Chapter 292: Daily Life Ends

Being returned, there was no other way. After all, his setup was indeed simple—just a glass jar, and the manual was handwritten. Conversely, Wang Yan felt lucky that the other seven who received the goods were, to a certain extent, ruthless people. Of course, it also had to do with his promise to issue invoices; this was an absolutely proper transaction that had to be taxed. Although the promise might be invalid, it was still an excuse to believe.

After confirming that all the other seven had received the goods, he issued invoices, found the courier from yesterday to come and pick up the items, and sent them to those seven customers, which could be considered the completion of this transaction.

In the evening, Wang Yan returned home, and after another round of cooking, Wei Lan also added water and fed the cat and dog and sat at the dining table. The two

"That thing you brought back for me yesterday... um..."

Wang Yan reminded her very thoughtfully: "Vitality Pills!" He had given Wei Lan two bottles as soon as he returned yesterday, telling her to start taking them. As for their origin, he had brushed it off with a casual remark. Wei Lan didn't ask again, but she remained skeptical about getting rich from this stuff; after all, it was right to be extremely cautious about things one ingested.

"Oh right, did those Vitality Pills sell?" Wei Lan looked at Wang Yan suspiciously: "Did anyone really buy them?" It wasn't that she was unreasonable, nor that she didn't trust Wang Yan. It was just a glass bottle filled with thirty small, dark brown pills, and then he told her that this medicine would strengthen the body and had no side effects as long as one exercised a little. She believed what Wang Yan said, but that didn't mean others would.

"Of course they sold, though two were refused and returned, so thirteen bottles sold in total. 8,888 per bottle, sold." Wang Yan answered with a smile. Because he had the courier collect the payment on delivery, he was charged a two-point service fee, which came to over two thousand yuan; naturally, this money wasn't calculated into the profit. Plus the account he had tallied when he was hand-rolling the pills, these thirteen bottles really weren't making much money.

"That many?" Wei Lan couldn't believe it and asked weakly: "Is it really okay?"

She still felt that earning this money was a bit uncertain and thought things were fine as they were. After all, just that harassment call system developed for the agency brought in 200,000 a month. After deducting taxes, office space, utilities, employee wages, and all sorts of messy expenses, there was still over 100,000 left, which was already more than half a year of her income. Like this, as long as they saved up, she could take out the 200,000 she had saved, ask for some support from home, and if they didn't have too high of a requirement, they could afford a down payment of over a million and buy a decent house in Lin'an in the second half of the year.

She felt things were fine as they were; she didn't want a bicycle...

"The health supplement company is properly registered, and we have the safety certificates. This medicine is also registered, and we've applied for a patent and filed the records. I'm the legal representative, so what could be the problem? If there's a problem, it can only be that the medicine doesn't work, but I have great confidence in that." Wang Yan shook his head and smiled: "Relax, didn't I tell you? This medicine is very effective. You've only been taking it for a day. Based on your situation, you should be able to perceive a change in your physical condition in about four months. You'll know in a few months, don't worry."

Wei Lan's body was also quite alright; she was a normal person, so it would take a bit longer. If it were an elderly person with poor physical fitness, and they couldn't feel a significant change in three months, then they would basically be beyond saving. Normally, three months is all it takes; the reason he said three to five months was to be conservative. After all, everyone's body is different, and being conservative is never wrong.

Seeing Wei Lan frowning in thought, Wang Yan put a piece of food on her plate: "Alright, stop overthinking it. It's only a few months, it'll go by fast. You'll know whether it's true or false then."

Having comforted Wei Lan, the two continued to eat, turning the conversation to the translation software to divert her attention.

In the time that followed, Wang Yan spent his days frantically transcribing data, occasionally taking on a job for an AI call center with low demand. Because Chen Yang was the only one who could produce results, and counting the translation software in development and the small jobs that came in from time to time, Wang Yan started recruiting again. Actually, he had always been recruiting; it was just that he hadn't taken the initiative to go out and hunt.

Moreover, the recruitment software had a review function. Some people who had come before, for various reasons, would always leave a comment or two. Of course, there wouldn't be anything good said, which to a certain extent affected the reputation of his little workshop.

Of course, none of that mattered. After all, as long as there was work, someone would do it. And he had changed the salary and benefits to be neither too high nor too low, which attracted quite a few people to submit resumes. Although people knew that what was marked on the software might be fake, what if it wasn't? At worst, they just wouldn't work there. It was just an interview; other than time and a tiny bit of travel expenses, there was no loss.

The AI was now considered trained, and it was more than enough to analyze customer needs and the strength of their purchase intent by making calls according to a certain method. Following this method of random dialing across the province, making about two hundred calls a day, after screening, there were over ten good leads on a good day, and only single digits on a bad day.

Sticking to the principle of not doing all the work in one day, recently, before getting off work every day, he would follow up on the calls screened the previous day. When luck was good, it wasn't certain how many would sell—maybe one, two, three, or five bottles—but when luck was bad, not a single bottle would sell, and most of the time, luck was bad... This was even with him, the great swindler Wang, personally taking the field. If an ordinary telemarketer with average business skills were doing this job, they would basically be finished and could starve to death.

The aerospace projects and the multiple iterations of "Chaos"—so many things certainly couldn't be finished in a short time. So, outside of daily life, Wang Yan returned to how he was when he first started working on AI, working day and night, adding extra hours.

Wei Lan didn't know what Wang Yan was frantically doing every day, but she knew that asking wouldn't yield results, so she didn't ask. As for the Vitality Pills, although she was worried, she certainly trusted Wang Yan. It was just that the man she had found for herself was too capable, always inadvertently revealing many abilities.

She had recently been preoccupied with the translation software and also had to film and record the happy life of her cats and dogs to manage her short video account, so she was very busy every day. She was very busy every day, so she temporarily suppressed the matter of the Vitality Pills, just waiting four months to feel the effects. Of course, there was no way to wait otherwise; it was clear she couldn't change Wang Yan's mind. She didn't want to nag constantly, so she could only leave it at that.

Time passed day by day like this—busy, plain, and cozy.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. Wang Yan and his two subordinates finished lunch, took a stroll outside to digest and relax their bodies, and then sauntered back to the little workshop while chatting and laughing.

Just as they stepped out of the elevator, they saw two men waiting at the door of their office.

Wang Yan walked a few steps faster, and while opening the door, he said: "Zhang Xu, Xu Haifeng, right?"

The two nodded politely in agreement.

The one named Zhang Xu was in his thirties, with a round face, wearing glasses, and had the iconic receding hairline that people joked programmers possessed. The other, named Xu Haifeng, was about the same age as Chen Yang, relatively thin, and also wore glasses.

These two were naturally there for an interview, having received an interview invitation from Wang Yan after he screened the resumes he had received. Zhang Xu originally did Android APP development, while Xu Haifeng, like Chen Yang, did AI-related work.

After the group went inside, as usual, Wang Yan didn't bore them by making them do any self-introductions, but instead directly tested their technical levels before starting to talk about salary.

"You've seen the situation here. I don't think there's any problem with your skills. As for here, working overtime is definitely the norm, but the conditions are currently crude and resources are limited, so I definitely can't provide overtime pay, but lunch and dinner when working overtime are covered. Are you two willing to work? If you are, what salary do you want?"

That was how he asked, but after interviewing them, he was still quite satisfied with these two. Otherwise, he wouldn't have said it like that, but would have used a different, more tactful set of words.

The two looked at each other, finding it a bit difficult to speak for a moment.

"It's alright, you don't need to worry, just speak freely. If it's hard to say, that's fine too. Let me tell you about their situations." Wang Yan waved his hand and pointed at Chen Yang and Ma Zichen, who were watching the fun on the side: "Him, he's worked for four years, and here he gets 18,000 pre-tax. He just graduated, hasn't worked for a year, and came from out of town; here he gets 7,000 post-tax with food and housing provided. Tell me how much you want, be generous, it's fine."

He didn't avoid these things; the saying about not asking about other people's salaries didn't exist here. He had always been direct: if you can do that much work and create that much value, you should get that much money. As for other people's little thoughts, he didn't care. Anyway, under his command, if you can't earn that much money, it must be your own problem, definitely not because he is stingy. Even if he stepped away from direct management, this point would remain the same. Employees could avoid talking about it themselves, but he absolutely would not forbid employees from talking.

If one had to say who was having the hardest time in this little workshop now, it was Ma Zichen. He heard it clearly on the side; if these two came in, counting Wang Laoban, there would be five people, and he would be the worst off. But he wouldn't have any complaints. After all, their technical level and experience were there, and for a player who hadn't even worked a year like him, being able to find Wang Laoban and get paid that much was already a stroke of luck.

After hearing Wang Yan's words, Xu Haifeng hesitated for a moment and said: "My situation is about the same as this guy's, so I'll take the same as him, 18,000 pre-tax?"

Like him, someone who had worked for a few years, although he cared a bit about the size of the company, it wasn't too big of a deal. And the reason he cared about the size of the company was more because he valued stability; one could figure out with their feet that large companies were relatively more stable than small ones. He didn't seek breakthroughs, as long as he could earn this much money and work for a long time. After all, he was about to turn thirty and had to consider life more. But recently, many companies had started laying off employees, and even large companies were unreliable, so he could only consider these kinds of small workshops now.

Although the workshop was small, the boss was a good person, and the salary provided wasn't worse than before. Other than the risk of not knowing when it would go bust and lowering the prestige of his resume, everything else was quite good, so he would just ride the donkey to find a horse...

"Okay." After responding, Wang Yan looked at Zhang Xu on the side: "What do you say?"

Zhang Xu pondered for a long time and asked cautiously: "23,000 pre-tax?"

This Zhang Xu looked like a player facing a mid-life crisis; his skills weren't very solid, he couldn't get into a management position, and he was the type who still occupied a spot in the company. Wang Yan didn't really care about those things, but this job was just like that; older people really couldn't outlast young people, and they really didn't learn things as fast as them, and their upper limit was already very low.

Moreover, Zhang Xu was a married man; he had a wife and children to accompany, and a family to support, so he couldn't keep working day and night like this. Although the company was a startup and people were used like livestock, how could he, Wang Laoban, be such a good boss and let Zhang Xu really work day and night? That would be irresponsible to his family. Wang Yan couldn't control what others or other companies did, but he definitely had to look after his own subordinates. But looking after them was one thing; he wasn't running a charity, so the price that should be negotiated had to be negotiated.

After thinking for a while, Wang Yan said: "Let's make it 21,000. Your situation is different from theirs; you can adjust whether you work overtime or not based on your progress."

After another moment of silence, Zhang Xu nodded: "Okay."

At his age, finding a job was genuinely difficult. He couldn't get into large companies, and small companies couldn't afford him, so he was stuck in this middle ground. Even if he lowered his salary, he still had to consider his family—his wife, children, both sets of parents, mortgage, car loan—weren't those all his business? How could he manage if he earned less? Now that Wang Laoban was giving 21,000, it was enough for his expenses, and he could adjust his overtime situation himself. These conditions were quite good; having a job was better than not having one.

"When can you two start?"

Zhang Xu said tomorrow, and Xu Haifeng said next week.

Wang Yan nodded: "Good, then that's it. Let's add each other on WeChat. When you go back and have nothing to do, look at computers or something; 15,000 per person, send it to me once you've chosen."

The two were slightly surprised. They understood now that the computers and screens on the desks of the two people on the side were all provided by the boss. And the 15,000 standard definitely exceeded most internet companies. So, from this point, one could see that this boss wasn't stingy.

He gave a few more instructions about bringing their ID cards, bank cards, and so on when they came, and then sent the two out the door.

Seeing Wang Yan come back to get water, Chen Yang grinned and said: "Brother Yan, all five of us are men. When are we going to recruit a woman?"

Ma Zichen on the side nodded repeatedly; this was a good idea.

"Don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Zichen doesn't have one, right? Let's see if we can get him an office romance." Chen Yang patted Ma Zichen on the side: "Besides, Brother Yan, having a girlfriend doesn't stop me from appreciating one. And having a woman can also improve our work enthusiasm, right, Zichen?"

"Yeah, I think Brother Yang makes sense."

"Wake up, you two. We only have development, no other positions. You know how many female programmers there are. With my conditions, very few are willing to come. It's not like we haven't interviewed before; haven't you all seen it?" Wang Yan waved his hand: "Alright, stop thinking about useless things. When we grow big and strong in the future, Brother will provide each of you with a cheerleader. Hurry up and get to work."

He was telling the truth; there really weren't many female programmers, and young, pretty ones were even rarer. What kind of ability did his little workshop have to attract them? It was better to have rough men; they were durable.

Now that he had recruited two more people, they could start doing quite a few things, and he wouldn't be recruiting anyone else for the next two months. Besides, his small place couldn't fit any more people. The three of them were just right, and adding the two newcomers made it a bit crowded, so they could only make do for now.

He had no thoughts of expansion in the near future. With the existing business and the translation software in development, they were busy enough. And the 200,000 a month earned from the agency was enough to support their current scale, with 70,000 or 80,000 left over, so they would just keep working like this. After all, he wasn't famous for AI, and he couldn't compete with large companies in business. If there were no profits, he would even have to put his own money into it. And he had core technology while not wanting to play capital games, so things were quite good as they were.

The main thing was still selling Vitality Pills; this was the real money-maker and the absolute pillar, a business with a ten-thousand-fold return.

Most importantly, the "sea of stars" could wait a bit. He wanted to get married and have a baby with Wei Lan this year. So, with limited funds on hand, it was better to buy a house and a car first. And by the time that happened, the Vitality Pills should have started to spread and propagate on a small scale, and it would be exponential propagation, so there would be no more talk about money in the future...

With two new people recruited, the busiest person in the early stages was Chen Yang, because not only did he have to solve Ma Zichen's problems in his spare time, but now he also had to solve the problems of Zhang Xu and Xu Haifeng. Fortunately, these two had the skills and experience, which saved a lot of worry. But the constant back-and-forth was indeed quite annoying.

However, that had nothing to do with Wang Yan. He just kept frantically typing away, calling people to swindle them before getting off work every day.

Regarding these actions of Wang Laoban, the other two were naturally curious and even held a small meeting with the two old employees in private to inquire. They didn't know what exactly was said, but anyway, they looked at Wang Yan as if he were an idiot. Of course, Wang Yan was the boss, and they were the soldiers, so it had nothing to do with them; they just had to finish their work.

Wang Laoban naturally didn't care and continued his career. Finally, after working day and night for a month, he finally finished transcribing all the data in his head. The Vitality Pills had also successfully sold over thirty bottles, which counted as recovering the cost of the medicinal materials with a small surplus; the rest was all profit.

And at this moment, the news from the "Sugar Daddy" system arrived unexpectedly.

"《Malèna》 Malèna: Happiness."

Heaven helps me. Thank you, Sugar Daddy, for your favor—this was the first thought of Wang Yan, the good son. He had watched this movie when he was young and ignorant, and he remembered that the story took place during World War II. This time period was as good as it could get for his sci-fi dream; it was truly infiltrating the inside. Whether it could be realized in the real world and how long it would take didn't matter; he always had to have something to do. He had to explore in the film and television world first, and knowing how to achieve it in the real world was very important.

As for Malèna's mission, Wang Yan thought it should be not to suffer what she originally suffered. He didn't ask for wealth, but she shouldn't fall to that original state. This was all easy to handle; after all, he, Wang, was there, and having enough to eat and wear and becoming a noble was no problem at all.

Consequently, Wang Yan logged in as a member and watched the movie.

"《Malèna》 tells the story of a woman..."

After watching the movie, he checked some information from that time as usual. He used the money recovered from selling the medicine to buy medicinal materials again and hand-rolled about sixty bottles. After accompanying Wei Lan to relax for two days, on Sunday night, under the daily gaze of the cat looking at an idiot, he pulled up the interface and made his selection.

A dazzling yet gentle blue light flashed by...