President Tian smiled and immediately declared, "There’s no need to ’ask’ between us. I’ve already said it—as long as it’s not illegal, you can make the decision for me."
Yang Hui explained Teacher Chen’s son’s situation. After listening, President Tian laughed. "That’s a trivial matter, hardly worth mentioning. I’ll arrange it for you right now."
After confirming the name of Teacher Chen’s son, he called the regional HR director on the spot and told him to get it arranged first thing in the morning.
After hanging up, he said to Teacher Chen, "Rest assured, I will personally follow up on this matter tomorrow. We will provide the most suitable position for him, and his salary will be set at the highest end of the scale for that role."
That simple?
Teacher Chen felt like he was dreaming. Hadn’t An Ping just said that even President Tian might not be able to pull it off?
He glanced over at An Ping and saw his head was so low it was practically in his bowl. It all clicked in an instant: the guy didn’t know President Tian at all. He was just bullshitting.
The whole "even President Tian might not be able to pull it off" was just an excuse he’d prepared in advance for his own failure.
’What a piece of work. And to think this old man actually believed you. If you can do it, you do it. If you can’t, you can’t. What’s the point of all the bullshit? You’re just wasting my time, aren’t you?’
"President Tian, will this be a bother for you?"
President Tian laughed heartily. "Teacher Chen, what kind of trouble is this? It’s a piece of cake. It takes more effort to down a glass of wine."
Teacher Chen glanced at An Ping again, and Lin Yu started to look a little embarrassed herself.
Everyone else was also staring at the couple. Just then, Zheng Lei scrambled up from the floor and whispered into Huang Lingyu’s ear, "That guy was putting on such a big act, and it turns out he was all talk."
Huang Lingyu leaned to the side. ’So annoying. Doesn’t he know he has bad breath?’
President Tian exchanged a few more pleasantries before heading back, telling Yang Hui there was no need to come over and return the toast. At the same time, he assured him once more that he would get Teacher Chen’s son’s situation sorted out tomorrow.
Yang Hui naturally trusted him to handle it; his reliability had been proven many times before.
Returning to his seat, he found everyone looking at him with strange expressions. Some looks were filled with disbelief, others with resentment and jealousy. And then there were the eyes sparkling with stars—that was Lin Yu.
Meanwhile, when Huang Lingyu felt a large hand move onto her, she obediently shifted her leg closer to Yang Hui, making it easier for him to touch her.
He glanced at her out of the corner of his eye. ’Not bad. She’s learned to cooperate.’
After everything that had happened, An Ping couldn’t sit still any longer. He leaned in and whispered a few words into Lin Yu’s ear.
Lin Yu stood up and said, "Teacher Chen, An Ping had to cancel on an important client to come here tonight, and the client is messaging him again now."
Teacher Chen smiled. "In that case, you two should hurry along. Business comes first."
An Ping and Lin Yu said their goodbyes to the others and made their exit.
Zheng Lei was in a foul mood. He’d treated everyone to dinner today to show off his beautiful girlfriend and to brag that his family was arranging a job for him in Qingzhou. With his old man’s connections, he was expecting a great position that would let him, once again, get a head start on his former classmates.
In the end, his thunder was first stolen by An Ping, and then by Yang Hui—the very person he’d intended to show up. On top of all that, he was still clueless that his girlfriend was being messed around with by someone else.
The only one who really gained anything today was probably Teacher Chen. It looked like his son’s employment was a done deal. After all, President Tian had given his word; surely he wasn’t another bullshitter, right? ’First it was Zheng Lei, then An Ping,’ he thought. ’Society is becoming so superficial these days. Can people no longer treat each other with sincerity? Bragging so extravagantly without any thought of the consequences.’
Zheng Lei called the waitress over to pay the bill, and he was reminded of his boast about knowing the owner and getting a 10% discount. In reality, it was just the internal discount his chef cousin was entitled to. The thought of being exposed to his face was excruciating.
He cleared his throat. "Don’t look down on my cousin just because he’s a chef. He’s highly regarded by the owner. Let’s put it this way: if he ever left, this restaurant’s business would be cut in half. So you could basically call him a co-owner."
"Ohh," Teacher Chen said with a knowing smile, though inwardly he didn’t believe a single word.
’A chef as a co-owner? Even the head chef wouldn’t dare to talk that big.’
Just then, the waitress came over. "Sir, your total for this evening is 4,580."
Zheng Lei had already taken out his phone, ready for her to scan the payment code, but he pulled his hand back upon hearing the total.
"That can’t be right. How did you calculate that? How did it get so high?"
Teacher Chen quickly chimed in as well. He’d feel terrible if one of his students got ripped off while treating him to dinner. He was also puzzled; if Zheng Lei’s cousin was so influential here, how could they be getting overcharged?
"Sir, there are eight people in your party. You chose the 498-yuan-per-person package. With the 15% service charge, the total is 4581.6 yuan. We’ve rounded it down for you."
Zheng Lei was displeased. This was his first time eating here. He’d chosen this place because his cousin, who was always hyping it up as the best restaurant in Qingzhou, worked here. He figured he’d have some clout and get a discount.
So Zheng Lei had wanted to come here to look impressive. Who would have thought one meal would eat up almost a month’s salary? The expense was physically painful.
"That’s not right! You didn’t give me my discount. You promised 10% off!"
"Yes, yes! That’s right! Your, uh... Zheng Lei, what was your cousin’s name again?"
"Zheng Liang. Go ask for his authorization. He said a 10% discount was fine."
The waitress was at a loss for words. "Sir, Xiaozheng has already used his discount slot for this month, so your table can only be charged the full price."
"Hold on, what’s that supposed to mean? What do you mean, ’his discount slot is used up’? Also, you’re just a waitress. Shouldn’t you address Zheng Liang as a superior? How dare you call him Xiaozheng?"
Zheng Lei was furious. ’This makes me completely lose face, doesn’t it? I built my cousin up to be this big shot, and you, a mere waitress, call him Xiaozheng.’
The waitress maintained her professional smile and gave a slight bow. "My apologies, that’s just what we’re used to calling him. Let me explain, sir..."
Used to calling him that—which implied they called him that regularly, and it was the correct way to do so.
The people at the table exchanged glances, guessing that Zheng Liang was probably just a regular employee there. From the waitress’s explanation, they also gathered that the supposed 10% discount was an internal benefit for all staff, with each employee getting to use it once per month.
It made sense. A benefit available to every employee had to have restrictions; otherwise, people could profit from it and disrupt the restaurant’s pricing structure.
"And Zheng Liang already used his 10% discount opportunity this month, so it cannot be applied this time. I just confirmed this with my manager."
Zheng Lei glanced around, defeated, then held up his phone. "Just scan my code."
The waitress came over politely and scanned his code with the POS machine. Just as everyone was gathering their things, getting ready to leave, the waitress spoke up again, ever so politely, "Sir, the payment failed."
Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!
Use arrow keys (or A / D) to PREV/NEXT chapter