The next day, Lin Tao arrived at our home, his face flushed with an excitement he didn't bother to hide. He was dressed in a suit that was clearly too large for him, probably rented for the occasion, trying to project an image of a serious businessman.
"Brother-in-law!" he greeted me with an unprecedented level of enthusiasm, handing me a cigarette. "I heard from my sister! Thank you so much for giving me this chance!"
I waved the cigarette away. "It's not a chance I'm giving you, it's a responsibility," I said, my tone professional and detached. "This is business. If you do well, you get paid. If you mess up, you bear the consequences. Understand?"
"Of course, of course! I understand completely!" he said, nodding eagerly, though I could tell the words "consequences" flew right over his head. All he heard was the "get paid" part.
I spread the project overview on the coffee table. I didn't show him the full contract yet, just the scope of work for the materials supply section. I deliberately simplified the description.
"Your main job is this," I explained, pointing to a flowchart I had prepared. "You'll be the sole supplier for a specific type of imported waterproofing membrane. I'll give you the manufacturer's contact. You place the order, coordinate the international logistics, and ensure it arrives at our construction site warehouse on time and in perfect condition. Once our quality control team signs off on the delivery, the payment process starts."
It sounded straightforward. A simple middleman's job.
"The total contract value is three hundred fifty thousand. The cost from the manufacturer is around two hundred sixty thousand. The rest, after deducting logistics and taxes, is your profit," I laid out the numbers, watching his eyes widen. A potential profit of nearly eighty thousand for what seemed like a few phone calls and emails. For someone like Lin Tao, who had never earned more than five thousand a month, this was a jackpot.
"No problem, brother-in-law! Leave it to me!" he thumped his chest in assurance.
Lin Wei and my mother-in-law, who had conveniently "dropped by," sat on the sofa, beaming with pride as if their son was already a successful tycoon.
"Chen Xu, you should guide your brother-in-law more," my mother-in-law said. "Tao is smart, he just lacked a platform. Now that you're helping him, our family's future is bright."
"Of course, Mom," I said with a dutiful smile. "It's all for the family."
Over the next few days, I played the role of the patient mentor. I guided Lin Tao on how to register a shell company—a simple trading firm. I walked him through the process of opening a corporate bank account. I made everything seem like standard procedure, a necessary but boring part of the business world.
He was completely immersed in his new identity as "CEO Lin." He bought a new briefcase, printed business cards, and started calling everyone "Mr." and "Ms." He was a child playing house, completely oblivious to the fact that the house was a cage I was building just for him.
The bait was not just the money. It was the illusion of competence, the taste of respect he had always craved but never earned. I wasn't just offering him a contract; I was offering him a fantasy. And he, along with his entire family, swallowed the hook, line, and sinker. They were so blinded by the promise of a rising star that they never once stopped to question why the sky was suddenly falling with pies.