had never dreamed that she would be livestreaming for a company suspected of being a military factory. If not for the fifty thousand yuan from Meng Hao quietly sitting in her account, she would have suspected it was all a dream.
Mechs. Although Huatong Industrial's boss, Meng Hao, insisted they were large-scale collectible toys... from any angle, this mech, except for the absence of weapons, completely surpassed any top foreign military robot she knew of.
Selling products, she actually had a video call with a Major General from the Bear Country live on stream... Even though she didn't know the exact rank of a Major General from the Bear Country, he was definitely a high-ranking official.
Livestreaming. This was even more astonishing. In just a few days, she had gone from being an obscure, eighteenth-tier streamer with fewer than three thousand fans to a first or second-tier streamer with a million followers in the blink of an eye... As a science and engineering major, Qin Muyan understood that both the money and fame were brought by Meng Hao.
After the livestream ended, Qin Muyan clasped her hands together, like a blooming flower, holding her incredibly beautiful, "first love" face high.
"Brother Hao clearly said that Huatong Industrial is a law-abiding private enterprise and not a military company!"
"Brother Hao, if they were really producing military equipment, they would have been arrested long ago. How could they still be hiring me!"
"Brother Hao, he's so handsome, how could he lie!"
"Brother Hao... If only I could interact with Brother Hao more often, then I could get to know what kind of person he truly is!"
There is an ancient saying in Da Xia: What is constantly thought of will eventually come to pass. Whether it was her girlish infatuation or her love for the violent aesthetic of modern industry like mechs, Qin Muyan had been in a daze for hours since the livestream ended, doing nothing but daydreaming.
Just as she was lost in thought, her phone rang. It was an unknown number. She answered the call that rudely interrupted her romantic fantasies with a relatively normal tone.
"Hello, who is this?"
On the other end of the line was a voice that sounded around forty to fifty years old, yet remarkably gentle.
"May I speak to Qin Muyan?"
"This is Huatong Industrial. I am Cheng Hua, the administrative vice president responsible for personnel and hiring. I am calling you today to presumptuously seek your opinion on a matter!"
Huh? Huatong Industrial? Isn't that Brother Hao's company? This administrative vice president, Cheng Hua, must have been asked by Brother Hao to contact her! Could it be that heaven had truly heard her prayers and intended for her to meet Brother Hao offline for a rendezvous?
"Cheng Hua? Oh no, Director Cheng... uh, Manager Cheng?!"
Her thoughts were so jumbled that they manifested in her incoherent speech during the phone conversation. Hearing Qin Muyan's bewilderment and lack of clarity, Cheng Hua chuckled.
"Miss Qin Muyan, you don't need to be so formal... If you don't mind, you can call me Uncle Cheng Hua, just like our young boss Meng Hao!"
Huh? Call him "Uncle Cheng Hua" like Meng Hao? This sounded like he was intentionally trying to get closer! Could it be... Brother Hao really fancies me?
Suppressing the turmoil within her and controlling her wild thoughts, Qin Muyan regained the composure she had when facing the camera during her livestream.
"Okay."
"Uncle Cheng Hua."
"If there's anything you need to discuss, please don't hesitate to speak."