Jin Shaoyan said with a straight face, "As long as her people come, I can sign her. 20,000 yuan a week, and she'll be guaranteed at least one appearance in mainstream media every year. Any problems?"
80,000 a month! Although Jin Shaoyan's expression was unpleasant, a monthly salary of 80,000 was really tempting—it was comparable to Baozi's boss's salary. From now on, he could get 10 yuan in the parking lot without asking for change.
The problem is, I never really intended to sell Li Shishi to him. I came to see the delayed version of Jin Shaoyan, or as the future version of Jin Shaoyan would say, to find a source of income. Heaven knows what kind of people Liu Laoliu will bring to me in the future. If it's someone like Su Wu or Wang Baochai, I can save some money. But if he brings Wang Mang and Heshen, 5 million won't even be enough for them to squander for a month.
The reason I didn't deliberately disguise myself as Accountant Xiao was because, after a day of getting to know Jin Shaoyan, I felt he was a decent person, and I wanted to make friends with him as Xiao Qiang. But now it seems the old version is less popular than the new one.
I have no idea what a monthly salary of 80,000 yuan means at Jinting Company. In order not to let Jin Shaoyan look down on me, I shrugged and said, "Excuse me, I'm going to the restroom." Jin Shaoyan didn't say anything, but just pointed to the door, even though there was a restroom in his office.
Amidst the fawning smiles of the beautiful young woman, I slipped into the restroom, called Jin 2, and asked him, "He's offering Xiao Nan a weekly wage of 20,000. Should I try to negotiate?"
Jin 2 must have been in some noisy shopping mall. He sounded very cocky and said with a smile, "Don't haggle. He has no concept of money, but he doesn't like people talking to him about prices."
I yelled, "How could I keep forgetting that you're all one person? Are you saying this to save yourself money?"
Kim chuckled: "No, no, I can guarantee that."
The more Kim 2 acted like this, the more dissatisfied I became with Kim 1. Thinking that they were actually the same person, I took it out on Kim 2: "You little brat, with that long face, who are you acting like a superior to? It's infuriating! If it weren't for your current state, I'd beat him up—"
Jin 2 smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry, Brother Qiang, I was just young and ignorant back then."
I finally found some balance and said, "So, how do you think I should get closer to him? If I invite him for drinks, will he come with me? Just so you know, I only brought 200 yuan with me."
Kim 2 asked curiously, "You haven't finished talking yet?"
"I'm in the restroom in your building. We'll continue our conversation when I get back."
Kim 2 slapped his forehead and said, "You didn't read a single word of the precautions I gave you? Never go to the restroom when you're talking to him, wear formal attire, and address him with 'you' (formal)..."
"Stop talking nonsense, tell me what I should do now?"
“The bad impression has already been made, so get out of here quickly and don’t let it get too strong. We’ll figure something out later—I’ll buy you a brand new Bluetooth phone right now. I need to know what you two talked about, especially his.”
When I got back from the phone, I said to Jin Shaoyan, "As you said, no problem. My cousin is returning to China in four days. In the meantime, if it's convenient, I'd like to have more conversations with... 'you'."
Jin Shaoyan pulled out another tissue to wipe his nose, looking at me with a mocking expression, as if what I had just said was something ridiculous. He snorted and said, "Next time, it would be best if Miss Wang and I met directly. Also—I don't want to see you again until I see Miss Wang again."
I didn't take it to heart; the kid has no idea he's working against me.
The saying "The greatest enemy is oneself" is not actually a philosophical statement.
As I reached the door, Jin Shaoyan finally couldn't help but ask me, "Why are you carrying an umbrella on such a hot day?"
I said, "There's going to be a heavy rain today."
Jin Shaoyan glanced at the clear sky outside, his sarcasm deepening: "Who told you that?"
"I have a friend whose head looks like a Sachima (a type of Chinese pastry)."
The moment I stepped out of Jin Shaoyan's office, the sky was covered by dark clouds, and a thunderclap was followed by a torrential downpour.
Chapter Thirty You Look Just Like Song Dandan
When I got back, Jin Shaoyan and the others had already been home for ages. That kid timed it perfectly, getting home just before the first drop of rain fell.
Everyone received generous gifts: Li Shishi's books filled half the house; Qin Shi Huang wore a newly bought director's outfit, with every pocket stuffed with snacks and half a bundle of bright red banknotes in his shirt pocket; Liu Bang received a set of classic erotic films from 1975 to last week; Jing Ke sat on the bed, opposite him was a stereo system, the foam plastic had just been removed, and the whole room echoed with high-definition audio from "China Central Radio, FM 98.2 MHz," but Ersha was a very sentimental person, and in his opinion, the little people on that radio were not as affectionate as the ones on the old transistor radio, so he turned it off after listening for a while.
Only Xiang Yu didn't want anything. He had long coveted Xiao Wang's minivan next door. Jin Shaoyan had actually used Baozi's ID to buy him a Hummer, but the car had to be shipped from Beijing and would take a week to arrive. Jin Shaoyan—or rather, No. 2 Jin Shaoyan—would never see the Chu Overlord galloping across the world on a Hummer.
He prepared a brand-new Bluetooth phone for me, encompassing all the functions of a modern mobile phone. It was also an excellent spy camera and eavesdropping device, supporting instant data transfer. It was practically a laptop with a camera that could make calls; aside from not turning into a robotic dog, it was a truly bizarre technological marvel. This phone had a market price of $4700, but that was useless, because most people couldn't buy it even if they had the money. Its size and weight were also quite remarkable: exactly the size of a brick.
Now, a very awkward but unavoidable and exciting question is filling my mind: In a year, everything in this house, including the Hummer, will be mine! Thank you, Judge; thank you, King Yama; thank you, his brother-in-law…
I was furious when I saw Jin Shaoyan, so I punched him a few times, and the kid just laughed it off. Judging from his deliberate and unintentional defense of those two punches, he definitely knew kung fu. If he had fought back, I would have been done for.
Then Jin Shaoyan said very seriously, "Brother Qiang, you almost ruined things today. You were late for your date, didn't wear a suit, and went to the bathroom halfway through. You did almost everything he hates. Didn't you read any of the precautions I wrote for you?"
I simply tore up the piece of paper with the instructions written on it and told him my thoughts.
After listening, Jin Shaoyan slowly nodded and said, "He should also have a friend like you, but..." Jin Shaoyan was probably in a dilemma. With my current appearance, it would be almost impossible for me to get close to the person I used to be. Suddenly, Jin Shaoyan said with a sense of enlightenment, "Fortunately, I'm here to help you. I'll make him like you eventually."
I quickly waved my hand: "Please don't, you know my sexual orientation is perfectly normal—your secretary is quite nice, isn't she?"
"Hehe, that little vixen, her skills in bed are so-so, but she's really good at taking care of people. If he's sick now, she'll definitely seize the opportunity to temporarily be the center of everyone's affection."
Baozi got back after 10 pm, and the whole family was waiting for her without having eaten. We were hungry, so we ate a bunch of Qin Shihuang's preserved plum and hawthorn slices, and we were all completely satisfied. I feel bad for making this family of powerful people wait for a baozi shop's doorman. In the days that followed, they almost developed a conditioned reflex: whenever they were hungry, they would think of baozi.
Jin Shaoyan had long wanted to try Korean food, and the painful experience of eating Western food had left a deep impression on him. He felt it was better for these people to get closer to traditional food culture, and Korea had preserved more of the etiquette in this regard.
We arrived at the Korean restaurant in his Mercedes and received very formal hospitality. When ordering, Kim So-yeon had become quite shrewd, ordering a ton of dishes including grilled meat, hot pot, bibimbap, and seaweed dumplings. The atmosphere was so lively that even the waitresses dressed like giant lotus leaves were covering their mouths and giggling.
During the meal, a second-rate Korean singer came to entertain us. The moment the clapper and waist drum sounded, while everyone's attention was drawn to him, I witnessed something extremely terrifying: Kim So-yeon disappeared right in front of me!
I was completely dumbfounded, my brain instantly shutting down. At the same time, I witnessed an even more terrifying scene: Jin Shaoyan strode in with his beautiful secretary. Three seconds later, I finally understood what had happened: the two Jin Shaoyans had finally met, and because they shared the same body, Jin Shaoyan 2 had gone offline!
Just then, my brick phone made a loud noise. I picked it up and Jin 2 said with a sobbing voice, "Brother Qiang, I'm right next to you, I saw him too, what should we do?"
I said to him, "Mmm..." and then realized my mouth was full of seaweed balls. I quickly swallowed them and said, "I know others can't see you right now, but can they hear you?"
"Apart from him being deaf, everyone else can hear. I've already moved to the side of the stage, where the music is playing, but what will I do later?"
Sure enough, the voice coming from the phone was synchronized with the Korean singer's song, making it quite difficult to hear clearly. At this point, I was at a loss and casually said, "At this point, I can only have Teacher Li... Xiao Nan distract him."
"No way! The moment he leaves, I'll reveal myself and scare a bunch of people to death. And—you can't let him see Xiaonan. If he finds out you lied to him again, we're all finished!"
I completely broke down: "This is fucking too exciting, what am I supposed to do?"