“Where is the solution?” Jason Brooks asked seriously.

Evelyn Carter smiled and said, “Aren’t we going to solve it today?”

That’s right, today they were going to the talent market. Evelyn Carter had already figured out her boss’s intention—to inject new blood into the company. The business investigation industry is quite special, especially the frontline investigators; sometimes even people in the company don’t know who they are. Moreover, the turnover rate for these people is extremely high. Evelyn Carter could tell from the monthly labor expenses which names were constantly changing.

She saw Mr. Brooks smile again, so she added, “The solution is to distinguish our business investigation from the well-known private detectives, debt collection services, and marital investigations, to standardize our conduct and improve the quality of our employees, so the company can develop in a more regulated way.”

“Heh… That’s a good idea.” Jason Brooks neither agreed nor disagreed, just smiled and sat up straight.

Evelyn Carter felt a bit disappointed. Most of the time, such a noncommittal response meant rejection. But given the current situation, what else could she do? Many business investigation companies just rent an office and start operating, with their main business being debt collection and investigating extramarital affairs. This has led to more and more civil and criminal cases, and the whole industry is becoming synonymous with a gray area.

“Brooks… boss, did I… say something wrong?” Evelyn Carter asked cautiously.

“No, that’s exactly what you should say to everyone.” Jason Brooks replied with a smile.

Evelyn Carter smiled awkwardly. She always felt she couldn’t figure out this enigmatic Mr. Brooks. She changed the subject and said, “Actually, for this kind of recruitment, you don’t need to come in person. Nowadays, just post the information online and there will be plenty of job seekers. I suggest we give priority to graduates from law or political science schools.”

“What’s the reason?” Jason Brooks asked.

“They should have a stronger sense of the law. Our industry is like walking on thin ice—there are too many things to watch out for,” Evelyn Carter said.

This was a very reasonable suggestion, which made Jason Brooks hesitate for a moment. He turned to look at Evelyn Carter and smiled inscrutably, “What if my idea is the exact opposite of yours, and I insist on doing it my way? Would you think I’m too stubborn?”

Evelyn Carter smiled and said, a bit embarrassed, “Of course not, you must have long-term plans.”

“Not really long-term, but there are urgent matters. It’s not that I insist on doing everything myself, but I just don’t want to leave it to others… Oh, the car’s moving. We’re lucky today.” Jason Brooks smiled, pointed ahead, and as the car crawled forward, Evelyn Carter started driving, ending the conversation and heading straight to their destination:

Hufangqiao Talent Market.

There were really a lot of people here. As soon as they got out of the car, a wave of heat hit them, making him feel uncomfortable all over. Looking at the crowd surging at the entrance of the hall, squeezing to get in, the dozen or so recruitment booths were swamped with people waving resumes, trying to hand them in. Most of the men and women on site had the same look: a single-shoulder bag, a bottle of mineral water in one hand, and resumes ready to be pulled from their bags and handed out with the other. This scene made Evelyn Carter feel a strange sense of sadness.

“Reminds you of when you just graduated?” Jason Brooks asked with a smile.

“A little. Just like that book title—whose youth isn’t confused?” Evelyn Carter replied with a smile.

“Not necessarily. Back in our day, we weren’t confused. Once we got our graduation assignment certificate, we reported directly to our workplace… The unit I reported to was the county’s food and fruit company, a state-owned enterprise. Three days before I reported, it had already gone bankrupt… Heh, I didn’t even have time to be confused, just straight to despair.” Jason Brooks said with a laugh.

If you don’t make it, such a resume can only be described with one word: miserable. But if you succeed, no matter what you went through, it all sounds inspirational. Evelyn Carter asked admiringly, “So, for you to go from an unemployed worker in a small county to a company manager in Beijing, the sense of achievement from that process must be enough to make you proud for a lifetime.”

“I wouldn’t say proud.” Jason Brooks replied with a smile. Suddenly, he turned his head, and Evelyn Carter responded with an appreciative smile, but unexpectedly, Jason Brooks pointed at her and said, “But I do enjoy your compliments.”

With a laugh, they walked on. Evelyn Carter was stunned for a moment, then realized Jason Brooks was teasing her. For someone so sharp and perceptive, flattery probably wouldn’t work. She smiled self-deprecatingly, followed Mr. Brooks through the main entrance, and looked back at the still-crowded, sweat-drenched students, feeling no sense of pride as someone who had been through it all.

Here, you could enter the hall for just three yuan and register for free. If a recruiting company spent three hundred yuan, they could rent a simple booth. Of course, if a company was willing to spend a thousand yuan, there would be dedicated staff to serve you. Every week, hundreds of thousands of job seekers came here, but most of them couldn’t find a job. Still, with such a huge flow of people, the talent market itself created quite a few jobs.