Don't Offend Women

Wang Haifeng was quite reliable when it came to getting things done. The very next day, he had found out the market prices for generators.

He recommended an obscure model to Feng Jun. Its manufacturer produced machines for a famous brand, so the quality was absolutely solid. The price was low as well, and with him acting as the intermediary, after-sales service would not be a problem.

Feng Jun chose a fifty-kilowatt unit for sixteen thousand. Coach Wang deducted the cost directly from the thirty thousand and gave him fourteen thousand, settling the matter.

Next came renting a place. The generator was simply too noisy to keep anywhere near the club.

Now that Feng Jun had a new phone, he went online to look at listings and found a suitable property within two days.

It was a self-built house owned by a Xiaowu Village resident. Xiaowu Village was an urban village quite close to the city center, one of the earliest areas to be redeveloped. Land prices there had now soared through the roof.

The landlord had built a three-story single-facing house. The toilets and bathrooms were shared, each room was a little over ten square meters, and the rooms on the first floor had poor lighting. Rent was three hundred a month.

The price was fair. Though the conditions were basic, it was still peaceful amid the bustle.

The landlord demanded three months' rent and a three-month deposit—nine hundred in rent and nine hundred as deposit. Although Feng Jun had recently made a little money, he could not spend it so freely. "Either one month's deposit and three months' rent, or three months' deposit and one month's rent. There's nothing in this room. What am I giving you a three-month deposit for?"

But the landlord stubbornly refused. "Forget everything else. Just the key to my front gate—the intercom gate—is worth the nine hundred deposit. If you lose it, I'll have to replace the gate."

That was complete nonsense. Feng Jun could not accept it. "Can you honestly say none of your tenants have ever secretly copied the key?"

The two haggled for quite a while before the landlord's eyes suddenly lit up. "How about this? I have another place..."

That other place was not his. It belonged to a neighborhood factory that had already gone bankrupt. The higher-ups were still wrangling over how to dispose of the property. That location was even closer to the city and the land was worth even more, so the lawsuit was bound to drag on.

The landlord's father worked there as a watchman and secretly let people live inside the factory to earn some extra cash.

The landlord enthusiastically promoted the place. It was two hundred a month, not only cheap, but utilities were free too.

The living conditions, however, were a bit worse. Even the windows were broken, and the frames needed repairs and the glass needed replacing.

The moment Feng Jun saw it, he liked the place. Compared with the landlord's self-built house, this was truly quiet amid the bustle.

As for the poor conditions? What did that matter? What he valued was that nobody else lived there, so he did not have to worry about anyone seeing his private affairs.

The landlord's father was also a straightforward old man. "I'll fix the windows and doors for you. Just pay me for it. Honestly, I'm only renting it out because you're a college graduate. If it were someone else, I really wouldn't rent it out."

Apart from the factory buildings, there were seven or eight rooms that had once been offices and could be lived in. But if the tenants were troublemakers, the watchman would suffer along with them.

Four or five years ago, someone had rented the place, and it had ended up becoming a workplace for prostitutes.

After the police received a report, they raided the brothel in one sweep. The previous watchman was fired, and only then did the landlord's father take over.

In short, this was a dilapidated factory site in the middle of a busy district. Other than the old watchman, Feng Jun would be the only resident.

What did poor conditions matter? Feng Jun was even rather glad that he had credentials.

It seemed that a college diploma was not entirely useless. It came in handy every now and then.

At the same time, though, he was a little worried. If he brought his generator in, would it be hard to explain the ownership?

The old watchman assured him firmly, "Don't worry. Scrap collectors used to live here too... If I hadn't kept a close eye on them, they could have dismantled the whole place."

What he meant was that anything worth more than scrap could not possibly be factory property.

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

He had it moved into the factory and started it up for a test. When he found that it ran without issue, he signed for the delivery.

The old man had already roughly repaired the room. Feng Jun paid him fifty yuan for the repairs, then personally pulled up the weeds on the ground.

No one had lived here for far too long. The weeds growing through the gaps in the paving bricks were more than half a person tall, enough to cover the ground completely.

It took him two days of spare time to clear the weeds by the entrance and make a path wide enough to walk through.

Late autumn was coming soon. If he did not clear the weeds, a spark from the generator could start a fire.

After clearing the weeds and roughly leveling the ground, he began considering when to bring the things from the club over.

Better wait until payday.

There were still three days until payday at Hongjie Club. Including bonuses, he should earn a little over eight thousand this month.

In Yang City, a monthly income of eight thousand was not bad. But then again, even if he saved every cent for a year, it would only be enough to buy a bathroom. If he spent half his income every month, he would need two years just to save up for one.

Something had to change. He silently made up his mind. I'm a man who's had a fortuitous encounter.

Yet before he could make any changes, the next day, lobby manager Guo Yueling summoned him.

Manager Guo wore a strange expression. "Little Feng, have you still been growing forage grass lately?"

Feng Jun was taken aback for a moment before nodding. "I have... I just haven't harvested it very often."

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

"This..." Feng Jun thought about it, then nodded. "I suppose so. I haven't paid much attention. What's wrong?"

"Then this is easy to explain," Manager Guo said with a slight nod, her expression relaxing. "Since you aren't particularly concerned with the boss, naturally the boss can ignore you as well."

Feng Jun showed no expression, but his heart sank slightly. He knew something had happened that he did not understand.

After two years of being tempered by society, he could still keep his composure. He forced a smile. "Red Sister is the company's owner. It's normal for her to ignore a small fry like me, isn't it?"

Guo Yueling said nothing. She tilted her head slightly and studied him with interest, clearly savoring his embarrassment and awkwardness.

She watched him for nearly a minute before smiling faintly. "Then on behalf of the company, I'm informing you that starting tomorrow, you won't need to come in anymore."

Feng Jun was instantly stunned. He had never dreamed he would receive such a notice. The company had promoted him less than ten days ago, and now it was firing him?

That was right. He had already decided to resign this month or next. There was neither a future nor any money to be made by staying at this company. But was quitting on his own really the same as being fired?

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

His face darkened, and he spoke through gritted teeth. "Why? What did I do wrong?"

Guo Yueling quietly admired his loss of composure. After waiting a moment, she answered unhurriedly, "There is no why. The company thinks you are no longer suitable to work here. Your salary, bonus, and commission for this month will all be paid in full."

There were still three days until payday, so he was effectively being paid for three days he would not work.

But Feng Jun was still furious. A man had to fight for his dignity, even if he could not fight for steamed buns.

Not to mention that Manager Guo had delivered those words with the manner and tone of someone dispensing charity.

Feng Jun wanted badly to control his temper, but at this moment, he simply could not bear the humiliation.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. "I want to see Red Sister and ask her where I'm unsuitable."

Manager Guo sneered and looked at him with pity. "Don't be foolish. Red Sister authorized me to speak with you in person 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 and forcibly suppressed the agitation in his heart.

After a long while, he managed a smile. "If that's the case, then I'm not afraid to say it plainly. I was planning to resign this month anyway. Does Hongjie think it's so great? You'll regret this decision."

But to Manager Guo, his words were nothing more than a joke. She sneered. "Is that so? What a shame. I was originally wondering whether to give you an extra month's salary as compensation. Now it seems you may not need it?"

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

Did he need money? Of course he did. If the company fired him and could compensate him with another month's pay, then although it would make him feel humiliated, he could still swallow his pride and accept it.

And because of that, he would not resent Hongjie Company quite so much.

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

But no matter what, she had only said it after he declared that he had planned to resign anyway. It was clearly meant to humiliate him.

Even if the company truly intended to compensate him with an extra month's salary now, he had no face left to take it.

He looked at Manager Guo expressionlessly until her gaze shifted away, then said calmly, "You're quite something."

Those three bland words unexpectedly placed immense pressure on Guo Yueling.

At this point, she no longer dared to look at him mockingly. Lowering her eyes, she said, "Go collect your pay from Finance."

Only after he slammed the door and left did she let out a soft breath. A sneer returned to her lips as she picked up the phone and dialed.

Once the call connected, her expression changed, and she spoke with a trace of heaviness. "Red Sister, I spoke with him. He accepted it."

There was a moment of silence on the other end before Red Sister's voice came through. "Did you give him an extra month's salary?"

Guo Yueling gave a bitter smile. "He said he had planned to resign anyway, so he didn't care for our pity... Sigh, still too young."

Red Sister sighed faintly, fell silent for several seconds, then hung up without a word.

Listening to the busy tone in the receiver, Guo Yueling put down the phone as well. A cold smile once again curled at her lips.

Kid, the one thing you must never offend in this world is a woman!