The day Li Xiude ran out of his dorm at Jiang University, he had a little over a hundred yuan in his pocket, not even enough for a ticket home.
He did not want to go back.
He found work.
His first job was in telemarketing. A roomful of people read scripts into their headsets, and new recruits came in every day. Three days before payday, the boss vanished off the face of the earth. Only later did he figure out that they had been recruiting people to get their identity information and had never intended to pay anyone. He had been scammed.
His second job was in property sales. It was not a major brand, but the package was better than what the major brands offered: guaranteed base pay, weekends off, and social security contributions once he became a permanent employee, all written down in black and white. He did not close a single deal. At the end of the month, he received eight hundred yuan. The boss said, "You're not a permanent employee yet. I'm only giving you this out of my own pocket because I feel sorry for you." He felt he had been scammed again.
His third job was at a health supplement store.
This time, he had wised up. He settled the terms before joining and signed an agreement. The owner was a woman surnamed Zhang, named Zhang Hui. She was pretty and spoke sweetly, and she agreed without hesitation. On his second day, he saw what was going on. This time, he would not be scammed by the boss. Instead, this was the kind of place that specifically targeted the elderly with scams.
He wanted to leave.
But he did not.
Meals were provided here. He told himself he would leave after a full