Chapter 17
Chapter Summary: "Zhenzhen, what happened to your eyes?"
The next morning, as soon as Ni Zhenzhen stepped into the dressing room, Rong Xiaodan noticed the difference in her.
She exclaimed dramatically, "Zhenzhen, what happened to your eyes?"
Qian Lina also noticed that Ni Zhenzhen's eyes were swollen like peaches, clearly indicating that she had been crying, and crying very hard.
Ni Zhenzhen is fair-skinned, so even the smallest pimple would stand out. With her eyes swollen like this, it naturally didn't escape the eyes of the two people.
Rong Xiaodan asked worriedly, "Have you been crying? What happened?"
"No." Ni Zhenzhen was a little embarrassed. She avoided Rong Xiaodan's gaze and walked towards the locker.
Qian Lina thought to herself, "Is there even a need to ask? It's definitely because she lost three hundred yuan yesterday and is feeling wronged. This Rong Xiaodan, I don't know if she did it on purpose, she could have just pretended not to see it, but she had to say it out loud."
"Oh, I know!" Rong Xiaodan hopped over like a rabbit, tilted her head and asked, "Is it because of the three hundred yuan yesterday?"
Ni Zhenzhen smiled and told the truth: "No."
“What’s so hard to admit? In our line of work, who hasn’t been short of money or lost money? Take me for example, I’ve only been doing this for a short time, and I’ve already lost several thousand dollars in total. Even my mom says that other people come to work to make money, but I’m just losing money.”
Rong Xiaodan spoke in a high-pitched voice and at a fast pace, her words like those of a little bird. Especially the phrase "losing money," a few simple words that took many turns, like a theatrical performance. Ni Zhenzhen couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You laughed?" Rong Xiaodan put her hand on Ni Zhenzhen's shoulder. "How are you feeling? Any better?"
Ni Zhenzhen knew that Rong Xiaodan was doing this for her own good. She patted Rong Xiaodan's hand on her shoulder and said, "It's really not because of that."
"Why is that?"
Forced into a corner, Ni Zhenzhen could only vaguely reply, "It's because of family matters."
"Really?" This was something Rong Xiaodan hadn't expected. She rolled her eyes and looked at Qian Lina.
Qian Lina didn't seem surprised.
Just as she thought!
She had sensed something was wrong earlier. How could Ni Zhenzhen be so fragile? It was just three hundred yuan, why was she crying like that?
Upon further reflection, I realized that it was understandable.
Three hundred yuan might not be much to others, but it wasn't so simple for Ni Zhenzhen.
The couple had no house or car, and the husband worked at a rice noodle shop. It must have been that Ni Zhenzhen's husband said something to complain after finding out that made her cry so sadly.
"Sigh..." Qian Lina sighed inwardly, "It's true what they say, poverty makes life miserable for couples."
Ni Zhenzhen's experience further solidified Qian Lina's determination to be cautious in choosing a partner. As the saying goes, "Can love put food on the table?"
She felt even more sympathetic towards Ni Zhenzhen and stepped forward, asking, "Zhenzhen, did you call the old man?"
"I called, but no one answered."
Rong Xiaodan said, "How about we try one more?"
Ni Zhenzhen made another call, but still no one answered.
Qian Lina wore an expression that said, "I knew it."
Ni Zhenzhen shrugged, thinking of a possibility, "Maybe they thought I was a scam call."
Rong Xiaodan nodded in agreement, "That's possible."
Qian Lina sneered inwardly, wondering when these two would finally come to terms with reality.
At nine o'clock sharp, the bank opened its doors to customers.
Unexpectedly, the bald old man actually came to the door himself. He didn't even take a number and went straight to Ni Zhenzhen's counter.
Qian Lina saw this and thought to herself, "This is going to be interesting."
The old man got a good deal from Ni Zhenzhen yesterday, and he's trying his luck again today. He'll use the same method again and maybe he can get another three hundred yuan for free.
Before Ni Zhenzhen could speak, the old man said first, "Young lady, did you give me an extra three hundred yuan yesterday?"
Ni Zhenzhen looked up, and the sunlight streaming in made her squint. Once her eyes adjusted, she could see who the old man was. Ni Zhenzhen quickly said, "Yes, that's right. I called you to tell you about this."
The old man said, "I've come to return the money."
It turned out that the old man really thought Ni Zhenzhen's call was a scam call. "My son said that we should never answer unknown numbers."
He took out three hundred and handed it to Ni Zhenzhen, jokingly saying, "You were scared, weren't you? I can't speak for others, but you can rest assured about me, Old Li. I would never do anything against my conscience. You young people have it tough."
The old man put the money in his inner pocket, the closest place to his heart, and it was still burning hot in this cold weather.
Holding the three hundred yuan she had suddenly found, Ni Zhenzhen couldn't believe it was real. Regardless, it was indeed her fault, and she should do something about it.
"Did you make a special trip? I'm so sorry." Ni Zhenzhen took out a hundred yuan and handed it back. "I'll give you the taxi fare, please accept it."
"Why would I need a taxi fare?" the old man said dismissively. "It's just a morning stroll, a convenient thing to do. Don't let my current appearance fool you; my family has a long and distinguished history. Why would I need your money?"
Ni Zhenzhen wanted to give it to the old man, but he firmly refused.
During the tug-of-war, Ni Zhenzhen remembered something that had been bothering her. "By the way, there's something I've been wanting to ask you. Is there anything lacking in our service? You always seem dissatisfied."
"Really?" the old man asked doubtfully. "I'm not satisfied with the method I used?"
He picked up the rating device and examined it carefully for a long time. Then he slapped his thigh and said in annoyance, "So this side is 'unsatisfied,' and this side is 'satisfied.' Look at my eyesight, I'm so sorry. How about I mark it as 'satisfied' for you now? I'll mark as many as you want."
It turned out to be another misunderstanding. Ni Zhenzhen was both amused and exasperated. "I appreciate your kindness, but I don't need to press it."
The elderly man apologized profusely, "Did I cause you any trouble?"
Why not? A "dissatisfied" comment costs about ten yuan, but it doesn't really matter, the old man didn't do it on purpose.
"Don't worry, it's not true," Ni Zhenzhen said with a smile.
The old man breathed a sigh of relief and waved to Ni Zhenzhen, "The money has been delivered, I should go now, you go ahead with your work."
Unfortunately, there was bulletproof glass in between, so Ni Zhenzhen couldn't see the old man out. She didn't even have time to watch him go before she had to call the next customer.
Soon, the same question that was repeated countless times every day rang out again: "Hello, what service do you need?"
Perhaps because the sun was shining brightly and the snow was beginning to melt, Ni Zhenzhen's tone seemed warmer than ever before when she said those words.
The matter was resolved satisfactorily, but Qian Lina was not happy at all.
Why is this happening? She kept asking herself.
Why is it that when Ni Zhenzhen paid a shortfall, the other party would return the money in full, while when she paid a shortfall, she didn't encounter such good fortune?
While Qian Lina was momentarily distracted, the people outside the glass couldn't wait any longer. A middle-aged woman slammed her hand on the table and yelled, "Haven't you eaten? Why are you so slow, you idiot!"
Qian Lina was already used to it. The bank's regulations required the use of service language when handing things to customers, but she was too lazy to say it anymore.
She handed the woman a thousand yuan in cash, but the woman didn't take it. Instead, she said in a commanding tone, "Deposit one hundred."
Didn't I just withdraw a thousand? Why do I need to deposit another hundred?
Seeing that she didn't move, the woman continued angrily, "Are you deaf? Didn't you hear me? I told you to deposit a hundred!"
Qian Lina realized she'd run into someone looking for trouble. The woman withdrew a thousand, then deposited it in increments of one hundred, then withdrew another thousand, then deposited it in increments of one hundred again. The woman wasn't trying to deposit or withdraw money; she just wanted to torment her.
What did she do to offend her?
Qian Lina remembered that a few days ago, this woman had tried to withdraw money from an ATM with her bank card, but the card was locked after she entered the wrong PIN. When she took the card to the counter to unlock it, Qian Lina discovered that it wasn't her card and refused to process it for her.
The woman said the card belonged to her husband and asked her to make an exception.
"Make an exception?"
Qian Lina wasn't immune to being lenient; when she first went to the counter, she met an elderly woman who came to deposit money.
The old lady was carrying a cloth bag containing a handful of loose change and a hundred-yuan bill. Each bill was crumpled and wrinkled, clearly indicating that she had been saving it for a long time.
Unfortunately, the hundred-dollar note was fake.
Qian Lina told her that, according to regulations, the □□ must be confiscated on the spot.
The old lady immediately burst into tears, begging her to be lenient, "You can't take it all, just give me a fifty-yuan note, please."
For some reason, Qian Lina thought of her grandmother at that moment, and out of a moment of weakness, she returned the money to her.
At that time, she was still pleased with herself for doing a good deed. Unexpectedly, the next day, the old lady's children blocked the bank entrance, insisting that the old lady had come to deposit money. Qian Lina used a switcheroo trick to give the old lady the money.
Their crying and commotion attracted a lot of onlookers, and the branch manager found out about it.
The director's attitude was very clear: Qian Lina had not collected the required items as per regulations, and if investigated, she could be dismissed.
Qian Lina understood that she couldn't be without a job, so she had no choice but to accept her bad luck and give the family one hundred yuan. The family finally left happily.
From then on, the word "accommodation" disappeared from Qian Lina's life, because she finally realized that so many bank regulations, on the surface, were restricting others, but in fact, they were protecting themselves.
She read out the bank's regulations again: "Only the person in charge can handle this."
The woman broke down.
Qian Lina watched the woman's transformation from desperate pleading to utter rage with an expressionless face, as if she were watching an ant writhing in the scorching sun.
She finally felt a sense of relief.
The woman then threatened her, telling her not to leave after get off work, and that she would never let her go no matter what.
Qian Lina didn't see her after get off work that day, and she thought the matter was over, but she didn't expect it to come again today.
Qian Lina isn't afraid at all!
It's just depositing and withdrawing money, it's the simplest business, it doesn't require much brainpower. It's better to spend a day with one weirdo than to fight a bunch of weirdos. At five o'clock, she leaves work on time. What can she do to me?
Qian Lina was determined to stick with her to the end, but the director was getting anxious. Seeing that there were more and more people in the lobby, he couldn't let a valuable counter be wasted on something pointless.
The director made Qian Lina apologize.
Qian Lina didn't know what she had done wrong. If she had to say what she did wrong, it was that she shouldn't have come to work at the bank.
"Apologize quickly!" the director urged.
Having no other choice, Qian Lina reluctantly said, "I'm sorry."
The director said a lot of nice things and gave the person a small gift of two steel wool balls before finally sending them away.
After the woman left, the director's expression quickly changed. He gestured with his chin towards the door and winked at Qian Lina, saying, "Your husband is cheating on you, and you're upset."
So you can take your anger out on her when you're upset? But who can she turn to when she's wronged?
Qian Lina turned her head and immediately saw Ni Zhenzhen.
Ni Zhenzhen was facing the same trouble. She kept explaining to the client that this could only be done by the person in person, but the client wouldn't listen and would point his finger at Ni Zhenzhen and curse. But no matter how nasty his curses were, Ni Zhenzhen could always greet him with a smile.
Qian Lina really wanted to know, didn't Ni Zhenzhen feel wronged at all?
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