Chapter 16: One Hundred Thousand

Faced with Ms. Wang’s repeated questioning, Qin Qing remained calm, after all, she had many years of experience battling Ms. Wang.

She seriously made up a story: “The son of the CEO of Jinsheng International is a classmate of mine from the same university. He introduced me there, and I just had an interview. They only sent an offer of employment. Before I officially start, there will be training and an assessment. My position and benefits will be determined by the assessment results. It’s a legitimate company, so the ‘five social insurances and one housing fund’ are basic benefits.”

Qin Qing herself had never been formally employed, but she had heard about it. And it was graduation season, so her classmates’ group chats were all about these things.

Hearing that there would be training and an assessment first, Ms. Wang believed her even more.

Still, she asked worriedly, “The son of Jinsheng International’s CEO is your classmate, he’s not a swindler, is he?” Thinking that the employment offer letter was already in hand, she then said, “Even if he is real, with so many classmates at school, why would he introduce you? Are you two perhaps dating?”

Her worry deepened: “A child from that kind of family…”

“Mom, you absolutely don’t need to worry about that.” Seeing Ms. Wang’s thoughts drift further and further, Qin Qing quickly stopped her runaway imagination. “Liang Jian is my junior, several years younger than me. There’s no way he’d be interested in me.”

She nodded emphatically, stressing: “Absolutely impossible!”

He’s probably suspecting your daughter is a commercial spy with ulterior motives right now.

“He introduced me because I helped him out with a small favor before, and he was thanking me. Whether I pass the training and assessment still depends on me.”

Old Comrade Qin had been listening intently, and now he also doubted, “You helped him, what kind of problem couldn’t he handle that he needed your help?”

…They truly were her parents, their assessment of their own daughter was like being stabbed again and again.

“Yes, I helped him.” Qin Qing said shamelessly, “He was arguing with his dad, and I mediated. He thought what I said made a lot of sense and benefited greatly from it.”

Her parents fell silent.

Old Comrade Qin spoke after a while, complaining, “You know how to advise others, why don’t you know how to cause less trouble at home… me… cause less trouble for your mother?”

“Look at what you’re saying, I haven’t done anything outrageous at home, have I?”

Old Qin, holding Mumu, thought about it and felt it made sense. Apart from being a bit lazy and having a laid-back personality, his daughter didn’t seem to have any major flaws. Perhaps she was okay?

So, he just tried to save face by saying, “If you had looked for a job earlier, would your mother and I have to worry so much? Look at your classmates, every single one of them has their future clearly planned out. Either they found a job early, or they continued their studies, or they took civil service exams, or they started their own businesses… Only you, haven’t achieved anything yet.”

That was true, but Qin Qing didn’t want to go in those directions precisely because she saw them studying late into the night, working overtime until late, and socializing with drinks… But she couldn’t say that, or she’d probably get a good lecture, or even a beating.

She did ask curiously, “You two are so anxious, why don’t you contact your classmates or friends to arrange a job for me?”

Qin Qing remembered that when she was about to graduate from university, before she decided to pursue postgraduate studies, her parents were also very anxious, but it was just anxiety. They didn’t contact various jobs in their hometown like her classmates’ parents did.

While she enjoyed her parents’ hands-off attitude that gave her freedom, she was genuinely curious about this question.

The couple exchanged glances, and her mother spoke: “You… are you resenting us for not helping?”

“No!”

This was absolutely the truth.

Ms. Wang could see the clear and bright innocence in her daughter’s eyes, no resentment or confusion. She breathed a sigh of relief: “I knew my daughter wouldn’t be so unpromising.”

She then explained to her, earnestly: “Your life is still long. Finding a job after graduation is a small matter. If you can’t face and solve such a small thing yourself, what will you do in a few years when your father and I are gone? You always have to learn to face problems yourself and form your own way of survival. Even if you find a job with a monthly salary of two thousand, you found it yourself.”

Qin Qing’s eyes widened. Was she setting the bar that low for her?

“I have a master’s degree, and you’re only asking for a monthly salary of two thousand?”

“What’s wrong with two thousand? Don’t learn that habit of comparing yourself to others. Throughout our lives, the only person we need to face and surpass is always ourselves. Taking others as a goal will only lead to insatiable desires. Even if it’s only one thousand, you found it yourself. Compared to those who rely on their parents for twenty thousand, you are already ahead of them. Don’t worry about how others live, that may not apply to you.

Don’t I know my own daughter? If I let you compete with your classmates, even if the salary is higher, would you be happy? If that’s the case, you need to find a Survival Path that suits you. This requires you to explore it yourself; your father and I cannot arrange it for you.”

Her mom suddenly being so philosophical made Qin Qing a bit unaccustomed.

She blinked, but it seemed she really had found a unique path: low input, high income, and no need to wake up early to compete fiercely. It was practically tailor-made for her.

Which fresh graduate could earn a net profit of over 100,000 yuan in less than a week of work (street vending)? And there were millions more beckoning to her, expected to be in her pocket within a week.

The bidding price she gave to Liang Jinguo was nearly 50 million lower than his original bid.

It wasn’t that Jinsheng International’s evaluation team was unprofessional, but rather that for the overall layout and planning, more land parcels were needed this time. If they wanted to ensure that no other parties would appear in the middle of the buildings they constructed, and if all the designated land parcels had to be successfully bid on, then a slight premium within the budget was inevitable.

What Qin Qing did was to provide him with the current lowest prices for multiple land parcels.

Adding them up, it was almost 50 million.

At this price, with a 10% commission as per the agreement, she could get nearly 5 million.

Awesome!

With this efficiency and this income, she definitely beat 99% of her peers!

However, her mother’s questioning words just now gave Qin Qing a reminder: the income was high, but there were no “five social insurances and one housing fund.” Who would pay her social security???

This was a problem!

She decided to ask CEO Liang next time they met if he could really get her a position at Jinsheng International, one where she didn’t have to clock in or work fixed hours.

As she was daydreaming, she heard Ms. Wang’s admonition again.

“Anyway, no matter what, you absolutely cannot follow your Second Aunt’s example.”

???

What was that about?

“My Second Aunt? What did she do now?”

“Go check the group chat yourself. She said your cousin recently found a boyfriend, and coincidentally, he seems to be from Jinsheng International. She said he’s a senior executive. Lately, she’s been showing off her ‘golden turtle son-in-law’ in the group chat every day.”

Qin Qing always had notifications muted for the Old Qin Family Group Chat. Not to mention others, just Second Aunt alone could make the whole group chat a mess. The group name was “Loving Family,” but from the chat content, you couldn’t tell how loving they were. It was all about social niceties.

Her only role in the group was to say a few auspicious words to the elders during Chinese New Year and then collect a few red envelopes worth 30 or 50 cents…

She opened the group chat and scrolled up, finding that Second Aunt had indeed been active recently. No matter what others were talking about, she could always steer the conversation back to her golden turtle son-in-law. She would say he was a top student from a key university, and now, at a young age, he was a senior executive at a large corporation like Jinsheng International, truly young and promising. Not only was he good to her cousin, but he was also filial to her and Second Aunt’s father, constantly bringing them gifts, and always good ones.

The group chat was lively now, with Second Aunt’s new round of showing off beginning.

[Shallow Smile of Time (Second Aunt): Oh, this is nothing. Our Xiao Yuan said that these were originally purchased by the company to give to clients, considered a hidden employee benefit. That’s why they say it’s a big company; the things they give to clients usually can’t be bought on the market. Our Xiao Yuan is in management, so he has a lot of resources. He occasionally brings some home to show filial piety to us. I told him that my old man and I are old and don’t need these good things, but that child said we raised a good girlfriend for him, and it’s time for us to enjoy life…]

Truly, the points of criticism were too dense; one didn’t know where to begin.

At first, some people echoed Second Aunt’s words, saying she was blessed, that her cousin had good taste, and that Xiao Yuan was young and promising.

Later, Second Aunt spoke more and more wildly, and no one replied to her. But she didn’t seem to need an audience; she could talk happily by herself.

She even @Wang Xiangyu later, asking if Qin Qing had found a boyfriend and how her job search was going.

Qin Qing was only a few months younger than her cousin and was often compared by Second Aunt – she was used to being the green leaf to her cousin’s flower, it didn’t affect her anyway.

Ms. Wang closed her phone, out of sight, out of mind, and ignored it.

Still feeling annoyed, she asked Old Comrade Qin, “Doesn’t your sister think there’s a problem with what she’s saying? Treating her own daughter like an object, saying she ‘raised her for someone else,’ and being proud of being a subordinate every day?”

Old Comrade Qin was completely on his wife’s side and quickly comforted her, “That’s just how she is. Why get angry with her?”

In the group chat, Second Aunt, seeing that Wang Xiangyu didn’t reply, directly @Qin Qing, saying that she hadn’t seen her in a long time, that everyone was concerned about her, and asked her to share her recent situation.

Qin Qing: “…”

She decided to follow her mother’s strategy and pretend not to see it.

This time, Second Aunt’s outrageous behavior even made Old Comrade Qin quite angry. He complained, “It’s one thing for her to love showing off, but why does she have to put down our Qingqing?”

Ms. Wang was also very unhappy: “Exactly, she has such limited ambition. What’s so great about finding a boyfriend? Is being someone else’s subordinate really that happy? Our Qingqing is so much more outstanding.”

Qingqing herself: “…”

You two should go praise me in the group chat; no one can hear you praising me here.

Looking at Second Aunt’s words again, she felt something was wrong.

She had never worked in an office, but she had basic judgment. High-end gifts for clients, occasionally distributed as benefits, might be acceptable, but taking them home frequently, was that really okay?

She suspected that the cunning father and son of the Liang family were being stolen from, and she had evidence.

She really wanted to screenshot it and show it to them.