Uneasy daily life

"How much did they pay you? I'll pay double!"

“The size of a store is limited. Even if there is a large gap between the upper and lower limits of employee wages, there is still a range. The wages you are paying us have basically reached the upper limit. Exceeding this limit is not a good thing for the development of Sunroom.”

Bai Ying added, "Even if my current part-time job pays out twice as much, it probably won't be as good as the job I'm going to do next."

The prerequisite is that you can pass that scumbag's review.

The night is over, and it's time to think about how to get through the twilight.

"You're still a student. Are you sure it's okay for them to offer you such a high salary?" The boss changed the subject and said earnestly, "Don't fall into any pyramid scheme traps. Those pretty girls you add online by chance, friendly coworkers, seemingly clean and good working environment, short and high-paying jobs—scammers who cater to your desires are successful scammers, dangerous scammers."

"High-paying and humane working hours, kind and beautiful colleagues, and a relaxed and harmonious work environment—only those who are new to the corporate world would dare to dream of such things," Bai Ying said leisurely. "I actually did my next job before, part-time, but this time I plan to take it seriously. That job offered positive and comprehensive feedback, flexible working hours, a results-oriented approach, and a reward that felt like a lottery."

The boss was taken aback upon hearing this, looked around, and said, "There are only three of us here, so please speak frankly."

Bai Ying sighed, "The client's feedback is either sick or contradictory; the flexible working hours mean you can't stop until the work is finished; the work style is such that you have to produce results before you die; and your salary will fluctuate to some extent depending on the mood of the reviewer..."

The boss, with a chilling gaze, demanded, "Then why did you choose this kind of job?!"

The white-shadowed soul replied, "Of course it's too much!"

The former boss and former employee were speechless for a moment.

Sakuta Azusagawa poured himself a drink, picked up a piece of twice-cooked pork and put it in his mouth, thinking that his younger sister at home should be fine, right? He had prepared the food in advance, and she only needed to heat it up. He had also called to let her know... He should finish the farewell dinner early and go home.

The boss took a deep breath and began to recall his past studies in financial management. A series of historical figures flashed through his mind: Edison, who acquired numerous patents; Guan Zhong, who used economic warfare to subdue two states without a fight; and Ponzi, the master of empty promises who proved that the poor and the rich were essentially the same…

A mere wage slave dares to emulate the godfather killer?! Well, then try to escape my grasp! I'll show you what a financial management master, though he died young, was once a top achiever!

Are you willing to give up your dreams for money? Are you willing to sell your happiness for a price?

The boss sighed, "Have you forgotten the happy times you had working here? Here, you can give full play to your abilities, do what you love, and earn a generous reward for it. Perhaps this reward isn't enough for you now, but Sunshine House has already made a name for itself and has a group of loyal customers. Whether you open a branch or upgrade the style, I can give you a higher income. I'm also confident that I can let you manage the new store. You don't need to worry about reserve funds and risk resistance at all..."

Bai Ying shook her head regretfully and said, "Former boss, it's too late, there's no going back."

"Are you so impatient that you can't wait a little while? Everyone dies eventually. Do you really want to put yourself in a box right now?" the boss said sternly, exasperated. "You have to learn to delay gratification to experience true satisfaction, instead of being so eager for results that you make things worse. Doesn't your country have the proverb, 'No pain, no gain'? We need to build this big family first before we can have our own happiness! People can have endless desires, but this world can't satisfy them all. Only self-disciplined patience can create dreams, fill our endless emptiness, and bring us happiness!"

"Are you willing to sell your dreams and soul for money? Are you willing to give up this career with so much potential and ambition? My excellent employee, why have you become a slave to money?!"

What a load of rubbish! The idea that future money is present money, your job is your dream, and your dream is your happiness—a mix of toxic motivational rhetoric about the company coming before the employees!

Although he's just a genius boss, he still has these motivational quotes to spur on his underlings!

But you never expected that the person in front of you has gone through eighty-one tribulations in the human world. He once reached the peak of the corporate slave realm, drank the wrong Meng Po soup and was reincarnated to cultivate again. He is an unparalleled powerhouse who is going to prove another invincible path!

Bai Ying asked in a deep voice, "Former boss, weren't you the one who became a slave to money?"

The king has been cast off, and the two poles have been reversed!

Sakuta Azusagawa cut his steak, silently admiring the moment.

The boss was taken aback: "Huh?"

"I tried my best to step out of the comfort zone of being a fool, racking my brains, suppressing the throbbing of my soul, enduring the noisy buzzing, and overcoming all kinds of psychological discomfort with great perseverance, indeed for a richer reward. But the reward is just a reward, just money as a general equivalent—it will become the rent for my place to stay, the meals to fill my stomach, the clothes to keep me warm, the new Zhao Zilong steed to school, the extra expenses for occasional entertainment, the paid books online, and the magazines in the bookstore."

Bai Ying spoke eloquently: "The money I earn will eventually become what I need, not just a line of unremarkable numbers. What about the former boss? Sunshine House's turnover is still top-notch among restaurants of similar size. Perhaps the expenses are higher, but there is still a profit. You've earned money, but what does that money mean to you?"

The boss said seriously, "It's all for the sake of growing bigger and stronger in the future! Making money today is for burning money tomorrow, and burning money tomorrow is for making even more money in the future!"

"Really? If I hadn't resigned today, would the boss have brought up the option of taking the career a step further? I have my doubts." Bai Ying's eyes were sharp as she spoke bluntly. "Money, for the former boss, obviously refers to some abstract things, such as the praise and envy of others, the recognition and pride of his family, or an empty satisfaction like playing a game to build up a bank account."

"Money has this magical power to trap people, making them stare at numbers, craving more and more, as if reaching some ambiguous standard would free them from their constraints, allowing them to transcend the three realms and the five elements, escape human suffering, and attain liberation, enlightenment, and happiness."

"Just like the businessman in The Little Prince, who counts the stars in the sky day after day, from ten to a hundred to a thousand to an infinite number, he seems to get more and more satisfaction as he counts more. The former boss, when he is not seeking the transactional value of money itself, but chasing the abstract meaning that it represents, which cannot be concretized and is vague and uncertain, that is to become a slave to money."

"Think carefully about your true self, your pursuits, your desires and happiness. Are you living in this sunroom, creating a false sense of warmth for yourself, or are you stepping out of this place, peeling away the superficiality, and painfully and troubledly digging into yourself?"

Bai Ying asked in a deep voice, "What exactly is it that you love?"

The boss fell into deep thought.

What a clever way to counter motivational platitudes!

Sakuta Azusagawa thought it was wonderful, forked a steak into his mouth, and took a sip of the beverage that had been made a month ago.

Chapter Thirty-Two: Abstraction is Beautiful

In front of the sunroom, now closed and dark, the street is still dotted with the lights of nightclubs. The shops, with their signs lit and lights on, are completely silent thanks to the excellent soundproofing, and they are quietly partying in the quiet city.

Occasionally, you can see some drunk people walking arm in arm, swaying and staggering down the street. Some people, unable to suppress their primal instincts, sing loudly. Some even find a soft flower bed to lie down on, feeling quite good. They simply use the sky as their blanket, the ground as their bed, and the city as their alarm clock, dreaming of being in a foreign land, which is quite comfortable and carefree.

No matter how dark or quiet it gets, this city still has light, proving that it is still alive.

Big cities need light, just as a person's heart must keep beating until the day they die, even before they are born.

The heart is a consumable for humans, and humans are consumables for cities.

Red Hare dragged the broken Lu Bu bicycle, swaying and staggering to the end of the street. At first glance, it seemed like a free and unrestrained performance art, but in reality, it was just a healthy high school boy whose bicycle had broken down and he had to tow it home.

The young boss locked the door, took a deep drag of his menthol cigarette, and watched the city gradually blur in the smoke as he exhaled. With a touch of melancholy, he asked, "Zichuan, why did you come here to work for me?"

"money."

Sakuta Azusagawa opened the can and took a sip of the drink.

"Vulgar." The boss, cigarette dangling from his lips, frowned in displeasure and gestured with his hands. "Don't you have any loftier, deeper, and more distant goals?"

Oh... has the boss been fed so much motivational talk that his progress bar is full, resulting in an "intermittent philosophical reflections on life" buff?

Sakuta Azusagawa casually replied, "For my sister's smile."

“I agree with that reason,” the boss asked thoughtfully, “but don’t you have any realistic, specific goals?”

Sakuta Azusagawa thought for a moment and said, "I'll buy my sister a birthday present and provide her with daily necessities like food, clothing, and shelter."

"Damn, it's undeniably simple and straightforward." The boss paced back and forth in thought, saying, "I mean, those philosophical answers about life and the future. As a young person, you should be full of ambition and ideals, have the pioneering spirit to create something new, the confidence to believe you can achieve something, and even the arrogance to control your destiny. So even if it's just a simple job, you should be able to glean some life philosophy, concerns about family and country, social issues, international dynamics, and ideological struggles from it. If you broaden your perspective, even considering contact with extraterrestrial civilizations would be reasonable."

“I’m not old enough to drink yet, and I can’t do the kind of feat of eating fewer peanuts right now.” Sakuta Azusagawa pointed out the practical legal issues and said honestly, “If I had to say why I work here, it’s because the pay is good, the work is easy, and it’s a rare job.”

The shopkeeper took down his half-burnt cigarette and said with a wry smile, "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've seen my sister."

"There must be various reasons," Sakuta Azusagawa said, finishing his drink and tossing the can into the trash can. "Shiro's words certainly had a significant impact on the boss. Could this be the legendary 'talking it out'?"

"I wouldn't say it has any impact, but it's definitely something I've been thinking about lately, figuring out what to do next... It's just that he noticed..."

The boss smacked his lips, scratched his head, and sighed, "If I had to say, the goal of opening this shop is to gain my family's approval. As long as I make something of myself, I won't need to inherit the family's wealth. My younger sister can inherit the family fortune in the future—if I can't succeed in management, I'll study medicine; if I can't succeed in medicine, I'll study cooking. Life is all about learning. As long as I achieve something, I will definitely be able to escape the fate of inheriting the family fortune."

"A happy trouble."

Sakuta Azusagawa said calmly, "So the boss's idea is to make money, right? Money is a number, but it is also proof of success. However, the standard for success is very vague. How many numbers are considered successful? If the boss wants to gain the family's approval, what number is needed to gain that approval? Does it need to exceed the family's wealth? It doesn't sound like something that can be achieved simply through hard work... Abstract things are either vague and unpredictable or unattainable."

The boss glared at him and said, "Are you saying I'm abstract?!"

"That's just talk, it's not me."

With his hands in his pockets, Sakuta Azusagawa walked slowly and said, “People like abstract things. They can be as vague as happiness, ideals and the future, things that can only be summarized but cannot be clearly defined or known. They can be as broad as the country, the world and the starry sky, or even a simple word like ‘beauty’, things that seem to exist but are ethereal when discussed.”

The boss commented sharply, "A mere shell of a person."

Sakuta Azusagawa said, “The closer people are to each other, the more they can discover each other’s flaws and shortcomings. Many siblings and even family members seem like strangers. But when it comes to parents, brothers and sisters, what comes to mind is children’s filial piety, parents’ kindness or authority, siblings’ harmony, and the blood ties and responsibilities of family. These things are particularly abstract, and it seems that without talking about them, it is impossible to find something concrete to express them.”

"Love for brothers and sisters, love for parents, love for one's nation, love for one's country, love for the world, love for life—abstract love can encompass everything. But when it comes to loving a specific person, it becomes impossible. A person picks their nose, a person's toilet smells bad, a person's lifestyle is casual, a person has no vision or plan for the future, a person has few friends, a person has no money in their account, a person cannot always say what you like, a person is not successful, a person is in a sorry state... It seems impossible to love such a person all at once; instead, one might feel disgust, criticism, or even contempt."

Bai once told me that abstraction is blank space, blank space becomes imagination, and imagination brings satisfaction.

"Only the abstract allows people room for imagination; the real inevitably lacks the beauty of imagination."

The boss raised an eyebrow and hissed, "You want to corrupt my resolve?!"

Sakuta Azusagawa: "I have a very cute little sister."

The boss scoffed, "I also have a very cute younger sister."

Sakuta Azusagawa said, “My sister… is a sensible person. She used to try her best to be the child her parents expected. She was so sensible that I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her and wanted to take good care of her. She was very shy and never went out all day. She didn’t go to school and worked hard to learn all kinds of knowledge on her own, slowly following the courses that should be taught at her age. She didn’t want me to share her energy and time with her studies. Every night, if she didn’t call me in advance, she would definitely wait until I got home before going to sleep.”

The boss snorted and immediately said, "My sister... is also very cute!"

Sakuta Azusagawa continued, "From the perspective of outsiders, me, and even herself, her shortcomings are numerous and serious. Staying at home and never going out in her lonely life can easily make her extreme, fixated on one thing, and become decadent. Not pursuing normal studies will negatively impact her future job search. As her older brother, I have to give up club activities to take care of her, become an outsider at school, and work part-time to share the burden, which may have led her to develop an over-dependence on me, and so on."

The boss scoffed, "To speak of your own sister like that, your sister-complex is nothing special! In the words of that former employee, you're just a useless piece of trash with only level three sister-complex power!"

“It is precisely because I can describe my sister in this way that I can say I love her,” Sakuta Azusagawa said dismissively. “Simply relying on abstract brotherly responsibilities and the bond of blood will only accumulate burdens and pressure until the building collapses beyond repair… Shiro once told me that loving a specific person is countless times more difficult than imagined. Love is not morality, nor law, nor any abstract thing; it exists there in reality, so real that it is awe-inspiring. I am glad that I have done it.”

"Hmph! Let's not even mention that traitor!"

The boss snorted with a sour face, pointing and saying, "A sudden, inexplicable idea. He just likes to stab people in the heart with his words. He's utterly useless except for that face! How dare an employee like him fire the boss? He's simply audacious!"

Sakuta Azusagawa asked, "So, boss, where's your sister?"

Like a bolt from the blue, the boss staggered back two steps, then blushed and blurted out, "It's normal that we haven't seen each other for so long because of work and studies," "My sister is the top student in her grade, she's incredibly good at studying, just like me," and "Anyway, my sister is the cutest in the world," which immediately caused everyone to burst into laughter.

Sakuta Azusagawa said, "Anyway, I'll just submit my resignation verbally now, and I won't be coming anymore."

"Why?!"

The boss was shocked; he'd been fired for the second time today?!

"I've saved enough money for my sister's birthday, and there's nothing else I need to spend money on for the time being, so I want to spend more time with her during the holidays from now on."

Sakuta Azusagawa's reasoning is impeccable.

The boss gritted his teeth in anger and said, "Damn it! I won't allow you to resign! Take your resignation letter back!"

Sakuta Azusagawa was taken aback for a moment, then said knowingly, "Oh, is the boss going to fire me? That's fine too."

His stubbornness and bravado were exposed with a single sentence.

I tried to sneeze to avoid making a fool of myself, and you just threw a handful of Sichuan peppercorn powder at me?!

Is there any justice left in this world? Is there any law left? A boss was fired twice by his employees within an hour!

There are employees with a 100% layoff rate, but there are no bosses with a 100% layoff rate.

The boss, his anger subsiding, remained calm and composed, as if he still held the power of life and death, reveling in his supreme authority. He said in a deep voice, "You employee! You're a former employee now! Do you know where you went wrong?!"

"I have repeatedly made mistakes at work, slacked off for a long time, and never cared about the company's development. I lack a clear understanding of my own abilities and development plan, and I have forgotten the company's kindness in nurturing and criticizing me. My sins are unforgivable. I gladly accept the boss's dismissal..."

The boss complained, "What do you mean by 'accept gladly'? Use a different word!"

"Yes, I am deeply ashamed of this, tossing and turning at night, unable to sleep, and regretting my actions..."

The boss is already so vulnerable, why not just give in to him?

Sakuta Azusagawa pieced together the shattered pieces of his boss's dignity.

……

……

"Did the former owner close down the store and run away?"

Back in her rented apartment, Bai Ying stuffed the legendary, unusable Lu Bu (Battle Broken Edition) into the storage room, and then received a call from Azusagawa Sakuta.

"The boss said he plans to go home for a while, temporarily stop his aimless tinkering, talk to his parents and sister, and find his next direction."

A brief follow-up to Sakuta Azusagawa's reply.

"That's good, a good thing."

Bai Ying opened the laptop and pressed the power button.

"The boss also said he'd fire you first next time."

"Ha! His chicken soup skills are barely scratched the surface, but his business acumen is already a master. He's just a boss built on pills. His foundation is unstable, all show and no substance. He thinks he can fire me? Has he not heard of the power of my Fangtian Halberd?"

"Keyboard sound? You're writing something again?"

Have you heard of Kafka's Metamorphosis?

"You want to model your character after the boss? Plus your quirky fetishes..."

"What you call a fetish! That's called principles and bottom lines!"

"What type?"

"A youth romance novel...right?"

"Name... never mind, let's talk about the ending."

"Of course, it's about breaking up and severing all ties, tearing away the naive and immature self, and questioning that passionate heart! But that's just a thought; I'm currently working on a math exam—"

The exam paper... Oh, is that Hachiman Hikigaya-kun?