novelraw Chapter 479: Does It Seem Like a Joke?
Chapter 479: Does It Seem Like a Joke?
Early the next morning, Xu Xiangbei returned to his office. As he looked at the ink splash landscape painting by Su Xinyun on the office wall, he suddenly felt it wasn’t as beautiful as it used to be, like old fish and rotten shrimp that had lost their original freshness, their life, and even had a bit of a rotten smell.
Xu Xiangbei took it down, rolled it up, and stuffed it into the bottom drawer of his desk. He no longer wanted to see the painting; it had lost its meaning.
Knock knock, came two faint knocks on the door. Monica walked in with a steaming cup of coffee, and she immediately noticed that the prominent ink landscape painting had been removed.
Monica was smart. Sometimes you didn’t need to ask about things you saw. She spoke softly, "President Xu, your coffee, two parts milk, half part sugar."
After taking a sip of the rich milky coffee, Xu Xiangbei was in good spirits: "Thank you for the coffee. I didn’t have the habit of drinking coffee before, but you made me like it. I’ve tried many coffees, Starbucks, Nestlé, and I feel like yours tastes the best."
A clever smile flashed across Monica’s delicate face: "Of course, my coffee is carefully brewed, not monotonous just to make money. For example, when making coffee for Shan Mingzhi, his taste is entirely different from yours. He wants three parts milk, two parts sugar, very heavy taste."
The voice of Shan Mingzhi echoed through the corridor. He entered Xu Xiangbei’s office while talking on the phone, smiled, and greeted Monica, "Monica, you look beautiful today."
"Thank you for the compliment, Director Shan. Do you need me to help you?"
"Haha, we’ve got a newcomer, so we need to order more lunches. I’ll trouble Monica to make a trip."
With a mocking tone, Monica said to Shan Mingzhi: "I’ll take a headcount in ten minutes. Just letting you know, the company’s ten o’clock snack cookies won’t be available till the day after tomorrow due to delivery issues, so don’t make a fuss, big foodie."
Shan Mingzhi froze for a moment, then jumped up like he had been dealt a great injustice: "This is a big deal. Without the ten o’clock snacks, I’ll be starving all day. Do you want me to work properly or not? I won’t agree. Your office must sort this out for us."
Xu Xiangbei’s smug laugh came from the office: "I told you, even if you were his biological mom, if you took away his snacks, he wouldn’t spare you. Monica, you owe me a hundred bucks."
Monica rolled her eyes at Shan Mingzhi and said helplessly: "Alright, big foodie, I’ve already prepared Oreo cookies for you guys. Give me a break; I’m not a nanny to take care of you genius IT guys all day."
Hearing about Oreo cookies, Shan Mingzhi was finally satisfied and stopped making a fuss.
Seeing the office door ajar, Shan Mingzhi dashed in, symbolically bumped into the door as if he had knocked.
Xu Xiangbei always paid attention but could never figure out which part of Shan Mingzhi’s body he used to bump the door until he specifically asked him later and learned that he used his large forehead.
With a grin, he said: "President Xu, we’ve got ten new colleagues and need ten new computers. Since they’re for graphic processing, chip design, and satellite communication, we need high-configuration computers valued at over a hundred thousand each, and it requires your personal approval."
Company policy required expenditures over a certain amount to be personally reviewed by the general manager. Xu Xiangbei glanced at the configuration requirements and signed the documents.
"Go to finance to get the money, and try to save a little. The company’s situation has just improved."
Shan Mingzhi, with a rogue look on his chubby face, said seriously as if reciting from a script: "These essential configurations cannot be skimped on, not even a bit. A famous person once said, science must not be dealt with sloppily; it requires a rigorous attitude."
Stunned by Shan Mingzhi’s loud voice, Xu Xiangbei frowns with confusion: "Who is this famous person? I don’t think I’ve heard of it."
With the look of a wise person, Shan Mingzhi stared into Xu Xiangbei’s eyes and slowly said: "I said it. But years from now, someone will memorize this as a classic saying."
"Alright, great Director Shan, hurry up and work."
Shortly after Shan Mingzhi left, Monica rushed into the office looking tense, out of breath, as if she’d been frightened: "Shan Mingzhi, he, he..."
Xu Xiangbei joked: "What’s the matter? Didn’t your Oreos tame this Pig Demon? Is he rebelling again?"
Monica waved her slender white hands urgently: "It’s not that. Shan Mingzhi’s computer exploded, and he got hurt."
This was the first time hearing about a computer explosion. Xu Xiangbei asked worriedly: "Is he seriously hurt?"
"Not seriously, just injured a finger, but he probably can’t type for a while."
Xu Xiangbei said angrily: "Computer explosion? What kind of quality is that? Aren’t these all newly configured computers? Which manufacturer is it? I’ll sue them till they’re bankrupt. Sacrifice one Shan Mingzhi for the happiness of the whole company."
Shan Mingzhi’s voice came from the corridor. He entered Xu Xiangbei’s office looking dejected, sat on the sofa, his thumb bandaged with traces of blood seeping through.
Because Xu Xiangbei had once been a doctor, the first thing he did as CEO was establish a well-stocked medical room at the company, which finally proved useful this time.
Seeing Shan Mingzhi’s lost expression, thinking it was because he was frightened by the explosion, Xu Xiangbei comforted: "You can take a rest and return to work when your wound heals. Tell me which brand of computer it is, write me a detailed account of the incident, and I’ll make them compensate you tens of thousands in revenge."
Even though Xu Xiangbei jokingly spoke to Shan Mingzhi as usual, this time, Shan Mingzhi was completely serious: "It’s not a computer quality issue. A hacker intruded, and he just used an electric pulse to detonate the keyboard. He wants us to transfer him a billion, or he’ll blow up our servers."
"Are you joking with me? That’s really not funny."
Raising his bandaged and bleeding finger, tears welled up in his eyes, his lips trembling: "Do I look like I’m joking? The person wants us to transfer a billion within twenty-four hours, or he’ll blow up the servers. Blowing up the servers is like taking my life; how do I seem like I’m joking?"
Despite being tall and fat like a big guy, Shan Mingzhi acted like a child, usually screaming like crazy over a tiny scratch. With a hand wound like this, fingers being so sensitive, it must have been so painful he’d gone mad.