Chapter 67

"Mom, this is actually very simple. To start a company, the first step is to handle the procedures. I can give you a few numbers of consulting agencies, and you can entrust the task of handling the procedures to them. We just need to pay a commission, and it’s not a big deal. I’ve already made the necessary arrangements with the city officials. We are patriotic people who have donated two national treasures to the country, so we can get special treatment, and many procedures can be skipped."

"As for the specific setup of the company, it’s not difficult either. You and Aunt can each hire a personnel manager to handle recruitment, and an administrative manager to handle miscellaneous tasks. You can delegate all matters to these two people."

"Ah? Then can’t we just be absentee owners?" Lin Ruxue asked in surprise.

"Of course not. You need to review the work of the managers under you, and provide timely criticism or praise to make them respect and fear you. That’s what makes a good leader."

Li Ting nodded and said, "I understand what my brother means. When you have time, go and scold them a bit to keep them in line. You don’t need to worry about anything else."

"What do you know!" Lin Ruyu shot her daughter a glance.

"Xiaoting is right. If you really don’t know how to manage, you can go and inspect things when you have time and scold them a bit. Just be careful not to let them know that you don’t understand anything or lack leadership experience. If you do, they will look down on you and take you less seriously. In ancient times, people found that the efficiency of ten workers supervised by one foreman was much higher than that of twenty workers without a foreman. Do you know why? It’s because the foreman had a whip. You are my foremen, so don’t let the workers know that you can’t even use a whip!"

Li Yi knew that management required a balance of kindness and authority. His mother and aunt had gentle personalities, so the kindness part was not a concern. The only thing to consider was whether they could establish their authority, so he gave them a heads-up.

Lin Ruxue said, "You make it sound easy, but starting a company isn’t that simple. Who to hire as the manager, whether they are trustworthy, how much to pay them, and how capable they are, we have no idea. What if they don’t work hard after being hired? Can we really keep scolding them?"

"Who to hire as the manager is entirely up to you. Choose whoever you like; you are the general manager. As for the salary, it’s also up to you. As long as they are talented, any salary is fine; I’ll take care of the money. If they don’t work hard or don’t meet your expectations, scold them once, and if that doesn’t work, just fire them. The company is ours, not theirs."

Lin Ruyu chuckled and tapped Li Yi’s head, "You keep saying it’s simple. What if you give the work to me and your aunt, who know nothing, and we end up wasting all your money?"

Lin Ruxue nodded, "Exactly, I have no idea what to do. Xiaoyi, I think we should just save the money in the bank and live off the interest."

Li Yi said, "Just go for it. It’s okay to make mistakes; this is just practice for you. If you can’t even manage a small company, how will you handle bigger things in the future?"

Lin Ruyu said, "Your aunt and I don’t plan to do big things. I also want to save the money in the bank and live off the interest."

Li Yi saw that his mother and aunt looked worried and couldn’t help but laugh, "Alright, this time I’ll take charge of everything, and you two can learn. Next time, you’ll have to take the lead."

Li Ting said, "What do you know? What can you manage?"

Li Yi shot Li Ting an annoyed glance, "I’ve learned a lot in the future world and am very capable! It’s fine to talk like this at home, but in front of others, you must not undermine my dignity, understand?"

Li Ting wanted to argue but thought about how her brother was different now. She rolled her eyes and said, "Whatever, like anyone cares. I won’t even talk to you in front of others."

Li Yi picked up a laptop and opened it, "Mom, Aunt, let’s start with the first task. These three are the largest consulting agencies in the city, and they can handle the business registration and other procedures. I’ll call them and have their business managers come to talk to you. Your job is to compare the three companies and give me a reference on which one to choose. Is that clear?"

"Look at you, acting like you’re someone important, making their managers come to talk to us. Who do you think you are?" Lin Ruyu laughed lightly.

"Mom, you work in the hospital and don’t understand these business matters. I am a big client they will never encounter in their lives. If they serve me well, the commission will be enough for their five to six years of income. Unless their managers are brain-dead, they won’t refuse."

Lin Ruxue said with some concern, "Xiaoyi, you have tens of billions, which is enough for ordinary people, but if you run a business like this, it’s hard to say how much investment will be needed to see results. I think we should be more frugal. We don’t necessarily need to find the best consulting agency."

"Ha, Aunt, you don’t need to worry about that. In a few days, our money won’t just be tens of billions, but hundreds of billions, trillions, and you won’t be able to spend it all!"

Lin Ruyu asked in surprise, "What do you mean? Do you have more antiques to sell?"

Li Yi said, "Antiques are just pocket money. The money problem needs to be solved with money. Just think of yourselves as billionaires. Even if you spend a billion, I’ll get you another billion."

"Look at you, acting so capable!" Lin Ruxue pouted, finding it hard to believe. But for some reason, she felt it might be true.

The current Li Yi was indeed hard to fathom.

"By the way, Mom, how’s the anti-cancer drug project going?" Li Yi asked.

"The paper is fully understood and has been submitted to the Chinese Medical Journal. The patent application materials are also ready, and I’m about to apply!" Lin Ruyu said happily.

As a doctor, she wasn’t intimidated by these tasks, but Li Yi frowned slightly when he heard her.

"Mom, you can directly give the patent application to the agency to handle, so you don’t have to run around. As for the submission, did you submit it to a domestic journal?"

Lin Ruyu nodded, "Of course, Chinese achievements should be published in Chinese journals. Don’t think I’m favoring foreigners!"

Li Yi shook his head, "I’m not favoring foreigners, but I think other journals are more authoritative and can better benefit humanity."

Lin Ruyu said stubbornly, "The Chinese Medical Journal is one of the top medical journals in China, with significant influence. A cancer-specific drug will cause a big stir. Publishing it in a domestic journal will improve the impact factor of domestic journals and boost national pride. Not every achievement needs to be announced to foreigners first!"

"Alright, as you wish." Li Yi smiled slightly.

At the same time, in the editorial office of the Chinese Medical Journal, the chief editor, Zhen Gongzheng, was carefully reviewing the list of articles to be published.

"Chief Editor Zhen, this is Professor Hu’s manuscript, which must be the first article in the next issue," Secretary Wang said beside him.

"What a mess, completely useless," Zhen Gongzheng frowned.

Wang said, "Professor Hu is an authority in internal medicine. We asked him eight times before he finally wrote this..."

"Ah, fine, put it first," Zhen Gongzheng sighed.

Wang continued, "The second article in the next issue is about a new drug from Zhili Province."

"Is this even a real achievement? Are you sure it’s not a mistake?" Zhen Gongzheng asked.

Wang whispered, "The author is the nephew of Director Li from the Health Department, who urgently needs a major achievement for his promotion. Director Li has already talked to us three times!"

"Ah, fine, fine!" Zhen Gongzheng sighed again.

In China, high-level titles are linked to research achievements, and one way to evaluate research achievements is by the journals in which they are published. The Chinese Medical Journal, being one of the top medical journals in China, carries significant weight. Once this article is published, the nephew of Director Li will be guaranteed a promotion.

"What is this nonsense? The sentences don’t even make sense!" Zhen Gongzheng suddenly pointed to an article and shouted.

"This is a manuscript by the authoritative expert, Professor Cai. Let me check... Oh, Professor Cai is definitely not at this level; it must have been written by his student. I’ll send it back for urgent revision so it doesn’t delay the next issue."

"Can’t we just not publish it?" Zhen Gongzheng asked with wide eyes.

Wang said seriously, "That’s Professor Cai’s manuscript. I can’t reject it. If Chief Editor Zhen thinks it can be rejected, I have no problem."

"Ah, you’re good at passing the buck. If you can’t reject it, can I?" Zhen Gongzheng sighed, flipping through a few pages and lamenting, "The manuscripts are already scheduled for the third issue next year. Are they all non-rejectable?"

Wang said, "I’m just consulting you to see which ones can be removed. Professor Zhang from Chubei and Professor Xu from Ludong can’t get their manuscripts in. The chief editor said these two must be published this year and can’t be delayed until next year..."

"What does this have to do with the chief editor?" Zhen Gongzheng asked impatiently.

"Professor Zhang is the chief editor’s cousin, and Professor Xu is his wife’s nephew’s great-uncle!"

"Damn, why don’t I have a great-uncle!" Zhen Gongzheng plopped onto the sofa and waved at Wang, "You decide, don’t bother me!"

Wang said, "I can’t remove any of them; these two can’t fit in!"

Zhen Gongzheng was too lazy to deal with Wang. No matter how he arranged it, he would offend someone, and he didn’t want to be the one to take the heat.

At this moment, a submission on the computer caught Zhen Gongzheng’s eye.

"Cancer-specific drug, making cancer treatment as simple as a cold!"

"Is this a dream, treating cancer like a cold?" Zhen Gongzheng glanced at the submitter, Deputy Chief Physician Lin Ruyu from Tangshui City People’s Hospital, an unknown name. He turned to Wang, "Who is this? Does he have any connections?"

Wang stared at Lin Ruyu’s name, thought for a moment, and shook his head, "I haven’t heard of him; he’s probably unknown."

"Ah." Zhen Gongzheng nodded and then unhesitatingly clicked the rejection button.