Chapter 111: Chapter 14 Layoff, those to be laid off are those damn clueless leaders.
Every gift from fate has its price secretly marked.
And Sun Dasheng was reaping a massive windfall, because he had already paid the price more than a decade ago.
The airplane landed at the provincial capital, Luzhou, after which they transferred to a direct high-speed train. They didn’t buy a direct ticket from Shanghai City because they were impossible to get during the Spring Festival travel rush.
Li Sili’s hometown was in the mountainous hinterlands, part of an old revolutionary base area. It bore the reputation of being "the cradle of the Red Army and the homeland of generals." However, places like this are usually economically underdeveloped. After getting off the high-speed train in the county town, one used to have to transfer to several buses to get home. But that was in the past; of course, it was no longer necessary.
They hailed a ride-share car in the county town that took them directly to her doorstep.
"Uncle, come in and have a cup of tea," Li Sili invited.
Sun Dasheng glanced at the mourning banners displayed at the entrance and waved his hand in refusal. A funeral was being held at her home, so it wasn’t appropriate to disturb them at this time.
"There will be other opportunities to visit."
Sitting on the plane for the return trip, Sun Dasheng was lost in thought.
So that’s why I always felt there was something odd about that girl, Li Sili. It turns out we’re ’old acquaintances.’
In fact, on the village road to the girl’s house, he had already recalled the long-buried memories. It stemmed from his volunteer teaching trip during the summer of his junior year of college—an impulsive journey, yet an incredibly valuable experience.
「Back in Shanghai.」
The company began its annual holiday. He had no intention of making his employees work on New Year’s Eve like other companies. That was simply too cruel. Instead, he announced that everyone could return to work after celebrating the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month at home. During the holiday, salaries would be paid as usual. The announcement was met with an enthusiastic response, instantly elevating the company’s reputation among its neighbors.
「Starlight Building, Tower A, 12th Floor」
This was Xiaoju Technology, the Livestreaming Department within the Live Commerce Division.
During the department’s morning meeting, Department Manager Xiang Yunsheng was in the midst of a thunderous outburst.
"It’s the end of the year, and look at the crap report you’ve handed me. A huge department, hundreds of online personalities, tens of millions invested, and yet you failed to produce a single big-name influencer for me. At yesterday’s company leadership meeting, General Manager Wu made me do a public self-criticism on the spot."
He said this as he glanced over the crowd below.
"Since I’m having a hard time, don’t you dare think you’ll have it easy."
"Xu Yongsheng!" he began calling names.
The person he called on, Xu Yongsheng, had no choice but to stand up reluctantly.
"Present!"
"Your team has the most followers and the best foundation in the department, so why has your growth rate dropped so sharply recently?"
His pointed criticism was not without substance; it wasn’t random faultfinding. Recently, Xu Yongsheng had been playing favorites, squeezing out talented and capable livestreamers one by one. Those who remained were the fawning yes-men who did his bidding. As the saying goes, like master, like man. His behavior in front of his own superiors was reflected in the kind of "reliable" subordinates he chose.
For instance, the group’s most profitable accounts had all been handed over to Ruan Bingran. Was it because this college freshman possessed exceptional livestreaming skills or an outstanding ability to sell products?
The answer to both was no.
There was only one reason: nepotism.
"What are you still standing there for, acting like a coward? Get on stage and deliver your self-criticism!"
Oh no! It seemed things were getting serious.
The other team leaders below were abuzz with discussion, each one of them gloating. It was for no other reason than the fact that this guy was always the best at bootlicking, which won him the leaders’ favor. He may have skyrocketed to success, but he blocked the promotion path for his colleagues.
Impeding someone’s career is akin to murdering their parents. How could they not hold a grudge?
"Heh heh... Serves that guy Xu right."
"That suck-up is completely incompetent. He’s an absolute disgrace to our department."
"Eh, I heard he was the first apprentice Supervisor Sun took on. How are the master and apprentice so completely different?"
"Heh... Don’t even talk about Supervisor Sun. He was ’optimized’ by the company after the annual meeting."
"What? I just transferred back from the branch office. Supervisor Sun is so skilled, and the company was willing to let him go? He was hired right out of college and worked diligently for ten years. Even if he didn’t have major accomplishments, he put in the hard work. How can the company be so heartless?"
"Shush, keep it down! Are you trying to get yourself killed, talking about the company like that?"
"Hah, expecting the company to show any decency is like waiting for pigs to fly."
"Sigh, even the manager’s top lapdog is being called out. Looks like there will be major staff adjustments after the New Year. I just hope our team doesn’t get cut."
...
The chatter from below didn’t affect Xu Yongsheng, who was on stage delivering his "sincere" self-criticism. As he spoke, he kept his eyes on the face of his former "good leader." I took the fall for him, I put my neck on the line for him, he thought. He can’t just use me up and throw me away.
He was also terrified of being laid off. He was especially unlucky, having bought a house at the peak of the market in ’21, becoming a greater fool. He had just taken possession and finished renovations when—bam—its value plunged by 25%.
His down payment was nearly wiped out. Burdened with a heavy mortgage, he couldn’t afford the slightest instability at work. Otherwise, he would instantly default, and the bank would repossess and auction the house. That would mean losing everything he’d invested.
"The above is my profound self-criticism. In my future work, I will remember the lessons I’ve learned, heed our leader’s guidance, regroup, and lead my team’s performance to new heights."
The round of applause Xu Yongsheng had hoped for never came. Not a single word of encouragement came from the leadership.
Only a single, ice-cold sentence.
"The future? You still want a future? Your entire team is being laid off to serve as an example to others."
Now it was Xu Yongsheng’s turn to be stunned. He knew the situation was serious, but he hadn’t anticipated it being this severe. If it weren’t for all the eyes on him, he would have knelt before his boss and shouted, "I’ve made contributions to the department! I’ve bled for you, boss! Please don’t lay me off!"
His protest went unheard. Before he could make a move, security guards who were already on standby dragged him out of the meeting room.
Seeing the deathly silent room, Xiang Yunsheng nodded to himself. This act of "killing the chicken to scare the monkeys" had worked well. It was a pity about his loyal lapdog. But there was no other way. If the man had just been a bit more competent, if his team’s performance hadn’t been dead last in the department, Xiang Yunsheng would have protected him.
Unfortunately, the guy was a complete disappointment. If he didn’t get serious, the higher-ups were going to get serious with him. He knew the ruthless nature of this company. Forget about ten-year veterans; even founding members who had grown with the company could be fired on a whim. This place was a jungle where the strong devoured the weak, with no room for sentimentality.
The morning meeting was dismissed.
Without a word, the department team leaders received their new targets for the coming year. They hurried back to their own teams to convey the meeting’s spirit and assign the tasks.
Unsurprisingly, cries of despair erupted throughout the department.
"Are the higher-ups trying to kill us? This year’s follower growth target is 50% higher than last year’s, but our budget has been cut. How is that even possible?"
"Those damn leaders are completely out of touch. The tasks they assign are like castles in the air. I really want to drag them down to the front lines to see what it’s like for themselves."
"I think the company’s recent decline in performance is all because of these amateurs trying to direct professionals. If I were the boss, I’d fire those useless managers. Performance would probably turn around."
"Huh! You make a good point. I can’t even argue with that."
"These clueless leaders earn the biggest salaries for doing the most inhumane things. I say just fire them. What’s the point of laying off us grunts? One of their salaries is equal to ten of ours."
"Alright, that’s enough complaining. The tasks have been assigned, and we don’t have a choice. If we want to keep our jobs, we have to grit our teeth and complete them. And if gritting our teeth isn’t enough, we’ll have to risk our lives to get them done."
"Otherwise, we’ll all be left with nothing to eat! You all know Xu Yongsheng’s team, right? They used to be the most profitable team in our department. And now? With just one word from above, they were all sent packing."
The team leader’s words silenced some of the complaints. Although no one spoke up, their dissatisfaction grew heavier in their hearts. All it would take was a single spark to ignite their emotions.
「Lunch Break」
The break had shrunk from its original two hours to just one. After eating, with little time to rest, everyone gathered to chat and shoot the breeze.
The biggest topic of conversation today wasn’t about buying New Year’s train tickets, nor was it the bad news from the morning about having to work even more overtime next year. Instead, it was about the neighboring company that had recently blown up on social media: Xinli Media.
It was rumored to have been founded by Sun Dasheng, their department’s former supervisor and an old employee who had just been laid off. As an employee who had been with the company for a decade, most people in the department were familiar with him. Everyone loved this kind of underdog-makes-good story: laid off by the company, bounces back to start a business, becomes the CEO, marries a beautiful, wealthy woman, and reaches the pinnacle of life.
"Hey, did you know? Several of his old subordinates have already jumped ship to his company."
"Oh? I heard it’s just a small company. How are the benefits? Can they compare to our Xiaoju Technology?"
"Ugh, don’t even mention this trash company. It looks big, has tons of employees, and is even a high-market-cap listed company, but what good does any of that do for us regular employees? The salary we take home is still pitifully small. We work way more overtime than small companies. Don’t even mention 996; that’s just the baseline. 007 is our normal state."
"So, you still haven’t said what their benefits are like."
"Tsk, tsk. From what I’ve heard, the benefits there are amazing. If you switch, not only do you get a raise, but you also work nine-to-five, have weekends off, and get a month of paid annual leave."
"And here we are, still slogging away until New Year’s Eve, while they’ve already started their holiday. I heard they’re on paid leave until the Lantern Festival!"
"My god, the benefits are that good? The résumés must be piling up. The competition must be fierce, right?"
"Of course! I can’t speak for elsewhere, but compared to the other companies around here, it’s like finding gold in a pile of shit."
It was a colorful comparison, and everyone roared with laughter.
The lunch break ended, and it was time to get back to work. The chatting crowd dispersed.
They all paid lip service to working hard for a promotion and raise next year, but the calculating looks in their eyes betrayed their true intentions. During work hours, they secretly began looking up details about that other company. Although none of them were planning to jump ship just yet, a seed had already been planted in their minds.