Chapter 162
Many times people are prone to misunderstanding. If a person works in a certain industry, people around him will often think that he knows everyone from the big boss to the cleaning girl, and that he has power comparable to that of a national leader in his industry. Not only that, he should be proficient in any related skills in the industry, and even the architectural structure diagram of the workplace, including every blade of grass and tree in the yard.
For example, Xi Zhenhai works in the maintenance department. Because this is an official department of Liukasiao, the benefits and treatment are not bad, and many people from poor families around him yearn for it. There are always people asking him to put their nephew/brother/son/neighbor/distant relative into their department. Xi Zhenhai, who is just a small clerk, of course does not have such power. He can only explain in detail and then politely refuse, but it is difficult for people to accept his reasons, and they always take it for granted that he is not giving face.
Some people also think that since he is in the maintenance department, he should be able to repair everything from mechas and spaceships to toilets and lights. When neighbors have problems with things at home, they first look for him, but most of Xi Zhenhai's work in the maintenance department requires the assistance of the smart assistants uniformly distributed by the superiors, not that he has outstanding talents in this area. However, little by little, he can still repair some simple small items. However, after finally being able to rest for a while after get off work, people always ask him to help repair things at home, which makes Xi Zhenhai exhausted. He refuses some people who are distantly related or who can't repair things.
People often find it difficult to remember the good things others have done to them, but they will remember clearly the bad things others have done to them. Some people who have been rejected twice, instead of reflecting on whether their request was too much, will feel resentment towards Xi Zhenhai. Perhaps because of this, when his daughter was ill, Xi Zhenhai's colleagues and leaders all supported him with some funds, but those familiar people around him, who he often helped, did not lend a helping hand, but instead gloated over his misfortune.
Xi Zhenhai used to think that helping others was a pleasure, so he would always lend a hand if it was not too troublesome. But since then, he has seen through the cold and ruthless nature of this society, and has responded to others with a colder attitude.
But Muter was different. When their family was in a very difficult situation, Muter had helped them a lot. Xi Zhenhai's parents always told him to remember to be grateful. Xi Zhenhai couldn't refuse her request outright.
One of the conveniences of working in the maintenance department is that when some companies' buildings, equipment, surrounding roads, etc. need maintenance, in order to speed up the maintenance process and not delay normal work and business, these companies often give them red envelopes, say something nice, give them small gifts, or treat them to a meal, etc. Therefore, Xi Zhenhai actually knows a lot of people, but most of them are small people in charge of reception in other companies, and he doesn't think that this kind of relationship can allow him to put an unknown person who eats free meals into other companies.
He could only take Rong Yuan to the maintenance department.
Along the way, Xi Zhenhai still maintained the attitude of "I know a lot of big shots, but this is the most suitable arrangement for you at the moment", reminding this and that. Rong Yuan pretended not to notice his lie and just nodded in agreement.
After arriving at the maintenance department, Xi Zhenhai asked Rong Yuan to wait at the reception desk in the lobby first, and then he went to find the team leader.
"Bringing in a new person?"
Xi Zhenhai's team leader is named Morrison. He has short straight brown hair, droopy eyes, three-dimensional facial features, and looks a bit serious.
Morrison frowned and said, "Zhenhai, you know that our new employees are basically recruited from outstanding graduates of technical schools, and they have to pass two assessments before they can be regular employees. As a new employee, does he have a technical school diploma? Which school?"
"Well... no. But he just came back from outside. Although he doesn't have a diploma, he is familiar with mechanical maintenance." Xi Zhenhai explained quickly.
In fact, Muzhe had a diploma, and his grades were very good when he graduated. But Xi Zhenhai asked Rong Yuan on the way and knew that he was not familiar with the content taught in the technical school. After all, many of the machinery and teaching materials in Liukasao were unique here, and it was natural for outsiders to be unfamiliar with them. Rather than using Muzhe's diploma to make up the numbers and then being exposed, it was better to tell the truth directly.
"And captain, we haven't recruited suitable new people for several years in a row." Xi Zhenhai added: "In recent years, the good graduates have either been poached by those big companies or snatched up by departments with better benefits. The maintenance department has only recruited two new people in the past three years, and neither of them was assigned to our team."
Morrison frowned and said nothing.
"Lao Hu was accidentally injured last month and still can't work. And Huali is about to give birth and will have to take a long vacation in a few days. We are seriously short of staff!" Xi Zhenhai advised earnestly: "Besides, the child I brought here is the son of an elder of mine. He is well-behaved and honest, and good at studying. I will take care of him for a while, and he will definitely master everything he should master. Besides, I don't want him to really join our department, but just be a temporary worker first, do everything he should do, and get a lower salary, is that okay?"
After listening to this, Morrison did not reply immediately, but asked: "How is your daughter's health?"
Xi Zhenhai's smile suddenly disappeared. He was silent for a moment, then sighed and said, "It's still the same... He's hanging on. I don't know when I can save enough money for treatment."
His family fortune had been almost exhausted just by buying the medicines to keep his daughter's condition from getting worse, not to mention the treatment.
In fact, from this perspective, his wife's words may be the most correct. If they give up treatment, their family can be relieved. But Xi Zhenhai is always unwilling to give up. Every time he wants to give up, he can't help thinking-hold on a little longer! Hold on for another day. Maybe there will be a turnaround? Maybe he can win the lottery? Maybe... the upper class will be merciful and willing to provide a low-cost treatment opportunity?
Morrison did not speak, but operated on the bracelet. Then Xi Zhenhai heard a prompt tone, and his bracelet showed that Morrison had just transferred 3,000 star coins to him.
In order to facilitate transactions between adventure groups and merchants, Lucasao did not issue a separate currency, but used the unified currency in the star network. Three thousand star coins was equivalent to Xi Zhenhai's half-year salary.
Xi Zhenhai hastily refused: "This is not appropriate, Captain! I can still hold on now, you don't have to..."
"Don't talk nonsense. Have you spent all your savings? Do you have money to buy medicine?" Morrison said with a serious expression and without any gentleness: "This money should be enough for you to support yourself for a while. If you need help in the future, just ask me. Don't work overtime desperately, and don't be stupid enough to borrow money. Take care of yourself, so that you can have the capital to take care of your family."
"Captain, I..." Xi Zhenhai's eyes turned red.
Morrison waved his hand to indicate that there was no need to say more, then glanced at Rong Yuan who was sitting on a chair outside and said, "For your sake, that young man can temporarily work as a temporary worker in our department. I will pay him according to the salary of an ordinary employee. Don't tell anyone else about this. In addition, he must pass two assessments within three months. Can you do it?"
Xi Zhenhai was overjoyed and was about to speak when he suddenly heard a series of urgent prompts from Morrison's bracelet. Morrison waved his hand to let Xi Zhenhai stop talking, opened the bracelet and listened to the information inside, then said: "Emergency order, there was an explosion in the Qiaohu District, and a traffic bridge collapsed. Ochi ordered us and all members of the third and sixth teams to set off, and the repairs must be completed before this afternoon. I have notified the others, you take the newcomer with you and explain the precautions to him clearly."
"yes."
As Rong Yuan put on the spare uniform and equipment Xi Zhenhai had given him, he asked, "Explosion? Are there any casualties?"
"We're not sure about that yet. We'll know once we get to the scene. But this kind of thing isn't our responsibility. Even if there are injured, they'll probably have been taken away by the medical department by the time we get there."
Xi Zhenhai, who was also in the locker room, changed an energy block and took a few pieces of equipment needed in the instructions.
"Does this happen often?" Rong Yuan asked.
"Not many, but it happens about once every one or two months. We are already in good condition on the third floor. I heard that people die every day on the two floors below." Xi Zhenhai said indifferently: "After all, most of the people in Liukasao are adventurers from outside. Those people are usually unruly and like to fight. Of course, I'm not talking about you."
After spending half a day together, Xi Zhenhai felt that he had basically understood Rong Yuan's personality. He thought that he was a relatively quiet, steady, inexperienced and good-tempered person, which was different from most adventurers in his impression. This reduced his initial vigilance and hostility. If he had not discovered that Rong Yuan was posing as Mu Zhe when they first met, but was really a newcomer to the maintenance department, Xi Zhenhai felt that perhaps he would have begun to like this young man now.
The maintenance staff wears a grey uniform with a standard exoskeleton armor inside and a huge backpack on the back, which contains a variety of tools and some temporary materials. In addition, they also need to download an intelligent assistant in the bracelet. This intelligent assistant is connected to the armor on the body and the toolbox on the back, which can assist the maintenance staff to complete the maintenance work better, and also play the role of issuing orders, monitoring maintenance results, evaluating and feeding back to the central intelligent brain.
With the help of armor, the two of them, together with Morrison and several other staff members of the maintenance department, ran on the passage reserved for official personnel. Their speed was even faster than that of ordinary hovercrafts. It took them less than ten minutes to reach the maintenance point. In between, a bridge about thirty meters long broke into several sections lying on the ground. It fell from mid-air, and the flying debris smashed the buildings on both sides into a mess.
At this time, more than a dozen people wearing the same uniforms had gathered here, and large patches of blood could be seen on the ground. However, as Xi Zhenhai had said before, all the injured had been transferred away, and only some medical staff who were doing the finishing work and police officers who came to investigate could be seen.
As soon as they arrived, the intelligent assistant assigned them work based on their past performance and abilities. Rong Yuan only needed to do some unskilled work, such as helping to lift things, while Xi Zhenhai and Morrison were responsible for maintenance of the core areas.
While helping to carry a huge bridge pier, Rong Yuan heard two people from an unknown team chatting nearby.
"Hey, have you heard the news?"
"What?"
"News about Lanxi Star being destroyed by space turbulence!"
Rong Yuan's gaze moved over.
"Oh, that, I heard about it. They were so unlucky! I heard that the monitoring system on the planet had been outdated for a long time and they were reluctant to replace it, so they failed to detect the space turbulence in time."
"This kind of thing seems to happen a lot recently! Just before, it seems like last year, wasn't there a small planet that was completely destroyed by a black hole that suddenly appeared?"
"Well, I remember it was called Tono Planet. It seems that it was because the monitoring system was damaged and not repaired in time, and it just happened to encounter the god of death. These small planets are generally owned by individuals or families. If you are reluctant to spend money at ordinary times, you will lose your life at the critical moment!"
"In fact, we have it better. Although it is a bit hard at ordinary times, Liukasao is a free-moving spacecraft, and the monitoring system on board is also the latest. Even if there is any danger in the surrounding starry sky, it can be adjusted in time."
"Yeah." Another person sighed, "Nothing is more important than safety."
"Tono Star?" Rong Yuan whispered to himself.
