In the hotel room.

After careful consideration, Lu Li said, "President Liu, President Hu, could you both step out for a moment? I'd like to talk to Engineer Wang alone."

President Liu and Vice President Hu exchanged a glance, seeming to catch on to something.

"Alright," President Liu said with a friendly smile as he stood up, "Take your time chatting with Engineer Wang. No rush. Call us back in when you're done."

Vice President Hu also stood up, "Yeah, we'll wait outside."

With that, both of them left.

After exiting, Vice President Hu even closed the door, seemingly to indicate they wouldn't eavesdrop.

Once the door was closed, Lu Li turned his attention to Wang Jun, "Engineer Wang, the test data for the new type of steel is out now. You should be able to determine whether my designed engine can be built, right?"

Wang Jun quickly nodded eagerly, "I can tell. Based on this steel's test data, it's more than suitable for making bearings for an engine that runs at 150,000 RPM."

Lu Li asked, "Since that's the case, our prior agreement..."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jun let out a sigh of relief.

To be honest, he was actually afraid that Lu Li might back out at the last minute and look for someone else.

Wang Jun, straightforward as he was, said, "Personally, I have no problem. Although I still have a few years left on my contract with FAW, and there is a non-compete clause, as long as it's for developing and manufacturing this type of engine for you, Mr. Lu, I'm willing to work for you regardless of the breach of contract penalties."

If someone else said this, they might be hinting at the boss to cover their breach of contract penalty.

However, Lu Li knew that Wang Jun's "EQ is relatively low," and he speaks honestly from his heart.

Clearly, Wang Jun was not asking him to cover the penalty, but rather stating his intention to work for him regardless of whether FAW was willing to let him go.

Lu Li was very pleased with this and said with a smile, "You don't need to worry about the breach of contract penalty. I'll have a chat with President Liu and President Hu later. If they really don't want to let you go, I'll handle the penalty."

Wang Jun was deeply grateful, "Thank you, boss."

His change of tone was quite swift.

He wasn't entirely lacking EQ, after all.

Lu Li gave an approving nod and was about to say something else.

Suddenly, Wang Jun spoke again with a troubled expression, "I could leave just like that, but I can't take the team with me. Otherwise, the penalty would be too large, and we'd have to spend a lot of time recruiting new people."

Lu Li was taken aback and asked, "How large is your team?"

Wang Jun replied honestly, "Including myself, there are thirty-five people."

Lu Li was surprised, "That many? The engineers I met yesterday, were they all from your team?"

"No, no," Wang Jun waved his hand, "The engineers you met last night were core members, but very few were from my team. My team members were resting last night. In fact, a team of thirty-five isn't much for engine development. For instance, FAW's Liberation Engine Division has put in a team of a thousand for development, and Aerospace is even more extreme, with over two hundred experts, six academicians, and a hundred thousand on standby just to develop an aerospace engine. Moreover, our tech center isn't only for engine development; it's mainly for designing cars, and engines are just a part of that. In the automotive design industry, my team of thirty-five is quite small. Of course, FAW's car design team is not small. My little team is just a tiny part of the larger team."

From that perspective, a thirty-five-person team indeed doesn't seem like much.

Lu Li nodded in agreement and was about to make a comment.

He suddenly recalled an important detail from Wang Jun's words earlier.

He probed, "Did you just say your team is for car development?"

Wang Jun confirmed, "Yes."

Lu Li clarified further, "Your team of thirty-five has the capability to independently develop a car?"

Wang Jun replied stiffly, "We have the capability, but the team's slightly understaffed. To truly design a car, you need to cover engines, chassis, power transmissions, body interior and exterior, electronics, and overall layout. It requires at least two hundred excellent engineers to hope to fully design and produce a car."

This stirred something in Lu Li's heart.

The profit from cars is significantly greater than that from engines.

The automotive industry is booming right now.

If he could enter the automotive industry and take a slice of the pie,

It would definitely be much better than only developing and manufacturing engines.

Of course, he currently doesn't have much funding available.

Attempting to invest in car development would be financially challenging at the moment.

However, if his engine is developed, he could earn at least a few billion in net profit annually, which could then fund car manufacturing.

If he could recruit Wang Jun's whole team to his company,

Forming a foundational car-making team would become much easier.

Lu Li considered whether he should bring them all aboard.

Assembling a car-building team is notoriously difficult.

Lei Jun went to great lengths to establish the Xiaomi car team.

As the "Cash King of Beijing," with such a business reputation, Lei Jun tried everything to build a car team.

Just beginning, forming a team seemed almost impossible.

Therefore, if he could bring Wang Jun's small team to his company, it would be ideal.

Provided that President Liu and President Hu release them.

Lu Li figured there was a 70-80% chance they wouldn't agree.

If President Liu and President Hu refused,

And he still wanted this small team,

He might end up paying a hefty breach of contract penalty for them.

His funds might not suffice.

Lu Li thought to himself that he needs to have a dialogue with President Liu and President Hu.

If the other party is willing to let them go, then that would be the best outcome.

But if they're not willing, I can only regretfully miss out on this small team.

He then chatted a bit with Wang Jun about the salary and benefits.

Over at FAW, his annual salary is already over a million.

If I want to poach him, there's no way I can offer less than FAW.

Therefore, I offered him a high salary of two million a year.

If there are results in the future, the salary may increase.

As for the small team over there.

Haven't secured them temporarily yet.

It's definitely not possible to discuss benefits now.

After a while, enough has been said.

Lu Li asked Wang Jun to go out and bring President Liu and Vice President Hu in.

President Liu sat down and smilingly said, "Mr. Lu, have you thought about what requests you want to make?"

Vice President Hu and President Liu also chatted a bit outside just now.

They more or less can guess what Lu Li wants, no more than this person Wang Jun.

To be honest, they naturally admire Wang Jun's ability.

It's just that Wang Jun has a bad temper and isn't very popular with the leadership.

Plus, FAW is so powerful and has a chief designer team, letting Wang Jun go doesn't matter much.

Hence, they've decided that if Lu Li indeed makes this request, they're willing to let Wang Jun leave.

The thing that shocked President Liu and Vice President Hu was that Lu Li opened with a big ask: "I believe President Liu and President Hu know that I'm building an engine R&D team, so I have only one condition: that you let Engineer Wang and his team of thirty-five people leave without compensation to work for me. Of course, if anyone in the team doesn't want to leave, they won't be forced. Can you agree to this request?"

President Liu and Vice President Hu looked at each other in disbelief.

They didn't expect Lu Li to have such an appetite.

He wants to take Wang Jun's entire team.

Thirty-five engineers are precious assets for any car company.

But President Liu and Vice President Hu also hope to get the new type of steel from Lu Li to donate to the country.

They had agreed so readily just now.

If they don't agree, it seems a bit unreasonable.

On one side, you have the precious thirty-five engineers.

And Wang Jun, the top-notch engineer in the industry.

On the other hand, there's the new type of steel that can help in cutting-edge fields like aerospace.

To be honest, President Liu and Vice President Hu were very conflicted right now, unsure if they should agree.

While Lu Li very much hoped to secure Wang Jun's small team, he didn't urge President Liu and Vice President Hu but just waited silently.

Wang Jun sat beside, looking very nervous.

He was used to working with the team. If he could take everyone over, the efficiency would be higher in the future.

Naturally, he hoped to take all thirty-five team members.

About four or five minutes later, President Liu finally looked up, took a deep breath, and said: "Mr. Lu, your request is really excessive..."

Oh dear!

Looks like it's not happening!

Lu Li was slightly disappointed inside.

Who would have thought, President Liu changed his tone and said: "But after much deliberation, I've decided to agree!"

"Ah?" Lu Li was a bit surprised and asked, "You really agreed?"

President Liu looked at Lu Li seriously and said, "Thirty-five car engineers are very valuable, but compared to your new type of steel, they are not as valuable. Since you agreed to donate this new type of steel for free, why wouldn't I agree to your request?"

Vice President Hu nodded slightly beside.

Indeed.

This new type of steel is incredibly valuable.

If it can really be used in aerospace, it can save at least ten billion a year.

Saving ten billion a year compared to thirty-five car engineers, anyone can see which is more valuable, right?

Of course, it's still uncertain if this new type of steel can be used in aerospace, but based on initial data there seems to be no issue.

President Liu and Vice President Hu, being the top executives at FAW, have sharp insights.

They can roughly deduce that this new steel can be used in aerospace, which is why they agreed to Lu Li's request.

Lu Li wasn't using telepathy.

Of course, he didn't know what the two were thinking.

When he heard President Liu agree, he was overjoyed.

Originally, he came to Chang Chun just to secure Wang Jun.

Unexpectedly, he inadvertently gathered a small team of car engineers.

If he has enough money in the future, he can directly have Wang Jun and this small team build cars!

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