Chapter 11: What I Need Are Interns

A moment passed.

No response.

Shen Rou looked at the recruiter, who remained motionless, and repeated herself.

“Hello, I’d like to apply for an interview.”

Still, there was no response.

She hesitated for a moment before finally reaching out and tapping the recruiter’s arm.

The person at the table seemed to sense the touch, shifted his position slightly, and continued sleeping.

He mumbled in a drowsy voice, “Don’t bother me, let me sleep a little longer.”

Shen Rou stood frozen in place, unsure of what to do.

She wanted to wake him up but was afraid of offending the recruiter.

And so, twenty minutes passed just like that.

Chen Mo finally woke up, groggily stretching, but the numbness in his arms and legs made him stop.

At that moment, a soft voice sounded.

“Hello, I’d like to apply for an interview.”

Interview?

Chen Mo was momentarily stunned before remembering that he was at a job fair.

Looking up, he saw a young woman with delicate features standing quietly before him.

“This is my resume. Please take a look.”

Seeing that the recruiter was finally awake, Shen Rou quickly handed over her resume.

Chen Mo reached out to take it, but the numbness in his arm made him pause. He looked at the woman apologetically.

“Sorry, my arm fell asleep. Give me a moment.”

Shen Rou nodded in understanding. She had already waited for so long; a little more wouldn’t hurt.

After a while, the numbness in Chen Mo’s arm subsided, and he finally took the resume and glanced through it.

An intern with no work experience.

Perfect!

This was exactly the kind of candidate he needed.

No work experience meant weak professional skills. Weak professional skills meant they wouldn’t generate much value for the company.

And if they couldn’t generate value, it would indirectly reduce the company’s profits.

Reduced company profits meant a higher chance of fully converting his system’s funds.

It was a perfect cycle!

Chen Mo was overjoyed. He looked up at Shen Rou and asked,

“What position are you applying for?”

“Assistant, finance, clerical work—I can do any of them,” Shen Rou answered directly.

“Then let’s go with assistant.”

For a talent like this, placing them in a relatively important position would make the most of their potential.

“Ah?”

Shen Rou blinked in confusion. It took her a moment to realize what he meant. She hesitantly asked,

“Does that mean I’m hired?”

“Of course!”

Chen Mo nodded.

Shen Rou, initially excited, quickly calmed down. She figured the recruiter must not have noticed her request for an advance on her salary.

Thinking of this, she hesitantly reminded him, “Did you see my request for an advance on my salary?”

“Yeah, I saw it.”

Chen Mo looked at her in confusion. Such a reasonable request—how could he not notice?

An advance on salary?

He had already given the factory workers an advance on a month’s wages. This was no problem at all.

“Oh, you’re talking about salary and benefits.”

Chen Mo suddenly realized that they hadn’t discussed salary yet.

“Tell me your expected salary.”

“Expected salary?”

Shen Rou was taken aback. Every other company she interviewed at had immediately offered her a standard intern salary of around ¥2,000.

This was the first time a recruiter had actually asked her expectations.

This company really was different.

After some thought, she cautiously said,

“Would ¥3,000 be okay?”

Since she had finally found someone willing to pay in advance, she didn’t dare to ask for too much. She was afraid she’d be rejected if she aimed too high.

“¥3,000?”

Chen Mo frowned.

If he wanted to burn through his system funds, how could ¥3,000 be enough?

That was way too little.

But seeing Chen Mo’s frown, Shen Rou grew nervous. Worried that she had asked for too much, she quickly added,

“¥2,000 is fine too.”

Huh?

Chen Mo frowned even more.

What was wrong with this person? Why was she lowering her own salary?

“Is it too high?”

Shen Rou asked anxiously.

High?

No, it was too low!

Seeing that she was about to speak again, Chen Mo quickly stopped her and spoke seriously.

“Look, you graduated from a top university, and your excellent grades earned you scholarships every year. These are your strengths.”

“So, for such an outstanding talent, our company has decided to offer you ¥6,000 per month. But don’t worry, this is just the starting salary. As you gain experience, your salary will increase further.”

This was the highest possible salary he could offer while keeping the system satisfied.

After extensive testing, he had figured out that he could offer a starting salary up to 30% higher than normal.

For an intern with Shen Rou’s background, the typical salary ranged from ¥4,000 to ¥5,000. This meant he could offer her ¥6,000.

And this was just a temporary figure.

Since an assistant’s salary varied greatly—some elite assistants could earn hundreds of thousands per year—he could raise her salary further in the future without the system detecting any issues.

As for other companies offering interns ¥2,000, that was just an excuse to exploit cheap labor.

“Ah!”

Shen Rou gasped in shock. She had expected the recruiter to offer a much lower salary, but she never imagined he would raise it instead.

¥6,000…

She had never even considered such a high salary before coming here.

Seeing her stunned expression, Chen Mo smiled slightly.

“If you’re satisfied, you can come to the company tomorrow to sign the contract. The address is on this note.”

He handed her a small slip of paper.

He had prepared these in advance, using them as makeshift business cards.

It seemed he should get some proper business cards made soon. As a company owner, not having a proper card was unacceptable.

“Oh…”

Shen Rou took the note instinctively.

Even as she left, she was still in a daze.

With her departure, his booth returned to its usual deserted state.

Time passed.

Soon, it was noon, and the job fair was ending.

Chen Mo looked around and saw other recruiters packing up to leave.

Well…

He had spent half a day and only interviewed one person. He wasn’t even sure if Shen Rou would show up tomorrow to sign the contract.

Sighing, he prepared to pack up.

Wait.

There was nothing to pack—he only had a single handwritten recruitment sign.

Grabbing it casually, he walked toward the exit, planning to toss it in the trash bin at the entrance.

At the job fair’s entrance—

“Hello, I was delayed by something. Are you still hiring? I can do any job.”

“Sorry, the recruitment has ended. Please come back next time.”

“Hello, does your company still need employees?”

“Sorry, we’re no longer hiring.”

“…”

As he reached the entrance, Chen Mo noticed a middle-aged man repeatedly stopping recruiters, desperately asking for work.

It’s him!

As he got closer and saw the man’s face clearly, Chen Mo was surprised.