My Computer Leads to an Instance Dungeon-Chapter 153 - 128: There’s Been an Accident

"A 'graduate' from Tilanqiao?"

Fang Zhen was a little surprised.

Tilanqiao, the Xia Country's famous retraining base for high-level technical talent. Exceptional professional skills were the basic entry requirement; if you didn't have some serious operational chops, getting admitted was tough.

It housed a large number of talents from politics, economics, and business, who frequently engaged in high-tech exchanges and channel expansion. Whether you were an audacious up-and-comer with a few years under your belt or a seasoned veteran of politics and business, Tilanqiao could teach you new things, show you new horizons, and popularize the latest practical techniques.

At the same time, Tilanqiao also provided free legal education, striving to turn everyone who studied there into a professional-level practitioner of criminal, civil, and contract law, allowing them to contribute to society again in different ways.

There's a joke: Where in Shanghai is the density of political and business talent highest? The correct answer is Tilanqiao.

Although it was a joke, it wasn't far from the truth.

Fang Zhen felt he had to ask about this. He was intrigued by this "talent."

He gave Wang Donglai a call.

The call connected quickly.

"Wow, your connections are getting wilder and wilder. How do you know a talent like this?" Fang Zhen asked.

Over the phone, Wang Donglai laughed and said, "HAHAHA, his name is He Yilin. I met him at a dinner party for a former boss. I was there, and this expert was working as that boss's vice president."

"The moment we spoke, I could tell he had a high IQ, thought things through very comprehensively, and had strong professional skills. After a few more encounters, and hearing about him from others, I learned that this top student graduated from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, went to Tilanqiao, and only started working for that boss after he got out."

"Huh? Is that something you can just talk about? And doesn't this He Yilin already have a boss? Why is he out looking for a job again? Is he job-hopping?" Fang Zhen asked.

Wang Donglai said, "Not exactly. He Yilin never mentioned it. It was his boss who loved to show off and told us. He was probably trying to show how broad-minded he was, that he could tolerate and dare to use any kind of talent."

"He Yilin did a great job at that company. I heard his thinking is exceptionally meticulous, covering all the bases. And he really wouldn't do anything illegal. He'd even legalize things that were in the gray area. His methods were unorthodox, but he did very well."

"The reason he's job-hunting isn't because of any problem with He Yilin; it's his boss who ran into trouble. That boss didn't know what was good for him and got into gambling. He got addicted and played for huge stakes, losing several hundred million in two years. Now he's abandoned the company, hundreds of people are owed back pay, and he's nowhere to be found. Probably skipped town."

"He Yilin was a victim of circumstance. Now he's forced to be unemployed and is pretty desperate to find his next gig."

"Oh, so it wasn't his fault," Fang Zhen said.

He glanced at the time. It was almost time for lunch. He said, "It's about that time. Let's have lunch together and talk in person."

"Alright," Wang Donglai said.

Fang Zhen hung up, tidied himself up, and prepared to leave.

A little over forty minutes later, at a bullfrog hotpot restaurant, Fang Zhen met Wang Donglai.

Wang Donglai was as chubby as ever, and just as agile. He was a cheerful, optimistic fat guy who was broad-minded and took everything in stride.

Dressed for comfort in a white athletic T-shirt and shorts, Wang Donglai walked in holding a glass jar. He greeted Fang Zhen and came over.

After walking over, Wang Donglai placed the glass jar on Fang Zhen's table and said, "Brought you a gift."

Fang Zhen looked at the glass jar and asked, "What is this? It looks like honey."

"It is honey." Wang Donglai sat down, poured himself a glass of dark beer from the tall glass on the table, took a big gulp, and then said, "This morning, I went to collect rent for one of my dad's properties. The tenant has a habit of always leaving the windows open. Bees were flying in and out, but he didn't mind and wasn't scared."

"Then, a couple of days ago, he discovered a beehive built on his ceiling."

"I called the fire department, and they got three jin of honey out of it."

"I kept two jin for myself and thought of you with the remaining one. That's what's in the glass jar."

"HAHAHA!" Fang Zhen couldn't help but laugh.

'Is that even possible?'

"Sorry, I don't usually laugh unless I can't help it," Fang Zhen said with a smile. "Looking on the bright side, this shows a perfect harmony between man and nature."

"The city's great environment, plus the well-done flowers and greenery in the residential complex, gave the bees plenty of nectar sources."

"That's very thoughtful of you. I'll give it a try when I get back."

"Yeah, it tastes pretty good. I've already had a couple of spoonfuls. It's quite sweet," Wang Donglai said.

Just then, a waiter came over. Fang Zhen ordered a bullfrog and shrimp pot and waited for the food to arrive.

"Hehehe, after all these years, I still love bullfrog. You still remembered, Brother Zhen," Wang Donglai said with a laugh.

"Of course," Fang Zhen nodded.

He and Wang Donglai had known each other for many years. He had watched his friend's family rise up step by step.

Wang Donglai wasn't born a second-generation heir. The reason his family was well-off now was mainly that his father had worked hard, fighting his way up to become a first-generation tycoon, which in turn gave Wang Donglai the chance to be a second-generation heir.

Fang Zhen remembered it clearly. He had watched his buddy's family go from doing business with a small pushcart, to a man-powered tricycle, then an electric tricycle, then a van, a pickup truck, a sedan, an entry-level Mercedes, all the way up to a Mercedes S-Class.

Wang Donglai's own business talent was perhaps average, but his father was more like a child of fortune, riding the waves of the era. He never missed a single one of the biggest tides of wealth.

The hotpot base arrived quickly, and Fang Zhen and Wang Donglai ate as they talked.

"By the way, you're hiring a VP. Are you serious about getting into business now? I thought you said you didn't really want to enter the business world," Wang Donglai asked while picking up a piece of bullfrog leg.

"Not exactly. The reason I don't want to get into business is that I don't like dealing with too many people, especially when profits are involved. It gets messy," Fang Zhen said. "But things have changed recently."

"I've recently opened up a few channels and can get my hands on some really solid goods. I don't even have to market them; I can make money just by reselling them."

"So I was thinking of making that trading company a real, operational business."

"Oh, like that Cinnabar Ore thing from last time, right? I've gotta say, that stuff was seriously top-notch," Wang Donglai said.

"If that's the case, hiring that He Yilin guy would actually be perfect. He's a specialist in exactly this field."

"Yeah, let's arrange a meeting with him," Fang Zhen said. "If he's a good fit for what I want to do, what would be an appropriate monthly salary?"

"I think somewhere between twenty and thirty thousand a month should be enough," Wang Donglai said after a moment's thought. "Aside from some major corporations, so-called executives at normal companies only make twenty or thirty thousand a month, especially in a place like Xiahai. This isn't Shanghai, Beijing, or Shenzhen. Twenty or thirty thousand is a pretty high salary here."

"If it's a stable twenty or thirty thousand, you can retain people. If he does a good job or has special skills and channels, you can always make up for it with a year-end bonus."

Fang Zhen nodded.

'If He Yilin could help commercialize the items I'm bringing back from the instance world, and in the future, handle back taxes, file the right documents, and secure permits and operating licenses for sensitive resources, then twenty or thirty thousand a month really isn't much at all.'

"Okay, send him my WeChat and set up a time for an interview."

Wang Donglai nodded.

The meal was quite enjoyable. Wang Donglai, for his part, said that if any money-making opportunities came up, Fang Zhen shouldn't forget his brother.

Fang Zhen agreed.

In reality, Fang Zhen already had some business principles even before he started. One of them was to never go into a joint-stock business with friends.

Friends are friends. Don't get together to do business. Otherwise, whether it's because of profits, disagreements, or both sides feeling wronged because they think they contribute more and get less, problems are bound to arise sooner or later.

When that happens, you can't even be friends anymore.

Fang Zhen had no intention of testing human nature and verifying their friendship with money. That would be rather foolish.

But there could be two exceptions.

The first is when one person is in absolute control, and the others are just assistants.

The other is to cooperate without being partners. The businesses are actually completely separate—you do your thing, I do mine—but they can interface with each other.

Fang Zhen's agreement with Wang Donglai was based on this second option.

'If I bring back valuable items from the instance world and commercialize them, I'll still want 100% control of the company. However, I can be flexible about who I choose as an agent to distribute those fine goods.'

'From the looks of it, the quality of the output from the instance world is quite high. Good products don't have to worry about sales; plenty of rich people would want to buy them. If the business really took off, there would be no problem with Wang Donglai acting as an agent.'

'After all, if the products are really best-sellers, whoever sells them will make money. And if everyone is going to make money anyway, why not let my brother get a piece of the action?'

The meal finished, and both men were quite satisfied.

Wang Donglai had a date to play badminton with a girl in the afternoon. Since he had been drinking, he called for a designated driver and left first.

Fang Zhen prepared to head home as well.

It had been a pleasant meal, and he felt a lot of his stress melt away.

While calling for a ride-share, he idly scrolled through WeChat and saw that a new message had just come in.

It was from Xia Siwei.

Life Like a Summer Flower: "About the dinner we planned for this weekend... I might not be able to make it."

Fang Zhen saw it and replied, "What happened?"

Life Like a Summer Flower: [Image], [Image]

Fang Zhen looked and saw photos of Xia Siwei lying in a hospital bed. Her arm was wrapped in bandages, a square gauze patch was taped to her face, and she was wearing a hospital gown.

"Huh? What happened to you?" Fang Zhen replied.

Life Like a Summer Flower: "I fell while riding my dirt bike. Had some bad luck and hit my head on a sharp rock. Luckily, my helmet was good quality and saved my life, but the face shield shattered and my face got scraped up."

Life Like a Summer Flower: "The doctor said I might have a scar on my face. My looks are ruined. But maybe that's a good thing. From now on, I'll have to rely on pure talent to make a living, hahaha."

Fang Zhen was a little stunned.

He could tell Xia Siwei was hit hard by this.

This wasn't just finding joy in misery; it was forcing a smile. It even felt like she was rambling and giving up on herself.

"Where are you?" Fang Zhen asked.

Life Like a Summer Flower: "Don't worry about me. Go on with your business. I'm fine. Really, I can handle a lot. It's just a ruined face, I can take it, hahaha. I'm not fragile."

"I'm not afraid of you seeing me, what's there to be afraid of? Anyway, I was pretty for over twenty years, so that's a lucky bonus, right? So what if my face is ruined? I can still make a living, right? Besides, I'm not the kind of person who cares that much about looks…"

Seeing Xia Siwei's rambling on WeChat, Fang Zhen let out a long breath.

'If you don't care, why are you saying so much?'

"I'm asking where you are. Tell me the location," Fang Zhen replied.

Xia Siwei didn't reply for a long time.

Just as Fang Zhen was about to call her, Xia Siwei sent a location pin.

Xiahai People's Hospital, Inpatient Department, Third Floor, 3705.