Outside Staff

The interviewer pushed up the glasses on his nose, his gaze behind the lenses as calm as a stagnant pool. "Your resume...is quite unique."

"Thank you," Li Qiang forced a smile that looked more like a grimace. He knew his resume was probably no different from a piece of waste paper in their eyes.

"You have participated in many social practices, for example... ‘proactively returning lost money’?" The interviewer's tone was even, as if reciting a well-memorized textbook.

Li Qiang’s heart skipped a beat, but his face was filled with sincerity. "Yes, I love society, and I love positive energy. I've always believed that every ill-gotten gain should return to its rightful place."

"So you've repeatedly...found a considerable amount of cash and handed it over to the police?" The interviewer flipped through the documents in his hand, his voice devoid of any emotion.

"Yes, sir. It's all I should do," Li Qiang tried to make his voice sound louder.

The interviewer stopped, looked up, and stared sharply at Li Qiang: "Mr. Li, according to police records, the total amount of money you've 'found' exceeds one million yuan, and the locations are highly concentrated within 500 meters of your home, mostly between 3 and 5 am. How do you explain this?"

Li Qiang felt a chill, but he was prepared and immediately responded: "I don't know either, sir. Maybe… maybe I have a natural ‘money-attracting’ physique. You know, some people are prone to attracting bugs, some are prone to attracting cats, and maybe I'm just prone to..."

"Prone to finding money, is that it?" The interviewer interrupted him, a subtle sneer forming on his lips. "Mr. Li, our company needs people with real abilities, not… ‘lucky ones’."

"I can prove it! Sir, I saw it with my own eyes when I found the money, it was all real. And I really turned it all in!" Li Qiang explained urgently.

The interviewer didn't answer, but pointed to a folder on the desk, signaling him to look at it himself.

Li Qiang trembled as he opened it. Inside was a police investigation report with the title "Investigation Report on Li Qiang's Repeated Fabrication of Finding Cash and Handing it over to the Police." He felt as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over him from head to toe, making him feel cold all over.

"Mr. Li, have you ever been arrested?"

"No, sir, I've always been a law-abiding citizen!" Li Qiang quickly shook his head.

"Then why does the police report show that you have been detained for fifteen days for fabricating the fact of ‘finding cash’?"

"Sir, there must be a misunderstanding! I...I really found it!" Li Qiang tried to defend himself.

The interviewer slowly stood up, walked to the window, looked at the gray sky outside, and said to Li Qiang with his back turned, "Our company needs people who can solve problems, not… people who create problems. But…” He paused, “your special experience makes me think that maybe you can do something else.”

Li Qiang was stunned, not understanding what the interviewer meant, but as if grasping the last straw, he eagerly wanted to know the answer.

“Our company is currently working on a social practice project and needs some outside staff to assist…”

Li Qiang was overjoyed and was about to speak, but was frozen in place by the interviewer’s next words.

“Your task is very simple, to create some ‘finding lost money’ incidents at fixed times and places every day. Of course, you don't have to hand it in this time." The interviewer turned around, with a deep smile in his eyes. "This is a new opportunity for you, and it's also our company's… another interpretation of positive social energy."

Li Qiang looked at the interviewer and suddenly understood that he was not a "lucky one", but just a "part" chosen by the system to maintain a certain absurd order. He felt nauseous, but he had to swallow this bitter reality.

"By the way, there is a test before you start work." The interviewer took out a small transparent bag with a few hundred-yuan bills in it. "Please ‘pick up’ this from the trash can on the corner, and then… ‘hand it over’ to the shared bicycle by the street."

Li Qiang numbly took the bag, feeling as if his soul, along with these banknotes, had been put into a larger trash can called "society". He turned and left the room, every step feeling like he was stepping on clouds, moving vaguely towards his already arranged "positive energy" future.