For this matter, Li Dong hadn't returned home for over half a month, handling most of his work affairs via phone and computer.
Of course, part of it was also to avoid Lin Yu from the Lin family.
That girl was too clingy. Who knew when she might track him down and then—what if she flipped the script and took the initiative? Wouldn't that ruin his reputation?
After obtaining the latest electronic version of the Family Records from the elders of the Ancestral Shrine Land, Li Dong took a few personality analysts and some smooth-talking salespeople on a journey across various locations in Guangnan Province.
Not all members of the Li family sharing the same ancestral hall lived in Dongjiang City.
Some resided in big cities, some in remote rural areas, some in the suburbs, some had settled abroad, and others had moved to different provinces seeking better opportunities.
With societal changes, economic development, and the passage of time, populations were constantly on the move.
For a better quality of life, most people chose to leave their hometowns and migrate to big cities to work—just to earn a meager living.
Moreover, their branch of the Li family hadn't originally settled in Dongjiang City centuries ago either; they had migrated from elsewhere.
Even their Ancestral Shrine Land was located in a relatively obscure small town.
Li Dong's branch of the Li family had thrived and expanded across Dongjiang City for hundreds of years. Despite the impact of multiple wars, they still numbered in the hundreds of thousands.
Members of the same ancestral hall and surname were scattered across the globe.
The moment Li Dong received the electronic Family Records, he handed them over to Li Tiang for processing.
He tasked Li Tiang with using Big Data Technology and Weak Artificial Intelligence to analyze and determine the most suitable candidates for recruitment.
This significantly improved efficiency.
After all, every day was precious, and Li Dong had plenty of responsibilities.
If the management team couldn't handle certain matters, he had to step in personally. If even that didn't work, he had to pull strings and call in favors.
His mother, Xu Yajun, was also tied up with daily responsibilities, while his younger brother and sister-in-law were even busier.
Under the combined analysis of Big Data Technology and Weak Artificial Intelligence, the first group to be filtered out were those from wealthy families—after all, who from such backgrounds would be interested in a security job?
No matter how high the salary.
The second group to be eliminated were those not residing in Guangnan Province. If they didn't live locally, it meant their social circles weren't here, their families weren't settled here, and they had no connections.
They could leave anytime.
The third group to be screened out were the physically weak or chronically ill… then the fourth… the fifth…
After multiple rounds of filtering, Li Dong finally obtained a reference list.
Though it was just a tentative guide, it at least saved him from running around like a headless chicken.
However, Li Dong couldn't just show up at people's doors with this list and ask, "Hey, want to quit your job and work for me? Since we share the same ancestral hall, I'll pay you 10,000 a month! Plus Five Insurances and One Fund!"
Only a fool would do that.
Speaking like this would only put people on high alert immediately, making them think Li Dong was highly unreliable and definitely trying to lure them to some remote place to harvest their kidneys or organs.
Upon arriving at the locations, Li Dong first sent the more eloquent salespeople to visit nearby villagers and neighbors.
Using plausible excuses—such as claiming they were officials sent by certain authorities or part of an investigation team conducting surveys—they would ask about specific individuals' family backgrounds to analyze certain social issues.
As long as the excuse was reasonable and there was money as a reward, some villagers and neighbors would eagerly spill every detail they could recall about the person, from childhood to adulthood.
For example, they'd ask: What is Li Moumou's character like? Has he ever done anything bad? Did he serve in the military? What does he do for a living now?
Has he ever committed any crimes?
Is he hot-tempered? Does he gamble? How many people are in his family? Is he filial? What are his parents' personalities like?
They could even indirectly gather information about the family's values and upbringing.
Even childhood mischief could be dug up.
On top of that, Li Dong had a few personality analysts on hand to assess the information.
This way, even if Li Dong had never met the person in question, he could still gain a thorough understanding of them and their family background.
But this wasn't the final step. They also had to inquire with the person's cousins, uncles, nephews, and other relatives.
The details gathered from these sources would then be cross-referenced with the information obtained from the villagers and neighbors.
They would also seek opinions from locally respected figures about the person's reputation.
Li Dong would compile the gathered information and the analysts' assessments before passing them to Li Tiang for further sorting and filtering.
Only after this screening process would Li Dong invite the candidates for either an online video interview or an in-person meeting.
The final recruitment decision would be made only after both parties had met—either virtually or face-to-face—and Li Dong had assessed the candidate's demeanor and personality through conversation.
Only after passing all these stages would Li Dong delegate someone—or an HR representative—to persuade the candidate to come work for him.
Now was not yet the time to play the "same surname, same clan" card.
That card could only be played when the apocalypse was imminent or had already arrived—then, they would be more united and trustworthy.
And so, over the course of more than half a month,
Li Dong evaluated hundreds of people across Guangnan Province, averaging over thirty candidates per day.
Of course, most of the work wasn't done by Li Dong personally—he had employees assisting him. Otherwise, such a massive workload would have overwhelmed him.
After nearly a month of effort, Li Dong extended recruitment invitations to 229 members of the Li clan from the same ancestral hall. But how many would ultimately accept?
No one could say for sure.
However, after multiple rounds of screening, most of these individuals came from less privileged backgrounds, had low-paying jobs, and possessed few specialized skills—making them relatively easy to recruit.
Based on analysis and projections, roughly 200 were expected to agree to take on this security work.
Upon returning to Dongjiang City, Li Dong would continue recruiting security personnel—but this time, the recruitment would be open to the general public.
Around 300 more would be hired, forming a security force of 500 in total.
Regular security personnel earn a monthly salary of 10,000 yuan per person, along with Five Insurances and One Fund. The wages for squad leaders and platoon leaders are even higher.
This job isn't something just anyone can do—candidates must pass rigorous screening to qualify.
Once all security personnel are recruited, Li Dong would personally train them, implementing military-style drills and management.
An undisciplined security team without organization simply wouldn't do, and Li Dong had no intention of keeping a bunch of deadweight around.
Over half a month later.
Returning to his suburban villa, Li Dong collapsed onto the sofa with a long sigh.
However, before he could even finish sighing, he spotted someone who made his scalp tingle—the last person he wanted to see right now.
"Damn it, Lin Yu, you followed me all the way home? Who let you in?" Li Dong immediately sat up, glaring at Lin Yu as she emerged from the corner of his vision.
"Who let me in? Your mother, of course," Lin Yu replied, amused by his reaction.
"Seriously, what do you even see in me? Why are you so obsessed?"
"Then tell me, why don't you like me? Hmm, am I not pretty enough?" Lin Yu shot back.