A Girl Traveling Through Troubled Times

Chapter 1072 Daily Life at the Foreign Firm

When the holiday started, Gui'er went to work at the bank every day. This was much busier than when she was in school. In particular, the bank owner had laid off the original staff in order to pay less wages, so Gui'er only realized after working for several days that she was doing the work of two or three people.

Although she was busy, she managed to handle it all with ease. The manager happily said that the foreign boss, upon hearing this, was even more convinced that his previous move to reduce staff was the right one, and instructed the manager to tell Gui'er that she could stay and work after the holiday.

Gui'er sneered inwardly. Capital is capital, no matter the era, its essence has not changed. However, she had only been working for a few days and was afraid that he would not pay her wages, so she could not say anything too harsh. She smiled and said, "I am grateful for the respect of the manager and the boss. However, I am a medical student and I am working to earn some extra money. I still need to finish my studies. Of course, if the foreign firm can continue to employ me, I would be very honored. I can work at your company in my spare time."

The doctor's income was several times that of the foreign firm's employees, so the manager couldn't say anything. He just said, "That's the best, that's the best. When school starts, we'll see about your studies and how to arrange your work hours."

After working at Dafeng Bank for a few days, Gui'er discovered something. Although there weren't many people in the foreign firm, there was a lot of gossip. For example, the accounting assistant sitting next to her was a woman named Deng Meixiang, who was about 25 years old. From the first time Gui'er came to the bank, the two were of similar age, and Deng Meixiang had been working at the foreign firm for several years and was very familiar with everyone. Gui'er tried to win her over by buying some Western-style pastries, saying that they were a gift from her relative and that she couldn't finish them herself and was afraid they would spoil, so she brought them to Deng Meixiang.

Deng Meixiang was very happy and immediately told Gui'er everything about the company's internal personnel structure, who was in a faction with whom, who didn't get along with whom, who was a traitor who loved to complain, and who was related to whom. Gui'er remembered everything. Since the boss thought highly of her, she might be able to work there for a long time. Understanding the intricacies of the situation would make things much easier.

But just two days later, when Deng Meixiang was away on business, Sister Yun, who was in charge of cleaning and doing odd jobs, quietly approached Gui'er and said, "Miss Sha, I heard that you are a medical student. My right knee hurts whenever the weather changes. Can you take a look and see what's wrong?"

Gui'er didn't know how the news of her being a medical student had spread so quickly. Feeling awkward about refusing, she took Gui'er's pulse and examined her. However, Gui'er's symptoms clearly indicated rheumatism.

Gui'er then prescribed some medicine for rheumatism, wrote it down on a piece of paper, and handed it to her, saying, "Just go to the pharmacy and buy it to apply."

Sister Yun smiled awkwardly and said, "Oh dear, where would I get the money? Don't be fooled by my monthly salary; I have five children to support. My husband used to have a rickshaw, but last month, that rascal heard about the Japanese military exercises and panicked. He wasn't watching where he was going and got hit by a car. He's alright, but he broke his leg. It takes 100 days to recover from a broken bone, and even then, I don't know if he'll be able to pull the rickshaw again. Now, I'm the only one supporting my family. You're a medical student, so you should have some medicine, right? Could you perhaps...?"

Gui'er understood. This person wanted her to not only treat her for free but also send her medicine. She felt great sympathy for the poor family. However, she suddenly remembered that Deng Meixiang had said that this Sister Yun was the most well-informed person in the foreign company. She knew everything, including where many foreign executives kept their mistresses. Therefore, the people in the company were somewhat wary of her. She had managed to escape a disaster when the company laid off staff. This person was someone she absolutely could not afford to offend.

She thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "It's actually quite simple. If you don't want to buy medicine, you can take a small cloth bag, put a bag of coarse salt in it, warm it up, and put it on your knee. The pain will subside quickly."

Upon hearing this, Sister Yun's eyes lit up and she said, "Oh my, you medical students are really capable, knowing such a method. Okay, I'll go back and try it out." She turned to leave, but then turned back halfway and whispered in Gui'er's ear, "Don't get too close to Deng Meixiang. Do you know she's Lao Huang's mistress?"

"Huh? Is that so?" Gui'er was truly astonished, carefully dodging one pitfall after another.

"Really, why would I lie to you? But Old Huang, you know... he always tries to take advantage of anyone who comes to work at our trading company and isn't married. Deng Meixiang has many siblings, and she's the eldest. To keep her job, she had no choice but to give in. By the way, why doesn't Old Wang seem to have any interest in you? Is it because your family is rich enough? Has he really never bothered you?" Sister Yun gossiped.

"I don't know. The person who introduced me was my brother's friend. He said he's Manager Huang, and that he's a pretty good guy." Gui'er tried her best to remain impartial.

"Oh, oh, oh, you have powerful connections?" Sister Yun said in surprise.

"What 'background' stuff? It's just asking a friend to introduce me; the work goes on as usual."

"That's true, that's true." Sister Yun suddenly changed her attitude for some reason, and then quickly slipped away. Gui'er originally thought that she would ask her to come back for a follow-up visit or something, but she didn't.

On the contrary, one time when I went to the tea room to get water, I found Sister Yun whispering something with other employees. When they saw me walk in, they quickly dispersed.

Gui'er felt confused, as if these people were gossiping about her. To find out, she deliberately said to Deng Meixiang as they walked out of the foreign firm after work that day, "Meixiang, let's go get a cup of coffee together!"

Deng Meixiang hesitated for a moment before saying, "This is coffee."

Gui'er remembered that Sister Yun had said that she had many younger siblings who depended on her for support and that she was probably short of money, so she quickly said, "I need your help. Let's go for a drink, it's on me." With that, she took her hand and led her to a nearby coffee shop.

Deng Meixiang walked into the coffee shop and looked around as if she had never been there before.

Gui'er took the menu, pushed it in front of her, and said, "What would you like to drink?"

Deng Meixiang looked hesitant, so Gui'er skillfully said to the waiter, "A cup of hot cocoa and a dozen egg tarts, please."

Upon hearing this, Deng Meixiang quickly said, "Oh, I'd like the same drink too."

After the waiter left, she cautiously asked Gui'er, "You just said you had something to ask me, what is it?"

Gui'er sighed and said, "Actually, it's nothing serious, but I'm new here and I'm afraid I won't do well. Today at the company, I saw Sister Yun whispering with other colleagues. As soon as I went up to them, they dispersed. I wonder if Sister Yun has something against me? Or maybe I didn't do my job well and offended a colleague. It's not convenient to ask at the company, so I had to take up a little of your time to sit down and ask you."