Chapter Three: New World Hotel
The "honey leak incident" attracted great attention from the public when it first occurred.
The accident investigation report was released, the perpetrator received due punishment, and public attention immediately halved.
A month later, apart from the victims and their families, few people would actively recall the horrific leak.
Yunxin sent out many resumes and quickly got a new job.
New World Hotel.
The manager gave a pep talk to the new employees, saying, "As a food runner, you need to be meticulous and steady-handed. You can't deliver the wrong dish, and you can't spill soup on the customers because your hands are shaking."
The manager has his reasons for saying that.
The hotel has a specialty dish called braised goose in an iron pot. This dish is stewed until tender and flavorful, and it's widely praised. However, this dish is not only delicious, but also very heavy.
Because the chef prepared this dish in a large iron wok. He insisted that the server must serve the dish directly from the wok to preserve its original flavor. Serving it in a bowl simply didn't quite capture the essence.
This puts the waiters in a difficult position.
Iron pots are already heavy, and carrying a large iron pot full of soup while passing food without spilling the soup makes it even more difficult.
How many people couldn't stand it after a few months and ran away overnight by buying train tickets? They just couldn't take the suffering anymore.
"Come on, everyone, give it a try." The manager looked at the only girl among the eight people, paused slightly, and then changed his words, "Your name is Yun Xin, right? You go first."
Yun Xin nodded, picked up the iron pot, walked steadily, and then reached the other side of the stove, where she put the pot down.
The manager was stunned. Even seasoned employees with years of experience as food runners hadn't moved so smoothly. His attitude warmed up a bit, "Have you done similar work before?"
Yun Xin shook her head, "No, I'm just strong."
"Oh, she's got superhuman strength!" The manager looked at Yun Xin with delight, feeling that he had discovered a promising talent, the kind who could stay at the hotel long-term.
"You guys give it a try too." He looked at the other seven people with anticipation, waiting for new talent to emerge.
The first man walked over with his head held high, confidently picked up the iron pot, and the next second he stumbled and bent over. He gritted his teeth and squeezed out a few words, "This pot...why is it so heavy?"
The manager glared at him. Nonsense! If it weren't so heavy, would everyone else be complaining of sore arms every day, quitting after only a month or two? Would the position be perpetually understaffed? Would he need to recruit new people every month?
"If someone can't do the job, replace them."
"It's okay, I can do it." The man resolutely refused to admit that he was not as strong as the woman.
His expression turned ferocious, his muscles tensed, and he straightened his back. Then, with a loud shout, he put the iron pot back on the stove.
The next second, he looked at the manager, panting heavily, and said sincerely, "I've thought about it, and this job may not be suitable for me."
That's not what you said during the interview. What happened to the hardworking and diligent young man you described?
The manager, too lazy to expose him, waved his hand and said, "Let's go."
Then, he turned to the others and said, "If you can't do it, say so early. Don't force yourself. This job isn't just for a day or two; it's something you have to do every day. If you stubbornly stick to it, the wages you earn won't even cover your medical expenses."
The other six hesitated.
Just then, a woman in her late twenties rushed in, saying, "I'm in a hurry to get out of here, can I borrow a few people?"
Yun Xin looked over. She saw that the other person was wearing a hotel uniform with a name tag on their chest that read, "Purchasing Officer - Tong Jia".
"Her it is." The manager casually pointed to Yun Xin.
"Why is it a girl?" Tong Jia complained. She had gone out to shop and needed help loading her groceries into the car. It was hard work, and she usually borrowed a man.
"She's reliable!" the manager said seriously.
If you can hold an iron pot so steadily, you'll be good at other things too.
Tong Jia ignored him. "You, you, you, come with me."
The purchasing agent didn't refuse the manager's request and selected Yun Xin. However, besides Yun Xin, she also selected two burly men who seemed easy to manage.
"I've told you so many times, tell me in advance if you need anything, tell me in advance! Every time it's like you're in a real crisis, you only tell me when it's too late. He just keeps talking, while I'm exhausted from running around!" Tong Jia kept muttering to herself the whole way, though it was unclear who she was cursing.
After the driver stopped the car, she assigned tasks to the two laborers, and then said to Yunxin, "We have enough manpower, you can rest."
Yunxin realized what was happening. The other person hadn't directly rejected the manager, but had turned around and chosen someone else themselves.
What is this? Workplace wisdom?
The other party said they didn't need it, and she didn't want to force herself on them. Yun Xin simply found a place to rest.
This is a shop along the street. A truck is parked in front of the shop, and the driver and two laborers are like hardworking ants, loading the goods onto the truck one by one.
Not far away, Tong Jia was checking the delivery note with a focused expression.
Suddenly, Yunxin felt a familiar heart palpitation.
"I want to drink milk tea, will you come with me?"
Tong Jia looked around, then asked uncertainly, "Are you talking to me?"
"Okay." Yun Xin nodded.
Tong Jia was speechless.
Are you a middle school girl? Holding hands to go to the bathroom together, going to the convenience store together? You're an adult, a working professional, can't you even buy a bubble tea by yourself?
“I don’t drink milk tea, I only drink coffee,” Tong Jia said.
"Then let's go buy coffee first," Yunxin changed her mind.
Wasn't her rejection obvious enough?
Tong Jia wanted to curse, but when she turned her head and saw the driver and the laborer with sweat on their foreheads and panting heavily, she swallowed her words and said, "I'll go with you."
At this moment, she didn't particularly want to drink coffee, but buying a few cups for the driver and laborers to soothe their throats was still a good idea.
"Let's go." Yun Xin took the lead and started walking.
Tong Jia was stunned.
You were the one who said we'd go together, but you're the one who left me behind. What are you trying to do?
"I'm wearing high heels today, so I can't walk fast. Slow down!" In the blink of an eye, Yun Xin had already walked quite a distance, and Tong Jia quickly caught up with her.
She had only taken a few quick steps when a car sped across the road and headed straight for the spot where she had just been standing.
The excessive speed created a gust of wind, blowing the stray hairs at her temples.
Tong Jia turned her head stiffly.
With a loud "bang," the car crashed into a shop along the street, smashing not only the doorway but also part of the wall.
The driver and laborers were unloading goods when they "had the good fortune" to witness the entire process of the car crashing into the wall up close. The three of them were so frightened that their legs went weak.
Tong Jia felt a chill run down her spine.
If she had refused the invitation and stayed to look at the order slips... she dared not think about it further; a chill ran through her.
"Something's happened! Call an ambulance!" The street was in complete chaos.
At this point, a transparent panel pops up.
[Congratulations to the player who successfully survived instance number 112132—"Insurance Fraud Accident".]
[Because you saved a human, your performance rating is "C", and you are rewarded with attribute points: Strength +0.1, Spirit +0.1.]
"Is this also an evolution game instance?" Yun Xin fell into deep thought.
In Tong Jia's 28 years of life, no day has ever been as exciting as today.
He was only a few steps away from death.
The car that hit her almost grazed her as it crashed into the shop's entrance.
Before I could even process what was happening, I was taken to the police station to give a statement and be questioned.
Tong Jia couldn't remember what she had said, but when she came to her senses, she was sitting in a chair at the police station. Yun Xin was sitting two chairs away from her.
"Why did you walk so fast just now?" Tong Jia finally found an opportunity to ask.
"Don't you dislike me?" Yun Xin said casually. "Go away, or you'll be disliked."
"Then why did you invite me to go buy milk tea together?" Tong Jia asked again.
"Because I wanted to drink." Yun Xin raised her right hand, picked up the plastic cup, and took a sip.
Tong Jia then noticed that the other person was holding a milk tea. The other person had kept the milk tea cup beside them, which was in Tong Jia's blind spot, so she hadn't seen it.
"I also bought an Americano, do you want some?" Yunxin took out the takeout coffee cup from the corner.
"Drink." Tong Jia desperately needed the caffeine to calm her nerves.
The two sat quietly, one holding a milk tea and the other drinking coffee, neither of them speaking.
Tong Jia had no idea what time it was or what she should do. Her mind was blank; she didn't want to do anything, she just wanted to space out for a while.
After an unknown amount of time, a middle-aged man with filthy hair, who looked like he hadn't washed for days and smelled bad, was escorted past them by police.
The middle-aged man walked away wailing, “I never thought it would turn out like this! I… I was drowning in debt, I had insurance, and I wanted to commit suicide to get the money to leave to my family.”
"I observed for a long time, and deliberately chose a car that was going fast, waiting for the right moment to rush out. But as soon as the driver saw me, he immediately turned the steering wheel around."
"I really didn't expect him to kill other people..."
Tong Jia never expected that sitting in the police station for a little longer would lead to the discovery of the cause of the accident. She looked up at the middle-aged man and could only curse him—"What a fucking idiot."
"This is insurance fraud, and the insurance company won't pay out," Tong Jia said quietly. "Didn't you do any research before you committed suicide?"
The middle-aged man stared wide-eyed in disbelief, more shocked than if he had heard of someone's unexpected death.
"Get out of here quickly." Encounters between perpetrators and victims are most likely to lead to trouble. To avoid conflict, the police quickly removed the individuals from the scene.
"It was actually for insurance fraud." The unexpected answer left Tong Jia speechless.
The perpetrator deliberately rushed out to commit suicide; let him die, he'll die stupidly anyway.
But he somehow survived!
The driver reacted too quickly and managed to avoid the obstacle in time.
As a result, other people took the fall and suffered the consequences instead of the perpetrator...
"If I had been standing there, I would have died so unjustly." Tong Jia was both angry and anxious, feeling an indescribable sense of grievance and indignation.
"I heard there were customers in the shop at the time, and one person died and five were injured and taken to the hospital," Yun Xin said in a low voice. "Everyone who was implicated was wronged."
Tong Jia thought that narrowly escaping death was the pinnacle of bad luck. Unexpectedly, after giving her statement and returning to the hotel, her boss told her, "Unexcused absence during working hours will result in a deduction from your pay."
Tong Jia was stunned. She tried to explain, "There was an accident while I was out shopping, and I went to the police station to cooperate with the investigation and give a statement..."
Furthermore, the drivers should have returned first to explain the situation.
The boss bombarded him with a series of probing questions: "Did you report to the company beforehand? Did the company approve it? Did you disappear without explaining anything?"
Tong Jia, "..."
I almost lost my life, who cares about the company anymore?
"So," the boss turned to Yun Xin, "you too, it's a day of absence. A deduction, a deduction is a must!"
Yun Xin thought about it seriously for a moment and asked in return, "This is my first day at work, so not only do I not get paid, but I also owe the company something?"
The boss was speechless. Shameless as he was, he dared not easily admit that this was how the score should be settled.
Tong Jia knew she couldn't avoid it, so she hardened her heart and took all the blame upon herself. "What does she know, she's just a newbie? If you want to deduct anything, deduct it from my salary."
The boss, having gotten a good deal, feigned innocence, saying, "Since this is the first time, it's just a warning with a pay cut; don't let it happen again."
After he walked away, Tong Jia spat fiercely, "I'll make you stingy to death!"
Yunxin asked in confusion, "Is the hotel not doing very well?"
Business looks booming, so why are they trying to save money on this? They don't seem like the owners of a big hotel at all.
“It is good,” Tong Jia said quietly, “but making money in business and being stingy are two different things.”
(End of this chapter)
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