Volume 2 Cold Dew Chapter 75: It takes patience to make conversation
The sky gradually darkened and the temperature dropped even lower.
"Let's go shopping in the mall?" Jiang You suggested.
"I want to sit for a while and look outside."
"Then let's go in, take the elevator upstairs, and see which window seat is vacant?"
"OK."
Jiang You pushed Nan Kongkong into the mall.
I took the elevator to the seventh floor and chose a small and freshly decorated tea shop and sat by the window. The view here is very good, with a view of the river and the bright neon lights on the other side.
Jiang You looked at the menu.
"I can't eat." said Nan Kongkong.
"I want a cup of hot water. I'm a little hungry and want to eat something." Jiang You was drawing on the menu with a pencil. "I want a shrimp dumpling platter and a cup of grapefruit tea."
Jiang You quickly finished ordering. "This is an Internet celebrity restaurant. A few months ago, many people came here to check in and take photos. You see, the names of its dishes are quite interesting."
Nan Kongkong looked at the names of the dishes on the menu: A basket of small fortune, meet grapefruit tea at the next street corner...
"It's very interesting." She turned and looked at the empty dining room. "Business is not good now?"
Jiang You handed the menu to the waiter and asked for a cup of hot water. After the waiter walked away, he said, "It's expensive, and the taste is just so-so. Later, some people got food poisoning. What questions will be asked during the assessment?"
"I just chatted casually at that time and talked about my thoughts," Nan Kongkong recalled. "Teacher Wu Ya is very kind. She listened to my ideas patiently. When I got stuck, she would guide me. She is very good." Nan Kongkong's eyes were full of admiration. "She would check the direction, but she completely let us do the specific work..."
"I think you manage very well, in an orderly manner, but not rigidly," Jiang You looked at Nan Kongkong's expression, "I heard a sentence or two the other day. At work, you also lead a team?"
“Yes, I have a team.”
"You are a strong woman. You just work too hard."
"How can I not work hard?" Nan Kongkong smiled bitterly. She looked out the window, and her expression gradually became a little disappointed. "At that time, my direct supervisor suddenly changed jobs, and the whole project team was in chaos. In order to keep the project going, I kept coordinating, meeting with people from various departments, begging them, and working overtime until late every day. Finally, I made it to the end without any danger."
"It's not easy. Did the company reward you?"
"I found out I was pregnant."
"If I tell the company that I'm pregnant, my promotion will definitely be a failure. They originally tended to poach someone from a competitor, and I would be transferred to a less busy department in the name of taking care of pregnant women," Nan Kongkong bit her lip. "Because I'm busy with the previous project, my daily schedule is irregular, and I have a headache all the time. I rely on painkillers and coffee, and I don't dare to ask for..."
Nan Kongkong turned her head, holding the water cup with both hands and took a sip. "The men who entered the company at the same time as me have almost all entered the management level. Some have jumped to other companies, some have been promoted, and some have opened their own studios. They often make mistakes, but I can ensure that the format and text layout of each plan are correct. I will make different PPTs to explain my plans for different situations..." Nan Kongkong repeated to convince herself, "Opportunities are too rare. I can't miss them."
"I'm worried that my experience of not working in a company might be a demerit for me," Jiang You said as he ate a green shrimp dumpling with bean sprouts. "I've always been the only one in my shop."
"Are there no other clerks?"
"Business was average. In May and June, I wanted to change the direction of the business and sell drinks and snacks in addition to postcards. I got all the certificates, but something went wrong."
"After joining the reading club, your business will get better and better."
"Why?"
"I didn't understand it at first. Logically, I shouldn't tell you now, but Shanshan doesn't want to be an administrator, and I don't want my group to become a mess after I die," Nan Kongkong said with determination: "Every time we read, check in and write our thoughts, we are communicating with the goddess."
"goddess?"
"Yes. The goddess doesn't ask us to do much. As long as we read carefully and understand what she wants to convey to us, we can be blessed."
Jiang You took a sip of grapefruit tea. The sweet taste made his throat feel uncomfortable. "Is it that simple?"
"I know you don't believe it, but it's true."
"It's not that I don't believe what you said, but this, this is too unbelievable. What goddess is this, Queen Mother of the West, Nuwa, or Su Daji?"
"No, the symbol on the book I read when you came last time is her symbol. The more people believe in her, the stronger her power will be. One day she will be able to truly descend upon China. At that time, women will not suffer so much."
"What are the intermediate and advanced groups like?"
"I'm in charge of recruiting new members. Our division of labor is very clear. We translate works and videos, promote them on various platforms, guide topics, create accounts with more traffic, and do other things..."
"It feels like a company," Jiang You finished eating five shrimp dumplings of different colors. "How do you recruit new members? Just pull anyone in?"
"It's not random, it has to be screened."
"I'm asking a question, don't be angry."
"you say."
"Many group members who have been hurt in real life will come to the group to vent, and everyone will go to comfort them. But I don't know if you have noticed that most people comfort them, and very few can offer practical suggestions, almost none. And in some things, it is difficult to say who is right or wrong, and comfort cannot solve the problem."
"The problem is that we have been suppressed and suffered injustice. Only this paradise in the group can allow us to breathe a little..." Nan Kongkong's voice suddenly rose. She coughed twice and drank a sip of water. "You need to watch more. Only when the goddess descends, the haze will..."
"Nan Kongkong." Jiang You called her online name and interrupted her.
"What's wrong?"
“Working overtime to modify fonts and symbols, making five or six versions of PPT, drinking coffee, taking medicine, and looking at the stars when going home are not my abilities. It’s just like this restaurant. No matter how good the decoration is for taking photos, if the food is not good, there will be no repeat customers.”
"What's the meaning?"
"Fairness is achieved through strength, not by the descent of some goddess. You are hurting those who are truly striving for it, both women and men."
"I know you don't believe it, but..."
"The goddess no longer protects you. Your plan has been rejected."
Nan Kongkong's body froze. "I...you don't understand because you are a man. You don't understand that kind of despair."
"All living things suffer," Jiang You leaned forward slightly and looked into Nan Kongkong's eyes. "Thank you for telling me so much information today."
She heard Jiang You ask, "Is there anyone else you want to see?"
"What?"
"You'll dream about it."
Jiang You stood up and went to the counter to pay the bill.
Nan Kongkong suddenly felt dazed.
She suddenly couldn't remember what she had said before, nor why she was here.