Chapter 027: One-Way Agencies Conceal Business Opportunities, the Black Market Recruiters Are Furious

Dawn rose as usual, and after two days of hard work, Zhang Tianfeng and his team had begun to see some success.

For the time being, the late-night eatery was co-managed by Qin Yuelan and Fourth Uncle. Under Fourth Uncle were three men: Zhou Runbo, Wang Li, and Jiang Jiahao. They were in charge of cooking, buying supplies, serving guests, and handling payments. Under Qin Yuelan was one person, Chen Jiaqi. Their responsibilities included assisting, gathering information about factories, and conducting secondary screening and utilization of customers.

Both young women worked with remarkable speed. Chen Jiaqi had only started her new position the previous day, yet by that very night, she had brought back information on twenty factories. With the help of other unemployed workers, Zhang Tianfeng had detailed data on thirty factories in just one night.

Qin Yuelan was no slower, and she also displayed considerable management talent. She oversaw the free meals, encouraged more people to investigate factories, and at the same time, persistently pestered Old Wang. In just half a day, Old Wang had brought over the management from three factories to discuss their hiring needs. By late afternoon, as the shop was about to open, ten factories had already posted their recruitment needs.

“Uncle Wang, thank you so much, but you’ll have to keep at it. If you can bring over all the hundreds of factories in Tangwan Town, I’ll introduce a wife for your son,” Qin Yuelan said with a smile.

Wang Fugui replied kindly, “If you become my daughter-in-law, then I’ll consider it.”

“That’s impossible. I’m not ready to settle down and raise a family yet—I want to start a business of my own.”

“Then forget it. Actually, what you’re doing is helping those unemployed folks in a different way. This is something I should be contributing to,” Wang Fugui said. “I’m leaving tomorrow night, so I’ll give it my all tonight and see if I can bring in a few more contacts. After that, it’s up to you.”

“Thank you, Uncle Wang.”

“You’re welcome. I’ll go watch the stall now,” he replied, stepping outside.

As soon as he left, Qin Yuelan slapped four thousand yuan on the table and said in a hushed voice, “Boss, put this away quickly—don’t let anyone else see.”

She had set the fee for each factory at four hundred yuan, with their recruitment need posted for thirty days. Four hundred yuan was nothing compared to what the shady employment agencies charged—barely a drop in the bucket. Qin Yuelan knew full well that this money was given out of respect for Old Wang, but it was enough for now.

She intended to repay those bosses with her hard work, building her own reputation. Once she had enough scale, she’d raise the prices.

Zhang Tianfeng took out a thousand yuan from the pile and said, “Keep the rest for yourself.”

“Why?”

“The idea was yours, you handled the process. All you really used was my shop and the customer flow. Taking twenty-five percent is fair.”

“But if the black-market agencies come looking for trouble and you can’t handle it, if I step in, you’ll have to pay me extra.”

Without missing a beat, Qin Yuelan replied, “Then advance it now—they’ll definitely come for trouble. I know the look of those people all too well.”

“That works,” Zhang Tianfeng said as he tucked away the money. “This isn’t just for Qin Yuelan. The same applies to all of you. Anyone can come up with a money-making idea. If I think it’s feasible, you can run with it. I can invest or help out, and I’ll make it clear how much of the profit I expect.”

“But remember one thing: before you strike out on your own, don’t let it interfere with your current job. If I find out, I’ll dock your pay.”

“That’s all. Get back to work!”

Making money—earning it while lying down was still earning. If it only took a few words, why not?

Qin Yuelan’s success gave everyone a shot of confidence. Each person was brimming with motivation, working hard while brainstorming new ways to make money.

A peaceful night passed. The next day, as soon as Zhang Tianfeng entered the shop, he saw a line of cars parked by the roadside and the shop packed with people.

He soon learned that last night’s recommendations had worked wonders.

Those unemployed workers trusted Old Wang, and so did the factories. That combined trust generated great results: in one night, those ten factories had hired eighty qualified workers.

To meet hiring standards was already to be considered a quality worker. If the shady agencies had to do it, it would cost at least a hundred yuan per quality worker—eighty workers would be eight thousand yuan.

Anyone could see which deal made more sense.

By three in the afternoon, the number of newly contracted factories had soared to thirty, and Qin Yuelan had reaped twelve thousand yuan.

A pile of cash lay on the table, but her expression was somewhat gloomy.

“What’s wrong? Made money but still not happy? Didn’t meet your expectations?”

“No, I just didn’t expect the response to be so good. I haven’t even figured out how to raise the price.”

“That’s easy. Let Old Wang be the bad guy,” Zhang Tianfeng chuckled.

“Boss, tell me more.”

“Have Old Wang tell those bosses that the trial period ends at midnight. From tomorrow, recruitment help returns to the original price—six hundred yuan for fifteen days, eight hundred for thirty.”

“Wait, shouldn’t it be twelve hundred for thirty days?”

“That’s naive. If it’s twelve hundred, why would they come to you? They’d just go straight to the agencies.”

At this point, they were still newcomers. When Old Wang left, their biggest asset—trust—would be gone.

Moreover, how many unemployed people were there in Tangwan Town? And how many believed in Old Wang?

Eight hundred for thirty days conveniently masked the awkwardness of six hundred for fifteen, and would tie customers to their cause. Thirty days was a transition period—if anything went wrong, they could adjust accordingly.

After hearing the reasoning, Qin Yuelan shook her head in admiration. “Boss, you’re incredible. How did you come up with this?”

Zhang Tianfeng just grinned, saying nothing.

Qin Yuelan didn’t ask further and immediately went to find Old Wang. With his urgent notice, another six factories signed up before midnight.

News of this quickly reached the ears of the black-market agencies.

In the early days, Tangwan Town’s black agencies weren’t so rampant, nor were they so numerous. But starting last year, as waves of workers flooded the coast, spurred by the booming market, these people quickly rose to power and multiplied.

The market was only so big—the more people, the more chaos.

At the end of last year, a turf war broke out among black agencies in Tangwan Town, leaving over thirty injured and fifteen imprisoned.

Now, twenty-four remained, led by a man named Tang Liqi.

Under his leadership, Tangwan Town’s black agencies had become a united front—sharing information, pooling profits, sticking together against factory owners’ counterattacks, and resisting outsiders.

All twenty-four gathered at Cangyue Restaurant to discuss Zhang Tianfeng.

“This kid from inland doesn’t know the rules—starting a business without paying respect to the local bosses. Doesn’t he fear for his life?”

“But his profit model is interesting—selling time packages is much more appealing than selling workers by the head.”

“Exactly! He made over ten thousand in a day and didn’t even bother to pay tribute to us seniors. Young folks these days are just something else!”

After much grumbling, they all turned to Tang Liqi, who had been silent at the head of the table.

“Boss Tang, should we fight or negotiate? You decide.”

“Fight. What right does a little brat have to negotiate with us?” Tang Liqi sipped his tea. “Get a few discreet men to trash his shop, but don’t get caught. There’s no easy scapegoat these days.”

A man with a rat-like face grinned. “Boss Tang, leave the dirty work to me.”

“Mouse, just don’t disgust anyone to death.”

“No worries. At most, we’ll force them to close for a few days—let these kids learn a lesson.”