"Did you hear that!" Zhao Zhonghai exuded an imposing aura that seemed almost impossible to look directly at.

When Lin Chuan saw the commanding presence on Zhao Zhonghai, he immediately sensed the military demeanor about him. This sort of presence is something anyone who has served would have, but Zhao Zhonghai's was particularly robust and sharp.

"Heard it loud and clear!" everyone shouted in unison.

"I've charted a medium-sized minibus, which will arrive shortly. Go home right now and pack your toiletries, and keep it simple," said Zhao Zhonghai. "You have five minutes. If you're not back here in five minutes, fifty push-ups."

"Whoosh..."

Everyone promptly dispersed.

Lin Chuan chuckled, "Brother Zhao, you really are a master at this."

"Not at all," Zhao Zhonghai smiled, and the air of authority around him immediately diminished. "Compared to you, I still have much to learn."

"Not at all," Lin Chuan shook his head and said, "Brother Zhao, were you previously in the Special Forces?"

"Yes," Zhao Zhonghai replied with a single word, revealing no more. After all, this involved the military's confidentiality agreement. A twenty-year confidentiality agreement was not to be taken lightly.

Five minutes later, only Zhou Kai, Lu Dapao, and a few others had returned. The rest had not yet arrived. Zhao Zhonghai glanced at his watch.

"Damn it, where the hell did those bastards go?" Zhou Kai asked, bewildered.

"Who knows!" Lu Dapao shook his head and said, "Little bastards, with no sense of time at all."

Before long, the laggards started trickling back, with the last ones arriving more than fifteen minutes late.

Zhao Zhonghai smiled and said, "Those who took more than five minutes, step forward."

Those who arrived late did so, with a few complaining, "What the hell, five minutes isn't even enough to get home, why should we do push-ups?"

"These are the rules!" Zhao Zhonghai said with a cold laugh, "If you disagree, feel free to challenge me one-on-one. If you win, you don't have to do them, and you could even replace me as their drill instructor."

The individual shrank back, Zhao Zhonghai's mere aura was already hard to withstand, let alone actual combat.

With no choice, those who were late had to honestly do fifty push-ups.

It wasn't long before the minibus arrived, with twenty-six seats, just enough to squeeze everyone in.

"Thank you, Brother Zhao," Lin Chuan said with a smile.

"Don't worry, I guarantee they will be transformed in a month," Zhao Zhonghai's mouth curled slightly, clearly very confident in himself. However, Lin Chuan was not so optimistic. Although these people were children from poor families, capable of enduring hardship, who could guarantee they wouldn't rebel under Zhao Zhonghai's tough training? At this thought, Lin Chuan could not help but feel somewhat apprehensive.

Although Zhou Kai and his group were taken away for training, the renovation of the bathhouse continued unabated. The other juniors took over Zhou Kai's work, overseeing the bathhouse while also shouldering the responsibilities of the transport market.

After the new year, the demand for sand and cement suddenly soared. Calls for sand from the new residential complexes nearly overwhelmed the phones at Feixiang Transport Company. Six or seven transport vehicles were running multiple trips every day, selling thousands of tons of sand and cement. The business was so good it was almost unbelievable to them.

As the most direct witness, Aunt Hong personally saw all of this unfolding.

"I never thought that it would be so easy to make money these days?" Aunt Hong couldn't help but remark, "Did you see? Yesterday's turnover reached thirty thousand, and just the gross profit was ten thousand. Wow..."

"Absolutely, and it's not even the peak season yet," said an uncle nearby with a bitter smile.

"How does Lin Chuan have such an accurate foresight?" Aunt Hong curiously asked, "He spotted such a profitable industry. Truly impressive."

"That's why I say, the Lin family is really going places," the uncle chuckled.

A few people gathered in the management office, the place was bustling. Usually, as long as the work was not impeded, chatting and snacking on sunflower seeds was not a problem. The boss was the kid they had watched grow up, and he would not set rigid rules for them. Everyone felt this job was a rare find—good salary, excellent benefits, easy work, and a pleasant environment.

"Aunt Hong, where's Lin Chuan?" At this moment, a girl in a purple down jacket walked in, wearing big sunglasses. The girl was tall and graceful, with a beautiful face.

Aunt Hong was taken aback and then smiled, "Oh, it's Xiao Rui, what brings you here?"

"I'm here to find Lin Chuan!" Zhou Rui smiled sweetly and said, "Is Lin Chuan here?"

"Him?" Aunt Hong laughed, "That lad rarely comes by our office. He has his own job, you know. I heard he's driving for the City Committee. You've come to the wrong place."

"Really?" Zhou Rui was taken aback and gave a bitter smile: "Looks like I've drawn a blank after all."

Zhou Rui had been wanting to find Lin Chuan before the new year, but that guy was always elusive, seeing him was as difficult as reaching the skies. She was almost driven mad searching. Then, because of not being at Changlin Factory over the new year, there was even less chance of finding Lin Chuan. This time, returning to Changlin Factory, Zhou Rui started searching for Lin Chuan again.

"Xiao Rui, what do you need to find Lin Chuan for?" Aunt Hong asked curiously: "If you can't, we can pass on a message for you. Or, why don't you just give him a call?"

"Forget it." Zhou Rui waved her hand dismissively.

She was never one of those delicate girls; she's more of the straightforward type, preferring to talk face-to-face rather than over the phone – too embarrassing. Just thinking about it made her feel awkward. Zhou Rui had just come out when she bumped into Lin Chuan head-on.

"Zhou Rui?" Lin Chuan was surprised and asked: "What are you doing here?"

"I came looking for you." Zhou Rui immediately blocked Lin Chuan's way.

"You looking for me?" Lin Chuan laughed: "What would a returned overseas student like you need from me? Discuss life, or our dreams? You should mingle with the likes of Yang Zi and Liu Shaoqi. I'm just a driver."

"Get out!" Zhou Rui snorted: "Who doesn't know you're now the big boss? Everyone in Changlin Factory holds you up as the epitome of success. What's with the act?"

While speaking, Zhou Rui rolled her eyes in irritation.

"Oh, Miss Zhou, don't take me down a peg like that." Lin Chuan said with a wry smile: "Go ahead, what do you want with me?"

"Give me a job." Zhou Rui lightly shook her shoulder-length hair and said: "I can't find a job now, so I have to ask for help from an old classmate."

Cough cough...

Lin Chuan suddenly coughed dryly and said: "Miss Zhou, I... I didn't hear wrong, did I?"

"No." Zhou Rui shook her head and looked earnestly at Lin Chuan, saying: "I need a job to support myself. Understand?"

"If you want work, you should go to Liu Shaoqi." Lin Chuan said with a flush, "Liu Shaoqi is the chairman of a big enterprise, known as Chairman Liu. The jobs there are all respectable positions. You work for me? It's just a bunch of sweaty men; surely we can't have you driving diggers or transport trucks?"

"I could be an accountant." Zhou Rui huffed: "Of course, you could also give me a position as general manager. You have a transport company and a property management office under you and, of course, I know you're planning to set up a bathhouse. As your businesses grow, management becomes troublesome – don't you need a professional manager? I'm suitable."

"Cough cough..." Lin Chuan coughed awkwardly and said: "How did you know I was planning on setting up a bathhouse?"

"Hmph." Zhou Rui gave Lin Chuan a sideways glance, "Who doesn't know? Maybe you're the only one who doesn't, huh? Men, no good, any of them."

"Are you talking about me?" Lin Chuan asked.

"I'm talking about Liu Shaoqi." Zhou Rui said scornfully: "Liu Shaoqi may be wealthy, but this lady isn't interested in him. Perhaps only girls like Yang Zi would choose him. As for me, not a chance. I'd rather eat dust in this transport market than go to him."

"Why?" Lin Chuan was stunned: "Liu Shaoqi is young and rich; what's not good about him?"

"He's nothing but a green-eyed white wolf. A pervert!" Zhou Rui glared at Lin Chuan.

Zhou Rui didn't just fail to approach Liu Shaoqi. After hitting a wall in her job hunt, she indeed visited Liu Shaoqi and his company. However, that bastard Liu Shaoqi was always pawing at her, clearly harboring designs on her, so Zhou Rui decisively left his company. Whenever Liu Shaoqi called, Zhou Rui would hang up straight away.

Annoyed, Zhou Rui ended up looking for Lin Chuan. In fact, she had a pretty good impression of Lin Chuan.

"Haha." Lin Chuan laughed heartily: "Okay, you can work for me, but let me be clear, the salary isn't high. We're still at an early stage of our business. The current salary is not high. Be prepared for that."

"I'm asking for five thousand, that's all." Zhou Rui replied.

"Hehe, actually, I was planning to offer eight thousand." Lin Chuan chuckled: "Since you're asking for five thousand, then it's five thousand."

With that, Lin Chuan turned tail and ran.

Zhou Rui hadn't reacted, and by the time she did, Lin Chuan was already long gone. She was immediately filled with indignation and shouted: "Lin Chuan, you bastard, you'd even cheat a classmate? Are you even a man?"

"Lin Chuan is a real man." At that moment, an old lady picking up trash, with a bamboo basket on her back, came over, smiling at Zhou Rui as her face bloomed like a chrysanthemum. She said with a smile: "Back when he fought with Long Wu's guys, he was one against dozens. If Lin Chuan isn't a man, then who is?"

"Oh my." Zhou Rui stamped her foot and turned to leave.

Having decided to work for Lin Chuan, she should at least have a place to work, right? Zhou Rui went into the management office. Aunt Hong smiled: "Xiao Rui, why don't you just work in our office from now on? After all, we're in the same factory, we can chat when there's nothing to do, right?"

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