Don't Offend a Woman

Wang Haifeng was quite reliable when it came to getting things done. By the next day, he had already inquired about the market for generators.

He recommended a lesser-known brand to Feng Jun. The manufacturer was an OEM for a famous brand, so the quality was absolutely top-notch, the price was low, and with him acting as the middleman, after-sales service wouldn't be an issue.

Feng Jun chose a 50-kilowatt unit for 16,000. Coach Wang deducted the amount directly from the 30,000 he owed, handed him 14,000, and called it even.

Next was renting a place. The generator was simply too noisy to be kept anywhere near the Hongjie Club.

With his new phone, Feng Jun logged onto the internet to look for listings and found a suitable place within two days.

It was a self-built house belonging to a villager in Xiao Wu Village. Xiao Wu Village was an urban village located quite close to the city center. It had been among the first to undergo redevelopment, and land prices there had already skyrocketed.

The landlord had built a three-story single-sided building. The toilets and bathrooms were communal, and each room was just over ten square meters. The rooms on the ground floor had poor lighting and rented for 300 a month.

The price was fair, and while the conditions were crude, it was a quiet spot amidst the noise.

The landlord's terms were "three months' rent plus a three-month deposit," meaning 900 for rent and 900 for the deposit. Although Feng Jun had earned a little money recently, he couldn't afford to spend it like that, so he said, "How about one month's rent plus a three-month deposit, or three months' rent plus a one-month deposit? There's nothing in this room, why do you need a three-month deposit?"

The landlord insisted on not budging. "To say nothing else, just the key to my main gate and the intercom gate is worth a 900 deposit. If you lose the keys, I'll have to replace the locks."

That was nonsense, and Feng Jun refused to accept it. "Can you honestly say that none of your other tenants have ever secretly made copies of your keys?"

The two haggled for a long time until the landlord's eyes suddenly lit up. "How about this? I have another property..."

That property didn't actually belong to him; it belonged to a street factory that had already gone bankrupt. The authorities were still bickering over how to dispose of the assets. The location was even closer to the city, making the land value higher, so the legal battle was far from over.

The landlord's father was the gatekeeper there and had been making some extra cash by quietly letting people live in the factory.

The landlord pushed the place hard, claiming it was 200 a month, not only cheap but also free of water and electricity costs.

However, the living conditions were a bit worse. The house didn't even have intact windows; he would have to repair the frames and replace the glass.

Once Feng Jun saw it, he fell in love with the place. Compared to the landlord's self-built house, this was truly a quiet spot amidst the noise.

As for the poor conditions? That was nothing. What he valued was that no one lived there, so he didn't have to worry about others prying into his privacy.

The landlord's father was a straightforward old man. "I'll help you fix the windows and doors; you just pay for the materials. To be honest, I'm only doing this because you're a college student. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't be renting it out."

Besides the factory floor, there were seven or eight rooms that used to be offices where people could live, but if the tenants were unreliable, the gatekeeper would be the one in trouble.

Four or five years ago, someone had rented the place and turned it into a den for sex workers.

The police received a tip-off and raided the place, leading to the previous gatekeeper being fired and replaced by the landlord's father.

In short, this was an abandoned factory site in the middle of a bustling city, and aside from the old gatekeeper, Feng Jun would be the only one living there.

What did poor conditions matter? Feng Jun was actually quite relieved that he had his diploma.

It seemed this college degree wasn't entirely useless after all; it came in handy once in a while.

However, he was also a bit worried about whether it would be difficult to prove ownership of the generator once he moved it in.

The old gatekeeper was very reassuring. "Don't you worry. People who collected scrap metal used to live here... If I hadn't kept a close eye on them, they would have dismantled the building itself."

The implication was that as long as an item was worth more than scrap metal, it couldn't possibly be factory property.

Feng Jun paid one month's rent, and the generator arrived the next day.

He moved the generator into the factory, ran a test, and confirmed it was working perfectly before signing for the delivery.

The old man had already roughly repaired the room, so Feng Jun paid him 50 for the labor and went to pull the weeds himself.

No one had lived here for so long that the weeds growing between the paving bricks were half a person tall, completely obscuring the ground.

It took him two days of free time to clear the weeds and carve out a path.

Deep autumn was approaching, and if he didn't clear the weeds, it would be bad if the generator sparked and started a fire.

After clearing the weeds and leveling the ground slightly, he began to wonder when he should bring his things over from the club.

Better to wait until payday.

There were three days left until payday at the Hongjie Club. With his bonus, he should be taking home a little over 8,000 this month.

In Yang City, 8,000 a month wasn't a small amount, but then again, if he didn't eat or drink and saved every penny for a year, he'd only have enough to buy a bathroom. If he had to spend half of it every month, it would take two years just to buy that bathroom.

He had to make a change. He secretly made up his mind: I am a man who has encountered a miracle.

However, before he could make any changes, Manager Guo Yueling called him in the next day.

There was a strange expression on Manager Guo's face. "Xiao Feng, are you still planting pasture grass lately?"

Feng Jun was stunned for a moment before nodding. "I am... I just haven't been harvesting it very often."

Manager Guo looked at him meaningfully. "Sister Hong hasn't been to your farm to steal vegetables in a long time, has she?"

"This..." Feng Jun thought for a moment and nodded. "I suppose so. I haven't really paid attention. Why do you ask?"

"That makes things easier," Manager Guo nodded slightly, her expression relaxing. "Since you don't pay much attention to your superiors, it's only natural for your superiors to overlook you."

Feng Jun's face remained expressionless, but his heart sank. He knew something he wasn't aware of had happened.

Having been tempered by society for two years, he managed to keep his cool. He forced a smile. "Sister Hong is the boss of the company. It's normal for her to overlook a small fry like me, isn't it?"

Guo Yueling didn't speak. She tilted her head slightly, observing him with interest, clearly enjoying his awkwardness and embarrassment.

She watched him for nearly a minute before smiling slightly. "Then I'll represent the company in notifying you: starting tomorrow, you don't need to come in anymore."

Feng Jun was stunned when he heard this. He never in his wildest dreams expected to receive such a notice: the company had promoted him less than ten days ago, and now they were firing him?

That's right, he had already made up his mind to resign either this month or next. Staying at this company offered neither a future nor a fortune. However, was there any difference in nature between resigning himself and being fired by the company?

Is breaking up with a girlfriend the same feeling as being dumped by one?

So, his face darkened, and he gritted his teeth as he spoke, "Why? What did I do wrong?"

Guo Yueling, however, quietly enjoyed his loss of composure. She waited a moment before answering in a slow, measured tone, "There is no 'why.' The company feels you are no longer suitable to work here. Your salary, bonuses, and commissions for this month will be paid to you in full."

There were still three days left until payday this month, so this was effectively earning three extra days of pay.

Yet, Feng Jun was still furious. A man living in this world, even if he doesn't fight for bread, must at least fight for his dignity.

Not to mention, Manager Guo had delivered these words with the attitude and tone of someone bestowing charity.

Feng Jun desperately wanted to control his temper, but at this moment, he simply could not endure this humiliation.

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to stay calm, "I want to see Sister Hong and ask her where I wasn't suitable."

Manager Guo sneered, looking at him with pity, "Don't be naive. Sister Hong authorized me to talk to you personally because she didn't want to embarrass you face-to-face. Since we've worked together, it's fate; there's no need to become enemies, right?"

Feng Jun took another deep breath, forcibly suppressing the rage in his heart.

After a long while, he managed a strained smile, "Since that's the case, I won't mince words. I was planning to resign this month anyway. Is Hongjie Company really that amazing? You will regret this decision."

However, his words were nothing but a joke in the eyes of Manager Guo. She sneered, "Is that so? What a pity. I was actually thinking about whether or not to give you an extra month's salary as severance. Now it seems you might not need it?"

Damn it. Hearing this, Feng Jun gritted his teeth in hatred. At this moment, he truly hated Guo Yueling to the bone.

Was he short on money? Of course he was. If the company had fired him and offered an extra month's salary, even if it felt humiliating, he could have swallowed his pride and accepted it.

Furthermore, because of that, he wouldn't have held such a grudge against Hongjie Company.

Would Guo Yueling have actually given him an extra month's salary? Maybe, maybe not.

But regardless, the fact that she said this only after he announced he was planning to resign anyway was clearly meant to humiliate him.

Now, even if the company really intended to pay that extra month, he had no face left to take it.

He stared at Manager Guo with a blank expression, watching until she averted her gaze, before speaking calmly, "You're very good."

Those three plain, simple words somehow brought endless pressure upon Guo Yueling.

At this moment, she no longer dared to look at him with a mocking gaze; she simply lowered her eyelids and said, "Go to the finance department to collect your pay."

Not until he slammed the door and left did she let out a soft breath. A cold sneer curled her lips again, and she picked up the phone to dial.

Once the call connected, her expression changed, and she spoke with a hint of gravity, "Sister Hong, I talked to him. He accepted it."

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Sister Hong's voice came through, "You gave him the extra month's salary, right?"

Guo Yueling gave a bitter laugh, "He said he was planning to resign anyway, so he didn't care for our pity... Sigh, he's still too young."

Sister Hong sighed softly. After a few seconds of silence, she hung up the phone without a word.

Listening to the busy signal from the receiver, Guo Yueling put the phone down, a cold sneer once again appearing on her lips.

Kid, the one person in this world you absolutely cannot afford to offend is a woman!