MMB Chapter 17 Resignation
Chapter 17 Resignation
Zhang Beichuan leaned closer to the glass display case and looked at the gold jewelry, his gaze lingering on it.
标籤上清楚地标着价格、克重，10g金项鍊388元、5g金戒指194元、7.5g金耳环291元......
38.8 yuan/gram – this was the retail price of finished gold jewelry in 1986.
By 2026, the price of gold had already exceeded 1000 yuan per gram, and the price difference was alarmingly large.
The reason why things like aged liquor, monkey stamps, and antiques are expensive is because of their rarity and the passage of time.
Gold, as a precious metal, is valuable because of its intrinsic worth. You don't need to worry about the signs of age or how to resell it; you can simply take it home and exchange it for money.
"Comrade, are these jewelry pieces selling well right now?" Zhang Beichuan asked casually.
The salesperson smiled, her tone carrying a hint of superiority.
"Gold jewelry is always in demand. There's demand for weddings, birthday celebrations, and baby's first month celebrations, but the price is high. Most people can't afford a whole piece, so they sometimes save up to make a pair of rings or earrings."
She looked at Zhang Beichuan, who was dressed smartly, and pointed to the processing table in the corner of the counter. "It can also be processed by the gram, 36 yuan/gram, processing fee is calculated separately, 2 yuan per gram."
Zhang Beichuan nodded, his mind racing with calculations.
Gold at 38 yuan/g was roughly half a month's salary for someone born in 1986, but for him, it was just the cost of 5 lighters for 1 yuan.
More importantly, gold is small in size, high in value, easy to store, convenient and discreet to move around, and is a hard currency, making it an excellent commodity for trading!
"Thank you, comrade. Let me take a look first." Zhang Beichuan smiled at the sales clerk and turned to walk towards the watch counter.
He doesn't have enough spare money to trade gold right now, so he'll have to wait until he has more money to do so.
The watch counter was diagonally opposite the gold counter. He walked over and pretended to look at several Shanghai and Seagull watches, priced from 60 to 100 yuan.
Not only do you need money, but you also need a ticket to buy one.
I asked about electronic watches, but the salesperson shook their head and said they didn't have any. They only had mechanical watches and a small number of quartz watches. Electronic watches were rare and you had to go to the city to buy them.
This further solidified Zhang Beichuan's idea that electronic watches were still a novelty in 1986 and had a market.
Next, he strolled around the department store and carefully learned about the prices and ration coupons of that era.
Currently, only large industrial products such as televisions, bicycles, watches, and radios still require ration coupons; other items such as food, clothing, and fabrics no longer require coupons.
This aligns with some information he had previously gathered: the rationing system was being gradually phased out, and by 88 it was completely defunct.
As he left the department store, he glanced at the clock on the wall—13:15.
Walking out into a deserted alley, Zhang Beichuan had a sudden thought and returned to 2026. He took out his phone and started searching online for the purchase price of electronic watches.
After searching on his phone for a while, Zhang Beichuan finally found a digital watch he liked.
The outer casing is made of transparent plastic, and the dial comes in five colors: black, white, blue, pink, and gray-blue. The workmanship looks versatile and exquisite.
The functions are relatively simple: it can tell the time, set an alarm, has a built-in backlight, and there is a simple compass in the upper left corner of the dial.
Zhang Beichuan stared at the chat content with the seller on his phone screen, his mind starting to race.
The single electronic watch is priced at 4.2 yuan and comes with a blue gift box containing a battery.
One battery can last at least a year, and the price can be even cheaper if you buy more.
If priced at 30 yuan each in 1986, it would have been much cheaper than domestically produced mechanical watches, with more features, and would definitely have had a market.
The electronic watches are small in size; a box can hold hundreds of them, making them easy to move.
Zhang Beichuan immediately ordered 200 digital watches online, choosing mainly black and white dials, as these two colors were the least likely to go wrong in the 80s.
I also ordered 30 pink and 30 blue dial watches to cater to different people's needs.
After paying, he leaned back in his gaming chair and calculated that the delivery would take about 3-5 days. According to the rules he had figured out before, it would only take two hours to get back to 1986.
There is plenty of time.
Afterwards, Zhang Beichuan recalled the time he was being followed and felt uneasy.
Although he now has Lan Baojun to help keep things under control, he can't possibly take Lan Baojun with him everywhere he goes.
After much thought, he realized that relying on others was not as good as relying on oneself, and relying on oneself was not as good as relying on technology.
He turned around, picked up his phone, and started searching for self-defense items on the all-powerful knife-wielding app. Soon, he was drawn to a palm-sized pig-herding device.
After a brief consultation with the shop owner, Zhang Beichuan learned that even a 300-pound pig wouldn't last more than ten seconds, so he decisively placed an order.
The phone on the table suddenly pinged, but Zhang Beichuan didn't pay much attention to it, assuming it was just a notification from Tencent News.
Immediately afterwards, the notification sounds became more and more frequent.
He picked up his phone, unlocked it, and saw a red unread message icon in the company's work group on the screen.
Upon scrolling through, it was indeed Wang Tianjian, the bald, greasy department manager, who was spamming the screen.
[10:15] "Urgent notice to everyone! Everyone must work overtime this afternoon! Reply received!"
[10:15] "Are you all pretending not to see this? Is the company paying you to do nothing? Be at your workstations at 2 PM sharp!"
[10:16] "Do you still want your performance bonus this month? Do you still want your year-end bonus? The company has given you a platform; you should be grateful!"
The group was completely silent; no one dared to speak.
But Zhang Beichuan could imagine the angry but speechless expressions on his colleagues' faces behind the screen—this was the sixth time in a month that everyone had been asked to work overtime.
Moreover, most of the time there were no urgent matters; it was purely a formalistic involution that Wang Tianjian engaged in in order to demonstrate the fighting power of the department and team to his superiors.
Overtime pay?
There's no such thing as a boss who makes you feel grateful all the time!
Looking at the string of glaring @ tags, Zhang Beichuan recalled the days when he worked day and night, exhausting himself revising plans, only to be met with disrespect.
A surge of pent-up anger erupted within him, and his fingers flew across the screen.
"Manager Wang, today is a national statutory holiday. If there are urgent tasks, please clearly state the details, allocate tasks reasonably, and pay overtime compensation. Don't threaten everyone with performance bonuses and year-end bonuses to make them work unnecessary overtime. Everyone needs rest and a life too."
Once the message was sent, the group became eerily quiet.
A few seconds later, news about Wang Tianjian exploded everywhere.
"Zhang Beichuan, what do you mean?"
"So you're the only one with a problem?"
"Does the company pay you a salary so you can haggle over it?"
"I'm telling you, if you're not at work by 2 PM today, don't bother coming in tomorrow. The company doesn't need you!"
Zhang Beichuan watched as messages kept coming in, and then the dozen or so people in the group started to move.
"receive!"
"receive!"
......
He understands that jobs are hard to find these days, and everyone is just burying their heads in the sand, enduring whatever they can, because they have to make a living.
"The employment contract specifies the working hours, and overtime work requires negotiation and payment. Your coercive demands and verbal threats are neither reasonable nor in accordance with regulations."
"Talking to me about the law? Fine? You're fired! Go to HR tomorrow to complete the formalities!"
Zhang Beichuan was originally thinking about how to resign, but now he doesn't even have to think about it and he can get a severance package. Why not take it?
"Yes, please have the company issue a written notice of termination of the employment contract, settle all wages, and pay severance pay. I reserve the right to pursue legal action to protect my rights!"
"Threatening me? Who do you think you are? Let me tell you, blacklisting you in the industry is just a matter of a word!"
"Please feel free to do so. However, before that, I suggest you study the Labor Law. Also, I will keep a safe record of the chat history in the group."
After typing this line, Zhang Beichuan turned off his phone, tossed it on the table, and the tightness in his chest suddenly dissipated, replaced by an unprecedented sense of relief.
In the past, he might have been anxious about his next job.
But now, his ability to travel freely back and forth between 1986 has given him a great deal of confidence.
Over the next three days, Zhang Beichuan first went to the company to get a dismissal notice, and then, taking the necessary materials he found out from the online service hall, went straight to the Labor Bureau.
There is a three-month compensation payment every three years, which adds up to nearly 20,000 yuan.
Although this amount of money is not a large sum for Zhang Beichuan now, he should still save money and spend it wisely when it comes to riding a bicycle to bars!
After completing the formalities, Zhang Beichuan, who was waiting for further notice after returning from the Labor Bureau, looked at the express delivery notification on his phone and went home to pick up the package with a smile.
The 10000 lighters, 200 watches, and pig-herding gadgets I ordered earlier have arrived.