7: Chapter 7 Looking for People and a Warehouse

"General Niu, I had someone look into it. This person's name is Oriental Chen, and he has no background. His records show he's just an ordinary university graduate," Manager Xu said over the phone.

"What about his family background?" General Niu asked.

"He only had a grandmother, who passed away long ago. He doesn't have many relatives, and they don't keep in touch," Manager Xu replied.

"That's strange. How could someone like him easily come up with hundreds of millions?" General Niu wondered.

"There's also something else. My friend at the vehicle registration office found that he recently bought a large number of vehicles. He's the mysterious rich man who bought 20 pickup trucks in one go, the one who's very popular online," Manager Xu said.

"Did he win the lottery?" General Niu asked suspiciously.

"I'm not sure about that," Manager Xu replied.

"Alright, that's all for now. Keep a close eye on him," General Niu said.

"Understood."

The next morning, Oriental Chen was woken up by delivery personnel.

Starting at 8 AM, he received over a dozen deliveries within half an hour.

He absolutely had to find a warehouse today, otherwise his house would truly be overflowing.

"Boss, two cartons of Huazi cigarettes, please," Oriental Chen said as he walked into the convenience store he frequented.

"Oh, Xiao Chen. Did you strike it rich?" The boss, being familiar with him, asked jokingly as he turned to pull two cartons of Huazi from the shelf.

Oriental Chen didn't answer, instead asking:

"Brother Zhang, how much?"

"Twelve hundred," Brother Zhang replied cheerfully.

"Alright!" Oriental Chen decisively pulled out his phone and paid.

"Brother Zhang, this is for you." After paying, Oriental Chen took one carton of Huazi and pushed the other back.

"What's the meaning of this?" This action completely confused the boss.

"Brother Zhang, I need a favor," Oriental Chen said with a grin.

"Alright! Tell me, I'll see if I can help."

His words were ambiguous, meaning he might or might not help, depending on the situation.

"Brother Zhang, you know a lot of people. I want to rent a large warehouse. Could you help me ask around?"

"Oh, that's no big deal. What will you use it for? Any requirements?" Brother Zhang asked.

"Just for temporary storage, as long as it's big enough and clean," Oriental Chen said.

"That's simple. I have a comrade-in-arms who has a few warehouses he hasn't rented out yet. I'll contact him for you," Brother Zhang said.

"What a coincidence? Alright then, please ask him. See how much the rent is, and I'll transfer it directly to you," Oriental Chen said.

"Wait a moment, I'll make a call to ask," Brother Zhang said, picking up his phone and dialing.

"One warehouse is 32,000 a year. How many do you want to rent?" Brother Zhang asked while on the phone.

"How many are there?" Oriental Chen asked.

"Five."

"Alright, I'll rent all five!" Oriental Chen said.

"All five?" Brother Zhang was startled.

"Yes!" Oriental Chen laughed.

"Alright! All rented. Uh, yes, we'll drink when we have time!" Brother Zhang said, then hung up the phone.

"Done!" Brother Zhang said with a smile after hanging up.

"Then I'm truly indebted to you." Oriental Chen was extremely grateful; this saved him a lot of trouble.

"It's no trouble at all," Brother Zhang waved his hand, indicating it was nothing.

"Oh, right, were you in the military before?" Oriental Chen asked.

"That's right," Brother Zhang replied.

Brother Zhang was already in his thirties and had put on some weight.

"It's like this, Brother Zhang, I want to hire some retired soldiers. I wonder if you could introduce some?" Oriental Chen asked.

"Are you hiring them yourself? What for?" Brother Zhang asked.

"Yes, I'm hiring them myself. The job is driver and bodyguard. I just started a company and I'm short on staff," Oriental Chen said.

"Stop joking! How big of a business are you running that you need bodyguards?" Brother Zhang laughed.

Well, it seemed Brother Zhang wouldn't believe him without adding some details.

"Don't say that, Brother Zhang, it really is a big business. Did you see those 20 pickup trucks in the complex?" Oriental Chen asked.

"I saw them. What? Don't tell me you bought them!" Brother Zhang didn't believe him.

"That's right, I bought them! All cash, 20 at once! And 20 Hummers are on the way," Oriental Chen whispered.

"You really bought them?" Brother Zhang asked again for confirmation.

"Really!" Oriental Chen replied with certainty.

"Those cars aren't cheap, over two million each!" Brother Zhang sounded like he was stating a fact and asking a question at the same time.

"It's all small change! Do you believe me now?" Oriental Chen asked.

"How many people do you want to hire?" Brother Zhang asked.

"However many you can find, the more the better," Oriental Chen replied.

"And the pay?"

"One hundred thousand a month," Oriental Chen replied.

It was a known fact that a great reward would attract brave men; as long as the price was high, he wouldn't worry about not finding people.

"One hundred thousand?" Brother Zhang was astonished.

"That's right! If there are special tasks, the pay will be extra!" Oriental Chen said.

"No, Xiao Chen, tell Brother Zhang the truth, you're not doing anything illegal, are you?" Brother Zhang felt the salary was too high; he even wanted to join.

"How could I? It's a real estate business," Oriental Chen said.

Saying it was real estate wasn't wrong; the most important part of the plan Xiao Lin arranged was to establish an underground base within two months.

"Oh, come on. Where can't you find people for 100,000 yuan? Do you still need me to introduce them?" Brother Zhang didn't believe such a good thing could exist.

"Brother Zhang, I'm telling you, this job isn't easy, and it requires being on call 24 hours a day. Most importantly, I only want retired soldiers; no one else will be considered," Oriental Chen said.

"Let me tell you, my brothers are comrades who've been through life and death together. Don't let them come here and then trick them!" Brother Zhang laid out the terms upfront.

"Don't worry about that. I'll arrange everything for each person who comes. Food and lodging included, and salary paid first! What else do you have to worry about?" Oriental Chen guaranteed.

"Alright, I'll ask around for you," Brother Zhang agreed.

"Alright, then I'll wait for your news!" Oriental Chen said, then turned to leave.

"Hey! Your cigarettes!" Brother Zhang called out.

"You keep them!" Oriental Chen turned back and smiled, then walked away.

"This kid!" Brother Zhang gave a wry smile.

Brother Zhang thought for a moment, then decided to call two unemployed brothers to try it out; there wouldn't be much loss if it didn't work out.

So he picked up his phone and started making calls.