As Liu Yong witnessed his former good partner, Huang Guang, not doing well, he felt a slightly tug at his heartstrings.
The company they had both previously worked for was facing some turbulence, but Universal Corporation, Liu Yong's current enterprise, was experiencing a period of rapid development.
With an abundance of Song Dynasty porcelains in their possession, the funds were becoming even more substantial, propelling Universal onto the fast development track.
As the company's success grew, Liu Yong realized they needed a significant influx of talented individuals to sustain their momentum. This realization led him to think of his old classmate, Huang Guang.
Despite the troubles that Huang Guang had faced in his current company, Liu Yong knew he was a talented worker and decided to extend an olive branch to him.
"Old classmate, my company is in need of people. How about you come and help me? After you come here, let's start as a manager, how about it?" Liu Yong proposed to Huang Guang.
Liu Yong's offer took aback Huang Guang. He had heard correctly, right? Universal Corporation was worth billions, and Huang Guang couldn't believe that Liu Yong had asked him to be a manager.
"Manager?" Huang Guang repeated, surprised and pleased at the same time.
Being a manager was a massive promotion from his current employment status.
The employee levels at Universal were similar to other companies, with staff, supervisors, managers, department managers, and executives being some of the higher-level positions.
Huang Guang had just missed promotion to supervisor at his current company and was still just an employee. Accepting the position at Universal would mean being promoted to two levels.
Huang Guang couldn't help but feel excited at the opportunity.
"Brother Yong, really let me go to be a manager?" he asked again.
Liu Yong assured him, "Let's start with the manager. If you perform well, you can be promoted. Our company's promotion process is very fast. I hope that you will be able to reach the top of the company in a few years."
This promise of rapid career advancement was something that Huang Guang had never experienced before. He couldn't believe his ears. He had never dared to dream about being a senior executive, but now it seemed like a possibility.
Liu Yong added, "Come and work with me, Hu Shijun is at Universal now, but he is now the executive deputy general manager."
Hearing that his friend, Hu Shijun, was also working at Universal Corporation greatly relieved Huang Guang.
He didn't need to hesitate any longer. "Old Hu is also with you? That's great! I will go to the company to resign tomorrow and buy a plane ticket to Huahai City," he said decisively.
Over a sumptuous meal, the two old friends reminisced about their college days and caught up on each other's lives. The conversation was lighthearted and went on for more than two hours.
The following day, Liu Yong woke up early, and after having breakfast, he set out to go to the sunken ship again. Before leaving, he called Ding Wen.
When Ding Wen answered the phone, he greeted Liu Yong, "Brother Yong, hello."
Liu Yong wasted no time and said, "Brother, there is work to do."
Ding Wen was thrilled to hear from Liu Yong, "Brother Yong, just give orders."
Liu Yong instructed, "Call some trustworthy people and immediately drive a large truck to my seaside warehouse. There are at least 20,000 pieces of Song porcelain, gold wares, and coins from the Song Dynasty in it."
Ding Wen was astonished by the sheer quantity, "What! There are really more than 20,000 pieces of Song porcelain!!"
Even though Liu Yong had mentioned that there would be 20,000 to 30,000 pieces of Song porcelain, Ding Wen was still taken aback by the news, and it took him a while to recover.
Liu Yong reminded him, "Remember, this matter must be kept strictly confidential. The people selected must be trustworthy and must keep the matter to themselves."
"Brother Yong, I see."
After a brief conversation, Liu Yong headed towards the sunken ship while Ding Wen went to the warehouse.
Liu Yong trusted Ding Wen entirely and gave him the key to the warehouse before coming to Nanhai Province.
Bawang had made another trip last night and sent all the more than one hundred baskets of Song porcelain, including the gold wares and coins that Liu Yong had moved out of the boat, to the seaside warehouse in Huahai City.
Liu Yong was driving the speedboat toward the sunken ship while Ding Wen went with his team toward the warehouse. They reached the warehouse in an hour while Liu Yong was still on his way, at least an hour away.
As they opened the warehouse door, Ding Wen was in awe. The large plastic baskets were piled up in the open space of the warehouse, and each basket was wrapped with several layers of transparent plastic bubble film.
Ding Wen couldn't hold back his excitement and quickly exited the car. He walked towards the Song porcelain, looking and examining each one of them. There was no doubt that each plastic basket contained a piece of porcelain.
Several people on the truck also got off, and Ding Wen instructed,
pαпdα`noνɐ1`сoМ "Open the door and move all these things into the truck. Be careful. It's full of porcelain, don't damage it."
"Don't worry, boss."
"We'll be careful."
One by one, Ding Wen's trusted confidantes rolled up their sleeves and began loading boxes of delicate porcelain onto the waiting truck with utmost care.
As they lifted the baskets, they noticed each one was damp, as if freshly plucked from the sea. Although this struck them as peculiar, they remained silent and focused on the task.
Working together seamlessly, the group loaded all the precious cargo onto the truck in just over an hour. Ding Wen's heart swelled with excitement and disbelief, feeling like he was in a dream. "Brother Yong said there were 20,000 to 30,000 pieces, and indeed, there are," he exclaimed in amazement.
With the truck fully loaded, they returned to the company, where they would meticulously clean, sort, and catalog the valuable porcelain. Soon, the exhibition hall would be adorned with various exquisite Song porcelain, creating a magnificent display.
Meanwhile, Liu Yong returned to the sunken ship and resumed the backbreaking work of extracting basket after basket of porcelain from the wreckage.
As he worked, he couldn't help but think that the previous estimate of 20,000 to 30,000 pieces seemed too conservative; it was likely closer to 40,000 to 50,000.
Huang Guang, an employee at a small trading company with less than 100 staff, spent the start of his day penning a resignation report instead of focusing on his daily responsibilities.
Within half an hour, he had finished the report and was ready to hand it to his boss.
However, before he could leave his desk, a voice behind him called out,
"Huang Guang, what's the matter? You haven't even finished this small task yet?"
....................
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