Recruitment

"Honestly, how could they suspect you? Those police officers are so incompetent."

At the villa, Liu Yingying was still sticking up for Su Jie.

"The police are just serving the people. As citizens, we only need to cooperate properly. Besides, an upright person has no fear of a crooked shadow."

Su Jie spoke with righteous conviction, and what he said was the truth.

He had not laid a hand on anyone that entire night. The Thousand-Hand Centipede had been responsible for all the wrongdoing.

If an animal had killed someone, then they should have arrested the Thousand-Hand Centipede!

Thousand-Hand Centipede: Squeak?

"Let's not talk about that anymore. Yingying, would you be interested in becoming my secretary?"

"Huh? A secretary? Me?"

Caught off guard by Su Jie's sudden change of subject, Liu Yingying wore a thoroughly bewildered expression.

"You heard what I said earlier, didn't you? I'm going into the timber business, but I don't have any reliable people here to help me. I think you're quite capable. Why don't you resign and come work for me?"

With one leg crossed over the other, Su Jie pushed a prepared employment contract across the table.

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

"Th-this... does this count as you keeping me?"

Liu Yingying's heart pounded wildly, and that number left her mouth dry and her tongue parched.

"Don't put it so unpleasantly. I just value your abilities."

Su Jie poked Liu Yingying on the forehead. He had limited time on Blue Star and needed someone to keep an eye on certain matters for him.

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

Besides, Su Jie was not afraid of betrayal. Cui Yunchun was proof of that.

"Heehee, I don't think I have any reason to refuse. From now on, I'll be counting on you to take good care of me, President Su."

After thinking for a few seconds, Liu Yingying readily agreed. She believed that choosing well was more important than working hard.

In truth, she would have been willing even if he were keeping her. There was nothing wrong with being a canary. Su Jie was not some old and ugly geezer—he was in excellent shape, and he could toss her around in bed until she was utterly spent. Not to mention, Su Jie had also given her a platform to display her talents.

Su Jie patted Liu Yingying on the head and laughed. "You little rascal. I'll discipline you tonight. Go have Auntie prepare some tea. A guest will be arriving soon."

"You're already ordering me around?"

Liu Yingying kissed Su Jie on the cheek, then left with light, cheerful steps.

Twenty minutes later, the guest Su Jie had mentioned arrived.

Inside the Jingjiang No. 1 villa, Liang Lianjun sat carefully across from Su Jie, his heart filled with unease.

"What's wrong? It's only been two days, and Manager Liang is already acting like a stranger."

Su Jie personally poured Liang Lianjun a cup of tea and spoke with a beaming smile.

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

Liang Lianjun hurriedly lifted the cup with both hands. However, Su Jie's next words made his heart tremble violently.

"Ah, who could have expected something like that to happen? I asked you here for tea because I wanted to understand the situation. Director Cui was clearly a good man—how could he have died so suddenly? I had originally planned to sell this batch of timber to him."

Splash!

His hand trembled, spilling scalding tea everywhere. Liang Lianjun nearly leaped out of his seat.

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

"No, no, I just got a little excited. Ha... haha, I'm really fine."

Liang Lianjun's smile was stiff beyond words.

When he had heard two days earlier that Cui Yunchun had died—burned to death in a fire—he had immediately come up with a terrifying conjecture.

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

When he connected Su Jie's warehouse burning down with Cui Yunchun being burned to death at home the following night, many things could be answered through motive alone, even without evidence.

"You seem very afraid of me?"

Su Jie smiled kindly and said with complete sincerity, "Let me make one thing clear first! I'm deeply saddened by Director Cui's death, but life has to go on, doesn't it? Don't let yourself get too caught up in it."

"Mr. Su, I didn't—"

"All right, I know you value loyalty. That's precisely why I asked you here—I value that loyalty of yours. I want to start a furniture company. You've worked in this industry for many years, so I'll be frank: I want to recruit you to work for me as the General Manager."

"Cough, cough."

Liang Lianjun choked on his tea.

"M-Mr. Su, wasn't that batch of timber burned up? How are you still planning to—"

"Oh, you mean that? I purchased another batch. The raw materials are every bit as good as the last batch, so you can put your mind at ease."

When Liang Lianjun heard that, his suspicions only deepened.

Because in his view, the timber Su Jie was talking about might very well have been snatched back from Director Cui.

"This is the annual salary I'm offering you. There'll also be bonuses if you do well. Think it over carefully. As long as someone works earnestly for me, I'll never treat them unfairly."

Su Jie knew that empty promises would not win anyone over, so he directly employed the power of money and pushed a contract forward.

Liang Lianjun reacted much like Liu Yingying had earlier. After seeing the sincerity represented by the contract, the words he had intended to use to reject Su Jie's offer stuck in his throat.

The only reason was that the figure on the contract was simply too dazzling.

"You understand my financial strength as well. If you come work for me, I can't promise everything else, but high-quality timber will keep flowing in without end. Combined with your abilities and connections, our new company will definitely be able to break into the high-end furniture market very quickly."

Recruiting Liang Lianjun was a move Su Jie had chosen after careful consideration.

Simply selling raw materials would always leave people coveting them. Since that was the case, he might as well process the timber himself before selling it to consumers.

Liang Lianjun had worked in the furniture industry for many years. With his abilities and connections, serving as a General Manager would be more than within his capabilities.

Swallowing hard, Liang Lianjun suspected that Su Jie might have engaged in illegal or disciplinary violations, but the contract was simply too tempting.

Even knowing that working for Su Jie carried risks, Liang Lianjun still failed to withstand the temptation. After hesitating for several minutes, he finally picked up the contract from the table.

"Mr. Su—President Su, I don't have any experience managing an entire company, but since you think so highly of me, as long as I remain in this position, I'll devote myself to managing the company well for you and selling our furniture all across the country."

"Excellent. That's the spirit I want. I believe in you."

Su Jie reached out and shook Liang Lianjun's hand, then called Liu Yingying over. "This is my private secretary, Liu Yingying. When I'm not around, you can come to her with anything. She'll pass it on to me."

"Hello, Secretary Liu."

"Hello, Manager Liang."

After the two introduced themselves, Su Jie continued, "Get the company registration sorted out first. Old Liang, keep an eye out for a processing plant to acquire. I'll approve thirty million in funds for you. That should be enough, right?"

The thirty million came from a mortgage loan Su Jie had taken from the bank by using the Jingjiang No. 1 villa as collateral.

"That's more than enough. But, President Su, what are we going to call our new company?"

Liang Lianjun was even more excited now. With ample company funds, he had the confidence to get to work.

"Let's call it... Tianyuan Home Furnishings."