Chapter 201 Liar
On the other side, the human resources department.
Lan Yingzhang sat in a chair opposite the desk, his eyes nervously following Huang Yan's movements.
I'm just afraid that she will suddenly change her mind and no longer want her to be the bodyguard.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly. Huang Yan neatly stamped the official seal, closed the two copies of the contract, and pushed one copy in front of her.
"Alright, starting tomorrow, you'll be responsible for Mr. Xiao's safety. Those loan sharks are rampant and have even broken into the company before. You need to ensure that Mr. Xiao doesn't come to any harm. Is that okay?"
"Yes, of course." Lan Yingzhang nodded, took the contract in his hand, and finally felt relieved.
Just then, the phone in her hand rang.
She looked at the caller ID and found it was her mother Lan Anhui. She wondered why she was calling her at this time.
She gestured to Huang Yan, then walked to a secluded place and answered the phone.
A faint voice immediately rang out from the other end. "Yingzi, have you found a job yet? The landlord just came to ask for the rent again, and he said... ahem, he said he's going to evict us if we don't pay by today."
Lan Yingzhang immediately frowned, but his tone was calm, "Mom, don't worry, I found a job, and I will pay the landlord."
Lan Anhui's voice wasn't as weak when she heard this. "That's great! What kind of job is it? Is it hard? Is it dangerous?"
Lan Yingzhang patiently explained a few words, calmed her down, and then hung up the phone.
She raised a bitter smile on her face, her eyes full of helplessness. She simply couldn't come up with so much money right now.
The boss of Taiping An Security owed her three months' salary. When she went to ask for it, the security guards drove her away. As for arbitration, it would take more than half a year for the case to be filed, and she couldn't afford that time.
Lan Yingzhang couldn't help but think of himself ten years ago.
At that time, she had a shining second-class medal of honor hanging on her chest, her brows were full of high spirits, and she was looking forward to her future career as an officer. How could she have imagined that ten years later, she would be reduced to a situation where she couldn't even pay three months' rent?
If she could finally choose to start over, when she faced that scumbag again, she would still stab him without hesitation.
But she didn't know at the time that the man was the officer's son. Because of this stabbing in self-defense, she was brought to a military court and sentenced to twelve years in prison.
Over the past twelve years, her mother quit her job, sold her property, and tirelessly appealed for her case, but ultimately, she received no justice and instead suffered numerous injuries. She was even diagnosed with heart failure two years ago, and only a heart transplant could restore her health.
But on the one hand, they have no money, and on the other hand, they have no source of heart.
The only thing Lan Yingzhang can do now is to earn money for her mother's surgery as soon as possible.
But for now, let’s solve the rent problem first.
Lan Yingzhang returned to Huang Yan's office, and before he could even open his mouth to ask, a hint of embarrassment appeared in his eyes.
Huang Yan watched her go and come back, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong? Is there any other problem?"
Could it be that she doesn't want to do this anymore? Then she's been working in vain.
Lan Yingzhang looked away and said, "Director Huang, I would like to advance half a month's salary..." His voice couldn't help but lower.
"Are there any difficulties in life?"
"Well, because my previous company owed me wages, I'm a little short of money."
Lan Yingzhang spoke in a stiff tone, but he had no hope in his heart. It was impossible to get an advance on salary without working a single day. It would be better to take out a loan.
"It still counts..."
"That's no problem."
Two voices sounded at the same time.
Lan Yingzhang's eyes widened in surprise, but Huang Yan smiled and said, "If it were in the past, that would definitely not be possible. President Zhou recently took over the company and changed the rules. If employees are truly in need, they can apply for a salary advance. Just fill out the application form."
Lan Yingzhang really didn't expect that Mr. Zhou, who seemed cold and ruthless, would be so compassionate to his employees. She thought all capitalists were vampires.
Her heart warmed, and she said sincerely, "Thank you, thank you so much."
Huang Yan smiled gently, "What's there to thank me for?"
Then, he handed the stamped application form back to her and said, "Go to the finance department and ask them to transfer the money to you."
Lan Yingzhang went to the Finance Department, and soon after, he received news that the money had arrived at the bank.
She looked at the clear balance number on the screen, and her usually calm eyes began to waver, and her eye sockets turned red.
This amount of money may be just a drop in the bucket for Mr. Zhou, but it is a great help to her.
Lan Yingzhang secretly made up his mind to protect his employer.
No matter how much you hate the past, you are powerless to do anything about it and can only look forward.
Work hard, live well, and things will get better in the future!
————
"Work? Where are there so many good jobs in this world?"
Jin Feifan walked quickly through the crowded crowd in the Science and Technology Park and complained to his friend on the other end of the phone.
It was lunchtime, and employees were pouring out of the tall buildings like a tide. The glass curtain walls of the skyscrapers reflected the dazzling sunlight.
Seeing the IT guy holding a cup of coffee bumping into her, Jin Feifan quickly stopped and hid in the shadow of the camphor tree next to her.
She continued to complain, "You have no idea how rubbish the HR department at that company is. They didn't ask about my skills or salary during the interview, but instead they were prying into my personal life! Am I married? How many children do I have? Do I have plans for a second child? It's none of their business."
Overhead, a delivery drone buzzed by, its fuselage displaying an advertisement for Huangtian Medical. Jin Feifan suddenly caught sight of the large "Tiankong Company" logo on a distant building.
There were many company logos on that tall wall pillar, but the first one she saw was that of Tianqiong Company. This made her heart skip a beat, and she even forgot what she was going to say next.
This reminded her of the last time she browsed recruitment information. It was the same thing. She saw the recruitment of Tianqiong Company at first glance.
Although the company offered a good salary, she couldn't possibly apply. If her colleagues knew she'd left a big company for a small, almost unheard-of company like this, she'd be laughed at!
But today she saw this company again. Is it really just a coincidence?
Jin Feifan's face was covered in sweat, and she began to regret dressing so formally for the interview. The carefully ironed white shirt stuck to her skin, feeling stuffy and sticky.
The friend on the other end of the phone suddenly raised his voice, "Hey! Are you listening to me?"
Jin Feifan came back to his senses, "Ah, Hu Qing, what did you just say?"
"I told you that you shouldn't have given birth to a child at the critical juncture of a promotion. Now, your chance for promotion is gone, and you've even been demoted and had your salary reduced."
In fact, Hu Qing and she joined Huangtian at the same time. Because he devoted himself to his work, he even lived in the company for a month during the New Year holiday two years ago to solve an emergency on the project. Now he is the department head.
Compared with her, Jin Feifan really feels inferior.
But she does not regret having children. Every time she returns home exhausted and sees her daughter's lovely face, she will muster up infinite courage to face this terrible world.
She smiled and replied, "Yes, yes, Director Hu, you are right. I regret it now."
There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.
Hu Qing sighed, "It's true that I haven't thought about having a child, but I'm just hesitant to take maternity leave. Even though I'm a mid-level manager now, this position is the most awkward. I'm stuck between the lines, just a mouthpiece."
"The higher-ups don't think I'm qualified to participate in strategic decision-making, and the lower-ups think I'm just forwarding emails. If the company ever lays off employees, we'll definitely be the first to be laid off. I think I still have to climb to the top to feel truly stable."
Jin Feifan hadn't solved his own problems, but when he heard his friend complaining, he cheered her up and encouraged her, "Don't be discouraged yet. With your ability to make connections, it's only a matter of time before you get promoted."
Hu Qing chuckled, "You're actually more optimistic than I am. I'm afraid of investing so much time and energy, only to end up with nothing good. But a child is different. Once it's yours, it's yours. Hey, why don't I just find a surrogate? Then I won't have all these worries!"
"What did you say?" Jin Feifan was stunned, not understanding how the topic had turned to this.
Perhaps because of her harsh tone, Hu Qing hurriedly said, "No, nothing, I just said it casually. Didn't you say you have an interview? Go quickly. After it's over, I'll drive over to pick you up for dinner."
"Can you just think about surrogacy? It's illegal and an infringement on women's personal rights. If you really do this, I'll pretend I don't have you as a friend!"
She had experienced the pain of pregnancy and childbirth, so she naturally hated this kind of thing.
More importantly, she didn't want her daughter to live in such a bad world.
She doesn't want her future self to be like herself, facing endless harassment, constant fear of being assaulted and trafficked, and the glass ceiling in the workplace that can never be broken... She hopes to use her own hands to support a better future for herself.
But Hu Qing obviously couldn't empathize with her. "I just said it casually. Why are you angry with me? You're talking as if if I don't do it, no one else will. There's no criminal penalty for surrogacy now. Maybe when the new leader takes office next year, it will be legal."
Jin Feifan was furious. "Is this a question of whether to sentence or not? Domestic violence is not sentenced. As women, should we support this? This is clearly a bottom line issue!"
There was a moment of silence on the other side, then they burst into laughter. "Feifan, are you turning into an extreme feminist because your husband cheated on you? You believe that kind of nonsense, don't you? Let me tell you, those online streamers who portray themselves as strong single mothers and keep calling themselves feminists are actually secretly using surrogacy. Which rich woman still has children these days? You're the only one who'd be so foolish as to put your career on hold just to have a child."
"Also, since you're my friend, I'm going to tell you the unpleasant truth. You're already over 30, and after working in the company for so long, you're just an ordinary employee. How can you be competitive in the market? No big company would want an older employee like you who's been eliminated. Instead of going through the trouble of interviewing, you might as well just stay at home and work your way through it."
"You--!" Before Jin Feifan could curse back, the phone was hung up.
She stared at the dark screen, her fingers clenched suddenly, and she felt a surge of anger in her heart with nowhere to vent.
"Ahhhh! Who is this? I thought she was a friend!" She suddenly yelled and kicked the trunk of the camphor tree next to her hard.
The surrounding employees cast a quick glance, then looked away as if they were used to it. The numb expressions on their faces seemed to say, look, another person driven crazy by work.
Jin Feifan originally wanted to complain to Hu Qing about the unsatisfactory interview, but after a phone call, she discovered Hu Qing's selfish nature of putting profit above all else.
This made her even more irritated, and her chest felt even more stuffy.
Why did she say I couldn't find a better job than my current one? I really didn't believe it.
Jin Feifan tried to calm down and walked towards the next company he had an appointment with.
The company's HR had a good chat with her online, and she had a feeling that the interview would go smoothly. Once she got the offer, she would see how she would slap Hu Qing in the face!
However, when Jin Feifan walked out of the office building again, his expression did not get better, but worse.
This company is even more rubbish!
They refused to even pay her her current base salary, and to suppress her, they criticized her age and suspected she had falsified her resume. Finally, they even tried to coerce her into providing project solutions!
Is it really that she is too ambitious and can't find a better job than her current one?
Jin Feifan stared at the curtain wall of the building in the distance. The logo of Tianqiong Company came into view again. Suddenly, a voice emerged in his heart, "Why not go there and give it a try?"
————
The next day, Jin Feifan sat in the reception room of Tianqiong Company.
This time, she had a pleasant conversation with both the HR manager and the technical director.
From the salary to the hours and the content, she was delighted with everything about her role as a technical director. Working from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with two days off, and a 40% salary increase—could there be a better, more perfect opportunity?
As the interview drew to a close, she finally couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to ask about my marriage and childbearing information?"
Hearing this, the other party smiled lightly and said, "Why do you ask? This is your personal privacy. Of course, if there is anything that makes you uncomfortable during the interview, you can always report it to the company."
The HR representative closed the folder and said gently, "If you don't have any other questions, when would you like to start?"
Jin Feifan was slightly stunned. Although he knew that this was a normal situation, he had been tortured so many times by crappy companies that he was overjoyed to finally meet a normal one.
She sat up straight, a natural smile on her face, "Next Monday."
The two stood up, shook hands, and ended the interview with a smile that made both of them very satisfied.
People feel refreshed when happy things happen.
The next day, Jin Feifan walked into the company with brisk steps, the corners of his mouth couldn't help but rise, and he almost hummed a song.
But her good mood did not last long. As soon as she walked into the work area, she ran into the department manager Qian Yong.
As soon as he saw her, his face darkened, his eyes filled with displeasure. "Jin Feifan, how many days have you taken off this week? Do you think the company's rules are just for show?"
"Or are you unhappy with the company's decision to transfer you, and can't stand the slightest injustice? If you're so hypocritical, why not just quit and go home to take care of the kids full-time? Why bother delaying everyone else's work?"
As if preparing for a public execution, he deliberately raised his voice, causing the other colleagues to look over, each with a gloating expression on their face.
Jin Feifan chuckled, "Yeah, I just don't want to do this anymore. But don't worry, I'm not going home to take care of the kids full-time. I've already found a new job as a technical director at Sky Dome Company. The salary is up 40%, and I don't have to work 996."
The other colleagues all looked incredulous. "What a boast, right? What kind of company is this? I've never even heard of it. They might even go bankrupt next month."
Qian Yong's face also turned red. He originally wanted to embarrass Jin Feifan in front of everyone, but he ended up embarrassing himself.
He forced a smile on his face, "Congratulations then."
Jin Feifan took out the resignation letter he had prepared long ago, and his smile widened. "This is my resignation notice. Can I complete the resignation procedures today?"
She had wanted to do this for a long time, and had even fantasized countless times that when she left her job, she would throw the resignation letter in Qian Yong's face like her boss threw documents.
But I didn't expect that this day would come so soon.
It feels so good to see my boss looking so frustrated!
————
At 10 a.m. in the Tianqiong Company's large conference room, bright sunlight shone through the window onto the long table.
By this point, the conference room was already packed. Manufacturing Director Duan Mingzhu stood before a screen, a PowerPoint presentation displaying the words "Material Reorganization Project Officially Launched."
Gu Lan looked around quietly and found that Assistant Shi, Director Liu and other old company employees, as well as new employees such as Manager Jin and Lin An were all there.
It seems that the people here are the core members of the project team.
"...Okay, President Zhou is already waiting in the laboratory, let's all go over." Duan Mingzhu ended the brief morning meeting and walked out of the meeting room.
The rest of the people stood up and took the elevator to the laboratory in groups. Newcomers like Gu Lan and Lin An were in the second group.
Just as the elevator was about to close, a male employee suddenly squeezed in. The others stepped aside and made way without saying anything.
The elevator slowly descended, and everyone was whispering about the project. Suddenly, the male employee said loudly, "Hey, you top students, does anyone know what this matter reorganization machine is? And what about particles? I don't think there's a concept like this in physics, right?"
Gu Lan frowned. What does this person mean?
Indeed, no one has ever seen a particle, and no one knows what a particle is.
This is just a guess and assumption.
If 0 and 1 constitute all the information in the computer world, then particles are the codes of the real world and constitute all the matter in the real world.
Every substance has a unique arrangement of particles, also known as a material code. Mastering these material codes means mastering the ultimate secrets of matter.
What their project team has to do is to turn this science fiction conjecture into reality.
This is simply crazy, but that's what Gu Lan wants!
After all, she had been fascinated by the starry sky since she was very young. What was the essential difference between the stars in the sky and the stones on the ground? She had been thinking about this question for a long time, so how could she give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity?
However, at that time, she never thought that she could become a scientist. She even thought about choosing liberal arts so that she could become a history researcher when she was choosing between liberal arts and science in high school.
But in the end, her interest in physics prompted her to choose science, and she was admitted to the Department of Physics at S University.
There are not many girls studying physics, but each of them is very smart, especially Lin An. Every time she listens to her talk about physics, she will suddenly have an epiphany.
So, she couldn't understand why Lin An wanted to join this ordinary manufacturing company with her.
Thinking of this, she turned to look at Lin An beside her.
Lin An knew what she was thinking just by looking at her eyes. He leaned close to her ear and whispered with a smile, "You are the only one allowed to be crazy, but I am not allowed to be a fool?"
Gu Lan was speechless. Just as he was about to say something, the male employee suddenly raised his voice, "I say, you all lied! Zhou Fanyi is a liar!"
"What?" Gu Lan's eyes flickered slightly.
The others were also frightened, with expressions of shock and confusion on their faces, and they all cast curious and inquiring eyes at the male employee.
Niu Yi suddenly felt that he was attracting much attention, and a smug smile appeared on his face. "No way, don't you know anything?"
"Know what? What exactly do you want to say?"
"The former boss of this company was set up. He borrowed money from loan sharks to buy some junk materials. He jumped from a building last month. Now, the junk materials are still piled up in the warehouse."
"This crappy new project is just a scam. Zhou Fanyi is just a housewife. I'm afraid she's never worked a day in her life. What the hell does she know about the material? I didn't expect you to rush in when the company is about to go bankrupt. It's not too late to leave now. That's all I have to say."
These words were like a depth charge that instantly exploded in the elevator, and everyone was in an uproar.
"Impossible? Doesn't that mean our company is going bankrupt?"
"They boasted so much during the recruitment process, and now they tell me it was all fake? Do they have any conscience?"
"I gave up another offer to come here, and you're doing this to me? Where's Director Duan? I need to ask Director Duan for clarification!"
Ding! The elevator reached the first floor and the doors opened.
The crowd rushed out indignantly, their faces filled with hatred and anger.
What no one noticed was that Niu Yi, who had told them the truth, was leaning against the elevator door, a gloating smile on his face. "Now, we can watch the show."
With the employees collectively rioting, wouldn't President Zhou be utterly freaked out? If she couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation, wouldn't these naive newcomers resign? And then her new project would be doomed!
It's such a pity.
However, it was Mr. Zhou's fault for not being a good person and actually kicking him, a veteran employee, out of the project team.
The smile on Niu Yi's face turned cold in an instant, and a hint of viciousness flashed in his eyes.
Wasn't he just occasionally smoking a cigarette in the stairwell? Zhou Fanyi, that lunatic, actually abused her power and transferred him to manage the warehouse!
Who doesn't know that that garbage material is radioactive? Exposing him to it every day isn't just deliberately trying to cause cancer?
Since you are so unkind, don't blame me for being unjust. Just wait for the company to go bankrupt!
Niu Yi stood there for a while, and when he saw that the time was almost up, he raised his foot and walked leisurely towards the laboratory.
He couldn't bear to miss the scene of dozens of women tearing each other's faces and hair.
————
On the other side, Gu Lan saw that his colleagues were all excited and looked like they were about to rush into the laboratory to confront President Zhou, so he immediately ran to the front and opened his arms to stop everyone.
"Wait! Everyone, calm down! We haven't figured things out yet. We can't just take that guy's one-sided story. Do you really not want to work in the company anymore?"
Everyone was so angry that they couldn't listen. "That man is a long-time employee of the company. How could he be wrong?"
"Exactly. Who would want to continue working for a scam company? I'd be embarrassed to even put this experience on my resume!"
Jin Feifan, who had been silent the whole time, felt even happier.
How could she have been so blinded by the high salary offer, without doing more research on the company's background? How could a company on the verge of bankruptcy, saddled with loan sharking, possibly be revived by a single project? They might not even be able to pay their employees.
She clenched her teeth tightly, her nails digging into her palms, feeling indescribable regret.
It's really ridiculous. She is already in her thirties, but she still believes in good things that fall from the sky. She even fantasizes that she can slap Hu Qing and Qian Yong in the face, but she didn't expect that she would be the one to be embarrassed.
If she went back to her former company in disgrace and begged for a job, her colleagues would probably laugh and point fingers, "Hey, isn't that the promoted Manager Jin? Why are you switching back again?"
Thinking of this scene, she wished she could dig a hole and bury herself.
Just at this moment, Gu Lan's clear voice rang out again, "Whether the company is deceiving us or not, we'll know when we get to the lab. If it's fake, it won't be too late to question them then. But if it's true, how can we stay in the project team if we make such a fuss?"
When everyone heard what she said, they all nodded in agreement and decided to listen to her. It would not be too late to take action after seeing the experimental results, and it also seemed reasonable and well-founded.
Seeing that they had calmed down, Gu Lan put down his hands and slowly exhaled.
She also didn't think this project was just a scam. Fortunately, she would soon find out whether it was true or not. If it was the latter, she would definitely get to the bottom of it!
Everyone was nervous and anxious, and immediately quickened their pace and walked to the door of the laboratory.
Duan Mingzhu and others were already waiting for them inside.
When Gu Lan saw the situation in the laboratory, his pupils trembled. The others even forgot the anger they had when they came here and widened their eyes.
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