NHWSG chapter 1

“Next stop, Fuxing Intersection. Passengers getting off, please use the rear door in an orderly manner—”

The middle-aged driver, impatient by nature, pressed the stop button before the announcement finished. He casually picked up a damp towel hanging on the gear lever and draped it over his left forearm.

May was an awkward season. Although summer had not officially arrived, the sun in the commercial city had already become scorching. Bright sunlight spilled onto the asphalt roads, carrying a faint scent of heat.

The old bus lacked air conditioning, with only an outdated electric fan mounted on the ceiling of the cabin. It creaked as it turned, diligently blowing hot air outside. The open windows proved more effective.

On a weekday at half-past eleven in the morning, the streets were sparsely populated. Bus 628 followed a circular route around the city, and most passengers had disembarked before leaving the city center. Only a few dozed off in their seats.

In the second-to-last row, by the window, sat a young man in a white shirt. He appeared to be around twenty-four or twenty-five, with a gentle demeanor. Wearing wired earphones, he hugged a fluffy backpack in his arms, leaning against the window in a deep sleep.

The sunlight directly hit him, blending with the early summer breeze, creating a warm and cozy atmosphere.

Seemingly comforted by this warmth, he pressed his head against the window, sleeping soundly.

Six minutes later, Bus 628 arrived at the station. The announcement, spoken in a dialect, echoed as the young man’s forehead gently touched the window due to the braking force, rousing him from his drowsiness.

The young man frowned, tilting his head to avoid the glaring sunlight. He lazily yawned, sitting up straight, unzipped his backpack, and pulled out a thin folder.

As the bus completed boarding and disembarking, closing both front and rear doors, it moved forward slowly before leaving the station and returning to the main road.

The young man opened the folder and took out his resume, glancing through it from top to bottom while the bus was still en route.

The more he read, the more disheartened he became. Midway through, he gave up, closed the folder, and sighed heavily against the bus window.

Life is too tough, Sheng Zhao thought.

Sheng Zhao, at the age of twenty-four, had just graduated from college. He attended an ordinary undergraduate program in the commercial city, where he spent four unremarkable years. His most notable extracurricular achievement was helping a female classmate move tables during a school social event. Aside from basic personal information and academic history, his resume was mostly empty in terms of “honors” and “work experience.”

Approaching graduation season, most of Sheng Zhao’s classmates had already found their paths, either securing job offers or preparing for postgraduate studies. Some, like Sheng Zhao, who found themselves in a situation of neither high nor low prospects, were mostly returning to their hometowns to prepare for civil service exams.

Sheng Zhao missed the spring recruitment season, didn’t want to return to his hometown, so he could only cast his resume far and wide during this period before graduation, hoping to find a job first.

Unfortunately, the current employers seemed schizophrenic. Job postings would state “hiring recent graduates” but also demanded “one to two years of full-time work experience.” Sheng Zhao visited about twenty companies in the past two weeks, and almost every HR representative kindly informed him, “We will notify you if there’s any news,” and then… there was no follow-up.

Reflecting on this, Sheng Zhao sighed deeply.

With unsuccessful interviews, he had to loosen his original job requirements and at least find some work for the time being.

Today’s interview was with a company far from the city center, located in the newly developed area. Unlike the powerful cities of the north, south, east, and west, the commercial city, despite creating a “new development area” to align with the times, had been “developing” for six or seven years without any significant progress. Aside from a few real estate developers hastily constructing a few buildings, there was a half-finished large amusement park standing alone. After several years of construction and deconstruction, there was no progress, resembling more of a suburb with uncertain prospects.

If Sheng Zhao had the choice, he wouldn’t have preferred to travel so far for an interview. It took over two hours from his university to this company, with three bus transfers, making the commuting cost extremely daunting. When he received the interview invitation, Sheng Zhao initially wanted to decline. It was only when the HR representative mentioned accommodation that he changed his mind and decided to attend.

This company had minimal information on recruitment apps, a small property management firm with fewer than fifty employees, inconspicuously mixed among numerous high-tech job postings. When Sheng Zhao received the interview call, he was momentarily stunned. After hastily checking his resume submission history, he reluctantly found information about this company.

Lock Linglong Property Company – Sheng Zhao silently mocked the name for quite a while, thinking, “What a peculiar name. The boss’s taste and literary cultivation are really worrying.”

But regardless of his silent mockery, for Sheng Zhao, a college student eagerly looking for a job, as long as the other party could afford the salary, it didn’t matter if the company was called “Lock Linglong” or “Demon-sealing Tower.”

With over twenty minutes remaining until the final stop of this bus route, Sheng Zhao put away his resume and leaned against the window, scrolling through his phone.

Most of the history of resume submissions already showed as completed, and a few were still pending. Sheng Zhao didn’t place all his hopes on today, so he casually replied to two more interview invitations within the apps, preparing to try his luck elsewhere if today didn’t work out.

As he was closing pop-up windows one by one, a new text message appeared at the top of the screen from an unknown number, asking where he was and if he could find the interview location.

Sheng Zhao instinctively sat up straight. The scheduled interview was at 1:30 PM, still over an hour away. Sheng Zhao wasn’t worried about being late, but he found it strange that the other party seemed more anxious than a job seeker.

“I’m on my way,” Sheng Zhao typed on his phone, holding it with both hands. “About twenty minutes before I get off.”

The reply came quickly. Sheng Zhao opened the new message to find the other party had sent an address with the additional line, “If you can’t find it, feel free to call.”

Without much thought, Sheng Zhao thanked them in a text, and there was no further response.

Twenty minutes later, the bus smoothly stopped at the final station.

As the last passenger on the bus, Sheng Zhao received a polite “Don’t forget anything” from the driver when he disembarked.

Copying the address from the previous message into his navigation app, Sheng Zhao found that the residential complex was about a little over a kilometer away from the final stop of Bus 628. Despite being called a “residential complex,” there were only a few buildings around.

The navigation app switched to walking mode, and Sheng Zhao, holding his phone, spun around in place before choosing a direction to move forward.

He first sent a text informing the other party that he had gotten off the bus, then removed his earphones, coiling them up and tucking them into his pocket. Following the guidance from the navigation app, he started walking.

Compared to the city center, this side of the new development area was much quieter. The roads were wide and new, with only a few cars on the street.

There were also few businesses on both sides of the road. Looking ahead, there were only a few completed high-rise buildings that appeared to be residential. However, the deep blue construction boards at the roadside had not been removed, indicating that they were not yet ready for occupancy.

Sheng Zhao walked under the shade of robust flame trees, flourishing with leaves in the current summer season. Disliking the direct sunlight, he intentionally walked beneath the tree canopies.

He walked for about ten minutes along the main road, then turned left onto a smaller street as directed by the navigation.

The address provided by the interview company was still a short distance from the roadside. Sheng Zhao meandered through two rows of storefronts before finally reaching his destination.

From a distance, he spotted a man standing at the entrance of a residential complex named “Green Garden.” The man was craning his neck and peering in his direction.

Instinctively feeling that the man was waiting for him, Sheng Zhao slowed down when passing him, hesitatingly slowing his pace and glancing at him several times.

The man seemed to share Sheng Zhao’s thoughts. After making eye contact several times, he took the initiative to speak, “Excuse me, are you Mr. Sheng?”

“Yes, yes, yes.” Sheng Zhao quickly stopped and, with an almost secret agent tone, hesitated before asking, “Are you… Mr. Li, the manager of Lock Linglong Property Company?”

In fact, it’s not surprising that Sheng Zhao hesitated; it’s just that this “Mr. Li” was quite different from what he had imagined.

This man was not tall, around 1.7 meters. He had a round figure, wearing a long-sleeved linen cardigan. On his left wrist was a string of purple sandalwood beads the size of thumbnails. When he smiled, his eyes squinted, giving off a very kind appearance.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Manager Li smiled and said, “Our place is a bit hard to find, so I thought I’d come out to meet you.”

Sheng Zhao had never encountered such a friendly HR since he started job hunting. While feeling pleasantly surprised, he also had some concerns, wondering if he had stumbled upon some kind of pyramid scheme or a small workshop.

Fortunately, “Manager Li” didn’t hear Sheng Zhao’s thoughts. He gestured politely to Sheng Zhao, leading him into the residential complex while saying, “What position are you interviewing for – Property Manager?”

“Yes,” Sheng Zhao said.

Holding onto his backpack strap tightly, Sheng Zhao followed the man into the residential complex, taking in the surroundings while doing so.

To be honest, the environment here was much better than he had imagined. Although there were not many buildings in this residential complex, they were all newly constructed high-rises. The greenery in the complex was well done, with ample space between buildings. There was an underground parking lot, a community garden, and an on-site supermarket and gym. It didn’t look like some unscrupulous unfinished project.

Sheng Zhao’s heart relaxed slightly.

“Is the manager responsible for managing this community?” Sheng Zhao asked.

“No,” the man smiled and said, “Your applied position is at the back – someone else manages this community.”

“Oh.” Sheng Zhao scratched his head and asked, “So what does the Property Manager I’m applying for manage?”

While speaking, the man had led Sheng Zhao to the side entrance of the residential complex. He touched a few pockets on his clothes and then pulled out a door card from the right pocket, swiping it to open the door.

Sheng Zhao followed him outside, and when they turned a quiet corner, the man pointed to a seven-story gray building, saying, “Manage this one.”

The slight relief Sheng Zhao felt just now was once again suspended.