A college student who dropped out? Li Chonglou immediately realized the problem and, upon further inquiry, learned of their unfortunate experiences from one of them.
The seven individuals were all around twenty-two years old on average. By normal age reckoning, they should have been college students who had recently graduated.
In reality, with one victim from each family, they had indeed worked hard in the past, and each had been accepted into their target universities.
However, upon entering university, they discovered that merely working hard was no longer enough to climb the ladder. University was a microcosm of society, filled with human relationships and courtesies. Fairness, more often than not, had to be fought for.
All seven of them had similar experiences!
The difference was that four of them gritted their teeth and persevered, while the other three had no choice but to drop out for various reasons.
This job was arranged by Sister Feng, who had briefed them beforehand. After experiencing the complexities of society firsthand, the seven of them had come here with a "try it and see" attitude, never expecting to be happier here than they were in school.
However, when people are idle, they tend to think about finding something to do. Moreover, all seven understood that they couldn't stay here forever, which led to their question.
Li Chonglou agreed wholeheartedly. Cultivators had their world, but for ordinary people, reading was truly the best way out.
He had also struggled in society before. Although he hadn't had the same experiences as the seven, he understood that education was their stepping stone. One could choose not to use it, but it was best to have it.
However, to solve this problem, one needed connections within the school system.
Li Chonglou pondered for a moment and suddenly realized that he truly had no connections in the academic world. The closest person was Ya Lili, as she was the only one who had recently graduated from a prestigious university. Chen Peiyue belonged to a completely different circle; her knowledge came from private tutors hired by her father.
There was also another person who was still studying at school – his fourth uncle's daughter. However, they were ordinary people and couldn't help with such matters.
"But Xiao Ya might not be able to help either. She's been busy with company matters since she returned."
Li Chonglou thought about it and decided to understand the situation first.
The eldest among the seven was Wan He, a steady and composed individual. In fact, before Li Chonglou arrived, they all called Wan He "Brother He," and Qiu Yuan was referred to as "Boss."
It was Wan He who had proactively brought this matter to Li Chonglou.
Li Chonglou pulled him aside and first asked why the Green Gang wasn't helping.
"Uncle Hua, the Boss also said that they are capable of fighting and killing, even finding everyone who bullied us before. But dealing with people from schools is not something they can do."
Li Chonglou then realized. Right, one was a triad, and the other was a place for cultivating talent. No matter how much infighting there was at the higher levels, they would never allow triads to extend their influence into schools.
If such a thing were to happen, it would signify the end of a nation's destiny!
"What are your plans after this?"
Wan He thought for a moment before replying earnestly, "Xiao Xiao and the others study computer science – one software, one hardware. Without resources, they can only be like dormant talents. They should have found jobs related to their majors long ago."
"But we stayed because we wanted to wait for them. I personally have no plans; I'd be willing to do this for the rest of my life. However, I hope the few of them can get out sooner. Just drifting along here leads to no ambition."
Li Chonglou finally understood Wan He's words. It meant that the others, more or less, had their own goals and plans, but they were all waiting for the two who had dropped out due to lack of education.
Of course, "the others" did not include Wan He himself.
"I understand. I'll try, but don't get your hopes up too high. I can't guarantee success."
Wan He grinned and nodded, "Just hearing Uncle Hua say this is enough. Having even a sliver of hope is the best thing for us. I'll go back to work now."
Watching Wan He's retreating figure, a thought suddenly arose in Li Chonglou's mind.
One specialized in software, and the other in hardware. Both were talents in the computer field. Li Chonglou knew that Chen Pao was an expert in this area. If possible, perhaps he could send the two of them to Chen Pao for training in the future.
And then have them work for him?
Of course, this was a matter to be discussed further; it was too early to think about it in detail.
Most importantly, Li Chonglou needed to assess these individuals' character and disposition. If he could help, he would consider recruiting them later.
Apart from this, the days seemed to have become ordinary.
Concurrently, and unexpectedly by Li Chonglou, thanks to Fan Qianqian's betrayal, the Young Master of the Huang family quickly obtained his information.
To be precise, he found out that Li Chonglou was affiliated with Sister Feng of the Green Gang.
"So what if they're the Green Gang? Can they control everything in Shangjing? Connect me to the Blue Bird's envoy!"
Neither Li Chonglou nor Fan Qianqian knew that this Young Master Huang, besides being obsessed with appearances, also cherished his luxury car as if it were his lover.
While this incident might have been a matter of pride for others, for him, it was no different from the revenge for harming his lover.
He would definitely retaliate!
The "Blue Bird" he mentioned was one of the four major triads in Shangjing, on par with the Green Gang.
Meanwhile.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Tong immediately began investigating the recent situation of Ya Lili.
He was in this line of work and could find what he wanted even from the most inconspicuous public information.
Upon investigation, he indeed found something unusual.
Looking at the transaction and investment records of Ya Shi's affiliated industries over the past month, the name "Bo Ya Industrial Company" appeared in almost every transaction.
"This name..."
Zhou Tong immediately investigated the company's background and discovered that it was a new company established during the period when Li Chonglou had lost contact.
However, judging by its intentions, it clearly aimed to acquire the entire Ya Shi! Could a newly established company have such financial strength?
Zhou Tong's brow furrowed tightly. He remembered what Li Chonglou had said.
Someone at a higher level might target related personnel because of his matters. They were not on the same level; if they truly made a move, it would be no different from a dimensional reduction attack!
The only good news was that because there were oversight mechanisms at the higher levels, the other party should not act too overtly, meaning there was still a chance to fight back.
Zhou Tong tried to investigate the company's background further but only found some blank pages.
"To have gone this far and yet maintain such secrecy of information online suggests this is no ordinary wealthy merchant."
However, Zhou Tong could do nothing about it, as he was still in a precarious situation himself. He could only have people discreetly investigate the matters of the Huang family further.
At the same time, he would also attend to his newsstand.