Song Tan's Notes

what?
Can't I use a kettle?
Although no one currently owns a water bottle, everyone is still curious: "What about those things sold at the convenience store...?"

The kitchen helper's cheek twitched.

"I'm talking about those proper big water bottles, the sports water bottles from the convenience store... I didn't keep an eye on them for a moment, everyone uses them, so let them use them if they want."

It's fortunate they made the tea weak; otherwise, with those huge kettles, one bucket of water wouldn't be enough for many people. Each person had to carry such a massive kettle, looking like a water buffalo.

It's fortunate that they are the kitchen helpers. Putting aside everything else, they are quite strong when it comes to moving things around, boiling water, and pouring tea.

Otherwise, Master Jiang would have given up long ago.

Even though he compromised, the group of people in front of him still didn't have water bottles.

The girl hesitated and looked pitiful: "We didn't bring any water bottles..."

The kitchen helper pointed to the disinfection cabinet: "The stainless steel one is for public use. When you're done using it, remember to press the disinfection button again after you wash it and put it back."

He paused for a moment and then said, "It would be more convenient to buy a kettle so that we can take the tea with us."

Poor students: ...

Every penny of living expenses needs to be carefully calculated. That water bottle costs tens of dollars, so I won't buy it!
However, their resolve wavered the moment they took a bowl, filled it with tea, and tasted it.

The tea was warm, and after drinking it, a layer of sweat appeared on my forehead. The aroma of the tea was both light and lingering, leaving my throat feeling exceptionally refreshed, with a bittersweet aftertaste.

Even college students who knew nothing about tea and considered themselves experts were taken aback by the taste, opening their mouths in astonishment before finally letting out a long sigh.
“It’s really delicious.”

Such delicious tea! If they couldn't carry a big kettle with them, they might as well stay in the cafeteria all afternoon!
They exchanged glances. Actually, a few dozen yuan wasn't impossible to scrape together if they gritted their teeth...

The woman at the convenience store was playing cards on her phone while the fan was blowing on her, when she saw several familiar figures returning from the mountain. She didn't even need to look up—

"You're buying a kettle, right? They're all the same price, just pick one."

University students: ...

What an accurate prediction! You knew they wouldn't part with the tea, didn't you?
Your prediction was correct!

Thus, less than two hours after arriving at Yunqiao Village, the college students' savings amounted to -40 (the bus fare was settled uniformly by Song Tan).

The girls held their phones and muttered, "No wonder the travel guides all said that coming here would definitely cost money..."

Their vigilance was entirely focused on the villagers overcharging tourists; they never imagined it was because of this unexpected benefit they had received.

On the bright side, those tourists who get to drink tea for free here still have to pay for the cafeteria food, yet they manage to get it all for free with their shamelessness.

Once I thought about it that way, the forty yuan I spent didn't hurt so much anymore.

Song Tan, however, inadvertently saw their step count on her phone and fell into a deep silence.

Then show this page to Wulan: "Mom, you said it was too expensive to pay over a thousand yuan to have these college students come and exercise with Qiaoqiao—look at their stamina!"

I've only been here for two hours. When I arrived, I had 4000+ steps, and now I have 11000.

This is at 3 PM on a day with temperatures reaching 39 degrees Celsius!
Young people have such energy that they can be as tired as Zhang Yanping, who can barely lift an oil bottle, as well as such ruthless individuals. They truly become stronger when faced with adversity and are unfathomable.

……

However, the full extent of the strength of contemporary college students has not yet been demonstrated.

After they returned to the mountain and filled the pot with tea, the cook, seeing their enthusiastic demeanor, gave them some instructions:

"Drink more tea now, but don't drink it tonight. Also, since you're already here, Aunt Zhang Hong's iced tofu pudding is delicious and cheap, you can try it."

The college students immediately looked distressed: Again?!
I'm really out of living expenses!
……

At the same time, Huo Xueying was opening an app on her phone and frantically tapping on a wooden fish, the screen almost sparking.

Seeing this, my colleague couldn't help but wonder:

"What are you doing?"

She said with a pained expression, "I'll burn some incense and pray that I don't have to work overtime today."

Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey! Ptooey!
What a devilish statement! My colleagues quickly spat it out in all directions.

After spitting out the word, he asked in bewilderment, "Didn't you resign?" Huo Xueying: ...Oh, right.

It's all because the company is so unlucky. She only came today to go over the things the new employees didn't know in person one last time, and also to wait for her boyfriend to get off work nearby. She didn't expect to get so engrossed in it!
Work is truly horrible.

Although I haven't found my next job yet, I already feel happy, so I happily sat back down.

A former colleague asked curiously, "Why are you so happy? Have you already secured a new job?"

"No." Huo Xueying wasn't worried.

Thanks to the unscrupulous company, each of them has been trained into a well-rounded warrior.

When Song Tan was around, Song Tan was like that; now that Song Tan is gone, she has evolved as well.

In this era of short dramas and the booming new media industry, her skills in editing and photo retouching will ensure she has a job anywhere.

The only difference is the intensity of the work.

Seeing that her colleague was still curious, she couldn't help but laugh and say, "Do you remember Song Tan's farm? She invited me to visit her farm."

Wow!
The newcomers were unaware, but the veteran employees all gathered around:

"Xueying, does she still have any honey? Could you bring me back two bottles?"

"Tea leaves! That tea leaf!"

"Peach! The peach you ate last year..."

Some people were envious: "It's different when you're successful. We worked together for a while, and now that I'm back home and my own boss, I don't even reply to my messages anymore..."

Huo Xueying rolled her eyes:
"Her family's goods are all collected by suppliers; they don't sell individually at all. We were colleagues before, but for you to ask for these pittances, and then have to send her a separate message... she has more than a thousand WeChat friends, how is she supposed to keep track of them all!"

"Besides, you can just buy it from an online store yourselves."

If online stores could actually take pictures of it, would they be so sour?
Besides, prices on online stores have gone up now.

"And another thing, you sent her messages privately, weren't you trying to get her to stick to the old price? That's impossible, the wholesalers are offering prices several times higher now."

"If she sees this message and rejects you, you'll feel bad. But if she doesn't reject you, she'll lose out..."

"Not replying is already quite dignified, isn't it?"

Huo Xueying knew all too well what kind of people these were, and at this moment her little mouth was chattering non-stop, instantly making everyone feel embarrassed and unable to lift their heads.

That’s what it is!
They didn't seem to have a particularly good relationship when they were colleagues, otherwise, even though Song Tan had a car accident before leaving the company, no one asked her more than a few questions.

Everyone should mind their own business at the time, and there's no need to try to build connections later!
If you want to cut in line, fine. Pay the full price. I'll let you skip the line because we're colleagues. It might be possible with Song Tan.

She still wanted to buy it at the old price—something that's now so hard to get that she didn't want to expose these people.

Are you planning to buy it for yourself?

Now the prices at his seafood market are several times higher!

In short, Huo Xueying, whose fighting spirit was at its peak after leaving her job, garnered a lot of envy and jealousy, and was completely satisfied.

The colleague who was criticized also refused to back down:
"What are you so smug about, Song Tan's farm? If you ask me, you young people shouldn't keep complaining about being tired and asking for a vacation. If you don't settle down with a job soon, you might end up losing out on both."

"They say they're inviting you, but then they'll ask for money for this and that, and your monthly salary won't even be enough to eat."

Even if it's free, that stuff is so expensive, it'll probably be a burden for you to eat it, right?

The colleague who was criticized continued to hurl sarcastic remarks—since we're no longer colleagues, if you're not going to hold back, neither will I.

Damn!

Huo Xueying simply doesn't have the personality of someone who lives in the shadows!

Finally hearing this, he said embarrassedly, "I already said I would pay, but Song Tan said that given our relationship, it would be too formal for me to pay."

"Anyway, this trip includes food, accommodation, and entertainment, and they even want me to take a few boxes of local specialties with me when I leave—sigh!"

She sighed again in an affected, pretentious manner, and said with distress:
"What kind of gifts do you think I should bring?" (End of Chapter)