"Really, they even suspected you, those police really lack professionalism."
Inside the villa, Liu Yingying was still indignant on Su Jie's behalf.
"The police are just serving the people, and as citizens, cooperating with them is the right thing to do. After all, if you're innocent, you have nothing to fear."
Speaking with integrity, Su Jie was telling the truth.
All night long, he hadn't laid a finger on anyone; it was all the doing of the thousand-hand centipede.
When animals kill people, it's the thousand-hand centipede they should be catching, right?
Thousand-hand centipede: Squeak?
"Let's not talk about this anymore, Yingying, are you interested in becoming my secretary?"
"Ah! A secretary, me?"
Taken aback by Su Jie's sudden change of subject, Liu Yingying was utterly bewildered.
"You heard just now, didn't you? I'm dealing with some wood materials, and I don't have any reliable help on this side. I was thinking, since you've got some abilities, why not quit your job and come help me?"
With his legs crossed, Su Jie pushed a drafted employment contract across the table.
When Liu Yingying saw the salary figure on the contract, her mouth fell open in shock.
"Does this... does this count as being kept by you?"
Liu Yingying's heart raced, the number causing her mouth to go dry.
"Don't speak so crudely, I appreciate your abilities."
Su Jie poked Liu Yingying's forehead; he had limited time in Blue Star and needed someone to help watch over things.
Liu Yingying was relatively close to him. Regardless of her abilities, ensuring a certain level of loyalty was all that mattered.
Besides, Su Jie wasn't afraid of betrayal; just look at what happened with Cui Yunchun.
"Hehe, I don't see any reason not to agree. From now on, I'll rely on Mr. Su to take good care of me."
After considering for a few seconds, Liu Yingying readily agreed, believing that making the right choices was more important than trying hard.
In fact, she didn't mind being kept at all. Being a golden canary wasn't so bad, especially since Su Jie was neither old nor ugly. He was in great shape, thrilling her to death in bed, and not to mention, Su Jie had given her a platform to showcase herself.
Patting Liu Yingying on the head, Su Jie said with a smile, "You little rascal, I'll discipline you tonight. Go tell the auntie to prepare some tea; a guest will be arriving shortly."
"Already bossing me around, huh!"
Liu Yingying gave Su Jie a peck on the face and then left with a happy spring in her step.
...
Twenty minutes later, the guest Su Jie mentioned arrived.
At Jingjiang No.1 Villa, Liang Lianjun sat cautiously across from Su Jie, feeling very nervous.
"What's the matter, Manager Liang? You've grown distant after not seeing me for two days."
Serving Liang Lianjun a cup of tea personally, Su Jie said with a smile.
"No... no, I just, I just didn't expect Mr. Su to invite me for tea."
Liang Lianjun hurriedly held the tea with both hands, yet what Su Jie said next made Liang Lianjun's heart tremble.
"Ah, what can I say? After that kind of incident, inviting you over for tea is just to understand the situation. Chairman Cui was a good man; how could he die so suddenly? I was even planning to sell him this batch of wood materials."
The cup clattered!
His hand shaking, the scalding tea spilled, and Liang Lianjun almost jumped out of his seat.
"What's wrong? Is the tea not to your liking?"
"No, no, I'm just a little excited, haha, haha, I'm really fine."
Liang Lianjun's smile was extremely stiff.
When he heard about Cui Yunchun's death in a fire a couple of days ago, a terrifying hypothesis crossed his mind.
He had also heard that Cui Yunchun came from a shady background, and at the time, he wondered why Cui would refuse to purchase Su Jie's batch of wood.
Putting together the fact that Su Jie's warehouse burned down, followed by the night when Cui Yunchun was burned to death at home, even without evidence, one could surmise a lot from the motives.
"You seem very afraid of me?"
Su Jie's smile was amiable and sincere as he said, "Let me make it clear! I'm genuinely saddened by Chairman Cui's passing, but life must go on, right? You shouldn't dwell too much on it either."
"Mr. Su, I'm not..."
"Alright, I know you're a man of loyalty. I called you here because I value that loyalty. I'm thinking of starting a furniture company and you have many years of experience in the industry. I'll just come right out with it—I want to poach you to work for me as the General Manager."
"Cough, cough."
Choking on his tea, Liang Lianjun caught his breath.
"Su... Mr. Su, wasn't your batch of wood burned? How come you're still thinking of..."
"Oh, that? I've already purchased a new batch, identical to the previous one in quality. You can rest assured."
Liang Lianjun became even more suspicious when he heard this.
In his view, the 'material' Su Jie mentioned might very well be something snatched back from Chairman Cui.
"This is the annual salary I'm offering you. Perform well and there's a bonus too. You can think it over. I'm the kind of person who never shortchanges those who work earnestly for me."
Su Jie knew that talk is cheap, so he used the power of cash to put forth a contract.
Just like Liu Yingying's reaction before, Liang Lianjun, who had intended to refuse Su Jie's offer, found himself unable to utter his rejection upon seeing the sincerity of the contract before him.
Simply because the figures on the contract were too dazzling.
"You know my strength. If you come work for me, I can't promise other things, but a constant supply of high-quality wood material is guaranteed. Coupled with your abilities and connections, our new company will surely be able to quickly break into the high-end furniture market."
Recruiting Liang Lianjun was a move Su Jie had contemplated.
Merely selling raw materials would always attract attention. If that was the case, it might be better to process the wood material himself and sell directly to consumers.
Liang Lianjun, with his years of industry experience, capability, and connections, would certainly be more than adequate as a General Manager.
Swallowing hard, although he surmised that Su Jie might be involved in illegal activities, the contract was just too tempting.
Even though he knew that working with Su Jie came with risks, Liang Lianjun couldn't resist the lure. After several minutes of hesitation, he finally picked up the contract from the table.
"Mr. Su... Mr. Su, I don't have experience in managing a company's overall operations, but since you hold me in high regard, as long as I'm still in the position, I will absolutely manage the company with dedication and help sell our furniture all over the country."
"That's the spirit, I believe in you."
Su Jie shook hands with Liang Lianjun, then called over Liu Yingying: "This is my personal secretary, Liu Yingying. When I'm not around, you can go to her with anything, and she'll pass it on to me."
"Nice to meet you, Secretary Liu."
"Nice to meet you, Manager Liang."
After the introductions, Su Jie continued, "You guys start with the company registration. Elder Liang, take a look at acquiring a processing plant. I'm allocating thirty million in funds for you, that should be enough, right?"
The thirty million was what Su Jie had mortgaged Jingjiang No.1 Villa for from the bank.
"That's plenty, that's plenty. But Mr. Su, what's the name of our new company?"
Liang Lianjun was even more excited now, with abundant company funds providing him the confidence to work energetically.
"Let's call it... Tianyuan Home."