allendalepharm Chapter 15 5 pieces and 1 basket of broken eggs
Chapter 15 5 pieces and 1 basket of broken eggs
The moment she received the money, all her complaints vanished. Only then did she realize that the happiness of a working person is so simple and inexpensive.
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The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, Zeng Jia, clutching the hard-won 0.25% price reduction, called Zhang Zhishan.
Just as I finished reporting our core findings, a thunderous burst of laughter erupted on the other end of the phone: "Haha! Great! Zeng, you did a fantastic job! It wasn't for nothing that I sent you to Gaoyou!"
No sooner had the words left his mouth than a "ding-dong" sounded, and five thousand yuan was transferred via WeChat!
The glaring red envelope cover made Zeng Jia stare at the screen for a long time, her finger hovering over "Confirm Payment," but she didn't dare to click it for a long time.
She swallowed hard and cautiously added, "Mr. Zhang... this... this is a voluntary gift, right? It's not related to salary or bonuses, is it? It won't be deducted from my overtime pay later, will it?"
She knew all too well Zhang Zhishan's ruthless nature of taking advantage of others. The Huawei Mate 70 Pro+ was something he was doing to impress Aunt Chen, not a cash reward.
She hoped Zhang Zhishan would give her something like a scarf, something tangible and visible, like Yu Li did. Five thousand yuan might be part of a "pay first, deduct later" scheme.
"Look at you, so pathetic." Zhang Zhishan scoffed. "A gift! Purely voluntary! Consider it compensation for your muddy slump. Your clothes are dirty too, aren't they? Buy yourself a new set! Just relax and enjoy yourself in Gaoyou for a day, wait until the legal department finishes the contract and signs it before you come back. Don't act like you've never seen money before!"
After hanging up the phone, Zeng Jia gritted her teeth and clicked "Confirm Receipt". This five thousand yuan was not a nutrition fee, but a get-out-of-jail-free card to keep her secretary position.
She happily clicked on her Taobao shopping cart and placed the order. She then sent Wang Haowen a screenshot of the transfer with the message: "Money for the 0.1 square meter house has been deposited."
Zeng Jia spent the whole day at the cooperative, watching geese swim, eating local dried fruit and oily salted duck eggs, sitting at a tea stall on the old street eating melon seeds, and chatting with Aunt Chen's family.
Thinking about it carefully, it seems like she hasn't felt this relaxed in a long time.
After all, in Beijing, you have to be careful with your breathing; you can't really relax like this.
Zeng Jia didn't forget Aunt Chen's medical report either. She contacted the attending physician via video call right on time. She wrote down the doctor's instructions, filling three pages, and after hanging up the video call, she explained them to Chen Dewei and his wife several times in detail.
Although Chen Dewei's 0.25% was a coincidence that she timed the audit team's review of logistics subsidies perfectly, allowing Chen Dewei to do her a favor, no matter what, she had received the benefit and had to return the favor by doing a good job for Aunt Chen.
Otherwise, how are they any different from that capitalist Zhang Zhishan?
She still wants to keep her face.
On Friday afternoon, after confirming that both contracts had been signed, Zeng Jia hummed a little tune as she boarded the high-speed train back to Beijing. She and Wang Haowen had already made plans for two late-night snacks that night—one to satisfy their cravings and the other to ease their longing.
When Zeng Jia got home, the clock on the wall ticked past 11 p.m., and Wang Haowen still hadn't returned. She could only take a shower and change her clothes first, and tidy up the messy house.
I had just thrown the dirty clothes into the washing machine when I heard a clanging and banging sound at the door, followed by the door being slammed open.
A pungent smell of smoke mixed with liquor assaulted Zeng Jia's senses, startling her.
Wang Haowen's eyes were unfocused, and his whole body was limp, like a shrimp out of water, leaning against the front door.
"How much did you drink?"
Zeng Jia instinctively reached out to support his arm, but the drunk man's strength was heavy and forceful. Wang Haowen pounced on her, causing Zeng Jia to stumble and fall to the ground with a thud.
A basket of newly bought free-range eggs was on the ground when a series of crisp "crunch, crunch" sounds came from it. Egg yolk mixed with broken eggshells made a sticky mess, and the fishy smell hit my nose.
Zeng Jia hurriedly raised her Huawei Mate70 Pro+ high, fearing that her brand-new phone, which she had only used for two days, would be damaged.
Wang Haowen stammered, his face full of shame, "I really didn't mean to... that ULUL Su Manli grabbed me and forced me to drink so much, I felt like these two legs weren't mine anymore, I'm just glad I was able to get home."
In the afternoon, Su Manli took two of ULUL's spokespeople to "Tianyi" for tea. The whole company rushed to take photos with them, and the photos flooded WeChat Moments like a virus.
After all this commotion, even someone as slow-witted as Su Manli realized she'd been tricked into doing something for free.
Although she wore a smile, she was seething with anger inside. Unable to vent her anger on Yu Li, she decided to take advantage of Wang Haowen, this seemingly weakling, and squeeze him dry. She said things like, "I love Assistant Wang's quick wit," and "I'll take Assistant Wang away from Tianyi with a high salary," but in reality, she was using him as an emotional dumping ground, chugging down glass after glass to vent her frustrations.
Wang Haowen cursed this woman's ancestors for eight generations in his heart, but he could only force a smile.
Who told him to be Yu Li's senior assistant?
He had no choice but to suffer the consequences.
Zeng Jia touched his flushed face, which reeked of alcohol, and felt extremely distressed. How could he find his way home after drinking like that? It was almost like magic.
She scrambled to her feet, quickly stripped Wang Haowen naked, shoved him into the bathroom, and rinsed him thoroughly with the showerhead. She quickly washed herself as well, then squatted down to clean up the broken eggs. When she finished, she checked her watch and it was already 12:30.
Wang Haowen washed himself clean but didn't sleep. He sat on the edge of the bed, drinking pot after pot of strong tea until he felt nauseous. Then he would rush to the bathroom to vomit, and after emptying his bladder, he would come back and continue drinking. He went through this four or five times, and the effects of the alcohol were finally subsided.
The two lay back on the bed and embraced tightly.
Zeng Jia's original intention of having a "late-night snack" had long been ruined by this farce.
After being separated for so long, being able to hug like this is already a luxury.
"You know, these people, they're all financially independent, how come they're so petty, calculating every little detail, and always seeking revenge?" Wang Haowen patted Zeng Jia's hair and complained in a hoarse voice, "Not to mention Su Manli, I always feel that Yu Li's path is getting narrower and narrower, her mind is full of schemes, she doesn't have a single bit of sincerity."
"Then you haven't seen Zhang Zhishan yet."
Zeng Jia snuggled closer to him, finding a comfortable position to settle down. "They set eight different prices for the same goods, just change the label and a few words, and they dare to raise the price even though the product is exactly the same. They're just treating consumers like fools. I didn't understand before I was involved in this business, but now I know how deep the waters run in this industry."
"No matter what, you still have to go to work and earn money. Who told you to insist on buying a house?"
Wang Haowen rolled out of bed, took out the Amani scarf, and wrapped it around Zeng Jia's neck. Zeng Jia wasn't wearing it, so he took it off and tied it around his neck.
"She gave it to you, so it's only natural for me to wear it. It's just that we've been traveling so much lately that we haven't given ourselves away. We'd better be careful once we get back to work; those two are both itching to slap each other at the board meeting on Monday. We need to be on high alert!"
Wang Haowen tore the scarf aside with a look of disgust. "What's the point of wearing this? It's not even as warm as the wool scarf your mom knitted for me. I wish she would learn from Zhang Zhishan and just transfer the money to me directly. That would be much more practical and could even help with the down payment."
Seeing his childlike appearance, Zeng Jia couldn't help but laugh. "I was quite puzzled before as to why Yu Li chose you as her assistant. Now it seems she really has a good eye. Running errands, fending off drinks, maintaining appearances, and being a smooth-talking pretty boy, you really can do everything."
Wang Haowen hugged her, his tone very serious, "You've really opened my eyes. With your current control over the industry chain and your sense of proportion when negotiating with partners, you could talk to clients about in-depth cooperation without any problem. Zeng Xiaojia, I never really understood you before."
Zeng Jia looked at him. "You too."
"But you can't use any more self-inflicted injury tricks in the future!" He looked at the bruises on her arm, which hurt more than if he had fallen himself. "Seeing you like this, I feel like a useless piece of trash. I can't even build a pigeon coop properly, and I have to rely on a woman to deal with it."
Zeng Jia liked his thoughtless little domineering attitude, and said in a coquettish tone, "You got so drunk because of me, didn't you? We're going to live our lives together, not just ruin it for one person. We'll share the hardships together."
The two embraced, overwhelmed by the emotions of their long-awaited reunion. The dim streetlights cast long shadows, and the air grew thick and sticky with an ambiguous atmosphere.
Overwhelmed with emotion, Zeng Jia suddenly stopped, her body stiffening.
"What's wrong with you?" Wang Haowen asked, his breathing unsteady and his voice hoarse.
"I...I've started my period." Zeng Jia frowned, biting her lip, but a sly glint was hidden in her eyes.
Wang Haowen's face immediately fell, like a deflated balloon. "Fine, then I'll make you some ginger soup."
"Hehehe, silly!" Zeng Jia grabbed him, flipped him over, and straddled him. Her hair, hanging down her cheeks, smelled of cherry shampoo, and her eyes sparkled like a little fox demon eyeing Tang Sanzang's flesh. "I was just teasing you!"
Wang Haowen realized what was happening and pulled her down by the waist. All the embarrassment, exhaustion, and grievances vanished in the face of this sudden intimacy.
Although the next day was Saturday, Zeng Jia and Wang Haowen still woke up promptly at 7:30.
On Monday, the group held a board meeting. Zhang Zhishan was tasked with advancing the sample production for the goose down project, and Zeng Jia was required to assist in completing the evaluation report and follow-up plan. On Sunday, Yu Li hosted a strategic cooperation signing ceremony between ULUL and Tianyi Group, and more than ten media outlets were invited to participate in public relations and publicity. Wang Haowen was to oversee the venue setup.
The two washed up, changed clothes, and ate breakfast. The neighbor, "Dad Juan," was also very hardworking, waking up early in the morning to read English aloud.
The London accent, with its Beijing flavor, is crisp and clear, yet the content remains the daily conversations of Lingling, Maomao, and Guoguo.
Zeng Jia had a wicked thought: if some inappropriate background music played now, would the neighbor come over and yell at them for being perverts?
But these wicked thoughts could only remain in their minds; they no longer even had the time to play a prank.