Chapter 10: Debts
Chen Xiao was completely flustered and said seriously, "Two big sisters, I just moved in today!"
One of the big sisters said, "Of course we know you came today. We don't see anyone every day, but your moving in today doesn't affect whether you owe property fees or not!"
"No, I mean, I just transferred the ownership of this house!"
"Tsk, keep making it up, keep making it up. Chen Xiao, do you think we are all fools for the property registration information? When we occasionally got through to your phone before, you never said this house was just transferred. You always said you had no money. Today, the property fees must be paid. If you don't pay, we'll proceed with legal action!"
Chen Xiao saw that what they said didn't seem fake and couldn't help but ask the system, "Big brother, what's going on?"
After a while, "...An error occurred during program modification. The previous owner was also named Chen Xiao. Some parts were omitted when modifying the information. Even a wise man can make a mistake. The host will be compensated."
Damn, is that it? Are you reliable or not? And how exactly will I be compensated?
Chen Xiao was helpless. Looking at the two big sisters, he said, "Alright, alright, how much is it? I'll pay you. Don't be so anxious. How much can property fees be?"
The big sister looked at him with disdain and muttered, "Not much money? You've been dragging us for years!"
Then she opened her WeChat payment QR code: "2000 yuan, scan me to pay."
Chen Xiao was speechless. It was the system's mess, so he could only take the blame. He pulled out his phone and scanned it, but the result was embarrassing: insufficient balance!
Before getting the system, Chen Xiao was a conservative spender. He always had doubts about the security of linking bank cards to his phone, so he usually carried some cash for small expenses and kept a few hundred yuan in his WeChat wallet.
His income wasn't high before, and he didn't have large expenditures, rarely even expenses over a thousand yuan. If he did, they were planned in advance, and he would withdraw the cash early.
"Uh, insufficient balance..."
The big sister glanced at it and said with a bit of disdain, "Not just insufficient, it's severely insufficient. 12 yuan and 8 mao. Forget property fees, it's not even enough for water fees!"
Then she added, "Cash is fine too!"
Chen Xiao rummaged through his pockets and found only a little over 300 yuan. Finally, he said awkwardly, "Can I trouble you to come again tomorrow? I'll withdraw money tomorrow!"
"No way. If we don't take care of it today, who knows if we'll be retired and collecting pensions at home the next time we see you!"
How much distrust must that be? Chen Xiao felt like he was a scholar meeting a soldier—unable to reason with them!
Just as he was feeling depressed, a clear voice from across the way said, "How much is it? I'll pay for you first. You can give it back to me after you withdraw the money. The noise is too loud tonight; it's quite disturbing."
Chen Xiao looked over at the sound and saw the girl across the way, with her dark, bright eyes, quietly watching them. It was she who had just spoken.
Someone was willing to help him out of a bind. Chen Xiao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly said, "Thank you, I'll give it back to you tomorrow."
The girl took out her wallet, counted out 2000 yuan in cash for the property big sister, and said, "I just happened to withdraw cash today!"
The property big sister's face immediately lit up with a smile when she saw someone paying. She said, "Beautiful lady, you have such a kind heart, but I suggest you get his contact information, lest you can't find him again later."
Chen Xiao quickly took out his phone and said, "Yes, let's add each other's contact information so I can return your money tomorrow!"
The girl said, "No need. Tomorrow, still at 7:00 PM, just knock on the door. I'm always home in the evening!"
Is she that cold? She doesn't even want to add contact information, and I'm doing it to return money. Chen Xiao didn't press further, nodded, said thanks, and they each went back inside!
The next day, as soon as Chen Xiao arrived at the company, good news kept coming, sweeping away the gloom from last night!
Today was payday. Chen Xiao's monthly salary was 8000 yuan, plus 2000 yuan in performance bonus. He usually wouldn't get the full performance bonus, but given his excellent performance, Feng Feifei temporarily notified HR to issue the full performance bonus!
【Ding~! You received a performance bonus of 2000 yuan this month. Diligence and Fortune Blessing coefficient is 4. The Diligence and Fortune Blessing amount is 8000 yuan, which has been deposited into your China Bank card!】
【Ding~! Your transportation subsidy of 400 yuan from last month has arrived. Diligence and Fortune Blessing coefficient is 4. The Diligence and Fortune Blessing amount is 1600 yuan, which has been deposited into your China Bank card!】
Chen Xiao roughly understood the system's definition of a bonus: it seemed that all income beyond the base salary was classified as a bonus!
Watching the continuous notifications of deposited amounts on his phone, Chen Xiao had never felt so rich before. Remembering his embarrassment last night, he quickly linked his bank card to his WeChat on his phone to avoid similar awkward incidents!
The company was noticeably livelier today because new people were constantly joining. Feng Feifei had resolved the funding issue, and with her decisive personality, talent recruitment, project research and development, and all other tasks were being accelerated!
Chen Xiao no longer followed up on Bai Lu's equipment. Feng Feifei had already arranged it. Chen Xiao, feeling bored, looked around and wondered if he should move his workstation to the furthest corner. If he didn't move now, it would be inconvenient to move once new people arrived!
As for why move? It's convenient for playing games occasionally. His current position is fine with few people, but once the company gets crowded, it won't look good.
He acted on it immediately. As he was packing his things, Xia Yun happened to pass by and asked curiously, "Chen Xiao, what are you doing?"
"Changing positions. The corner has poor lighting, so I'll sit there and give the well-lit spot to new colleagues!" Chen Xiao said without batting an eyelid.
"Oh, you're so thoughtful. You're already caring for new colleagues, that's good! But you, you'll probably have to change positions again soon!"
Chen Xiao didn't know what she meant. Xia Yun smiled mysteriously and went back to the finance office.
As soon as he finished moving, Chen Xiao's phone rang. He picked it up and saw it was his mother calling.
"Hello, Mom!"
"Chen Xiao! Your father and I are in Jiangzhou today. Let's eat together after you get off work!"
"Oh, okay!" Chen Xiao hung up the phone, wondering why his parents would come at this time. Since they would meet tonight, he didn't ask further.
After work, Chen Xiao headed straight to Jinji Hotel. Jinji was a mid-to-high-end budget hotel, simple and clean. Chen's parents always liked to stay there when they came to Jiangzhou.
Entering the room, Chen was drinking Kung Fu tea alone. Seeing his son, he said, "Xiao Xiao is here. Are you tired from work?"
Chen Xiao was helpless. His father always liked to call him Xiao Xiao, even though he wasn't small anymore. But his father was quite stubborn about this, so he could only accept it!
"It's alright, just my arms are a bit sore!"
"Look at you, child. Aren't you working in an office? How are your arms sore? Work is work, but occasionally get up and move around, stretch your limbs. Don't just bury your head in work!" his mother complained with concern.
Chen Xiao smiled and didn't explain. How could he get up and move around? They were playing team PK; everyone was focused. If he got up to stretch his limbs and they got wiped out, wouldn't he be scolded?
It was a good thing he didn't explain, otherwise, with his father and mother's lifelong dedication to work, he wondered if they would disown him out of righteousness!