Heartthrob, Your Image is Crumbling!

Chapter 339: Big Business, Six Million

With a student hourly wage of eighteen yuan, coupled with the factory paying Zhou Yuwen's company an additional five yuan per hour as an introduction fee, their labor cost amounted to twenty-three yuan an hour. This was a premium price throughout the entire Jinling region.Liu Shuo figured that not many people would take the job. However, following Zhou Yuwen's instructions, he still had Lu Hui and the others tally up the number of winter break workers.

But when the recruitment information was published, the students staying on campus for the winter break were absolutely stunned.

"Eighteen yuan an hour? Are they crazy?!"

"Wasn't it always twelve in previous years?"

"Holy crap, Brother Hai, look at what they're saying in the Xuhuai Association group! They actually have factory jobs paying eighteen yuan an hour, and they even said they provide living essentials and bedding!"

"Really? The Xuhuai Association is that badass?"

"Hey, did you hear? That Xuhuai Association over in Xianlin University Town claims they can find jobs with an hourly wage of eighteen yuan!"

By now, the Xuhuai Association had already gained a certain level of fame in Jinling. Because they had helped students find suitable part-time jobs during the Double Eleven shopping festival and promoted the development of the local logistics industry, they had played a positive role. Therefore, their reputation was currently quite good. Now that they suddenly dropped the bombshell of an eighteen-yuan hourly wage for a winter break job, students across the three university towns who followed such news simultaneously exploded with excitement.

One had to realize, this was a full six yuan more per hour than in previous years. Based on a ten-hour workday, that meant an extra eighteen hundred yuan a month!

Eighteen hundred yuan was equivalent to two months of living expenses for these students.

Furthermore, the notice stated that bedding would be distributed in advance. In addition, anyone who joined the Xuhuai Association would receive an exclusive Xuhuai Association hoodie.

Now this was an organization that truly cared for impoverished students.

Instantly, students remaining in Jinling rushed to sign up.

In fact, the Xuhuai Association's market share in Jiangning and Pukou had originally only been thirty percent. Yet, during this end-of-semester period, it suddenly surged, faintly showing signs of breaking the fifty percent mark.

Originally, Liu Shuo thought recruiting a thousand people would be about right. How could there be that many students not going home for the New Year?

But in just one week, four thousand people had seemingly appeared out of thin air!

Seriously, where did all these people come from?

"Brother Shuo, my childhood friend studies in Changshu. Although he isn't part of the Xuhuai Association, he also wants to come work with us. Do you think that's okay?"

"Brother Shuo, my girlfriend is in Changsha. Can she come over and give it a try?"

"Brother Shuo..."

They were all youths of eighteen or nineteen. Perhaps in the eyes of the public, these young adults should all be in the prime of their youth, full of vigor and vitality.

They should either be playing games in internet cafes.

Or going on dates in coffee shops.

But truth be told, there were also many eighteen and nineteen-year-olds who were incredibly mature. For various reasons, they had taken up the heavy burden of supporting their families early on.

What they wanted was very simple: to earn a bit more money so they could live a little better next semester.

For instance, being able to order an extra dish or two at meals, or buying themselves a new phone.

They even thought about using their earned money to treat their roommates to a nice meal.

For this recruitment drive, two thousand university students within Jinling City signed up, hoping to find a good part-time job through Liu Shuo. The rest of the students came from various other regions. Of course, out-of-province students were in the minority; the vast majority were concentrated in the Southern Jiangsu area. They all just wanted to make some extra money during the winter break.

After all, the local jobs only offered an hourly wage of eleven or twelve yuan.

They heard from old friends that there was a Xuhuai Association in Jinling that seemed dedicated to helping impoverished students with work-study programs. Not only did they lead everyone to make a fortune during Double Eleven, but they also found jobs with an hourly wage of eighteen yuan for the winter break.

This made students from all over extremely envious.

They asked their friends if they could come over too.

Liu Shuo was quite baffled when he received all this feedback. Unable to make a decision on the spot, he could only go look for Zhou Yuwen.

Zhou Yuwen couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. Four thousand people?

Good heavens, why was he still running a labor agency?

He might as well just open a factory directly.

Of course, that was just a casual thought.

Liu Shuo was still worried. With so many people, which factory could absorb them all? Moreover, the calculated hourly wage was twenty-three yuan. Would they really agree to that?

Zhou Yuwen, however, stated that they would definitely agree. It was a matter of shifting balances; if they had four thousand people on their side, then the opposing factories wouldn't have many people left to work as winter break workers.

Let alone twenty-three, if Zhou Yuwen wanted to, he could easily apply a little pressure by the neck and force them to agree to twenty-five.

But Zhou Yuwen wasn't that ruthless. He just had Liu Shuo release the workers at the price of twenty-three. Furthermore, for the out-of-town students, they would reimburse their travel tickets whenever possible. Since these people were traveling from so far away, how could they make them pay out of their own pockets?

However, they were to minimize any mention of the gang-like nature of the Xuhuai Association. They could just leave a name and register a phone number.

Initially, Zhou Yuwen had been slightly worried that his food delivery company wouldn't be able to take off.

Unexpectedly, a single winter break labor operation solved everything for him.

After the winter break, all the university towns in Southern Jiangsu would have the Xianlin Delivery sign.

When that time came, let alone thirty million, he might really just create a three-way stand-off, secure funding, and list the company!

A volume of four thousand people completely shattered Liu Shuo's worldview. Liu Shuo truly understood nothing now; he could only obediently listen to Zhou Yuwen.

According to their previous calculations, a thousand people could earn them 1.5 million yuan.

Then these four thousand people would mean six million!

Earning six million in just a single winter break?

He didn't even dare to imagine it.

The workload had instantly quadrupled, and their current manpower was nowhere near enough. They needed to tally the headcount, purchase their daily necessities, and coordinate with the factories.

Zhou Yuwen felt completely uneasy leaving these matters to Lu Hui.

Especially the purchasing issue, which Zhou Yuwen handed over to Jiang Xinyi.

Zhou Yuwen could tell that Jiang Xinyi was a girl with a strong sense of justice. At the very least, she wouldn't covet these petty profits. Moreover, her family was based here, so she had the connections to get in touch with quilt factories and the like, allowing them to purchase these daily necessities at low prices.

However, the sheer scale of the project truly startled Jiang Xinyi. Making six million in one winter break?

Zhou Yuwen's company was developing way too fast.

Even Liu Jing paused for a moment in shock upon learning that Zhou Yuwen had four thousand winter break workers on hand. She asked what hourly wage Zhou Yuwen was offering.

"Twenty-three yuan."

"Twenty-three yuan is a bit high, but his group is relatively stable and uniformly managed, so it's worth the price. How about this, I'll give your uncles and aunties a phone call and ask if they need anyone. Tell Yuwen to reserve some spots for me." Thinking of Zhou Yuwen's mature and steady image, Liu Jing felt she could help play matchmaker.

Hearing her daughter say that Zhou Yuwen could make six million this winter break made her quite happy, feeling as though she was watching a junior of her own family succeed.

While making the calls, she even turned to Jiang Xinyi and boasted, "See? Wasn't I right?"

"I told you Yuwen was promising. Six million! That You whatever-jin probably wouldn't make that much money in his entire life." With the New Year approaching, Liu Jing had been attending more events. At the moment, she was wearing a black tailored qipao and high heels as she chatted on the phone.

Jiang Xinyi rolled her eyes upon hearing this. 'If you're making a call, just make the call. Why all the nonsense?' she thought to herself.

For normal small factories, they would only take on thirty to fifty winter break workers.

Slightly larger ones might take around two hundred.

As for large-scale factories, the more the merrier.

Especially after 2014, as the country integrated with international standards, some factories had so many international orders that their machines were practically smoking, yet they couldn't bear to stop them. They wanted as many people as they could get, even gritting their teeth and considering converting their warehouses into production workshops.

Upon hearing that Liu Jing had access to a massive number of winter break workers, they were overjoyed. "Really?"

"Of course it's true. Why would I lie to you about this? It's the company run by Xinyi's boyfriend."

"???" Jiang Xinyi was busy calculating accounts for Zhou Yuwen when she suddenly heard her mother say this. She was completely stunned.

'Seriously, Mom, since when do I have a boyfriend?'

"Hehe, Xinyi is all grown up now, she naturally has to have a boyfriend."

"What a joke. My Xinyi doesn't just settle for any random Tom, Dick, or Harry, alright?"

"This boyfriend of hers is incredibly excellent!"

"Not only does he know how to do business, but he's also a writer. And let me tell you, he's actually younger than Xinyi, fresh as can be! Oh my! Sister, would I ever lie to you?!"

The people Liu Jing was calling were all relatives. Upon hearing it was their niece's boyfriend, their interest was piqued, and they asked when Xinyi had gotten a boyfriend.

Then, Liu Jing couldn't hold back her urge to show off.

Hmph, isn't that impressive?

In just a few short words, with her slightly superior tone, Liu Jing hung up one phone call after another.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xinyi simply stared at her mother, who told every single caller, "Oh my, it's Xinyi's boyfriend!"

Finally, Liu Jing hung up the last call. "Done!"

"Remember to tell Yuwen that his mother-in-law wants a thousand winter break workers!" Liu Jing declared quite smugly.

Jiang Xinyi was so speechless she wanted to die. "Mom, aren't you ashamed of bragging like that?! How is he my boyfriend? Zhou Yuwen and I haven't even sparked anything yet!"

Liu Jing chuckled. "Isn't it just a matter of time? Anyway, don't forget to tell Yuwen about the thousand spots. I've already promised them to everyone."

"I'm not going! If you want to go, go yourself!" Jiang Xinyi threw a tantrum.

"Oh my!"

Feeling disdainful, Liu Jing scoffed. "I'm doing this to help you."

"Think about it. He has four thousand people, so he definitely needs to find factories. If you go to him right now and ask for a thousand workers, that's exactly sending charcoal in the snow. This is something others can't help him with. You're so stubborn!"

Liu Jing extended a finger and poked Jiang Xinyi's head. "Fine, if you won't go, I'll go myself."

"When the time comes, it'll be me Yuwen is thanking, not you."

"Wait a minute!" Just as Liu Jing was about to leave, Jiang Xinyi called out to stop her.

Liu Jing smiled slightly but didn't say anything.

To be honest, when Jiang Xinyi went to find Zhou Yuwen, he was indeed quite happy. After all, he truly had no channels to reach the factories that needed people. Jiang Xinyi's arrival was perfectly timed.

Delighted, he grabbed Jiang Xinyi's small hands directly and said, "Sister Xinyi, you're really sending charcoal in the snow! I was just worrying about where to find factories."

Seeing Zhou Yuwen happy made Jiang Xinyi happy as well. She replied, "Mhm, if you need it, I can help you find a few more."

"Really?"

"Of course." Jiang Xinyi felt it shouldn't be a big problem. Judging from her mother's attitude just now, she only asked for a thousand spots because she was afraid Zhou Yuwen wouldn't have enough people.

And so, back and forth, relying on mutual introductions from Jiang Xinyi's relatives, the four thousand people were inexplicably fully assigned.

Liu Shuo had initially been fraught with worry, not knowing where to find receiving factories.

Yet, when he returned, he discovered that Zhou Yuwen had already managed to arrange everything.

He couldn't help but give a thumbs-up and exclaim, "My brother is so badass!"

Zhou Yuwen didn't waste words with him. The factories were secured, but the busy part was just beginning.

Because these factories weren't just located in Jinling.

During winter and summer breaks, transporting students from one city to another was entirely normal. Jinling was a city with a rich cultural heritage, and its factories were relatively concentrated. While it could certainly absorb four thousand winter break workers, it didn't mean every factory had to go through Zhou Yuwen's channel.

Therefore, the bulk of Zhou Yuwen's workforce would be transported to Suzhou, with a small portion sent to Changshu and Wuxi.

The next step involved balancing the accounts and ensuring logistical support. Zhou Yuwen's small workshop-style operation was becoming stretched thin. If he solely relied on Jiang Xinyi leading Lu Hui and a few others, they'd be working past the New Year and still wouldn't finish.

They had no choice but to hire a third-party service to come over and help crunch the numbers.

Additionally, tallying the names, phone numbers, and details of all the part-time students coming over was a time-consuming and labor-intensive task.

Fortunately, Zhou Yuwen had an abundant labor force around him. By this time, the final exams in the examination hall had concluded.

Zhou Yuwen's exams went fairly well. He looked at the questions, felt they weren't difficult, and smoothly filled in all the answers. When Shen Yu and Su Qing walked out of the examination hall, they both complained that it was over, claiming they had been completely lost the moment they walked in and knew nothing.

Hearing the two of them say this, Zheng Yanyan laughed out loud. "How did you two even study? You looked like you were studying so seriously. I just casually skimmed the material, but when I got the test paper, I felt like I knew everything!"

Zheng Yanyan was certainly happy, but Su Qing and Shen Yu frowned in distress.

Seeing Su Qing unhappy made Zheng Yanyan happy.

That night, when she was sleeping with Zhou Yuwen, she sat on his lap and chattered about the matter. "Hubby, Hubby, let me tell you, Su Qing definitely bombed the exam this time."

"Silly girl."

Zhou Yuwen watched Zheng Yanyan's jubilant expression, figuring she was just too excited. The red hoodie had been pushed up to her neck by Zhou Yuwen, and though she wasn't heavily endowed, her chest swayed slightly.

Zhou Yuwen told Zheng Yanyan, "You felt like you knew everything because you only need a sixty."

"When they say they don't know anything, they're aiming for a ninety as their baseline."

Hearing this, Zheng Yanyan naturally refused to believe it. She retorted, "How is that possible? When they walked out of the examination hall, they clearly said they knew absolutely nothing."

"And you actually believe that? I seriously don't know how you managed to get into university."

Zhou Yuwen was somewhat speechless, but thinking about it, why would she need to be so smart anyway?

He patted Zheng Yanyan's buttocks and urged, "Don't stop, keep moving."

Originally, he had planned to go home right after exams, but the winter break job business ended up delaying his departure.

Jiang Xinyi, Lu Hui, and the others couldn't handle the workload alone. Su Qing and Chen Wan were drafted in to assist, and even Shen Yu volunteered to come over and help.

Naturally, Zhou Yuwen agreed to all of it.

The work wasn't difficult. It mostly entailed Liu Shuo's team gathering these people's phone numbers and school information, and then having Su Qing and the girls input the data into spreadsheets.

During regular hours, they were tasked with making phone calls, organizing everyone to gather at designated locations, and then coordinating with the various factories.

Jiang Xinyi was in charge of purchasing supplies, so Zhou Yuwen sent Su Qing and Chen Wan over to help her.

Meanwhile, Liu Shuo, Gao Yang, and the guys were responsible for renting buses and transporting the students.

Amidst all this bustling activity, another week passed.