"This Ma Jue fellow seems different from the one in the news!" Boss Huang mused inwardly, looking at Ma Jue across from him.
Though Ma Jue was indeed the same person, his demeanor had completely transformed, giving off an aura of pleasant warmth. Despite his ordinary looks, he exuded a comfortable presence, which explained why Madam Hu approved of him and actively set up this blind date for her daughter.
Ma Jue’s interactions with Hu Jing were also exceptionally proper. Even Boss Huang himself couldn't find fault with his conduct. That is, until Ma Jue suddenly asked, "Miss Hu, you work at Jiangnan Group, correct?"
"How do you know I work at Jiangnan Group?" Hu Jing asked, surprised. She hadn't mentioned her workplace.
"I saw you in your Jiangnan Group's promotional materials!" Ma Jue replied with a smile. "Your group came to our school for campus recruitment back then, and there were many materials from your group. I vaguely recall a photo that seemed to have your image, so I became curious and asked!"
"Yes, I work at Jiangnan Group. Is there a problem?" Hu Jing retorted.
"No, of course not. I'm just very curious, have you met that Boss Huang He?" Ma Jue inquired.
"I have, but not every day!" Hu Jing stated calmly. Boss Huang, listening nearby, raised an eyebrow. How could Hu Jing lie like that? He saw her every day.
Oh, wait, that wasn't quite right. Today she had taken leave to go on a blind date, so indeed, he hadn't seen her until now.
"Then may I ask, what kind of person do you think Chairman Huang He is?" Ma Jue continued his questioning.
"Just someone slightly smarter than the average person!" Hu Jing frowned but still answered. This response greatly displeased Boss Huang. Was he merely "slightly smarter than average"? Who created the massive Jiangnan Group?
"Miss Hu, your standards are indeed high. In my opinion, Mr. Huang is the greatest person in the world! He changed the latter half of my life from my current position!" Ma Jue sighed with immense emotion. "That's why, after confirming you were an employee of Jiangnan Group, I couldn't help but ask."
"Is that so?" Both Hu Jing and Huang He, standing behind her, became interested. Hu Jing then said, "I seem to recall that besides the regular blind box business, our group doesn't have any other operations in Yunnan, does it? Chairman should not have had any impact on you!"
"Don't tell me you suddenly had an epiphany after watching Boss Huang's speech or something and changed your life!"
"No, definitely not. I don't think I've ever heard Chairman Huang's speeches either, shamefully. Chairman Huang literally changed my life with money!" Ma Jue said, falling into thought. "I remember when I first started university, my state was very poor. My family was heavily in debt, and they had borrowed a lot of money just to afford my tuition. However, my personality was quite extreme at the time; I cared a great deal about what others thought of me, and my emotional intelligence wasn't high. As a result, I wasn't liked by teachers or classmates. I failed to get elected as a class officer, and I also failed to receive scholarships."
"Later, I took on a part-time job. But because I discovered some shady dealings in the kitchen and offered suggestions to the owner for improvement, I was fired and had half a month's wages deducted. And I had only worked for half a month in total at that time!"
"I dare not imagine what my mindset was back then. It was very, very bad. This state persisted for two years until 2003, when everything suddenly changed!" Ma Jue stated.
"03?" Hu Jing recalled. She had only joined Jiangnan Group in 2003, so she didn't seem to remember any major projects the company had in Yunnan that year.
Boss Huang, who had been eavesdropping, also recalled. In 2003, he didn't seem to have taken any action in Yunnan, nor had he established any scholarships or anything similar. He shouldn't have had any impact on Ma Jue.
"It's about that senior named Tong He. You must know about him, right?" Ma Jue chuckled.
"Tong He, I know of him! But we're not close!" Hu Jing nodded. She wasn't close with Tong He, only occasionally going to the laboratory to complete tasks for Boss Huang and clean up Tong He's experimental messes.
In the span of two years, Tong He had already caused 13 experimental accidents. He himself was mostly unharmed, perhaps a cut on his thigh at most. However, two of his researchers had died in the line of duty, and over twenty others had been hospitalized. He was constantly conducting extremely dangerous experiments to explore the material possibilities of black gold. Furthermore, he liked to be at the forefront, which forced his researchers to follow suit, as their boss was leading the charge, and they couldn't very well hide behind high-strength glass. This resulted in frequent experimental accidents.
However, Tong He's achievements were also remarkable. He had invented hundreds of materials with breakthrough effects, and his bonuses at Jiangnan Group had exceeded fifty million. Since all these research findings had to be reported to the state, Tong He was on a key list and under special protection. Although he was still a bit young to enter the Chinese Academy of Sciences, he had already been recognized as a top-tier expert by the State Council and even held his own official position. Years later, when Tong He's achievements were declassified, he would undoubtedly be a top figure in materials science in China, with no one able to surpass him.
"That was a time of great despair for me. I was betrayed by my advisor. The achievement I researched was taken by my advisor."
"Although this is a common practice in schools, the convention is to at least give me credit, and also help me obtain a scholarship. Otherwise, who would genuinely be willing to do free work for these advisors?"
"But because I didn't know how to please people, my advisor disliked me and withheld everything I was entitled to. I didn't dare to resist, unless I didn't want to graduate smoothly. So, my mindset was very poor at the time, until I saw Senior Tong He's story. I then realized that a student could also achieve such things!"
"So, I wrote a letter to Senior Tong He describing my plight, and surprisingly, he replied with encouragement, which greatly improved my mood! He also wrote a letter to our school, and my school approved my scholarship, which greatly improved my living situation!" Ma Jue continued.
"I see. But according to what you've said, you should be thanking Tong He. What does it have to do with Huang He?" Hu Jing asked, puzzled.
"Heh, most people would think so. But Senior Tong He told me that he himself was as bad at dealing with people as I was. If he hadn't met Chairman Huang He, his life would have been a complete mess, and he wouldn't have had the opportunity to help me. So, in the end, it was Chairman Huang He who saved me!" Ma Jue said.
Hu Jing pursed her lips at this, while Boss Huang showed a slight smile. It seemed his affection for Tong He hadn't been in vain.
"However, based solely on Senior Tong He's one-sided account, I wouldn't feel that grateful to Chairman Huang. What truly made me grateful to Chairman Huang was something else!" Ma Jue continued.
"Oh? And what was that?" Hu Jing asked curiously.
"It was his impact on the entire industry! He gave all of us who had capabilities more opportunities to prove and practice our worth!" Ma Jue stated.
"Are you speaking so grandly?" Hu Jing replied, seemingly a little dismissive.
"No, Miss Hu, since you are a member of Jiangnan Group, you must know about the Jiangnan Group's Electronic Technology Industry Development Alliance, right?" Ma Jue asked.
"Yes, I certainly know about that!" Hu Jing nodded.
"Actually, even before this alliance began, the situation was already different. It was also in 03 when Jiangnan Group came to our school for campus recruitment. However, it was targeted towards students from the Electronics and Computer Science departments. At that time, the school recommended a batch of students. But it's laughable what those students said. They might have had capabilities, but their abilities were in how to please teachers, how to use student unions to manage students, or how to help the school suppress dissenting student opinions."
"In our words, these people were social climbers, not true students. Yet, such students were recommended by the school to enter some excellent companies and achieve bright futures. On the other hand, students who focused on their studies and had strong learning abilities found it difficult to get good jobs."
"But during Jiangnan Group's campus recruitment, they rejected all the students recommended by the school, without any interviews. It was a written test that directly screened out those with genuine knowledge and academic prowess. Then, it's said that these seniors at Jiangnan Group were all earning monthly salaries of over ten thousand, working on various research projects, and their lives were infinitely better than those recommended students!"
"From that point on, I noticed a shift in the school's ethos. Students no longer focused on how to add social experience to their resumes; instead, the academic atmosphere became much more vibrant."
"However, this didn't really concern me, a biology student, as Jiangnan Group was the only company recruiting in this manner. But after the Electronic Technology Industry Development Alliance was established, the style of recruitment adopted by companies visiting various schools also changed. Even state-owned enterprises altered their practices, focusing purely on academic performance."