Chapter 12: Could He Be a Scammer?

That middle-aged man—Chen Mo had seen him earlier today when he was heading downstairs. The man had been dropping off his child at school.

Now, seeing him humbly stopping one recruiter after another, Chen Mo could tell he was in urgent need of a job.

He couldn’t help but recall the argument he overheard a few days ago. After a moment of thought, he decided to walk over.

After all, he needed new employees to consume his system funds. It didn’t matter whom he hired, so long as he was hiring. If he could lend a helping hand while doing so, he didn’t mind at all.

…

“Hello, is your company still hiring? This is my resume—please take a look.”

Yang Dahai carefully stopped a recruiter and tried to hand over his resume.

“The job fair is over. Don’t you know that? Also, our company only hires young people. Look at yourself—how old are you?”

The recruiter impatiently slapped the resume away and left without a backward glance.

Yang Dahai didn’t get angry. He simply bent down, picked up his resume, and continued searching for another recruiter.

Earlier today, he had taken his daughter to school, but the teacher had kept him back for a long discussion about her academic performance. Since the school was quite far from the job fair, by the time he arrived, the event had already ended.

With no other option, he had to stop recruiters as they were leaving, hoping to try his luck.

He didn’t care about their attitudes. He just wanted a job.

He had been unemployed for a while now, and the household burden had completely fallen on his wife. Their family expenses were becoming harder and harder to cover.

But because of his physical condition, he couldn’t do heavy labor. His only hope was to keep searching until he found something suitable.

“Hello, could I take a moment of your time? This is my resume—please have a look.”

Yang Dahai stopped another recruiter and politely handed over his resume.

“No time.”

This recruiter didn’t slap the resume away but still had a poor attitude.

“Um… could you let me see your resume?”

Just as Yang Dahai was about to move on to the next person, a voice called out from behind him.

Turning around, he saw a young man smiling at him.

“You? Oh, it’s you. What do you need?”

Yang Dahai immediately recognized the young man—it was the new neighbor who had recently moved into the upstairs apartment. They had run into each other several times on the stairs over the past few days.

But why was this young man looking for him?

Chen Mo noticed the doubt in the middle-aged man’s expression and lifted the handwritten job advertisement in his hand, smiling.

“My company is also hiring. If you’re interested, we can find a place to talk.”

Yang Dahai looked at the handwritten advertisement, then back at the young man’s face, suspicion flickering in his eyes.

This was the first time he’d ever seen such a young business owner.

Still, after hesitating for a moment, he nodded in agreement.

He knew that his chances of finding a job by stopping recruiters were close to zero. It was better to follow this young man and see what he had to say.

After all, young bosses weren’t unheard of.

---

In the shade of an outdoor public seating area,

Chen Mo handed a bottle of chilled mineral water to Yang Dahai before sitting down and flipping through the man’s resume.

Yang Dahai accepted the water and thanked him.

After a while, Chen Mo closed the resume and looked up.

“I see you’ve been driving large trucks for twenty years. Why did you stop?”

A bitter smile appeared on Yang Dahai’s face.

“Long-haul trucking requires constant travel. I’m getting older, and compared to younger drivers, I can’t compete anymore.”

“Plus, last year, I injured my back. After I recovered, I wanted to get back into trucking, but no company would hire me.”

Chen Mo fell silent for a moment, unsure how to respond.

It was understandable for companies to prefer younger workers—they had more energy and efficiency.

But what had Yang Dahai done wrong? He had worked diligently as a truck driver for twenty years, only to end up unemployed.

Survival of the fittest, the capable take the throne.

Neither side was at fault. If anything, it was society that had grown too indifferent, too lacking in human warmth.

Chen Mo pondered, trying to determine the best position for Yang Dahai.

Heavy labor was out of the question due to his back injury, but that wasn’t a problem—he had observed the workshop before, and the work there didn’t require much physical strength.

Still, he thought of an even more suitable role.

A driver.

As a business owner, wasn’t it perfectly reasonable to hire a personal driver?

And with Yang Dahai’s twenty years of experience driving large trucks, handling a company car would be a piece of cake.

The only issue now was the car itself.

A driver needed a car, after all.

As the boss, wasn’t it perfectly reasonable for him to get himself a vehicle—no, for the company to get a vehicle?

When he had thought about getting a car for himself earlier, the system had immediately flagged it as a violation.

But now that he was thinking about getting a car for the company, the system didn’t react.

It works!

Chen Mo was thrilled. As long as he framed it as a company vehicle, who could say otherwise?

And if he didn’t tell anyone, who would even know?

I’m a genius.

“Ahem, so—I need a personal driver. What do you think?”

“If you don’t mind my age, I’d be happy to do it.”

Yang Dahai gave a wry smile. He was already over forty, with a back injury to boot. He wasn’t in a position to be picky.

Just finding a job was already a blessing.

“Of course I don’t mind! With your twenty years of truck-driving experience, I’d feel much safer with you behind the wheel.”

Chen Mo laughed—it was the truth.

Twenty years of accident-free trucking? That was the definition of a seasoned pro.

“Now, let’s talk salary. Do you have any expectations?”

“As long as the pay is on time, that’s all I ask.”

“No specific salary expectations?”

“I don’t really know the going rate for a private driver. Whatever you decide is fine, Mr. Chen.”

Yang Dahai answered honestly.

Chen Mo sighed internally.

Good thing he was dealing with him. If it had been another employer, they probably would’ve offered an insultingly low wage.

After some bargaining with the system, he finally figured out the maximum salary he could offer.

“Let’s set it at 8,000 per month for now. Plus, full benefits—including the five insurances and one fund.”

The figure even surprised Chen Mo. It was higher than Shen Rou’s salary.

But after thinking about it, it made sense.

Shen Rou had no work experience—she was just an intern.

Yang Dahai, on the other hand, had twenty years of professional driving under his belt. An 8,000 salary wasn’t unreasonable.

And that was after adding the 30% system-approved increase—his base salary should’ve been around 6,000.

That said, in terms of long-term potential, Shen Rou definitely had more room to grow.

“Eight thousand?”

“You’re joking, right?”

Yang Dahai stared at Chen Mo in disbelief, a hint of suspicion rising in his heart.

Could this young man be a scammer?