Recruitment

"Seriously, to actually suspect you. These police officers are so unprofessional."

Inside the villa, Liu Yingying was still indignantly defending Su Jie.

"The police are serving the people, and we citizens should cooperate. Besides, an upright person has nothing to fear."

Su Jie said righteously, and it was the truth.

From beginning to end that night, he hadn't laid a hand on anyone; it was all the Thousand-Hand Centipede's doing.

If an animal committed murder, they should be arresting the Thousand-Hand Centipede!

Thousand-Hand Centipede: Squeak?

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Yingying, are you interested in being my secretary?"

"Huh! Be a secretary, me?"

Startled by Su Jie's sudden change of subject, Liu Yingying looked utterly bewildered.

"You heard what I said earlier, right? I'm doing some timber business, and I don't have any reliable help here. I thought you were quite capable, so why not quit your job and come help me?"

Leaning back with his legs crossed, Su Jie pushed a drafted employment contract across the table.

When Liu Yingying saw the salary on the contract, her mouth fell open.

"Th-this... doesn't this count as you keeping me?"

Liu Yingying's heart pounded wildly; the number made her mouth feel dry.

"Don't put it so crudely. I'm valuing your abilities."

Su Jie poked Liu Yingying's forehead. His time on Blue Star was limited, and he needed someone to help keep an eye on things.

Liu Yingying was close to him; regardless of her abilities, ensuring a certain level of loyalty was enough.

Besides, Su Jie wasn't afraid of betrayal. Just look at Cui Yunchun.

"Hehe, I don't think I have any reason to refuse. Please take good care of me from now on, President Su."

After a few seconds of thought, Liu Yingying readily agreed because she believed that choosing the right path was more important than hard work.

Actually, she would have been willing even if it was just being kept. Being a canary wasn't so bad, especially since Su Jie wasn't some old, ugly man. He was in great shape and could make her writhe in bed until she begged for mercy, not to mention that Su Jie also gave her a platform to showcase her talents.

Su Jie patted Liu Yingying's head and chuckled, "You little rascal. I'll discipline you tonight. Go ask Auntie to prepare some tea; we'll have a guest soon."

"You're already ordering me around!"

Liu Yingying pecked Su Jie on the cheek before skipping away cheerfully.

Twenty minutes later, the guest Su Jie mentioned arrived.

In the Jingjiang No. 1 villa, Liang Lianjun sat opposite Su Jie, his heart filled with trepidation.

"What's wrong? It's only been two days, Manager Liang, and you're already acting so distant."

Su Jie poured Liang Lianjun a cup of tea himself, smiling.

"N-no, it's just... I just didn't expect Mr. Su to invite me for tea."

Liang Lianjun quickly cupped the tea with both hands. However, Su Jie's next words made Liang Lianjun's heart tremble.

"Alas, what could be done about that incident? I wanted to talk to you to understand the situation. Director Cui was such a good person; how could he have died so suddenly? I was planning to sell that batch of timber to him."

Splash!

His hand trembling, the scalding tea spilled. Liang Lianjun almost jumped out of his seat.

"What's wrong? Is the tea not to your liking?"

"No, no, I just got a bit emotional. Ha, haha, I'm really fine."

Liang Lianjun's smile was incredibly stiff.

When he heard about Cui Yunchun's death a couple of days ago, especially that he was burned to death in a fire, a terrifying suspicion had already formed in his mind.

He had also heard that Cui Yunchun had a shady background. At the time, he'd wondered why Cui Yunchun had refused to purchase Su Jie's timber.

Considering that Su Jie's warehouse was burned down, and then Cui Yunchun was burned to death in his home the very next night, many things could be inferred through motive, even without concrete evidence.

"You seem very afraid of me?"

Su Jie's smile was kind and sincere. "Let me state this upfront! I am very saddened by Director Cui's passing, but life must go on. You shouldn't dwell on it too much."

"Mr. Su, I'm not..."

"Enough, I know you value loyalty. The reason I asked you here this time is precisely because I value that sentiment. I want to start a furniture company. You've been in this industry for many years, so I'll be direct: I want to poach you to work for me as the General Manager."

"Cough, cough."

Liang Lianjun, who was drinking tea, choked.

"M-Mr. Su, wasn't your batch of timber burned? Why are you still thinking of..."

"Oh, you mean that! I restocked. The new batch is exactly the same as the previous raw materials. You can rest assured."

Hearing this, Liang Lianjun's suspicions grew even stronger.

Because, in his opinion, the timber Su Jie was talking about might have been snatched from Director Cui's place.

"This is the annual salary I'm offering you. If you do a good job, there will be bonuses too. You can think it over carefully. I'm a person who never mistreats those who work diligently for me."

Su Jie knew that mere words wouldn't be enough to convince him, so he directly used his wealth to present a contract.

Just like Liu Yingying's reaction before, upon seeing the sincerity of Su Jie's contract, Liang Lianjun, who had initially intended to refuse Su Jie's offer, found the words stuck in his throat.

This was solely because the amount on the contract was too eye-catching.

"You're aware of my strength. If you come work for me, I can't promise much else, but high-quality wood raw materials will flow in endlessly. Combined with your abilities and connections, our new company will definitely be able to quickly open up the high-end furniture market."

Recruiting Liang Lianjun was a strategic move Su Jie had decided on after careful consideration.

Simply selling raw materials would always attract unwanted attention. If that was the case, he might as well process the wood raw materials himself and sell them directly to consumers.

Liang Lianjun had been in the furniture industry for many years, possessing both capability and connections, making him more than qualified to be a General Manager.

Swallowing hard, although he suspected Su Jie might be involved in illegal or unethical activities, the contract was simply too enticing.

Even knowing that working with Su Jie carried risks, Liang Lianjun couldn't resist the temptation. After hesitating for several minutes, he finally picked up the contract from the table.

"Mr. Su, President Su, I may not have experience managing a company's overall operations, but I appreciate your confidence in me. As long as I'm in this position, I will definitely manage the company wholeheartedly for you and help sell our furniture across the country."

"Excellent, that's the spirit. I believe in you."

Su Jie extended his hand to shake Liang Lianjun's, then called Liu Yingying over. "This is my private secretary, Liu Yingying. When I'm not around, you can find her if you need anything; she will relay the message to me."

"Hello, Secretary Liu."

"Hello, Manager Liang."

After they were introduced, Su Jie continued, "You two handle the company registration first. Old Liang, you look into acquiring a processing plant. I'll allocate thirty million yuan for you; that should be enough, right?"

The thirty million was a loan Su Jie had secured by mortgaging the Jingjiang No. 1 villa.

"More than enough! But President Su, what will our new company be called!"

Liang Lianjun became even more excited. With ample company funds, he felt more confident in his work.

"It will be called Tianyuan Home Furnishings."