Homo Sapiens

In contrast to the discreet development of its fertilizer and pesticide supply chains, Luzon’s investments in infrastructure construction were far more conspicuous.

After all, the combination of massive capital investment and Homo Sapiens Company’s strict internal management produced immediate and obvious results.

Luzon’s infrastructure was terrible, even in the areas surrounding Manila.

It wasn’t for a lack of prior investment. Rather, the funds that were invested had been skimmed at every level, resulting in nothing but a slew of vanity projects and shoddy, corner-cutting construction.

A new highway was being built along a former railway line to connect the Manila Region with the southern parts of Luzon.

A supervision team from the Supervision Department was currently on-site. The teams led by Julie and Wang Muyi were responsible for inspecting a section of the project.

The construction crew, however, had no intention of stopping their work just for the Supervision Department’s spot check.

For one, the construction team genuinely disliked the people from Supervision. For another, protocol didn’t require them to be overly deferential.

The project’s engineer, Zhang Bowen, approached the two team leaders, project materials in hand.

”We’ve modified some of the construction materials, so the highway’s parameters have changed slightly.”

Wang Muyi flipped through the documents, an eyebrow raised. ”Iron Bamboo Reinforcement? Its strength and corrosion resistance are this high? But Zhang, about you using sea sand instead of river sand... does your company’s engineering department know?”

”They were the ones who requested we use sea sand,” Zhang Bowen said with a shrug and a smile. ”After all, Coral Cement has excellent salt and alkali resistance—you can pour it directly in the ocean. They figured using sea sand wouldn’t make much of a difference.”

Julie, meanwhile, personally picked up a piece of the Iron Bamboo Reinforcement. Using the on-site equipment, she ran a quick test and found its strength was indeed much greater than that of steel rebar. Still, considering other properties, she cut off a sample to take back for detailed analysis and record-keeping.

Her way of doing things seemed influenced by Brian, the head of the Supervision Department, making her appear very rigid.

They moved to an area where workers were bundling the bamboo reinforcement.

She noticed the workers, all wearing hard hats, weren’t using steel wire for bundling. Instead, they used special buckles and screws to secure the bamboo reinforcement. Julie immediately spot-checked a dozen of the nuts to see if they were properly tightened.

Wang Muyi, ever the seasoned operator, made small talk while simultaneously observing the entire construction site.

”Zhang, can the bamboo reinforcements not be joined together?”

”They can be, with special buckles. It’s just not necessary for paving the road surface,” Zhang Bowen explained, pointing to the bundling area.

”We’ve adjusted the roadbed design. We’re bundling the bamboo reinforcement into four-meter-square sections. When we pour the concrete, we use straw mats as dividers. This prevents us from having to cut expansion joints into the road surface later to relieve internal stress.”

Wang Muyi glanced down at the road surface and, sure enough, saw the joints, their gaps stuffed with straw mats.

”How long does it need to cure after being poured?”

”Just one week. The Coral Cement we’re using is superior to ordinary cement in various ways—setting speed, adhesive strength, corrosion resistance, thermal expansion coefficient, abrasion resistance, and compressive strength. Normally, after we pave a section, it’s ready for traffic in about ten days.”

Wang Muyi laughed. ”Looks like I’ll be able to drive to Manila next month.”

”Haha, you won’t have to wait that long! We’re actually working on multiple sections simultaneously. There are only seventeen kilometers of road left to complete. At our current pace, all the sections will be connected in about fourteen days. After another ten days for curing, and once we finish installing the streetlights and signs, it’ll be open to traffic.”

”Zhang, any trouble with your family’s visas?” Wang Muyi asked suddenly.

Zhang Bowen shook his head. ”The company helped sort it out. I never expected something like this to happen. I can’t go back for the time being, so I had my wife switch to a work visa. My kid has to stay on a tourist visa, though.”

”Have you considered applying for citizenship?”

”What? Citizenship?” The thought had never occurred to Zhang Bowen.

Wang Muyi lowered his voice. ”If you want to advance further here, you have to become a citizen. Company executives aren’t allowed to hold foreign passports, after all. And believe me, Homo Sapiens Company has a limitless future.”

”For real?” Zhang Bowen was skeptical.

”Why would I lie to you? Do you know who the major shareholders of Homo Sapiens Company are?”

Zhang Bowen had heard some rumors. ”It’s the Fernandos and the Lopezes, right?”

”Heh, you’re always stuck on-site, Zhang, so you’re out of the loop. Marcus is out. Gafei Fernando is a lock to succeed Old Du next year. You tell me, you think Homo Sapiens Company isn’t going to take off?”

”Is that right?” Zhang Bowen was astonished.

”Haven’t you noticed? The parent company has spawned a ton of new subsidiaries. Isn’t your own Coral Construction Company on another hiring spree?”

Zhang Bowen nodded. Coral Construction Company was now arguably the largest employer in Luzon, with a current staff of 176,000.

With so many construction projects to get started on, even a hundred-some-thousand employees weren’t quite enough.

But Zhang Bowen was still hesitant about becoming a citizen. ”It can’t be that easy to become an executive, can it? After all, the people from the big local families are the real insiders.”

Wang Muyi shook his head. ”Who told you that? At least a quarter of the executives are ethnically Chinese. The chairman is Chinese, too, even if it’s just in name. Zhang, you don’t understand the inner workings. The technical positions are now almost entirely filled by Chinese people. Isn’t the head of your own engineering department Chinese?”

”A technical post? But I don’t have any connections!”

”Zhang, you’ll owe me dinner for this. The ’in’ for a technical post *is* your technical skill. Don’t worry about anything else. You need to understand that promotions are decided by the parent company’s HR department, and the head of HR is completely incorruptible. If you don’t have the skills, he wouldn’t promote you even if you gave him a million US Dollars.”

Zhang Bowen was incredulous. ”For real? HR really only looks at ability?”

He’d been burned too many times by that sort of thing back in China; it had almost left him with a complex. Zhang Bowen used to be a technician for a state-owned railway construction company. He’d been stuck in a professional rut for years simply because he wasn’t good at sucking up to his bosses.

Now, faced with a meritocracy like Homo Sapiens Company, he was actually finding it a little hard to adjust.

If it was a contest of technical and professional skill, Zhang Bowen was more than qualified to be the chief engineer for a highway project.

”Don’t you worry! My boss and the head of HR are thick as thieves. Everyone at the parent company knows what they’re like. They call them the ’Iron Duo.’ They’ll defy the Fernando Clan and the Lopez Clan without batting an eye,” Wang Muyi said, patting his chest in assurance.

This was one of the reasons Wang Muyi was encouraging Zhang Bowen to go for it.

Homo Sapiens Company’s Supervision and HR departments were truly impartial and strict, which went a long way in ensuring the company’s internal integrity.

As a member of the Supervision Department, Wang Muyi had personally witnessed just how hard-headed his boss, Brian, could be.

Not long ago, for example, Brian had stood firm against pressure from the Fernando Clan and sent several employees with family connections straight to jail. The incident had left a deep impression on Wang Muyi.

And yet, Gafei, Harry, and the other core members of the Fernando Clan didn’t react at all.

To outsiders, it must have looked like Brian was showing immense disrespect to his own bosses. Yet he remained as secure as ever in his position. In fact, it was the few members of the Fernando family who had been making the most noise who were dealt with directly by Gafei.

After that, employees within Homo Sapiens Company who came from the powerful families had no choice but to tuck their tails between their legs whenever they dealt with the Supervision Department.

After all, Brian played for real. He didn’t just give out slaps on the wrist; he came down hard, strictly adhering to company regulations and the law.