Zhang Bowen's eyes widened, confused. "Chairman Li?"
"The birth rate! It's the birth rate, comrades!"
Li Changye waved his hand. "Why is the birth rate continuously declining? In the final analysis, it's because people aren't having children! Why aren't they having children? A large part of the reason is because they aren't getting married! Why aren't they getting married? Because they can't find a partner!"
He grew more excited as he spoke. "Therefore, Huanyu Group's next strategic focus is to solve the marriage and relationship problems of the vast number of single young people! We are going to—do matchmaking projects!"
Zhang Bowen's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. From luxury spas to matchmaking platforms, the business scope was wider than his imagination.
But he was already accustomed to his chairman's wild ideas and could only silently grumble in his heart, "Whatever makes you happy."
Li Changye was already immersed in his grand vision. "We want to build a real, efficient, and humanistic dating platform! We will use the most advanced technology and the most understanding service to ensure that all lovers eventually find each other!"
Acting on his words, Li Changye immediately instructed Zhao Lei of the Human Resources Department, "Zhao Lei, immediately establish a new project department called 'Huanyu Blissful Marriages Department'! Recruit people for me, especially programmers; we need to build a brand-new online platform!"
Zhao Lei was about to ask about specific staffing needs and salary standards when Li Changye suddenly added, "Wait, I've thought about it. For this recruitment, we will mainly target those... well, experienced programmers who may be in career difficulties for certain reasons. Especially those... older programmers!"
Zhao Lei was stunned, then understood.
Chairman Li was once again going to "improve the employment environment" and provide targeted assistance to a specific group.
He was already used to his boss's "unconventional" recruitment preferences.
As soon as the recruitment information was released, Huanyu Group's salaries, which far exceeded industry standards, and its benefits, which were considered "divine company" level, along with the note "priority given to experienced but unemployed older programmers," immediately caused a stir in the long-silent "Older Coders Communication Group."
A few days later, a somewhat hunched man sat uneasily in Huanyu Group's bright and luxurious reception room.
His name was Lao Lang, thirty-five years old. He used to be a senior architect at a major internet company, having led teams of dozens of people and spearheaded several projects with DAUs exceeding 100 million.
Back then, he was full of vigor, the pillar of his family, and the pride in his wife's eyes.
However, a sudden layoff made him, this "high-salary, low-efficiency" veteran, one of the first to be "graduated."
Initially, relying on his resume and connections, he was not flustered.
But reality quickly slapped him hard. The resumes he sent out sank like stones in the sea, and occasionally he got a few interview opportunities, but the other party either disliked his age or squeezed his salary ridiculously.
He watched helplessly as the money in his bank account dwindled day by day, and the atmosphere at home became increasingly oppressive.
His wife went from initial encouragement and comfort, to later sighs, and finally to hysterics: "Lao Lang! Can you do it or not? Mortgage, car loan, children's tutoring classes, which one doesn't cost money? I must have been blind to marry a good-for-nothing like you!"
Finally, after a fierce argument, his wife slammed the door and left, leaving behind a divorce agreement.
He left with nothing, moving into a partitioned room with a monthly rent of eight hundred yuan. The only furniture was a creaky single bed.
In his former colleagues' group chat, some were showing off new offers, others were discussing stock options. He silently muted all group messages.
He began to doubt life, wondering if all the code he had written for twenty years had gone to waste.
On countless nights, he stared blankly at the computer screen. His once-proud tech stack now seemed worthless in his eyes.
He even thought about delivering food or going back to his hometown to open a small shop, but he was unwilling to sink into oblivion like that.
When he saw Huanyu Group's recruitment information, especially the phrase "priority given to older programmers," Lao Lang's heart trembled violently.
This was practically tailor-made for him.
He spent an entire night revising his long-neglected resume again and again, meticulously weighing every word, and then, with a final sliver of hope, clicked send.
On the day of the interview, he specifically dug out his old suit from the bottom of his trunk, even though the cuffs were already shiny from wear.
HR Xiao Wang looked at Lao Lang's brilliant resume, then at the gray-haired, dull-eyed, and tired middle-aged man in front of him, feeling a bit hesitant.
Could this man's condition keep up with the fast pace of the internet industry now?
Lao Lang sensed the HR's hesitation, and his voice, with an almost imperceptible tremor, carefully said, "I... I still have experience, and I can learn new technologies; I can get started very quickly. My salary requirement isn't high, as long as you can give me a chance... eight thousand, no, six thousand a month is fine! I promise, I can do well!"
He lowered his expected salary again and again, to the point of being in the dust, fearing he would miss this last straw.
Just as HR Xiao Wang was weighing the pros and cons and preparing to give Lao Lang a lower offer, the office door opened.
Li Changye was still dressed in his "incognito" attire.
"Chairman Li!" HR Xiao Wang and the other employees immediately stood up and bowed respectfully.
Li Changye casually waved his hand, his gaze falling on the uneasy Lao Lang.
He glanced at the resume on the table, then looked at Lao Lang's bloodshot eyes, filled with the marks of time, and frowned slightly.
"What's the situation?" he asked HR Xiao Wang.
Xiao Wang quickly reported, "Chairman Li, this is Lao Lang, who is applying for a senior programmer position. His resume is excellent, but... he himself expects a salary of six thousand..."
"How can six thousand be enough!"
Before Xiao Wang could finish, Li Changye waved his hand, interrupting her, and said in an undeniable tone, "Such senior talent with rich experience from major companies is a valuable asset to our group! It's me, a 'conscientious entrepreneur'... ahem, it's the backbone of our group's development! Eighty thousand yuan a month! Pay him at this standard during the probationary period! We'll discuss it again after he becomes a full employee! Also, advance him one month's salary so he can settle his life first."
"Ah?" Lao Lang suddenly looked up, his eyes filled with disbelief.
Eighty thousand? And an advance of one month's salary? Was he hallucinating?
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found his throat seemed to be blocked, unable to utter a single word, yet his eyes uncontrollably welled up.
HR Xiao Wang was also stunned and quietly reminded, "Chairman Li, he himself said he only needs six thousand... and, advancing salary is against regulations..."
Li Changye immediately glared at her, his tone becoming stern. "Regulations are dead; people are alive! I hired you, the Human Resources Department, not to save me money. Is Huanyu Group short of this money? What we want is talent! Elites who can create value for us!"
"From now on, when recruiting, especially programmers with experience from major companies who were laid off for certain reasons, the salary and benefits must be in place! We must let them feel our group's sincerity and respect! Understand?"
"Yes, yes, yes! Chairman Li, I understand!" HR Xiao Wang nodded repeatedly, scared.
Lao Lang was almost in a daze as the HR led him to sign the contract.
When the labor contract for eighty thousand yuan a month and the advanced salary arrived in his account, this weathered middle-aged man could no longer hold back, and tears streamed down his face.
He thought his life would just be like this, but he never expected to encounter such a "divine company" and a "living Bodhisattva boss" in his despair.
He clutched the contract and the money, feeling as if he had been reborn.
In the following days, several other programmers from major companies, similar to Lao Lang's situation, successively joined Huanyu Group's "Huanyu Blissful Marriages Department."
One of them was named Lao Wu, thirty-eight years old, looking even more haggard than Lao Lang.
He used to be a technical director at another major company, full of vigor, firmly believing that technology changes the world and that he could give his family the best life.
At the peak of housing prices, he disregarded his wife's dissuasion and gritted his teeth to mortgage a nearly two-hundred-square-meter river-view flat. The down payment drained all his savings, and the forty thousand yuan monthly mortgage suffocated him, but he felt it was worth it; it was a symbol of his success.
However, with the arrival of the industry winter and company layoffs, he was not spared.
After losing his job, he realized that his outdated skills were so vulnerable in the face of ruthless capital.
The high mortgage became a noose around his neck.
His once gentle and considerate wife, due to financial hardship, went from initial complaints to daily arguments: "Lao Wu, I told you long ago not to buy such a big house! Now look, you've lost your job, what about the mortgage? Our daughter's piano lessons next month still haven't been paid for! You need to figure something out!"
Arguments eventually escalated into a cold war, and then his wife proposed divorce, wanting to take their daughter back to her parents' home.
Lao Wu's world completely collapsed.
He suffered from insomnia night after night, staring at the ceiling, thinking about his past glory and his current despair. A huge sense of powerlessness swallowed him.
The large flat that had carried all his dreams was eventually put up for auction by the bank due to his inability to repay the loan, and even at half price, no one was interested.
He went from being a successful person in others' eyes to a homeless failure overnight.
He even considered whether jumping from this dozens-of-stories-high building would bring him relief.
Just as he was completely disheartened and preparing to go to the job market to see if there were any security guard or warehouse manager jobs, a former colleague forwarded him Huanyu Group's recruitment link.
Seeing the words "priority for older programmers" and "generous salary," a faint ripple appeared in Lao Wu's numb heart.
He submitted his resume almost immediately.
The interview process was largely similar to Lao Lang's. Li Changye also offered a salary and advanced pay far exceeding his expectations.
Lao Wu, holding the contract and cash, did not weep bitterly like Lao Lang.
He just stood there, standing still for a long time, then bowed deeply to Li Changye and said in a hoarse voice, "Chairman Li, thank you. This job, to me, is life-saving."
Li Changye patted him on the shoulder. "Lao Wu, let the past be the past. At Huanyu, work hard, and the group will not mistreat any capable employee."
