Chapter 18: You Call This a Fortune, but It's More Than a Fortune

It was the same familiar coffee shop. The boss behind the counter was playing "Broken Bridge Melted Snow," a song that betrayed his age. Zhou Yi sat across from Fang Dazhuang, and then, he watched helplessly as the man took out that bottle of vinegar again.

He watched helplessly again as the other party added it to the coffee, picked it up, took a sip, and revealed a satisfied smile.

"Alright, Brother Zhou, tell me, what exactly is the matter?" Fang Dazhuang finally spoke.

"Ah? Oh, it's like this..."

As he spoke, Zhou Yi recounted the situation between himself and the Company, emphasizing that he had signed a contract when he joined, but being a little newbie at the time, he hadn't paid any attention to what was written on it.

When they asked him to sign, he signed. Not only that, they didn't even give him the signed contract, saying it was kept at the Company.

Newcomers are all like that; many are thin-skinned when they first start, agreeing to whatever others say, so it is very easy to suffer a big loss.

Hence the saying, "A fall into a pit, a gain in your wit."

Therefore, Zhou Yi now wanted to know what he should do. They were already trying to fire him, and he didn't want to go to work anyway; he had had enough of such a lousy company.

So he wanted to ask if there would be any repercussions if he just stopped going. After all... he had signed a contract. Things like that are fine when life is easy, but if they really pursue it, then there's trouble.

Across from him, Fang Dazhuang listened very carefully and seriously, while constantly checking things in his notebook and sipping his coffee from time to time. He looked very steady and reliable.

Finally, Zhou Yi finished explaining the general situation, took a sip of coffee to moisten his mouth, and said, "So, Lawyer Fang, tell me, will I have any trouble if I don't go?"

Fang Dazhuang was also drinking his coffee in a leisurely manner. After finishing, he wiped his mouth and said, "Brother Zhou, don't you want to try it? This vinegar of mine is authentic aged vinegar."

"What? Aged vinegar? Keep that thing away from me, I can't even imagine the taste!"

"Let me tell you, this aged vinegar added to coffee, the bitterness of the coffee and the sour fragrance of the aged vinegar combine..."

After chatting for a bit, Zhou Yi suddenly realized: "That's not right, Lawyer Fang. I hired you to consult on a problem, why are you telling me this? Hurry up, I'm paying you!"

Ah? Hearing this, Fang Dazhuang was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly chuckled and said, "Sorry, Brother Zhou, professional habit. With our relationship, I always forget..."

Zhou Yi: "..." So, the professional habit you're talking about, is it the professional habit I understand, or the one I'm thinking of...

"Ahem, Brother Zhou, your matter is very simple; it's just a very simple labor dispute. However, why are you not going to work tomorrow?"

Now it was Zhou Yi's turn to be dumbfounded: "No, Lawyer Fang, this HR, look, they already told me very clearly: if I don't go back to work overtime today, don't bother coming tomorrow, it'll count as a resignation."

Fang Dazhuang chuckled upon hearing this: "Brother Zhou, don't worry about whether it's a resignation or what. They only said it to you verbally, right? There's nothing in writing. Just one mouth telling you not to go to work—that has no meaning at all."

"If you really don't go, that's exactly what they want. They want you not to go. If you don't show up for three days, it counts as absenteeism, and they can fire you directly, you know?"

"Don't listen to their nonsense. As long as they don't fire you, you go to work as usual. Just don't let them find any faults."

Zhou Yi's face was even more confused: "But why, Lawyer Fang? They don't want me there so much, if I keep going, wouldn't that be asking for humiliation?"

"Don't be anxious, Brother Zhou." Fang Dazhuang smiled again: "These companies just push you around because you don't understand labor laws."

"To fire you normally, they have to notify you in advance and pay you severance. They just want you to leave on your own so they don't have to pay that money, you know?"

With Fang Dazhuang's explanation, Zhou Yi slowly understood. The bottom line was right there.

The Company wanted people to resign on their own so they wouldn't have to pay a cent, but if the Company took action, they would have to pay compensation.

"So I go to work as usual?"

"Yes, do what you need to do. As long as you don't let them find faults in your work, you go to work and leave as usual. Ignore anyone who tells you to work overtime. Let them fire you if they want. It's very simple."

"Also, during this time, you can secretly collect evidence. I'll send the specific requirements to your phone later. If they don't pay the compensation later, we'll do what we have to do!"

"Well... alright then."

Zhou Yi nodded. Anyway, he was just sitting at home if he didn't work now. Perfect, he could make this company uncomfortable too.

Otherwise, it would really be too bullying.

Consultation finished, he paid, and then they each went home.

Zhou Yi directly set the Company's HR to "mute messages," edited videos for a while, and then went straight to sleep.

As the saying goes, if there's a book, it's long; if there's no book, it's short.

Soon it was the next morning. Zhou Yi didn't get up early this time. He leisurely finished his meal, leisurely washed up, and then strolled all the way to the Company.

He kept in mind what Lawyer Fang had taught him: don't let them find faults in his work, but still make them feel uncomfortable.

The Company rules stated to clock in before nine in the morning, but because of previous internal competition, the Company actually implicitly required arrival before eight-thirty.

Zhou Yi used to get up half an hour early to clock in.

But now, he really arrived at the Company right on the dot!

He entered the Company to clock in, and then discovered that the atmosphere in the whole Company seemed a bit off.

Especially when his colleagues saw him walk in, they all had surprised expressions on their faces.

"Hey, Xiao Zhou, why are you here? I heard the Company already fired you," a colleague asked curiously.

Zhou Yi smiled and didn't speak. He knew how things were in the Company; loose lips sink ships.

He just walked all the way to his workstation and looked—thankfully, the workstation was still there.

He leisurely put his things on the workstation and sat down calmly.

He was very relaxed now because he had no work, even though the other colleagues were already busy as can be.

However, this leisurely time didn't last long. Soon, Director Wang received the news, and the two of them rushed over quickly.

"Zhou Yi, why are you still here? Didn't I tell you? You were absent without cause and have already been fired!"

Manager Wu was worthy of being a veteran HR; he came up and slapped a big label on him immediately.

With Lawyer Fang's guidance, Zhou Yi was now completely at ease. He didn't even lift his eyelids and said, "Manager Wu, when did you tell me that? How come I don't know about it?"

Manager Wu took out his phone directly, found the content sent yesterday, and gestured: "See? Last night at eight o'clock, I sent you countless messages, and you didn't reply to a single one!"

"Oh... so that's how it is." Zhou Yi smiled and deliberately said in a very loud voice: "Manager Wu, you also know it was eight o'clock. I seem to remember that our Company's designated off-duty time is..."

"You sent me a message at eight o'clock; if I'm not mistaken, that should be off-duty time. What, I went home after work, and that's called absenteeism? Mr. Ma-doesn't-love-money says 996 is a Fortune, but you're even better—you want people to be at the Company twenty-four hours a day?"

Ah, this... Manager Wu was stunned instantly. He never expected that this college student, who was usually very honest, would suddenly be so sharp!

The first update is here. Old Jiu has seen everyone's urging; I will work hard to update! Thanks to Brother Love-b-zai for the tip, thank you.

(End of chapter)