-77- Meal Replacement
Boss Chen's affirmation of Jijimao didn't sound fake. After the two sides finalized the contract and schedule, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan left the factory. On the way back, they discussed that it seemed that it was indeed time to prepare for the future work and start interviewing. So for a period of time, Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai "split up", she contacted the previous partners, while Lu Kai posted job advertisements and interviewed new people. The two agreed to hire two employees first, and Zhao Jinghuan would train them after they joined. After that, they would decide whether to add more employees based on the needs. To be honest, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan were actually a little nervous about the recruitment. When Dorasi and the others were there, Waikiki was just a makeshift team. Now there were only Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai left. They had neither a "stage" nor a "team", and they had also left a lot of bad reputations online. But people still needed to be hired. Lu Kai paid to post a job posting on a recruitment website, offering a good salary package. However, within a week, only two people inquired about the job postings within the recruitment software. Their conversations eventually died down. Lu Kai even felt that these "job seekers" were shills arranged by the website, fearing they would spend their money and get a refund if no one showed up. At this rate, they might not even get their first interviewer by the time the toy was shipped. Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan clearly knew the quickest way to announce their hiring to the world, but they were also hesitant. In the end, Zhao Jinghuan made the final decision: "We won't take the flak now, but we'll still have to take it after 'A Million Ways' launches. It's one thing to take, so why not take it now?" So the two logged into the studio's long-unused social media accounts. There were still thousands of insults in the back-end private messages, but they still hadn't clicked on them. But they still went ahead and posted the job posting. The result was pretty much as they'd expected. After the post passed review, Lu Kai's phone, which had private message notifications enabled, began to buzz non-stop. Taunts and insults poured into his phone like a flood, like wild boars being slaughtered and Pinduoduo ads. Both of them were shaken by the insults, doubting they'd made the wrong decision. Fortunately, after a few days, the criticism subsided, and some resumes still came in. They had previously agreed to leave the recruitment process entirely to Lu Kai, and Zhao Jinghuan had stopped intervening. A few days later, Lu Kai arrived with several resumes and told Zhao Jinghuan that, after screening, only four people remained. He felt that each had their own unique qualities and was a little unsure how to choose. Zhao Jinghuan flipped through the resumes and saw that the remaining four were two men and two women. The men were one fat and one...
Boss Chen's affirmation of Jijimao did not sound fake. After the two parties finalized the contract and schedule, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan left the factory. On the way back, the two discussed that it seemed that they should indeed prepare for the future work and start working on the interview.
So for the next period of time, Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai "split into two groups". She contacted the previous partners, while Lu Kai posted recruitment information and interviewed new people.
The two agreed to recruit two employees first, and Zhao Jinghuan would train them after they joined the company. After that, they would look at the needs and decide whether to add more people.
To be honest, Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan were actually a little nervous about recruiting new members. When Dorasi and the others were there, Waikiki was just a makeshift team. Now there are only Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai left. It has neither a "stage" nor a "team", and it has also left a lot of bad reputations on the Internet.
But people have to be recruited after all. Lu Kai spent money to post a recruitment information on a recruitment website, and the salary and benefits were not bad. However, within a week, only two people inquired about it in the background of the recruitment software, and there was no follow-up after chatting. Lu Kai even felt that these "job seekers" were shills arranged by the website, just in case no one would be interested in them after spending money, and then ask the website for a refund.
Seeing this trend, they might not even get the first interviewee by the time the trendy toys leave the factory. Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan obviously both know the fastest way to announce to the world that they have started recruiting, but they are obviously hesitant about it.
In the end, it was Zhao Jinghuan who made the final decision: "We won't take the criticism now, but we will have to take it after 'A Million Ways' goes on the market. It's one thing to take it, so we might as well take it now." So the two of them logged into the studio's social media account that hadn't been used for a long time. There were still thousands of insults in the private messages in the background that they hadn't clicked on, but they still bit the bullet and posted the recruitment announcement.
The result was almost the same as they expected. After the post passed the review, the phone with private message reminder turned on started beeping non-stop. Ridicule and abuse were like a flood that broke through the dam, wild boars being slaughtered, and Pinduoduo advertisements, all pouring into Lu Kai's phone in one breath.
Both of them were a little shaken by the scolding and doubted that they had made the wrong decision. Fortunately, after a few days, the scolding subsided and some resumes were still sent in.
The two had agreed to hand over the recruitment to Lu Kai, and Zhao Jinghuan hadn't bothered with it since. A few days later, Lu Kai came over with a few resumes and told Zhao Jinghuan that after screening, only four people remained. He felt that each had their own unique qualities and was a little unsure how to choose. Zhao Jinghuan flipped through the resumes and found that the remaining four were two men and two women. One of the men was fat and the other thin. The women looked innocent and cute in the photos, while the other was mature and steady. Zhao Jinghuan vaguely felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. He just subconsciously muttered:
"This girl looks a bit like Sister Zou."
But Lu Kai hastily denied it, as if some kind of defense mechanism had been triggered. This only piqued Zhao Jinghuan's curiosity, and she took a closer look at the other three people: one boy was fat, one was thin, and the girl was cute and innocent...
Zhao Jinghuan frowned and looked up at Lu Kai, who looked guilty. "Are you doing 'substitute literature' here?"
Lu Kai blushed and said, "No way! What nonsense are you talking about? What substitute? I don't understand what you are talking about." He snatched the resume from Zhao Jinghuan's hand and said, "Okay, okay, let's eliminate this fat guy first."
Zhao Jinghuan stared at him with wide eyes: "Ah, why? Because tomatoes are the least popular?"
After Lu Kai's actions, Zhao Jinghuan really didn't feel comfortable handing the interview over to him again. She carefully reviewed his resume and made video calls with several people. In the end... in the end, she ended up in the same situation as Lu Kai...
She didn't want to eliminate any of these four people, and even had the same urge to set up a full "stand-in team." Fortunately, after hesitating for a long time, the four candidates made a choice for Zhao Jinghuan: the other three all found jobs, and only the stand-in, Fanqie, had nowhere to go and agreed to join.
At this time, Zhao Jinghuan remembered that Ji Anya seemed to have mentioned before that she wanted to leave the restaurant and do trendy things with Zhao Jinghuan, so she pried Ji Anya, who was cursing at her mother for carrying the basin, onto the "pirate ship", and a new four-person studio was established.
Although keeping the "substitute Tomato" was actually a passive choice, the "new" Tomato is not bad. At least he is much more diligent than the previous Tomato, and he has a unique skill in making PPT.
Only Ji Anya wasn't very happy with the "stand-in Tomato." Her exact words were, "You told me you hired a male college student... I thought it was this, that, that kind of college student!"
Other than that, the four of them got along pretty well. As soon as December rolled around, Boss Chen sent over a proof of "a hundred ways to make it." Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai were inevitably excited, as were Ji Anya and her stand-in, Tomato. This was their first time making a trendy toy, and while the early stages of the work had little to do with them, they still felt the need to celebrate, even though Zhao Jinghuan said, "It's just a proof; it hasn't even started shipping yet."
Ji Anya said: "The 18-year-old coming-of-age ceremony is important, but it doesn't prevent you from celebrating your first 17 birthdays."
Ji Anya kept insisting, and her stand-in Tomato also joined in. Lu Kai thought that since the new team of the studio had not had a dinner together since its establishment, there would be no harm in doing some team building, so he agreed.
Lu Kai originally wanted to go to a food stall for dinner, but Ji Anya said that she had PTSD about restaurants. After much discussion, they talked about everything from a picnic in the park to a cruise ship voyage. In the end, due to funding and heating constraints, they chose to eat and drink in the studio for a brief celebration.
Ji Anya ordered cakes and food, while her stand-in, Tomato, took the initiative to find a printing shop to make a banner that read:
Celebrating the official opening of the Waikiki studio.
The new Tomato is a simple-minded person. He did not check the details of the studio before joining the company. It seems that he still doesn't know that Waikiki is actually a "second venture" and has caused a lot of trouble before.
After the banner was hung, Lu Kai looked at the words on it and couldn't help feeling a little uncomfortable. Finally, he picked up a marker and squeezed in a "2.0" behind "Studio".
——Celebrating the official opening of Waikiki Studio 2.0.
His explanation for the stand-in Tomato was: "2.0 seems more advanced."
Speaking of which, making banners is really something that Tomato likes to do.
That afternoon, the cake and food were delivered. Tomato, the stand-in, went downstairs to buy a few large bottles of Coke. The four of them ate and chatted in the living room. Lu Kai seemed to be affected by the caffeine in the Coke. Halfway through the meal, he became excited and started to paint a rosy picture for the other three, telling them what would happen to the studio after "A Million Ways" became a big hit, and what rewards they would receive as "founding employees."
Just when they were talking excitedly, there was a knock on the door. Lu Kai and his companions thought it was the takeaway that had arrived, so Tomato, the stand-in, stood up and opened the door.
Lu Kai winked at Zhao Jinghuan and whispered, "Look at him, he's much more hardworking than Tomato." Ji Anya frowned at them and said, "Why are you comparing him to Tomato? Just because they're both fat? You're discriminating. Lu Kai, are you trying to get on the trending search again?"
At this moment, the voice of the stand-in Tomato came from the other side of the door: "Hmm? Who are you looking for?"
"Ah, I...did I go the wrong way? Is this Unit 1?"
Zhao Jinghuan and Lu Kai were stunned. They both recognized that the person speaking behind them was "Genuine Tomato". They quickly wiped their hands and stood up to greet him.
"Tomato, you're here?"
Tomato was welcomed into the house by Lu Kai and Zhao Jing, but his expression was still a little confused. He said, "I was just passing by... I saw Lu Kai's car downstairs, so I thought... I'd come up and say hello."
He turned his head and glanced at Tomato, his substitute who was of similar size to him. Of course, he certainly wouldn't be able to tell at first glance that this person was his meal replacement. After all, the two were not that similar. Tomato just never thought that Waikiki would have a new member.
Even though it was obvious that Lu Kai and Zhao Jinghuan would never have stopped adding new members, he... he just never thought about it.
Tomato said, "You are recruiting new people." There was an indescribable loneliness in his tone. Then he raised his head and saw the banner hanging on the wall.
He subconsciously read the words on the banner: "Celebrating the official opening of Waikiki Studio."
Lu Kai didn't know why he felt a little guilty. He emphasized, "2.0, it even says 2.0 there."
Tomato nodded. "Yeah, I see. 2.0."
He read it again: "Celebrating the opening of Waikiki Studio 2.0."
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