NHWSG chapter 2

Compared to the newly built high-rises inside the community, the building in front of him was relatively plain.

It was a standalone apartment building, semi-new but not old, with a ground-floor lobby and a total of seven floors. Sheng Zhao instinctively looked up; he noticed that two of the windows still had lights on, indicating that someone was already living inside.

“This…,” Sheng Zhao pointed to the residential area behind him and asked, “Is this also a building in Green Garden?”

“No, this is separate,” Manager Li said.

Leading Sheng Zhao a dozen steps forward, Manager Li brought him to a room similar to a security booth, took out a key, and opened the door.

Inside the room was a desk with scattered documents. Two foldable chairs were placed on either side of the desk, probably for both work and guests.

Sheng Zhao had previously interviewed for a logistic clerk position at a construction site, and the working environment there was even more rudimentary than the current activity room. So, Sheng Zhao accepted it quite well, without much psychological disparity.

Sitting behind the desk, Manager Li pointed to the chair opposite and said, “Please have a seat.”

Sheng Zhao sat down somewhat reservedly and then took out his resume from his bag, handing it to Manager Li.

Ignoring the work environment and company size, Sheng Zhao did have some expectations for this job. Although the monthly salary mentioned in the job posting was average, the stability of the job was crucial. Most importantly, Sheng Zhao’s dormitory was about to expire.

Manager Li opened his resume, glanced through it cursorily, and then looked up at Sheng Zhao.

Sheng Zhao felt a bit nervous.

Encouraging himself in his mind, he began frantically memorizing the hundred techniques of interview skills.

“The birthday on the resume is November 11th, 1995, right?” Manager Li asked. “Is it in the lunar calendar or the solar calendar?”

“Well, the main reason I chose this job is—ah?” Sheng Zhao, as soon as he heard the question, reflexively started answering with the usual interview cliches. It wasn’t until halfway through that he realized something was off.

“Sorry, I misheard.” Sheng Zhao cleared his throat and said, “It’s a solar calendar birthday, the first day of the tenth month in the lunar calendar.”

Fortunately, Manager Li didn’t pay much attention. He smiled, put down the resume, and politely said, “Nice birthday.”

Sheng Zhao awkwardly smiled. He had interviewed with about twenty companies and had never encountered such an opening line. He was a bit confused. If he hadn’t checked the company’s qualifications on the app before coming, he would have thought it was a pyramid scheme.

“Right, you should be clear about the conditions here. The internship salary is 3,500, and after becoming a regular employee, it’s 4,000 plus bonuses, with five insurances and one fund.” Manager Li said seriously, “But the job here is a bit special, and sometimes you may need to work overtime. Can you accept that?”

Sheng Zhao wasn’t surprised at all. After all, the company provided accommodation, so he was mentally prepared for overtime.

“How often do I need to work overtime?” Sheng Zhao asked.

“Not too often,” Manager Li said. “It’s called overtime, but the work is quite leisurely. As long as you are on duty, you can casually play games or browse the internet.”

Sheng Zhao thought this was just a polite remark, but the conditions were already good for him. Some of his classmates who joined internet companies not only worked overtime but practically lived at their desks.

“Okay,” Sheng Zhao said, “I think I can accept that.”

Manager Li seemed pleased. He closed Sheng Zhao’s resume, stood up from behind the desk, and said, “Since there are no issues, when can you start? Can you start now?”

“…Huh?” Sheng Zhao had never seen such a decisive interviewer. He was a bit stunned.

“So, does that mean I passed the interview?” Sheng Zhao pointed to himself. “You don’t need to ask me anything else about my work experience or reasons for applying for this job?”

“What reasons can there be for finding a job? Isn’t it just for money?” Manager Li asked strangely.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

True, that’s right.

“If we called you for an interview, it means you meet our employment requirements. Since you have no issues with the salary and benefits, what else is there to ask?” Manager Li inquired.

“…Indeed, there’s nothing else,” Sheng Zhao said with a straight face.

“In that case, when can you start working?” Manager Li said, “Well, since we are a bit short-handed right now, the sooner, the better.”

Sheng Zhao had never seen such a straightforward and refreshing boss. He felt a bit unaccustomed.

“I’m fine anytime,” Sheng Zhao said. “But I might need to take a few days off to go back to school to handle graduation matters.”

“That’s not a problem.” Manager Li was easygoing. “So, can you start now? We need someone urgently.”

Sheng Zhao thought, can I leave immediately now? He felt that the situation was getting more and more unreliable, and he couldn’t help but waver. But he was afraid of overthinking and missing out on other job opportunities after this one.

No problem, Sheng Zhao tried to convince himself in his mind: it’s a lawful society, there shouldn’t be so many life traps.

The entrance of the small building he passed by earlier had a transparent glass door, and a small access control box was used for card swiping. While waiting for Manager Li to swipe the card, Sheng Zhao took the opportunity to glance inside. On the right side of the first floor lobby were two elevators, and on the left side, there was a slightly open door, presumably leading to the stairwell.

The corridor between the stairs and the elevator, a few steps further in, extended to the left and right, probably leading to ordinary residential units.

Manager Li swiped the access card, gesturing for Sheng Zhao to enter.

“Come in,” Manager Li said.

This interview went too smoothly for Sheng Zhao, making him feel uneasy. He peeked inside, assessing the possibility of stumbling into an illegal organization. Cautiously, he followed Manager Li into the lobby.

The first-floor lobby was quite spacious, with bulletin boards on both sides of the walls. Glancing around, Sheng Zhao noticed that the left bulletin board was standard, mostly containing notices about property water fees or community announcements to the owners, seemingly ordinary.

However, the right bulletin board appeared somewhat peculiar. About half the height of the wall, it was divided into a grid with horizontal and vertical lines. Some squares had two-inch headshots attached, with name tags below.

“What’s this?” Sheng Zhao asked, “Are these colleagues?”

“No,” Manager Li, walking ahead, turned around and said, “Those are residents of this building.”

Sheng Zhao was startled, finding the bulletin board a bit strange upon closer inspection.

—Who hangs their own photos and names in the lobby of a building? It’s not a college dormitory.

Sheng Zhao wondered about this as Manager Li reached the door of 103. He took out a key from his pocket, opened the door, and motioned for Sheng Zhao to follow.

“This is the company-provided accommodation, two bedrooms and one living room, with a sunny balcony,” Manager Li said. “If you don’t have a place to stay outside, you can live here.”

The exterior of the building looked unremarkable, but the interior was surprisingly well-decorated. Room 103 was arranged like a model room, simple in decoration but equipped with all necessary appliances. After a quick tour, Sheng Zhao had a rough idea.

Initially, he was wondering if this job was reliable, but now, considering the “accommodation conditions,” he felt it wouldn’t hurt to agree for now.

—Even if later on, he discovers the company can’t pay wages or is a shell company, at least he enjoyed free accommodation.

“What’s the scope of this job?” Sheng Zhao asked somewhat reservedly. “And what about working hours?”

“Working hours are from 8 am to 5 pm. The daily work is simple, just some routine management,” Manager Li pointed to Room 102 and said, “That’s the office. You just need to be on duty regularly. If the upstairs residents need something, they’ll call you.”

“What do they usually need?” Sheng Zhao asked cautiously. “And if there’s something I can’t handle, where do I find a supervisor for guidance?”

Manager Li directly ignored the first half of his question, closed the door of 103, and said, “If you can’t handle it, just leave it alone.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

In just ten minutes, Sheng Zhao was shocked for the third time. He couldn’t help but wonder in his mind, what kind of magical property management company could survive with such a service attitude in human society.

“What about my main job responsibilities?” Sheng Zhao asked.

Manager Li led him back to the lobby on the first floor, standing in front of the bulletin board with residents’ headshots.

Sheng Zhao followed him in confusion, looking up at the bulletin board together.

From the form on the bulletin board, the layout of this building was typical, with three households on each floor. Almost every floor had occupants, except for the fifth floor, and the rest of the floors were not fully occupied.

In addition, the form for the seventh floor consisted of three connected sections, indicating some residents, but the spaces for headshots were blank. Only one name tag was lonely pasted there, not easy to see without careful observation.

—Xing Yingzhu.

A distinctive name, Sheng Zhao thought.

“Your office has a phone book with the numbers of various job types,” Manager Li said. “There are dedicated people for plumbing, cleaning, and security in this building. If there’s a problem, just call someone.”

Manager Li turned around, facing Sheng Zhao. The smile disappeared from his face, replaced by a serious and solemn expression as he patted Sheng Zhao’s shoulder.

For some reason, Sheng Zhao inexplicably sensed a bit of a dignified aura from the round face of the other person with kind eyes.

“Your main job is—” Manager Li pointed to the bulletin board on the seventh floor, “Have you seen the resident on the seventh floor? Your main job is to deliver meals to him.”

Sheng Zhao: “…Huh???”