Chapter 31 - recruit staff

Dizzy from staring at the screen full of numbers, Lu Liang stopped forcing himself and resorted to the clumsy method he'd used the night before. He was certain there would be a small upward trend later, so he put in 1 million yuan with 100x leverage to secure a 100 million yuan financing line. He bought 100 lots to establish his initial position, costing $14,702,500, and planned to add 10 more lots every time the price dropped by one point. But as 4 o'clock approached and the American trading session was about to end, the catalyst for the price movement still hadn't materialized. Lu Liang held 540 contracts with an average entry price of $1,468.75, while the current price stood at $1,459.24. Each contract was now losing $951. Including the $12,900 handling fee, his total loss amounted to $526,300. With the close of the American session, market activity plummeted and trading volume dried up sharply. After a moment of hesitation, Lu Liang injected another 2 million yuan, again with 100x leverage, boosting his capital to 200 million yuan. At $1,459.24, he purchased 1,000 lots of London Gold, bringing his average cost down to $1,462.85. His account now held a total of 1,540 contracts, and the total loss had climbed to $595,800. In the end, Lu Liang chose to lock in his positions, deciding to fight another day and let the situation play out for a while. At 9:30 a.m., the Shanghai Composite Index opened with a sharp drop of 2.25%. The entire market was as sluggish as a flaccid man, a far cry from its former glory. No one—neither institutions, hot money investors, nor retail traders—was spared; everyone was trapped in the slump. The market's vitality had vanished completely. The grinding downtrend was like a blunt knife, slowly cutting through the flesh and blood of countless investors. ... After sleeping for five hours, Lu Liang received a call from Liu Jun near noon and headed to Kunqian Trading Company. "Brother Lu, the market's been brutal these past few days," Meng Changkun said, brewing tea and casually fishing for information. Though he didn't trade stocks himself, the massive upheaval in the financial markets the previous day had rippled through every industry. For instance, several of their company's clients had gone missing—rumor had it they'd embezzled public funds to trade stocks and fled abroad overnight. And just yesterday, someone had tried to jump off a nearby building. Word was he'd gotten into over-the-counter margin trading, only to have his funds frozen; he'd intended to prove his innocence with his death and demand the state return his principal. In short: when stock prices soar, everyone's beaming. When they crash, everyone looks like they've lost a parent. "Over-the-counter margin trading ruins lives," Lu Liang sighed, then changed the subject with a smile. "But it doesn't affect me. I cleared my positions last week and switched to trading international gold lately." Meng Changkun looked shocked and couldn't help cursing softly. "I heard gold skyrocketed yesterday." "It was alright—up about ten yuan per gram. When the stock market crashes this hard, gold is the best safe-haven asset," Lu Liang said, sipping his tea nonchalantly. He didn't mind telling Meng Changkun; it wasn't exactly a secret anyway. Last night, news that gold was selling out fast in Shuibei, Shenzhen, had shot to the top three trending topics on Weibo and was still there. "Wow, that's impressive," Meng Changkun praised, giving him a thumbs-up, but he still had his doubts. Talk was cheap—for all he knew, Lu Liang was just bragging to save face. Lu Liang smiled without bothering to explain. Before they'd even finished their tea, Liu Jun arrived with the business registration documents and the company license. After exchanging a few more casual words with Meng Changkun, Lu Liang said, "Brother Kun, sorry, but I've got things to take care of. I'll head off now." "Off you go. Come by for tea sometime," Meng Changkun replied with an understanding smile. He remembered pulling all-nighters for days on end when he'd first started his business. When a company was in its early stages, there was always a mountain of work to do. After bidding Meng Changkun goodbye, Lu Liang went to the International Talent City on Meiyuan Road. He didn't need management talent yet, so he skipped the headhunters, rented a booth directly, put up a small sign, and started recruiting. **Shanghai Tianxing Capital Co., Ltd.** - **Receptionists (2 openings)**: Social insurance and housing fund provided, 5-day work week. Monthly salary: 5,000 yuan during probation, 7,000 yuan after confirmation. Meal and housing subsidies included. New graduates preferred. - **Financial Auditors (2 openings)**: Monthly salary 15,000 yuan and above. Master's degree or higher required, with at least 3 years of relevant work experience… The advantages of registering the company with fully paid-up capital became immediately apparent—Tianxing Capital's information was readily searchable on official government websites. In no time, a long line had formed in front of Lu Liang's booth. After all, checking a company's background was easy these days; many universities even taught students how to vet potential employers as part of their career preparation courses. Tianxing Capital had a registered capital of 6 million yuan, **fully paid up**—a clear sign of solid financial strength. Moreover, the business license had only taken effect the previous day, and they were already hiring staff. Anyone who joined now would be a bona fide "founding team member." As time went on, more and more resumes poured in. Lu Liang was swamped, and his standards quickly rose. For the receptionist positions, he'd initially planned to hire college graduates with good looks and manners, but with so many candidates to choose from, he kept raising the bar—from junior college to third-tier undergraduate, then to second-tier. He also started demanding candidates to be more attractive, have a CET-4 certificate, and possess experience organizing campus activities. In contrast, fewer people applied for the financial auditor roles. A master's degree plus three years of experience for a 15,000+ monthly salary was decent, but not particularly outstanding. Still, there were applicants. Lu Liang's eyes widened as he scanned one resume—Tang Caidie, a doctoral graduate from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, with eight years of experience at Sequoia Capital. She had an extremely impressive track record. At first, he was stunned. How had such a big-name talent ended up at his tiny startup? Then he noticed her birth year—1978, making her 37 years old. She was also a woman who'd taken a three-year career break. Unless she brought with her valuable resources, most companies wouldn't even consider hiring her. "Ms. Tang, could you tell me why you left Sequoia, and what you did during your three-year break?" Lu Liang asked. With her neat bob haircut, Tang Caidie exuded an air of competence and poise. If one didn't know her age, she'd pass for someone in her early thirties. She wasn't stunningly beautiful, but she had excellent presence. "I got divorced back then and lost the motivation to work, so I resigned and opened a homestay in Cai Nan," she replied calmly. "Unfortunately, the homestay failed, so I moved back to Shanghai." Lu Liang thought for a moment, then smiled. "Ms. Tang, welcome aboard." He picked up another resume and dialed the number on it. "Chen? Are you still at the Talent City? Come over here now." Tang Caidie looked shocked. "Mr. Lu, did I pass the interview?" "You sure did. If you're free, I can take you two to the company right now to complete the onboarding process," Lu Liang said, waving at a young girl running toward him from a distance. Tang Caidie's credentials were impeccable. If it weren't for her age, gender, and career gap, a talent like her would never have ended up at a small company like his. But Lu Liang had no complaints whatsoever. "Tang Caidie, our new finance hire, and Chen Jinchun, our receptionist—you two will be colleagues from now on. Why don't you get acquainted?" Lu Liang introduced them to each other, then called the venue manager over and dumped all the resumes on the table into the shredder. "Wait for me at the entrance. I'll go get the car." "Hi, Sister Tang! Mr. Lu—are we really going to the company to start working right now?" Chen Jinchun looked bewildered, her eyes wide with naive confusion. She'd thought Lu Liang had called her over to ask more questions, not to offer her the job on the spot and start onboarding immediately. A senior about to graduate next month, she'd been job hunting for over two months—of course she was free. "I guess Mr. Lu is in a hurry," Tang Caidie chuckled, quickly regaining her composure. With nearly a decade of work experience under her belt, she'd met all kinds of people and knew how to stay calm in any situation. Chen Jinchun latched onto her like a lost child, whispering nervously, "Do you think this is a scam or something?" "I don't think so," Tang Caidie said, glancing ahead. A blue Bentley was parked at the building entrance, and Lu Liang was waving them over. Even if the Bentley was rented, the fact that Tianxing Capital had 6 million yuan in fully paid-up capital was not up for debate. Besides, she had a clear sense of self-worth. She didn't think she had anything left worth scamming someone for at this point. "Let's go," Tang Caidie said, getting into the front passenger seat and motioning for Chen Jinchun to take the back. Though she didn't think Lu Liang was out to trick them, she still wanted to err on the side of caution. Having Chen Jinchun sit in the back was a precautionary measure to keep her safe.