Chapter 49 A Bright Future

As He Xiaolan walked towards her boss's office, her heart was in turmoil. She couldn't fathom what was going on. After all, this was the first time she'd met the new boss alone since he arrived. This new boss was very different from Yang Fan. He didn't dress flashily, wearing a few Arc'teryx or Descente jackets from spring to summer, or even Uniqlo. Several times, He Xiaolan mistook him for a colleague from a distance.

When the boss saw her come in, he said, "Director He, please sit down."

He Xiaolan was extremely nervous, "Boss Tang, you're looking for me..."

"Director He has been in the company for more than ten years."

"Thirteen years," He Xiaolan was so familiar with her boss's rhetoric that she knew what was going to happen after just a few words. She had been working in HR for so many years, but she never expected that one day she would be greeted with such a clichéd opening line.

"Director He, you have been in the company for a long time. I have only been here for more than a month, and you are already a senior."

"You are the leader. My years of work experience are just the result of working hours. I cannot compare with you."

After He Xiaolan finished speaking, she waited for a long time, but the boss didn't say the next word. She was also tortured by this atmosphere. "Mr. Tang, you didn't call me here to understand my basic situation, did you?"

"Did you know about Lin Lele from the Development Department getting pregnant? Why didn't you do your homework when recruiting people for the Human Resources Department? The person you recruited went on maternity leave right after being hired. How can you do your job?" The boss's voice suddenly became louder and louder, making He Xiaolan not know how to respond.

"It wasn't me who did the interview that day."

"I don't want to hear any explanation. Director Li told me yesterday that something happened in your family. I think you should be at home taking care of the family at your age. I heard that your daughter is in elementary school in Tianjin. Elementary school now is the time to lay the foundation. If the mother is not by her side, it will not be good for the child's growth."

"Mr. Tang, my family affairs have been sorted out. My daughter's family elders are taking care of her, so there's no problem. It won't affect my work. As for Lin Lele's matter, I'm also..." He Xiaolan explained anxiously, just like those colleagues who had been laid off before. The terrifying scene that He Xiaolan always dreamed of became a reality today.

He Xiaolan felt that she would never be able to reach the office. When Li Lingyue saw He Xiaolan coming back, she took the initiative to step forward and ask about her situation. "What did Mr. Tang say? I hope he will talk to me next."

He Xiaolan snorted coldly, suddenly realizing that this was the first day she met Li Lingyue. "Sister Li, don't you know what the boss wants to talk to me about?"

"Xiao Lan, you can't say that. How would I know what Mr. Tang talked about?" Li Lingyue was a little angry. She sat back in her seat and started to tidy up the things on the table. "Director He, I know you are upset about something that happened at home. We are colleagues and friends. If you need any help, just tell me. There is no need to be sarcastic."

He Xiaolan threw the medical examination report handed over by Lin Lele on Li Lingyue's desk, "Sister Li, you are also an old hand in the human resources field. There was something wrong with Lin Lele during the interview. Even Jasmine, a girl who had never given birth to a child, noticed it. Didn't you notice it at all?"

"Then what you said is interesting. Are my eyes a B-ultrasound? I can tell who is pregnant or not at a glance."

"What about this B-ultrasound report? It was done three months before I started working. Have you checked the date on it?" He Xiaolan found Lin Lele's B-ultrasound report and placed it on Li Lingyue's desk.

"You are the human resources director, you didn't review it, and now you blame me."

The sound of He Xiaolan and Li Lingyue quarreling came into the office outside through the crack in the door. Jasmine stopped her work and listened carefully to the sound inside the door. It seemed that today was destined to be a day of separation.

Jasmine took out her mobile phone and sent a message to the family group, "Mom, I don't want to go to work anymore, I want to go home."

Yang Fan was right. She had changed a lot since she had given birth, and she actually believed she still had friends in the workplace. She should have never let her guard down the day Li Lingyue arrived. Ever since Yueyue fell ill and Li Lingyue deliberately forgot to submit her leave application, she should have known that nothing in the office could be forgotten.

My resignation was not as graceful as shown in TV dramas. I asked Jasmine to help me find a cardboard box from the administration department, with the Wahaha happy head printed on it. Even though I had worked here for thirteen years, the things I took away when I "broke up" were just that.

Jasmine accompanied He Xiaolan all the way downstairs to the company building, "Sister, I also want to resign. I can't stand the current working atmosphere."

"If you have a job, you have to work hard. When it comes to making money, it's better to rely on yourself than on others."

"But you're not here. I don't know anyone in the entire company or in the whole of Beijing. I think I should go back to Shanghai and find a job there." Jasmine's voice was full of frustration. "I chose to transfer because you're in Beijing."

"Don't cry, you'll make me look even more pitiful. My home is in Beijing. If you miss me, just call me. We can meet anytime."

If we meet at any time, it means we will not see each other for the most part. The goodbye we say at this time is a real goodbye.

By the time He Xiaolan returned home, He Lianhua felt like she had already cleaned the place. At three o'clock in the afternoon, Qin Tiantian and Hua Hudie were probably working on Wang Qingwei's compensation. He Xiaolan collapsed helplessly on the sofa. The house was eerily quiet, with only the occasional clatter of a delivery guy pulling a cart through the stillness.

He Xiaolan didn't allow her sadness to last past five in the afternoon. After all, there was still a lot to do. She gathered her composure and calculated her compensation.

Because the contract was transferred to a new subsidiary when Yang Fan was there, there was no N-year compensation, only two months of severance pay. The family's savings, including the severance pay Wang Qingwei received from Tao Lin, were less than 200,000 yuan. There was still 1.53 million yuan of mortgage left in Beijing and 1.2 million yuan of mortgage left in Tianjin. The money on hand was not enough to pay off the mortgage. Even if it could last for a few months and the house in Beijing was sold, the remaining money would only be enough to pay off the mortgage in Tianjin, and there would only be about 200,000 yuan left.

This is the Beijing housing price calculated based on the price I paid for the house at that time. After browsing the surrounding housing prices, I found that the current house may cost at least 500,000 yuan. By then, not only will I not have a penny in my hands, but I will also have to pay out about 200,000 yuan.

After finishing her accounts, He Xiaolan didn't even dare to stop and began working on her resume, quickly submitting it through various recruitment apps. Waiting for a response, she turned on both her computer and phone, but neither of them rang. She wanted to call Qin Tiantian, but suddenly realized she was probably downstairs at Wang Qingwei's company, gathering evidence.

Qin Tiantian adjusted her coat. It was something she had bought in college and had never been willing to throw away. The style was old and the price was cheap, making her look more like a fresh graduate. She stood in the bathroom and carefully observed her appearance in the mirror. It was okay, not particularly old.

The resume folder in my hand was from the Butterfly Shop. I left the restroom and leaned against the coffee shop's railing, pretending to scroll through recruitment apps while keeping my eye on the office building's elevator. A moment later, a man in a gray hoodie shuffled out. The hood was pulled up, revealing dark circles at the corners of his eyes. He clutched an empty coffee cup, clearly having pulled an all-nighter.

Qin Tiantian quickly put away her phone and walked over quickly, her tone just right with a bit of awkwardness: "Hello, sorry to bother you, do you work in the company upstairs?

The boy looked at her warily, thinking of walking around her quickly, but Qin Tiantian directly took out the student ID card she borrowed from her former student and said, "I'm really looking for a job. I submitted many resumes before but no one paid attention to me. Only the company upstairs invited me for an interview."

Sometimes using your appearance to get the results you want is also a gift from God. When the boy saw Qin Tiantian looking pitiful, his heart softened and he stopped by her side.

"Which position are you applying for?"

"Administrative position. I've been interning in a small company before, and I just want to know if the company's pace is fast? I'm afraid I can't adapt," Qin Tiantian said pitifully.

The boy was stunned when he heard this. He turned the empty coffee cup in his hand and threw it into the trash can. "Administrative position...it's okay, but our technical position is a bit miserable."

The boy walked towards the front desk of the coffee shop after he finished speaking, and Qin Tiantian quickly followed him, "I'll buy it for you, as a thank you for answering my questions."

The boy was not polite and said, "Thank you, a triple espresso Americano."

"You drink coffee so strong?" Qin Tiantian asked the boy in surprise.

While waiting for his coffee, he leaned against the bar and sighed, "If you were in administration, it might be okay, but in our technical department, I've never seen anyone leave work before 10 pm."

"Is that so exaggerated?" Qin Tiantian's eyes widened, her tone full of surprise. "The company I interviewed with before only allowed me to work overtime occasionally, and they even paid me overtime pay."

"Overtime pay?" The boy scoffed, tapping his fingers on the bar. "We don't have that in our company. The boss said overtime is for project progress, and it's included in the regular benefits. Have you ever seen a benefit that requires you to stay up until the early hours for two weeks in a row and then punch in on time the next day?"

As he spoke, he pulled his phone from his pocket and opened the attendance record to show Qin Tiantian. The screen was densely packed with "overtime" marks, the earliest showing 3:30 in the morning. "Last week, Engineer Wang worked two all-nighters for us. Now he's sick and can't come. All the work has fallen on us, and there's no way we can leave early."

Qin Tiantian's heart sank quietly, but her face still wore the expression of "job-hunting anxiety". "This is too tiring. It makes me want to go back home. Hasn't anyone mentioned this to you? For example, report it to HR?"

"What's your complaint?" The boy took a sip of coffee and frowned because of the bitterness. "Last year, a colleague was promoted, but was replaced at the end of the month because he couldn't adapt to the team's rhythm. Now everyone is scared, so they just hold on and leave when they have enough experience."

The coffee was ready, and Qin Tiantian handed him the triple concentrated American coffee and said, "Thank you so much, I feel relieved now. I think I should go back to my hometown. I definitely can't stand this kind of work intensity."

The boy waved the American coffee in his hand and said goodbye to Qin Tiantian, "There are few jobs that don't require overtime nowadays, so go home early."

After the boy left, Qin Tiantian quickly called He Xiaolan and said, "I recorded it. There will be absolutely no problem for us to get compensation this time."

Qin Tiantian heard He Xiaolan speaking with a slightly nasal tone, "Are you crying? Did something happen to you? I'll come to you in a while. I guess Hua Hudie will be there soon. Let's go to the Northwest Cuisine restaurant near your house for dinner tonight."

He Xiaolan was very happy to hear Qin Tiantian's voice. She didn't want to spoil her fun, so she didn't tell her that she was fired on the phone.

Qin Tiantian and Hua Hudie came in chattering, "You came back so early today, let me tell you, I caught that little tail of the crappy company, it's absolutely illegal, I will sue him if he succeeds." Qin Tiantian changed her shoes and saw a cardboard box thrown on the ground with some office things in it. Hua Hudie saw that Qin Tiantian didn't say anything, so she hurried over to take a look.

"Isn't this something from your office? I gave you that aromatherapy." Hua Hudie's voice became softer and softer, and she walked to He Xiaolan's side worriedly, "What's the matter? You didn't get laid off just because you took a day off, did you? Just wait, Teacher Qin and I will go to your company to seek justice for you. You have worked there for more than ten years, and now you are not allowed to work anymore."

"It's not about the leave. After Yang Fan left, a new boss came in, and he brought his own human resources director. How could they possibly use someone like me, a veteran of the previous dynasty whom they had never met, to handle a position like this? They must have used one of their own. In fact, I should have been mentally prepared a long time ago." After a whole afternoon of self-consolation, He Xiaolan felt much better now and told the two women her story calmly.

"If I am not welcome here, I will find another place to stay. At worst, you can come to the store and be the manager, which will be a good opportunity for Qian Helin to get out."

"I'm not at the end of my rope yet. There are many jobs I can do, such as driving a Didi or working as a cashier in a supermarket. It's just right for me to work in Tianjin so I can be with Yueyue every day. Don't worry about me. To celebrate my freedom, I'll treat you two to a big plate of chicken. Tomorrow we'll go to Wang Qingwei's company to ask for compensation, and then we'll have successfully completed our mission."

While eating, He Xiaolan received a message from Ge Lin, "Sister, I'm back to my hometown. I received an interview notice for a civil service position and I'm going back to prepare for the interview. I wish you all the best in Beijing, and I also wish Yueyue a healthy growth. Thank you for your care over the years."

In Beijing, everyone is used to saying goodbye, and such goodbyes don’t even need to be said in person. After thinking it over, He Xiaolan replied to her with “a bright future”. These four words were also given to herself in her heart.