I've been possessed by a culinary genius, and I've turned Shaxian snacks into a rip-off!

5:30 a.m.

The alarm clock rang incessantly in Wen Ran's ears like a death knell.

Wen Ran suddenly sat up in bed, staring blankly ahead.

The little bit of happiness I felt last night, thanks to that bowl of wontons, was completely shattered when the alarm clock rang.

"Aaaaaah!!!" Wen Ran frantically pounded her pillow on the bed to vent her frustration.

A morning meeting at 7:30? Is this something a human being can do?!

After venting her emotions, Wen Ran got out of bed with dark circles under her eyes. She finished washing up and changing clothes in less than ten minutes, casually drew a couple of lines on her eyebrows and applied lipstick in front of the mirror, and then hurriedly grabbed her bag and rushed out the door.

When she arrived at the subway entrance, she bought a rice ball from a roadside stall, ate it hastily, and then plunged into the subway during the morning rush hour.

Wen Ran grew angrier the more she thought about it, and she opened her phone to post a series of Weibo posts to vent her anger.

[I'm really grateful! The layoff crisis at 35 hasn't even hit me yet, but the burnout crisis has already struck at 22.]

[You must have committed many evil deeds in your past life to be a beast of burden in this one!]

[That idiot boss! And that idiot manager will get his comeuppance sooner or later! They've gone mad trying to please the boss, haven't they?! Meetings start at 7:30 in the morning, why don't you just live at the company?!]

While venting her anger on Weibo, Wen Ran mentally cursed Liu Xin's ancestors for eighteen generations.

Liu Xin, whose real name is Liu Dexin, is called Liu Xin behind her back because he lacks virtue.

This guy is a well-known top-tier sycophant and a two-faced professional in the company. He's incredibly obsequious and obsequious, practically kneeling down to polish the boss's shoes.

He was arrogant and domineering towards his subordinates, using various forms of psychological manipulation to affect their mentality. He would either force them to work overtime or hold early morning meetings.

His most famous quote is: "Young people shouldn't always think about resting. The more overtime and setbacks you make, the more you'll grow!"

In reality, however, he takes credit for employees' overtime work, shifts blame for employees' mistakes, takes all the good things, and pushes all the bad things away, displaying nothing but shamelessness.

7:29 a.m.

Wen Ran rushed into the company's conference room at the last minute.

The huge conference room was already full of people, each with lifeless eyes and numb expressions, resembling a funeral procession, perfectly illustrating what it means to go to work like going to a funeral.

It's exactly 7:30.

Wearing a white shirt, with his hair slicked back and looking energetic, Liu Dexin walked into the conference room.

Good morning, everyone!

"Good morning!" Everyone greeted listlessly.

Liu Dexin was already used to this. He stood on the stage, cleared his throat, and began his daily routine of making grand promises.

"The company is currently in a critical period of rapid development. I have seen how hard everyone has worked during this time. As long as we grit our teeth and get through this period, doubling our year-end bonuses and getting promotions and raises will not be a problem."

"The company will not let down any comrade-in-arms who fights alongside us. Your contributions are remembered by the boss and me..."

Familiar empty promises, familiar PUA tactics.

Liu Dexin stood on the stage, speaking with great passion and enthusiasm, while the audience below listened with drowsiness and despair.

Wen Ran sat in the corner of the last row, nodding her head, letting the words go in one ear and out the other.

She's no longer a complete newbie in the workplace. After being toughened up during this period, she's seen through a lot about the workplace.

Liu Xin's empty promises are like a scumbag's vows; just listen to them, don't take them seriously, or you'll lose.

What is meant by "high-speed uphill period"? In other words, it's a period of endless, unpaid overtime.

As for the doubled bonus, she had heard veteran employees complain privately that last year, the company only gave each person a bag of nuts from an unknown brand as a year-end bonus.

Their boss is notoriously stingy; just how stingy can he be?

For example, office paper must be printed on both sides, the power is cut off when the air conditioner is turned on in summer and the temperature drops below 26 degrees Celsius, and even drinking water has to be paid for by the customer... the list goes on and on.

Since the company was founded, we have never held a single team-building dinner.

No, it's not that there's absolutely no team building activity, it's just that it takes place in a group chat. During holidays, the boss will send out a ten-yuan lucky draw red envelope in the company's main group chat, and then everyone has to flood the chat with thanks to the boss for his kindness.

With the boss being so stingy, he wouldn't even pluck a single dandruff flake, let alone pluck hair.

Liu Dexin stood on the stage and talked nonsense for more than half an hour, from industry trends to company vision, from personal growth to team spirit, until everyone was almost snoring, before reluctantly announcing the adjournment.

After returning to my workstation.

Wen Ran remained listless, staring blankly at the computer screen for a long time.

The office was still filled with the rich aroma of coffee, as everyone was drinking coffee to stay alert.

As for Liu Xinzhe, he was reporting to the boss in the office, which should be interpreted as him showing his loyalty.

Wen Ran also made herself a cup of coffee and drank it, but it still didn't help much.

I'm so sleepy, so damn sleepy.

She rubbed her eyes hard, trying to make herself look less like a walking corpse, then secretly opened WeChat and sent a private message to her colleague Lily.

[Xiao Ran: Sister Lili, I'm going to die. I feel like I could fall asleep sitting up.]

[Lily: +1, I drank two cups of coffee this morning, but it didn't help at all. I'm still sleepy.]

[Xiao Ran: This idiot supervisor does nothing but hold morning meetings all day long, standing there babbling on and on without getting anything out of the way, just making empty promises.]

Lily: Hehe, you'll get used to it.

[Lily: But this is best kept private; don't say it out loud and let anyone else hear it.]

[Xiao Ran: What are you afraid of? He's still sucking up to the boss in the office, he can't hear you. And even if he could, so what? He can just fire me, who cares!]

The resentment she harbors now is heavier than that of a female ghost who died tragically.

[Lily: (≧▽≦)！You didn't say that yesterday! Who was it that said they were worried about not passing the probation period?]

[Xiao Ran: That's because I hadn't finished digesting my wontons from yesterday. Now that they're digested, I'm ready to go again!]

[Lily: ? ? ? What wontons?]

[Xiao Ran: It's nothing, it's just a really delicious Shaxian snack shop. I'll take you there when I get paid.]

As the two were talking, the door to the boss's office suddenly opened.

Wen Ran quickly minimized the chat window, then put on a serious and diligent work ethic, staring at the table on the screen and randomly typing on the keyboard, as if she was about to generate a billion yuan in profit for the company.

Supervisor Liu Dexin walked out of his office, stood in the middle of the office area, and clapped his hands.

"Everyone, please stop what you're doing. I have something to say."

Everyone looked up at him.

He was thinking to himself, "What kind of trouble is this guy up to now?"

"Considering that many new employees have recently joined the company, the boss has decided to treat everyone to dinner tonight to help them integrate into the team as quickly as possible and enhance the relationship between colleagues. It's also a way to welcome the new employees."

Upon hearing this, everyone gaped in disbelief.

Is the miserly man about to be plucked?

Or is the sun about to rise in the west?

In a small group chat created privately by the employees, they couldn't help but secretly complain about each other.

[Lily: Am I still dreaming? This tightwad actually offered to treat me to dinner?!]

[Programmer Xiao Zhang: Sister Lily, you heard me right, but I still can't believe it.]

[Operations Department Manager Ya: Everyone be careful, this could very well be a trap. Knowing the boss as I do, after this meal, they might make us sign some kind of contract of servitude, like requiring us to meet certain KPI targets for the second half of the year.]

[Xiao Ran: Ya Jie is right. If a miser suddenly becomes generous, there's definitely something wrong.]

[Designer A-Qiang: Even if there are no problems, they won't treat us to a fancy restaurant; they'll probably just find some random place to eat.]

【...】