On the Second day of Lunar New Year, Old Meng was supposed to be on duty, but Li Ye had waited from eight in the morning until eleven, and Old Meng still had not come to relieve him.
Unable to endure it any longer, Li Ye had no choice but to call him. "Brother Meng, when are you getting to the office?"
Old Meng said awkwardly, "Ah, all the children from my father-in-law's family came over today. Xiao Li, see if you can cover for me for the day?"
Li Ye immediately said, "That won't do! My father-in-law has called me twice already, and he's waiting for me to go cook!"
Old Meng pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Is that so? Then I'll have Old Gao cover for me for a while. I'll chat with my wife's younger brother for a few minutes, then leave."
Li Ye smiled. "I have no objection to that, but I'm afraid someone might make trouble. You have no idea—someone actually called to check whether I was at my post on New Year's Eve."
Old Meng fell silent for a long while before saying heavily, "Oh, then all right. Wait another ten minutes for me."
"Alright, alright. I'll start packing up, then."
Li Ye hung up, and a faint chill rose onto his face.
Old Meng's behavior was the textbook sort of throwing his weight around as an elder. Leaning on his age and connections, he acted all Zen at work—the main thing was not working, not taking responsibility, not suffering losses, while still having to stick his nose in whenever there were benefits to be had.
Being Zen normally was one thing, but during the New Year, he still wanted to bully people?
From New Year's Eve through the third day of