By Friday, Liu Chen had only found one resume with issues.
After much deliberation, Liu Chen decided to trap the tiger in its cave. Instead of waiting until recruitment to let the person behind the scenes sneak in as a laborer, she would create a loophole in management now.
What if Cui Jian wasn't sent by the person behind the scenes?
Liu Chen shook her head, leaned in, and quietly explained to Ren Yu, who was sitting beside her:
"This person's resume is polished. They spent a lot of money on it, and they're likely experienced. They know what kind of resume would impress me. Someone like this fits the usual modus operandi of the person behind the scenes."
Ren Yu listened to his girlfriend whispering in his ear, feeling a warm tingle in his chest.
However, he also knew that what Chen Chen was talking about was very important. Although he vaguely suspected…
The truth was related to his biological father, who had long since divorced.
Thinking of this, Ren Yu lowered his gaze to look at Chen Chen, who was looking serious and preparing to cast her net. He opened his mouth, but ultimately closed it.
After all, these were just his own speculations, and he didn't want to be seen as pathetic in Liu Chen's eyes.
With that thought, Ren Yu softly hummed in agreement and then said:
"I'll join you for this recruitment. We'll see how it goes. To prevent confidential information from being leaked during the hiring process, it's best not to bring mobile phones into the room."
Hearing this, Liu Chen looked up at the serious Ren Yu and a knowing smile immediately spread across her face.
Not allowing phones in the conference room meant Ren Yu definitely had some plans for her phone.
Thinking this, Liu Chen's eyes sparkled as she looked at Ren Yu, mentally musing, "Indeed, those who are good with computers are always impressive."
* * *
In his rented room, Cui Jian, who was wearing a suit, suddenly felt an itch in his nose.
"Achoo! Achoo!"
He sneezed several times and frowned, then curled his index finger and rubbed the tip of his nose.
"Who the hell is badmouthing me behind my back? Damn it! If I catch them, I'll beat them so badly their own father won't recognize them!"
After muttering a few curses, Cui Jian finished putting on his suit.
Despite his crude language, when Cui Jian put on a suit, styled his hair, and put on a Rolex watch, he exuded the aura of an elite professional.
This was one of the reasons he had been so successful in the scamming world for so many years without being caught. He looked like a wealthy and capable man. Who would have thought that his capability was indeed present, but directed towards deception?
With everything ready, Cui Jian sat down at the dining table and opened the laptop on it. On the screen was the fake resume Liu Chen had received.
After reading it a few times, Cui Jian closed the fake resume and then clicked on a purely English website. He opened his personal profile in the backend, where there were orders.
All previous orders showed as completed. Only the order at the very top showed "in preparation."
The order clearly stated:
Enter Meimei Brand factory, obtain Meimei sausage recipe and poison it.
Cui Jian moved his gaze from the order requirements to the amount listed.
Eight hundred thousand US dollars.
"With this money, I can go to America and get some plastic surgery. Then, all those idiots I scammed in China will never find me again."
The plan was solid, and Cui Jian had immense confidence in his abilities.
The interview was scheduled to start at 2 PM. Cui Jian drove a black BMW and parked in the parking lot of the new Meimei Brand factory.
While parking, Cui Jian glanced with surprise at the newly built Meimei Brand factory.
Since he was going to infiltrate the company, Cui Jian had done his homework. He knew that this massive factory complex was actually only half-built, and this half was completed in just four months.
Four months? Including construction and decoration?
Cui Jian had even worried about formaldehyde issues in the company's offices before coming and had planned to use this as a reason to demand higher compensation for industrial injury from the client who placed the order.
Of course, the client hadn't replied at all.
Now, looking at the clean white office building and the abundant greenery scattered throughout the factory grounds, Cui Jian could only marvel.
Money makes the world go 'round!
As Cui Jian got out of his beloved car and walked towards the office building indicated in the notice, he saw two trees planted at the base of the building. Cui Jian quietly retreated, stopping in front of the two trees, and murmured,
"Are these Purpleheart? Planted in the factory grounds???"
At this moment, Cui Jian felt his own limitations.
What was stealing a recipe for eighty thousand US dollars! Given some time, he could sell the entire factory! With this thought, a confident smile appeared on Cui Jian's face.
* * *
Liu Chen and Ren Yu were sitting in an office, watching the surveillance footage on the computer screen.
Ren Yu looked at Cui Jian smiling at the two trees and remained silent for a long time, looking confused:
"Chen Chen, are you sure he's the problematic one?"
"Why does he look... not like someone who would scam people?"
He seemed a bit slow.
Liu Chen waved away Ren Yu's question, telling him not to worry.
"Don't worry, the source of this information is very reliable. Besides, aren't you able to check his phone, Brother Ren Yu?"
Hearing this, Ren Yu nodded.
"Alright, you go sit in the conference room first. After all, besides investigating him, you also need to handle the actual recruitment today."
Liu Chen nodded as she stood up. She had no choice. Time was tight and the mission was heavy. She was still planning to get the brain-boosting beverage onto the production line before May Day.
These days were filled with endless tasks. If she didn't have a stable mindset, she would have been stressed and anxious.
Wearing high heels and a matching suit, her smooth, long black hair neatly pinned up, Liu Chen walked into the conference room on the fifth floor of the office building with a serious expression.
Yu Bing and Chen Hu were already seated in the conference room. Hearing the door open, they both looked up.
"Boss."
"Boss."
"Mm," Liu Chen replied, walking behind the office desk and taking the central chair.
"Notify them that all electronic devices must be collected to prevent anyone from secretly recording and posting it online. Those who disagree don't need to come for the interview."
Yu Bing was initially puzzled by the first part of the statement, but upon hearing the latter, her face lit up with understanding.
After all, as a frequent internet user, she was well aware of how popular their boss was online.
As expected, after Yu Bing went out to deliver the notice, the applicants waiting outside raised no objections. They also knew that the company's boss was a very popular and beautiful young woman online.
Cui Jian, wearing a well-fitting suit, was somewhat reluctant to hand over his phone. However, thinking of the two Purpleheart trees downstairs, Cui Jian maintained his smile and handed over his phone.
After confirming that everyone had surrendered their phones, the person collecting them returned to the room next to the conference room. He placed the basket of phones under the desk and began typing on his keyboard, getting to work.
Meanwhile, the basket of phones, which should have remained under the desk, slowly descended and passed through the floor, reaching the chairman's office on the second floor.
Ren Yu, wearing disposable gloves, found Cui Jian's phone from the basket of phones and plugged in a data cable, connecting it to the computer.
Two minutes later, Ren Yu unplugged the data cable and placed the phone back into the basket. He then returned it to the inconspicuous lifting platform, pressed the remote control, and the basket of phones reappeared on the ground floor on the third floor.
At this moment, Cui Jian, who had been observing the office, was called by name and was about to enter the conference room for his interview.
Liu Chen sat in her chair, her heart uncontrollably quickening. This was, after all, the first time in her two lives combined that she had encountered a con artist like this, and she was about to play along and con him herself.
It was somewhat challenging, but very exciting.
To avoid showing any abnormality, Liu Chen waited until Cui Jian entered before slowly looking up, as if she were just an ordinary interviewer focused on the resume.
As Liu Chen looked up, Cui Jian was also subtly observing her.
When Liu Chen's entire face was revealed, a flash of astonishment crossed Cui Jian's eyes. He had seen Liu Chen's photos online, but the internet was unreliable, wasn't it?
However, this time, Cui Jian's long-held beliefs were shattered.
Liu Chen looked exactly like her photos on Weibo. No, not just exactly, but in reality, Liu Chen possessed an even greater aura than in her online pictures.
And this aura only enhanced her beauty.
Liu Chen naturally sensed Cui Jian's furtive glances. Initially, she intended to pretend not to notice, but considering her role, she frowned slightly and looked at Yu Bing beside her.
Yu Bing immediately understood Liu Chen's intention and lightly tapped the table:
"What are you staring at? Introduce yourself."
Cui Jian smiled:
"My apologies, I was just a bit surprised that our future boss's photos on Weibo are actually unedited."
Normally, such a compliment would elicit a smile, but Cui Jian noticed Liu Chen's brow slightly furrowing out of the corner of his eye.
It seemed this beautiful boss disliked excessive attention being paid to her appearance?
With this realization, Cui Jian changed his strategy and began his self-introduction earnestly.
* * *
After Cui Jian answered all the questions and left the conference room, Liu Chen lowered her head and frowned, appearing to be in a difficult position regarding his resume.
Yu Bing, seeing Liu Chen's demeanor, proactively advised:
"Boss, although Cui Jian is a bit of a flatterer, his previous work experience and capabilities are quite suitable for our factory's needs."
Chen Hu, still sitting beside them, nodded in agreement with Yu Bing's words.
"And he's not married, so he can work night shifts."
Chen Hu's comment left both Liu Chen and Yu Bing speechless as they looked at him.
"It's not about working overtime or not. Alright, then we'll keep Cui Jian."
Liu Chen acted as if she had been persuaded by the two and then proceeded to interview the next candidate.
Since they were hiring for management positions, even though many people applied, the candidates were largely finalized by 5 PM.
Liu Chen appointed Cui Jian as the Deputy Manager of the Production Management Department. The manager was a woman in her early thirties named Gong Na. Gong Na was also single, but divorced. She had previously worked as the deputy manager of a food factory in the Fujian region. After her divorce, she had left her ex-husband's city.
She was on vacation in C City when she coincidentally saw Meimei Brand's recruitment information. Seeing that the Meimei factory offered dormitories and even allowed selection of apartment types, she submitted her resume.
Upon receiving the phone call confirming her interview passage, Gong Na's first reaction was:
"Can I move into the dormitory today?"
Liu Chen paused for a moment. Remembering Gong Na's resume information, she agreed.
"Yes, you can. Go around to the back of the factory you applied to today. There are several independent apartment buildings there that serve as dormitories. I'll wait for you at the entrance when you arrive."
Hearing Liu Chen's voice, Gong Na clearly recognized her as the boss from earlier that day.
"No, no, you don't need to. Just hide the key somewhere, and I'll pick it up when I get there."
Liu Chen held the receiver of the landline, but without giving Gong Na a chance to refuse, she said instead:
"The dormitory building's manager hasn't started work yet, so I need to give you a brief introduction to some areas. Also, all daily necessities are provided in the dormitory building, so you just need to bring your luggage. Alright, I'm hanging up now."
With that, Liu Chen left the office and drove back to the Chen family's old residence with Xia Tian and Dong Tian. There wasn't anyone at the old residence except for a gatekeeper. Liu Chen estimated that everyone had gone to her mother's postpartum confinement center.
To avoid suspicion by taking out all the bedding rewarded by the system at once, Liu Chen had stored the dormitory building gift package drawn from the system at the old residence, under the guise of receiving a delivery.
Now that the first resident was about to move in, Liu Chen had returned to move the blankets, duvet covers, pillows, and other items to the dormitory building.
Fortunately, there was no traffic that day. By the time Liu Chen arrived at the dormitory building entrance, Gong Na had just alighted from a taxi, pushing a brand-new suitcase about 28 inches in size.
Noticing Liu Chen's gaze lingering on the suitcase, Gong Na didn't seem embarrassed. She introduced herself:
"Before my divorce, I had never traveled outside. So, for this trip, I even bought a new suitcase."
Liu Chen waved her hand: "It's fine. Our dormitory building has an elevator. Oh, right, here are the bedding and such for the dormitory building. Pick a set, and I'll leave the rest under the reception desk on the first floor for others to collect later."
Gong Na nodded and picked one from the top of the compressed bags. They were all the same anyway, so there was nothing to pick, it was just a bit heavy...
"Our apartment building has a total of three buildings. Two are dormitory-style, and one is a commercial housing building. The commercial housing building has three-bedroom and two-bedroom units. Since you're the first to move in, you can choose whichever two-bedroom unit you want."
As she spoke, Liu Chen led Gong Na to see the buildings. Each building had two units, and each unit had two elevators and four apartments per floor. On each floor, the units facing the factory were two-bedroom, and those facing the outside road were three-bedroom.
Gong Na finally chose a two-bedroom unit on the highest floor. After settling Gong Na in, before Liu Chen could even leave the dormitory building, she received an unknown call.
"Hello?"
"Hello? Is this President Liu? I'm Cui Jian. I just received a notification call from your company. It's like this, I have a small request. Can I move into the dormitory tonight? My rent is due tomorrow."
Liu Chen found Cui Jian's request puzzling. This con artist wasn't living outside; he was living in the dormitory building. Wasn't he worried about the inconvenience to his scams?
Thinking this, Liu Chen verbally agreed to Cui Jian's small request, and from the supply box, she took out an item and placed it next to the elevator, telling Cui Jian there was a move-in gift package. Then she got into her car and headed to the confinement center.
All the way, Liu Chen felt like she had forgotten something.