Chapter 59: The Headhunter

How does one go about founding a headhunting firm?

Leave professional matters to the professionals. Naturally, Li Yi'an placed a call to Harry, who was far away in Washington.

Harry found himself working rather hard. Not only was he the lobbyist for the Zhenhua Company, tasked with helping establish a network of connections in Washington, but he also had to act as a headhunter—or rather, a headhunter for headhunters.

That, however, was relatively simple. After all, the United States had seen the emergence of such firms over a decade ago. Although those companies were not running particularly smoothly, quite a few individuals within them performed exceptionally well, and most of them were lawyers. Soon enough, Harry scouted a candidate for him.

"Hello, Mr. Li. I am Hedrick Gerald, recommended by Mr. Harries. This is my card. I understand you are planning to establish an executive search firm. I previously worked at Dick Dillon Talent Search, where I recruited numerous talents for major corporations like Ford and General Motors. If the opportunity arises, I would be delighted to work for you."

After handing over his business card, Hedrick Gerald presented his resume, then looked expectantly at the young gentleman before him. Before coming, he had conducted some research: this was a young Chinese millionaire who had arrived in the United States only a few months ago, yet had successively acquired two enterprises and become a defense contractor. For a man who had been unemployed for over a year, this was a golden career opportunity. He believed his credentials would be enough to persuade the other party.

"I don't need this resume. What I need is for you to prove your capability through your work."

The moment Hedrick stepped into the office, Li Yi'an had been observing him. The suit he wore was somewhat threadbare, while the creases on his leather shoes and worn heels indicated that he likely walked everywhere and perhaps didn't even own a car. All of this suggested that his current circumstances were less than ideal.

This fellow desperately needed the job. That also meant he would go all out.

"Prove myself?"

While he remained puzzled, he watched the other party hand over a slip of paper.

"I need your help to poach this person."

Upon taking the slip and glancing at it, Hedrick felt a mild headache coming on, because the task involved poaching someone from Bell Labs.

"Mr. Li, we are in the middle of a war right now. The authorities strictly prohibit poaching personnel from these critical enterprises."

"I know."

Li Yi'an looked directly into his eyes and asked, "So, can it be done?"

What he needed was someone who could help him achieve his objectives; otherwise, how could he possibly go to Germany after the war to fish out talent? After all, the future development of the North Borneo Company would require a massive influx of talent. And where would that talent be poached from? Naturally, the defeated Germany.

However, daring to venture into a war zone—or even regions not yet occupied by the Allied forces—to poach people required immense courage!

Without courage surpassing that of ordinary people, who would be willing to delve deep into a war zone?

"This..."

After a moment of thought, Hedrick said, "I can try."

"Very well. Contact my secretary directly if you need anything."

Who was the person to be poached?

None other than Walter Brattain, the inventor of the transistor.

In the twenty-first century, what mattered most? Talent, of course. Standing on the shoulders of giants, Li Yi'an knew very well which talents needed to be excavated. After all, many of those talents were world-famous, and those who changed human society were destined to leave a heavy stroke in the history books.

After Hedrick left the office, Li Yi'an once again pulled out the folder containing documents regarding the North Borneo Company, accompanied, of course, by a map.

Borneo was the island known in later generations as Kalimantan. North Borneo was situated in its northeastern part, covering an area of 74,500 square kilometers.

"Such a vast territory, yet it has a population of less than 400,000, with 30% of them being ethnic Chinese... This is quite simply a heaven-sent land for us!"

Leaning forward in his chair with his elbows resting on the desk, Li Yi'an's gaze flickered with desire for this piece of land. Ever since purchasing the rights to the North Borneo Company, he had begun preparing to truly possess North Borneo.

This was his means of self-preservation.

Upon arriving in the United States, what he felt was ubiquitous discrimination, even as someone with backing—suppose he became good friends with the president in the future, so what? Systemic discrimination would still constrain his development in America.

As for Britain, that was even less worth considering; the degree of rigid class stratification in Britain was unkind even to their own people, let alone a foreigner.

It was the same across various European countries. Perhaps he could leverage foresight of the era and wartime speculation to accumulate colossal wealth, but that would be the extent of it.

In truth, being a peaceful tycoon would already be quite remarkable, but there was no guarantee when a commercial conflict might suddenly result in him being dealt a "zero-dollar purchase" package—such a scenario was entirely possible.

In comparison, only North Borneo could guarantee his security and allow him to become a true top-tier billionaire!

No, he should be called a top-tier plutocrat—a plutocrat who genuinely owned a country.

No, still a company.

After all, the North Borneo Company was not a nation.

"Only when you reach your own acre and three quarters of land can you sleep soundly!"

Although he had already purchased that company at present, turning that patch of land into his own territory still required a great deal of work.

In fact, founding a headhunting firm was also in preparation for that day. When the war ended, the ruins would offer a vast pool of talent available for hire. For those cold and starving Germans, as long as there was bread, they would undoubtedly be willing to travel overseas for work. Among those people were ordinary technicians, scientists, scholars, and, of course, certain military personnel. Many in a defeated Germany would travel overseas to escape post-war trials. For a colonial enterprise, these individuals were precious assets. A company seeking development could not do without talent; talent of all descriptions was required.

However, realizing dreams required capital. Once again, Li Yi'an picked up the telephone and spoke to the secretary outside his door.

"Book a flight ticket to Cuba for tomorrow."

Work brings happiness—this was an absolute necessity, especially when work equated directly to money. Not only did one feel happy, but one was also brimming with motivation.

In the days that followed, Li Yi'an made multiple successive round trips to Cuba, and even made a deliberate trip to Colombia, purchasing top-grade coffee at exceptionally low prices from Colombia. The days of acting as a human cargo mule were thoroughly fulfilling, requiring him to fly back and forth between multiple countries. Yet Li Yi'an relished it tirelessly; after all, this was the startup phase, and as the boss, shouldering some arduous labor was an unavoidable matter.