“I’m not here to provoke or entice anyone. The internship won’t be easy—in fact, it might be even more exhausting than other jobs you’ve done. Investigating a business model is tedious: its main products, primary channels, peripheral derivatives, profitability, and so on. Not only does it require on-site investigation, but also keen analytical skills… For example, if you’re investigating this restaurant, you could start by staking it out and counting their daily customer flow. Then check their procurement volumes for meat, eggs, poultry, and vegetables, find out how many employees they have and their wage levels, and compare all that to the restaurant’s décor, taxes, and expenses. That way, you can roughly calculate its profitability… If another restaurant wants to open on this street and consults us, all this information you’ve gathered can be turned into consulting fees. A good business investigator might earn several thousand, even tens of thousands, or over a hundred thousand per case… Of course, that’s for the future.”

Jason Brooks spoke at length. In fact, his words were already tempting enough—so much so that several people were itching to give it a try. He looked at David Clark, smiled, and asked, “I think you have a strong personality and would be well-suited for this. The hours are flexible, and there’s a lot of room to use your abilities. Our company has eighteen employees, but none of them are investigators. Real investigators never show up at the office; they only appear where and when they’re needed.”

“Heh.” David Clark smiled, looking at Jason Brooks’s kindly square face and asked, “So this time, do we need to show up somewhere far away?”

Jason Brooks was momentarily taken aback—even Evelyn Carter didn’t know the exact location. He quickly smiled, pointed at David Clark, and said, “Smart. Yes, it’s very far, and the conditions are tough. I’ve found a good place for the small team I want to recruit to get some practical training. You’re the first group; there will be a second and third group after you. The goal of the internship is simple: whoever can investigate this business model thoroughly and produce a report in the shortest time, I’ll sign your employment contract.”

“Really? Doesn’t sound that hard.” Paul Grant seemed convinced by Jason Brooks. Maybe going on a trip far away wasn’t so difficult after all.

“Oh no, he really wants to trick us into going out of town. Jill, we can’t go—what if we never come back?” Sam Parker foresaw dire consequences and warned Jill King, who just made a funny face and took it as a joke.

David Clark stayed silent, knowing there was more to come. Jason Brooks smiled and asked Sam Parker, “So, Sam, what’s your standard for judging if this is real?”

“Money, of course! It all comes down to money. Who’s going to believe you just by talking?” Sam Parker clapped his hands, not holding back.

“Oh, exactly! You’re also well-suited for this line of work. In this business, only interests matter, not contracts. We see things the same way, so I’ve prepared something for everyone.” Jason Brooks said.

As he spoke, everyone was surprised. Evelyn Carter started rummaging through her bag again and took out four envelopes—not thick, but Sam’s eyes lit up; they were stuffed with hundred-yuan bills. Jason Brooks explained, “Since this is an internship, you definitely won’t have to pay out of pocket. The pay is one hundred yuan per person per day, paid every ten days. When you return, expenses will be reimbursed. This rate might be a bit low for Beijing, but for out-of-town work, it’s more than enough.”

With the money on the table, it was hard to doubt. Sam Parker eagerly reached out, but shrank back under David Clark’s look, though his eyes were still darting around—clearly tempted.

Right, only a fool wouldn’t take the money. Just take it and go—could he really chase after you?

“Oh, I haven’t told you the location yet.” Jason Brooks saw everyone thinking it over, then remembered something and signaled to Evelyn Carter, who quickly rummaged through her bag again and produced a stack of letterhead, handing it directly to David Clark: “It’s a really fun place—you’ll be interested.”

David Clark glanced at it, smiled noncommittally, and passed it to Paul Grant, who also smiled, thinking this was probably for real, and then handed it to Jill King. Jill King exclaimed in surprise, “Wow, the Great Northwest Film Base!?”

“That’s right, over four hundred kilometers from here, outside Inner Mongolia—very far. You’ll have to get there yourselves. Don’t worry about us selling you off; I’m the one who should be worried. A long time ago, when I tried something like this, some classmates just took the money and equipment and disappeared.” Jason Brooks shrugged, looking helpless.

Sam Parker was glanced at by Jason Brooks and blushed for no reason, despite his thick skin. He looked at the envelope and said, “We won’t run off—it’s just a thousand or so yuan, not worth it.”

Everyone laughed, realizing their appetites were bigger than that. That was the end of the briefing. Jason Brooks looked around and said, “Don’t doubt my sincerity. Before you set out, you’ll be given the necessary equipment and a brief training on precautions. We’ve tried many times to recruit fresh graduates, but it never worked out—either they didn’t want to go far, or they couldn’t handle the hardship, or they took the money and equipment and never showed up again. After hitting so many walls, we shifted our recruitment to people with some social experience. So, what do you all think?”

“I… I’ll go, okay?” Sam Parker slowly raised his hand.

“Thank you for your support.” Jason Brooks handed over the envelope.