HPDBC Chapter 55 It would be better to be dead
Chapter 55 It would be better to be dead
After the collapse, Lin Chen faced a new problem.
That is, Song Jiehui's attitude towards Lin Chen seems to have changed, and he has started to like ordering him around.
All day long, he's either running around with documents or writing articles for him. In the past, he would call out to Chen Ya or Zhang Junmin, but this morning, he unexpectedly peeked out of the office and asked Lin Chen to buy him a cup of coffee.
They still won't pay you back. Who can you complain to? They're treating Lin Chen like a sucker.
Lin Chen was naturally furious and immediately went to the finance department to get reimbursed. However, Sister Hong from the finance department insisted that an invoice was required for reimbursement. Lin Chen asked where he would get an invoice for a cup of coffee. Sister Hong said that wouldn't work. In the end, Lin Chen directly asked Song Jiehui for the money.
Song Jiehui: "Lin Chen, are you the first person to haggle with me over such a small amount of money?"
Lin Chen: "Director Song, it's not about the money; I'm worried people will say I bribed you, which will damage your reputation."
Song Jiehui was stunned for a moment, then burst into laughter, patting him on the shoulder: "You little rascal, you've got a lot of tricks up your sleeve." He obediently took out the money.
Everyone stood up and saw that Song Jiehui's attitude towards Lin Chen had changed. Old Man Cheng picked up his teacup and smiled slightly at Lin Chen: "Lin Chen is not bad. In such a short time, he has won the trust of the leaders. He has a bright future."
"Trust my ass," Lin Chen rolled his eyes, "Just a tool."
"Even tools are divided into different classes," Old Man Cheng said slowly, taking a sip of tea. "The key is that your tool is good, otherwise others will be willing to use it. To put it bluntly, it's about having a big tool and being good at it."
Lin Chen scoffed, caught out: "Use it, squeeze it dry, and then throw it away."
"Haha, looks like you're quite enlightened."
"I've seen through it all, what else can I do?"
Fortunately, he received another payment for his writing this month, 208,000 yuan, which brought a little comfort to Lin Chen's cold heart.
Besides this, Lin Chen had another headache, and that was Liang Xiaoming.
Today, Liang Xiaoming's family member (his brother Liang Chaoyang) came to the company and caused trouble. They were quite aggressive. Lin Chen invited him into the office and talked to him for a long time, but there was no progress at all.
Liang Chaoyang slammed his hand on the table, spitting as he spoke: "Two hundred thousand, that's the minimum price. My brother is still lying in the hospital, he's lost a leg, and this is how you treat him?"
Liang Xiaoming is indeed still in the hospital. He can walk now, albeit with a limp, and has been assessed as having a level 5 disability.
Lin Chen: "Our company determines the compensation amount based on the disability report. According to Liang Xiaoming's case, he has a level 5 disability, so we can only compensate him 50,000 yuan."
Liang Chaoyang angrily said, "We definitely can't accept 5."
Lin Chen: "I sympathize with them, but it's the rule, and there's nothing I can do about it."
"Rules? What kind of ridiculous rules are these!" Liang Chaoyang's eyes widened in anger. "Is your company so inhumane?"
"You're inhuman. I should kick you out right now and not give you a single penny." Lin Chen's tone was calm, but it left Liang Chaoyang speechless for a long time.
"Send your leader here!" Liang Chaoyang shouted, his neck stiff.
Lin Chen: "That's the same thing they say when the leaders come."
Lin Chen had already discussed it with his superiors. Originally, he wanted to compensate him more, since it wasn't his own money. However, Song Jiehui made it clear that it should be done according to company regulations, and the amount should be exactly what it should be, without any special treatment.
Liang Chaoyang: "Then we'll make a scene, make a scene in the city, make a scene in the province, and see if you're scared."
Lin Chen: "It won't do you any good even if you make a scene in Kyoto. We act according to the rules, and no one can find a fault with us."
Liang Chaoyang grew anxious, his tone softening, and his voice trembled with tears: "My brother is still young! With one leg crippled, how will he live?"
Lin Chen sighed. What he said was true. Although a level 5 disability wasn't fatal, it was enough to affect one's entire life. He hesitated for a moment, then lowered his voice: "There's a way to get more compensation. Go and change the disability assessment report—the higher the level, the more compensation you get."
That was more than enough. He knew perfectly well that this was the unspoken rule of the industry: spend some money and find some connections, and the level of disability could be raised as easily as magic. The company always turned a blind eye as long as the procedures were compliant.
Liang Chaoyang's eyes lit up instantly: "How much compensation can I get if I upgrade to level one?"
"According to regulations, the maximum is 15."
"Only 15?" Liang Chaoyang's expression immediately changed, and he pouted as if he thought it was too little.
Lin Chen was truly exasperated: "They only got 20 yuan in compensation when someone else died. What more do you want with this 15 yuan? The company isn't a charity. You'd better listen to me, or you won't get a single penny if you make a fuss."
Liang Chaoyang's face turned pale and then red. After weighing the options for a long time, he finally reluctantly agreed: "Fine."
The matter was resolved just like that. Lin Chen took the compensation slip to Tan Huasheng to sign, and Tan Huasheng seemed surprised when he saw it: "15? Not 5?"
Lin Chen: "They re-evaluated the injury, and it's now classified as a level one disability. According to regulations, I can receive 15 yuan in compensation."
Tan Huasheng: "Level 1 Disability? This assessment is obviously fake. His minor injury probably doesn't even qualify as Level 10 Disability. Lin Chen, you didn't even verify it?"
Lin Chen sneered inwardly. If they could fabricate and cover up an accident, what was a disability assessment? But he spoke flawlessly: "Director Tan, I'm not a disability assessment expert. My job is to follow the compensation process. If the assessment report is fine, I can't hold it up."
Tan Huasheng cursed and said, "He must sign a guarantee that he will not cause trouble again."
Lin Chen: "I know."
After signing the papers, Tan Huasheng surprisingly said, "Damn it, I might as well be dead."
Lin Chen didn't reply, turned and walked out of the office, a cold sweat running down his back.
.........
After the collapse, Lin Chen felt something was quietly changing deep inside him.
Many times, it's just absurdity upon absurdity.
I used to be a lowly team leader at the water supply center, and I mostly dealt with petty theft, crying over my father's death, and other trivial matters.
Compared to life and death, these things are trivial and insignificant. Moreover, at Baru, Lin Chen can handle things according to his own mood, and he can confront anyone who disagrees without having to give anyone face.
But now, sitting in this office specialist's position, he realized how insignificant he was. Many things, clearly absurd and ridiculous, clearly unreasonable, he could only watch helplessly, without even the right to say "no."
People's opinions carry little weight; whatever you say is useless. Of course, you can yell and say you disagree, but sorry, you can just leave immediately. The key is that yelling is meaningless and has no impact on the outcome; things will remain the same as before.
Those seemingly unbelievable "unspoken rules" and suffocating "customs" have been operating within this system for many years, so deeply ingrained that they inspire despair.
Want to change?
Unless you wield greater power.
After all, the only way to defeat power is to have more power than it.
But Lin Chen didn't want to improve, nor could he. In this quagmire, every step he took to climb up had to be done with his conscience and bottom line. He didn't want to become Chen Ya, and he wanted to leave himself with a little bit of dignity.