Seeing the expressions on his students' faces, the homeroom teacher was very satisfied. He then decided not to continue, as he was unwilling to publicize matters concerning this dreadful school.
To ask his own students to attend a second-tier university was simply an insult to him. This should have been a matter for students in the ordinary classes, with no connection whatsoever to his elite class. He had sent the classes he taught into the college entrance examination battlefield twice consecutively, simultaneously achieving the terrifying record of a 100% admission rate to first-tier universities, earning him the reputation of a god-tier teacher throughout the school, and even the entire city.
As such, he absolutely refused to allow a single student in his class to be admitted to a non-first-tier university. This was an insult to his achievements.
If it were the case that some students in his class genuinely lacked talent, that would be understandable. However, this batch of students were clearly all capable of entering first-tier universities; there was no reason to send them to second-tier institutions.
"Teacher, I have a question. I heard that upon graduation, there's a guarantee of employment at Jiangnan Group. Is this true?" Suddenly, a student stood up and asked. This student was the underachiever of the class, ranked last.
Of course, this was all relative. He usually scored at least around 560 in mock exams. However, unlike Fan Rui, whose English was a disaster, his problem lay with comprehensive subjects. Out of a total score of 300, he only managed about 150, particularly in geography, where he had even achieved a shocking score of 20. But his scores in Chinese, Mathematics, and English were excellent, significantly stronger than Fan Rui, who was in the middle to upper-middle tier of the class.
"I'm not sure!" The homeroom teacher's expression darkened. However, he also did not allow himself to be dismissive of the students. After a moment of hesitation, he said, "But the principal said it's possible. For specifics, you can call Jiangnan Group to inquire!"
"Teacher!" the underachiever continued, "I heard that after graduating from university, the best employment targets, apart from certain government units, are all Jiangnan Group. It's true that many students from Tsinghua and Peking University are desperately trying to get into Jiangnan Group?"
"I don't know..." The teacher's face grew even darker. He actually had a vague idea, but he didn't want to say it.
"I know this!" A girl interjected. "My older brother is in his third year at Tsinghua. He told me that Jiangnan Group conducted campus recruitment at Tsinghua this year. There were only 120 positions, but over 700 students applied. This is even with restrictions on the majors that could apply; otherwise, if the science students mostly wanted to join Jiangnan Group!"
Over 700 students competing for 120 positions, a ratio higher than 5:1, left many of the college-bound students present speechless.
This was Tsinghua, of all places. Did they really need to compete like this?
"Is Jiangnan Group that attractive?" someone asked curiously.
"Indeed! As long as you're a university graduate and you join a research position, you'll start with a monthly salary of 10,000 RMB. If you join an administrative or business position, it's still 5,000 RMB to start. I heard that even for front-line worker positions, the starting monthly salary is 3,000 RMB, more than triple the current minimum wage. Where else can you find companies with such high salaries?" a student said.
"But you can't just do it for the money, can you? People should have pursuits, dreams!" a student said dismissively.
"If you're pursuing your dreams, then you should definitely go to Jiangnan Group!" another student chuckled. "Most of us in the science classes will end up in technical fields, and the most cutting-edge computer and electronics technology in the country is currently at Jiangnan Group. Moreover, they are willing to invest heavily in projects. It's said that Jiangnan Group invests over 2 billion RMB in research and development annually, ranking first among all private enterprises nationwide."
"Oh, and I saw an interview in 'Reader's Digest.' They went to interview the headquarters of Jiangnan Group and found that the environment inside Jiangnan Group is also excellent, especially for those working at the Jiangnan Group headquarters. They have an entire base in Lucheng, with work and accommodation within the base. The company directly assigns dormitories, which are even equipped with computers! There's even a large shopping plaza within the base, selling everything imaginable. Besides that, there's an internet cafe, a KTV, and even a nightclub. It's basically a small city where you could live your entire life without leaving the base!"
"I also read that issue of the magazine. The magazine also said that consumption within the base is very low, and they don't even use RMB. They exclusively use fingerprint recognition technology and personal identification accounts. Salaries are directly deposited into personal accounts, and then you can consume by simply swiping your fingerprint, which is incredibly convenient!"
"Enough! Enough!" The homeroom teacher was getting a headache and continuously pounded the podium, finally quieting the students who had gotten carried away with their chatter.
"I'll tell you just one thing. No matter how good Jiangnan Group is, the diploma you receive will only be a second-tier one. No matter how high the conditions they offer, Jiangnan Group could go bankrupt one day. Once Jiangnan Group goes bankrupt, all you'll be left with is that second-tier diploma. You need to think carefully about your situation then!"
"Everyone here is smart, so I won't say too much more. There are still 20 minutes left for morning reading. It's a good time to go over the exam paper we didn't finish yesterday. Everyone, please take out your math papers..." The homeroom teacher, apparently prepared, pulled out a math exam paper from his pocket. A groan erupted from the audience.
Such scenes were not limited to this one school. Similar episodes unfolded in almost all schools across the country within a week.
It wasn't that these teachers were particularly enthusiastic about promoting Jiangnan Group; rather, it was assigned as a teaching task, and all homeroom teachers were required to promote this matter to their students.
However, most students simply dismissed the information. The requirement to rank in the top 1,000 for Chinese and Mathematics for admission meant that most students simply excluded themselves from consideration; this was not relevant to them.
But students who typically excelled in Mathematics and Chinese began to feel a sense of unease.
Firstly, the conditions offered by Jiangnan University were extremely attractive: no tuition fees upon admission, and a monthly salary of 10,000 RMB. Upon graduation, the salary would directly increase to 30,000 RMB, which, for 99% of people at that time, was an astronomical figure. If Jiangnan University were a first-tier institution, they would have rushed in without considering any consequences.
However, the problem was that Jiangnan University was only a second-tier institution, and the teachers were also vehemently opposed. After all, promising students in Chinese and Mathematics generally had the potential to aim for first-tier universities, and admitting them would improve their school's admission rate for first-tier institutions. Sending them to a second-tier university would make their school's results look bad.
Some teachers even deliberately described the outcome in a very negative light, while others directly called Jiangnan Group a scam, or claimed that Jiangnan Group had too much debt and would go bankrupt in a few years.
The public's reaction to this was simply: envy and jealousy.
Compared to students who remained in their ivory towers, with minds filled only with grades, poetry, and distant dreams, and brimming with all sorts of fantasies, the general public's thoughts were much more grounded.
Let alone a monthly salary of 30,000 RMB; even a monthly salary of 10,000 RMB would be enough for them to sell their own flesh.
Graduates who had already entered society lamented online, wishing they could have gotten in, even if it meant discarding their university diplomas.
Some individuals who considered themselves accomplished in their professions sought out information through various channels, hoping to proactively join Jiangnan Group.
In their view, since Jiangnan Group was recruiting from high school graduates, surely they, with over a decade of experience in society, rich social experience, research experience, and numerous professional awards from 985 or even Tsinghua and Peking University graduates, would be able to get in.
However, the answers they received were all quite consistent: this was an opportunity established to cultivate a group of professional technical talents, exclusively recruiting fresh graduates, and even retakers were not accepted. This was because retakers, by retaking their exams, represented a type of student who merely buried themselves in books; they needed those who were naturally quick-witted.
Well, with that, the only sentiment left in society was bitterness.
Meanwhile, Boss Huang was in the United States, attending the ribbon-cutting ceremony for BLM's first directly operated store in the US.
Yes, although dozens of stores had opened before, this was the first store opened under a completely new corporate name and trademark, so this marked BLM's new first step in the United States.
However, Boss Huang's spotlight at the ribbon-cutting ceremony was completely overshadowed by Ms. Versailles. This Ms. Versailles naturally attracted all the media's attention, and facing the cameras, she calmly handled various inquiries. Behind her, a lineup of black employees was particularly conspicuous, especially the various scars on their bodies that drew attention.
In her interview, Versailles also stated frankly that the core purpose of BLM was to provide various forms of assistance to unfortunate people, and that the primary purpose of this store was not to make money but to help more people. For example, any homeless person could spend the night at the store, and the store would provide some food and the like.
In any case, it was entirely a show of charity, making the behind-the-scenes Boss Huang and Hao Jianguo smile stiffly. Hao Jianguo suddenly felt that taking on the CEO position was a terrible decision; he might never be able to achieve profitability.
However, the subsequent developments were somewhat unexpected, as after the ribbon-cutting ceremony concluded, large crowds surged into the store. Initially, these people were mostly fans of Ms. Versailles; they were just coming to join the excitement and perhaps buy a blind box or two.
But after opening blind boxes and finding various items like food and clothing that appeared to be worth more than the blind box itself, their interest in BLM began to increase.
Later, they even directly called their friends and family, encouraging them to come and patronize the store.
By the end of the day, after a rough calculation, over 18,000 blind boxes were sold in a single day, with sales revenue of $54,000, and actual profit reaching over $10,000. In one day, the store's rent was covered.
"The poor people in the United States need seemingly inexpensive goods more than people in any other country!" Ms. Versailles stated.