Ban Mingzhi's cybersecurity company expanded rapidly, reaching five hundred employees within a year, half of whom were senior experts. Ban Mingzhi did not disclose the company's revenue, but the average salary for his employees was two hundred thousand per month, hinting at its immense profitability. After becoming a giant in cybersecurity, Ban Mingzhi was not content and aggressively broadened the company's business scope. Within two years, he established over a dozen subsidiaries, venturing into gaming, social software, online payments, and more.
Many years later, the two giant network companies founded by Ban Mingzhi and Liu Heyu would engage in a fierce business war, becoming fated rivals.
Benefiting from Jiang Ye's large-scale investments, many entrepreneurs were incubated in the private sector this year. While they had not yet gained prominence, time would grant them success.
The names of some individuals would remain household names for years to come. For instance, Hong Chaoyu, the founder of Pingbei Beverage Group, was diligently researching children's drink formulations overnight. Her husband had died in a spaceship accident two years prior, leaving Hong Chaoyu to raise their two sons alone. At this moment, her greatest dream was to earn enough money for her sons to buy houses and get married. She never imagined that a colossal group with an annual output value exceeding one trillion was being born in her hands.
In a dilapidated factory on the outskirts of Petroleum City, the slender Qi Qian was enforcing employee discipline. She had established "Twelve Iron Rules," with violators subject to immediate dismissal. The first rule stated, "No defecating or urinating within the factory premises," which was not a joke, as the factory corners were stained with urine. Many years later, dozens of planets would bear witness to the astonishing energy within Qi Qian's small frame. Her Snail Protein Company would become a leader in the health supplement industry, with over two billion households holding membership cards for Snail Company.
Zhao Longxin, who would later found Longxin Lighting Factory, was currently delivering food in Binhai City. A year later, he would receive fifty thousand in investment from Jiang Ye, and ten years later, his income for a single second would exceed his entire month's earnings from his current endeavors.
Alien immigrant Joyce Tang had just arrived on Jiang Ye Star. Due to a mistake in his spaceship ticket purchase, his first night on Jiang Ye Star was spent on a park bench. From the bench, he could see the electronic billboard across the street, featuring a photo of Jiang Ye encouraging entrepreneurship. Many years later, Joyce Tang's construction company would achieve the feat of building one thousand city parks, and perhaps intentionally, each city park would feature many comfortable park benches.
Kelly Morey was a small-time hoodlum in the slums of Lantian City, with green-dyed hair. He was frequently arrested for fighting and theft, becoming well-acquainted with the beat cop. Kelly Morey's only talent was storytelling; he used it to deceive girls and borrow money. Realizing his talent, he began using the beat cop's office printer to print his stories, which he then sold on the street for three yuan per chapter. His first print run of twenty copies sold out in half an hour. His second run of sixty copies also sold out quickly.
A few days later, people began stopping Kelly Morey on the street, asking if he had the latest chapters of his stories.
Kelly Morey stopped focusing on fighting and theft, spending his days at the beat cop's office printing stories. Seeing his reform, the beat cop generously gifted him the printer. Kelly Morey soon gained a large readership in the city. He used his earnings to buy dozens of printers, which he operated day and night, selling them packed in sacks. Someone recommended he start an online account to serialize his work and set up paid articles. Kelly Morey was amazed that stories could be sold in this manner. Years later, his Morey Culture Group went public, encompassing an online novel company, a publishing house, an advertising company, a cultural tourism company, and a film company, employing a host of well-known writers.
Many years later, Kelly Morey wrote in his autobiography: "I never received a day of formal training. The reason I can write stories that captivate people is because I have met people from all walks of life. I once had the honor of dining with General Jiang, listening to him recount the weariness of planetary leaders. I have also had heart-to-heart talks with street vagrants, hearing about the garbage heaps in the city where one could find intact hamburgers."
In addition to privately emerging entrepreneurs, Jiang Ye Star soon saw the rise of entrepreneurs with official backgrounds, particularly those from the military. Their businesses were often linked to the planet and they followed directives from Jiang Ye, akin to the "red-crowned merchants" of ancient times.
Qiao Junyuan, just over thirty, retired with the rank of company commander. He had just returned from the battlefield on the exile planet. During an alley fight, his right hand had been broken, and he had lost so much blood that he had fallen unconscious. After being transported to a rear hospital, his hand was restored using a medical pod's printing technology. However, in the days that followed, Qiao Junyuan claimed he often couldn't feel his right hand. Although he could still move it freely and had sensation, the hand always felt foreign to him.
Medical examinations of Qiao Junyuan's new hand revealed no issues. Therefore, this "phantom limb syndrome" was considered a psychological ailment. Amputees often continue to feel the presence of their missing limbs for a long time, but Qiao Junyuan's psychological experience was the exact opposite. Perhaps the brutal alley fighting had caused him indelible psychological trauma. The exile planet battlefield produced many soldiers with psychological scars, and Qiao Junyuan's situation was not uncommon.
Doctors prescribed medication for Qiao Junyuan, but he claimed it had no effect, and he often forgot that his hand had been healed. This psychological condition caused Qiao Junyuan to lose confidence in remaining in the military. How could a disabled person firmly hold a weapon? He voluntarily resigned, retired to Jiang Ye Star, and was assigned to a small military factory as a work team leader, with a monthly salary of forty-three thousand.
Qiao Junyuan possessed the meticulous traits of someone from a military background. Every evening after work, he would go to the city library to read various management books, applying the knowledge he gained to his workgroup. Within months, Qiao Junyuan's workgroup achieved a zero defect rate and tripled its output, alerting the military factory's senior management. He was appointed director of the warship parts factory. Within a short year, Qiao Junyuan established his own parts processing company, supplying the military on one hand and developing civilian products for sale to alien planets on the other.
Many years later, Jiang Ye visited a space city on a distant alien planet. In a repair factory, he encountered parts boxes bearing Qiao Junyuan's company logo – not just a few boxes, but an entire warehouse full.
...
Another winter arrived, and Jiang Ye Star was once again covered in snow.
Jiang Ye sat at home, holding a cup of hot tea and watching the holographic projection, occasionally reaching out to approve documents submitted by his subordinates.
Suddenly, a call indicator appeared.
It was Isabel calling.
Jiang Ye made a gesture in the air, connecting the call, "Hello?"
"I had a flash of inspiration and plan to establish an investment institution specifically for investing in local entrepreneurs on the exile planet, to promote commercial prosperity there," Isabel stated directly. "I wanted to pick your brain. Are there any particular things I should pay attention to?"
"Flash of inspiration, my foot. Aren't you just imitating me?" Jiang Ye laughed.