Chapter 240 Outwitting the Foreman

"It's supposed to be a 5-star hotel, and this...tsk tsk, in my opinion, this set of porcelain is worth at most 10 yuan."

Ten yuan is too high. Hotels buy wholesale, so a set costs... two yuan.

Upon noticing that the visitor was a customer, the supervisor suddenly changed his attitude and said with a smile, "Sir, you may not know this, but this tea set is from Ru kiln and is a custom-made piece. It costs 180 yuan a set, but I was just being kind and deliberately lowered the price."

Li Hongxia caught sight of Yun Xia and was too excited to speak. The girl blinked, indicating that the rest was up to her.

Ru ware?

custom made?

She's such a braggart!

"Although I don't know much about porcelain, I have been to school. The phrases 'after the rain, the sky clears and the clouds break, and a thousand peaks rise with green waves' are all used to describe the beauty of Ru ware. But yours... doesn't match at all! Could it be that you've been cheated by the merchant? You should call the police immediately and catch the merchant in time to recover your losses."

As he was about to take out his phone to call the police, the foreman's eyes flickered, and he hurriedly said, "Perhaps I've misremembered; it should be from JdZ."

"Then it's even less likely... (omitting many fabrications), it looks like it came from a porcelain factory in the suburbs. No, we still have to call the police."

The matter escalated to the police station, and the kickbacks from the procurement team could no longer be concealed. He knew he would lose all his ill-gotten gains, so in his haste, he slapped someone.

With a snap, the used button phone fell to the ground and broke into three pieces: the back cover, battery, and main body separated.

Yunxia hurriedly bent down to pick it up, reassembled it, and frantically pressed the power button, but it didn't respond at all. "Pay up, you pay up! My brand new phone, I haven't even used it for a few days and you've already broken it."

The phone's casing was chipped, it really didn't look like it had only been used for a few days, it should have been used for several years and was about to be scrapped, but the girl still had the nerve to say that.

The noise in the corridor attracted the manager. Yunxia stared with her aggrieved eyes, waving her phone, and recounted what had just happened.

"I apologize, it was the hotel's mistake. This phone can be sent for repair first. The repair slip can be mailed to the hotel, and we are willing to compensate three times the repair cost. What do you think?"

It's completely beyond repair; there's no point in fixing it. I broke my phone while eating a meal—ouch, what a financial blow!

He glared at the foreman and said, "The process is too complicated, forget it. But this foreman has to apologize to me, and you have to give me an explanation of the real price of this tea set, otherwise... I will still call the police."

The police entering the hotel will inevitably damage its reputation, which in turn will affect its customer base, resulting in incalculable losses.

"Hey, it's just ordinary teaware, not worth much money. I guess the foreman misremembered."

"What about the temporary waitress who accidentally broke the tea set? Will you force her to sign an IOU? Force her to owe... usurious loans? I heard every word the supervisor said clearly in the restroom just now."

The manager glanced at the supervisor and said with a forced smile, "How could that be? It's perfectly normal for someone new to make a mistake. It's just a tea set; the hotel won't hold you responsible. Young lady, are you working part-time? If you want to continue working at the hotel, you can come to work as usual tomorrow. If you feel the work environment here isn't suitable for you, go to HR to collect today's wages, and you can look for other work tomorrow."

To become a manager, one must be shrewd. By handing over the initiative to the one who was bullied, one can gain a good reputation while shifting the blame to the supervisor, thus absolving the hotel of any responsibility.

"I...I might not be suitable to be a hotel server. I...I'm sorry for causing you trouble!"

"No trouble at all, it's settled then. Foreman Wang, apologize, then write a letter of self-criticism and submit it to your superiors."

"A letter of self-criticism?"

Writing it down means leaving a record, which means that within three years, her performance evaluation, bonuses, special benefits, etc., will be completely irrelevant to her, so naturally she is unwilling to write it down.

"Apologize right now, go back and memorize the hotel management regulations. There will be a spot check tomorrow. If you make a mistake, pack your things and get out. Write a letter of apology, haha!"

The words "get out" completely panicked her. She hurriedly said that she would write a letter of apology and that she would definitely memorize the management regulations. Then she sincerely apologized to Yunxia.

"You stay here and clean this place up. Foreman Wang, come with me to the office!"

After the two left, Yunxia raised an eyebrow and asked, "Hongxia, are you... alright?"

Hmm, it looks like she's about to cry!

"Yunxia, ​​thank you so much. Otherwise, I would never have been able to pay back 180 yuan!"

Li Hongxia had never been so clearly aware of the gap between herself and the city people. She came to Lihua as a waitress, while others came to eat. She had to pay huge compensation for breaking the tea set, while others could control the supervisor with just a few words and even get their debts forgiven.

"Hey, that foreman, he's obviously all bark and no bite. He loves bullying his subordinates. You just haven't met enough people yet. Once you've met more, you'll be able to find something on her. Also, we need to be good at using our knowledge to protect ourselves. For example, if she says this tea set is worth 180 yuan, and you actually believe her, keep asking her questions. If she can't answer, exaggerate and make a scene. If she answers, find her mistakes. If she can get into Jiangxi Medical University, her grades can't be too bad. Recite a few related classical poems, and you'll definitely impress her. After a few rounds, she'll be defeated."

"I...I don't have the confidence!"

People are different. If Yunxia could put aside her pride and make a big fuss, she would have plenty of ways to get away unscathed. But when it came to Li Hongxia, her legs would tremble at the mere mention of the word "police."

Different life circumstances lead to different perspectives on problems. Knowing she couldn't persuade her in a short time, the girl simply stopped pressing the topic. "Didn't you go to the convenience store to ask about jobs yesterday afternoon? Why did you come to Lihua?"

As Li Hongxia carefully picked up the broken pieces of porcelain from the ground, she recounted what had happened the previous afternoon.

She went to the convenience store to ask, but they said it was full and she didn't need any help. So she had no choice but to leave dejectedly with her head down. Little did she know that she would bump into a fashionable and kind-hearted senior student while walking without looking where she was going.

Instead of blaming her, they patiently asked if she had encountered any difficulties. Li Hongxia, who had been rejected for a job, was at a vulnerable time. Upon hearing this, she told them what had just happened, trembling like beans.

"It's just a job. If you get rejected, just find another one. Why are you so anxious? I happen to have a job here that pays three yuan a day. Do you want to go?"

Since entering university, Li Hongxia has been eating rice/steamed buns with shredded potatoes, pickled vegetables, and free soup every day. Even so, her daily food costs 20 cents or 3 yuan, which is half a month's living expenses for her!

Upon hearing this, she quickly nodded in agreement. The next morning, along with others, she was taken to Lihua by her senior colleague, changed into a work uniform, and had her hair tied up with a hair tie. After a short training session, she started working. Li Hongxia, who was assigned to serve tea and water, tripped on the edge of the carpet, which led to what just happened.

After hearing the whole story, I realized that the senior student was probably a real estate agent. She was waiting for people at the convenience store from the beginning. What a coincidence that someone who was unsuccessful in finding a job would accidentally bump into someone and get a good job?

Three yuan is not the standard for part-time work; even the basic salary of a regular employee is probably not that high.