Chapter Ten: The First Employee

Chapter Ten: The First Employee

Shi Bai hurriedly opened his laptop, only to find that, up until now, there was but a single application on the recruitment website.

“Unbelievable!” He quickly opened that one and only résumé.

Name: Zhang Dachui.
Gender: Male.
Age: 29.
Major: Accounting.
Work Experience: None.
Marital Status: Single.

Without hesitation, Shi Bai called him. For someone who seemed like a complete failure, who else could he possibly hire? He didn’t have much of a nose for other things, but he could spot someone unsuited for a job at a glance. Accounting was a dime a dozen, yet here was a twenty-nine-year-old who listed no work experience. Either he genuinely had none, or he was too ashamed to write it down. Judging by this, it was most certainly the latter.

And a single man at twenty-nine—this was far too reminiscent of his own previous life, instantly awakening painful memories. Without a second thought, he made the call.

“Hello? Who’s this?” The voice on the other end was bumbling and thick.

“Your life is about to change!” Shi Bai declared loudly.

...

The following day was Sunday, and Shi Bai had no classes. At two in the afternoon, a stereotypical, bespectacled, short, chubby man with a bowl haircut—every inch the quintessential hopeless homebody—arrived at his presidential suite.

“What? The company is here?!” Zhang Dachui shouted the moment he stepped in, as though he’d walked into some mysterious, fantastical world.

Shi Bai, lounging on the sofa in pajamas and eating fruit, nodded.

“You’re the boss?”

Shi Bai nodded again.

“You’re not kidding, are you?” Zhang Dachui’s eyes widened. “Is this some kind of reality show? Are you guys pranking the applicants?”

Shi Bai was taken aback. “Why would you think that? I’m completely serious!”

Zhang Dachui gave Shi Bai a look, then suddenly exclaimed, “But this is too unreal! Who opens a company in a presidential suite at a five-star hotel?”

Shi Bai smiled faintly. “I do.”

Zhang Dachui reeled back as if struck by an invisible force. “This...”

Shi Bai chuckled helplessly. “Write down your bank account number. I’ll pay you your first month’s salary right now—will that convince you?”

Now Zhang Dachui looked even more shocked. “What?! Getting paid on your first day?”

Shi Bai, resigned, transferred the salary to his account. “There, it’s done.”

Zhang Dachui was momentarily stunned, but sure enough, the text notification came through almost immediately.

“Your debit card has received a transfer of 20,000 yuan. Current balance: 21,045.2.”

His pupils dilated. Twenty thousand yuan—about a year’s salary for him in the past!

Suddenly, he sprang up and gave Shi Bai a military salute. “Boss, if you need anything, just say the word! From this day on, I, Zhang Dachui, will devote myself to you, body and soul, until my dying breath!”

Shi Bai gave a faint smile, gesturing for him to sit and handing him a banana. “Here’s my biggest problem: Why, when my offer is so generous, are there still no other applicants?”

Zhang Dachui couldn’t help but laugh. “Actually... it’s exactly because your offer is so generous that everyone thinks you’re a scammer.”

“What?”

Zhang Dachui adjusted his glasses, chuckling sheepishly. “Honestly, I thought you were a scammer too. If you hadn’t called me yourself, I’d never have come.”

“I see.” Shi Bai propped his chin thoughtfully. “So what should I do? Make the offer less attractive?”

Zhang Dachui laughed. “At the very least, make it look like a real company.”

“Right!” Shi Bai nodded. “You’re absolutely right.” He immediately opened his laptop.

“Job requirements: ‘If you like it, that’s enough.’ Let’s change that to ‘Create comics.’
Education: ‘None.’ Let’s make it ‘Junior high and above.’
Experience: Still none.
Salary: 20,000 yuan per month—this absolutely stays!”

Zhang Dachui paused, a wave of warmth rising in his chest. “Where else could I find a boss this good?”

Shi Bai continued editing. “Working hours: six hours... Hmm, let’s change that to eight.”

Benefits: “Everything you could want!”

Job description: “If you want to come, come!” Let’s tweak that: “Do you have a dream?”

Company location: “Presidential suite, Wells Hotel”—this is the most outrageous, but my company really is here!

“Boss,” Zhang Dachui interjected, “why not just put ‘Wells Tower’? That sounds more legitimate.”

Shi Bai nodded. “That does sound more proper.”

Once the changes were made, he had Zhang Dachui review them. Only when he was satisfied did Shi Bai repost the ad.

“Boss,” Zhang Dachui asked, “what should I do now?”

Shi Bai thought for a moment. “For now, nothing—just focus on recruiting.”

“Alright. Do you have any requirements? It’ll help me screen people.”

Shi Bai paused. “Requirements? Just what’s written there. If I had to add one, it’s this: anyone with experience in animation—absolutely not!”

“What?!”

...

That afternoon, they spent most of the time chatting with online applicants. The offer was so good, by six o’clock, Zhang Dachui had already lined up ten people.

He packed up and went to Shi Bai. “Boss, can I clock out now?”

Shi Bai looked at him. “Don’t rush—eat first before you go.”

“Eat?”

Shi Bai ordered two steaks and pasta. “What else do you want?”

Zhang Dachui’s jaw dropped. “Nothing, nothing! This is more than enough!”

Shi Bai smiled and added a large pizza. “You’re all young men—I know your appetites.”

Scratching his head and grinning, Zhang Dachui thought, I really lucked out today! Never mind pizza—I’ve never even had steak or pasta before!

Soon the food arrived, and the two of them ate heartily. As he ate, Zhang Dachui gave Shi Bai a thumbs-up. “Boss, you’re amazing! I’ve never met anyone as good as you in my whole life!”

Shi Bai laughed. “That’s just the way I am—I can’t stand to see people treated unfairly.”

Zhang Dachui thanked him profusely, nearly moved to tears.

The next day, Shi Bai went to school, leaving the company in Zhang Dachui’s hands. Before noon, Zhang called.

“Boss! I’ve got everyone together.”

“Good,” said Shi Bai. “Tell me about them—what did they do before?”

Zhang Dachui pulled out a stack of résumés. “Liu Xiaoyan, former supermarket cashier. Wang Xiaodong, warehouse manager. Liu Dafu, sewer maintenance worker...”

“That’s enough.” Shi Bai nodded in satisfaction. “You’ve done well. I’ll give you a bonus in a few days.”

Zhang Dachui, who had felt a bit uneasy, immediately relaxed at those words. “Thank you, boss. So what should I have them do?”

Shi Bai, phone in hand, thought for a while. “Take them to the conference room—there are computers and drawing tablets. Have them start creating comics.”

“Alright, but what kind of stories and style should they do?”

Shi Bai had already decided: since the goal was to lose money, the uglier, the better. “The more nonsensical the story, the better. The wilder the art, the better. In short, make it as bad as you can.”

“What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what’? Haven’t you understood? Let me put it plainly: two words—just mess around!”

Zhang Dachui pondered this for a long while, then replied dejectedly, “Alright.”

But after hanging up, Shi Bai found he couldn’t concentrate on his classes at all—his mind was filled with thoughts of the comics. “I wonder what kind of monstrosity those employees will come up with?”