Chapter 3: Young Master, You Absolutely Must Not

At this point, Lin Haoran understood that the loyalty progress bar would only appear once someone became his subordinate.

He could see the loyalty progress bars for the employees at the cement factory.

However, because they were just ordinary employees, after two or three days of observation, Lin Haoran had yet to find anyone with a loyalty rating higher than fifty.

Still, most of the employees had higher loyalty than Lin Yi and the other three. These employees relied on the Huafeng Cement Factory to support their families, so they naturally had a certain level of loyalty to the factory.

Since Lin Haoran was the owner of the Huafeng Cement Factory, their loyalty to the factory was effectively equivalent to loyalty to him.

Lin Haoran had observed dozens of employees, and not one had a loyalty rating above 50. This was enough to prove just how rare the 80+ loyalty rating of the brothers Li Weiguo and Li Weidong truly was.

"I wonder what kind of subordinates you get if your loyalty reaches 100?" Lin Haoran was curious.

Perhaps only those who reached 100 loyalty could be considered truly, unconditionally loyal to him.

"Li Weiguo, Li Weidong, from today on, you two will be my bodyguards. As for compensation, I’ll start you off at 3,000 Hong Kong dollars per month each. If you perform well, there will be no cap on your salary!" Lin Haoran said directly.

A salary of 3,000 Hong Kong dollars was not a lot in Hong Kong during this era, but it wasn't a small amount either.

Currently, the average monthly wage in Hong Kong was around 2,000 Hong Kong dollars.

In reality, ordinary factory workers in this era earned about 1,200 to 1,500 Hong Kong dollars a month. Even the ordinary workers at Huafeng Cement Factory only made a little over a thousand.

Even the "trusted aides" like Lin Yi and Lin Er, whom the Lin family had raised since childhood, only earned a few thousand Hong Kong dollars a month.

Lin Haoran didn't know the Li brothers very well yet; offering them 3,000 Hong Kong dollars a month based solely on the information from their chat was already quite generous.

Of course, the most important factor was that their loyalty exceeded 80, which was what Lin Haoran valued most.

This level of loyalty was enough for Lin Haoran to trust them.

After hearing Lin Haoran's words, Li Weiguo and Li Weidong looked at each other. Their eyes sparkled with excitement, and they were so overwhelmed they didn't know what to do.

They weren't familiar with the cost of living in Hong Kong; they only knew that in their hometown, even the best-off workers only made a few dozen yuan a month.

They couldn't even fathom what 3,000 Hong Kong dollars a month meant.

"Boss, is that true? Do we really get 3,000 Hong Kong dollars a month each?" Li Weiguo asked uncertainly, his excitement gradually calming down.

"Of course, I wouldn't lie to you. Also, from now on, you can call me 'Young Master'," Lin Haoran said with a smile. He already considered the two brothers his own people.

"Thank you, Young Master! We will definitely give it our all, serve you with our hearts, and swear to protect you with our lives!" the Li brothers promised in unison.

"Young Master, you must not act so rashly! We haven't fully vetted their backgrounds yet; how can you let them serve as your bodyguards so easily? Please, Young Master, think twice!"

Just then, Lin Si, who had been kicked out by Lin Haoran, pushed the door open and ran in, trying to stop Lin Haoran's decision.

"Lin Si, you have some nerve! I told you to get out, yet you dare to eavesdrop on my conversation? Who gave you the audacity to be so insolent!"

Lin Haoran was angry.

If I don't trust people like Li Weiguo and his brother who have over 80 loyalty, should I trust a turncoat like you with a loyalty rating of only 11?

Looking back over the past two months, Lin Haoran had carefully analyzed the various behaviors of Lin Si and the others. Even without the help of his "golden finger," he had sensed their suspicious nature.

It was just that he had no suitable candidates to replace them yet, so he had chosen to endure it.

But that didn't mean he had no temper.

Hearing Lin Haoran fly into a rage, Lin Si panicked and knelt on the ground, saying, "Young Master, I am doing this for your own good. The Master told us to protect your safety."

"I have my own plans for my decisions. Lin Si, remember that I am the boss. It is not your place to point fingers at my affairs!" Lin Haoran stared down at Lin Si, his tone filled with unquestionable authority.

If Lin Si were loyal to him, Lin Haoran would never treat him this way.

But when dealing with the disloyal, Lin Haoran had no qualms about reprimanding them.

"Young Master, I, I, I..." Lin Si was so scolded that he didn't know what to say.

Truth be told, Lin Si was actually acting in Lin Haoran's interest. Although he was a complete turncoat—a mole planted by Lin Haoning—he still bore the heavy responsibility of protecting Lin Haoran's safety.

Otherwise, if something happened to Lin Haoran, it wouldn't matter if Lin Haoning eventually became the heir to the Wan'an Group; they would still be held accountable by Lin Wan'an.

But Lin Haoran already knew his true colors, so he naturally wouldn't give him a pleasant look.

He was no longer the naive Lin Haoran who had just graduated from school.

Having recruited two subordinates with relatively high loyalty, Lin Haoran was in a good mood and stopped looking at Lin Si.

Afraid of offending the Young Master further, Lin Si scurried out.

He didn't understand why Lin Haoran's personality had changed so much over the last two days, especially today—his temper was particularly fierce.

"Weiguo, Weidong, I assume you haven't seen the environment outside yet? You look like you've recovered well, so I'll take you out for a walk. You are currently in Yuen Long, right across from Shekou in Pengcheng. You are already within the borders of Hong Kong," Lin Haoran said as he stood up.

"That sounds great, thank you, Young Master! After resting for two days, we've recovered quite a bit," Li Weidong's eyes lit up. He had long been unable to stand staying in this small room.

"Young Master, Yuen Long is a border area. If we are discovered by the border enforcement officers, will we be deported?" Li Weiguo was much more cautious and rational.

Li Weiguo's concerns were not without merit.

Before coming to Hong Kong, he had learned quite a bit about border security from others.

Li Weiguo knew that as long as they could reach the city center and register with the Immigration Department, they could stay in Hong Kong legally.

But until they reached the city center, they were illegal immigrants—stowaways.

If they were caught by enforcement officers without identification, the consequences were obvious. It would mean all their efforts, for which they had risked their lives, would be in vain.

"Yeah, Young Master, we don't want to go back. We want to stay in Hong Kong forever. I heard the city center is very prosperous; we haven't seen what it looks like yet!" Li Weidong nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Don't worry. With me here, no one will dare to question you. Besides, in two days, once you've fully recovered, I'll take you to the city center to get your Hong Kong ID cards so you have an official status here," Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Lin Haoran didn't want to stay in this backwater of Yuen Long any longer; there was no point. Only by returning to the center of Hong Kong could he find more opportunities for development.