Chapter 27: One Hundred Thousand Yuan
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Li Jianhong’s factory in Sucheng had been built less than ten years ago, and its residential facilities were fairly complete. Although it did not have the two-person dormitory rooms Li Dongfeng had found online, six-person rooms with air conditioning were still available.
The more than twenty young men were brought to the dormitory, and they stared around like country bumpkins visiting the Grand View Garden, seeing such a place for the first time.
“Is this place really that new?”
“It’s much better than the factory in our village!”
“Look at you, acting like you’ve never seen the world. This is a place Dongfeng’s friend found for us. His friend is the son of an official. Of course it wouldn’t be the same!” one of them mocked.
The other man merely chuckled.
After Zhou Ziyang finished discussing the details with Li Jianhong, Li Jianhong sent his secretary to prepare the contract and collect the money.
Zhou Ziyang said he wanted to go take a look at the dormitories.
Li Jianhong told him to go ahead.
After Zhou Ziyang left, the secretary said, “Boss, that man looks awfully young. Is he reliable?”
“If he isn’t reliable, are you? Can you find me a group of temporary workers?” Li Jianhong rolled his eyes.
The secretary lowered his head and said nothing.
However, recalling what Zhou Ziyang had told him in the car, Li Jianhong could not shake the feeling that the young man had some sort of background. After hesitating for a moment, he decided it would be best to investigate him a little.
When Zhou Ziyang arrived at the dormitory area, the group of more than twenty young men were still unpacking. They all came from poor families, so they had brought their own bedding. By then, they had already begun choosing their beds.
Before Zhou Ziyang even entered the dormitory, he heard someone shout from the corridor, “Brother Zhou is here!”
Immediately, people from several dormitories rushed out and gathered around him.
“Brother Zhou.”
“Brother Zhou.”
“Brother Zhou!”
Their faces were radiant with smiles. Clearly, they were very satisfied with the factory.
Zhou Ziyang gave them a slight nod and asked, “Are you getting used to the place?”
“Yes! We’re completely used to it! This place is so much better than the south!”
“That’s right. It’s even close to my home. If I’d known there was a place like this, I never would’ve gone south!”
“Hey, do you think just anyone can get into this factory? We only got in because of Brother Zhou’s connections!”
“Brother Zhou, you’re incredible. I saw you talking to the factory director just now. You really looked like a big boss!”
A sturdy young man from the countryside said this with a foolish grin.
Everyone burst out laughing.
They had never found a factory that offered such high wages. With their limited experience, they could only imagine that Zhou Ziyang possessed extraordinary influence, and they genuinely respected him for it.
In truth, Zhou Ziyang had merely seen a little more of the world than they had.
But he had no intention of correcting them.
He only asked whether they could accept an hourly wage of twenty yuan.
They hurriedly nodded.
“We can! Of course we can! If we work eight hours a day, that’s one hundred and sixty yuan!”
“Exactly! We can earn at least five thousand yuan a month. How could we not accept that?”
Zhou Ziyang said, “Good. The factory will give you a simple training session tomorrow.”
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“For now, you can stay here at the factory. Tomorrow I’ll arrange for someone to come and register your identification details.”
“Sure!”
Since they believed they had found excellent jobs, they were all in exceptionally high spirits.
Just before leaving, Zhou Ziyang called out to Li Dongfeng.
“Dongfeng.”
“Coming!” Li Dongfeng finally squeezed out of the crowd. Too many people had been trying to curry favor with Zhou Ziyang, and he had barely been able to get a word in.
Zhou Ziyang said, “You’re coming home with me later.”
Li Dongfeng immediately looked reluctant.
“What? Why? I want to stay here and make money!”
Zhou Ziyang cast him an unhappy glance.
“You’ve been gone for two weeks. Since you’ve finally come back, shouldn’t you go see your sister?”
Li Dongfeng actually did not want to go home. He had not earned any money yet, and returning like this felt humiliating.
Yet, for some reason, he found himself unable to refuse Zhou Ziyang.
Zhou Ziyang saw through his thoughts and said, “Come back with me. I have other things to arrange for you.”
It was not only Li Dongfeng. Zhou Ziyang also took several other men from his own area back with him, telling them that since they had returned, they ought to go home and pay their families a visit.
As for those from other places, they watched Zhou Ziyang giving special treatment to these men and felt envious. They privately assumed that these people were all Brother Zhou’s trusted followers.
Zhou Ziyang took five people in total. Apart from Li Dongfeng, the other four had already begun calling him Brother Zhou quite naturally, and they did so with genuine admiration. Just two weeks earlier, at that gathering, they had still acted as though Zhou Ziyang and they belonged to entirely different worlds.
Now, however, each of them called him Brother Zhou more warmly than the last. They even seemed closer to Zhou Ziyang than Li Dongfeng was.
Before long, the secretary brought over the contract, and Zhou Ziyang signed it.
The secretary said, “Manager Zhou, our boss says that since you’re friends, he’ll make things easier for you. We’ve rounded the payment up to an even one hundred thousand yuan and transferred it directly to your account. Please check and confirm receipt.”
Zhou Ziyang had already seen the notification on his phone. He nodded slightly.
“Thank you for the trouble.”
“Think nothing of it. We’ll be cooperating for a long time to come.”
The factory assigned them a van to take them home.
On the way, one of them complained to Zhou Ziyang, “Brother Zhou, it really wouldn’t matter whether we went home or not.”
“That’s right. We want to make money too.”
Zhou Ziyang said, “I’m having you come back with me, but not simply so you can go home.”
“You’re different from the others. I have something to discuss with you.”
The few men immediately pricked up their ears, curious about what he meant.
Zhou Ziyang briefly explained that he had started his own company.
“If there were only the five of you, I could simply say a word to the factory and it wouldn’t be a problem. But there are too many people this time, and the factory is afraid of bearing responsibility, so I signed a third-party agreement with them. According to the agreement, if any of you have an accident at the factory or are absent without cause, I will become the person primarily responsible.”
The others were stunned. Hearing this, they could not help feeling that Zhou Ziyang had taken on a considerable burden for them.
Zhou Ziyang merely waved his hand.
“It’s nothing. Since I’ve started a company, I have to get it operating somehow.”
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“So you’re definitely different from ordinary workers. You’re all employees of my company now.”
“Your main task isn’t to work on the assembly line. It’s to help me recruit people.”
“After you go home, look around among your classmates and friends. If you know anyone reliable who wants a job, introduce them here. The wage is twenty yuan an hour, with food and lodging provided. For every person you bring in, I’ll give you a five-hundred-yuan referral fee.”
“Five hundred yuan!?”
They all cried out in surprise.
Five hundred yuan for one person meant five thousand for ten people!
Zhou Ziyang explained, “It’s not enough merely to bring someone here. They have to work for a full month before you receive the money.”
“Furthermore, this five hundred yuan is a privilege I’m granting you. You can recruit people through your own contacts. For example, if you ask one of your friends to recruit someone, you can give that friend three hundred yuan for each person they bring in.”
Zhou Ziyang explained the basic operating structure to them. They nodded, understanding only vaguely.
He had the driver drop them off at their homes one by one. Along the way, he continued to win them over, telling them not to work too hard at the factory. If they became exhausted, they could tell him, and he would speak to the factory director and arrange easier work for them.
Those few brief words moved them deeply. They felt that following Brother Zhou meant they would always have a share of the good things. Privately, they resolved to cling tightly to him.
Only after everyone else had been dropped off did Zhou Ziyang take Li Dongfeng home.
Earlier, while Zhou Ziyang had been speaking with the others, Li Dongfeng had not said a word.
It was not until only the two of them remained in the van that Li Dongfeng said with emotion, “Old Zhou, I’ve made you go through so much trouble because of me.”
“You really didn’t have to bother with me. The college entrance examination is almost here, yet you’ve started a company and are running around taking care of this and that for us.”
Zhou Ziyang said, “It’s nothing. The company’s already been started, and it’s not as though I haven’t made any money.”
“Besides, I should actually thank you. If it weren’t for you, how would I have known I had such a talent for business?”
Li Dongfeng gave a foolish laugh.
“I knew long ago that you weren’t an ordinary person!”
The van stopped at the entrance to Li Dongfeng’s residential compound.
Zhou Ziyang and Li Dongfeng got out and walked inside.
Along the way, Li Dongfeng continued speaking guiltily, his voice almost on the verge of tears.
Zhou Ziyang found it amusing.
“If you really want to repay me, help me recruit a few people. The contract I signed requires us to fill fifty positions.”
“That’s no problem at all! Forget fifty people—even five hundred!”
“Give it a rest. You’re bragging again!” Zhou Ziyang said with a light laugh.
“Dongfeng?”
Just as the two were chatting and laughing, someone called out to Li Dongfeng from ahead.
They looked carefully and saw Li Caiyu, who had just finished work.
“Sis!?” Li Dongfeng was overjoyed to see his sister again after two weeks.
Li Caiyu, however, was puzzled.
“Weren’t you away? You’re back!?”
“It’s a long story, Sis! Let me tell you—Ziyang found me an incredibly good job! I don’t have to go to the south anymore!” Li Dongfeng said excitedly.