The Secret to Picking Up Girls

Zhang Yuze, with a thick face, arrived at Wu Xueqing's aunt's house. Upon entering, Wu Xueqing's family, although somewhat puzzled by Wu Xueqing bringing a boy home, still appeared very warm towards Zhang Yuze. Zhang Yuze carefully examined the family, and it seemed they were a well-off, middle-class family. Wu Xueqing's aunt also had a nine-year-old younger brother. However, what puzzled Zhang Yuze was that the family seemed to be forcing smiles, as if something had happened. Wu Xueqing's aunt and uncle both looked troubled, but Zhang Yuze, being an outsider, couldn't inquire too much. He simply sat on the sofa, drinking tea and curiously observing.

Wu Xueqing clearly sensed the unusual atmosphere at home, frowned, and asked her aunt, "What happened? Why do you all seem so worried?"

"Oh! Xueqing, you don't know, your aunt and uncle have both been laid off," Wu Xueqing's aunt said, tears streaming down her face.

"How did this happen? Aunt, you are both employees of state-owned enterprises. Even if you are laid off, the state will arrange something for you!" Wu Xueqing asked anxiously.

"Arrange my ass! Your uncle and I worked hard for the state-owned enterprise for over twenty years, but what did I get? They actually used 500 yuan per year to buy out my twenty years of seniority. Is this fair to me? Is this fair to this old employee who has dedicated twenty years to the country?" Wu Xueqing's uncle said indignantly.

Zhang Yuze, listening from the side, frowned. Coming from a family within the system, he naturally knew what buying out seniority meant. It meant buying out your twenty years of service, and after that, you would have no relationship with the company whatsoever.

However, if the buyout price wasn't too outrageous, buying it out would be acceptable. The employees could use the money to find other avenues. But 500 yuan per year for 20 years was simply outrageous. You have to know that this is the 21st century, and 500 yuan a year is practically the price of cabbage. To buy out an employee's dedication and youth to the company for most of their life with 10,000 yuan was simply unacceptable.

Zhang Yuze frowned, looking at Wu Xueqing's aunt and uncle. He could tell that the couple seemed to work at the same place. If that was the case, the whole family being laid off was indeed a very serious matter.

Zhang Yuze stood up and looked at Wu Xueqing's uncle, saying, "Uncle, are you talking about the Nanyun Iron Factory?"

"How do you know?" Wu Xueqing's uncle looked at Zhang Yuze with some surprise.

Zhang Yuze smiled wryly and shook his head, saying, "The newspapers have been talking about these things recently. I just happened to know about it."

"Oh! If it weren't for those leaders lining their own pockets and taking the money for technological reforms and seeking new avenues, this large enterprise with decades of history might not have been able to revive and regain its vitality. But those officials simply don't care about that, only knowing how to fatten their own wallets, and not caring about the lives of us below," Wu Xueqing's uncle said very angrily.

Zhang Yuze listened with some empathy. From Wu Xueqing's uncle's words, he could hear that he still had a deep affection for the enterprise, after all, he had dedicated over twenty years to it.

(End of Chapter)