374: Chapter 373 Recruitment

"Name."

[Remember this site's domain name. Reading Taiwan novels is super convenient here.]

"Liu Dandan."

"Gender."

"Can't you tell by looking?"

"Um... female."

"Education level."

"Bachelor's degree, currently pursuing a master's."

"So, a bachelor's degree."

"...Yes."

"Any work experience?"

"No."

A girl with long braids and oversized glasses shook her head and said, "I've been unemployed at home for two years."

"Oh."

Opposite the girl, a young-looking boy nodded and said, "Failed the postgraduate entrance exams for two years."

"You!!!"

The girl's anger flared, but then she remembered she was here to submit her resume. Her momentum instantly weakened, her internal outrage vanishing as she said weakly, "You haven't asked for my major yet."

"Seems so."

The boy gave an embarrassed smile. "I'm a newbie just filling in. Please excuse me."

The girl was somewhat speechless and asked tentatively, "You guys aren't scammers, are you?"

"How could we be?"

The boy looked at her seriously and pointed at the document on the table. "Could a scammer get their hands on this?"

"That might not be real either."

Still uneasy, the girl widened her eyes and said, "I've heard there are a lot of recruitment scams nowadays. They claim to be hiring, but it's actually labor dispatch, or they try to sell you products, or they're shady agencies, or they ask employees to raise funds..."

The boy's eyes widened too. "You even know about that?"

"I've done my research."

The girl said with a hint of pride, "For example, when I applied to be a delivery driver before, the company wanted me to take out a loan to buy their electric scooter before starting. Do they think I'm stupid? I haven't even started working and I'd already owe them six thousand yuan. Only an idiot would do that."

"And last time I applied to be an internet cafe administrator, they actually wanted me to repair computers. Is that something I know how to do? When I said no, they told me to go to a computer factory to learn the trade, with no pay, and they even wanted me to pay for the training!"

"And another time, I..."

The boy listened silently, then gave her a thumbs-up and said sincerely, "Impressive."

The girl raised her head proudly and said, "I told you all this just to let you know that I'm very smart, so don't even think about scamming me."

"We won't."

The boy took out a contract and pushed it toward her. "You're hired. This is the employment contract. Take a look, and if there are no issues, please sign it."

Looking at the contract in front of her, the girl was stunned. "I'm hired just like that?"

"Of course."

The boy nodded gently.

"I don't have to pay you any fees, right? Medical exam fee? Application fee? Channel purchase fee? Training fee?"

The girl looked suspicious.

"No need."

The boy shook his head.

"And I don't have to go to some weird factory for training either? Especially the kind where I have to pay you guys?"

The girl still hadn't let her guard down.

"No."

The boy continued to shake his head.

"Is there something wrong with the contract then?"

The girl looked suspiciously at the contract on the desk. "You didn't put some trap in the contract, did you? Like turning an employment contract into a partnership agreement? Making me an independent contractor instead of an employee?"

The boy smiled and tapped the contract. "You can read it first."

Hearing this, the girl picked up the contract and flipped through it carefully.

A few minutes later, she looked up, staring at the boy opposite her in confusion.

"Is this real? I actually found a job?"

There was still disbelief in her voice.

"Of course."

The boy seemed to empathize with her. He handed her a pen and said softly, "Go ahead and sign. I've read this contract dozens of times; there are absolutely no issues with it."

"Read it dozens of times?"

The girl looked at the boy with some confusion, wanting to ask more, but her hand instinctively took the pen.

She quickly signed her name, her elegant handwriting permanently left on the contract like an official seal.

The boy stood up and offered a slight smile. "Welcome to our team."

"Is this supposed to be a welcoming ceremony? How strange."

The girl blinked.

"I suppose so," the boy said with a smile, handing a copy of the contract to her.

"This is your copy. Keep it safe."

The girl accepted it with a look of delight.

"Your major is accounting. I've already entered it into the system. You'll receive your assignment results by tonight at the latest, so keep an eye out."

The boy reminded her, "You need to report on time tomorrow morning. Don't be late."

"Okay."

The girl nodded vigorously, then clutched the contract to her chest and left the signing room with a look of complete satisfaction.

Watching her walk away, the boy shook his head slightly, picked up the contract on the desk, and pulled open the drawer next to him.

Inside the drawer, a thick stack of contracts was already piled up. The boy placed the new contract on top, then called out toward the door, "Next!"

A young fellow ran in excitedly.

The scene returned to the beginning.

"Name."

"Wang Teng!"

"Gender."

"Male!"

...

Outside the door.

The job market, which usually had a normal flow of people, was now packed.

Viewed from high above, the movement of the crowd was extremely orderly.

After entering through three main gates, everyone dispersed and gathered in front of seven desks. After passing the desks, the density of the crowd dropped significantly, forming long queues outside five signing rooms.

From time to time, people would emerge from the signing rooms, walking toward another exit with faces full of excitement.

Upon closer observation, one would notice that these people were almost all young people.

Among the crowd still waiting in line, some waited anxiously, some were filled with excitement, and others were filled with unease.

Luo Changan stood on the periphery, watching quietly, feeling a bit hesitant.

He had been standing here for nearly an hour.

An hour ago, he had bid farewell to his wife and daughter with a smile, but as soon as he turned the corner of the building, he was forced to face the world's greatest malice toward him—unemployment.

That's right, he was unemployed.

As a middle-aged man nearing forty, he didn't feel there was anything worth complaining about regarding his unemployment—in the writing industry, his situation was all too common.

Was he resentful?

Of course he was, but more than that, he felt helpless.

Without an income, his family's expenses became a giant mountain, leaving him somewhat breathless under the pressure.

He didn't dare tell his stay-at-home wife, nor did he dare tell his seven-year-old daughter. He didn't even dare to imagine how heartbroken those bright, watery eyes would be when he told his daughter that he could no longer buy her pretty clothes and fun toys.

He decided to keep it from them.

Leaving the house at a set time every day was solely to create the illusion that he was still busy, still the pillar of the family, and still striving for his career.

But who knew how painful it was to have a home but not be able to return to it, only able to wander aimlessly in parks? He couldn't even find a direction to strive toward anymore.

Finding a job had become his only way out.

And his age had become an insurmountable mountain.

His past work experience couldn't save him; the projects he had participated in before were all dismissed, and no one recognized his value.

A continuous week of job hunting had made him realize the cruelty of this society even more.

A person must have value.

Without value, you will be immediately discarded.

There was no reasoning with it.

He hoped for a better space to realize his value, but the prerequisite was putting food on the table.

So, he came.

He had come to this place that he had always turned his nose up at before.