"Didn't you hear? It's a side job. He's already a government Visitation Specialist, and now he's doubling as a manager. Damn, that's hitting the jackpot."
Manager Tuo lifted his loudspeaker, squinted at his notes, and began shouting, "Alright, I'll explain the salary and ranking system first. Listen up, everyone. You'd better record this on your phones or take notes. Our benefits are real and verifiable."
"Holy shit, guess it's legit then."
"Shut up, quiet down!"
The place went dead silent.
"First of all," Manager Tuo continued, "there's no difference between full-time and temp workers here. We only have employees ranked from zero-star to ten-star. The higher your rank, the better your benefits.
The first hundred people to reach three stars will be promoted to team leaders, and the first ten to reach five stars will become shift supervisors.
Five-star employees and above will receive free daily necessities, unlimited vegetables and buns for the whole family, private rooms, and even an electric scooter with a rechargeable battery!"
The crowd broke into a commotion again. The benefits sounded almost too good to be true. One person's salary could apparently feed an entire family of three.
"Now I know you're all curious about how to get promoted and how the pay works," Manager Tuo said. "Here's how. Your salary depends on your daily completed work, paid in the form of points. Points can be exchanged for food and supplies from the factory, or converted into virtual coins on the app at a 1:1 rate. However, virtual coins can't be converted back into points. Points can't be traded, but you can use them to buy things for others. Both have equal value."
Everyone exhaled in relief. As long as they could convert them to virtual coins, that was good enough.
Manager Tuo flipped another page of his notes. "Second, your star rank depends on your total accumulated points. Spending points doesn't affect your ranking, so don't worry.
LV1: 10 points.
Benefits: two free cafeteria meals a month. Shared dorm, 16 people per room, 1 point monthly rent.
LV2: 100 points.
Includes all previous perks plus two monthly VIP rice or bun rations. Shared dorm, 8 people per room, 5 points monthly rent.
LV3: 1,000 points.
Adds three monthly VIP vegetable rations and one winter coat. Shared dorm, 4 people per room, 10 points monthly rent.
LV4: 5,000 points.
Includes all previous perks plus unlimited cafeteria meals for yourself. Shared dorm, 2 people per room, 50 points monthly rent.
LV5: 10,000 points.
All of the above, plus unlimited cafeteria meals for your whole family and an electric scooter. Private deluxe room, 100 points monthly rent."
Gasps filled the hall. People listened closely, counting with their fingers. Just reaching LV2 meant two free cafeteria meals and two bun rations each month—that was worth 8 virtual coins already! And the next rank gave vegetables too.
As the crowd murmured and calculated, Manager Tuo smirked. "Fools," he thought. "You really think you can outsmart Boss Jing?"
Some of them probably believed they could slack off once they hit five stars. Naive. There was still a minimum monthly points quota, and once they realized how much more they could earn at higher ranks—seven, eight, nine stars—they'd end up working even harder. Like the saying goes, "Wool comes from the sheep," but when you make it look free, everyone feels like they're getting a bargain.
He remembered Jing Shu's words:
"Remember, free things are usually the most expensive. The moment you chase something free, you've already started paying for it."
No kidding. Just look at them. For the promise of free family meals, everyone looked ready to go crazy. Shaking his head, he continued,
"Maybe some of you don't get it yet, so I'll give you an example. Let's take Collector Zhang San, Inspector Li Si, and Team Leader Wang Ermazi.
Zhang San's task this week is to collect 100 tons of carrion scavengers for 1,000 virtual coins. Once completed, he'll receive 100 points.
When Zhang San's batch passes inspection, Li Si, the inspector, gets a 1% cut, earning 10 points. Team Leader Wang Ermazi rechecks the batch and gets 0.1%, or 1 point.
If a batch fails inspection, Zhang San and Li Si each lose 10 points, while Wang earns 20 for catching the error. In case of disputes, anyone can appeal to a supervisor or above, and if proven right, the management staff involved will lose their position."
Manager Tuo paused, letting it sink in.
"Now, let's say Zhang San's sitting at LV2 with 100 total points. He gets two free cafeteria meals per month, two bun rations, and an eight-person dorm, but he's must pay 5 points rent.
He can exchange points for virtual coins if he wants, though I'd suggest keeping them. After all, a cafeteria buffet costs only 1 point per meal. It's a steal compared to outside."
The hall erupted again. Everyone was talking at once, asking when work would start and how jobs would be assigned.
Then someone raised a hand. "The dorm's already packed. If some people get two-person or four-person rooms, what about the rest of us?"
Manager Tuo slammed the table. "Good question. Here's the deal. LV1 employees get sixteen-person rooms. LV0 employees, well, you'll have to stay in the hallway. If it's too crowded, you'll need to move out.
The factory officially starts in a few days. Until then, we'll post small temp jobs. The people with the highest points will get to pick their preferred positions first.
There are only limited openings, so it's first come, first served. I'll post the list shortly."
Right then, a scruffy man with a greasy head suddenly jumped onto the stage. He scowled, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Manager Tuo, I've been listening for a while now, and all I hear is you spinning fairy tales. These benefits sound too good to be true. Isn't this just another way to make us work for nothing? What's the difference from digging up corpses every day?"
Manager Tuo frowned, eyeing a few restless troublemakers in the crowd, but he forced himself to stay calm. "If you've got doubts, speak up. Tell me what you're not satisfied with."
The man, nicknamed Lai Ziba, glanced smugly at a silent group behind him before turning back with a smirk. "I'm just saying, Manager Tuo, your whole system's too complicated. I can't remember all that. I just want a simple deal. I work here every day, you feed and house me like a four-star employee, and we call it even. What's with all these fancy rules?"
A soft voice came from the corner. Jing Shu stepped forward, smiling faintly. "Oh? So what you're saying is, you don't want to work, but you still expect to eat and live here for free?"
Lai Ziba looked her up and down, then sneered, "And who the hell are you?"