From humble beginnings to the pinnacle of life

At first, I acted impulsively and decided to head straight to Xingyao Media.

But after a few seconds of calm, I immediately dismissed the idea.

Now that I am powerless and alone, venturing into their territory is like a lamb entering a tiger's den—too reckless.

If a direct assault doesn't work, then we'll use strategy.

I exited the browser, opened a short video platform, and searched for the keyword: artists under Xingyao Media.

The next second, a massive amount of short videos and live stream clips from various hosts flooded in...

There are all kinds of live streamers, from those who excel in fashion and appearance to those with talent.

I quickly swiped through the screen, searching for a suitable entry point.

Soon, a female live streamer with the online name "Qiqi" caught my eye.

The girl in the video is in her early twenties, with delicate and pretty features, a tall figure, and solid dance skills.

But after watching ten of her videos, I noticed a detail.

She always has a forced, professional smile when facing the camera, a smile that is deliberately faked.

It's clear that the expressions and actions in every video were deliberately performed at someone's request.

This is why her videos receive very few likes, placing her at the bottom of the rankings among all the streamers.

This suggests that this was probably not the video she truly wanted to film; she may have been forced into it.

So this is my breakthrough!

Without hesitation, I opened the private message box on her profile, edited the message, and sent it.

In order to gain attention, I deliberately used elevating language and status:

"Hello, I've been following you for a while. I'm a director at a media company, and I was wondering if you'd be interested in switching jobs and signing a contract?"

She won't pay any attention to ordinary attempts to chat with you; only when someone from another industry tries to poach her will she take the time to respond.

After sending the message, I placed my phone on the table and waited quietly for a reply.

I've prepared a backup plan: if Qiqi doesn't respond at all, I'll replace her with another streamer under my management.

There are always people who are being exploited and have thoughts of escaping.

The whole morning passed in the blink of an eye, and Qiqi's private message chat box remained completely silent.

I sighed, tapped on another streamer's profile, and prepared to switch my target.

A message popped up on my phone.

It was Qiqi's reply, concise and to the point, containing only two words:

"Need not."

Upon seeing the reply, I was not disappointed at all; on the contrary, I was delighted.

If they're willing to reply with a rejection, it means the communication channels are open, and there's hope for this.

I struck while the iron was hot and sent another private message: "Think about it. I really admire your dancing and am sincerely interested in recruiting you. I will never exploit an artist."

That's utter nonsense. I've never paid any attention to these female anchors.

This time she replied quickly: "I've already signed with a company."

I anticipated this answer and prepared my response in advance:

"Don't rush to refuse. The salary and benefits I offer are definitely higher than your current company's. If it's convenient, we can meet in person to discuss the details. All conditions are negotiable."

"No need, I signed a long-term contract, I can't leave," Qiqi refused again.

Instead of backing down, I became even more determined.

If they truly didn't want to switch jobs, they would have blocked me long ago instead of patiently replying to each of my messages.

She repeatedly declined and patiently explained.

This is enough to show that he is gentle by nature, but harbors grievances in his heart. He is only constrained by the contract and dares not act rashly.

Having laid the groundwork, there was no need to continue the pretense of poaching; I went straight to the point: "I know you signed with Star Glory Media, right?"

After a few seconds of silence in the chat, Qiqi sent a message: "Yes. So even if you offer an exorbitant price to poach me, it won't work. Don't send any more messages."

I didn't give up and said directly, "I can cover the full amount of the penalty for breach of contract, is that not enough?"

This time, she paused for four or five minutes before replying: "It's not as simple as you think. Thank you for appreciating me, but let's leave it at that."

Looking at the words, I steeled myself and decided to take a gamble.

"Qiqi, I'm not going to beat around the bush. Tell me the truth: were you forced to sign that unfair contract without any choice?"

The message has been sent and the dialog box is now completely still.

The other party has completely stopped updating their replies, presumably because this statement hit a nerve.

I didn't send her any more messages. Knowing when to stop is enough; pushing too hard will only backfire.

Just then, the engine of the tricycle outside the shop turned off. Yang Hao had finished delivering all the packages for the morning and returned to the station.

I picked up the cigarettes on the table, took one out and handed it to him, casually changing the subject:

Where do you usually eat lunch?

Yang Hao took the cigarette, lit it, and pointed towards the street corner: "There's a self-service fast food restaurant 200 meters from the intersection. It's 15 yuan per person, and you can eat as much meat or vegetables as you want."

I picked up my phone, stood up, and looked at Yang Hao: "You haven't had lunch yet, have you? Come on, it's my treat, let's go together."

The two walked together to a fast food restaurant at the street corner. It was lunchtime, and the restaurant was packed.

Most of the diners are construction workers and factory workers from the surrounding area, all low-level people struggling to make a living, just trying to fill their stomachs.

The 15-yuan all-you-can-eat meal was mediocre in terms of oil and taste; it wasn't particularly delicious, but it was enough to fill your stomach.

There were no seats available inside, so Yang Hao and I simply took our disposable plates and ate on the cement steps outside the store.

After taking a couple of bites of rice, Yang Hao suddenly turned to look at me, asking with a puzzled expression:

"Brother Lin, I've always been curious. Everyone knows this courier station is losing money, and the previous owner, Liu Dong, ran away and sold it. Why did you still take over this mess?"

Many people don't understand this question.

I didn't take over the site on a whim or out of a moment of anger.

A month ago, when Liu Donggang announced the transfer, I conducted a special survey of the business landscape of the entire area.

This old neighborhood has very few residents, and the number of individual online orders is low.

However, there are numerous industrial parks and construction sites in the surrounding area, with a large workforce, and the potential for a huge volume of express delivery orders for large daily necessities and construction materials is immense.

The disadvantage is that there are few individual investors, while the advantage is that there are large orders from groups. Business opportunities are hidden in the shortcomings.

Liu Dong's failure is purely due to his laziness, selfishness, lack of operational knowledge, inability to maintain customer base, and waste of regional resources.

Although I have never opened a store, I have been working odd jobs to make a living all year round.

But my confidence stems from my willingness to delve into things, learn, and adapt to different situations.

Of course, I didn't discuss these things with him. I just smiled faintly and said, "Just because Liu Dong isn't making money doesn't mean I am. Different approaches lead to different results."

Yang Hao scratched his head and revealed a simple and honest smile: "Brother Xingye, I believe in you. I will work hard for you from now on and wait to make big money with you."

I smiled and shook my head, not making empty promises.

Just then, my phone suddenly vibrated.

I initially thought it was spam, but when I picked up my phone and looked at it, I was instantly shocked.

It was the female anchor Qiqi who replied to the private message.

It was a very simple question: "How do you know I was forced to sign the contract?"

I immediately placed the plate on the steps beside me and quickly typed a reply:

"You don't need to know how I know. I'm just asking you, do you want to leave Star Glory Media? I can help you get out of there."

He replied quickly, his tone wary: "Who are you? Why are you helping me?"

"To be precise, it wasn't intentional on your part, but rather to help myself. Is your company's boss named Fang Heng?"

Two seconds later, a dialog box popped up with a single word: "Yes".

I will no longer hide anything and will frankly reveal the truth:

"I have a personal grudge against Fang Heng, and he's deliberately targeting me to cut off my livelihood. I need your help to fight back against him. I'll help you terminate your contract and get out of this mess; we'll both benefit from this."

This time, Qiqi thought about it for a long time before replying: "Let me think about it, don't send me a message yet."

"Okay, I'll be waiting for your reply."