"I heard your family bought a house in the ** community? How much per square meter?"
"A little over thirty thousand. Off-plan properties are a bit cheaper. I was on the lottery list for ages before we got it. My wallet's empty now. I'll have to tighten my belt to get by."
"We recently took a loan to buy a Weilai car. The prices have gone up now, and they're expected to keep rising. Tightening the belt for us too."
...
"Hey, I heard you've made a good amount trading stocks lately? Want to show me the ropes?"
"The market's been pretty good lately. What I made is actually quite small, just over double. With inflation and currency devaluation, it's better to invest a bit. If you want to trade, open an account and you can start buying today, make some money."
"That's great. I'm getting engaged by the end of the year, and then there's the wedding. I'm running short on cash."
...
Back at his workstation, colleagues were chatting about family matters, houses, cars, and money.
Wang Hao couldn't help but roll his eyes dramatically.
What's the point of houses, cars, and money?
The end of the world is coming, none of it matters.
"You guys shouldn't spend all your money on houses and cars. Remember, food is the foundation of survival. Store some food at home, frozen meat, ham, whatever. Buy more snacks for the kids, canned Piggy Haha meat, Snickers, instant noodles, compressed biscuits, they're all good."
Wang Hao hesitated for a moment but decided to remind them anyway.
After all, he'd worked with them for over a year.
There was some camaraderie after all.
If he could help, he would.
Everyone: ...
Their gaze towards Wang Hao was even more bizarre.
"Isn't it so convenient to buy groceries now? Just use community group buying. Store food? That's not fresh."
"Yeah! And the canned stuff and Snickers you mentioned, how could you feed that to the kids?"
"Wang Hao, you really should find a partner. Stop delivering food; continuing like this won't do you any good!"
.....
Everyone unanimously thought Wang Hao's brain was fried.
What was he going on about?
Wang Hao shrugged, not saying anything more.
He couldn't exactly tell them the world was ending soon and they should stockpile supplies, right?
They might just send him to a mental hospital.
"Everyone, quiet down."
The manager came out of the office, scanning the room with a serious expression, and said in a deep voice:
"The company hasn't been doing well this year. All departments are downsizing; we'll have to let one person go from our department too."
As soon as he said this, everyone shivered involuntarily.
"Manager, I just bought a house. If I lose my job, I can't pay the mortgage."
"I just bought a car, and I'm relying on my salary to pay the loan."
"I've invested all my money. Without a salary, I'll starve."
.....
Cries of lamentation filled the room. Their salaries weren't that high, but the benefits were good, and the work was easy.
With the current job market pressure, where would they find a job if they got laid off?
"I know everyone has hardships, but this is the task from above; my hands are tied.
Does anyone want to resign voluntarily? The company will offer fifty thousand yuan as compensation."
The manager said helplessly.
"If anyone resigns voluntarily, I'm willing to pitch in five thousand as compensation."
The coworker with the poorest performance spoke up.
If no one volunteers, it's likely they would adopt a last-in-first-out policy.
He'd have to pack his bags and leave.
"I can only give two thousand."
"Count me in."
.....
One by one, the employees spoke up.
They all had some issues, whether it was age or unmarried women...
The chances of being laid off were quite high.
Wang Hao sat there, heart pounding, eyes shining.
What kind of divine intervention is this?
He was just thinking about how to get the company to lay him off and get compensation, and now the opportunity comes?
With each colleague speaking up, resigning was now worth eighty thousand yuan.
But still, no one stepped forward.
Good jobs are too hard to find right now.
Even if you found one, you'd have to readjust, and add on the probation period...
In the end, you'd definitely be at a loss.
"Does anyone want to resign?"
Everyone had stated their case, and the manager scanned the room.
Everyone lowered their heads, playing dead in silence.
Dead silence filled the room.
"If no one is willing, we'll have to proceed with mandatory layoffs according to the normal procedure."
The manager, having waited a while, was growing impatient.
He issued the final ultimatum.
Cold sweat dripped from everyone's foreheads.
Just as Wang Hao was about to stand and speak up, the underperformer stood first:
"I propose Wang Hao resign. After all, he's really good at food delivery, and I think he has mental issues, so this job isn't quite right for him."
"Uh... I also think Wang Hao resigning is a good idea. He's a bit crazy, and I'm kind of scared of him."
A female colleague raised her hand nervously.
Then more and more people showed their support.
Nobody dared to look directly at Wang Hao.
Some even discreetly picked up paper cutters and pens from the desk, just in case Wang Hao snapped.
Having Wang Hao leave had its benefits for everyone.
First, they wouldn't have to worry about being laid off.
Second, they wouldn't have to compete so much.
Third, they were genuinely worried about Wang Hao having a mental breakdown.
So, while some people didn't express their stance, no one spoke up for him either, all keeping silent.
However, the manager didn't quite agree. He'd heard that Wang Hao was a bit off mentally, but he worked hard and had great performance!
The whole department had been boosted by him.
But since everyone expressed their stance, he couldn't reject it outright either.
He looked at Wang Hao: "Wang Hao, what do you think?"
Wang Hao felt a chill in his heart.
These bastards were pushing him out as cannon fodder.
They'd been colleagues for a year, after all!
He hadn't treated them poorly on normal days.
He stood up, his gaze icy as he swept across the room. Everyone lowered their heads again, avoiding eye contact.
"With things like this, what's the point of me staying? I'm willing to resign, but I want the money right now."
He clenched his fists tightly, speaking angrily.
"I can pay right now."
"I'll contact my husband immediately."
"I'll add an extra hundred for you."
Once he said that, the employees, afraid he'd back out, immediately transferred money to his WeChat.
"You...."
The decision was made, and despite some reluctance, the manager couldn't say much. He rubbed his brow and shook his head helplessly:
"Go ahead with the paperwork. The compensation will be directly transferred to your account."
...
After quickly handling the paperwork, Wang Hao took his severance pay, packed up, and left.
Even now, everyone was a bit dazed.
They hadn't expected Wang Hao to be so weak.
The manager obviously didn't want to see Wang Hao go.
Everyone was mocking him internally, but no one dared to laugh out loud.
Wang Hao was surely in a bad mood now.
If they provoked him now and he suddenly snapped, it might cost them their lives.
After Wang Hao left, they started quietly discussing.
"Finally, that Wang Hao is gone. Now we can have some peace. He's crazy, advising us to hoard junk food."
"Haha.... I bet he's going to use all that money to stockpile those things. I saw him ordering a lot on his phone once."
"That's not all! I saw with a drone at his villa, a refrigerated truck parked at the door, unloading various frozen meats. Who knows what craziness he's up to. Idiot, glad he's gone."
...
"What a bunch of idiots."
Taking one last look at the building behind him, Wang Hao made a mocking remark and turned to go home.