Zhan Chunlan didn't explain her meaning, but Zhan Zhiqiang and Xu Lixia thought that she meant that when Zhan Hongyu grew up, the job would be transferred to him, so that they wouldn't have to worry about Zhan Hongyu's job anymore.

However, Zhan Chunlan underestimated the shamelessness of the couple. Xu Lixia's eyes darted around, and she immediately put on a "fair and impartial" parental face, continuing the conversation: "Chunlan is right. Of course, we should side with our own family. So, since you're not changing jobs, your salary will be the same as your sister's. Keep five yuan for yourself each month for spending money, and Mom will save the rest for you as your dowry. I promise I won't touch a single penny of yours."

Zhan Chunlan sneered inwardly, but remained outwardly calm, her tone calm yet firm: "That won't do. The reason I only keep 5 yuan for myself is because you paid for that job for me. I got this job myself, without spending a penny of my family's money. I'll just give my family 5 yuan for living expenses."

When these kinds of discussions usually take place, Zhan Zhiqiang would be there to keep the peace, while Xu Lixia would lead the charge: "What are you saying? Don't think you're all grown up just because you found a job. You may not have spent any money on your job, but did you not spend any money on your education from childhood to adulthood? Could you have grown up without spending your family's money? It's only right that you give your salary to your family. At most, we'll give you 10 yuan."

Zhan Chunlan raised her eyes, her gaze clear and sharp as she looked at them. Her voice was not loud, but it was like a cold stone thrown into a murky pool: "Don't talk about how much you've spent on me. I've eaten leftovers and worn old clothes since I was a child. As for my living expenses, I earned them by working like a slave in this family since I was a child. I don't owe you anything."

Xu Lixia reacted as if she'd been stepped on, her face instantly turning pale and her voice becoming shrill: "Without me, where would you be today? You say you don't owe me anything? The debt of gratitude for being born is greater than the heavens! How can you simply shrug off the debt of being born and raised with a single sentence?"

Zhan Chunlan straightened her back, meeting their angry gazes without flinching. Her voice was clear and cold, each word hitting the ground: "Don't worry, you raised me when I was young, and I will take care of you when you are old. I will take care of you the same way you took care of me. It will be absolutely fair and just."

"You!" Zhan Zhiqiang slammed his hand on the table. Such a "guarantee" made him so angry that his face turned ashen. He could no longer maintain his calm demeanor. His finger trembled as he pointed at her, but he choked and couldn't utter a complete sentence.

Zhan Chunlan ignored them, issuing a firm ultimatum: "That's my word. Five yuan a month for food, not a penny more. If you agree, this family will live in peace for now. If you don't agree..."

She paused, leaving a cold, lingering tone; the resolute tone in her unfinished words froze the air.

That night, Zhan Zhiqiang and Xu Lixia tossed and turned in bed, unable to sleep. Although it seemed that only Zhan Chunlan was somewhat immature and did not take the initiative to help her parents reduce their burden despite her own abilities, they felt a vague unease in their hearts. Considering what had happened in the past six months, it seemed that their three daughters were getting out of control and becoming increasingly difficult to manage.

Zhan Chunlan slept soundly all night. At 6:30 in the morning, she got up quietly, ate breakfast quickly, picked up her cloth bag containing her lunchbox and notebook, and went to work.

At 7:30, she stepped into the gate of Jiangcheng Pastry Factory on time, greeting people with a smile all the way. When she entered the department, she was the first one there. After putting down her small bag, she went to the boiler room with two thermos flasks to fill them with hot water and first brewed some light tea for the department head, Tian Yun, in her ceramic teacup.

Then she sat down at the old wooden table by the window, tidied her desk, and finally swept the office. During this time, people from the department came in one after another. When Section Chief Tian saw her movements, he nodded almost imperceptibly. This kind of labor that is not easily noticed has to be done in front of people to be effective labor, hehe!

Her current job is simple: check the office supply requisition forms submitted by each workshop. She needs to register each item, such as carbon paper, blue ink, notebooks, and gloves, and then issue a material requisition form, waiting for each workshop to send someone to pick them up.

"Xiao Zhan," Section Chief Tian said, taking a sip of his tea after temporarily finishing his work, "go to the warehouse and check the inventory of work gloves. The rice-frying workshop said they're running out."

"Yes, Section Chief Tian." She replied, picked up the keys, and headed towards the backyard warehouse.

This is the norm for her work—trivial, detailed, and never-ending. Besides office supplies, she also has to coordinate logistical matters for each workshop: which workshop's water or electricity needs to be repaired, how to arrange the canteen's menu, and even the distribution of brooms and rags during surprise cleanings at the factory—all fall under the management of the logistics department. At the end of the day, her hands and feet are constantly moving, but she doesn't have to rack her brains too much; it's just that the soles of her shoes become thinner and thinner.

"Chunlan, do you know what kind of benefits our factory will give out for the Dragon Boat Festival?" On her way home from get off work, Li Xiuxiu had recently become more adept at her job, complained less, and had more time to care about other things.

"I don't know. I heard Section Chief Tian mention it a few days ago. They've been discussing it in a meeting recently, but nothing has been decided yet." Zhan Chunlan genuinely didn't know. She wasn't a proactive social person. In the office, she was only acquainted with everyone, not yet at the point of exchanging information with them.

"I have heard about it. Before, they just sent products directly from the factory, like rice candy and sweet potato candy. Everyone got tired of eating them, so the factory leaders wanted to change to some gifts. But the finance department felt that purchasing from outside was not cost-effective, so everyone is still discussing it." Fan Hongying was very popular in the publicity department. She seemed to have a kind of affinity that made everyone unconsciously close to her.

"No, this involves our finance department? How come I didn't know?" Li Xiuxiu was incredulous. She worked in the finance department and had never heard of this reason.

“It’s almost the end of the month, right? I guess you’ve been busy helping with payroll and haven’t noticed.” Zhan Chunlan knew that Li Xiuxiu might seem a bit carefree, but when it came to work, especially work that required meticulousness, she would be completely focused and wouldn’t allow herself to be distracted for even a moment.

"So what do you think? Do you want candy or something else?" Employee welfare is ultimately under the jurisdiction of their logistics department, and Zhan Chunlan wanted to know what everyone thought.

"We just arrived, so it doesn't matter. They're all tired of what we've been eating before, and we haven't even tried it yet. Anything is fine as long as we have it." Li Xiuxiu didn't care; she had just started working and lacked everything anyway.

Fan Hongying nodded in agreement, saying that she would accept anything, whether it was candy or other benefits.

Zhan Chunlan pondered silently. In the past few days, Section Chief Tian had been meeting with the leaders above to discuss the matter. It was clear that most workers did want to change the type of welfare benefits, and the leaders had also noticed this and were willing to make changes, but they were still having some difficulty in deciding because of the cost.

She had considered this before: she could leverage her factory's strengths to produce a batch of fresh pastries, such as Sachima, which has a similar process to rice candy and sweet potato candy. However, producing Sachima requires a large amount of eggs, flour, and oil, which is more expensive than ordering directly from other factories. In addition to budget pressure, the most important factor is the limitation of raw materials, making it difficult to purchase a batch of infrequently used materials for a single Dragon Boat Festival.