Chapter 1
Jiang Xichu’s chest rose and fell heavily, and she angrily paced around the office three times, and only then returned to the front of Chen Man’s desk, her hands pressed against the desk, her fingers gripping the edge of the desk, and she said, angrily, “How is it that you can’t understand what I mean? That piece of land can’t be invested in; ten years ago it was the mouth of a chemical plant’s draining pipe—if you were to buy that, you’d need to compensate for your bias!”
Chen Man looked at her coldly, and said, “I already said, I’m preparing to buy that piece of land; so what if the quality of the ground isn’t any good? I’m not wanting to grow a farm crop on it!”
“Then what are you preparing to do with it? I’m telling you, what can that piece of land even do?!”
Jiang Xichu glared; someone without knowledge would think that she was the general manager; not to be outdone, Chen Man returned her glare, and after a long while, she let out a cold scoff, and said, “I’m not telling you.”
Jiang Xichu choked on a mouthful of blood.
Outside the general manager’s office, the rest of the secretaries pricked their ears up, attentively arguing over their words.
Secretary Zhou said, “Secretary Jiang’s courage really is too much.”
Secretary Yang said, “Xiao Zhou, you arrived late, so you don’t understand; in our office, Secretary Jiang and Manager Chen are on equal footing.”
Secretary Li said, “You’re talking nonsense, Secretary Jiang’s status is clearly a bit above Manager Chen’s.”
Secretary Zhou was silent: “...”
She had only been employed two months, and although she’d been prepared for the workplace relationships to be countless times more complicated than in university, but…this was too complicated!
Secretary Yang patted her shoulder sympathetically, and in passing, said with amicability, “Secretary Jiang and Manager Chen were high school schoolmates, university peers, and once they graduated, they’ve worked together from then until now; when the two of them talk, you should never go in and get involved.”
Xiao Secretary Zhou nodded, confused, and said, “I understand. Then isn’t Secretary Jiang and Manager Chen’s relationship extremely good?”
Secretary Yang smiled dismally, and raised her chin towards the general manager’s office, and said, “Listen to that; could it be called a good relationship?”
The office was made of genuine wood, and as a result, the soundproofing was very good, but like this, it was possible to hear the sounds from within clearly what could be classified as Secretary Jiang’s roar. “Ah, ah, ah, ah, you’re infuriating me! I don’t care anymore! Chen Man, just wait until you lose everything in compensation!”
Inside was silent for three seconds, and then Secretary Jiang’s voice came through once more, saying, “You’re asking what I’m doing?! I’m going to deliver you the proof!”
Hearing these words, all of the secretaries promptly returned to their own work, each one solemnly and earnestly looking at their computer screens, the pattering of their typing ceaseless. Jiang Xichu walked out of the office, and cast a glance at her coworkers, and then laughed very affably, saying, “I’m going to the national tax office; I won’t be coming back for lunch, so midday you’d all better rest up.”
The other secretaries were silent: “...”
Everyone gave hollow laughs and greeted her, until Secretary Jiang left, and then they all were relieved, and wiped away the sweat on their foreheads. More terrifying to the group of secretaries than a temperamental general manager was an even more temperamental head secretary who had direct control over them. Maintaining the necessary affability and smiles and special temperament of a secretary, Jiang Xichu went down from the twenty-third floor to the first floor, standing alone in the elevator, the anger in her heart more or less having subsided. Thinking it over, the company wasn’t hers, and the money wasn’t hers either, so what did she have to be upset about? Anyway, she’d already given her opinion, whether or not to listen was Chen Man’s business. If Chen Man listened, everyone would be satisfied, and if she didn’t…then she was an incredibly big, unparalleled fool!!
Calm and collected on the exterior, Secretary Jiang thought this with her hands on her hips. She quickly exited the first floor lobby; today, she was wearing a chiffon work dress, its material so slippery, her shoulder bag kept slipping down, and as Jiang Xichu walked out, she simultaneously overdid it as she supported the strap of the bag.
“Ah! Help, help! Murder!”
Jiang Xichu suddenly raised her head, looking towards where the sound had come from, where the group of people were scattering and fleeing at the doorway, the leisurely walking elderly people almost scared out of their wits; a woman was clutching her belly, crawling forward with difficultly, and behind her, a man dressed in an uncouth manner held a sushi knife dripping blood. He attacked without any reason, and because he had suddenly exploded in their midst, no one could respond, just running without heads or tails, and he even cut down three women, and then in one blink, he saw the cleanly dressed, beautiful Jiang Xichu.
-
Crouching at the door of the underworld population registration agency, Jiang Xichu and the young lady at her side made small talk.
“How did you die?”
“I was swimming with my friends and ran into a school of sharks.”
“And then you were bitten to death?”
“Actually, no,” the young lady said, innocently shaking her head, “the sharks didn’t see me, but when I was fleeing, I accidentally swam behind the tail of one of the sharks, and when it moved its tail, I was struck dizzy.”
“...”
Jiang Xichu was rather sympathetic, and said, “How wretched; but at least this was alright, you died without any pain.”
The young lady smiled, revealing two pearly eye teeth, and said, “True; what about you, how did you die?”
Having explained her situation, the young lady was silent, and said, “It seems like you’re even more wretched than me.”
“It’s all unexpected disasters, let’s not compare,” Jiang Xichu said, clapping her crouching legs, and continued, “then again, the handling of affairs here is too lacking, I’ve been waiting at the door for half a day, how hasn’t there been any movement—even the national tax office is quicker than this.”
Just after she finished speaking, a white-shirted young man walked out from inside the office, and said, “Jiang Xichu, come in for registry.”
Jiang Xichu promptly stood up, and the young lady smiled at her as she waved her hands, saying, “See you later.”
Jiang Xichu followed after the young man inside, where there was also an old gentleman, who wore a pair of presbyopic glasses, reading out her information through squinting eyes. “Jiang Xichu, female, twenty-seven years old, from Huai City, cause of death: revenge against society, assets after death zero, assets during life…also zero.” Having finished reading, the old gentleman shook his head regretfully, and said, “You young people, like the moonlight every day; look, not a bit of savings left behind, what were you wasting that many years on? Savings are unexpectedly zero, dear, and living was also too much of a failure…”
Having listened in bewilderment for half a day, Jiang Xichu finally heard something she understood, and she furrowed her brows. “That’s not right, I had money, I saved over two-hundred-thousand.”
The white-shirted young man at her side turned over the folder in his hand, saying without feeling, “It’s already gone, your stepmother moved all of your savings to her card.”
Jiang Xichu was startled, saying, “That’s not right, I can’t truly have no money; I died, and the company put the rest of the salary I hadn’t earned into my other card; my stepmother didn’t know about that other card, so it shouldn’t have been touched?”
The white-shirted young man riffled through the folder, saying callously, “No, your boss didn’t send it out.”
Jiang Xichu’s eyes widened, and she said, “That’s not possible! I’ve already been dead half a month, and I know our company’s financial efficiency best, financial transfers are very quick!”
The white-shirted young man gazed at her expressionlessly, saying, “There really isn’t any; if you don’t believe me, look yourself. After you died, your company didn’t give you a cent of money, reimbursements, financial support for consolation, nothing. Let me look again; en, your burial was arranged by your boss, extremely simple and crude; no one participated, and no one burned joss paper for you, so, your post-mortem assets are zero.”
The burial was arranged by Chen Man; Jiang Xichu wasn’t surprised; she’d long since cut off contact with her family, and if she’d been in an accident, the only person who could help her was Chen Man.
In the underworld, she’d waited for registry for more than half a month, and Jiang Xichu had assumed the entire time that Chen Man arranged an extremely grand funeral for her, her colleagues all participating, and after Chen Man took the microphone, she said during the closing ceremony, “Jiang Xichu was my closest friend, and she was also my most competent subordinate, and hearing of her death, my heart felt extreme sorrow; I decided to give half the stocks under my name to Jiang Xichu, and let her live the life of a wealthy woman she’d craved.”
…
Every time imagining this scenario, Jiang Xichu could roll around with joy, but now, she couldn’t feel any joy. Jiang Xichu felt her mind was a bit dizzy, and she blinked her eyes, asking, “The joss paper burnt by the living, it can really be used here? Then how much are the prices here, can eighty billion buy a mantou?”
“They can’t be used, they’re only a number at the end, letting you see how many people are thinking of you,” the young man said, expressionlessly sizing her up, and then added, “the last person who received this treatment, it must have been Tojo Hideki.”
“...”
Jiang Xichu fumed with ire, saying, “Damn! I want to go back! I have to go ask Chen Man what this lady did to offend her!”
Chen Man looked at her coldly, and said, “I already said, I’m preparing to buy that piece of land; so what if the quality of the ground isn’t any good? I’m not wanting to grow a farm crop on it!”
“Then what are you preparing to do with it? I’m telling you, what can that piece of land even do?!”
Jiang Xichu glared; someone without knowledge would think that she was the general manager; not to be outdone, Chen Man returned her glare, and after a long while, she let out a cold scoff, and said, “I’m not telling you.”
Jiang Xichu choked on a mouthful of blood.
Outside the general manager’s office, the rest of the secretaries pricked their ears up, attentively arguing over their words.
Secretary Zhou said, “Secretary Jiang’s courage really is too much.”
Secretary Yang said, “Xiao Zhou, you arrived late, so you don’t understand; in our office, Secretary Jiang and Manager Chen are on equal footing.”
Secretary Li said, “You’re talking nonsense, Secretary Jiang’s status is clearly a bit above Manager Chen’s.”
Secretary Zhou was silent: “...”
She had only been employed two months, and although she’d been prepared for the workplace relationships to be countless times more complicated than in university, but…this was too complicated!
Secretary Yang patted her shoulder sympathetically, and in passing, said with amicability, “Secretary Jiang and Manager Chen were high school schoolmates, university peers, and once they graduated, they’ve worked together from then until now; when the two of them talk, you should never go in and get involved.”
Xiao Secretary Zhou nodded, confused, and said, “I understand. Then isn’t Secretary Jiang and Manager Chen’s relationship extremely good?”
Secretary Yang smiled dismally, and raised her chin towards the general manager’s office, and said, “Listen to that; could it be called a good relationship?”
The office was made of genuine wood, and as a result, the soundproofing was very good, but like this, it was possible to hear the sounds from within clearly what could be classified as Secretary Jiang’s roar. “Ah, ah, ah, ah, you’re infuriating me! I don’t care anymore! Chen Man, just wait until you lose everything in compensation!”
Inside was silent for three seconds, and then Secretary Jiang’s voice came through once more, saying, “You’re asking what I’m doing?! I’m going to deliver you the proof!”
Hearing these words, all of the secretaries promptly returned to their own work, each one solemnly and earnestly looking at their computer screens, the pattering of their typing ceaseless. Jiang Xichu walked out of the office, and cast a glance at her coworkers, and then laughed very affably, saying, “I’m going to the national tax office; I won’t be coming back for lunch, so midday you’d all better rest up.”
The other secretaries were silent: “...”
Everyone gave hollow laughs and greeted her, until Secretary Jiang left, and then they all were relieved, and wiped away the sweat on their foreheads. More terrifying to the group of secretaries than a temperamental general manager was an even more temperamental head secretary who had direct control over them. Maintaining the necessary affability and smiles and special temperament of a secretary, Jiang Xichu went down from the twenty-third floor to the first floor, standing alone in the elevator, the anger in her heart more or less having subsided. Thinking it over, the company wasn’t hers, and the money wasn’t hers either, so what did she have to be upset about? Anyway, she’d already given her opinion, whether or not to listen was Chen Man’s business. If Chen Man listened, everyone would be satisfied, and if she didn’t…then she was an incredibly big, unparalleled fool!!
Calm and collected on the exterior, Secretary Jiang thought this with her hands on her hips. She quickly exited the first floor lobby; today, she was wearing a chiffon work dress, its material so slippery, her shoulder bag kept slipping down, and as Jiang Xichu walked out, she simultaneously overdid it as she supported the strap of the bag.
“Ah! Help, help! Murder!”
Jiang Xichu suddenly raised her head, looking towards where the sound had come from, where the group of people were scattering and fleeing at the doorway, the leisurely walking elderly people almost scared out of their wits; a woman was clutching her belly, crawling forward with difficultly, and behind her, a man dressed in an uncouth manner held a sushi knife dripping blood. He attacked without any reason, and because he had suddenly exploded in their midst, no one could respond, just running without heads or tails, and he even cut down three women, and then in one blink, he saw the cleanly dressed, beautiful Jiang Xichu.
-
Crouching at the door of the underworld population registration agency, Jiang Xichu and the young lady at her side made small talk.
“How did you die?”
“I was swimming with my friends and ran into a school of sharks.”
“And then you were bitten to death?”
“Actually, no,” the young lady said, innocently shaking her head, “the sharks didn’t see me, but when I was fleeing, I accidentally swam behind the tail of one of the sharks, and when it moved its tail, I was struck dizzy.”
“...”
Jiang Xichu was rather sympathetic, and said, “How wretched; but at least this was alright, you died without any pain.”
The young lady smiled, revealing two pearly eye teeth, and said, “True; what about you, how did you die?”
Having explained her situation, the young lady was silent, and said, “It seems like you’re even more wretched than me.”
“It’s all unexpected disasters, let’s not compare,” Jiang Xichu said, clapping her crouching legs, and continued, “then again, the handling of affairs here is too lacking, I’ve been waiting at the door for half a day, how hasn’t there been any movement—even the national tax office is quicker than this.”
Just after she finished speaking, a white-shirted young man walked out from inside the office, and said, “Jiang Xichu, come in for registry.”
Jiang Xichu promptly stood up, and the young lady smiled at her as she waved her hands, saying, “See you later.”
Jiang Xichu followed after the young man inside, where there was also an old gentleman, who wore a pair of presbyopic glasses, reading out her information through squinting eyes. “Jiang Xichu, female, twenty-seven years old, from Huai City, cause of death: revenge against society, assets after death zero, assets during life…also zero.” Having finished reading, the old gentleman shook his head regretfully, and said, “You young people, like the moonlight every day; look, not a bit of savings left behind, what were you wasting that many years on? Savings are unexpectedly zero, dear, and living was also too much of a failure…”
Having listened in bewilderment for half a day, Jiang Xichu finally heard something she understood, and she furrowed her brows. “That’s not right, I had money, I saved over two-hundred-thousand.”
The white-shirted young man at her side turned over the folder in his hand, saying without feeling, “It’s already gone, your stepmother moved all of your savings to her card.”
Jiang Xichu was startled, saying, “That’s not right, I can’t truly have no money; I died, and the company put the rest of the salary I hadn’t earned into my other card; my stepmother didn’t know about that other card, so it shouldn’t have been touched?”
The white-shirted young man riffled through the folder, saying callously, “No, your boss didn’t send it out.”
Jiang Xichu’s eyes widened, and she said, “That’s not possible! I’ve already been dead half a month, and I know our company’s financial efficiency best, financial transfers are very quick!”
The white-shirted young man gazed at her expressionlessly, saying, “There really isn’t any; if you don’t believe me, look yourself. After you died, your company didn’t give you a cent of money, reimbursements, financial support for consolation, nothing. Let me look again; en, your burial was arranged by your boss, extremely simple and crude; no one participated, and no one burned joss paper for you, so, your post-mortem assets are zero.”
The burial was arranged by Chen Man; Jiang Xichu wasn’t surprised; she’d long since cut off contact with her family, and if she’d been in an accident, the only person who could help her was Chen Man.
In the underworld, she’d waited for registry for more than half a month, and Jiang Xichu had assumed the entire time that Chen Man arranged an extremely grand funeral for her, her colleagues all participating, and after Chen Man took the microphone, she said during the closing ceremony, “Jiang Xichu was my closest friend, and she was also my most competent subordinate, and hearing of her death, my heart felt extreme sorrow; I decided to give half the stocks under my name to Jiang Xichu, and let her live the life of a wealthy woman she’d craved.”
…
Every time imagining this scenario, Jiang Xichu could roll around with joy, but now, she couldn’t feel any joy. Jiang Xichu felt her mind was a bit dizzy, and she blinked her eyes, asking, “The joss paper burnt by the living, it can really be used here? Then how much are the prices here, can eighty billion buy a mantou?”
“They can’t be used, they’re only a number at the end, letting you see how many people are thinking of you,” the young man said, expressionlessly sizing her up, and then added, “the last person who received this treatment, it must have been Tojo Hideki.”
“...”
Jiang Xichu fumed with ire, saying, “Damn! I want to go back! I have to go ask Chen Man what this lady did to offend her!”
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