Zhou Yi convened the annual meeting in early spring, requesting all department heads and consultants to attend.

"Over the past five years, we have mainly done two things."

"The first thing is achieving self-sufficiency on the land of Sand Port."

He looked at everyone with a smile: "Year after year, the company has tilled the land and continuously invested in agriculture. Now our farmland includes both the traditional fields and the ever-growing floating layer."

"The grains produced by the company are enough to cover the 60,000 inhabitants of Sand Port, ensuring that nobody goes hungry. On this basis, we have also expanded the variety of food, improving everyone's diet."

"The second thing is the establishment of the Development Alliance, bringing together the nearby regions to form a close cooperative relationship in trade, technology, economy, and many other areas."

"This allows our products to reach all corners of the world, and also lets people around the world know about the existence of Wasteland Development Company."

"In the coming five years, we have two new goals."

Zhou Yi raised the index finger of his prosthetic right arm: "The first goal is to embark on educational endeavors. We will establish schools in Sand Port, from basic to higher education. This is not an easy task, but it is imperative."

"Education can transmit knowledge and experience, cultivate various skills, improve thinking and cognitive abilities, and foster talents in all professions. This is of utmost importance both to our current employees and to their children."

"Moreover, education can enhance creativity and innovation consciousness, increase everyone's participation and initiative in public affairs, and bears great significance for the betterment of the company and Sand Port."

He raised his middle finger: "The second goal is to reach out."

"The company will encourage and offer high-paying opportunities for employees to work abroad. Everyone will enter other organizations and cities for learning,—to adopt other's advanced experiences and good practices, and to learn from their missteps and lessons."

"The company needs to look further into the world. We must go out and understand firsthand what is happening out there, what most people need, and then our company must strive to find solutions to address the problems faced by the majority."

"Here, I hope everyone will remain humble, adopting a learner's and newcomer's attitude to understand how other organizations function and operate. We must not be blinded by our current seemingly good situation or become arrogant. The world is vast with talented individuals aplenty, and we must maintain the heart of an apprentice."

"This is the new five-year plan."

In terms of planning, Zhou Yi has been contemplating intermittently for more than half a year.

There are just too many things to do and ought to be done.

But the focus must be on the core.

Education is something that cannot be delayed any longer and the sooner the better.

With a solid economic foundation already established and a substantial population continuously migrating to Sand Port, the company has gained some fame, making the recruitment of teachers from various industries less challenging.

Reaching out is the premise for the company to further advance.

To have more employees capable of being independently responsible, they must go out, broaden their horizons, gain insight. They need to negotiate, cooperate, and even deal with disputes with other organizations, using practice to hone their will and problem-solving skills.

Establishing company branches in other cities will facilitate local understanding and opportunity seeking.

Zhou Yi also needs to build his own intelligence network.

All employees sent abroad are sources of information for the company. They will continuously provide the most authentic and reliable information to facilitate the company's decision-making in line with actual conditions.

In this aspect, Zhou Yi is following the example of the sea lords.

The sea lords send out numerous envoys who win people's hearts in various cities and establish their networks in order to obtain firsthand news and also to spread favorable information for their own cities.

"Cao Dayuan."

"Present."

Zhou Yi looked at the man who had been coordinating with the residents of Jade City: "Everyone trusts you, so you'll be in charge of the dispatching."

"You will be responsible for all departmental learning and establishment of branches. Each department must send people annually for on-site learning and exchange. For partnerships, contact Red Kestrel, they have the contact information for various organizations."

"Ah? Me?"

Cao Dayuan showed a somewhat troubled expression: "Chairman, I've never done this before, it feels very complicated."

"It's not complicated at all."

Zhou Yi told him: "Remember how you took flyers over to Sand Port and then brought the Scavenger over? That's the idea. What you need to do is to lead our people out and then bring them back. If you can also attract talent from outside to join us, even better."

Cao Dayuan exclaimed: "Now that you put it that way, I understand. No worries, rest assured, I will definitely do this right."

"And, Old Cao, don't skimp on expenses. When you're out and about, sometimes you have to spend money to prevent disaster and avoid a lot of trouble."

Zhou Yi reminded: "If you're short on funds, come to me, I'll provide."

"Got it!"

Cao Dayuan grinned and said: "As long as you provide the funds, I'll definitely handle this."

Regarding education, there isn't a suitable person to take the lead yet.

Zhou Yi decided to take on the task himself for the time being.

He pondered: "In terms of education, Mushroom Forest has already been piloting for a while. The Diamond Teacher is doing a great job, so we will follow the approach figured out there and first establish the Mushroom Forest Primary School. Schooling will be obligatory for all children aged 7 and above, offspring of company employees, with educational expenses covered by the company."

A Mechanical City teacher named Diamond spoke up: "Chairman, we are severely lacking in teachers. At the moment, there are only me and Sun Chonglai."

"If it's fully opened up, given the company's staff strength of 4,000, there will be at least 200 eligible staff children. Mushroom Forest is critically short-handed and urgently needs more teachers."

"To maintain a good teaching effect, the minimum teacher-to-student ratio cannot be less than 1:25; we need at least 8 teachers, and we will also need to enhance our facilities and equipment."

Zhou Yi nodded.

This is indeed a problem.

"Does anyone have any suggestions regarding teacher recruitment?"

The crowd couldn't quite articulate a reason.

Education is an expensive and scarce resource in every city.

Qian Su was the first to speak up, "Chairman, there are many teachers in Hundred Schools Plateau. Why don't we recruit from there?"

However, the old engineer Liu Fusheng shook his head, "We can't recruit solely from there. Although there are indeed many professional teachers in Hundred Schools Plateau, there is one issue – they would demand everything to be done according to the rules of the plateau, meaning a complete copy-and-paste approach."

"The Craftsmen Guild tried before, recruiting teachers from there to train young apprentices, but the results were not good."

"At least in the field of craftsmanship, they only value theory in Hundred Schools Plateau; their practical skills are poor. They perform well in written tests, but when it comes to actual manufacturing and refinement, not so much."

Zhou Yi thought to himself.

This is how training and education are – the measure is the score.

High-quality education is not easy to achieve.

Gong Zheng looked hesitant, but ultimately he spoke up, "Chairman, I was born an Alchemist Apprentice. The training methods of the Alchemist Association actually have their merits."

"By the age of 10, one can become an apprentice and involve themselves in alchemists' actual affairs. Although it involves a lot of menial tasks, copying, and some simple experimental procedures, it is very helpful for apprentices to understand a lot of knowledge."

"I believe the educational methods of alchemists can be referred to."

Teacher Diamond also said, "That's right. We are teaching knowledge while trying to get students involved in actual production, to participate in business matters, to test and experiment."

Zhou Yi noted this down in his notebook.

In this Wasteland era, even 10-year-old children are considered labor, needing to learn while getting hands-on.

Red Kestrel said, "Education is a profession requiring a high degree of expertise. Without relevant experience, many mistakes and misunderstandings can occur. The cost of trial and error is incredibly high, affecting many young children."

"I suggest opting for highly praised, top-quality professionals."

There are professional teachers in Mechanical City.

All Five Great Centers have quality educational resources.

But Zhou Yi is currently siding with the Mechanical Knights, and the company is still being sanctioned; finding high-level professional teachers there is virtually impossible.

He even asked Duke Destructive if there was any good solution in Heavenly Kingdom.

After all, as the only empire with the largest population and largest territory, such scale must mean their education isn't too shabby.

However, Duke Destructive said, "You're thinking too much."

"Within the borders of Heavenly Kingdom, only Heavenly Country Citizens are entitled to education. Foreigners or informal citizens are not allowed to enter schools."

"Education is a tool for the distribution of power; only through education can one have the possibility of wielding power. The Heavenly Kingdom will not give such an opportunity to the lowly; the things commoners can learn are also very limited."

"After primary education, the cost of middle and higher level education is unaffordable to ordinary people, with the lowest being at a level of one million mushrooms per year."

"That is why so many people go to Hundred Schools Plateau because it's cheap, and learning a trade can support one's livelihood."

"In Heavenly Kingdom, teachers hold a high status, earn good incomes, and live comfortable lives."

"Furthermore, the Heavenly Kingdom prohibits teachers from teaching abroad, as it would result in the outflow of knowledge from the Heavenly Kingdom and harm the empire's interests. Strictly speaking, Heavenly Kingdom Teachers can only teach within the kingdom's borders; teaching abroad is a violation of imperial law, and if investigated, severe punishment is certain."

After hearing these words from Duke Destructive, Zhou Yi was resigned and had to give up.

The Heavenly Kingdom tightly and fiercely controls education.

Recruiting reliable teachers is not an easy task.

Amidst the silence, Yuan Xiao suddenly said, "Chairman, in the Forbidden Continent's Dragon Palace, there are professionals with sufficient expertise."

"Dragon Palace has stringent advancement training; successfully completing it signifies a high degree of mastery in a certain field."

Zhou Yi looked at Angel of Death intently.

Yuan Xiao, calm with a clear gaze, said: "I've investigated the Dragon Palace before. Those who complete the stage training there, whether they are Dragon's Inheritors or not, naturally have a tendency and interest in spreading knowledge."

"If we disregard the concept of spreading the dragon's teachings, in their fields of expertise, they are exceptional teachers and are no less qualified than teachers from any other place."

"If we want to find quality-assured, excellent teachers, I think that is a direction worth considering."

Zhou Yi pondered for a moment.

Come to think of it.

The Dragon Palace is like a university, and graduates who have gone through further education there must at least have a bachelor's degree. In this era, that would already be a quality talent.

On the Forbidden Continent, the Warlord has also been extending invitations to go there.

Perhaps through him, my right hand could be unsealed and grow back.

The Electric Cat Settlement at Spark Plain is also there.

The external situation is still relatively stable; it will take time for the Law Alliance front to be fully established and rolled out.

It is indeed worth considering a trip there.

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