Chapter 112: Eager for Talent
Yang Wendong also noticed the pretty girl walking toward them—it was the same one who had turned around during the class earlier. She was holding a Rubik's Cube in her hand. Since it hadn't been released yet, only students in Professor Yang's class would have one.
The summer uniform she wore—white on top, blue on bottom—was standard for female students, but the same outfit could look very different depending on who wore it.
Though she was quite attractive, Yang Wendong wasn't the type to stop a stranger in the street just for looks. He simply smiled politely as a greeting.
The girl clearly noticed his subtle gesture, but instead of acknowledging him, she walked past with a somewhat distant expression. Her face even looked a little conflicted.
"She acted like she didn't know us?" Su Yiyi said, a little puzzled.
They'd just shared a classroom. Even if she didn't want to talk, wasn't it strange to act like she didn't recognize them?
"It is a bit odd," Yang replied, though he didn't dwell on it. There were billions of people in the world—anything was possible.
They continued walking toward the university gate. They didn't plan to hang around. The cube's performance on campus wouldn't be known for a week or so. By then, they could check back or send someone to follow up. No use waiting today.
But just as they were about to leave, they were stopped again—by the same girl.
"Uh…" Yang hadn't had time to react before she approached and greeted them with a bright smile. "It's you! I was just looking for you two."
"You were?" Yang blinked, then looked behind her. "Didn't we already run into you a moment ago?"
"What do you mean? We just saw each other in class," she said, puzzled.
"No… just now, out on the road. We passed you earlier," Yang explained.
"Oh! That must have been my sister," she laughed. "I have a twin. We look exactly the same."
"Ohh… makes sense." Yang nodded. Just as he'd guessed. Identical twins wearing identical school uniforms—how could anyone tell the difference?
She extended her hand. "I'm Bai Yujie. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Yang Wendong. This is my friend, Su Yiyi." He introduced them both.
Bai Yujie smiled. "I was trying to find you after class but didn't see you. What a stroke of luck to run into you again!"
Yang asked, "What did you need us for?"
She replied, "I wanted to ask about the Rubik's Cube. Which company is sponsoring this? You must be from that company, right?"
"Something like that," Yang said with a nod. "Why do you want to know? If someone really figures out how to solve it, they'll get the prize. That's for sure."
"I work part-time with the university's news office," she explained. "We cover stories from around campus and from the wider Hong Kong community that impact the school. A HK$10,000 reward for a puzzle solution? That's a huge deal. Naturally, I want to cover it for the campus paper."
Yang thought it over. "Alright, I don't see a problem with that. But to be honest, there's not much to interview us about right now. It's just a basic challenge.
You might get better material talking to the students—interview their thoughts and see how they're approaching the problem."
If the campus paper covered the story, it could be great for promotion. In a world without the internet, it would take time for word to spread around campus. Official confirmation in the student newspaper could really speed things up.
"I suppose that makes sense…" Bai Yujie frowned slightly. "Still, I think you guys should be interviewed too."
"That's fine," Yang smiled. "Once the Rubik's Cube catches on more across campus, we can talk again."
"Okay," Bai Yujie nodded. "How can I reach you then?"
Yang pulled out a business card. "Here's my number. If anything comes up, give me a call. Or just get in touch once the cube gets more popular here."
"Changxing Industrial, Sales Manager," she read aloud. She looked up again, eyes curious. "You look about our age… how did you become a manager already?"
Yang laughed. "It's just a title. Most business cards say manager or something similar, don't they?"
He carried two types of cards—one with his real title as company chairman, which he used for formal business occasions, and this one, listing him as a regular sales manager, for everyday interactions. No need to flash his status when it wasn't relevant.
"True," Bai Yujie smiled and put the card away. "Alright, I'll reach out once the campus buzz picks up."
She said her goodbyes and walked off.
Watching her go, Su Yiyi said, "She's really pretty."
"Not as pretty as you," Yang replied with a grin.
"Stop it." Su Yiyi blushed, though clearly pleased. "But it's amazing—two identical sisters, both so beautiful."
Yang nodded. "Yeah, it's kind of magical."
Every guy knew—twin sisters weren't just 1+1. The visual impact doubled, especially when they were both good-looking.
Su Yiyi then asked, "Dong-ge, if two identical twins got married and had kids, would their children mix them up?"
"They probably wouldn't," Yang replied, though he wasn't sure. Back in his previous life, he'd dated a few women but never identical twins. That kind of chance was extremely rare.
Besides, even with identical appearances, people could still tell them apart after spending enough time together—unless the twins deliberately acted exactly the same.
After leaving the campus, Yang didn't pay much attention to the Rubik's Cube's spread. He knew it wouldn't explode like Post-its or glue traps.
Even in its original timeline, the Rubik's Cube took several years to gain traction globally.
In this era, with such low communication efficiency, unless he had a strong retail network behind him pushing the product, it would be hard to gain traction from a logic-based toy alone.
His goal now was simply to test the waters in Hong Kong. Once he had proof of concept, he could approach powerful distributors to collaborate on promoting it.
Another week quickly passed.
During this time, the Rubik's Cube underwent various testing procedures, confirming that there were no major material or quality issues.
The lab also tested dozens of commercially available glues and found one from France that was more suitable for use in the glue traps—though it was a bit pricey.
Inside the office:
Yang Wendong looked at the data in front of him, then turned to Wei Zetao and asked, "So this French glue… if we switch to it, each glue trap will cost an extra 4 cents?"
Wei nodded. "Yes. That's already the negotiated price with the Hong Kong distributor. Even with bulk orders, that's the best they're willing to offer."
"No good. That's too expensive," Yang said, putting down the file. "Glue traps aren't like Post-it notes—we have real competition.
And unlike 3M, the glue trap business has a multi-layered supply chain. If we switch to this glue, even if we don't lose money, we'll barely turn a profit."
Wei replied, "I agree. But this glue does have excellent heat resistance. We could limit its use to glue traps sold in high-temperature regions."
Yang thought it over. "Alright, let's go with that for now. We really don't know enough about glue—we're at a serious disadvantage."
Wei then added, "Our team has managed to get in touch with a Chinese-American engineer at Dow Corning. He's originally from the mainland, went to study in the U.S. in the 1930s, and majored in chemistry.
During the war, he returned to China and worked at the Chongqing arsenal, helping to manufacture explosives. Supposedly, he was even targeted by Japanese intelligence and nearly assassinated.
After the war, he left again, unwilling to get caught up in internal conflicts, and has been working ever since at Dow Corning, one of the biggest chemical companies in the U.S., specializing in adhesives—exactly what we need."
Yang raised his eyebrows. "Impressive résumé. But explosives to glue? That's quite a shift."
Wei explained, "I asked about that too. After the war ended, demand for explosives dropped sharply. Those employees had to switch fields.
And as a Chinese national, he wouldn't have had access to American military tech anyway. Adhesives were a good pivot."
"Makes sense," Yang nodded. "Alright. Reach out to him. Whatever his conditions are, let's start by covering his travel expenses and invite him to Hong Kong for a face-to-face. We'll talk details then."
Recruiting overseas talent meant bringing them in person—trying to lure someone from across the Pacific without a meeting was unrealistic.
Even in the video-chat era, face-to-face talks had no substitute—especially in high-stakes negotiations where charm and nuance mattered. You couldn't "sell" a dream properly over the phone.
"Got it. I'll arrange it," Wei replied. "From what I hear, he's also interested in moving back to a Chinese region. So this might actually be a great opportunity for us."
"That would definitely be good news," Yang said with a nod.
Although life in 1950s America was far better than in Asia, some Chinese people living abroad still longed to return.
Two days later, they received confirmation from the U.S.—the engineer agreed to visit Hong Kong.
Three days after that, Wei personally met him at Kai Tak Airport and took him to rest at a hotel.
The next morning, Wei brought him to the Changxing Industrial factory, where Yang Wendong came downstairs to greet him personally.
"Professor Qian, welcome," Yang said with a warm smile.
He already knew a lot about the man before him—Qian Shangde, a former university professor in mainland China. Among his Chinese peers, he was still respectfully called "Professor Qian," even though he now worked in corporate America.
"Mr. Yang," Qian said with a handshake. "I've long heard that Hong Kong may be small, but it's rich in talent.
At first, I didn't really believe it. But after reading about your entrepreneurial journey, I think the rumors may actually understate your abilities. Just your Post-it product alone is enough to benefit countless people."
Yang smiled. "Post-its are indeed useful. But even the best idea needs strong technical foundations to bring it to life. That's where my company is still lacking—we need technical depth."
Qian nodded. "That's natural. Every new company starts that way. Even the American industrial giants, including Standard Oil in its heyday, grew up slowly over time."
"Exactly. That's why we're now looking for skilled technical people to join us," Yang said. "That's why I invited you here all the way from America. We hope someone like you can bring real expertise to the table."
"I hope today goes well for both of us," Qian replied courteously.
"This way, please," Yang said, personally leading him inside.
Their first stop was naturally the main production floor. Qian was already familiar with Post-its, so there wasn't much to see there—it was more about the idea than the machinery.
Soon after, they moved to the other side of the facility, where dozens of workers were assembling glue traps.
"What's this?" Qian asked curiously. Even after years in the U.S., he had only ever heard of Post-its. There was no way to know the product lines of some upstart company from Hong Kong.
Yang grinned. "That's our other product—glue traps. Or fly traps, depending on the use. Let me explain."
Qian listened intently. After a few minutes of explanation, his eyes lit up with wonder.
"I never would've thought you could catch mice like this," he said in amazement. "Incredible.
Adhesives have been around for over a century, with applications in every field. But to use them for catching rodents—honestly, that never crossed my mind. Mr. Yang, I'm genuinely impressed."
"You flatter me," Yang said with a smile. "But whether it's Post-its or glue traps, they both rely on two basic materials: paper and glue.
We're not worried about paper—but our glue demand keeps growing. And as our products start selling in more countries, we're hitting all kinds of challenges with adhesives."
Qian nodded. "That's normal. Small factories can get by with anything, but larger ones can't cut corners.
All glues look similar, but they number in the thousands. Picking the right one for your production line takes real effort—and technical know-how."
Yang continued, "I'm not just looking for the right glue. I plan to build a glue factory right here in Hong Kong—initially to make glue for our own Post-its and traps.
If we succeed, we can expand into other glue types—or even enter product categories that rely on advanced adhesives."
"Excellent vision," Qian praised. "But Hong Kong doesn't have the supply chain. It won't be easy."
"I know. But I have an agreement with 3M—they're going to help us," Yang said. "Still, I can't rely on them for everything. That's why I need someone like you."
Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.
Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/johanssen10