Free Web NovelChapter 244: Chapter 201: My Useless Brothers
"You can stay in the employee dorms for now. It’s a two-person room, but it has air conditioning and a private bathroom. I’ve seen it; the conditions are pretty good. As for your colleagues... if any of them bully you, just let me know. I’ll beat the shit out of them."
Lin Chu had originally wanted to say, "Get along with your colleagues," but considering Wang Hao’s personality, he phrased it differently.
"Okay, I get it, Cousin."
Wang Hao nodded softly.
’He’s so domineering, so badass. My cousin is incredible, especially in a place like this.’
He couldn’t help but look at Lin Chu with a hint of envy.
"I’ll have someone handle your onboarding paperwork tomorrow. For tonight, just settle in here. Don’t tell your colleagues about your relationship with me, and don’t tell the folks back in the village, either. Just say it’s a normal job. Got it?"
Lin Chu felt like he was becoming a father.
Then again, he thought, an older brother is like a father.
’A dad’s a dad, so be it.’
’If I were his age and had such a badass cousin, I wouldn’t have hesitated. I’d have pulled a Lü Bu and latched right on.’
’Kids these days are just too thin-skinned.’
"Um..."
Wang Hao hesitated for a moment before asking, "Can I tell my dad?"
Hearing this, Lin Chu didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. ’So damn naive,’ he thought, glancing at his cousin. "You can talk about yourself, just leave me out of it."
"Okay."
"Oh, right! Should I call the electronics factory? To tell them I’m not coming? They scheduled an interview for me tomorrow morning. I shouldn’t leave them hanging."
Wang Hao had suddenly remembered the factory and couldn’t help but ask with a start.
"Up to you."
Lin Chu replied patiently, once again struck by how genuinely simple the kid was.
Suddenly, he felt a little envious of him.
’Having such a great cousin.’
The employee dorms were managed by the Logistics Department. Lin Chu found the department manager, who had already clocked out for the day but came rushing back immediately to find a room for them.
Seeing the boss himself escorting someone, the manager quickly found an unoccupied dorm, effectively making it a private room.
He mentally flagged Wang Hao for special treatment.
’This kid is someone special.’
By the time everything was settled, it was nearly ten o’clock.
"Cousin, have you eaten? Let me treat you to dinner. Should we eat out? I’ll treat you to Haidilao."
Wang Hao said, his face flushing slightly.
He knew Haidilao was open twenty-four hours a day. He had gone once for a friend’s birthday. Even though it cost over a hundred per person—a luxury for a village kid who hadn’t even started working yet—he knew he had to show his gratitude.
’Such a great job, such nice living conditions, such a prestigious company...’ Wang Hao would have never dared to dream of any of this before he arrived.
Lin Chu had been about to refuse, but seeing the look in his cousin’s eyes, he agreed.
"Sure."
"How much money did Uncle give you before you left?"
Lin Chu asked with a casual smile.
"He gave me five thousand. I figured it would be enough to last me the first month," he said.
Lin Chu nodded. That was more than enough. Food and lodging were free at the club, so there was basically nowhere to spend money.
However...
"I’ll transfer you another ten thousand. Buy yourself a couple of new outfits. Don’t worry about a suit; the company provides one. You’ll have to get your own dress shoes, though."
Lin Chu said it all casually as he pulled out his phone and transferred the ten thousand.
Wang Hao’s face turned beet red. Flustered, he tried to refuse out of embarrassment. ’How could I possibly accept this?’
Lin Chu’s expression suddenly grew fierce. "Take it! Listen to me. Just do as you’re told!"
Wang Hao was startled. He peeked cautiously at Lin Chu’s face, then took out his phone and tapped to accept the transfer. He felt his heart skip a beat.
"You remember that?"
"What did I say?"
Lin Chu asked pointedly.
Wang Hao repeated the phrase.
Only then did Lin Chu’s expression change. He clapped him on the shoulder and said with a grin, "Good, that’s right. So, can you call me Daddy?"
Wang Hao’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He was utterly dumbfounded.
’What kind of request is this?’
’This totally messes up the family hierarchy!’
He even felt slightly insulted, despite the joking tone. But looking into Lin Chu’s defiant eyes, his lips moved as he prepared to say the word.
However, before the word could leave his mouth, Lin Chu cut him off.
"You dummy!"
"You were really going to say it!"
"I was just messing with you!"
He looked at the grin on Lin Chu’s face, scratched his head, and let out an embarrassed laugh of his own.
’My cousin sure is a joker.’
...
As far as Lin Chu was concerned, his cousin’s arrival was so minor it didn’t even count as an interruption.
The next day, he said a word to a manager in the sales department whose face was vaguely familiar, then left Wang Hao to grow on his own. The matter wasn’t even big enough to mention to Xin Fu.
However, the incident did make Lin Chu recognize the importance of his clan.
The Pearl River Delta is perhaps the region in the country where clan power has been most perfectly preserved. One could call this "backward," but at the same time, it’s also advanced.
But in any case, in today’s atomized modern society, having a powerful clan behind you absolutely means strength in numbers.
Of course, the prerequisite was that you had to be the one calling the shots in the clan. That meant either having high seniority, immense power, or a ruthless way of doing things.
’Of those three, Dad had the first one covered, while I had the other two.’
’The new year is only a few months away. That ancestral hall really does need to be renovated.’
’Later, I can dig around some more. Maybe I can find a few more promising talents—the best would be poor, young, and have good grades.’
’I could sponsor them through college.’
’After they graduate, I could even sponsor them to take the civil service exams.’
’In less than ten years, these seeds would grow into useful saplings.’
HSSS...
’This line of thinking felt vaguely "dangerous" to Lin Chu, but it also held an irresistible allure. And with the orphanage project on top of that... Holy shit... In a few decades, just how powerful will I become?’
’In investment terms, this was called "long-termism."’
