Chapter 31 Chapter 2 Darkness cannot create shadows (1)

Dr. Chen was very anxious. He called the switchboard twice and told Marty to report to him as soon as he entered the office.Now he simply stood up and looked out through the glass door. Marty's seat was still empty, and it was already eleven o'clock in the morning. Dr. Chen informed the cadres that it was decided to hold a business project meeting on time.The special project meeting was held in a small conference room, only two cadres at the deputy general level and eight at the deputy manager level participated, plus Dr. Chen himself and the secretary.According to the usual practice, everyone does not take a seat during the project meeting, and the meeting is held standing up. Smoking is allowed.

Ms. Liu, deputy manager of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, was the first to enter the conference room.She seized the time to read the project materials again. For the details that she didn't understand, she circled the materials in detail with a pencil. There are more annotation notes on the information. Vice President Li dragged his feet, and he was very upset that he couldn't sit down for a meeting, but he never confessed this little trouble to Dr. Chen.He is not as old as Dr. Chen, but his appearance and mood are showing signs of premature aging due to years of socializing in restaurants.Vice President Li smoked a cigarette and sat recliningly on the conference table looking chic. Dr. Chen did not object to this move.Vice President Li closed his eyes and meditated.

Dr. Chen ordered a recording device to be prepared so that Marty could organize the minutes of the meeting afterwards.Now all the cadres are here, including Vice President Li who is resting with his eyes closed, all of them are very solemn.Dr. Chen looked around at everyone. These cadres, the backbone of the company, accompanied him on a long journey of entrepreneurship. He looked at these important officials of the country with the emotion of a king, and his heart was very complicated. What he needs at the beginning of his business is a hard-working partner. After his career is stable, his ideal cadre is calm, strong, with a long-term vision, enthusiasm to advance and retreat with the company, and absolute loyalty.Although the group of cadres in front of us has their own strengths, none of them has all the virtues.When he started his business back then, the three partners who came out of the big international company with him to start an independent business, after many quarrels, begged to start their own business again. Since then, what Dr. Chen has in hand is this group A serviceable but not perfect private.

Private!Dr. Chen often complains so angrily when the business is not going well.Vice President Li, who is in charge of business, has the most seniority. Dr. Chen has given him every opportunity to climb up. Now that he has climbed to the top, he has lost his impulse and has a faint tendency to respect his customers, and he doesn't know how to take care of his body. If the road is too narrow, can't you get off the stage?Vice President Wu, who is in charge of internal management, is not smart enough, with a conservative mentality but too many methods, which makes the management of the entire organization sluggish, unable to keep up with the expansion of the company's structure, and Dr. Chen has to worry about everything, like a cow !Sister Liu, who claims to be the housekeeper of the company, it is good for her to think so, the company cannot lack such a loyal old servant, but her lack of talent is a major shortcoming, the job content has been changed again and again, and she still does not perform well. She is loyal, so Dr. Chen has to work hard for her role and responsibilities from time to time, right?

Dr. Chen asked Vice President Li to preside over the meeting. He stood in the second seat and observed, his mind constantly running.The company needs new blood, and after they are matured, they will be given great responsibilities gradually.Employees who are at least as responsive and thoughtful as Marty are worthy of long-term cultivation, but young people nowadays are easily distrusted.He clearly explained to Marty yesterday that he attaches great importance to this project meeting, but today Marty is late, she better have a good reason!Dr. Chen thinks so, it is best to have enough reasons, so as not to let him feel that his expectations have been disappointed.Today's young people!Fifty-five years later, everything has deteriorated, complaining too much, showing loyalty too slowly, and changing jobs too early, often making Dr. Chen's painstaking efforts in vain.Sixty years later, Dr. Chen dare not imagine that they have inexplicable and frivolous values. They are called strawberry people nowadays. They have no ambitions but want to be happy. It's about having fun. Ladies and gentlemen who are upset today ask for leave to sing the daytime discounted KTV. They are simply moths of society!If the reins are handed over to this generation, who will continue Taiwan's economic miracle?

The discussion chaired by Vice President Li got off topic, and Dr. Chen interjected, taking the right to host the meeting back to himself.Vice President Li lit another cigarette, and Dr. Chen asked Sister Liu to turn up the air conditioner. Marty lay on the bed staring blankly at the gray sky, a flock of sparrows flew by the window, she looked at the alarm clock, it was eleven thirty, in fact she woke up after ten o'clock, but she just lay in bed. During this period, she also wanted to struggle to get up and go to work. At most, she was only late for more than an hour, but she finally lay down. It was too late anyway, so she simply took the whole morning off.

Yesterday I chatted with Hai'an by the riverbank until midnight, and it was too late when I got home. I was afraid that my aunt would be disturbed, so she didn't even take a shower, so she undressed and lay on the bed. She was extremely tired but couldn't sleep, staring at the night sky and thinking wildly.Taking this class is a natural choice. She has no money and no home and must be financially independent, but she doesn't want to live a nine-to-five life for the rest of her life.For her, the most terrible thing is to throw her life into an endless law, to live like a pendulum.What's even more frightening is that there is nowhere to escape, because it's the same everywhere, everyone is desperately trying to open up their own territory, just like what Hai'an said.

And the emotion scarier than being scary is disappointment with yourself.Marty thought that she would be 30 years old next year. For a city person, 30 years old is a milestone of great significance. Then this person will be declared to be an unprogressive, socially maladapted, and unappetizing substandard product.This is what Marty is going through. Not achieving anything is a heavy stress in itself.Recently, the more Marty lived, the more confused he was, not knowing where his life was going.Nearly 30 years old, she can only work as a clerk in a medium-sized enterprise with a meager salary. Even the cost of changing jobs is getting worse and worse. Why not jump out and take a completely new, untrodden path?

can't do it.On the one hand, I was afraid that I would starve to death, and on the other hand, I was afraid of the desolation on the road. Hai'an's conversation last night unexpectedly brought Marty a new idea.She looked at the gray sky, indulged her inspiration, and began to feel a sense of turning around in the fog in front of her eyes.People, as long as they have a minimum material security, why do they have to follow others in other places? Based on conservative habits, Marty thought that trying to develop in both directions at work might be a worthwhile path ahead.Sad Cafe seemed like a timely answer, a field where Marty could grow arms she never dared to stretch out.

Marty decided to start working part-time at Sad Cafe today. When she went to work in the afternoon, Marty was particularly diligent. Regarding the personal leave she had asked for, Dr. Chen's displeasure was clearly on his face, and Marty pleaded guilty by doubling his work speed.Work is not difficult for her, as long as she can convince herself to concentrate on work, Marty has long been a star in the workplace.Now that she finished the briefing for the meeting, she also submitted the progress checklist of each department by the way. Before leaving get off work, she handed over an automatic proposal, a briefing for the preparation of the company's internal publications.

Marty arrives at Sad Coffee after get off work, just in time for Xiaoye to light up the sign.She stood side by side with Xiaoye outside the store, looking at the tearful heart on the signboard. "It's beautiful," Marty said. "Did you design this sign?" "Yes and no." "How to say?" "The material of the stained glass with the word heart is very special, and it cannot be made in Taiwan. I remember that the last store was called 'Xinmengyuan'. They ordered signs from Japan. Later, the store collapsed and was sold by us. This heart The words are so beautiful, and we should keep what we say, so we designed the signboard like this.” "That's why you call it Sad Coffee?" "Yes and no."