Those Classmates who Suddenly Disappeared
Chapter 526: A Company of Two People

Chapter 526: Chapter 526: A Company of Two People

Gu Fan sat in the empty office, looking around at the cold loneliness. At one point, he began to doubt his entire life. Just as Gu Fan was about to leave, Boss Ding arrived.

Upon seeing Gu Fan, Boss Ding patted his shoulder and said with a smile, "Young man, you came. I was worried you wouldn’t show up today."

"Boss Ding, I..." Gu Fan gestured towards the empty office with a look of embarrassment, but Boss Ding remained calm: "The company is facing some difficulties right now. We made losses on several of our investments, and we are in deficit. The others were unwilling to stay and weather the storm with the company, and I couldn’t force them to stay."

Gu Fan looked perplexed: "Under these circumstances, you’re still hiring, Boss Ding?"

Boss Ding responded as if it were obvious: "People have left, so of course I need to hire. The company is merely facing difficulties, it’s not closing down."

Gu Fan gave a noncommittal grunt. It felt like he was falling into a pit. He wondered if it was still possible to back out now.

That’s when Boss Ding said, "I know what you’re thinking: can you trust this company? Let me tell you, as long as we can still pay salaries, we’re a reliable company."

That did sound reasonable to Gu Fan, but he still had a question: "What about the HR for onboarding and the finance for payroll? Have they left too?"

At this, Boss Ding slightly revealed his embarrassment: "As you can see, it’s just you and me now in this company. But don’t worry, by the time salaries are due, I believe I would have found HR and finance personnel. If not, you could handle the HR work – the onboarding process for yourself – and I’ll take care of finance, I’ll give you cash directly."

Listening to this unorthodox solution, Gu Fan was speechless, a strong desire to leave rising within him.

It was at this moment, Boss Ding, while observing the empty office, showed a hint of sadness in his eyes: "It’s been ten years since I founded this company. In these ten years, I’ve never fired anyone. Even if an employee encountered difficulties and requested frequent leaves, I never considered firing them. I knew the company would inevitably face difficulties someday, and I would need the employees to stay and overcome the obstacles with the company. To achieve that, I couldn’t abandon them when they were facing their own challenges."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan was moved, feeling that Boss Ding was a compassionate boss worth sticking around for.

Sadly, Boss Ding continued: "I thought that since I always considered my staff’s welfare, they would stick with me when times were tough. But in the end, they all left."

Upon hearing this, Gu Fan started to sympathize with Boss Ding, wondering why everyone had left such a good boss.

Boss Ding shrugged, stating: "Nevermind, I am still grateful to those employees. They hung on for half a year. After seeing I couldn’t hold on any longer, they collectively resigned, which lightened my burden."

After hearing this, Gu Fan’s thoughts were in disarray. Was it the employees who mercilessly abandoned Boss Ding when the company was in trouble, or did they persist for a long time before they had no choice but to leave? Give me a break, which story is the true one?

Regaining his spirits, Boss Ding said: "Alright, no more of this melancholy topic. Although the company is having a hard time, the departures have also considerably lightened our burden. The company hasn’t sunk yet. Remember what you told me yesterday?"

"I said a lot of things yesterday. I’m not sure which one you’re referring to, Boss Ding." Gu Fan started to feign confusion, hoping for an opportunity to slip away as he felt he couldn’t leap into this pit.

Boss Ding then said in a grave tone, "You said that you would never back down from any difficulty at work, that you would persist and overcome. That’s the kind of young man I need right now."

"Right, cheap labor," Gu Fan silently complained, feeling like he was already onboard a pirate ship.

Boss Ding nodded, "Young man, I have high hopes for you. As you can see, right now there’s no one in the company but you. Once you’ve done a good job and the company is back on its feet, do you know what that means?"

"Yes, I know. It means endless possibilities, right?" Gu Fan looked at the empty office again and said with a hint of uncertainty, "But Boss Ding, you and I, a recent college graduate, can we really turn the tide together?"

"Why not? When I first started my business, I was even younger than you. Do you know how many difficulties I faced? Still, I’ve come this far, step by step. The fact that I’ve hired you means I haven’t given up yet. As long as I haven’t given up, there is still hope," said Boss Ding with a full dose of fighting spirit, as if nothing could hold him back.

Upon hearing these words, Gu Fan’s fighting spirit was kindled too. He thought to himself, ’Indeed, many young people who are the same age as me are starting businesses upon graduation. Perhaps they face even more difficulty than I do. As a wage earner, what do I have to fear? As long as I’m paid and learning something, isn’t that what a college graduate with no work experience or worldly wisdom desires most?’

The interviews during this period made Gu Fan realize that he wasn’t an exceptional talent, and did not have the advantage when competing for an ideal job position. However, he was insistent on not settling for just any job, which resulted in the embarrassing situation of not being able to find work.

However, now, albeit feeling somewhat manipulated, Gu Fan thought that this might be his only opportunity. Perhaps he really could learn a lot? Moreover, judging by Boss Ding’s lack of pessimism and his high fighting spirit, who knew what could happen?

At the moment Gu Fan decided to take a gamble, Boss Ding checked his watch and said, "Alright, the market is opening. Let’s pay attention to the market trends." Boss Ding then handed Gu Fan a pile of documents for him to work through and learn on the job.

Looking at the thick stack of documents in his hand, Gu Fan still had his doubts. The gamble he seemed to taking could well see him gambling his future away.

Having no alternative, and now being onboard this pirate ship, Gu Fan rolled up his sleeves and started getting down to work. He then heard Boss Ding on the phone, "Brother Lei, I’ve hired an intern here temporarily just to hold the fort. It shouldn’t cause any problems. How are things on your end?"

At the beginning, Gu Fan didn’t pay attention to this, assuming that this Brother Lei was probably a business partner of Boss Ding. Now that he threw himself into this uncertain venture, he thought, ’Let’s give it a month. There might be some unexpected gains.’