Chapter 5

Two people walked over from the opposite street. The one in front looked to be around fifty years old, with a bony frame, resembling a skinny monkey. The one behind him was a young man in his twenties, carrying a bag.

The two quickly entered the agency. Yang Ying immediately recognized them. Wasn't that skinny monkey the boss of the opposite Anmei agency, Hou Xingcai? Yang Ying was already upset, and upon seeing Hou Xingcai, she immediately said coldly, "What are you here for?"

"I'm not here to see you," Hou Xingcai said with a smile, turning to look at Lin Hai and saying, "Little Brother Lin, how about that matter you've been considering?"

Lin Hai immediately stood up, his face full of smiles, and said, "Thank you for your trust, Mr. Hou. There's no problem with what you mentioned. I'll resign from Jiabao today and join your side."

"That's great," Hou Xingcai said, immediately delighted. He reached out to the young man beside him.

The young man immediately understood and hurriedly took out a large red envelope from the bag. Judging by its thickness, if it was filled with thousand-yuan bills, it must have contained about 100,000 yuan.

Hou Xingcai took the red envelope and walked a few steps to Lin Hai, handing him the envelope and saying, "A small 100,000 yuan red envelope, just a token of my appreciation. Consider it your signing bonus, Little Brother Lin."

"How can I refuse? Thank you, Mr. Hou. I'll be following you from now on," Lin Hai said with a hearty laugh.

He then turned to look at Yang Ying, smacking his lips and said, "Ms. Yang, I'm sorry, but I'm resigning today to join Mr. Hou. I won't even ask for this month's salary. We'll meet again."

After saying that, he looked at Han Yanyan and Chen Zhongping and said, "Let's go together. Mr. Hou won't treat you badly."

"That's right, one red envelope for each of you," Hou Xingcai said, taking out two smaller red envelopes from the bag, each about 10,000 yuan thick.

He handed the red envelopes to Han Yanyan and Chen Zhongping. The two immediately thanked him repeatedly. Han Yanyan said with a smile, "Mr. Hou is so generous, much better than our Ms. Yang... I mean, Mr. Hou will be our boss from now on. Ms. Yang, I won't ask for this month's salary either. I'm resigning now."

"I'm resigning too," Chen Zhongping said with a smile.

Seeing the three resign together, Yang Ying felt a tightness in her heart. The rent was due at the end of the month, and she was still short on money. She was counting on these three to sell houses. If they left, she wouldn't be able to make up the difference. At least their salaries would ease the pressure. But then she realized something was off. These three hadn't sold a single house in the past ten days, and Chen Zhongping had only rented out one. With their capabilities, it was impossible for them not to have sold any houses.

Yang Ying was certain that Lin Hai had done this deliberately. He must have been preparing to jump ship for a while. According to the contract, they could resign, but they had to give two weeks' notice, or they wouldn't get their salary for the month. This month, they were only getting a base salary. Lin Hai had a bit more, 3,000 yuan, while the other two had only 1,500 yuan each. It was a small amount.

"Lin Hai, isn't this a bit too much!" Yang Ying finally couldn't hold back and shouted.

"It's your own fault for not knowing when to take a compliment. Do you think Brother Hai is a fool? Who doesn't know how you run this agency? We'll see what you do after we leave!" Han Yanyan said sarcastically, without waiting for Lin Hai to speak.

"You... ah..."

Han Yanyan's words almost made Yang Ying burst with anger. In her fury, she forgot about her injured foot and stood up abruptly. The pain made her cry out, and she fell back into her chair.

"Auntie...," Zhang Yu rushed over when he saw Yang Ying in pain, ready to check her foot.

"I'm fine..." Yang Ying gritted her teeth and waved Zhang Yu off gently, signaling him not to.

"Oh, what's this? You're even pretending to be dead now," Han Yanyan said with a smile.

Lin Hai snorted at Yang Ying and then said, "Let's go."

He turned to leave, but after two steps, he stopped. He glanced at the other agents in the agency and said loudly, "Working for Yang Ying here has no future. She might not even be able to pay the rent at the end of the month, and the agency will have to close. Mr. Hou is generous, and Anmei has better benefits. If anyone wants to join us, you can come with me. I can speak for Mr. Hou here. You still have your salaries here, and Anmei can make up for that."

"That's right, that's right..." Hou Xingcai quickly added, "We at Anmei are actively recruiting talented people, and our benefits are much better than Jiabao. If you're willing to join us, I'll cover your salary for this month."

The other agents had been watching, none of them speaking. They were envious of Lin Hai and the others, thinking that Lin Hai was indeed a leader. The other agency offered a 100,000 yuan signing bonus, which was a sign of strength.

If Lin Hai left, Jiabao would likely collapse, and they would have to find their own way. Now that Lin Hai and Hou Xingcai were inviting them, it was a good opportunity. So, the agents all nodded, "Brother Lin, I'll follow you." "Brother Lin, I'll follow you too." ...

In a moment, all the agents except for the glasses-wearing girl, Su Hong, indicated they would resign.

Everyone started packing their things and soon left Jiabao with Hou Xingcai and Lin Hai. Yang Ying watched all this, her heart sinking to the bottom. A flood of bitterness and委屈 (grievance) surged in her heart. She was almost left with nothing, and the agency was her last asset.

Although the place wasn't completely empty, when Jiabao was left with only Yang Ying, Zhang Yu, and the glasses-wearing girl, it became unusually quiet.

The glasses-wearing girl pouted and sat in the corner, her head down. Zhang Yu stood beside Yang Ying, seeing how low her spirits were. Tears welled up in her eyes, ready to fall at any moment.

"Auntie... don't be sad... there's always a way out... the agency still has us...," Zhang Yu comforted her.

He had just arrived in the city and didn't understand much about urban life, but he could see what had just happened. Clearly, Lin Hai and the skinny man who came in later were bullying Yang Ying and taking all her agents away.

His comfort was weak, but Yang Ying knew she had to be strong. The agency was left with only her, Zhang Yu, and the glasses-wearing girl. Zhang Yu knew nothing, and the glasses-wearing girl was not good with words. Relying on them was pointless.

Yang Ying bit her lower lip hard, holding back the tears that were about to fall. She wiped her eyes and said firmly, "You're right. There are still the two of you. The three of us will work hard together, and we will definitely improve the agency's business!"

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