The Capitalist Destined to Be Strung Up from a Streetlamp

Online shills’ verdict: Lu Qingci, the capitalist most deserving of being hanged from a lamppost on Blue Star! In a parallel world, on Blue Star in 2008, a financial crisis has left workers in every industry unemployed. The Lu family’s clothing factory is on the brink of collapse, and the original owner gets dumped by Liu Ruyan as a result. Lu Qingci happens to transmigrate into this world and activates the Chosen Capitalist System. For every employee he hires, he receives a daily reward of 200 yuan. The System has plenty of other features, too. For every ten employees recruited, he can promote one trusted aide and gradually turn them into a confidant. For every hundred employees recruited, he gets one lucky draw, though the prizes are rather unconventional. The first prize is actually Empress Ma, from the first year of the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty. She transmigrates over every workday and works eight hours. The System can also unlock a shop where he can buy attributes like strength, speed, and stamina, or even buy extra years of life! The System does have one restriction, though. As the Chosen Capitalist, Lu Qingci cannot pay any employee a base salary of more than 3,000 yuan a month, unless the national legal minimum exceeds that amount. That’s not a bad salary in 2008. But years later, even more than a decade later, he’s still paying only that much, and even says, “I completely agree that employees’ base salaries don’t need to be too high.” People outside rage and curse the heartless capitalists. But Lu Qingci’s employees only smile in silence. They finish their eight-hour workdays, then study to improve themselves or relax with games. Not one of them quits. After working for a few years, they buy homes and cars, get married, and have children.