Chapter 3

"Kids, if you don't understand something, don't pretend you do!" Zhou Jianguo, who had initially had a good impression of the child, became angry when he heard him boasting.

"Master, what should I call you? The blueprint is in the factory. Should I have the driver go back and get it?" Wang's eyes lit up. He felt a headache just looking at the blueprint. Most of the technicians in the factory were workers by origin, and many of them couldn't even read the blueprint with over a hundred dimensions. Moreover, the material was expensive 304 stainless steel. Without full confidence, Boss Wang really didn't dare to take on this highly profitable order.

"My name is Yun Fei, from Sichuan." The half-grown child Yun Fei said his name.

"Boss Wang, can you give me a cigarette?" The young Yun Fei didn't show any nervousness when facing a big boss, as if he were chatting with an old friend.

"Sure!" The seductive female secretary immediately took out a pack of Hongtashan from her handbag and handed it to Yun Fei.

Yun Fei opened the pack, gave cigarettes to Zhou Jianguo and the other workers, and then lit one for himself.

"Boss Wang, thanks for the cigarette. If your factory is too far from here, forget it. If Boss Liu doesn't need me, I'll have to look for another job. If I can't find one, I'll be hungry tomorrow." Yun Fei slowly said after blowing out a smoke ring.

When Boss Wang heard the young Yun Fei's words, he looked at Liu Yushui, but found him with a blank expression, showing no reaction.

Zhou Jianguo whispered to Liu Yushui's ear that the child was there for a job interview, and only then did Liu Yushui realize that the half-grown child in front of him was not simple. He quickly said, "We are always hiring. Why don't you start tomorrow? We provide food and accommodation, and the salary is 300 yuan a month?"

Liu Yushui was taking a gamble, betting that the child could really understand the blueprint and operate the lathe skillfully. Therefore, he offered a salary similar to what Zhou Jianguo and others were getting.

After all, this was 1991 in Shenzhen, where a regular technician, with food and accommodation provided, earned about 200 yuan a month.

"Ha ha..." Yun Fei smiled bitterly and shook his head. 300 yuan a month wasn't even enough for cigarettes.

Seeing Yun Fei shake his head, Zhou Jianguo wished he could slap him. This kid, with a golden opportunity falling from the sky, was still complaining about it being too small. After all, when he was 19 and started working in the factory, he only earned 18.5 yuan as an apprentice.

"You can tell us your requirements." Liu Yushui's heart was racing. He knew that the more skilled a person was, the prouder and more demanding they would be. But for such high skills to appear in a young half-grown child, he was really taking a gamble. Back in their factory, there was also a 14-year-old child who, having grown up in the workshop with his father, had skills that could match those of an eighth-level lathe operator.

"Never mind, Boss Liu, I think I'll look for another job." Yun Fei shook his head, not believing that Liu Yushui could offer him the salary he wanted.

"Tell us your requirements. If you don't, how will we know if we can meet them!" Liu Yushui increasingly felt that the young man in front of him had exceptional skills. Even if he was deceived, it wouldn't take long to find out that the young man was a fraud, and then he could just fire him without paying.

After all, in those days, wages weren't paid at the end of the month. A boss who held back a month's salary was considered decent.

"I doubt you can meet my requirements, ha ha." Yun Fei smiled bitterly and shook his head.

"Tell us, little brother, it won't hurt to just say." The seductive Secretary Zhang cooed from the side.

"Right, let's hear what your requirements are." Zhou Jianguo's good impression of the half-grown child had long vanished.

"Basic salary of 1,000 yuan, plus overtime pay and bonuses, and food, accommodation, and cigarettes provided!" Yun Fei calmly stated his requirements.

"Spit..." A worker who was drinking tea spat it out.

"Ha ha..." Everyone laughed, and the young secretary surnamed Zhang laughed so hard she was shaking.

As everyone was laughing almost to the point of choking, only two people didn't laugh: Liu Yushui and Wang.

Liu Yushui didn't laugh because he was shocked by the conditions the young man had set. After all, his small processing plant, after a month of hard work and deducting all expenses, could only earn a little over 1,000 yuan. He never expected the half-grown child to set such outrageous conditions. Even an eighth-level lathe operator in Shenzhen earned no more than 400 to 500 yuan a month.

Wang didn't laugh either. Although he was also shocked by the requirements of the child who looked only 15 or 16, damn it, food, accommodation, and cigarettes provided. It would cost at least 1,400 to 1,500 yuan a month to meet these conditions.

Wang was thinking about what gave this young man the nerve to set such high conditions. After all, many white-collar workers in foreign-funded companies didn't even earn this much.

Yun Fei ignored the ridicule. In this era, although opportunities were everywhere, one still needed to meet the right person to seize them. Only by seizing opportunities could they be called opportunities. He always believed that opportunities were created by oneself.

If he couldn't find a job in the next few days, he wouldn't just lose his cigarettes but might even go hungry.

"Young man, wait a moment." Yun Fei's departure interrupted Wang's thoughts. He felt that he should have a deeper conversation with this special young man.

In this era, the bold would thrive, while the timid would starve. To achieve something, one needed to have foresight. Since this young man, Yun Fei, dared to ask for such a high salary, he must believe he was worth it. If he really was, the value he could bring to the factory would far exceed his salary.

"Boss Wang, is there anything else? You're not thinking of hiring me, are you? I already stated my conditions." Yun Fei didn't think Wang would agree to his conditions and offer him a job. He still stopped and waited expectantly.

Although he was certain that these small bosses wouldn't agree to his conditions, he didn't want to cheaply sell the skills he had learned over many years in his previous life, even if it meant working as a dishwasher first.

"Can you tell me why you think you're worth that much?" Wang's face was now serious, and he seemed oblivious to the secretary stomping and shaking his arm.

"Boss Wang, I assume you are in the machining industry. May I ask if you know the development trend of the mechanical industry over the next twenty years? As for why I'm worth that much, I can operate most general-purpose machine tools skillfully. Of course, operating ordinary machine tools isn't worth that much. I'm worth it because I can do mechanical design, equipment modification, operate CNC machine tools, and even convert ordinary machine tools to CNC under certain conditions. Do you think these skills are worth it?"

Yun Fei's answer was serious. These words shocked everyone except Secretary Zhang. CNC machine tools, although Zhou Jianguo and others hadn't operated them, they had heard of them. The two bosses, who had been in the industry, couldn't be unaware.

Wang's factory had a few second-hand CNC machine tools from West Germany, two CNC lathes, and one CNC milling machine, which cost him nearly 300,000 yuan! Unfortunately, they hadn't been used yet and were just for show to clients. He had heard that many foreign mechanical factories had already started using CNC technology, but China's industrial foundation was too weak, and these advanced technologies were far behind. It was unknown when his factory could achieve CNC.

And the half-grown child in front of him, who claimed to know these things that many people couldn't learn in a lifetime, if it was true, he would indeed be a treasure.