Chapter 560: Jiang Silu’s First Time as a Boss, Making Big Money, and Treating Lu Fan to a Meal

Meanwhile, at the Lu Fan Group building in Jinling, Jiang Silu had been so busy her feet barely touched the ground. Ever since taking on two projects for the Lu Fan Group, her life had been reduced to a repetitive three-stop routine: the classroom, the dorm, and the studio.

Sometimes, she would draft designs until midnight. When her eyes grew so sore she could barely keep them open, she would rest her head on the desk for a short nap, only to wake up and continue drawing. Song Miaomiao told her she had visibly lost weight. When she stepped on the scale, she found she had indeed lost three pounds.

That afternoon, while she was in the studio revising a landscape plan, her phone went BUZZ. She picked it up to see a message from Lu Fan: [Are you at the studio?]

Jiang Silu replied with a simple “Yeah.”

Less than twenty minutes later, the studio door was pushed open. Lu Fan stood at the entrance carrying two cups of milk tea. Chen He followed close behind, holding two bags—one filled with pastries and the other with fruit.

“Dad, what brings you here?” Jiang Silu stood up from her chair and rubbed her aching eyes.

“Just came to see you.” Lu Fan walked in and placed the milk tea on a table, taking in the layout of the studio. Several desks were pushed together, piled high with blueprints, rulers, computers, and various design magazines.

“Have you been busy lately?” Lu Fan sat down on a chair.

“It’s been alright,” Jiang Silu smiled, opening her milk tea and taking a sip.

Lu Fan studied her face, his brows furrowing slightly. She had faint dark circles under her eyes, and her lips looked a bit dry. He turned his head and gave Chen He a look. Chen He set the pastries and fruit on the table, then quietly stepped out.

“You’ve lost weight,” Lu Fan said.

“I haven’t,” Jiang Silu replied with a smile. “I actually gained two pounds.”

“Nonsense.” Lu Fan shook his head. “If your mother saw you like this, her heart would ache.”

Jiang Silu lowered her head and remained silent.

Lu Fan glanced at the blueprints on the desk and asked, “How is the project progressing?”

“It’s going okay. I’ve already produced two versions of the proposal, but the client hasn’t made a final decision yet,” Jiang Silu answered. “It’s just a lot of work. I can’t handle it all by myself.”

“So, what do you plan to do?” Lu Fan looked at her.

Jiang Silu thought for a moment before saying softly, “I’ve considered hiring people, but…” She paused, looking embarrassed. “This studio is just getting started, and the income isn’t stable. I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to afford to pay anyone.”

Lu Fan leaned back in his chair, smiling as he looked at her. “How will you know you can’t afford them if you don’t try?”

Jiang Silu froze for a second.

“People are all like this,” Lu Fan said earnestly. “If you don’t take that first step, you’ll never know how much potential you have. You feel overwhelmed, which means your workload has already exceeded your personal capacity.

“If you don’t hire people at this stage, you’ll only exhaust yourself, and your business will never grow.”

Jiang Silu nodded as she listened, though she didn’t speak.

“If you properly establish this studio and scale it up, I’ll have Xiaoya assign you more design tasks,” Lu Fan continued. “The Group has dozens of design projects every year. You can’t finish them all on your own, so it would be perfect to distribute them to your team.”

Jiang Silu’s eyes lit up, but they quickly dimmed again. She lowered her head, her fingers tapping gently against the milk tea cup.

“Dad, I’m afraid of messing up.” Jiang Silu blushed. “Your company’s projects are massive. I’m worried I won’t do a good job and end up embarrassing you.”

“Who said it has to be perfect?” Lu Fan chuckled. “Everyone starts out as a beginner. When you created your first proposal, didn’t you revise it multiple times? And didn’t it pass in the end?”

Jiang Silu didn’t say anything.

“Besides, you won a second-place national award. What are you afraid of?” Lu Fan said with a smile. “A national second prize is something countless people dream of but never achieve.”

Jiang Silu looked up at Lu Fan. There was no patronizing flattery or empty comfort in his eyes; his tone was utterly serious, simply stating the facts.

She smiled—a very light, yet profoundly reassuring smile.

“Dad, I actually thought about asking Lu Yao, Song Miaomiao, and the others to join,” Jiang Silu said. “They’re interested in design too, but they’re still in school and lack experience. I also thought about looking for upperclassmen in their junior year, but they’re doing internships and might not have the time.”

“So, what do you lack the most right now?” Lu Fan asked.

“Designers who can hit the ground running,” Jiang Silu answered. “The kind who don’t need training and can jump straight into the work.”

Lu Fan nodded. He took out his phone, scrolled to Jiali’s number, and dialed.

“Jiali, do something for me,” Lu Fan said calmly. “Silu’s studio is hiring. Put out a recruitment notice in the Group’s name for two to three designers. Those with work experience get priority. When it’s time for interviews, have Silu and Xiaoya conduct them together.”

Over the phone, Jiali acknowledged, “Understood, Mr. Lu.”

Lu Fan hung up and looked at Jiang Silu with a smile. “You don’t need to worry about the recruitment. Jiali will arrange everything. During the interviews, you’ll be with Xiaoya, but you will make the final decisions.”

Jiang Silu opened her mouth to speak, but swallowed her words. “Dad, I…” She lowered her head. “I’m afraid I won’t be good at interviewing them. They’re all professional designers, and I’m just a freshman.”

“You are the boss,” Lu Fan looked at her and said seriously. “A boss doesn’t need to be more specialized than their employees. A boss just needs to know who can do the work and who can do it well. Just slap that second-place national award certificate on the table—who would dare look down on you?”

Jiang Silu blushed and smiled.

Less than three days after the recruitment notice went out, Jiali received over fifty resumes. She screened them, selected eight candidates, and notified them to come in for an interview.

The interviews were set to take place at the design department of the Jinling Branch on Saturday morning. Jiang Silu went to the company a day early. Xiaoya had already organized the candidates’ resumes and left them neatly on her desk.