Chapter 143 – Recruiting People Isn’t Easy Either

What matters most in the new century?

Talent.

This was the deepest realization Jiang Ning had come to after this intense period of busyness.

She now had four fried chicken shops under her belt, one factory under renovation, partial shares in a breeding farm, and was about to acquire equity in a second-rate entertainment company.

Among the four fried chicken shops, there were four store managers.

Her cousin Tian Wenhao, cousin-in-law Xiao Mingxiu, the social beast Xia Ling, and the ever-reliable Wang Chan.

Of them, her older cousin Tian Wenhao was the one she trusted most.

But he lacked drive in terms of personality.

He could manage and maintain stability, but expansion wasn’t his strength.

As for the other three, they all seemed competent for now.

Each could handle the basic operations of a single store just fine.

But the factory side of things was more troublesome.

Lin Ke had ability.

But his skills were mainly technical.

When it came to the overall logistics and support of the factory, he was clearly out of his depth.

Thankfully, Wang Jianguo was there to lend a hand.

Otherwise, something might’ve gone really wrong at the factory.

Still, relying on that for the long term wasn’t viable.

She had to find someone who understood logistics.

And considering how severely understaffed they’d be once the factory was fully operational, Jiang Ning took Lin Ke’s advice—

To head to a job fair and recruit.

——————

May 12, Saturday.

Weather: Clear.

Temperature: 12–21°C.

8:30 AM.

When Zhu Le arrived at the entrance of the International Exhibition Center, clutching a stack of résumés—

The place was already packed wall to wall.

Many young people like him were flowing in from all directions toward the main entrance.

Seeing this,

Zhu Le quickly pulled himself together and followed the crowd.

Today was his first job fair.

Originally, he was supposed to come with his good buddy Yang Mingliang.

But ever since Yang had officially joined “Shi Ning Ji,” he’d become deeply intrigued by the fried chicken shop’s operations.

From its brand launch to its subsequent expansion—

From its management philosophy to its future plans—

In Yang’s own words:

He had high hopes for the business.

He planned to work hard for two years and see if he could climb to a management position.

Zhu Le trusted his friend’s judgment.

But he couldn’t help suspecting there was an ulterior motive behind it.

Especially after Yang saw that Fried Chicken Goddess.

After that, the man practically lived at the Times Square branch of Shi Ning Ji.

Sure, she was really pretty.

And not just generically pretty—she had that extra something special.

Zhu Le, in all his years, hadn’t seen many who could compare.

But if you were seriously chasing that kind of thing—

He figured it was better to focus on solid, practical work.

Eventually, after standing in line for about twenty minutes,

Zhu Le finally passed through security and stepped into the main hall of the job fair.

The first impression that hit him was how big it was.

The second was how noisy.

A jumble of voices—chatter, pitches, hawking, and the distant hum of fans whirling overhead ten meters up.

It all made the naturally quiet-loving Zhu Le frown slightly.

Just then—

A young man in a suit blocked his path and handed him a flyer.

“Hey, handsome—Sky Insurance. Fortune Global 500. Interested?”

“Sorry, I majored in mechanical engineering…” Zhu Le replied politely and tried to hand the flyer back.

But when he looked up, the guy had already moved on to a young woman nearby, repeating the same pitch.

Fine.

Zhu Le quietly stuffed the flyer together with his résumés.

Then began to hunt for something suitable.

“Huayang Machinery: Hiring two mechanical design engineers. Requires a bachelor’s degree or higher in mechanical engineering. 9–5 schedule, overtime expected. Monthly salary: 1000–2500. Prior experience preferred.”

This one caught his eye.

But the thick pile of résumés on the HR rep’s desk made him hesitate.

And those were just the ones they’d accepted.

There were probably even more that got rejected.

For the first time, Zhu Le felt a real resentment about how crowded his country was.

Still, he stepped up and handed in his résumé.

As expected—

A polite, “Sorry, we don’t take interns,”

And his résumé was returned to him.

Even when he said he could graduate early, it didn’t help.

So, looking awkward, Zhu Le had no choice but to walk away and keep searching.

After wandering around for a while, he finally found a smaller booth with a job that looked promising.

“Dikun Manufacturing: Hiring one R&D mechanical engineer. Requires bachelor’s degree or higher in mechanical engineering, with relevant certification. Hours: 10AM–7PM. Salary: 1500–3500/month.”

Not bad.

Especially with that salary going up to 3500—he felt a jolt of excitement.

He handed in his résumé.

But the HR person asked him a question that made him hesitate.

“Are you okay with being assigned overseas?”

“Where to?”

“Abroad.”

Zhu Le went silent.

He was born and raised in Jiangzhou—not in the city center, but still—

He’d barely ever left his hometown, and had a strong attachment to it.

That’s why he chose to attend a second-tier local college despite having first-tier scores.

So yeah.

He quietly took his résumé back again and continued roaming the fair.

The job fair was huge.

Probably hundreds of companies were there recruiting.

But after a full loop,

Zhu Le was disheartened to realize—

Jobs that suited him and matched his field were really just a handful.

The rest were either insurance or sales gigs with zero barriers to entry but sky-high demands on sales talk—

Or they matched his skills but blocked him for lack of experience.

So what now?

Was he really not cut out for his chosen field?

Just as Zhu Le was starting to feel defeated—

He unexpectedly spotted a familiar figure in a corner of the hall.

Instinctively,

He walked toward them…

——————

Jiang Ning honestly hadn’t expected—

It wasn’t just hard to apply for jobs.

Recruiting people wasn’t easy either.

Just take the booth situation at this job fair—

When they first came to inquire, as soon as people heard their factory was new, they flat-out refused to give them a spot.

Even offering money didn’t help.

They said they didn’t have the credentials.

What the hell—

Jiang Ning was so mad she nearly flipped the table.

It was Wang Jianguo who finally came up with a workaround—

They could rent a booth under the name of “Shi Ning Ji” and recruit for both the restaurant and factory at once.

That’s how they avoided the embarrassment of not having a booth at all.

But—

Getting a booth was only step one.

Even with “Shi Ning Ji” as the front—

The only space they could get was a tiny, tucked-away booth in the far corner.

Surrounded on both sides by small no-name companies just like theirs.

Anyone who made it here as a job applicant was either extremely picky or had no skills at all.

Or maybe they were just here out of curiosity after hearing something about it.

Trying to find the kind of talent Jiang Ning was looking for among this crowd was incredibly difficult.

So, she sent Wang Jianguo and Wang Chan out to hand out flyers, while she stayed behind at the booth, waiting for people to come apply.

But after waiting for a long time, only a handful of people had dropped off their resumes.

Just as Miss Jiang was racking her brain on how to attract talent, a familiar figure suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Jiang Ning, what are you doing here?”

Hearing the voice, Miss Jiang looked up.

Oh hey.

Wasn’t this Mr. Innocent?

“Zhuo Le, right?”

“What’s up? Out job-hunting?”

“I thought you were still…”

“Part-timing,” Zhuo Le added, then glanced around at Jiang Ning’s booth.

In this small three-to-four-square-meter space, there were a few stools set out, but only the figure before him was seated.

He asked with some curiosity, “Are you recruiting for ‘Shi Ning Ji’?”

“Oh, no, this is for another company,” Jiang Ning replied as she pulled a plastic stool from behind her and gestured for him to sit.

Zhuo Le didn’t stand on ceremony. As he took the chair, his eyes landed on the recruitment poster hanging on the wall.

The moment he saw that they were recruiting graduates in mechanical engineering, he was momentarily stunned.

Pointing at the listing, he asked, “What does this Ming Sheng Technology do?”

“Why would you need someone in mechanical engineering?”

“Of course it’s mechanical-related…” Jiang Ning started, but mid-sentence, her eyes suddenly lit up with a sparkle.

She stared intently at this innocent-looking guy across from her, eyes twinkling.

“I seem to remember…”

“You studied mechanical engineering, didn’t you?”

(End of Chapter)