Chapter 412: Law Firm Benefits

Shanghai.

Shanghai Drama Academy^[1].

“Director Luo just called to notify us. He said the movie we filmed will be released on August 15th.”

Jiang Xue looked at the group in front of her, speaking with a face full of excitement.

As a key cast member of the film, she was naturally looking forward to seeing their work hit the screens.

The others were equally thrilled upon hearing Jiang Xue’s news.

“Oh, right! A lot of classmates have been asking me lately when our movie is coming out. They all want to show their support,” Su Tang suddenly chimed in.

During this period, students would occasionally come by to ask about the film. Even some of the instructors had approached her for information.

“True, I’ve been asked by many people as well. Since the release date wasn’t confirmed before, I didn’t have anything to tell them,” another added.

“Same here.”

“Well, now that we have an exact date, we can finally give those people an answer.”

“…”

Jiang Xue nodded slightly as she listened to them. She had been asked many times herself.

However, she knew most of those inquiries were born out of curiosity; many weren’t actually planning to support their film.

After a moment of thought, she spoke up slowly.

“I learned from Director Luo that this time, there hasn’t been any formal promotion for our movie. Therefore, the box office numbers might not be very ideal during the initial release. I hope you’re all mentally prepared for that.”

“But I do have an idea. Since Blue Film Studio isn’t doing any promotion, why don’t we promote it ourselves?”

“We promote it? How?” a young man asked, puzzled. He played a minor role in the film.

“Campus promotion. We can promote it on the school’s Tieba^[2],” Jiang Xue explained.

“But would that really do much? Even if the entire school went to see it, it wouldn’t create a breakthrough in publicity or box office revenue.”

“No, our goal in promoting it on the school Tieba isn’t to increase box office revenue. It’s to have people from the school watch it and then help us identify the flaws and deficiencies in our acting.”

“After all, this is a drama academy. Everyone has their own insights into acting. We can use the issues they point out to figure out which areas we still need to strengthen.”

“Of course, to encourage people to comment, we can give out small gifts to those who participate or offer constructive feedback.”

Jiang Xue laid out her thoughts clearly.

Promoting a movie on a grand scale was beyond their current capabilities, but doing so within the campus was well within their reach.

Moreover, many of the students were studying acting, so they could effectively point out the shortcomings in their performance.

This way, they could find their own weaknesses through these critiques, correct them, and improve their craft.

“That’s actually a great idea.”

Su Tang nodded in agreement after hearing Jiang Xue’s proposal.

The others voiced their support as well.

Seeing that everyone was on board, Jiang Xue smiled and clapped her hands.

“Then it’s settled. We have fourteen days until the release, so we need to start moving as soon as possible.”

……

Several days later.

Baishu Law Firm.

Inside a conference room, a hundred newly recruited intern lawyers stood in neat rows.

Tang Qiu looked at the hundred interns and nodded slowly. Once the location of the law firm had been finalized a while back, she had begun the recruitment process.

To implement her plan of survival of the fittest, she had set the number of interns at exactly one hundred.

These hundred interns were the cream of the crop, handpicked by her from a mountain of resumes.

“You’ve all seen the layout of the firm just now. Every room we toured belongs to Baishu Law Firm. However, because renovations are still underway, we haven’t set up any desks or chairs yet.”

“So, until the renovations are finished and the furniture is moved in, you will all be working from home. Rest assured, there will be a corresponding subsidy for remote work.”

“But working from home doesn’t mean you’ll be doing nothing. Every day, I will use online meetings to walk you through various cases and essential legal knowledge.”

As Tang Qiu finished speaking, a small wave of hushed discussion broke out in the room, though it quickly settled back into silence.

Seeing the room grow quiet again, Tang Qiu continued.

“I believe the benefits and compensation for Baishu Law Firm were clearly stated in the recruitment brochure. Of course, there are also some hidden perks within the company that you’ll discover later. What you need to know now is that the benefits Baishu Law Firm offers are things no other firm can provide.”

“I’m sure quite a few of you interviewed at other firms before coming here. I won’t go into detail about what they offered; those who don’t know can ask around.”

“However, since we provide such high compensation, we aren’t here to run a charity. We have our own requirements.”

At this point, Tang Qiu’s gaze swept across the many applicants.

She had abandoned traditional interview methods, choosing instead to gather all one hundred candidates for a collective session.

It wasn’t exactly an interview, but rather a process of mutual selection.

The fact that she had brought these interns into the conference room meant they currently met her standards.

What she needed to do now was lay out the firm’s requirements and let the applicants make a choice. If they could accept the terms, they would stay and sign their contracts to become employees.

If they couldn’t, they were free to leave immediately, and she would continue recruiting qualified interns until the slots were filled.

Listening to Tang Qiu, all the applicants looked at her with curiosity, wondering what these “requirements” actually were.

Sensing their curious gazes, Tang Qiu spoke again.

“After joining Baishu Law Firm, in order to quickly cultivate talent capable of working independently, the firm will adopt a ‘survival of the fittest’ system.”

“The system is simple: I will conduct irregular evaluations and assessments. Any employee who fails will be eliminated and must leave the firm. This will continue until only fifty people remain. Of course, that number isn’t set in stone. If you are truly exceptional but happen to rank outside the top fifty, we will make a reasonable decision based on the circumstances at the time.”

As the words fell, the conference room erupted into an uproar.

Tang Qiu watched the scene with a faint, calm smile.

“This system is cruel. So, before you join, you must think carefully about the pressure. Don’t wait until after you’ve started to realize the pressure is too much and then choose to leave. That would be a waste of both your time and ours.”

“Alright, I’ve said what I needed to say. Those who feel this isn’t for them can leave now. Those who find it acceptable can stay and sign the contract.”

Translator’s Notes

1. Shanghai Drama Academy: Commonly known as the Shanghai Theatre Academy (STA), it is one of China’s most prestigious public universities for the dramatic arts, comparable to Juilliard in the US or RADA in the UK. ↩

2. Tieba: Baidu Tieba is a massive Chinese communication platform hosted by the search engine Baidu. It is organized into ‘bars’ based on specific topics or locations, functioning similarly to subreddits on Reddit. ↩