Xiaoshi Village, Lingchuan Town, Jiangbei City.

A lone motorcycle travels along a dark, winding country road.

The towering reeds and lush trees appeared eerie and sinister under the cover of night.

"Son, how's your job search going?"

Hearing his father's words, Zhang Xianglin sighed softly, "Dad, I haven't found a good job."

"Young people shouldn't be unrealistic and have unrealistic expectations. Find a job first to support yourself," Zhang's father said, sensing the pickiness in his son's voice. He spoke in the tone of an elder admonishing him. "Back in my generation, every family started from scratch, building their homes by laying mud bricks and digging stones with their own hands."

Life is always bitter at first, but sweet later.

Zhang Xianglin didn't know how to respond to his father's words.

To say that their ideas are outdated.

His father would surely scold him, "The words of your elders are all based on experience; you'll regret it if you don't listen to them!"

If you tell him about the current job market, he'll say, "Working in a factory is pretty good. You make 4000 a month, which is about 50,000 a year. If you work there for a few years, you can buy a car, find a wife, and have children."

Zhang Xianglin knew that in their eyes, people didn't need to eat or drink, or rather, they only needed to have food to eat, and it didn't matter whether the food was good or bad.

So I simply stopped replying.

As for going to work in a factory, that's the last resort when all other options are exhausted.

He worked on an assembly line during the summer vacation, working twelve hours a day. He only lasted for half a month before feeling like a walking corpse, a pseudo-human, and mentally disoriented.

From that moment on, he vowed that as long as he had a choice, he would never go to the factory, no matter what.

After many twists and turns, the motorcycle finally arrived home, a self-built house in the countryside, one floor with a living room and three bedrooms.

My mother has already prepared three dishes and a soup.

"Xiang Lin, you're back! Come and eat first!" His mother called out, taking his backpack from him.

Mr. Zhang loosened the hooks on the ropes, preparing to put the suitcase down.

Zhang Xianglin took out his phone to check the time, but noticed an unread message floating above it, sent by Qin Ziyang.

He clicked on it and glanced at it, then his pupils dilated in shock.

[Xiang Lin, I'd like to ask you to help me shoot videos and manage my account. It's 10,000 yuan a month, including room and board. Come over tomorrow.]

"Dad, don't unload the luggage, tie it back up." Zhang Xianglin grabbed the ropes and re-secured the luggage, urging, "Go eat first, then take me to town later."

"What's wrong? Why are you suddenly acting so restless?" Mr. Zhang asked, puzzled. "What are you doing going to town in the middle of the night?"

"My friend sent me a job offer and told me to go see him tomorrow," Zhang Xianglin said excitedly. "Ten thousand yuan a month! Room and board included! Plus bonuses!"

These words startled Zhang's mother, who pushed Zhang's father into the kitchen. "Ten thousand yuan! That's so much? Old Zhang, you'd better hurry up and eat a couple of bites, and send the child to town."

They toiled in the fields all year and didn't even earn 10,000 yuan. When they heard that someone was hiring their son and offering 10,000 yuan, they were both excited and anxious, afraid that if they went too late, they would lose the job.

"Didn't you just say you couldn't find a job?" Mr. Zhang asked, looking very puzzled, but he still picked up his bowl and started eating heartily.

"I wasn't looking at my phone, otherwise I would have told you to turn around." Zhang Xianglin quickly shoveled a few mouthfuls of rice into his mouth.

His home is in a remote village. If he wants to get to the city center, he has to leave in the morning and arrive in the afternoon.

Zhang Xianglin needed to get there early, so he could only set off for the town tonight, then find a driver to take him to Jiangbei City, and finally take a taxi to Longhu Manor.

Although Qin Ziyang didn't specify what time he would arrive tomorrow, he was sure he would arrive as early as possible.

Zhang Xianglin considered the timeline in his mind. He figured he could arrive at Longhu Manor around seven or eight o'clock tomorrow morning, so he had to leave as soon as possible.

"Dad, let's go once you've eaten." He was in a hurry, so he quickly ate a couple of bites and ran out, dragging Zhang's father along with him.

"Drive slowly!" Zhang's mother said as she watched the motorcycle start.

Zhang Xianglin turned around and waved. The vehicle then disappeared into the night.

Many people were busy that night.

For example, after Xu Qinghe personally hand-washed the black suit jacket, she opened Qin Mao's contact list and typed many times, "Are you there?", "Are you asleep?", "What are you doing?", but then silently deleted them all.

After struggling with herself for more than an hour, she sighed, walked to the dilapidated and cramped balcony, and leaned on the railing to look down at the small shop below.

That's where Qin Mao brought her back today.

As the night breeze blew, Xu Qinghe's white halter dress danced, her long hair flowing in the wind.

For example, Chen Jun tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep.

The thought of going to the Qin family tomorrow morning to meet Qin Nian'an and his future father-in-law made him extremely flustered.

So, in the middle of the night, I knocked on my parents' room and called them out to ask for some advice.

"A test from your father-in-law?" Chen Wenbin yawned. "Xiuyun, how did your father make things difficult for me back then?"

He had just rushed back from Puning City and was so tired that his mind was foggy and he couldn't remember anything from back then.

"When my dad heard that you were a civil servant, he was extremely pleased and praised you to everyone he met in the village. He would never have made things difficult for you."

Wang Xiuyun knew Chen Wenbin was exhausted, so she told him to go inside and sleep. She would take care of giving her son advice.

"In the videos I've seen online, when a father-in-law meets his son-in-law, he usually asks how many people are in his family, what his parents do, how much they earn, and what their future plans are. They're all just everyday questions. Just answer them politely."

"When you're at the dinner table, offer your father-in-law a toast or pour him some tea, and just compliment him a little. Men, after all, enjoy being flattered."

"Just do as Mom says, and everything will be fine!"

Chen Jun nodded and wrote everything down, hoping there really wouldn't be any problems.

The next day, the gate of Longhu Manor was bustling with activity as waves of people arrived.

"Master Chen! You're here too?"

"Director Jiang! You got dumped too?"

"Even the beautiful marketing elite from Yida University is here?"

Greetings rang out one after another; most of them were people in the industry who knew each other to some extent.

They all knew why the people standing there were there.

Presumably no one could refuse the conditions offered by this employer. Didn't you see that even a top-tier firm like Chen Tianze was bought?

"His mansion commands respect across the land, his heroic spirit soars to the heavens. He's the pillar of the nation! Truly worthy of being our new boss! So domineering!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the couplets in front of the manor gate, and they all looked at them with amazement.

"Most wealthy families write about riches and good fortune, but our boss directly wrote about dominating the world. Just that kind of audacity is something that ordinary rich people can't match."

"Indeed, we haven't even met the person yet, but just from this couplet, we can tell that the new boss has an extraordinary presence. It's worth it to work under such a person."

Someone saw Zhang Xianglin carrying a backpack and pulling a suitcase, and asked curiously, "Young man, what do you do for a living?"

Zhang Xianglin scratched his head sheepishly, feeling out of place among the group of people dressed in suits and carrying briefcases.

"I'm a photography assistant hired by my friend."

"Oh." The man nodded upon hearing this, realizing that the person was a friend of the manor owner's family, and said no more.

Just then, a BMW arrived and parked in the empty parking space next to it.

A handsome, sunny man dressed in casual clothes got out of the car. Seeing so many people, he suddenly felt a little flustered. Why were there so many people?

"Isn't this Chen Jun?" Someone recognized the newcomer and introduced him to the others: "Chen Jun, son of Chen Wenbin, the governor of Jiangnan Province."

"Hello." Chen Jun nodded, which was considered a greeting.

Zhang Xianglin, who was observing from the side, clicked his tongue in amazement. Even the governor's son came. How powerful must Qin Ziyang's family be?

At nine o'clock, the security guard at the gate took out a notebook and said, "As instructed, I need to verify your identities. If your names are called, please come inside. The car is waiting."

After a brief explanation, the names were read aloud.

"Chen Tianze, Jiang Zhe, Yi Jia, Huang Shaohui..."

People whose names were called walked in one by one, and as soon as they entered, they saw a number of luxury cars parked on both sides of the gate.

Many people recognized the brands, and upon closer inspection, couldn't help but exclaim, "These are all luxury cars worth millions!"

"Ladies and gentlemen, please get on the bus," the driver reminded them from beside the vehicle.

Everyone got into the cars, and one car after another started up and headed towards the main house.

The exquisite landscaping seen along the way once again drew everyone's attention, prompting exclamations like, "No wonder it's a billion-dollar Longfor Manor; everything is meticulously designed!"

Soon, only Zhang Xiangyanglin and Chen Jun remained outside the door.

"Which one is Chen Jun?" The security guard asked curiously, noticing that there were only two people left on the list, but only one name.

Chen Jun stepped forward. "I am Chen Jun."

As he was speaking, he tried to walk inside, but was stopped by the security guard.

"Mr. Chen, please wait a moment, someone will come to pick you up shortly."

"Oh, okay." Chen Jun wasn't in a hurry. Judging from the conversation, Qin Nian'an was probably coming to pick him up. Thinking of this, he smiled and his eyes were full of anticipation.

Zhang Xianglin's face froze a little. Wasn't his name mentioned? But Qin Ziyang had indeed sent him a message last night.

"Hello, what brings you to Longhu Manor?" The security guard approached Zhang Xianglin and asked politely.

Seeing the security guard approach, Zhang Xianglin quickly took out his phone, opened Qin Ziyang's chat window, and said, "I'm Qin Ziyang's classmate. He asked me to be his photography assistant."

Fearing the security guard wouldn't believe him, he even showed him his phone, saying, "This is the message he sent me!"

The security guard glanced at it, nodded, and said, "I'll ask for you, just a moment."

As he spoke, he contacted Lu Cheng'an, and after receiving a reply, he helped Zhang Xianglin pull his luggage inside, saying, "Come with me."

Zhang Xianglin breathed a sigh of relief and stepped through the gate with a mix of nervousness and anticipation.

Chen Jun was still waiting happily at the door when suddenly a Rolls-Royce stopped in front of him.

A man in a suit stepped out, accompanied by a driver leading a pine tree.

He looked at Chen Jun with a malicious smile and pointed at Tu Song, asking a question.

"Tell me, is this a cat or a dog?"

"If you answer incorrectly, you have to go back to where you started!"

(Please review the book, add it to your bookshelf, and urge me to update!)

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