Chapter 40: Choice Matters More Than Hard Work (Please vote for monthly tickets!!!)

On the other side, Wang Baichuan finally managed to secure a date with the woman he had been longing for, Fan Shengmei.

During dinner, Fan Shengmei asked, "By the way, you said you had something important to tell me."

Wang Baichuan said solemnly, "That's right, Xiaomei. From now on, I plan to shift my focus to Shanghai. I'm going to start a company here, so I'll be able to see you more often."

"Really? Congratulations! I'll have to call you Boss Wang from now on," Fan Shengmei said with pleasant surprise. She actually held a good impression of Wang Baichuan.

Wang Baichuan was also very happy. The reason he wanted to start a company in Shanghai was, of course, to take advantage of being close to her.

After their meal, they went to see a movie. It wasn't until the afternoon that Wang Baichuan finally drove Fan Shengmei back to the Glory House residential complex.

As it happened, right at the entrance of the complex, Qin Hao was just seeing Ying Qin out, who had just sobered up.

Fan Shengmei felt a bit awkward and could only brace herself to say hello: "Qiu Yan, Ying Qin? What are you doing here?"

Fan Shengmei still had an impression of Ying Qin; the data analysis software he developed was a crucial basis for every livestream summary. It was said that aside from the manager, he had the highest salary in the company.

The thought of having made a fool of himself by getting drunk at his boss's house made Ying Qin want to slap himself. Encountering a colleague now made things even more embarrassing, so he could only offer a muffled greeting.

Qin Hao explained, "Oh, Ying Qin and I are fellow townsmen. Since we had nothing to do this weekend, I invited him over for a casual meal. Are you two out on a date?"

Hearing this, Ying Qin breathed a sigh of relief; at least his drunken antics hadn't been exposed.

Wang Baichuan knew somewhat about Qin Hao's wealth through Fan Shengmei. Since Qin Hao was also Fan Shengmei's boss, he naturally felt the need to curry favor.

"President Qiu, it's the weekend, and since I happened to be in Shanghai for some business, I asked Xiaomei out for a meal."

Qin Hao teased, "Boss Wang is certainly going to great lengths to make a lady smile. However, a long-distance relationship is ultimately not a long-term solution..."

Wang Baichuan quickly explained, "Actually, I'm planning to start a company in Shanghai recently. I'll be shifting the focus of my career here so I won't have to deal with the trouble of traveling between two cities."

Fan Shengmei was slightly moved; she knew perfectly well that Wang Baichuan was doing this for her.

"Sister Fan, don't you have a livestream tonight? It's about time..." Qin Hao thought for a moment and decided to send Fan Shengmei on her way.

Fan Shengmei checked the time: "Then Wang Baichuan, drive carefully. Go on home first. I need to go up and change clothes before I head to work."

"Alright, I'll head off then. Let's talk again next time." In front of so many people, it wasn't easy for Wang Baichuan to say anything overly mushy, so he could only watch Fan Shengmei's graceful figure walk away with lingering regret.

Qin Hao patted Wang Baichuan on the shoulder and teased, "Stop staring, she's already upstairs."

Wang Baichuan smiled sheepishly, about to explain himself.

Qin Hao waved him off. "No need to explain. We're men; we understand."

Ying Qin stood to the side, looking bewildered. Understand what?

As the three of them walked toward the exit of the complex, Qin Hao suddenly said to Wang Baichuan, "By the way, Boss Wang, you're in mechanical parts processing, right?"

Wang Baichuan said modestly, "Yes, just a small-scale operation to make a living."

"Boss Wang, do you have your own factory?" Qin Hao asked again.

Wang Baichuan shook his head somewhat awkwardly.

Qin Hao smiled playfully. "So you're purely taking orders?"

To put it bluntly, Wang Baichuan's business was a shell company that profited from information arbitrage. As outdated production capacity was phased out of first-tier cities over the years, some factories were forced to move to smaller cities. Wang Baichuan used his accumulated connections to find orders and then assigned them to these factories for completion.

However, mechanical processing is a capital-intensive industry with high technical requirements. Large factories generally have their own fixed client channels and look down on the small-scale jobs Wang Baichuan handles, so he could only seek out small factories.

But the technical capabilities of these small factories were generally poor, making them unable to produce parts with high technical requirements. Any factory could handle low-precision parts, which meant fierce competition and naturally thin profit margins. This was the reason why, despite doing business for so many years, Wang Baichuan still hadn't saved much money.

"Boss Wang, if I may be blunt, the mechanical processing industry is quite difficult to navigate right now. Since you don't have your own factory, it probably won't be easy to scale up, will it?" Qin Hao said in a casual, conversational tone.

Hearing this, Wang Baichuan sighed. "Sigh, tell me about it. This industry is indeed hard to work in now. The requirements are high, profits are low, and the payment cycles are long. If you don't collect a payment, you end up losing money."

"Have you ever thought about switching industries?"

Wang Baichuan had the ability and was very serious about his work. Since Qin Hao was planning to launch a "Selection Store," he needed someone to oversee procurement, and Wang Baichuan was very suitable for the position in many respects.

"Switch industries?" Wang Baichuan was visibly stunned, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "It's not that easy. I've been doing this for years; switching suddenly would mean starting all over again."

Qin Hao smiled. "Every industry has its golden period of development. If you miss it, you miss it. The golden age of parts processing passed at the end of the last century. As the saying goes, 'A man fears choosing the wrong profession, and a woman fears marrying the wrong man.' If you've spent five years painstakingly exploring an industry and still haven't achieved success, it means your direction was wrong from the start. Why persist in walking down a dead end?"

"In fact, many times, choice is more important than effort."

Seeing that Wang Baichuan was wavering, Qin Hao threw out his trump card.

"Sister Fan's greatest wish is to settle down in Shanghai. If Boss Wang can't even afford a house in Shanghai, how can you give her a home?"

Instantly, Wang Baichuan's final psychological defense was breached. He gritted his teeth and asked, "President Qiu, do you want me to work for you?"

Wang Baichuan wasn't stupid. They weren't relatives or close friends; why would the other party tell him all this?

Qin Hao nodded candidly. "That's right. The fact that you were able to build something from nothing and stay in an industry for so many years shows that your ability and character are excellent. Recently, our company is launching a Selection Store, and we need a dedicated procurement manager. With salary, benefits, and year-end bonuses, it will certainly earn you more than you are making now."

"And, being close to the source allows you to reap the benefits first. Don't you want to be one step closer to Sister Fan?"

Wang Baichuan was tempted. What did he come to Shanghai for? Wasn't it to win the heart of a beauty? Now that someone had placed an opportunity right in front of him, how could he refuse?

"Can you give me some time to think about it?" Wang Baichuan maintained a shred of his remaining rationality.

Qin Hao smiled and patted Wang Baichuan on the shoulder. "Of course, no problem. But it would be best to give me an answer within a week. After all, such an important position cannot remain vacant indefinitely."

"Alright. Regardless of the outcome, thank you for the opportunity, President Qiu," Wang Baichuan said sincerely.

Qin Hao merely smiled and said nothing more, leading Ying Qin toward the subway station. The guy had been drinking today and couldn't drive, so he had to take the subway home.

(End of Chapter)