Chapter 22: Oh My God! Zhou Ziyang Is First in the Whole School!

Zhou Ziyang’s original plan was to wait for Li Dongfeng’s return and, through Li’s connections, recruit a group of high school students who had no interest in further education and were looking for work.

In the entire city, there were roughly eight thousand to twelve thousand high school graduates. Finding a batch of students who wanted to work rather than study was incredibly simple. Most of these students came from families without connections or influence; they wanted to earn money but had no idea where to start, and while there were plenty of high-paying jobs out there, they were terrified of being scammed.

If there were a group of their peers involved—take Li Dongfeng, for instance; though he wasn't a good student, he held some sway in his social circle—if he were to step up and rally them, it wouldn't be difficult to find fifty classmates who trusted him enough to follow his lead.

However, no one expected that before Li Dongfeng had even returned, he had already rounded up twenty young people who were out looking for work. These individuals were about the same age as Li; most had not yet graduated high school, and with college out of the question and heavy financial burdens at home, they were eager to find any job, no matter how grueling. They knew that earning money was never easy.

Most of them hailed from nearby regions like Northern Jiangsu, Southern Shandong, or Northern Anhui. In their quest for work, they had done exactly what Li Dongfeng and his friends had done: endured a day and a night on a slow green-skin train heading south to the city of Huacheng, only to find their dreams shattered. Having promised their families they would work hard to earn money, returning home empty-handed after only a week felt too humiliating. Thus, they decided to follow Li Dongfeng and try their luck.

With so many people arriving at once, Zhou Ziyang had to accelerate his plans. Fortunately, the business license had already been secured. Now, it was just a matter of seeing if reality would prove as fulfilling as his ideals.

Relying on memories from his past life, Zhou Ziyang dialed the number of a Taiwanese business owner. If the man hadn't been bragging back then, he should currently be serving as the deputy factory manager in charge of personnel at an electronics plant in the neighboring city of Sucheng in 2015. Zhou had once heard him sigh that the factory business had been tough these past two years, but if one really wanted to make money, the period between 2015 and 2018 was the golden era—a time when the people might rest, but the machines never did.

"Back then, we were hiring temporary workers everywhere. From 20 yuan an hour to 28, it was crazy. Normally, our HR department handled hiring, but we just couldn't find enough people, so we had to outsource temporary labor. We took whoever we could get."

"It was truly profitable back then!" The owner would say, full of nostalgia.

Indeed, in 2015, most people were full of confidence about the future. They felt that earning money was a matter of course, and that life would only get better. City skyscrapers were rising one after another, and technological progress was changing with each passing day. As for the factories, they were working day and night, never stopping. It was the era when smartphones were replacing traditional mobile phones; with the rise of brands like Xiaomi and Meizu, the entire country was filled with contract manufacturers for domestic smart devices.

The Taiwanese company Zhou Ziyang was targeting specialized in computer assembly and display panel testing. In reality, only such electronics factories were desperate for labor. Among those hiring temporary workers, only Taiwanese or Japanese firms were willing to offer such high hourly rates. Zhou just hoped this owner was indeed short-handed and willing to pay 28 yuan an hour; otherwise, he would have to look for another way. It would mean earning less, but he had to find a path for Li Dongfeng, as he had already given his word.

With this thought, Zhou Ziyang finally pressed the dial button.

*Beep...*
*Beep...*

To be honest, Zhou was incredibly nervous. He feared the owner had been bragging and didn't actually need workers, or worse, that the number wouldn't even connect. That would be embarrassing. Fortunately, after two rings, the call was answered.

The person on the other end spoke with a distinct Taiwanese accent: "Hello?"

"Hello, is the factory still looking for people?" Zhou Ziyang asked, naturally slipping into a Taiwanese inflection himself.

The man, finding the accent familiar, asked cautiously, "May I ask who is calling?"

Zhou Ziyang introduced himself as the operations manager of Ziyang Labor Service Co., Ltd. "I heard from a friend that you are hiring everywhere?"

Li Jianhong didn't know how Zhou had found his number, but he was indeed desperate for staff. After a moment of silence, he asked, "How many people do you have?"

"That depends on how many you need. Since our company reached out to you, we certainly have the capacity. To put it simply, providing fifty to a hundred people is no problem; it just depends on your requirements," Zhou said confidently.

Li Jianhong felt that Zhou was playing a joke on him. Hiring was so difficult right now that he had been pleading with everyone he knew, only to find no one. Yet, this guy was claiming he could provide fifty or a hundred people? It sounded fake.

"I'll send someone to drive over. Can you bring twenty or thirty people first?" Li asked, sounding indifferent.

"Sure. They just returned from out of town. If you're in a hurry, send someone to the train station tomorrow, and I'll contact you then," Zhou replied directly. He knew that based on a single phone call, no reasonable person would trust him. They would have to talk in person.

Zhou prepared to hang up after these brief details, but Li Jianhong, sensing the straightforwardness, began to wonder if it was real.

"Wait," Li called out.

"Is there something else, Mr. Li?" Zhou asked.

Li pondered for a moment. "I do need a batch of short-term workers. What is your rate?"

"28 yuan an hour," Zhou said.

Li Jianhong was stunned. What was going on? He had only thought about this figure in his own mind yesterday when he was anxious, telling himself he would be willing to pay 28 yuan an hour if he could just find workers. He hadn't said this to anyone. How did this guy know his bottom line?

"28 is too expensive, Manager Zhou. It’s usually around 26!" Li tried to haggle. 28 was indeed his limit, but he couldn't just accept it when Zhou offered it.

"Quality comes at a price," Zhou said with a soft chuckle, offering no further explanation.

This Li Jianhong was a typical Taiwanese merchant—polite and friendly on the surface, laughing and joking with everyone, but deep down, he looked down on others. He rarely worked with labor agencies because he felt everyone in this region was cunning and trying to squeeze money out of him. If Zhou had started haggling, Li would have assumed there was still profit to be made. By acting mysterious, Zhou gained the upper hand.

Li felt disdainful. "What kind of logic is that?"

Zhou replied, "We are a professional, legitimate labor agency. We provide a guarantee for every worker we supply. We ensure they stay for the long term, and if anyone leaves for any reason, we can immediately find a replacement."

"You've been hiring long-term workers, haven't you, Mr. Li?" Zhou continued. "Honestly, at 28 an hour, you aren't losing anything. Think about it: you don't have to cover employee insurance or accidents. When the factory is busy, you take a batch of people from me to create wealth, and when the production period is over, you don't have to spend money on severance or settling them. No matter how you calculate it, you’re coming out ahead."

Li Jianhong remained silent. He was indeed desperate for workers, and he had only been trying to drive the price down. But Zhou’s argument made sense. If the labor agency was stable, he could draw on a large pool of workers without the burden of insurance or liability. At that point, 28 yuan an hour didn't seem expensive at all.

Li had never liked the complications of these small matters; he just hated feeling cheated by locals. But Zhou’s Taiwanese accent felt familiar, and his refusal to budge on the 28-yuan price made it feel like a fair deal.

After a hesitation, Li asked, "Is Manager Zhou also from the peninsula?"

"Not exactly, but I spent two years studying in Kaohsiung when I was young."

"Oh, no wonder! I was wondering why your accent sounded so familiar. I'm from Kaohsiung myself."

"Is that so? No wonder I found your voice so familiar as well. So, Mr. Li, are we in agreement on this business?"

Li laughed and said there was no rush. "Let's set a time to meet in person."

Zhou suggested tomorrow. "My people are coming back from out of town tomorrow. You prepare a vehicle, and I'll arrange twenty people for a trial run. If you find it unsuitable, we can discuss it then."

So generous? Li Jianhong couldn't help but think that Zhou Ziyang wasn't a scammer after all. He checked his schedule for the next day. "Alright, Manager Zhou. I'll come over tomorrow."

By 2015, Sucheng had already planned for a high-speed railway station, but since the city wasn't on the main line, it would take time. Before 2015, residents of Sucheng had to travel to a small county town in the north—Zhou Ziyang’s hometown—to catch a train. The two cities were only forty minutes apart.

That day happened to be the day the exam results were released. Zhou Ziyang had been acting quite carefree over the past two days. Everyone knew he had surprised everyone, as his grades in several subjects were quite high. However, some remained skeptical, wondering how someone as average as Zhou could suddenly become so brilliant. According to his estimated score, wouldn't he be in the top ten of the entire school? That was a joke. He was clearly just posturing! They waited to see how he would be slapped in the face when the real results came out.

To be honest, even Xia Wei harbored such thoughts. She couldn't understand how Zhou could have become so capable after only one week of serious study. Most importantly, Zhou had started acting cocky again, skipping evening self-study sessions. Previously, no one paid much attention to him, but now that he was in the spotlight, skipping class was sure to be reported to the homeroom teacher. The teacher, having heard that Zhou had done well, hadn't minded, but if the results turned out to be less impressive than his claims, he would be ruined.

It was Monday. As with previous mock exams, the results were compiled into a table and posted on the school bulletin board for students to check their rankings and see if they had made any progress. When Xia Wei arrived at school, the area in front of the board was already packed.

"Xia Wei! You ranked eleventh in the school!" a classmate shouted, eager to share the good news.

Xia Wei felt a surge of relief. Thank goodness! She hadn't failed. Because of Zhou Ziyang’s performance, she had been under immense pressure these last few days. Right, Zhou Ziyang! "What did Zhou Ziyang get?" she hurriedly asked.

"Huh? Zhou Ziyang? I didn't see him!" the girl replied, looking confused. She had been reading from the bottom up, saw herself and Xia Wei, and had been too eager to report the news to look further.

He wasn't on the list? Xia Wei didn't know whether to feel happy or sad, but she felt a weight lift from her heart. At least her reputation was safe. However, before she could even celebrate, she heard someone shriek: "My god! Zhou Ziyang is first in the school!?"

"???" Xia Wei froze in shock.