The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

They were told it would be the next day, but the notice didn’t actually go out until the third day, telling the fifty employees to gather on the fourth floor of the department store at ten a.m. sharp.

Gu’er arrived at nine, accompanied by Sun Jiaming. Liu Yuan had already been downstairs since eight, checking on the construction of the first three floors. He went up to the fourth floor with Gu’er and Sun Jiaming, where they found that a few people had already arrived. Gu’er nodded at them, and they, in turn, sized up the trio.

A little after nine, Li Zhi and Dingzi arrived, and more people began to trickle in.

At ten o’clock sharp, Gu’er took a look around. All fifty employees had arrived; no one was absent.

She called out their names one by one from the roster. Looking at the fifty employees, not only Gu’er but Sun Jiaming and the others felt their hearts sink with helplessness.

They had been mentally prepared, knowing they wouldn’t be given the best employees. They expected a few older workers or some in poor health, but they never imagined it would be this much worse than they’d anticipated.

Out of the fifty employees, sixteen were over fifty years old. Four of them were fifty-nine, nearly sixty. Three were in such poor health that they were groaning and grunting, barely able to stand steady, let alone be expected to work.

Four had physical disabilities: one had only one arm, one was missing a right leg, one was missing a hand, and another had only one eye.

Several of the younger ones had sallow complexions, clearly indicating poor health as well. All things considered, out of the fifty employees, only twenty-six were actually capable of working.

Those twenty-six looked decent enough, but fourteen were men and twelve were women. Of the twelve women, seven or eight were over thirty, with only four being young. If they needed salesclerks, this was clearly not enough people. The men looked like they were suited for manual labor, and a couple of them even had fierce-looking faces. They certainly couldn’t be put in customer-facing roles.

Gu’er’s heart sank. She knew what Li Zhi and the others were thinking because she was thinking the same thing. ’But since they’re here, I have to make arrangements. I’ll do my best to assign each of them to a suitable position.’

’As for the old, the sick, and the infirm who were assigned to me... I’ll just have to consider it as them coming here for their retirement.’

Just as Gu’er was lost in thought, a loud voice boomed, "If you called us here, then get on with it! What’s the point of staying silent? This is just a waste of time!"

Gu’er looked toward the person who had shouted.

He was a man in his thirties, decently handsome and full of energy, but his eyes glinted with resentment.

’This is clearly a troublemaker,’ Gu’er thought. ’Otherwise, at his age, he should be working in a factory. He must have been assigned here because he’s always causing trouble and no one else wanted him.’

Gu’er understood the situation perfectly.

"What’s all the shouting for?"

Li Zhi stepped forward and faced the man. He actually looked quite imposing. "We called you here for a reason. If you can’t even wait this long, what good will you be later on?"

"I didn’t say anything out of line," the man muttered, though his voice was loud enough for everyone to hear, clearly showing his defiance. "I just said to get on with it if there’s something to say. I have other things to do."

"Starting today, I expect everyone to come here for training every day. If you have a legitimate reason to be absent, you must request leave in advance. If you don’t request leave and are absent without cause, I will consider it an unexcused absence, and your wages will be docked accordingly."

Gu’er also stepped to the front, her expression grim. ’We’re young. Even though we’re the bosses, these employees have come from all over. There are elders, seasoned old-timers—all sorts. They’re bound to try and bully us because we’re young. We have to intimidate them right from the start, or they’ll be impossible to manage later.’

"What kind of rule is that? We haven’t even started working, and you’re already talking about docking our pay? Isn’t that just bullying! You drag us here, don’t say a word, just make us stand around, and now you won’t even let us request leave? Who doesn’t have personal matters to attend to? How are we supposed to live like this? Even at the factory, they let you take leave! What kind of department store is this? You’re no better than some exploitative landlord! If this is how it’s going to be, I quit! I’m going to the city to report you!"

The man who had shouted earlier immediately blew up.

"Yeah, what Zhang Erchuan says is right! This is unreasonable!"

Someone else chimed in, agreeing.

’So the troublemaker’s name is Zhang Erchuan.’ Gu’er put the pieces together. ’He was one of the city’s placements. He used to work at a factory but got fired. He caused trouble there constantly. It’s obvious the city couldn’t handle him anymore, so they dumped this thorn in my side.’

’But it doesn’t matter. Now that you’re here, I don’t care if you’re a troublemaker or not. You’re on my turf, so you’ll play by my rules.’

"Quiet down and listen."

Sun Jiaming also took a step forward, standing beside Gu’er. His words quieted the crowd. He looked at Gu’er, lending her his support and presence.

"I said you must request leave *in advance*. Did I ever say you *can’t* request leave? As long as we approve it, your wages will not be docked. Is that bullying? What is there to make a fuss about? You want to go report me? Go right ahead. I won’t stop you. You think I’m an exploitative landlord? Fine. Then please, feel free to find a better opportunity elsewhere. This humble temple can’t house such great gods as you. Then you won’t have to be ’exploited’ by me anymore. Anyone who wants to go report me, anyone who wants to leave, now’s your chance."

Gu’er did not mince her words.

Hearing Gu’er speak so forcefully, the fifty employees began to murmur amongst themselves. They figured that for her to talk like that, she must have powerful backing. None of them actually wanted to leave—finding a job these days wasn’t easy, so how could they throw away this hard-won opportunity? They were just trying to angle for better terms. 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"We were assigned here by the city and the district! You can’t kick us out, and you don’t have the authority to! Your rules are unreasonable, so we don’t have to listen to them! You can’t treat us this way!"

It was Zhang Erchuan again, shouting defiantly, with a few others heckling along with him.

"I don’t care where you were assigned from. Now that you’re here, you will follow my rules. Every workplace has its own rules and regulations. Where you worked before and what you did is none of my business, and I won’t ask. All I know is that starting today, you are my employees, which means you will adhere to my company’s policies. If you can’t, or if you’re not satisfied, then you’d best leave now before things get ugly for everyone. As for going to the city or the district for ’justice,’ I won’t stop you. If you think you’re in the right, if you think it’ll work, then by all means, go. But let me be blunt: you fifty were assigned here by the city and the district. For better or for worse, I’ve accepted all of you. However, for anyone who isn’t satisfied here, if you walk out that door today, you will have nothing more to do with me. No matter who pleads on your behalf, I will never take you back. I’ll just ask the city for new people. Believe me, there are plenty of others who would love to have this job."

’If these people insist on making trouble and don’t value this opportunity,’ Gu’er thought, ’then I don’t need to give them one.’

——————

Thank you, Melody Ranran and Pacific Stone Monkey, for the monthly tickets! And thanks to everyone for your support. I went downstairs and realized I’d grabbed the wrong keys. My daughter and I had to climb all the way back up to the twenty-first floor. I’m totally wiped out. But my daughter actually said, "Mom, can we take the stairs again next time?" Good grief, where do kids get so much energy?