Chapter 50: Yang Yilin

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Yang Yilin was one of the senior management talents whom Long Kun had "invited" to join—though to call it an invitation was a stretch, for it took a mixture of coaxing, deception, and outright threats to bring her to the bar. As for why Long Kun sought her out, there was indeed a little story behind it.

At the time, Long Kun was ordered to recruit staff at the talent market. The sign he hung read "Longhua Leisure and Entertainment Co., Ltd.", and he, along with Paigu and Hu Li, dressed up in a borrowed suit and sat grandly at the table. Yet every applicant who saw the trio immediately turned away, especially unnerved by the knife scar on Long Kun’s face, which sent shivers down their spines. They spent the entire morning talking without collecting a single resume.

Frustrated, Long Kun turned to Paigu and said, "You watch here. I’m going out for a smoke. Damn it, not a single person all morning."

Paigu nodded quickly, "Kun, go ahead… Hu and I have it covered."

Long Kun raised his hand and slapped him, "How many times have I told you, call me President Long!"

The two exchanged looks. "President Long, you go ahead. Manager Hu and I will keep watch—you can rest assured."

Next to them, the head of another recruiting company, wearing glasses, turned to glance at Long Kun—just in time to meet his gaze. "Four-eyed frog, what are you looking at?" Long Kun barked.

The bespectacled man quickly lowered his head to examine resumes, but his reaction stung Long Kun’s wounded pride. He cursed at Paigu and Hu Li, "I don’t care. Today we must hire a deputy general manager. If we don’t, you two can go back to that room in the vegetable market."

"Kun, please! Don’t do this…" the two pleaded.

"Enough nonsense—this is your job now. I’m going out for a smoke." With that, he stuck a cigarette between his lips and strode out.

The pair exchanged another look—today, even if they had to snatch someone, they would bring a candidate back. The vegetable market was not somewhere they wished to return.

Long Kun hadn’t been gone long when Yang Yilin approached the recruitment desk. She saw several positions posted on the bulletin board—the most prominent being Deputy General Manager, with a monthly salary of five thousand. For someone desperately in need of money, this was promising. She held a master's degree in Economics and Management from Deqing University, yet several companies had rejected her for lack of work experience. Even those willing to hire her only offered secretarial roles. To ask a graduate student to be a secretary was a joke—unless it was for the general manager or chairman, positions whose duties Yang Yilin, a gifted woman, could easily guess.

She noted that Paigu and Hu Li, though somewhat rough in appearance, were much better-looking than Long Kun, and they sat there behaving properly, which managed to fool Yang Yilin.

"Gentlemen, hello. I’d like to apply for the Deputy General Manager position. Here is my resume, please take a look." Yang Yilin smiled as she stated her purpose.

The two, who had been daydreaming moments before, were abruptly pulled back to reality by the appearance of a beautiful woman, instantly adopting idiotic grins. Luckily, Hu Li was more perceptive and nudged Paigu from below.

"Miss, hello, I’m the recruitment manager for Longhua Leisure and Entertainment. Please, have a seat." Hu Li, quick-witted, slipped easily into his role.

Yang Yilin gracefully smoothed her skirt and sat across from them. She began, "May I ask what industry your company primarily operates in?"

People often use the term "fox spirit" to describe someone cunning, and Hu Li truly lived up to it. He leaned back theatrically in his chair, flipped through Yang Yilin’s resume, and replied, "Miss Yang, your qualifications are excellent…" As he said this, his eyes lingered on her chest.

"We are a newly established entertainment company, mainly focusing on the bar industry. You know what a bar is, right?" Hu Li finished with a question so idiotic it bordered on absurd.

Of course Yang Yilin knew what a bar was. She smiled slightly. "Manager Hu, I am familiar with bars, and in fact, the bar industry is set to be the hottest entertainment sector in the next decade, with tremendous growth potential."

Paigu and Hu Li exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing: this woman was talented and attractive—they should hire her.

"Miss Yang, we are very impressed with your abilities. Let’s sign the employment contract now and you can start immediately," Hu Li urged, eager to bring on a deputy general manager. He had no desire to spend another night in the vegetable market.

Yang Yilin was clearly unprepared. "So urgent? I haven’t even seen your company yet…"

Paigu jumped in, "No need to see it. Here’s the employment contract. Take a look, and if it’s fine, sign it. Monthly salary is five thousand, with a year-end bonus. If you need a place to stay, we can arrange it."

Still hesitant, Yang Yilin glanced at the contract and began, "But—"

"Miss Yang, no buts. Our company just invested over two million in a brand-new bar on Beiping Road. Both hardware and service are the best in the country. Our chairman has worked abroad for years, bringing foreign bar culture fully into the domestic market. Next, our chairman plans to expand nationwide, starting from Deqing. Think about it: such a promising company, with the best salary in Deqing—if you don’t join, when will you? Besides, the pay is the highest around." Paigu was surprised by Hu Li’s speech—so polished, he wondered if Hu Li had learned this from Brother Nan in advance.

Indeed, Zhuo Nan had foreseen the difficulty in recruiting talent with this group and had taught Hu Li a few contingency strategies to use as needed.

Yang Yilin was bewildered, turning the contract in her hands, torn between signing and fearing she was being duped. Perhaps these two were running a pyramid scheme. But then she thought, what was there to lose? She only had a hundred yuan left anyway.

Paigu, seeing her hesitation, grew impatient. "Damn it, are you signing or not?"

Frightened, Yang Yilin quickly signed her name. As soon as she finished, Paigu and Hu Li burst into triumphant laughter, high-fiving each other in celebration. Seeing their reaction, Yang Yilin was filled with regret, convinced she’d been tricked into joining a pyramid scheme.

After their laughter, Hu Li turned serious. "Deputy General Manager Yang, you’re now officially our deputy general manager. The recruitment work is yours to finish."

Yang Yilin was confused. "What about you?"

"We… ha ha… We’re finally out of misery. Deputy Yang, it’s all yours. The recruitment materials are on the desk, just handle it. We’re leaving now," Hu Li said with a smile.

"Wait… I… I…" Yang Yilin tried to protest, but the words wouldn’t come. Her mind was in chaos.

"Never mind, just handle it," Paigu said, placing a stack of recruitment documents in her hands. As he left, he added, "We’ll bring you lunch at noon. Just focus on your work here."

Pyramid scheme—there was no doubt about it. Yang Yilin’s mood plummeted. Her father had been diagnosed with cancer the previous year, and the family had spent all their savings on treatment, yet his condition hadn’t improved. Luckily, she finally graduated with her master’s this year, thinking she could secure a high-paying job. But after a month, her money was almost gone and she still hadn’t found suitable work. Just yesterday, she received more bad news—her mother had fallen ill, though the cause was still unknown, and the family was truly out of funds. Yang Yilin had set herself a goal: if she couldn’t find a good job today, she would sell her body for money. But now, she’d somehow ended up in a pyramid scheme.

Feeling cheated, she wanted to leave immediately, but feared they might hold her liable, since she had signed the contract. She examined the contract closely and found its terms surprisingly formal, nothing like what she imagined a pyramid scheme would use—though she had never seen one before, she assumed it would be rather informal.

Sighing, Yang Yilin could only sit quietly. At worst, she’d wait until noon when they returned and try to negotiate, maybe offer her last hundred yuan to let them release her.

Long Kun returned after his smoke, just as Paigu and Hu Li were leaving. "Where are you two going? Damn it, I told you to keep watch—are you trying to run off?"

"Kun—no, President Long, we’ve hired the deputy general manager, and she’s handling everything now," Paigu replied quickly.

"You recruited her? Let me see." Long Kun demanded confirmation.

The three sneaked a glance from a distance at the company’s table, where a beautiful woman sat deep in thought. Long Kun asked, "Is she reliable?"

"Don’t worry, President Long. I checked—her resume says she has a master’s degree from Deqing University. She meets Brother Nan’s requirements," Hu Li answered.

"Alright, leave it to her. Let’s go eat. We’ll bring her something later," Long Kun said, smiling with satisfaction as he led the other two to lunch.

Yang Yilin failed to recruit anyone all morning—she was simply too distracted, anxiously waiting for Hu Li and the others to return. Lunchtime had long passed…

"Deputy Yang, lunchtime!" Hu Li’s call snapped Yang Yilin from her thoughts.

She looked up to see Hu Li and the intimidating man from earlier standing before her, Hu Li holding a lunch box. Behind them stood a burly, rough-faced man with a knife scar—enough to terrify anyone.

"Manager Hu, I can’t do this job. Please find someone more suitable," Yang Yilin said cautiously, afraid to offend them.

At her words, the three men’s expressions changed, but fortunately, Hu Li had been coached by Brother Nan and smiled, "Deputy Yang, you’ve signed the contract—breaking it now wouldn’t be wise. Besides, you’ve only worked half a day; how can you know you’re not suited for it? Everything takes time. Come, eat first." He opened the lunch box and placed it before her.

Yang Yilin was famished. For days, she’d survived on instant noodles, carefully rationing her money. Now, a fragrant meal sat before her, and her resolve wavered. She decided to eat first—how delicious it smelled! The food looked distinguished, too—golden rice grains topped with a bundle of silver threads.

She looked up, puzzled, at Hu Li, who smiled, "Eat first—it’s shark fin rice."

The group had truly raised their standards.

Yang Yilin stared blankly at the lunch box, "This… this…" She struggled to finish her sentence.

Long Kun grew impatient, "What’s this? Eat quickly, then continue recruiting." He pulled a wad of cash from his pocket and threw it in front of Yang Yilin, "This is half a month’s salary, paid in advance. Work hard—don’t make trouble."

At his words, Yang Yilin fell silent—the knife scar alone was intimidating enough, let alone his stern tone. She paled and dared not utter a sound.

The three men ambled off. Yang Yilin looked at the shark fin rice and the two thousand yuan before her. She slipped the money into her bag, then picked up the lunch box and ate. Within moments, the meal was gone. After wiping her mouth, she sat up straight and began to study the recruitment materials carefully.