Chapter 188: Starting a Business, Internal Recruitment Fair

The night passed quickly. Early the next morning, Bian Changxi got up and went downstairs, wanting to confirm as soon as possible whether Wen Mingli was the one targeting her. But she was told that Wen Mingli had disappeared.

“When Qiu Yun went over last night, Wen Mingli was already gone. Zhu Yunhua and the others seem to be looking for her too, but there’s been no luck,” Gu Xu said. He saw Zhu Yiming waiting outside the villa with Chen Guanqing and Chu Hao in the car, so he got ready to leave as well. Before heading out, he told Bian Changxi, “Don’t go out today.”

Bian Changxi wanted to argue that she was just going to the hospital—it was just a short trip, what were the chances of being snatched off the street? But Gu Xu’s look told her there was no room for negotiation, so she swallowed her words.

Once everyone who needed to leave was gone, Wu Dalang grinned and said, “Looks like it’s just the three of us today. By the way, how did you convince Shadow to rest and recover?”

Bian Changxi glanced at the honest-looking man, whose eyes were gleaming with nosy curiosity, and said with a sweatdrop, “Why are you acting just like Qiu Yun?” She glanced at Shadow in the yard. “It was nothing, I just patted him on the shoulder.”

At the same time, she’d used a bit of her ability. Shadow’s body couldn’t take it and nearly buckled. He’d wanted to tag along yesterday out of concern for Bian Changxi’s safety, but ended up realizing he wasn’t as capable as her, so he had nothing to say.

Naturally, Bian Changxi wasn’t about to admit to such an embarrassing detail.

She called over Lin He—he and Zhao An’an had been waiting outside the villa early in the morning to accompany her. She handed him a small bag of the best jade stones, which had been soaked in the creek overnight, and asked him to deliver them to Jiang Zhihuan. She then told him and Zhao An’an to go about their own business today—no need to waste time here.

With that, the three left in the villa began practicing their abilities.

Bian Changxi, as usual, cultivated in the vegetable garden. Wu Dalang busied himself piling up his earth blocks, while Shadow shrouded the entire courtyard in mist. Sometimes, as instructed by Bian Changxi, he’d use mist blades to harvest ripe tomatoes and eggplants.

Anan, being a speed type, ran laps around the house like a spinning top. Aunt Zhao, inspired, began practicing her formidable arm strength. So, the three-person team became five, and the training atmosphere was intense.

When An Jibo arrived, he was startled. Before he could say a word, a wave of mist obscured his vision, something cold and snake-like wrapped around his arm, and two clumps of earth blocked his way, nearly burying his lower half. Anan rocketed up to him, “Who are you? You think you can just show up here?”

“I—I’m An Jibo! I wasn’t trying to break in!” he hurriedly explained.

The others all laughed wickedly. Of course, they knew what was going on—they just took the opportunity to practice on him since he showed up unexpectedly. Bian Changxi glanced at Wu Dalang and Shadow. “Not a bad team effort, right?”

Shadow said nothing—he naturally didn’t like An Jibo, but then again, he didn’t like most people. Wu Dalang nodded, “Anan’s pretty sharp too.”

Aunt Zhao, the only one who hadn’t caught on, patted her chest in relief. “Gave me a fright. I thought someone was attacking us.” Even the guards outside hadn’t reacted, but these guys were quick.

Bian Changxi brushed the dust off herself and went to the door. “I’m not going out today. Forgot to let you know, so you don’t need to come.”

“Huh?” An Jibo had been prepared to be put to work as a volunteer again today. It was tiring, but using his ability frequently was good for improvement. Plus, Bian Changxi’s methods and skills were eye-opening—like splitting his power, or her continuous bandage healing technique. Sometimes he felt truly inspired.

Of course, it was just a vague inspiration—he was still far from being able to copy or fully understand her methods. So he was ready for a long period of observation and learning.

Bian Changxi thought for a moment, then smiled, “If you’re interested, you could go check out Jiangcheng Medical. If you want to advance, you need more practice. They have lots of patients, severe cases, and the work is intense. It’s exhausting, but it’s great training.”

Seeing An Jibo hesitate, she continued to coax him: “There are a lot of wood-types there too, so you can exchange tips. There’s a guy named Liang Ziyin—he’s the one who stabilized five critical patients. His level is about the same as yours. He’s not a regular staff member, but he helps out from time to time. I heard he’s about to advance, all from the experience he’s gained there.”

This really tempted An Jibo. He’d been on the verge of advancing for a while now, but nearly a month had passed with no progress. Plus, the person who’d recommended him to Brother Sun had recently fallen out of favor, so he was worried about his own standing. Advancement was urgent.

Maybe going to Jiangcheng Medical would help?

After successfully sending An Jibo away, Bian Changxi leaned against the iron gate, squinting and smiling as she watched him stride off.

Everyone else looked at her like a mischievous child who’d just pulled a prank. They all felt a chill down their spines, thinking An Jibo must have offended her somehow—he’d definitely just been set up.

This was just a minor episode. The five of them went back to training. Gu Xu came back before lunch, saying that Chen Guanqing would stay with Ge Jianhua for now, so any anger or tricks from Zhuge Yunma would be directed at Ge Jianhua instead. Chu Hao, however, had returned and would just need to check on Chen Guanqing once a day and bring Xiao Ai for routine training.

Gu Xu had someone arrange accommodations for Chu Hao and gathered his small group together. He himself took a spatial ability user to transport weapons, heading off to start forming the armed force he’d been planning for a while.

Bian Changxi was looking forward to it.

Having their own army and armed force meant the Jiangcheng Group finally had its own shield and sword—a real organization was being born.

And most importantly, once this was done, the days of going out to hunt monsters wouldn’t be far off.

That afternoon, Chen Yisha was brought over. Blushing, she thanked Bian Changxi and then discussed the water plant project, hoping to come up with a business plan. Since it was Bian Changxi’s idea, Gu Xu wanted her to design the first store and the first step as a sign of respect.

Bian Changxi felt helpless—she wanted to say she didn’t need this kind of respect. She wasn’t cut out for detailed business planning and didn’t have the patience for it. But seeing Chen Yisha’s excitement, she couldn’t refuse, and found herself getting interested as well.

The basics were simple: a storefront, which Gu Xu would choose in the best location.

Both women were heiresses from wealthy families—even if they’d never run a business, they’d seen plenty. Since the water plant was a for-profit company, they’d need management, business staff, and operators—not just a bunch of water-types thrown together. If they were going to do it, they’d do it properly, hiring experienced businesspeople and former employees. The core would be the production staff—the water-types. Gu Xu could easily round up dozens or even hundreds of water-types, and Chen Yisha had previously managed and kept statistics on water-type ability users, so she knew a few. But aside from a few veterans, they decided to hire the rest through an open and transparent recruitment process, with interviews and skill assessments to determine pay grades.

There would also be delivery and other side jobs, which would need strength-types, speed-types, and regular people, all hired as well.

They’d need lots of water containers. They thought the pre-apocalypse mineral water jugs would be best. Even though they weren’t used anymore, if they put out word at the base, they could still buy some, disinfect them, and use them.

So, besides the water-dispensing staff, they’d need workers to fill the jugs—otherwise, having water-types fill each jug directly would be a waste of time.

They discussed water pricing, target customers, necessary equipment, and more, with Wu Dalang and others helping out. After two hours, they’d drafted a rough business plan.

Seeing everyone busy, they decided not to wait for anyone else. They gathered their loyal and capable people, assigned tasks, and by nightfall, had a list of candidates and a framework for the recruitment fair.

When Gu Xu came back that evening and saw everyone so engaged, he didn’t say much—just said he’d handle the storefront design and renovations, as well as all the permits and licenses. As for staff and the core team, that was up to them.

So, the next day, outside Villa No. 1, in a spacious courtyard, a recruitment fair was held.

Bian Changxi sat behind a table, pen in hand, reviewing simple forms with names, gender, address, family members, and a brief personality assessment. She looked up at the nervous, awkward girl in front of her and smiled encouragingly.

“I—I’m Xin Meng, first-level water-type…” The girl glanced up at the huge red banner reading “Jiangcheng Group Internal Recruitment Fair,” wondering what kind of people they were hiring and for what jobs, feeling anxious.

Bian Changxi frowned slightly—she didn’t much like this timid, hesitant personality. But if all she needed was someone to quietly do their job, it could work. After all, dispensing water all day was extremely monotonous, and someone too lively might not stick with it.

She asked the girl to demonstrate her ability, carefully observing her technique and water output, making notes. This was a very stable water-type—output wasn’t high, but it was steady. She’d have no problem working at the water plant. Plus, she seemed gentle and frail, probably not suited for anything else, so she’d likely cherish the job.

“All right, you can go home and wait for a notice. You’ll hear back by tomorrow or the day after at the latest. Next!”

Thanks to 蓝彩蝶 for the pink ticket!

Thanks to no&no for the pink ticket!

Thanks to 家居猫 for the pink ticket!

Thanks to 七月苔藓 for the pink ticket!

Thanks to 小小赫源 for the pink ticket!

Thanks to jxy0124 for two review tickets!

Sorry for dragging the plot, I forced myself to squeeze out this chapter. I don’t dare write more—reflecting now… l3l4"