Chapter 28: Sounds Even More Like a Scam Now

In her office, Lu Qingqiang was sitting at her desk watching a livestream.

At this moment, the number of viewers in the stream had already surpassed ten thousand.

The chat was buzzing with activity, people saying all sorts of things.

The comments were flying by so fast it made her a little dizzy.

Of course, her main focus right now was still on the content of the stream.

Class had started. Teacher Yuan Yuan had brought the kids into what she called a classroom and began teaching them.

Teaching young children could be simple, but also tricky.

The material itself was basic, but you had to present it in a way that was engaging and easy for the children to absorb.

That really tested a teacher’s skill.

Clearly, Teacher Yuan Yuan excelled in this area.

She didn’t just read from the book. Instead, she used games, riddles, stories, and even little competitions to help the children learn and reinforce what they’d been taught.

In addition to teaching pinyin, characters, and basic arithmetic, she also introduced them to practical life knowledge and fun crafts.

With kids, it was important to encourage creativity, sharing, and physical activity.

For example, after finishing the lesson, she led the children in several small games that helped exercise their bodies and joints.

After the games, she brought out some ultra-light clay and started a craft session.

After watching for a while, Lu Qingqiang turned off the livestream and headed out.

She first stopped by the construction site to check on the latest progress.

Then she made her way to the canteen.

“Master Zhao, busy as always~”

“Oh, Director, you’re here! Want something to eat? I’ll whip something up for you!”

“No need to trouble yourself. I just had breakfast not long ago, I’m not hungry yet.”

“I actually came to ask if the kitchen needs another pair of hands.”

“You’re in charge of three meals a day for so many people. That’s a lot for one person.”

“Director, no need. It’s not that much work. I, Old Zhao, can handle it on my own.” Master Zhao waved her off.

There were only about twenty people in the whole orphanage.

How much food could that possibly be?

He could throw something together with barely any effort.

“Master Zhao, you’ve been in this line of work a long time. I’m sure you know plenty of people. I suggest you bring in a helper or an assistant.”

“Or even recommend another chef.”

“After all, our orphanage isn’t like other places. We don’t close on weekends.”

“If you’re working alone, you won’t get any time off.”

“You’ve got a point, Director. What if something comes up one day? The kids would be left without food.” Master Zhao suddenly realized.

So yes, he really did need to hire someone.

“Exactly. So this hiring thing needs to happen soon.”

“If you know someone, just recommend them. If it’s too much hassle, I’ll handle the hiring. Just tell me what you’re looking for.”

“Let me think about it first, Director. Maybe I can find someone suitable.” Master Zhao lowered his head in thought.

“Alright, you think it over. Let me know anytime you have someone in mind.”

“Will do.”

After leaving the canteen, Lu Qingqiang headed to a nearby driving school.

She really needed to get her driver’s license soon.

Otherwise, every time she went out, she had to call a driver to pick her up. It was such a hassle.

After an hour of driving practice, she had the driver take her to the hospital to visit Xiao Hui.

On the way, she pulled out her phone and posted a job listing for a temporary tutor on a relevant website.

The tutor was for Gu Cheng.

Seven-year-old Gu Cheng had been learning preschool-level material with the other kids, which clearly wasn’t appropriate.

It was time to find a private tutor for him and figure out how to get him enrolled in school.

Not long after the post went up, someone messaged Lu Qingqiang through the site.

After all, for a college student, the hourly rate she was offering was really generous.

Three hundred yuan per hour, teaching elementary school curriculum.

If someone taught for eight hours a day, they’d earn 2,400 yuan in tutoring fees.

That was a day’s income equivalent to what many college students earned in a month.

Who wouldn’t be tempted?

Most importantly, the job only required teaching elementary-level material.

It was practically effortless.

The listing looked so easy, it actually made a lot of students who saw it think it was a clickbait scam.

They laughed it off and left a few casual comments before moving on.

But Guo Tao was different. He was genuinely interested.

So he immediately messaged Lu Qingqiang, attaching all his certificates and contact information.

Guo Tao was a sophomore at a 985 university.

His family wasn’t well-off, so while others spent weekends out eating and having fun, he was always looking for part-time jobs to earn money.

Back in his freshman year, he didn’t know any better and took on jobs like handing out flyers or doing promos—long hours for just 70 to 100 yuan a day.

In the second semester, a kind senior introduced him to a tutoring gig that paid 300 yuan a day.

That was when he started down the path of being a part-time tutor.

Unfortunately, even tutoring was competitive.

This meant he didn’t always find clients every week.

So when he saw this job posting offering 300 yuan per hour, he was honestly extremely tempted.

After submitting his resume, he silently prayed over and over: Pick me, pick me, please pick me!

“Guo Tao, what are you muttering about over there?”

In the dorm, his roommate couldn’t help but ask after seeing his odd behavior.

“Nothing, just praying to the heavens that I get picked for this tutoring job!”

“What job? Don’t tell me it’s that one offering 300 yuan an hour?”

“Yeah, that’s the one.”

“Taozi, there’s so much info online, and plenty of scammers too. A lot of them bait people with high pay. You can’t just believe everything you see.”

“Exactly. What if that job’s just a front to lure in innocent, gullible young men like you?”

“No way, right?” Guo Tao’s heart started to waver.

“You never know. Think about it. Who’d pay that much just to tutor elementary school material?”

“That’s not even the going rate for college students tutoring elementary schoolers.”

“If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is!”

“…” Guo Tao.

Now he was even more nervous.

Just then, his phone rang.

“Hello, is this Mr. Guo Tao?”

“Yes, speaking. And you are?”

“I’m the director of Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage. My surname is Lu. I posted a job listing online for a part-time tutor and received your resume.”

“I wanted to ask if you’re available to start this Saturday?”

“Yes, absolutely! Just to confirm, the tutoring is for elementary school curriculum? Which grade specifically?” Guo Tao asked.

“Starting from first grade.”

“Great, perfect.”

“Taozi, ask if you can go check it out this afternoon!” his roommate urged from the side.

“Excuse me, actually, we don’t have class this afternoon. Would it be alright if I came by to take a look and meet the student?”

“Sure. Add me on WeChat—my number is my WeChat ID. I’ll send you the location shortly.”

“Great, thank you, Director Lu.”

After hanging up, Guo Tao broke into a wide grin.

Hahaha! This kind of luck actually landed on him!

He could laugh himself awake from this dream.

“Taozi, don’t get too excited just yet. Like I said, go check it out first. If it’s a scam, be ready to call the cops.”

“Keep your phone on. If something goes wrong, report it immediately.”

“It’s not a scam. She said it’s Jiang City Loving Heart Orphanage—the one that was trending on social media.” Guo Tao explained.

“Oh no, that makes it sound even more like a scam.”

“Taozi, you better stay sharp!”

— Translator’s Notes —

– 985 university: In China, ‘985 universities’ refer to a group of prestigious universities that were part of the ‘985 Project’, an initiative to promote the development of world-class universities in China.