Chat person

At the end of 2022, several websites in China posted the same content, telling a story: The chairman of a multi-billion-yuan conglomerate, surnamed Wang, was severely injured in a car accident while traveling for business negotiations. Despite the doctors' best efforts and meticulous treatment, he was left paralyzed and bedridden. The chairman's brain was unharmed, and his thinking was clear, but he was idle all day, and his temperament changed drastically. He either sighed deeply, cried, or complained about fate and scolded others. His relatives and friends were very worried about him. To improve the chairman's mood, they posted online to hire a "chat companion" at a high salary.

No one knows how many people applied for the job after seeing the post, but there was indeed one person who went. This person, surnamed Xi, was from Gulin County, Sichuan. He contacted the number provided in the post, confirmed preliminarily, and then took the train to the city. He arrived at the chairman's house around 3 PM on December 20, 2022.

The chairman's wife received Mr. Xi in the living room of their villa.

After sitting down, Mr. Xi smiled modestly and said to Mrs. Wang, "I'm originally from Sichuan, a place known for storytelling. I've been telling stories since I was a child, and my experiences, background, and qualifications make me confident that I can do the job of 'chat companion'—I've been to the front line, touched cannons, been a doctor, sold medicine, dealt in antiques, fired kilns, run a company, been in the news, cooked in a small restaurant, carried sedan chairs at tourist attractions, sold tickets at train stations, and after my company collapsed, I went to Mount Lao to become a Taoist priest. On the way from Qingdao to my hometown, I begged for food..."

Mrs. Wang interrupted Mr. Xi, saying, "Have you read 'One Thousand and One Nights'? Can you tell a story every day like the vizier's daughter Scheherazade, who eventually moved King Shahryar with her stories, making him abandon his intention to kill women after killing more than a thousand of them? I mean, will my husband's mood improve and his health gradually recover after listening to your stories?"

Mr. Xi laughed, and his laughter was very relaxed: "Mrs. Wang, I can guarantee that every story I tell is pleasant to listen to, but I must be honest with you about one thing—the job ad said that the person hired will chat for one hour a day, and the salary for this one hour is 200 yuan. However, I must say, I don't have that many pleasant stories on my own, so although I only chat for one hour a day, I have to spend seven hours in society collecting various rumors and anecdotes. Frankly, the salary of 200 yuan for one hour is low."

Mrs. Wang was taken aback; she didn't expect that this person would bargain before being hired. Then she thought, there is a saying, "You get what you pay for," and those who dare to bargain might be the ones with real knowledge. So, she didn't take offense and asked, "So, how much do you want to add?"

"500 yuan per hour," Mr. Xi observed her reaction and continued, "The value of goods varies from person to person, and the price of things naturally differs when sold to different people. If I tell my stories to ordinary people, perhaps I would only charge 10 yuan per hour, or even tell them for free as a conversation piece after dinner. But for your husband, it's completely different. Of course, you can have a 'trial listen' first. I'll tell a story, and if you think it's good, I'll tell it to the chairman; if you don't like it, I'll leave immediately. How does that sound?"

Mrs. Wang pondered for a moment, then nodded, and so Mr. Xi began to tell a story...