Stronger by Paying Salaries and I Have 1 Billion Employees-Chapter 44 - 43: Assembling the Development Team

"Quit your part-time job at the cafeteria. For the next few days, you’ll be handling HR duties. After the recruitment drive is over, you can go back to your original job."

As they ate, Chen Yansen said slowly to Song Yuncheng.

"If I’m doing extra work, does that mean I’ll get a raise?"

Song Yuncheng asked tentatively. She had been perfectly happy with her two-thousand-yuan monthly salary the night before, but after comparing it to Zhang Wenbo’s four thousand, she couldn’t help but feel a pang of disappointment.

"Cut the crap! You want me to dock your pay? Peel me a shrimp!"

Chen Yansen grinned, issuing a veiled threat.

"I... I really have a boyfriend. If he sees this, you’re finished! He’s an athlete, has an eight-pack, and could take on ten of you without breaking a sweat."

Not wanting to peel the shrimp, Song Yuncheng put on a serious expression and said with a straight face.

"An eight-pack like mine?"

Chen Yansen lifted his shirt, revealing his well-defined muscles.

"You’re a pervert!"

Song Yuncheng shot a quick glance, her ears turning red. She hurriedly grabbed his shirt and pulled it down.

"Call your boyfriend. Tell him I’m here waiting for him."

Chen Yansen tossed her his phone, motioning for her to dial, his attitude extremely cocky.

"Boss, I was just kidding. It’s just peeling a shrimp, right? I love peeling shrimp for you."

Song Yuncheng’s expression froze. She quickly forced a smile and began to peel a shrimp with a resigned sigh.

"Go to the Innovation Park early this afternoon. Remember to buy disposable cups. If any students come for interviews, have them line up and wait."

Chen Yansen took the peeled shrimp, tossed it into his mouth, and said while chewing.

"Boss, I have class this afternoon."

Song Yuncheng frowned slightly, looking troubled.

"Skip class, of course. Do I even need to teach you that? Work hard for me, and I’ll give you a promotion and a raise in the future!"

Chen Yansen made the grand promise effortlessly, regardless of whether she bought it.

"Oh, okay."

Song Yuncheng agonized over it for a while before replying weakly. Then she asked, "What about you?"

"I’m going back for a nap, of course."

Chen Yansen rolled his eyes at her and said irritably.

"..."

Song Yuncheng pouted. If she weren’t afraid Chen Yansen would dock her pay, she probably would have lunged at him by now.

Chen Yansen saw she was fuming but didn’t dare to say anything, and he couldn’t help but laugh. ’Bullying a pushover feels pretty good.’

After lunch, the two parted ways at the cafeteria entrance.

Chen Yansen went back to his dorm to catch up on sleep. Song Yuncheng walked into the cafeteria, apparently intending to follow Chen Yansen’s orders and quit her job.

He woke up at one-thirty in the afternoon.

Chen Yansen got dressed and strolled unhurriedly toward the Innovation Park. When he arrived, he was very surprised. The number of interviewees in the afternoon was double that of the morning, and the second floor of the Innovation Park was packed so tightly you couldn’t get through.

"Go get Director Cao."

Chen Yansen ordered Song Yuncheng. There were too many people, and he was afraid things would get chaotic, so he had Song Yuncheng bring Cao Dahua over to help.

Although Song Yuncheng was completely confused, she did as she was told. It was unclear how she communicated it, but Cao Dahua came striding over, squinting, holding a teacup, and grinning from ear to ear.

"AHEM! What are you all gathered here for? If you’re here for an interview, form a proper line! It’s a chaotic mess, no order at all! You few blocking the way up front, which school and class are you from? Who’s your advisor?"

Cao Dahua cleared his throat and demanded in a stern voice.

Upon hearing this, the crowd hurriedly and obediently formed a line. The few students who had been blocking the way earlier lowered their heads, not daring to breathe a word.

"Director Cao, thanks for your help." Chen Yansen greeted him with a smile.

"Call me if you need anything!" Cao Dahua gave him a look that said ’Your big bro’s got your back,’ then turned and slipped into his office. It was clear he was about to start slacking off again.

Chen Yansen sat down, picked up a resume, and called out, "Xiang Pengfei!"

The caliber of the afternoon’s interviewees was clearly higher than the morning’s. After all, everyone knew that out of the dozens of people interviewed in the morning, only one was hired. Without some real skill, one wouldn’t have the courage to even show up.

From the scorching sun until dusk fell, Chen Yansen was exhausted. There was no other way; he had to be the one conducting the interviews. But fortunately, the afternoon’s results were good.

Besides the backend developer Xiang Pengfei, he also hired a data warehouse manager, a product manager, and a test engineer. However, he still didn’t have enough developers. His original plan was to hire two to three people for each position, aiming to have the website up and running before October, and then start driving traffic and generating revenue.

’I hope tomorrow’s candidates have some surprises for me,’ Chen Yansen thought to himself.

"Brother Sen, we’ll send you a list of the items we need later. For the first week of development, we’ll use our own computers to make sure we don’t fall behind schedule."

Xiang Pengfei said as he was leaving. Chen Yansen had offered him a monthly salary of four thousand, and his motivation shot right up.

"The supplies will arrive in three days. I’ll take care of the domain name, server, and broadband," Chen Yansen said. He then looked at the skinny young man beside him. "Zhuang Rui, you write up the product requirements ahead of time. We’ll review them all together and aim to start work in an orderly fashion next week according to the development plan."

Zhuang Rui was a third-year software engineering major with a decent level of skill in product architecture and system design. His monthly salary was 3,000 yuan. Although it couldn’t compare to Zhang Wenbo’s and Xiang Pengfei’s, he was already very satisfied.

"Okay, Brother Sen!" Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement.

After everyone had left, Chen Yansen looked at Song Yuncheng, who hadn’t gone yet, and joked, "Want to treat me to dinner again?"

"N-no, that’s not it. I don’t have my own computer. I was wondering if I could borrow your laptop for a bit?" Song Yuncheng said haltingly, her head bowed.

"What about the computer from yesterday?" Chen Yansen frowned and asked softly.

"It was my roommate’s, but she needs to use it too. I can’t borrow it for three days," Song Yuncheng said, looking down at the tops of her shoes, a little embarrassed.

Chen Yansen was curious. "You don’t have a computer? What do you usually use for your drawings and designs?"

"The library, the computer lab," Song Yuncheng answered briefly.

"That e-waste? They lag even when you’re playing Spider Solitaire! You’re something else!" Chen Yansen shook his head, not knowing whether to laugh or cry. He finally let out a long sigh and said, "The password is 920204. Got it?"

"Easy to remember. I got it."

Song Yuncheng gave a small smile, her heart filled with gratitude.

"Good. It’s my birthday, so don’t forget to get me a gift when the time comes."

Chen Yansen said lazily as he walked to the door.

"But I’m really poor."

Song Yuncheng muttered quietly at Chen Yansen’s back, a strange emotion flashing in her glistening eyes. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Leaving the Innovation Park, Chen Yansen strolled along Xuehai Road.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw a message from Xu Xingxing: "Hey, I bought some beer. Want to come out for a drink?"

"Some other time."

Chen Yansen replied casually. Xu Xingxing was indeed beautiful and had a great figure, but he wasn’t in the mood today. He hadn’t seen Meng Jie for two or three days, and he had asked her to meet him at 0418.

A moment later, Xu Xingxing sent another message: "Are you always this direct when you talk to girls? You seem so experienced. How many girlfriends have you had?"

Chen Yansen paused. He reread the message he’d just sent and realized it could be taken the wrong way. But Xu Xingxing’s reaction was interesting; instead of getting angry, she was pressing the conversation forward.

So, he thought for a moment and replied, "Are you asking for a specific number, or do you want to know about my past?"

"Is there a difference?" Xu Xingxing asked again.

"The number? It’s like the stars in the sky—I lost count long ago. But as for my past, we can have a deep chat about it next time we’re free." Since he had nothing better to do, Chen Yansen typed on his keyboard, intentionally teasing her.

"A ’deep chat’ at a hotel? The kind where you bring your ID?" Xu Xingxing asked.

"That works too. I’ve lived this long and still haven’t seen a girl’s ID card," Chen Yansen said, lying through his teeth.

Lying in her dorm, Xu Xingxing couldn’t help but cover her mouth and giggle. A guy like Chen Yansen might be a little bad, but at least he was interesting. As for those dense, boring guys, she found it exhausting to even say one more word to them.

After a few more perfunctory replies, Chen Yansen couldn’t be bothered to deal with Xu Xingxing anymore.

He walked up to the fourth floor, and a quick glance revealed Meng Jie, holding a bag of fruit, leaning over the hallway railing and looking down below.

"Well well, if it isn’t our great Class President Meng. And you brought fruit? You’re too kind," Chen Yansen said with a teasing smile as he walked over.

"I didn’t know what you like to eat, so I bought a little of everything." Meng Jie smiled faintly, her cheeks flushing. Her moist lips glistened under the dim yellow light, making one want to steal a kiss.

"Are you wearing makeup?"

Chen Yansen could obviously tell. He asked with a smile as he opened the door.

"Do I look good?" Meng Jie stood on her tiptoes, wanting Chen Yansen to get a better look.

Any other girl might have gotten shy or cooed, ’I did it just for you,’ but that wasn’t Meng Jie’s style.

She would only express it through her actions: ’Chen Yansen, this is the first time I’ve ever worn makeup. You better take a good, long look.’

"Mhm, very beautiful. It makes me want to run straight to the Inspection Institute to get our marriage license. And maybe have a baby right after."

Chen Yansen leaned down to meet her gaze. They were only a few centimeters apart, close enough to hear each other’s breathing clearly.

A faint, sweet scent filled the air.

"Get out of here!" Meng Jie’s lips couldn’t help but curve upwards. Clearly, his sweet talk was right up her alley.

"Come on in, no need to take off your shoes." Chen Yansen stepped into the living room and plopped down on the sofa.

"Am I the first girl to come in here?" Meng Jie asked abruptly as she set down the fruit.

"Uh, no." Chen Yansen shook his head, denying it outright.

"Oh. Then who’s been here before?"

The smile on Meng Jie’s face vanished instantly as she asked, unhappy.

"Teacher Liu, and her female family members, friends, students, and so on." Chen Yansen replied with a straight face, trying to hold back his laughter.

As for Song Yuncheng, he automatically ignored her.

’When talking to girls, you have to mix one part truth with nine parts lies. If you tell the whole truth, wouldn’t that make you a simp?’

"You’re messing with me on purpose, aren’t you!" Meng Jie dropped the fruit, pounced into Chen Yansen’s arms, and grabbed his collar.

"Sigh, I interviewed over a hundred people today. My eyes are blurry. Can I just hug you for a bit?"

Chen Yansen changed the subject, opening his arms with a weary expression.

"You... you just love taking advantage of girls!" Meng Jie complained, but her body was honest. She wrapped her arms around Chen Yansen’s waist as if hugging a small child.

Chen Yansen leaned down and kissed her. A few minutes later, just as he was about to make a move, Meng Jie gripped his hand tightly and said, breathless, "If you keep this up, I won’t come back next time."

"I was just curious, don’t mind me,"

Chen Yansen pulled his hand back with a grin. He then opened the coffee table drawer, took out a small box, and placed it on the table. "This is for you. I have one too. You can think of them as a matching set of phones!"

It was a brand new Apple iPhone 4.

"This is too expensive. You should return it." Meng Jie’s heart skipped a beat when she heard "matching phones," but after realizing the price, she quickly shook her head and refused.

"The phone company gave them out for free. Wang Zihao got one too. I can’t be the only one whose girlfriend doesn’t have one, right?"

Chen Yansen said with a straight face, as if it were the most serious thing in the world.

After hearing him call her his girlfriend, Meng Jie couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from turning up. She pondered for a moment and said, "Well, I suppose I’ll reluctantly accept it then."

...

...

「Meanwhile, in the Dean’s Office at the School of Literature and Communication.」

"Teacher Guo, I heard a student in your class is working on a startup project. Could you ask him to hire a few students from low-income families?"

the dean said, choosing his words carefully.

"Dean, that is true, but it seems he’s only hiring computer science students. That’s not really a match for our School of Arts and Humanities."

Guo Dongchen spread his hands with a helpless look.

"That’s true. What position does he hold in the class?"

the dean asked.

"He doesn’t hold any position," Guo Dongchen answered truthfully.

"That won’t do. For such an outstanding student, you, as his advisor, need to take the initiative and give him more responsibility," the dean said, his face hardening.

Guo Dongchen looked like he wanted to say something but held back, ultimately just nodding.

And so, after Chen Yansen walked Meng Jie back to her dorm, he passed by Room 8302 and found out he had been given the title of Vice Class President.

’But who ever heard of a Vice Class President in university?’

’The Youth League Secretary is basically the vice president!’