On Friday afternoon, after Wang Mengmeng submitted the comprehensive "User Persona and Competitor Strategy Research Report" complete with charts and text, half of the weight lifted from Li Banjia's heart. With this detailed report as a foundation, next week's first project weekly report for President Zhao would have solid content to back it up.
(Friday, Saturday, and Sunday daily salary +1 tael, [Imperial Treasury] balance reaches 402+3=405 taels. Imperial Majesty 17.)
Over the weekend, Li Banjia unusually did not completely collapse on the couch. Instead, he spent a good deal of time pondering how to present the weekly report and addressing the technical implementation issues for the next phase of the pilot project. Wang Mengmeng's report was fantastic, but if some of the data tracking and user behavior analysis mentioned in it could involve more automated technical methods, both efficiency and depth would be vastly improved.
"Relying solely on Us and Mengmeng as two 'liberal arts majors' means we're still flying blind when hitting hard-core technical problems," Li Banjia muttered, looking at the technical nodes he had circled in red on the project plan, deeply feeling the dilemma of "having no one in the Ministry of Works."
A figure involuntarily floated into his mind—a man named Zhang Chen in the IT department who always sat quietly in the corner, with rather thinning hair and black-rimmed glasses, whom everyone was used to calling Brother Zhang.
Brother Zhang was around thirty-five or six, a veteran employee of the company. His technical skills were reportedly quite solid, especially when it came to writing automation scripts and data processing. However, due to his introverted personality, lack of eloquence, and dislike of standing out, he had always remained rather inconspicuous in the talent-heavy (and fiercely competitive) IT department, mostly handling routine maintenance and odd jobs for various departments. Li Banjia had sought him out a few times previously due to computer issues and felt he was a man of few words but very reliable in his work.
"If I could recruit a technical heavyweight like Brother Zhang to be the 'Junior Vice Minister of Works'..." Li Banjia calculated inwardly.
The moment this thought crossed his mind, on his phone screen, the pixelated eunuch avatar of the system app flashed on cue.
[Imperial heart seeks talent, embracing pillars of the state.]
[Detected that Your Majesty intends to recruit able personnel, the [Talent Pavilion] system automatically scans and matches...]
[Target individual locked: Zhang Chen (IT Department Software Engineer)]
[Ability evaluation: Data Processing Lv.2, Script Programming Lv.3, System Maintenance Lv.2]
[Current status: Talent unrecognized, edge gradually worn down, feeling slightly weary of repetitive work.]
[Potential positions: [Director of Works] / [Academician of the Academy of Sciences] (requires Your Majesty's subsequent cultivation and authorization)]
Immediately following, a new task popped up:
[Triggered Talent Recruitment Task: [Three Visits to the Worthy Minister: Zhang Chen] (Phased).]
[Task objective: Proactively establish effective communication with [Zhang Chen], understand his true needs and dilemmas, and successfully invite him to provide technical support for the "Stormy Pilot" project (reach a preliminary cooperation intent).]
[Task reward: [Rank Experience Value] +30, [Imperial Majesty] +5, [Zhang Chen] has a chance to transform into a formal [Subordinate Minister].]
"Well, system, you even come with resume screening and background checks?" Li Banjia clicked his tongue in wonder. "'Talent unrecognized, edge gradually worn down'—that evaluation is quite accurate."
Monday morning. (Daily salary +1, Imperial Treasury 405+1=406 taels)
Li Banjia had printed out the first project weekly report rushed out over the weekend and was preparing to show it to Wang Mengmeng first when he saw Zhang Chen coming out of the pantry carrying a mug.
"Morning, Brother Zhang!" Li Banjia greeted with a smile and walked over naturally.
"Oh, Banjia, morning," Zhang Chen nodded with some surprise. He had a bit of an impression of this young man who had recently gained some small fame in the company.
"Brother Zhang, I have something I'd like to consult you about," Li Banjia went straight to the point, but his tone was very sincere. "I'm recently in charge of a new media pilot project, which involves some user behavior data tracking and automated analysis. Coming from a pure liberal arts background, I really find this part a headache. Last time I saw you write that automated visitor data statistics script for the admin department, the efficiency was exceptionally high, so I figured you must be an expert in this area."
His words both flattered Zhang Chen and clearly stated his own needs. The Lv.1 [Intellect] made his phrasing appropriate, and the Lv.5 [Charisma] made him appear sincere and unobtrusive.
Hearing this, the eyes behind Zhang Chen's glasses lit up, seeming more interested in "technical problems." He pushed up his glasses: " Oh? What kind of specific data tracking and analysis needs do you have?"
Li Banjia briefly explained and brought up some of the technical puzzles he had encountered. Zhang Chen listened very carefully, nodding from time to time, and then used his usual concise yet straight-to-the-point language to offer several problem-solving approaches and suggestions for usable open-source tools.
"If the data volume isn't large, you could even write a Python script combined with task scheduler to automatically handle most of it," Zhang Chen concluded.
"You are truly amazing, Brother Zhang! Hearing you speak for a moment is better than reading books for ten years!" Li Banjia delivered flattery at the appropriate time (truly filled with admiration). "To be honest with you, my pilot project has quite a few similar technical difficulties ahead, such as visualization of user behavior paths, trigger statistics for specific events, and so on. My team... cough, currently it's just me and an intern, so our technical strength is really weak."
He paused, looked at Zhang Chen, his tone carrying probing anticipation: "Brother Zhang, I know you're usually busy with work too, but I was wondering... do you have even a little bit of interest in participating in a new project that builds a data system from scratch? Although our project is small, President Zhao is personally inquiring about it. If we can make achievements, it will certainly be helpful for personal development."
He cleverly utilized the technique of Lv.1 [Policy Discourse], pointing out the project's "novelty," "high-level attention," and "development potential"—precisely what Zhang Chen, currently stuck in career burnout, might need.
Zhang Chen was silent for a moment, a flash of complex emotion crossing his gaze. His current job was indeed stable, but it was also indeed... a pool of stagnant water. Every day was either dealing with trivial server matters or writing repetitive data-extraction scripts for various business departments, leaving his skills with nowhere to shine.
"Your project... sounds a bit interesting," Zhang Chen slowly began. "However, I also have quite a lot of my own work, so the time I can invest might be limited."
There's an opening! Li Banjia felt a surge of joy inside.
"Don't you worry, Brother Zhang!" he immediately replied. "It definitely won't affect your normal work! It's mainly hoping to get your guidance on key technical nodes, or when it's convenient for you, help build some core automated processing frameworks. I'll also have Mengmeng fully cooperate to assist you on my end. Moreover, if the project really succeeds, I will surely report all technical contributions truthfully in front of President Zhao, and never take undue credit!"
His words were grounded and full of sincerity. They both showed consideration for the other's situation and offered clear respect and expected benefits.
Looking at Li Banjia's young and energetic face, and thinking about his own day-after-day maintenance work where retirement was almost in sight, the fire in Zhang Chen's heart that was about to go out seemed to be reignited just a bit.
"Alright then," he adjusted his glasses, a very faint smile finally appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Let me first understand the specific requirements of your project and see what I can help with."
The moment Zhang Chen uttered "Alright then," Li Banjia's phone vibrated very cooperatively.
"Clang—!"
[The [Three Visits to the Worthy Minister: Zhang Chen] task is complete! Evaluation: Excellent (earnest in words, discerning in utilizing talent, moving with sincerity).]
[ [Zhang Chen] is deeply touched by Your Majesty's grace of recognizing his talent, and preliminarily agrees to contribute technical strength to the "Stormy Pilot" project.]
[Loyalty: 55/100 (preliminary recognition, watching and waiting).]
[ [Zhang Chen] has officially logged in as Your Majesty's second [Subordinate Minister].]
[Subordinate Minister position: [Director of Works] (acting).]
[Task reward: [Rank Experience Value] +30, [Imperial Majesty] +5.]
Li Banjia's [Rank Experience Value] reached 130 points (100+30), and [Imperial Majesty] also rose to 22 points (17+5).
"That's great!" The heavy stone in Li Banjia's heart landed, and a big smile bloomed on his face. "Brother Zhang, with you stepping in, half of my project is already successful! Come on, I'll treat you to coffee, and we can chat about the project details in depth!"
In his "imperial court" now, he finally had a "civil official" (Wang Mengmeng) and an "artisan" (Zhang Chen). Although both were still "acting," the foundational team had begun to take shape.
Next was to lead his two "beloved ministers," properly prepare the weekly report for Zhao Dezhu, and handle various challenges that might arise in the pilot project.