Chapter 221: Corporate Slave or Workhorse? I Choose Neither!
The sky over the school in September was a clear, bright blue. The military training for first-year students was in full swing. Their young faces were full of hope and excitement about their new college life.
Second-year students were just watching the fun. Third-years were slacking off. Only the fourth-years were rushing around, busy and stressed.
Lin Yibai only watched for a short while before losing interest and walking away.
She wasn’t in the mood to check out the good-looking new students, whether handsome boys or pretty girls. Romantic stuff was already troubling enough for her!
She asked herself, “When am I finally going to be his girlfriend?”
Deep down, she already knew the answer. She could have been his girlfriend long ago. But she was still hesitating.
It felt like she was standing at the very last moment before sunrise, knowing that the light was coming, but still stuck in confusion for no real reason.
“Whew…” She let out a long sigh.
She arrived at a multimedia classroom in one corner of the business school building. There were already many students gathered there, clearly all fourth-years looking for “opportunities.”
This year, some companies with close ties to the school started their campus recruiting earlier than usual. It was said that one of the branches was from a big internet company based in Fucheng.
To many students, these were very tempting job offers.
The large classroom, which could hold 120 people, was already almost full. The recruiters from the internet company standing on stage looked confident and proud, clearly acting like buyers in a market.
Looking down at the company flyers being handed out, Lin Yibai’s pretty eyebrows slowly scrunched into a frown. After a while, she sighed and said, “Wait, isn’t this supposed to be a branch of a major internet company? These salaries are way too... low, aren’t they?”
Intern: 1800–2600 yuan/month
Full-time (Trainee): 2800–3500 yuan/month
Manager: 4000–4500 yuan/month
Department Manager: 5000–6000 yuan/month
Regional Manager: 8000+ yuan/month
Lin Yibai couldn’t help rubbing her temples. These numbers were giving her a headache. And honestly, those manager and regional manager roles weren’t even worth looking at, most fresh grads would only qualify for internships or trainee positions.
She muttered while doing the math, “1800 to 2600? Let’s just assume the lowest, 1800. Full-time, 2800 max. But with salaries like this in a city like Fucheng?”
Let’s be real, with that kind of money, you’d be eating the cheapest food, living in the cheapest place, and saving zero money. Sometimes, you’d even have to ask your family to help cover your bills.
Some truths are hard to deny. If you won’t take the job, someone else will. 1800 yuan isn’t enough to hire a construction worker, but somehow it’s enough for a college graduate?
Lin Yibai had done a lot of part-time jobs and also helped Xia Changyu with his company, so she knew the local job market pretty well.
In Fucheng, even supermarket shelf-stockers could earn over 4000 yuan a month. But these campus recruiters were offering only 1800 to students and calling it a great “internship opportunity.”
The company rep on stage began her speech. A young woman stood confidently with a microphone and said, “Two years ago, I was just like you, just a lost college student. But now, I’m already a supervisor at our company. First, I want to thank the company for giving me a chance to grow. I believe what matters most is having a place to learn and develop. Like the saying goes, ‘Life is not just about the struggles in front of you, but also about poetry and distant dreams.’ Job hunting is the same, it’s not just about small money right now, you should look ahead to the future.”
Clap, clap, clap!
Clap, clap!
The students gave her a warm round of applause. It was a passionate and inspiring speech, you had to admit that.
But the problems were still there. Maybe even worse now.
Lin Yibai rubbed her temples again. Even though she clapped along with everyone else, in her heart she was thinking, ‘So basically, she’s saying we shouldn’t care about salary, and should even thank the company for giving us such low-paid jobs?’
And the promotions are so slow. The pay raises are also very slow.
I’m a college graduate. It took me two years of hard work just to become a low-level manager at the company, earning a little over 4,000 yuan a month. So after fighting for two years, I’m finally earning the same as a supermarket shelf-stocker?
Seriously, what is this? A sweatshop in disguise, just with an internet company logo?
Lin Yibai was clearly unhappy. Very unhappy.
Meanwhile, the person in charge of the campus recruitment was still making big promises, saying, "As everyone knows, our company is a branch of a top internet company. In the future, there will be chances to join the main company and take on management roles. So by choosing us, you're not only giving us a chance, you're also giving yourselves a chance.”
Some students in the room were already starting to feel tempted. One raised their hand and asked, "So, may I ask what kind of positions your company is hiring for?"
The recruiter’s eyes lit up, clearly pleased, and said with a smile, "Good question! Right now, we’re hiring a large number of frontline sales positions. Yes, it might be a tiring job, but we all know that it’s one of the best roles for building skills, right? Many of our leaders started from sales positions. So we encourage all students to apply actively and with confidence!"
Are you kidding me? You're tricking people into sales jobs?
That recruiter... aren’t you worried your future kids might be born with skin problems for saying all this?
Unfortunately, many students seemed convinced already. In Lin Yibai’s eyes, she could almost already see the future, many of these classmates would apply and end up working frontline sales jobs.
They wouldn’t earn much money, the pressure would be crazy, and the company would still say it’s “great training.”
And maybe, just before they become full-time employees, they will be fired for “not meeting performance standards.”
Yep. That’s how it is.
Lin Yibai was pessimistic. While others believed the company truly wanted to help students grow, she suspected the real goal was just to get cheap labor.
It was only September. They could hire a college student for 1,800 yuan per month, and make them work until next June. That’s nine months of super low-paid labor, almost a whole year for dirt-cheap.
It’s harsh, but it’s reality.
And whether they’ll actually make you a full-time worker later, that’s one of the big reasons companies love early campus recruitment.
At that point, Lin Yibai felt there was no point listening anymore. She didn’t have the stomach for these kinds of empty promises. And honestly, she didn’t even like the “flavor” of the promises.
Quietly, she stood up. She gestured to the student next to her to move aside.
Maybe her movement was a bit more obvious than others. Unlike the rest of the students who were sitting quietly like "good kids."
The recruiter on stage noticed right away. It was clear Lin Yibai was trying to leave. But the recruiter, clearly enjoying his moment of being admired by all the students, decided to call her out.
“That student over there, yes, you. The girl in the middle by the window. May I ask where you're going?”
Me?
Lin Yibai paused for a second.
She shrugged and gave a polite answer so no one would lose face. “I’m going to the bathroom.”
But the recruiter, acting like he could read people perfectly, said confidently, “But my feeling tells me you’re not actually going to the bathroom, right?”
Seriously?
You’re a company recruiter, why do you care so much about this?
Do you really need to show off your “people-reading skills” in front of a bunch of college students?
Do you want this girl to back down and stay?
Lin Yibai shrugged again. What can you do when someone clearly doesn’t want to handle things politely?
After a moment, she said, “You’re right. I just want to leave. That’s all.”
The recruiter asked, “Why?”
Lin Yibai replied calmly, “Your company doesn’t offer any positions I’m interested in, so I’m leaving. That’s all there is to it. Is there a problem?”
The recruiter froze. He clearly didn’t expect a student to speak so directly.
Then he said, “But our campus recruitment presentation isn’t over yet, and you’re leaving in the middle of it. Don’t you think that’s a bit rude? This kind of behavior makes me question the education at your school, and I may need to reevaluate the students here. We’re offering jobs to your classmates, but are your classmates even qualified in terms of attitude and professionalism? Right now… I’m really not sure.”
Are you freaking serious.
Lin Yibai, who had planned to just walk away quietly, actually started laughing out of frustration.
This company came here just to find a group of cheap, overworked students who wouldn’t even be treated as well as regular “corporate slaves,” and now they want to act all high and mighty? Trying to make her look bad?
If she didn’t respond, everyone else in the room would probably whisper later about how she embarrassed herself or lacked manners.
But Lin Yibai stayed calm. She even felt like laughing again.