"What are the requirements?" I asked.
"There's no technical barrier to this work. You just have to be willing to work hard. We need men who aren't afraid of heights. Do you have a friend you could recommend?" Mr. Cai caught my meaning.
"Yes, a classmate of mine. He has a bachelor's degree, but his English isn't very good. He's from the countryside, big and strong. Hard work definitely wouldn't be a problem for him."
"That's perfect. This position doesn't require much English. Could you get in touch with him for me?" Mr. Cai said delightedly. "Our industry is always short of people. We even lend workers to one another. If you know anyone suitable, please send a few more our way."
Looking into Mr. Cai's sincere, expectant eyes, I felt as though enlightenment had poured straight into my head. A golden light flashed, and suddenly ideas came flooding in.
We were on student visas, so working was illegal. All we could do was eat less to save money.
If this dragged on any longer, we wouldn't even be able to afford noodles boiled in plain water.
This was the only period of my life when I was short of money. Though brief, it was extraordinarily precious.
Only someone who had experienced it firsthand could truly understand how frustrating it was to want to make money but find no way in, left staring helplessly with nothing they could do!
Nietzsche said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!
The light in my heart had never gone out!
Right then, I made a vow: I must help more people find a way forward in life!
So they never have to endure the torment I went through!
I thought back to when I first arrived. Sister Feng had arranged visas for more than twenty of us at once, taking twenty to forty thousand from each person's tuition fees. Add the recruitment commissions the school paid her, and that single batch had netted her eight hundred thousand to a million!
And here I was, still struggling for money, lost for so long!
Even earning only the legal portion would bring in plenty of money!
Only at that moment did I realize: the trap itself was a way out!
It was precisely because unscrupulous people controlled the visa application channels that so many of us had ended up in trouble!
And it was precisely because truly virtuous people hadn't stood somewhere higher, where everyone could see them, that those unscrupulous people had been given the chance to deceive others!
The reason scammers can fool people is that I'm not good enough!
I must stand higher than the scammers, become a lighthouse in the fog, and let more people see me. Only then can I light the way forward for those with nowhere left to turn!
In a flash, I had figured out so much!
I didn't know whether my luck had finally turned or whether the exercises I had just practiced had opened up the flow of my qi and made me smarter. All I knew was that, at that moment, the light of wisdom shone upon me, the fog dispersed, and my thoughts flowed freely!
I immediately sent Li Guang a message telling him the good news.
Then I began researching Singapore's company law.
At the same time, I contacted major agencies back home to discuss working together.
The going rate for a Singapore work visa back home was around forty thousand.
Under the law, an intermediary in Singapore could charge two months' salary.
If I placed five people with Mr. Cai, and each paid me two months' salary-twenty thousand-wouldn't I have a hundred thousand in an instant?
These were genuine work visas. The holders could work legally, and their wages were protected by law!
My predicament came down to my student visa: I couldn't work legally. Just thinking about the words "work legally" made my eyes gleam.
Singapore was a country with strict laws, with detailed rules governing every aspect of work and daily life.
Work visas: both working and studying were legal.
Student visas: working while attending a private school was definitely illegal. Even at a public school, working wasn't necessarily legal; there were many restrictions.
A work visa could also lead to permanent residency, while a student pass couldn't.
Even I felt envious looking at it.
I need to hurry up and change my visa.
Singapore's company law was much like the law back home. Businesses were likewise divided into sole proprietorships and limited liability companies, with little difference.
There was just one special point: in Singapore, we were foreigners.
For a foreigner to start a company, at least one local representative had to serve as a director. Either a Singaporean citizen or a permanent resident would qualify.
There were no other onerous requirements, and an agency could handle all the paperwork.
Singapore was widely recognized as a paradise for entrepreneurs, and with good reason.
At that moment, every pore of my body brimmed with wisdom. No difficulty could stop me from moving forward!
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