```
Tang Zhanpeng eventually found Tang Lin a summer job doing odd tasks at a gym. The pay wasn't bad—eight hundred a week, with bonuses for good work, which was pretty high for a summer job.
Tang Lin was quite satisfied, of course, since the other options were working as a sewage cleaner or a security guard at a funeral home. Although those jobs paid a bit more, the working conditions were dreadful.
It was only now that Tang Lin realized how wild his dad, Tang Zhanpeng, really was with his connections.
Riding his bike to the gym called Calorie to report for work, Tang Lin thought he'd have to search around for it. But as soon as he approached the address, he saw a five-story standalone building in a bustling commercial area. The gigantic sign was visible from hundreds of meters away.
Tang Lin had been to a gym once or twice, but this standalone five-story gym was something he had never seen before. How much must the rent be each month?
However, Tang Lin wasn't shocked for long—after all, he was a mature transmigrator. It was time to learn what it meant to remain calm in the face of a crumbling Mount Tai.
After parking his bike, Tang Lin walked toward the gym's main entrance.
The automatic doors opened, and the first floor was a grand reception area. The receptionist was very pretty, with a charming voice, and kindly asked Tang Lin, "Hello, how can I assist you?"
"I'm here for a summer job interview scheduled for two this afternoon," Tang Lin told the receptionist.
"Summer job? We're not hiring for summer positions here."
That sentence left Tang Lin completely baffled. What was going on? Had his dad fooled him?
"Please hold on while I check..."
After a flurry of typing on the keyboard, the receptionist's formal smile transformed into surprise. But the expression only lasted half a second before being replaced with an even more cordial smile, saying, "Sorry, I was mistaken. It is indeed a two o'clock interview. Just take the elevator on the right straight to the fifth floor."
"May I ask which office I should head to for the interview?" Tang Lin followed up with a question. The gym was quite large, and he feared getting lost after exiting the elevator.
"There's only one office on the fifth floor; you'll know it when you get there," the receptionist explained patiently.
Tang Lin expressed his gratitude and walked toward the elevator, glancing inside as he passed a row of floor-to-ceiling windows. The vast gym inside was almost full, with all thirty treadmills occupied and people sweating it out on various machines. It gave off an intense vibe.
It wasn't the weekend, and yet so many people were working out. It seemed like the gym's business was indeed thriving.
Taking the elevator directly to the fifth floor, Tang Lin arrived at a place resembling a bar, complete with a large circular bar counter. However, compared to the first floor, it was somewhat quiet, with fewer than ten guests in the nearly four to five hundred square-meter space.
Tang Lin, looking quite out of place in his ordinary sports attire due to his youthful age, attracted attention as soon as he stepped out of the elevator. However, none of the guests paid him much attention, glancing briefly before averting their gaze.
Tang Lin didn't feel awkward. He was here to work, not to show off or make a scene. Being ignored entirely was preferable, as it meant he could slack off easier.
The general manager's office on the fifth floor was easy to find, just past the bar. Checking the time, it was three minutes until two, so he was right on time. The door proudly bore the words "General Manager's Office" in both Chinese and English, indicating he hadn't come to the wrong place.
But did the company really need the general manager to interview a summer position candidate personally? This Calorie gym seemed quite upscale; surely there should be an HR department or something.
Knocking on the door, Tang Lin said through it, "Hello, I'm Tang Lin, here for the summer job interview."
"Come in," came a somewhat cool female voice, though the Mandarin sounded a bit awkward.
Tang Lin opened the office door, and the interior was quite exquisite. Sitting behind the desk was a beautifully appointed blonde woman—not the dyed kind, but a genuine blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner.
Based solely on looks, she could easily score a nine. Much prettier than the receptionist, though she seemed older, giving off the aura of a strong and beautiful woman.
Tang Lin noticed a nameplate on the desk, with the English name "Julia Jones" written on it. If it weren't for his recent diligent English study, he wouldn't have understood it.
"You must be Tang Lin. Please have a seat," Julia said to Tang Lin in heavily accented Chinese.
Tang Lin sat down obediently but couldn't help feeling curious.
From prior experience, summer job employees were handed a stack of flyers and sent out to stuff them into pedestrians' hands without so much as wasting half a word on an interview. Yet here he was, in an interview tête-à-tête with the general manager; it struck Tang Lin as a bit unusual.
Julia looked Tang Lin up and down and smiled, saying, "You resemble your father quite a bit, both very handsome."
"Thank you for the compliment," Tang Lin replied, while wondering whether to report back to his mom that a foreign beauty praised his father's looks!
"Your father called me, so I know the basics. Your work hours will be from two to five in the afternoon, and then from seven to nine in the evening. You can have one day off per week. Since it's summer break, you can set your days off yourself. The base salary is eight hundred a week, with additional bonuses. Dinner is provided by the company, and after work, you can use the gym facilities for free. Any issues?"
The benefits were quite good—free use of gym facilities was practically half a free membership card. Tang Lin could easily come to work out in the morning and then work in the afternoon and evening.
"No issues; I can start anytime," Tang Lin responded eagerly.
"Then go downstairs and find Coach Shen. He'll assign your tasks," Julia said.
"Thank you, General Manager," Tang Lin replied politely.
"No need to be so formal, it's just a small matter. When I first arrived in China, your father helped me quite a lot," Julia said sincerely.
Oh, Comrade Tang Zhanpeng, had you perhaps already fallen for the capitalist sugar-coated bombshell? Tang Lin couldn't help but sink into deep contemplation.
Leaving the general manager's office, Tang Lin went downstairs and located Coach Shen, a man built like a tank. Upon hearing Tang Lin's introduction, he warmly said, "You've been to a gym before, right?"
Tang Lin replied honestly, "Never."
At most, he was a cloud gym-goer; give him an internet-connected phone, and he could talk up a storm.
Coach Shen pinched Tang Lin's arm, patted him on the abdomen, and remarked curiously, "Never? You don't look it."
"I guess it's because I like to jog and swim?" Tang Lin could only explain it that way.
"Let's test your strength first," Coach Shen said to Tang Lin.
Wait, this didn't match what Comrade Tang Zhanpeng told him. Wasn't he here to apply as a handyman?
————End of Slice-of-Life Chronicle————
As a loser, I also have dreams of becoming a god. Starting today, I'll record a daily account, updating whenever I feel like it (don't worry, if it's less than two hundred words on Qidian, it doesn't cost anything).
On December 15, 2019, a bigwig from a harem novel added me to a chat group of bigwigs. Upon entry, I saw a historical author lamenting, "The new book only has two hundred collections."
As a loser about to offer comfort, I saw the historical author's second sentence: "It's been almost half an hour since the book was released."
Is this the world of the strong?!
By the way, this historical piece is called Shaosong.
```