Jiang Ye walked to the door, his gaze fixed on the young man behind Ju Lanlan, his brow furrowing slightly.
He was short, a full head shorter than Ju Lanlan, looking like a middle school student. His face was extremely gaunt, skin stretched over bone, as if the man had dehydrated and dried out, visibly frail. Yet his eyes were bright, and one could feel a fiery energy contained within his body.
Jiang Ye muttered to himself, "Why does this person look so unhealthy? Like a reanimated zombie. Did he take something?"
"Greetings, Commander!" Ju Lanlan introduced, "This is my chief secretary at the Planet Exchange, Pu Nian."
"Greetings, Commander!" Pu Nian smiled, bowed quickly, his tone filled with reverence.
"Please come in," Jiang Ye nodded.
Ju Lanlan led Pu Nian into the house and they sat in the living room.
"Pu Nian has been with me for over half a year and is very familiar with the business. When I'm busy, he takes over all the work," Ju Lanlan said. "In the past two months, six large stars and two artificial galaxy projects were transacted, all handled by Pu Nian, generating at least five trillion in additional profit."
"Director Ju teaches well; I am learning from Teacher Ju," Pu Nian seemed a little nervous, his hands sweating on his knees. "Please, read."
"No need for excessive modesty in front of the Commander. I might not be better than you in hands-on operation," Ju Lanlan said. "What kind of student is it if they can't surpass their teacher?"
Jiang Ye smiled, poured two cups of tea, and handed them to each of them. Ju Lanlan took his and drank immediately. Pu Nian was clearly flattered, thanking him repeatedly before holding the teacup in his hands.
"I've reviewed your resume," Jiang Ye looked at Pu Nian. "A self-taught prodigy, never attended university?"
"No," Pu Nian's smile was slightly awkward. "I originally planned to pursue further studies if I had the chance, but I never had the time, so it was delayed."
"Although you didn't attend university, your resume outshines that of mediocre graduates from formal institutions," Jiang Ye mused. "You accurately predicted three financial crises on other planets and became a famous short-seller, amassing a fortune. You also served as a market consultant for two super-enterprises valued at trillions, manipulating markets multiple times with astonishing success. It seems you are a genius in certain fields?"
"Thank you for your praise, Commander. I dare not claim to be a genius, I just have a slightly stronger sense for market changes," Pu Nian smiled bashfully.
"You were doing very well working on other planets, but five years ago, you suddenly resigned from your extraterrestrial job and came to Jiang Ye Star," Jiang Ye said. "After arriving on Jiang Ye Star, you did no work for two years, bought a mansion, and lived in seclusion."
Jiang Ye paused. "I'd like to know why you gave up a promising future on another planet to come to Jiang Ye Star? Why didn't you work for those two years, and why did you suddenly start working afterward?"
Pu Nian's expression changed, and he sighed softly. "To be honest, Commander, I was almost killed five years ago."
Jiang Ye's eyelids twitched. "I'm eager to hear the details."
"At that time, I was working for the Pu Corporation's Hunter Group on Xu Xu Star. As you know, it's a super-company valued at over ten trillion, with business scopes including finance, real estate, interstellar logistics, and more," Pu Nian said. "My task at that company was to use the company's immense capital to manipulate markets, crush competitors, achieve hostile takeovers, and ultimately monopolize."
Jiang Ye nodded.
"As the old saying goes, the business world is like a battlefield. Healthy commercial competition is like a normal fight, soldier against soldier, general against general. But we were malicious, like using banned weapons indiscriminately, and then massacring the populace for ten days after the victory. To be frank, it was extremely dirty business. During these commercial activities, a large number of employees of our competitors lost their jobs and fell into debt. Some older employees, after losing their jobs, faced financial difficulties and would even open fire at our company gates to commit suicide."
"I felt disgusted and terrified by the work I was doing. I'm a bit superstitious and believe in karma, so I wanted to resign at that time," Pu Nian smiled bitterly. "But I had already entered the core of the interest group, carrying too many secrets and involving too many resources. It wasn't as simple as just leaving. I had a colleague who did the same work as me. He wanted to resign and leave, but he was had both his legs broken by the company's thugs, and he still had to return to work."
"Later, our company ran into some tough opposition, some very ruthless alien corporations. Fearing elimination from the market and unable to resist, they resorted to dark methods, such as threatening and eliminating key figures in our group," Pu Nian said. "My superior was killed by an assassin in a hotel public restroom. The assassin dismembered him in a toilet stall, flushed him down the toilet, and he simply vanished. On one occasion, I was drugged with an ether-soaked handkerchief, but my bodyguard arrived in time and killed the assassin. I escaped with my life."
"At that time, I was living in immense anxiety and pressure, unable to live or die. I desperately wanted to escape. Five years ago, there was an internal division within the group, chaos ensued, and I took the opportunity to find a way to flee," Pu Nian said. "My initial reason for coming to Jiang Ye Star was simply to seek refuge."
Jiang Ye suddenly understood.
Pu Nian's expression was still one of lingering fear. "For the first two years after arriving, I was a bit disillusioned with life. I had already earned some money, so I stayed home and rested. After resting for two years, Jiang Ye Star experienced a major economic boom. I felt there were many opportunities, and the environment was quite good, without the extensive dark struggles of other planets. So, I decided to come out and work."
"That's good. Gold shines wherever it is," Jiang Ye nodded, then changed the subject. "Do you have a family yet?"
"I'm not married yet; I've been busy these past few years," Pu Nian understood Jiang Ye's underlying question. "But I've brought my parents to settle on Jiang Ye Star. My grandparents and some relatives are on Bi Rong Star. They just settled there this year, and everyone is stable. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, our family will develop on Jiang Ye Star and Bi Rong Star."
Jiang Ye's question was to confirm if Pu Nian was one of them.
Everything else was secondary. If his family was here, it provided a basic level of trust.
Because if something went wrong, he might be able to escape, but his family might not be able to, effectively making them hostages.
They continued to chat for over an hour, discussing the specific development plans for the Planet Exchange.
Jiang Ye finally nodded, smiling at Pu Nian. "Ju Lanlan's recommendation shows you have ability. Work hard, achieve something, and show me. The planet will not treat you unfairly."
Pu Nian thanked him profusely.
"You can go back now. Ju Lanlan and I have other matters to discuss," Jiang Ye said.
Pu Nian left immediately.
Only Jiang Ye and Ju Lanlan remained in the room.
"This Pu Nian... I see he has ability, but are there other issues with him?" Jiang Ye's expression changed, seemingly dissatisfied.
"Are you referring to his character?" Ju Lanlan asked.
Jiang Ye narrowed his eyes, his smile carrying a deep meaning. "I'm asking about his physical condition. He's so skinny, like he has some terminal illness. Why do you think I'm asking about his character? Does he have character flaws?"