"Boss, we've already recruited over a hundred people through headhunting companies during this period. Among them, those in operations and planning are the most numerous, over fifty people, followed by over forty developers. The other personnel add up to over 40 people, and we're also in talks with a team of over 20 people, so I don't think there will be a problem."
Listening to Yang Qian'er's report, Lin Hao was shocked, not expecting that over a hundred people had already been recruited in just one week.
"So many?" Lin Hao asked in surprise.
"Those headhunting companies went crazy after hearing the conditions you offered. Any internet company in China with a bit of fame became their target. When employees received calls from headhunters and heard about the doubled salary and benefits, their eyes lit up, and many agreed on the spot."
Yang Qian'er herself hadn't expected this matter to go so smoothly; over a hundred people had already been recruited in just one week.
"Those headhunting companies didn't falsify things to cheat for commissions, did they?" Lin Hao asked, feeling uneasy.
"You can rest assured about that. For the people they recommend, we will rearrange interviews, and only those who pass the interview will be arranged for onboarding."
Hearing Yang Qian'er's words, Lin Hao opened the document she handed him and took a look. He had originally thought the companies from which the most people were recruited would be Shanda or NetEase, but he didn't expect it to be Jinshan - Xishanju.
Seeing that Jinshan was actually the one from which the most people were poached, Lin Hao was a bit surprised and also thought of a person, Lei Jun.
At this time, Lei Jun should be the General Manager of Jinshan. In early 1992, Lei Jun joined Jinshan Company.
He successively held positions such as Beijing Development Department Manager of Jinshan Company, Zhuhai Company Deputy General Manager, and Beijing Jinshan Software Company General Manager.
In August 1998, he served as General Manager of Jinshan Company; by the end of 2000, after Jinshan Company's shareholding system reform, he became President of Beijing Jinshan Software Co., Ltd.
Lei Jun joined Jinshan at the age of 22 and worked there until he was 38, spending a full 16 years at Jinshan, during which he completed Jinshan's IPO listing work.
On December 20, 2007, Lei Jun resigned from his position as Jinshan General Manager, and in 2010, he started his own business and founded Xiaomi.
"Why are there so many people from Jinshan?" Lin Hao raised his head and asked Yang Qian'er.
"Jinshan's current situation isn't very good; they're struggling to make ends meet and can barely pay salaries. As soon as headhunting companies contacted them, many people came over. That team of over 20 people is from Xishanju."
Yang Qian'er's words left Lin Hao a bit stunned. This is happening?
Xishanju can be said to be one of the earliest teams in China to make games, having successively released 'Jian Xia Qing Yuan' and 'Jian Xia Qing Yuan II'. The latter, in particular, set a sales miracle for domestic games that year with 200,000 copies sold.
However, they shone brightly for a while but then declined. Fewer and fewer people played single-player games, and after online games became popular, things got worse and worse for them.
Although they declined, their game development capabilities were still very strong, and they would quickly adjust, starting development in the direction of online games, and they still exist as of 2023.
Jinshan used to get by pretty well relying on Kingsoft Antivirus, but with the cold reception of WPS, which was developed with huge investment, and the sluggish market, they are having a hard time now and naturally can't spare attention for the Xishanju Studio.
Thinking of this, Lin Hao rubbed his chin.
He thought about it and decided against it. Xishanju is in Zhuhai, too far from Beijing, and acquiring it wouldn't be of much use. However, Lin Hao was very interested in the person Lei Jun.
"How many people does the company have now?" Lin Hao asked Yang Qian'er.
"Including those we recruited ourselves and those we poached, we now have over 200 people."
Saying this, Yang Qian'er was filled with a sense of pride. It had only been two weeks since the company opened, and the number of people had already exceeded 200.
In 2002, companies with over a hundred people could already be considered large companies. It was quite good for an ordinary company to have a few dozen people, not counting factories and the like, of course.
Even fewer internet companies had over a hundred people. Take the four most popular portal websites now—Sina, NetEase, Sohu, and Tencent—their numbers are roughly around this, but these companies have been developing for many years.
Hearing this number, Lin Hao wasn't surprised. Although it seemed like a lot, thinking about the things he needed to do later, Lin Hao still felt there were too few people.
"Recruiting people must continue, but poaching can be slowed down, unless it's a particularly capable person or team."
"Okay, Boss," Yang Qian'er readily agreed. She also felt that too many people had been recruited recently. Those recruited by the company themselves were fine, but many of the poached individuals were previously from the same company, especially those who came over as an entire team and are now working together. It's easy for small cliques to form, which might not be noticeable in the short term but could be problematic in the long run.
Yang Qian'er went out to work, and Lin Hao no longer felt like teasing Shen Yuxuan. He took her out of the office and went to the office area outside.
The office space Lin Hao rented was an entire floor, over 3000 square meters. Although there were already over 200 employees, the office area still looked a bit empty.
He took Shen Yuxuan around the company's various departments. The Game Department had the most people, over 100, the vast majority of whom were developers.
Seeing Lin Hao come over, Li Xueling proactively started introducing things to Lin Hao.
"Boss, our department currently has 123 people. Among them, there are 78 developers, and 45 in planning, operations, design, etc. Of the 78 developers, 50 are working on the secondary development of Miracle MU, 18 are developing a game forum, and 10 are working on the internet cafe management software you just mentioned."
"Promotional work is also currently underway. We will let you review the promotional plan once it's ready."
Li Xueling explained the current division of labor and tasks in the Game Department to Lin Hao in detail.
"Make the promotional plan a bit bolder. When the game is launched, we need to let the entire internet know. Anyone online must know about our game. We must make it an instant hit."
Li Xueling's eyes lit up when he heard Lin Hao's words. Although Lin Hao had mentioned the internet cafe management software before, he didn't know how to promote it. Now, with Lin Hao's words, he was reassured. The key word was 'spend money.' He was good at this. At that time, he would buy advertisements on all major internet platforms, and then find some people to guide the narrative on major game forums. He believed that with the quality of 'Miracle MU,' it would definitely become popular.
"Boss, rest assured, I will handle this matter of spending money clearly and effectively for you." As soon as Li Xueling finished speaking, everyone laughed.
In the evening, Lin Hao received calls from Lin Fugui and Zheng Wanrong.
"You brat, you've already returned to China, so why aren't you coming home? Where did you run off to?" Lin Fugui's roaring voice came from the phone.