Chapter 3: Young Master, You Must Not!

At this point, Lin Haoran finally understood that the loyalty progress bar would only appear once someone became his subordinate.

He could see these loyalty bars on the employees at the cement factory as well. However, because they were just ordinary workers, after observing them for the past two or three days, he had yet to find anyone with a loyalty rating above fifty.

Still, most of the employees had higher loyalty than Lin One and the other three. These workers relied on Huafeng Cement Factory to feed their families, so they naturally possessed a certain degree of loyalty to the enterprise. And since Lin Haoran was the owner of Huafeng Cement Factory, their loyalty to the factory was essentially loyalty to him.

Out of the dozens of employees Lin Haoran had observed, not a single one had a loyalty rating higher than fifty. This only proved how rare it was for the brothers, Li Weiguo and Li Weidong, to have loyalty ratings exceeding eighty.

"I wonder what kind of subordinate I would get if their loyalty reached one hundred?" Lin Haoran was curious. Perhaps only at one hundred percent loyalty would someone truly be considered unconditionally devoted to him.

"Li Weiguo, Li Weidong, starting today, you two will be my bodyguards. As for your pay, I'll temporarily give you three thousand Hong Kong dollars a month each. Later on, if you perform well, there will be no cap on your salary!" Lin Haoran said directly.

A salary of three thousand Hong Kong dollars was neither too much nor too little in Hong Kong during this era. Currently, the average monthly salary in Hong Kong was around two thousand Hong Kong dollars. In fact, ordinary factory workers in this era earned only about twelve hundred to fifteen hundred Hong Kong dollars a month. Workers at Huafeng Cement Factory, for instance, made just over a thousand. Even the "trusted aides" raised by the Lin family from childhood, like Lin One and Lin Two, only earned a few thousand Hong Kong dollars a month.

Lin Haoran did not know the brothers, Li Weidong and Li Weiguo, very well yet. Offering them a monthly salary of three thousand Hong Kong dollars based solely on the information from their brief conversation was already incredibly generous. Of course, the most important factor was that their loyalty ratings exceeded eighty, which was what Lin Haoran valued above all else. This level of loyalty was more than enough for Lin Haoran to trust them.

Hearing Lin Haoran's words, Li Weiguo and Li Weidong exchanged glances. Excitement gleamed in their eyes, and they were so thrilled they were somewhat at a loss.

They were not familiar with the cost of living in Hong Kong; they only knew that back in their hometown, even the well-off workers in the local city only earned a few dozen yuan a month. They could hardly grasp what a monthly salary of three thousand Hong Kong dollars even meant.

"Boss, is that true? Do we really get three thousand Hong Kong dollars a month each?" Li Weiguo asked hesitantly, his racing heart gradually steadying.

"Of course, I wouldn't lie to you. Also, from now on, just call me Young Master," Lin Haoran said with a smile, already treating the two brothers as his own.

"Thank you, Young Master! We will do our absolute best, fulfill our duties, and protect your safety even at the cost of our lives!" the Li brothers promised in unison.

"Young Master, you must not act so rashly! We haven't thoroughly investigated their backgrounds yet. How can we easily appoint them as your bodyguards? Please, Young Master, think twice!"

Just then, Lin Four, who had been kicked out of the room by Lin Haoran, pushed the door open and rushed in to stop Lin Haoran's decision.

"Lin Four, how dare you! I ordered you to leave, yet you dared to eavesdrop on my conversation? Who gave you the audacity to be so insolent!" Lin Haoran was furious.

*Why would I distrust people like Li Weiguo, whose loyalty exceeds eighty, only to trust a turncoat like you with a loyalty rating of only eleven?*

Looking back over the past two days at the events of the last two months, Lin Haoran had carefully analyzed the behavior of Lin Four and the others. Even without the help of his cheat system, he had already noticed suspicious things about them. It was only because there were currently no suitable replacements for their jobs that Lin Haoran chose to endure it for now. But that did not mean he had no temper.

Hearing Lin Haoran's outburst of rage, Lin Four panicked instantly. Kneeling on the ground, he said, "Young Master, I am doing this for your own good. The old master ordered us to protect your safety."

"I make my own decisions. Lin Four, remember that I am the boss here. It is not your place to tell me what to do!" Lin Haoran looked down at Lin Four, his voice carrying an unquestionable authority.

If Lin Four were loyal to Lin Haoran, Lin Haoran would never treat him this way. But when dealing with a disloyal person, Lin Haoran naturally spared no civility in his reprimand.

"Young Master, I... I... I..." Lin Four was scolded into silence, not knowing what to say.

In truth, Lin Four did think he was acting in Lin Haoran's best interest. Although he was a complete turncoat—a mole planted by Lin Haoning at Lin Haoran's side—he still bore the heavy responsibility of protecting Lin Haoran's safety. If anything happened to Lin Haoran, even if Lin Haoning eventually became the heir to the Wan'an Group, it would have nothing to do with them, and they would still be held accountable by Lin Wan'an.

But since Lin Haoran already knew his true colors, he naturally wouldn't show him any kindness. He was no longer the old Lin Haoran who had just graduated from school and knew nothing.

Having recruited two highly loyal subordinates, Lin Haoran was in a good mood and paid no further attention to Lin Four.

Afraid of offending the Young Master any further, Lin Four slunk out of the room in disgrace. He couldn't understand why Lin Haoran's personality had changed so drastically over the past two days, especially today, showing such a fierce temper toward him.

"Weiguo, Weidong, I assume you haven't seen the outside world yet? I see your complexions have improved nicely. Let me take you out for a walk. You are currently in Yuen Long, which is right across from Shekou in Pengcheng. This is already within the borders of Hong Kong," Lin Haoran said, standing up.

"That sounds wonderful! Thank you, Young Master. After resting for the past two days, we have mostly recovered," Li Weidong's eyes lit up. He had long grown tired of staying in this tiny room.

"Young Master, Yuen Long is a border area. If the border patrol spots us, will we be deported back?" Li Weiguo, on the other hand, was much more cautious and rational.

Li Weiguo's concern was not without merit. Before coming to Hong Kong, he had learned quite a bit about the border defense here from others. He knew that as long as they could make it to the urban area and register with the Immigration Department, they could legally remain in Hong Kong. But before reaching the urban area, they were considered illegal immigrants. Once the law enforcement officers discovered they were undocumented, the consequences would be obvious. It would mean all their efforts in risking their lives to come here would go down the drain.

"Yes, Young Master, we don't want to go back. We want to stay in Hong Kong for good. We've heard that downtown Hong Kong is very prosperous, and we haven't seen what it looks like yet!" Li Weidong nodded repeatedly, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"Don't worry. With me here, no one will dare to question you. Besides, in a couple of days when you've fully recovered, I'll take you to the urban area to get your Hong Kong identity cards so you'll have official status here," Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Lin Haoran had no intention of staying in this backwater of Yuen Long for much longer. There was no point. Only by returning to downtown Hong Kong could he find more opportunities for development.