【Drool and brains storage.】
【Leave a '1' and your wishes will come true, good luck will follow, and a red envelope of 88.88 million will fall from the sky.】
...
Hua Country.
Jiangcheng City.
Inside an office building in the city center.
Lu Feng stood in front of the company door, which was secured with a large lock, looking at the notice posted on it, his heart filled with melancholy.
“Dear colleagues, due to poor company management, and after careful consideration by company leadership, the company is hereby dissolved, effective immediately. We wish you all success in finding better employment.”
Gathered at the company entrance were Lu Feng's former colleagues, with whom he had once fought side by side.
Anger, confusion, panic, disbelief.
They hadn't expected that yesterday, after work, they were still enthusiastically discussing where to have dinner on the weekend.
Today, they were unemployed.
A few girls with less emotional resilience squatted to the side, covering their faces and sobbing.
Lu Feng peered through the company's glass door, looking inside.
Familiar workstations, familiar computers.
Now separated by a tightly closed door.
The company had previously delayed two months of salary for various reasons.
However, everyone had been with this company for a considerable time, at least two years.
During that period, they had encountered similar situations, and salaries were always paid on time in the end.
So, this time, no one paid too much attention.
They hadn't expected the company to simply dissolve this time.
Lu Feng had been with this company for three years.
He had originally planned to work hard this year to save up some money for a down payment on a house.
Now, it seemed buying a house had become a pipe dream.
With two months of unpaid salary, Lu Feng's savings were also running low.
Monthly rent, plus daily living expenses.
These were the urgent problems that needed to be solved right now.
Lu Feng sighed, having to accept the reality of his unemployment.
“Lu Feng, this rotten company is finished. What are your plans next?”
A large hand clapped Lu Feng's shoulder, and a lazy voice came from behind him.
Lu Feng knew without turning around that it was Li Jiang from the customer service department.
The company's closure had no impact on his mood whatsoever.
Li Jiang was Lu Feng's best friend and colleague at the company, a true brother.
Normally, after work, if they had nothing to do, they would eat and drink together.
Only later did Lu Feng learn that Li Jiang's family had undergone demolition a few years ago and owned several apartments in the city.
His monthly rental income alone was much higher than Lu Feng's take-home salary.
To put it plainly, Li Jiang came to work because he was bored at home and wanted to experience life.
“What plans could I have? I'll rest for a while, then look for another job. What about you?”
Lu Feng shrugged, saying with a bitter smile.
“I'm planning to go traveling, relax a bit. This rotten job has exhausted me!”
Lu Feng's mouth twitched. He thought, 'You're tired from work?'
So, the person who was slacking off and napping all day wasn't him?
If it weren't for Lu Feng covering for him, this guy would have been fired by the company long ago.
“Well, I wish you a pleasant journey, many romantic encounters, take plenty of photos, and remember to bring me souvenirs when you come back.”
“Why don't you come with me? I'll cover the expenses!”
“...We'll see.”
For such a good offer, Lu Feng would have readily agreed under normal circumstances.
But now, having just joined the ranks of the unemployed, his spirits weren't very high.
As a typical office worker, ever since Lu Feng started working,
the farthest he had ever traveled was just to a client company in a neighboring city.
As for traveling, he would just scroll through his friends' social media, look at their photos,
and give them a like, as if he had been there himself.
“Alright! It's settled then! Wait for my call in a few days!”
Li Jiang patted Lu Feng's shoulder and left excitedly.
Lu Feng looked at his colleagues, their faces filled with worry at the company entrance.
He took one last look at the workstation where he had toiled for three years, sighed, and also left the familiar office building.
...
Inside the rental apartment.
After returning, Lu Feng didn't rush to find a job. He lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling,
pondering his future path.
Working for others his whole life, ultimately, his fate was in someone else's hands.
When he got older, he could be laid off at any time.
It would be harder to find a job then, and he would inevitably end up doing the 'iron man triathlon':
ride-sharing, food delivery, express delivery.
That would be manual labor, a profession that most middle-aged people are forced to choose.
Starting his own business? He didn't have any outstanding skills to offer.
Most importantly, he hadn't saved much capital during his years of working.
After his parents passed away a few years ago, they didn't leave Lu Feng with a substantial inheritance.
Except for a small restaurant that hadn't been open for several years.
When they were alive, the restaurant business wasn't good either.
It operated for several years, not only failing to make money but also losing a considerable amount.
After his parents passed away, Lu Feng posted a 'for transfer' notice at the entrance.
There had been no news until now, and he hadn't gone back to look at it.
Now that his job was gone, life still had to go on.
Jiangcheng is a third-tier city, and salary levels are not high.
A university classmate he occasionally contacted mentioned that salaries were quite high in Shenzhen, in the south.
If things really didn't work out, he would go try it himself.
But to leave this familiar place where he had lived for over twenty years,
it was certainly hard to let go.
...
“Ding-a-ling~”
Lu Feng's jumbled thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing on his bedside table.
Lu Feng picked up his phone and saw it was an unknown number.
Lu Feng thought for a moment and pressed the answer button.
He figured if it was someone trying to sell him insurance or loans, he would just hang up.
“Hello, who is this?”
“Hello, my surname is Jiang. Are you the Boss Lu of Xinxin Fast Food at 35 Huayuan Road? How should I address you?”
A man's resonant voice came from the other end of the line.
Lu Feng was stunned for a moment, and it took him a while to remember.
Xinxin Fast Food at 35 Huayuan Road was the restaurant for which he had posted the transfer notice.
If the other party hadn't called, he would have almost forgotten about it.
“Yes, that's me. My name is Lu Feng.”
“Boss Lu, hello. Is your restaurant still for transfer? We can discuss the price.”
“How much are you planning to offer?”
After the transfer notice had been up for so long, someone was finally interested today.
And it happened to be just when Lu Feng lost his job.
This was one of the few inheritances his parents left him after they passed away.
If the other party offered too low a price, he wasn't planning to sell.
“Hmm... Boss Lu, I see this storefront has been empty for quite some time. If I take over, I'll have to redecorate and invest capital. Do you think 50,000 yuan is suitable?”
50,000?
Lu Feng rolled his eyes disdainfully, thinking, 'As expected, all merchants are cunning.'
Although Huayuan Road wasn't in the center of Jiangcheng City, the location of his shop was still good.
It was close to several large shopping malls, and there was a good flow of customers.
He had inquired when he first posted the transfer notice.
The transfer fees for several shops nearby, whose locations were not as good as his, were more than 50,000.
Lu Feng was about to decline when the other party seemed to realize it as well.
“Boss Lu, why don't we meet and discuss it? I can check out the situation inside the shop, and we can talk about the price again.”
Lu Feng looked at the time displayed on his phone.
It was just past ten, and it was only about a half-hour journey.
Meeting to talk would be good.
【Ding!】
【Detecting that the host is about to embark on a new direction in life, a system matching the host is being activated...】
【Matching complete.】
【Chef God System has been bound. Please proceed to the restaurant under your name to sign in and claim your beginner's gift package.】
Lu Feng, who was about to speak, suddenly froze in place.