82: Chapter 82 Recruiting Weirdos

In this internet age, if you want to be popular, you either rely on talent or rely on acting crazy.

Chenxing Technology obviously chose the latter.

Just the day after Class Monitor Zhang Wei joined, a recruitment notice with a shocking title and even more shocking content swept through major recruitment platforms and university forums like a virus.

There were none of the clichés common to big companies like "985/211 graduates preferred" or "five years of experience required."

The entire poster featured only a few simple, crude, large characters in red on a yellow background, full of the aesthetic style of street advertisements:

"Chenxing Technology: Hiring! We pay money! Come quickly!"

Position: Chief Bullshitter (crossed out)... Senior Product Manager / Technical PR.

Salary: Starting annual salary of one million RMB (no cap; not only RMB, but also gold for good performance).

Requirements:

1. Must have guts: Extremely strong mental fortitude; cannot faint upon seeing aliens, cannot scream upon seeing Godzilla, and those who can calmly drink tea amidst a hail of bullets are preferred.

2. Must have a silver tongue: A logic genius who can call black white, describe straw as gold bars, and talk the dead back to life.

3. Must be good-looking: Appearance is justice; the company's image cannot be compromised.

Note: Degree and major do not matter. Even if you studied excavator operation, as long as you meet the above three points, we want you!

As soon as this advertisement came out, the whole internet exploded.

Netizens in the comment section even forgot to rush for the 9.9 RMB invisibility cloak, all running over to watch this once-in-a-century bizarre recruitment.

"Holy crap? A million-yuan annual salary? And they pay in gold? Is this really not for going to Northern Myanmar to get your kidneys harvested?"

"Are you blind, upstairs? That's Chenxing Technology! The big shot who hand-made the Photonic Chip! Does he lack those two kidneys of yours?"

"But these requirements are too ridiculous, right? Big guts, silver tongue, good-looking... Is this hiring high-tech talent? This is clearly recruiting the backbone of a scam syndicate!"

"Hahahaha! God Jiang, 'cannot faint upon seeing aliens'—is he planning to take us to play StarCraft?"

Complaints were complaints, but their bodies were honest.

In the current severe employment situation, an annual salary of one million was enough to make anyone go crazy. In just half a day, Chenxing Technology's email inbox was flooded with resumes.

Western Suburbs, Base No. 3.

In the temporarily converted interview hall, the atmosphere was as eerie as interrogating prisoners of war.

Outside the door stood two rows of heavily armed special forces soldiers; that was the "security" Zhao Gang had specifically arranged. Every job seeker had to pass three security checks and walk past these murderous gun barrels.

Most of the so-called "elites" had their legs go weak the moment they reached the door and were eliminated immediately.

Only a very small number with strong mental fortitude could tremblingly walk through that door.

Jiang Chen sat in the interviewer's main seat, twirling the pen in his hand, looking bored. Beside him sat Class Monitor Zhang Wei, acting as the recorder, wiping his glasses while sweating profusely.

"Next." Jiang Chen called out.

The person who came in was a refined-looking boy wearing thick-rimmed glasses; his resume showed he was a physics PhD from a prestigious university.

"Hello, Boss Jiang!"

As soon as the boy entered, he bowed ninety degrees and then began reciting his credentials, "I admire your company's Photonic Chip technology very much, and I have published three papers on quantum mechanics..."

"Stop."

Jiang Chen interrupted him and pulled out a component from under the table that looked like a rusted lump of iron—it was actually a damaged Anti-gravity Engine spark plug.

"Stop reciting. I'll give you one minute to sell me this scrap metal."

Jiang Chen pointed at the iron lump, "As long as you can convince me to spend ten thousand to buy it, you're hired."

The PhD was stunned.

He pushed his glasses and stammered: "This... this is obviously heavily oxidized metal waste. According to the law of conservation of mass, its value is no more than five yuan. Boss Jiang, business should be based on integrity..."

"Get out."

Jiang Chen waved his hand mercilessly, "Next."

The PhD was ushered out, looking completely bewildered.

"Brother Chen, which one is this?"

Class Monitor Zhang Wei looked at the eliminated talent with heartache, "He's a PhD! Doesn't our company need people to do technology?"

"Academician Chen Shuyin is enough for the technology part."

Jiang Chen sighed and threw the iron lump back under the table, "What we lack now are marketing geniuses who can package this pile of 'trash' into artifacts! Integrity? If I were honest, how could I sell the 9.9 RMB invisibility cloak?"

The subsequent interviews were a disaster zone.

Some beauties were good-looking but found the iron lump dirty; some had a silver tongue but were so scared when Zhao Gang came in to deliver water that they almost crawled under the table.

"This batch of job seekers is no good."

Jiang Chen rubbed his temples, feeling a bit desperate, "Is there no shameless, mentally strong rascal?"

Just as he was about to announce that they were done for the day, the door opened.

A middle-aged man wearing an ill-fitting cheap suit with a slightly messy Mediterranean hairstyle poked his head in.

He clutched a briefcase tightly, with a humble smile on his face typical of someone who had long been at the bottom of society and beaten down by life.

The moment he saw this person, Jiang Chen was stunned.

Class Monitor Zhang Wei jumped up directly from his chair, pointing at the person and exclaiming:

"Teacher... Teacher Li?!"

That's right.

The middle-aged man standing at the door, looking timid and shifty-eyed, was none other than their university counselor—Supervisor Li Guoqiang.

He was the snobbish mentor who, back when Jiang Chen's family went bankrupt, took orders from Wang Kai to make snide remarks in the office every day and force Jiang Chen to drop out.

"Hello, Boss Jiang... Hello, Boss Zhang."

Supervisor Li Guoqiang clearly recognized them too.

His face instantly turned the color of a pig's liver, and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. He instinctively wanted to turn and run; this was a social death scene!

Back then, he had pointed at Jiang Chen's nose and cursed him as "mud that couldn't stick to the wall"!

And now, the mud had become a billionaire, and he had to interview his former mentor?

"Don't go, Teacher Li."

Jiang Chen suddenly spoke.

There was no anger in his voice, but rather a hint of surprise, as if he had discovered a new continent.

"Since you're here, let's chat, teacher and student."

Jiang Chen leaned back in his chair, looking up and down at this former mentor who used to be arrogant but was now down-and-out, a meaningful smile curling the corners of his mouth:

"I remember Teacher Li used to have... quite the eloquence."

"When you persuaded me to drop out back then, that 'it's for your own good' theory almost made me believe it."

Supervisor Li Guoqiang froze in place, unable to leave or stay, finally having to bite the bullet and move to the chair, daring to sit on only half of it.

"Boss... Boss Jiang, I was blind back then; please forgive me..."

Supervisor Li Guoqiang wiped his sweat, his voice trembling, "I... I recently lost my job. I have elderly parents and young children at home, and I really had no choice but to come and try my luck. Since it's inconvenient for you, I'll get out of here..."

"Who said it was inconvenient?"

Jiang Chen took the rusty iron lump from under the table and pushed it toward Supervisor Li Guoqiang.

"Teacher Li, let's put the reminiscing aside for now; let's interview first."

"Can you sell this thing as a ten-thousand-yuan treasure?"

Supervisor Li Guoqiang paused, looking at the broken piece of iron.

If it had been that PhD, he would have definitely talked about a bunch of physical principles. But who was Supervisor Li Guoqiang? He was an old fox in the workplace, a snob who said what people wanted to hear and talked nonsense when needed.

His eyes darted, and he picked up the iron lump almost instinctively.

Taking a deep breath, the humility on his face instantly vanished, replaced by an extremely exaggerated sense of awe, as if he were holding a handed-down treasure:

"Oh! Boss Jiang! Is this... is this the legendary 'Trace of Time'?!"

"Look at this rust! This isn't rust; this is the sedimentation of time! This is the tear of industrial civilization!"

"Placed in the office, it's a realm of 'never forgetting the original intention'! Let alone ten thousand, even for a hundred thousand, those who know their stuff would fight over it!"

Jiang Chen listened to this nonsense, his eyes getting brighter and brighter.

A talent!

Isn't this the "Chief Bullshitter" I'm looking for?

Shameless! Quick-witted! And able to talk the dead back to life!

"Clap! Clap! Clap!"

Jiang Chen applauded.

"Brilliant! Too brilliant!"

He stood up, walked over to the still nervous Supervisor Li Guoqiang, and extended his hand:

"Teacher Li, congratulations."

"You're hired."

"Monthly salary of 20,000, position... Logistics Department Supervisor and Product Salesman. Mainly responsible for selling our company's 'junk' at high prices."

"How about it? Are you in?"

Supervisor Li Guoqiang was dumbfounded.

He thought Jiang Chen would humiliate him, kick him out, or even have someone beat him up.

And yet... hired? And a monthly salary of 20,000?

"I'm in! I'm in!"

Supervisor Li Guoqiang was so excited he almost knelt down, gripping Jiang Chen's hand tightly, tears welling up, "Thank you, Boss Jiang! Thank you for the opportunity! From now on, I am your... no, I am your soldier! Wherever you point, I will strike!"

Jiang Chen nodded with satisfaction.

With this kind of "talent" who had no bottom line, there would be no worries about sales for the weird stuff dug out from the Wasteland in the future.

"Alright, go to Class Monitor Zhang Wei for the onboarding procedures."

Jiang Chen checked the time, a mysterious smile on his lips:

"Perfect, the personnel is assembled."

"Next, it's time to prepare for the next 'big show'."

He turned and walked toward the laboratory, where Academician Chen Shuyin was frowning at a metal ring that looked like a headband, just dug out from the ruins.

"The new product launch, it's time to warm up."