Chapter 8
Chapter summary: "I only ate it because you told me to."
Rong Xiaodan's statement was indeed somewhat exaggerated.
In Qian Lina's view, although today will be a bit busy, it won't be as bad as Rong Xiaodan's suicide attempt.
It's understandable, though, as Rong Xiaodan's professional skills are really mediocre. Things that others can learn in a day, she still only has a vague understanding of.
The teller only handles a few common types of transactions. She doesn't even have a basic understanding of half of them and has to ask others for help every time. Although she doesn't need to ask others for help with the other half of the transactions, she always makes mistakes, and it's common for her to have short or long balances.
Normally it wouldn't matter, we could just slow down, but on days like these, we can only hope for the best.
"It's just a pension payment, why are you so scared?" Ni Zhenzhen's gaze was gentle, with a faint smile on her face. "Actually, it's quite interesting to listen to them teasing each other."
There's a saying that goes, "Wind halves the business, rain ruins it all." Unfortunately, that doesn't apply to their branch. On the 15th of every month, no matter how hard it is to stop raining, the branch will be packed with people.
Because this is the day pensions are paid.
On this day, countless elderly men and women would flock from all directions to gather in the bank lobby and chat. Ni Zhenzhen overheard a few of their conversations: one was saying, "When are we going to eat from your communal pot?" Another was saying, "You've saved so much money and you're reluctant to spend it, are you going to take it to your grave?"
Thinking that each meeting would be one less time for them, Ni Zhenzhen felt somewhat sad. "It's good that the elderly can get together here when they have nothing else to do."
Qian Lina didn't feel good at all; she just felt annoyed.
Before joining the bank, Qian Lina never imagined that a teller's job would be so busy. These days, people use electronic payments or mobile banking; who still goes to a branch to conduct business?
It wasn't until she entered the bank, or more precisely, because she had no connections or background and was assigned to a rural branch, that she truly opened her eyes to the world.
Eighty percent of the people who come to the bank every day are elderly. These people do not have smartphones and are extremely resistant to bank cards and ATMs. They lack financial knowledge and either cannot understand what you are saying or cannot hear you at all, which makes her have to shout and explain several times.
What's even more annoying is that they always have to withdraw their pension money as soon as possible, as if the bank would steal it if they waited. One old man in particular insists on withdrawing money down to the cent every time, counting it at home before depositing it back, which is incredibly frustrating.
Besides these, there are those with bad memories who forget their passwords right after changing them; those who need to replace their passbooks seven or eight times a month; and those who are greedy for small gains, like to stage accidents, or throw tantrums at the slightest disagreement... well, there are hardly any normal people.
Rong Xiaodan sighed and said, "Today is still market day."
Having a group of old men and women is annoying enough, but if it happens to coincide with a market day, it's just unbearable.
Once the closing time is over, the vendors will come with large bags of 50-cent and 1-yuan notes to deposit money, a significant portion of which needs to be counted manually.
Actually, being a little tired wasn't a big deal. The key issue was that the money was incredibly dirty, giving the entire branch a strange smell. The most outrageous time was when Qian Lina actually watched fish scales fly out of the banknotes as they were going through the counting machine!
But things should be a little better today.
Ni Zhenzhen also said, "With such heavy rain, there probably won't be many people at the market." She comforted Rong Xiaodan a few more times, her voice soft yet reassuringly firm, "Don't worry, I'm here for you."
Outside, the rain was pouring down, but inside it felt like the sun had come out after the rain. Rong Xiaodan, who had just been looking miserable, finally smiled a little. "Zhenzhen, you're so kind."
On the other side, Qian Lina locked the cabinet and silently pursed her lips.
To be honest, she couldn't be as nonchalant as Ni Zhenzhen. She prayed silently that she wouldn't be dragged down by Rong Xiaodan.
Qian Lina guessed correctly; as soon as it was nine o'clock, the customers poured in.
The rain was so heavy that everyone was a bit disheveled. One person complained that another got soaked while closing their umbrella, another accused someone of cutting in line, and after blaming each other, they started yelling at the bank staff, saying things like, "Why didn't you open the door earlier in this heavy rain?"
With the feeling of going to a funeral, Qian Lina went to the counter and served her first customer. Although she was called the first customer, there were actually five, six, seven or eight faces piled on the glass, all staring at her menacingly. If it weren't for the bulletproof glass, she probably would have been torn to shreds by them.
Qian Lina couldn't understand why these people insisted on coming to the counter to make a scene when a transaction that could be completed in two minutes at the ATM would take so long. And then they'd start swearing. "Are all the people at your bank dead? Are all these windows just for show? Are you looking down on me because you're so slow? You're just taking money and not doing any work! I'm going to complain..."
In the past, Qian Lina would blush and feel wronged to the point of wanting to cry. Later, she got used to it and could ignore no matter how harsh the criticisms from outsiders were, focusing on doing business at her own pace.
That's a joke. If you do it quickly, no one will thank you. It's just something you're supposed to do anyway. But if you make a mistake, you'll have to pay real money back.
Fortunately, everyone knows that Ni Zhenzhen has a good temper, and whenever they encounter a difficult customer, they will take them to Ni Zhenzhen's side.
With so many people, Ni Zhenzhen got anxious and processed the business very quickly.
Just watch, it's not that she's cursing Ni Zhenzhen, but if things continue like this, something bad will happen sooner or later.
Finally, it was noon, and Qian Lina was able to catch her breath during lunch. Su Wenjin also returned to the conference room on the 58th floor at this time.
Su Wenjin went out for a while and when she came back, she found that Xu Tianzhou was gone, but she left a lunchbox and a box of handmade dumplings on the table.
Needless to say, it was Ni Zhenzhen who gave it to Xu Tianzhou.
"How can you eat it cold?" Su Wenjin frowned slightly, then instructed her secretary, "Go heat it up."
A short while later, the secretary returned. She not only heated up the dumplings, but also placed them on a white plate and garnished the edges with cherry tomatoes and wasabi.
Su Wenjin sincerely praised, "Not bad."
There are three types of people in the workplace: one type is those who lack ability or have a bad attitude and can never complete their tasks; another type is those who only do what they are told and complain if they do a little more; and the third type is the secretary, who not only heats up the dumplings but also carefully plates them.
Su Wenjin thought with satisfaction that it was worth it for him to have chosen her from among a group of management trainees waiting to be rotated to grassroots positions and specially transferred her to the president's office.
"You can even plate food?" Su Wenjin asked.
"I asked the restaurant chef to make it."
Su Wenjin nodded, and just as he was about to say something, Xu Tianzhou returned. Seeing that he looked unwell, Su Wenjin quickly asked him if something had happened.
"Don't even mention it." Xu Tianzhou pulled up a chair and sat down, casually unbuttoning his suit jacket. His brows furrowed with exhaustion. "A customer complained to the mall, and the new building manager insisted on calling the store manager over. He gave me a good scolding."
"What? He insulted you?" Su Wenjin was surprised but also found it somewhat amusing.
Xu Tianzhou is the actual controller of Xinda Group. He has the final say in the company. Several people in the top decision-making level are in their fifties or sixties. No matter how arrogant they are outside, they have to be respectful in front of Xu Tianzhou. They dare not act like elders in the slightest. He really can't imagine Xu Tianzhou being lectured by others.
"It's nothing really, I used to..."
"Before?" Su Wenjin asked.
Xu Tianzhou suddenly stopped talking. He focused his gaze on the half-read planning document, his expression intent, as if the words he had just spoken were not his own, but merely Su Wenjin's illusion.
Xu Tianzhou stopped talking, and Su Wenjin didn't dare to ask any further questions.
It was lunchtime, and Su Wenjin pointed to the dumplings on the table and asked, "Aren't you going to eat any?"
Xu Tianzhou was preoccupied with something and in a hurry to finish reading the planning document, so he casually said, "You eat."
With that statement, Su Wenjin didn't hold back.
Outside the window, the rain was pouring down, and the lights on the building across the street looked like stars in the sky, too far away to see clearly.
After a while, Xu Tianzhou let out a long sigh. He put the planning document aside and looked up to find that Su Wenjin was eating dumplings.
Xu Tianzhou suddenly froze, a bad feeling creeping into his heart. "These dumplings are..."
"It was the portion you brought. I had my secretary heat it up." Seeing Xu Tianzhou still frowning, Su Wenjin couldn't help but feel flustered. "I only ate it because you told me to."
Xu Tianzhou was speechless.
When Xu Tianzhou first saw the dumplings on the plate, he thought Su Wenjin had prepared them. Only when he realized his box of dumplings was missing did he realize something was wrong.
He guessed that Su Wenjin had misunderstood, but he didn't know whether he should tell the truth. After a long while, he asked a trivial question, "Is it delicious?"
"It's delicious." In stark contrast to Xu Tianzhou's hesitation, Su Wenjin answered very decisively.
For a moment, Xu Tianzhou didn't know what to say.
Seeing Xu Tianzhou's strange expression, Su Wenjin's heart sank.
Has something happened?
Even if Xu Tianzhou disliked Ni Zhenzhen before, he would never act like this today. Not only did he show little interest in the food she had worked so hard to prepare, but he also asked him in such a disdainful and questioning tone if it was delicious.
Su Wenjin had no idea about the true origin of the dumplings, but Xu Tianzhou did.
The image of the old lady's house flashed before Xu Tianzhou's eyes again. He picked up his chopsticks and forced himself to eat one.
Sure enough, something was wrong after taking a bite.
Xu Tianzhou quickly grabbed a tissue and spat the contents of his mouth onto it.
Surprisingly, Xu Tianzhou's first reaction at that moment was not anger, but joy. He wanted to immediately complain to Ni Zhenzhen, and he even had a plan of what to say.
It's all your fault, you wouldn't let me throw it away, and now...
"What's wrong?" Su Wenjin asked.
Xu Tianzhou stared at the object in his hand without saying a word. Su Wenjin leaned over to take a look and then exclaimed, "It's peanuts! What a good omen! It seems the manufacturing base will definitely start operations smoothly."
At that moment, Xu Tianzhou felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally, for the first time.
He held the peanuts in his hand and asked Su Wenjin a question: "Would you give money to a beggar?"
Xu Tianzhou spoke calmly, his intentions and emotions unreadable. He was always like this, always able to hide his turbulent emotions perfectly.
"Why should we give it to them?" Su Wenjin retorted, as if stating something everyone knew, "Isn't it all a lie?"
“Yes, it’s all a lie.” Xu Tianzhou looked up, clenched his other hand into a fist and pressed it to his temple. After a long while, he repeated, “It’s all a lie.”
After lunch, Xu Tianzhou returned to the rice noodle shop.
He stayed in the store until closing time that day.
The lights in the store were half off, everyone else had left, and the cleaning lady was cleaning up.
Was he wrong?
No, Xu Tianzhou didn't think he was wrong. They were both elderly people; the cleaning lady was still working there, and the old lady even had a son. Instead of trying to earn money through her own labor, she chose to beg. Was that fair to those who worked so hard?
Thinking of this, Xu Tianzhou took out her phone. Just as she was about to call Ni Zhenzhen, Ni Zhenzhen called instead.
Her voice was muffled and broken, as if she had just been crying.
Ni Zhenzhen said, "Could you come over here for a moment?"
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