After twenty thrilling minutes, Chu Li, Lao Miao, Xiao Niao, and Yu Yao left the editorial office under the sympathetic gaze of the two art editors, and sat back in the conference room, which was like a cemetery. Chu Li had no idea how many times a week she would come to this place, which was like a place of execution and made her shudder at the sight of the door...
...It is true that she really wants to dance to "I'm Drunk Alone" on the graves of Lao Miao and Xiao Niao.
While waiting for the leader to make the decision, Xiaoniao's eyes were already red and she lowered her head, vaguely revealing that she was about to cry... Chu Li bent over and played with his fingers, making small talk, complaining: "Xiaoniao, did you do this on purpose? Because you knew that there would be accidents with the surrounding orders, you actually asked for leave that day. But what's the use? This order is the one you are responsible for..."
"I didn't mean to do that!" Little Bird was shocked when she heard that. Tears as big as beans started to fall. "I really remember someone told me that the circumference should be twelve thousand, not four thousand..."
Chu Li smiled and looked at Xiaoniao's face which turned red due to nervousness and fear, and he seemed to be trying to make the situation more joyful.
Compared to the other three people, Yu Yao was implicated simply because their boss was implicated. In fact, in the case of the incident last week, the editor-in-chief was usually responsible for coordinating specific matters with various departments, and she, as the editor-in-chief, was only responsible for signing...
Yu Yao didn't even need to know how many bookmarks to print.
So it was a complete disaster that came out of nowhere.
Fortunately, she had a good mental state. She glanced at Xiaoniao and didn't blame her or comfort her. She just joked with Chu Li, "Chu Li, have you noticed that you have been through a lot of ups and downs since you started working here three months ago?"
Chu Li waved her hands and said, "Boss, please stop making fun of me. My hairline has risen three millimeters in the past three months. I suspect that if I continue like this, I will become a bald old lady when I retire. I won't even have the chance to find a sunset romance in the park."
Chu Li: "Yesterday I stepped on the scale and found that I had gained three pounds."
Chu Li: "Oh my god, I was shocked. I was so tired every day, just like the Alaskan dog raised by Mr. Chu Chuan, but I got fat! I checked online and found out what happened? - Overwork."
Chu Li: "This is the first time in my life that I've heard of such a thing as 'overwork and obesity'!"
Everyone: “…”
Yu Yao saw Chu Li's playful smile, the look of a teacher who had grown bolder, which was completely different from the timid look when he first arrived. He could even say that he liked him a lot more... So he also laughed: "You seem to have a good attitude and are still in the mood to tell jokes."
Chu Li said, "Oh!" "It's a done deal. Let's be optimistic."
Besides, Lao Miao is primarily responsible for this matter. If I die, I can still provide a cushion for my back.
You sissy, you still want to play Bubble Bobble? I’m kidding you.
At this moment, Yu Yao certainly didn't know that Chu Li was madly criticizing her boss in her heart, and she just continued to think about herself, "It's okay to be optimistic. In fact, this is not a big deal. We printed 8,000 more copies, and the cost of each copy increased by 2.5 yuan, which is only 20,000 yuan in total... Fortunately, the August issue is still in proofing, and it won't be difficult to change the promotional slogan and give away all the extra bookmarks. Those of us who are involved will only be fined a part of the money, which is better than losing all of it. In that case, we will probably have to bear all the costs."
Yu Yao’s words shocked Chu Li.
I suddenly felt that I was no longer optimistic at all: "………………a fine?"
When Chu Li heard the word "fine", she could no longer care about criticizing Lao Miao. This guy was going to cut flesh from her - Chu Li sat up straight. From then on, from the moment Yu Yao mentioned the "fine" to the moment the leader of Yuanyue Society, Lai Chi, stepped into the meeting room, Chu Li did not say a word and was as quiet as a chicken...
However, this did not stop the leader from scolding her and Lao Miao.
Chu Li looked at the leader of the community with a dark face, waving the account bill and asking them "Do you think 20,000 yuan is not enough money?" After yelling at them until they were silent, he sentenced them to "collective punishment" without hesitation -
From Yu Yao, who just signed without touching the paper, to Xiao Niao, who didn't show up that day, everyone's salary was deducted - the commune paid half of the 20,000 yuan, and of the remaining 10,000 yuan, Lao Miao received 4,500 yuan, Yu Yao received 3,500 yuan, and Xiao Niao and Chu Li received 1,000 yuan each.
——One thing worth mentioning is that at this time, Chu Li’s monthly salary was only more than 3,100 yuan after deducting various expenses. After deducting 1,000 yuan, there was still 2,100 yuan left.
——Another thing worth mentioning is that Chu Li was the one who just received a payment notice from the landlord this morning. The rent is 4,500 yuan per quarter, which means that even if you take into account the 2,500 yuan saved by frugality in the past three months, it is just enough to cover the rent.
One hundred bucks left to last a month?
She would starve to death.
Fasting and living on starvation.
First Li: “…………………………………………”
She had never felt that those little secret actions of Lao Miao had done had done anything to her.
Now, Lao Miao's unintentional mistake has turned out to be a real killer.
After the meeting, when she walked out of the conference room, looking at Lao Miao's back, which also seemed to be ten years older, Chu Li didn't know whether she should dislike Lao Miao who insisted on letting her look at the order when she was on the phone; or should she dislike Zhu Chuan who insisted on calling her during her working hours...
Chu Li: "Boss."
Yu Yao: "What's wrong?"
Chu Li: "Can the fine be paid in installments?"
Yu Yao: “…No.”
Chu Li: "..."
Chu Li himself didn’t know how he got back to the editorial department. His mind was full of thoughts about which bridge tunnel in G City was more comfortable to sleep under… He sat back down at his seat and saw that Comrade Ming Jiu in the Q group had handed in the second revised draft after discussing it with Zhu Chuan. Chu Li clicked on it and took a look——
From Jin Bao to the tall Jin Bao, from "Luohe Divine Book Online" to "Fantasy Westward Journey Online", Cang Wu's face with clear contours that was completely inconsistent with handsomeness made Chu Li want to bang his head against the computer screen and die.
After leaving a message in the group, [The lines of the characters should be softer and more beautiful, and the figures should be slender. Strength does not necessarily mean prominent muscles. Artists can refer to the painting style of artist Shou Zhu], Chu Li opened Zhu Chuan's private message with an expressionless face, and typed quickly with his fingers flying -
[The Monkey’s hired navy: Keep communicating. The third draft is gone. I’ll contact the Queen.]
[The monkey's hired soldiers: Don't say I didn't give you a chance. I chose the artist myself, so I have to take responsibility even if I cry.]
[The monkey's navy: No resistance. ]
[The navy hired by Monkey: If you have the guts, burn the contract and join me in refining the elixir in the furnace. I am not afraid anymore.]
【Zhuchuan:? 】
【Zhuchuan: You are so powerful that you dare to talk to me like this.】
[The navy hired by the monkey: When a man is about to die, he has nothing to fear but what his heart desires. ]
【Tsukawa: …】
…
Chu Li had no idea how she got through the day. She only knew that after the meeting in the afternoon, she and Zhuchuan had a quarrel, and Zhuchuan never contacted her again. She didn't know if he was angry again.
...Just make him die of rage, this angry guy.
Chu Li didn't even know how she got home from get off work, because her stomach was full of troubles, and she felt like she couldn't solve any of them. When she got home, she didn't feel like eating. She drank a few sips of water to fill her stomach as basic training for the next month of fasting. Chu Li tossed and turned in bed, and finally picked up her phone as if she had accepted her fate.
Open WeChat, click on the recent contact list, and select a person named [Chu Jia Niangniang], who is also her last straw.
[The navy hired by the monkey: ...Mom. ]
There was a quick response there.
[Mrs. Chu: Off work? ]
[Chu Jia Niang Niang: I just got off work now, so I didn’t get on the subway? 】
[Mrs. Chu: That’s right. With your small body, who can you squeeze past? ]
[Mrs. Chu: Is it hard to work? Is it better to study? ]
Chu Li: "..."
It's hard work.
In just three months, your daughter has seen all kinds of life, and now it seems that she is about to face the tribulation of ascension... Chu Li's fingers slid back and forth on the keyboard countless times. He hesitated for a long time but couldn't bring himself to say that he had made a mistake at work and his salary was deducted to the point that he could not take care of himself. After hesitating for a long time, he could only temporarily reply "It's not hard" and then hung up the phone.
“Aa ...
Started rolling around in bed again.
After rolling around enough and mustering up her courage, she took a deep breath and grabbed her phone. Before she could type, she saw her mother chattering a lot of nonsense on the screen -
[Chu Jia Niang Niang: Your father asked you when you will quit your job and go home? ]
[Mrs. Chu: ...Yes, that's right. He's here again, with the same old tricks, saying that publishing houses can barely support themselves, so how can they support a bunch of editors like you? He said that your line of work is really boring! ]
[Mrs. Chu: Although G City is crowded and chaotic, your father is indeed worried about you.]
[Mrs. Chu: He has found a good connection for you a long time ago, waiting for you to quit your job and come back to take the teacher qualification exam, and then go to the elementary school near our home where you studied when you were a child to teach Chinese... He said there are winter and summer vacations every year, how great.]
[Mrs. Chu: I feel annoyed when I hear him nagging. Is your father in menopause? ]
[Chu Jia Niang Niang: All three members of your family are teachers. They provide one-stop service from elementary school to high school to college. Your father is really interesting! ]
[Mrs. Chu: My dear daughter, you should fight for your dignity and support yourself instead of bending over backwards to ask for money from the housekeeper... Your father has been acting like a bastard lately. In order to prevent me from helping you privately, he even confiscated my salary card!]
[Chu Jia Niang Niang: I saw a pair of shoes on Taobao and wanted to buy them. I had to write an 800-word application for him and then apply for payment! ]
[Chu Jia Niang Niang: The high divorce rate among middle-aged people is probably because someone in the family suddenly becomes insane.]
Chu Li: "..."
Can.
She hasn't even said a word yet, but her mother has started pouring out her grievances first, and it seems like she has a lot of complaints. The main idea behind her complaints is very despairing: I, your mother, am also very poor. I am so poor that I can't make ends meet and I want to get a divorce. My daughter, please do as you please but don't ask for money from the house, as that will just play into the evil trap of your damn father!
——This is what you call it, God has a way to kill me, God wants to kill me.
Chu Li almost cried as she typed out the words "Mom, don't worry, I have money" and then put down her phone. She quietly experienced for a while what it meant to be hopeless...
Just when her despair reached its peak and she wanted to throw open the window and jump downstairs, her phone screen lit up again. This time the person who sent the message was Ah Xiang.
【Ah Xiang: ………………………The artist has produced three drafts. Before you open it, prepare yourself and see how to fly her away to reduce the damage. Although at this moment I have already cursed him in my heart: this person who draws fan fiction and the original author are two different people.】
[Ah Xiang: When I went to see her, she assured me that she could draw anything, from thick realistic paintings to celluloid (Japanese manga style)...but what she handed over was this crap.]
【Ah Xiang: I am packing up and preparing to contact the Goddess of the Silkworm. I hope it is still in time to make an appointment now. It will be a little more expensive at most.】
Chuli replied to Ah Xiang with a "good" and opened Q to take a look at the last draft that Mingjiu had submitted - it was a little better than the last time, but only a little better... It could be seen that she had been working hard to revise it, and it was even obvious that she had listened to Chuli and looked at the illustrations of the goddess of the moon. However, due to her limited drawing skills, judging from the body structure and perspective alone, the result was still far from perfect...
If it was a poor imitation, why didn't they just go to the person being imitated?
The stuff that Mingchu has come up with now cannot be used as the cover of "Luohe Divine Book" - don't say that the most important thing about a book is its inner qualities. People have eyes and are destined to be appearance-oriented. If you must use an ugly illustration, it would be better to just write "Luohe Divine Book" with black text on a white background. The effect would probably be better than this...
Chu Li sighed and did not reply to Mingjiu for the time being. At this moment, she felt that her brain was about to explode... She struggled to send out the five words "It's still not right" in the group. She stared at the screen for a long time and finally decided to call Zhuchuan to inform him before finally firing this painter to show respect.
What Chu Li didn't expect was that this phone call would actually cause a problem -
The phone rang twice before being connected. The man answered and said "Hello". Before he could say anything, Chu Li started talking: "Teacher, Mingjiu has submitted the third draft. I don't know if you have seen it. Not to mention the degree of completion, the line draft alone is completely different from that of Empress Xun. The agency has asked us to give you the best resources and is willing to spend money. We really don't need to be so compromising and lower our standards..."
"Wait a minute, let's talk about this tomorrow. I'm busy now." Zhu Chuan interrupted Chu Li with a somewhat cold look.
Chu Li was stunned.
Then, I had a splitting headache, and it was as if something in my brain that was tightening suddenly snapped. The pent-up anger of the day seemed to have found an outlet, and it burst out all at once.
She clutched the phone tightly in her hand.
"What are you waiting for? We really can't wait any longer! The Luo River Divine Book must be rushed to the October Book Fair. This will benefit both sales and Yuanyue Society. The society has made clear the requirements. If you can't do it, just wait and jump into the river together. Originally, we could have pushed forward the matter of the Goddess of the Silkworm if we could have finalized it on Monday. Now, because we have decided to respect your personal preferences, we have gritted our teeth and postponed it for almost a week. This week must not end without any progress!" Chu Li raised his voice, "Teacher, please consider the difficulties of us editors occasionally! The society originally decided to use the Goddess of the Silkworm, but you were not happy. Didn't we respect your opinion and find someone else? Then can we blame us if the new person is not suitable???"
“…”
"If we can't find a suitable artist, will we have to leave the right one alone and not have to keep looking for a needle in a haystack? Then teach me how to tell Teacher Xia about this at the morning meeting next week? It's not appropriate to put all the blame on you, right? If I take it on myself, I'll be scolded again. Haven't I been scolded enough? I have to take the blame for these inexplicable things every day..." Chu Li began to think divergently, and he became angrier and trembling. "Can you guys distinguish between work and entertainment, and do your job well before entertainment? One or two of you are like this, and you have to make mistakes. If you cause trouble and make others hungry and homeless, are you happy? Are you satisfied?"
“…”
There was no sound on the other end of the line.
Chu Li angrily shouted "Hey" -
Things like "respecting the author" and "loving the teacher" were all thrown out of her mind in an instant!
It’s all these people’s fault. They only know how to stir up trouble!
It's hard to live without holding others back for a day, right? !
At this time, Chu Li was completely dominated by anger and the fear of being homeless and without food to eat. Just when her anger reached its peak and her little universe was about to explode, there was finally a response from the other end of the phone -
"Have you said enough?"
Zhuchuan's voice sounded unusually low, and he seemed a little tired.
"I'm at a pet store near Jinhua Street right now. If you have anything to say, you can come and tell me. There's no need to shout. But you should keep your voice down when you come over, otherwise the people in the pet store will kick you out."
“…”
Jinhua Street?
It's less than 20 minutes' taxi ride from her home.
City G?
Is this guy back?
Isn't it a half-month vacation?
Chu Li was so confused that he didn't even bother to curse: "You're back? Why are you back? What are you doing in the pet store?"
"Ergou got into a fight with a German Shepherd from another neighborhood while taking a walk this afternoon. The kid in charge of walking such a big dog failed to hold him back, and Ergou's jaw and tail were bitten. He needed stitches. The owner of the foster pet store called me to ask me how to deal with it, so I took the nearest flight back home." Zhuo Chuan said calmly, "The wound was quite deep and it was difficult to put the needle into the cage after the stitches were done. The anesthesia hasn't worn off yet, so I have to watch him."
“…”
Er Gou?
Injured?
It turns out that Zhaochuan disappeared this afternoon. He didn't go there to be a punching bag, but rushed back to G City to deal with this matter?
Chu Li was a little dumbfounded holding the phone, and her anger disappeared in an instant. She heard the tired voice of Zhu Chuan, and suddenly felt very embarrassed for yelling at Zhu Chuan just now... She tightened her hand holding the phone, and suddenly realized that Zhu Chuan was actually fine. Who wouldn't want to rest in the middle of the night even if he had nothing to do? He could endure her tormenting him so hard——
She is a workaholic, but Zhu Chuan is not. Moreover, Er Gou is injured now. When he thinks about how Er Gou is usually pampered at home while Zhu Chuan only eats plain porridge and has to insist on adding meat to the porridge... he must be feeling extremely distressed now.
Thinking of this, I started to feel guilty.
The girl on the other end of the phone lowered her head and was silent for a moment. Then, in the silence between both parties, she said very honestly, "I'm sorry."
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
After a while, Zhuchuan paused, without saying anything, and asked casually, "Then why don't you come over here?"
The man's voice was slightly hoarse, not like a question. The sound went around her earlobe and entered her ears, causing Chu Li's heart to skip a beat...
——Will I go? But why should I go?
——By the way, how is Ergouzi?
——You won’t be seriously injured, right?
——I heard that some dogs will suffer from nausea and vomiting if they are not under anesthesia. Is it okay for you, the little princess, to take care of her alone?
——Will he be frightened?
——Mom, you won’t cry while holding Er Gouzi’s head that has not been anesthetized, right? ! He is a big man after all, it would be so embarrassing!!!
This series of associations gushed into his mind like a barrage of bullets. Chu Li grabbed his phone and said "ah", then "oh". He didn't even have time to think about anything else. He hung up the phone, grabbed his keys, put on his shoes, and went downstairs...
About twenty-five minutes later.
Chu Li, who was out of breath from running all the way, pushed open the door of the pet shop where Zhuochuan worked. It was just when the lights were coming on, and the pet shop was full of young parents who had brought their puppies to the shop after get off work to have a bath, grooming, hair trimming, and medical treatment... The sound of cats barking and dogs howling was quite lively, and veterinarians in white coats were coming and going, and everyone looked very busy.
It was not difficult to find Chu Chuan, because in such a dynamic scene, there was only one corner that was still - a man in a casual sweatshirt was sitting against the wall, staring at the huge brown Alaskan dog on the bed beside him with his head down. He frowned slightly, and with his slender fingertips, he stuffed the dog's tongue that was hanging outside its mouth back, and then gently touched the tip of its nose...
No one knew what the man was thinking, and he looked a little distracted.
Seeing that he looked calm, Chu Li felt relieved. She approached him and subconsciously lightened her steps as if she was afraid of disturbing something fragile... When she got closer, the big dog lying on the bed with its back to her moved its ears, and the man raised his head.
The two looked at each other for a few seconds in silence.
The man didn't show any unnecessary expression at first, but when his brown eyes moved slightly and he looked up and down at the girl standing in front of him, he suddenly smiled faintly: "You wear your shoes the wrong way around, why are you in such a hurry?"
Chu Li: "..."
I lowered my head to look at where the man was looking, and sure enough, I had my shoes on the wrong way around.
At this moment, Chu Li stared at the shoes that he had put on the wrong way, and suddenly felt that something was wrong...
He asked her, what's the hurry?
She actually couldn't answer this question.