The arrival of a new model of printer at the factory lifted the workers’ spirits.

’Does this mean we’re going to add more production lines in the future!’

Wang Guofu returned at that moment and said to Xie Changning, "Now that the entire branch factory’s construction is finished and the concrete has cured, can we start moving the machinery over?"

"Yes. Remember to take this scrap metal too, and while you’re at it, set aside an R&D lab for me."

Wang Guofu already knew about this.

Back when Xie Changning was drawing up the design plans, she had already told Wang Guofu that a large room in the branch factory was a lab she was reserving for herself.

The new branch factory was built to be very large, spacious, and bright.

To accommodate future expansions, the higher-ups had approved a very large plot of land for them this time. There would be no problem building another two branch factories there in the future!

Originally, the entire operation was supposed to relocate.

But Xie Changning disagreed. She wanted the current location to remain the main factory, with some orders still being processed from here.

After all, everyone lived here. The new factory didn’t even have staff housing yet, and it wasn’t cost-effective for so many workers to commute back and forth, which would affect production output.

It was better not to move them in the first place.

As for the new branch factory, Xie Changning had already decided that instead of building staff dormitories, it would be better to rent houses from the local villagers—renting empty rooms or entire vacant houses.

They could provide housing for the workers first, saving them the commute.

This proposal was ultimately approved by the two deputy directors.

They also felt this would cost less money and be less of a hassle.

Otherwise, building staff housing would take a very long time; it might not even be finished by this time next year.

Once the branch factory was running smoothly, there would still be plenty of time to ask the leadership to designate a location for staff housing.

And so, the matter of the branch factory was settled.

After discussing official business, Wang Guofu finally turned his attention to the newly developed small printer. He looked at it in pleasant surprise. "Is... is this really a printer?"

"Of course. It’s convenient. You can put it in a personal office. It’s very convenient for making copies and even more so for printing things."

Xie Changning’s words made Wang Guofu give her a thumbs-up.

’As expected of our factory director!’

In truth, if not for the limitations of the current machinery, Xie Changning would be preparing to develop computers.

They didn’t even exist abroad yet, except for a couple of behemoths. If she developed one ahead of time, the foreigners would be at the mercy of China!

The more she thought about it, the more Xie Changning felt this path was viable.

However—

Compared to these machines, Xie Changning herself was more interested in developing aircraft. For example—

Drones and the like.

After some thought, Xie Changning decided to put aside computer development and start on aircraft.

In the future, she could focus on the drone and agricultural aircraft sectors.

This aligned with her professional expertise!

Wang Guofu had no idea what Xie Changning was thinking. If he knew, he would probably faint from excitement.

The successful trial of the printer left everyone exhilarated and energized for work. Even the workers who weren’t part of the R&D team were filled with enthusiasm.

It was as if they could see a bright future!

After leaving the fifth workshop with Wang Guofu, Xie Changning went to the office and said to him, "We need to start recruiting externally. Any worker with at least a technical secondary school education, or who has been self-studying for over three years, can come for an interview."

"And if they have a technical certification, we definitely want them to come."

Hearing that Xie Changning intended to conduct the interviews personally, Wang Guofu frowned. "Are you sure you don’t want the two of us to do a preliminary screening first, and then you can do the final interview?"

’So many people... can she handle it all by herself?’

"The two of you will join me. One round is enough. Time is of the essence."

Seeing Xie Changning’s insistence, Wang Guofu didn’t try to persuade her further. Instead, he did as she asked and posted the recruitment notice on the bulletin board at the main gate.

Everyone in Anong County was well aware that the Anong County Machinery Factory was expanding its workforce.

’Of course they’re hiring. It’s such a huge factory.’

However, the hiring standards were relatively high. A technical secondary school education or better... Everyone knew that schooling had been disrupted these past few years, so how many graduates from those schools could there be? Junior high graduates were far more common!

So everyone focused on the other qualifications.

Anong County had a large population, but not many people with technical skills. Still, a lot of people signed up, some just to try their luck.

’What if I get chosen?’

This led to a huge number of applicants.

Xie Changning didn’t waste words. She immediately asked them to demonstrate their skills. This one request was enough to discourage many people.

People quietly left the line.

Seeing those without skills leaving, many others followed suit.

The ones who remained were the bold ones.

"Let me be clear. I am only hiring skilled technicians. I ask the folks here who don’t have the skills to cooperate and not waste everyone’s time. If I find anyone without skills taking up our interview slots..."

"...I will not hire any of their relatives!"

Xie Changning’s words sent a wave of whispers through the crowd.

Some people were displeased, feeling that Xie Changning was being tyrannical.

"You’re the ones wasting our interview time, and now you want to lecture me about tyranny? I’ve made myself clear. You can keep standing in line!" Xie Changning’s attitude was unyielding.

’Don’t think you can bully me just because I’m young!’

’Not a chance!’

People are like that; they bully the weak and fear the strong. Those who could remain in line even after Xie Changning said she would be testing for skills naturally had thicker skin than one might imagine.

The thick-skinned ones began to try and guilt-trip her.

"Wang Dali!" Amidst their clamoring, Xie Changning called out the name of the photographer from the propaganda team.

"Here!"

"Get a picture of every troublemaker’s face. After the interviews, I’m going to the police! We’ll check the household registrations. I want to see who dares to be so arrogant!"

In reality, Xie Changning was mostly bluffing to scare them.

The common people might not know the law, but they were afraid of the police.

The moment they heard Xie Changning was going to call the police, they all instantly fell silent. Those who were afraid of being photographed scrambled out of the line.

Just like that, several hundred people were filtered out.

Wang Guofu was dumbfounded.

He never imagined Xie Changning would use such a method to scare off so many people, saving a tremendous amount of effort in an instant.

Xie Changning sat back down in her chair and spoke gently to the person in front of her, "Don’t be nervous. Just do it the way you normally would."

Every technician had their own methods, and Xie Changning wouldn’t interfere.

She only cared about the results.

The skills of the technicians present were decent, and most of them were hired.

She rejected a few who only knew the basics. "Once the branch factory is built, we’re going straight to the assembly line. The intensity will be high, and there won’t be time for you all to learn on the job."

After three days of interviews, more than three hundred people were hired.

It wasn’t enough. So, Xie Changning contacted Director Zhao again, asking him to help think of a way to recruit some graduates from other technical schools.

Factories that had their own technical schools were all major enterprises.

Getting their graduates to leave for another factory was almost impossible.

But Xie Changning still wanted to try. Director Zhao didn’t refuse her, simply telling her to wait.

Xie Changning only needed to recruit for this year anyway. Starting next year, she would have her own team of technical graduates and wouldn’t need to recruit externally.

After she hung up the phone, Wang Guofu finally spoke to Xie Changning, "Factory Director, will we be able to recruit them?"