The first thing I did was to find out

Chapter 422 The broad road
Upon hearing Qu Jing mention the term "unorthodox methods," Luo Jun's brows furrowed immediately. After all, he was the first to propose such a methodology, only to be met with widespread criticism.

Luo Jun snorted coldly, clearly annoyed, and his gaze towards the camera sharpened: "What kind of unorthodox methods?"

Qu Jing explained calmly, "It's like this, haven't I been chatting with Youyou on WeChat a lot lately?"

"I've discovered that Youyou is someone who is easily influenced and swayed by her surroundings."

Qu Jing's words immediately piqued Qin Huai's interest, and Qin Huai sat up straight: "What do you mean?"

"Giving Youyou money and a house directly, as Mr. Luo said before, is definitely not going to work. Youyou is a three-legged toad, and loving money is almost an instinct ingrained in her bones. Before we know the exact reason why Youyou failed to transcend her tribulation, giving her money rashly will most likely hasten her failure. I have also talked to Youyou about this. She is quite hoping for a windfall, to become rich overnight, and to live a carefree life."

Qin Huai really wanted to retort, "Look at what you're saying! Who doesn't wish for a windfall, to become rich overnight, and to be completely set for life?" But just as the words were about to leave his lips, Qin Huai suddenly realized, "Oh, several people in this group don't have that kind of idea. No, wait, there's no one in this group except me."

“She has clear goals, but not entirely clear ones. She is willing to work overtime because she wants a promotion and a raise. She loves working overtime because she gets overtime pay at the Yunzhong canteen. She wants to earn more money to buy a house, and ideally, one day she can rent a house in the Yunzhong community.”

“She never goes out when she’s resting. She stays at home playing on her phone, watching TV dramas and variety shows because this kind of leisure and entertainment doesn’t cost money. She never subscribes to VIP on major apps and only watches pirated content. She never orders takeout because takeout has a markup. She only buys clothes from street vendors and only drinks drinks that are free at restaurants. She will never charge her electric scooter at home if she can charge it in the cafeteria.”

“Every time she goes to work, she brings her phone, tablet, power bank, and electric fan with her to the cafeteria to fully charge before going home. She has to use the cafeteria's WiFi to watch TV series and variety shows because she doesn't have WiFi at home. She brings two of the largest water bottles with her every day, and before leaving get off work, she fills up two bottles of herbal tea, even if Aunt Zhao makes the herbal tea.”

“Youyou even told me that she wanted to cancel the 4 days off per month. She doesn’t have money to go out and have fun during those 4 days off, and she has to pay for her own food instead. She hopes that every time she has a day off, she can get a call in the morning asking her to go to the cafeteria to work overtime, and that she can get double/triple pay.”

"She's saving money like this at the cafeteria because she wants to keep the money for where she wants to spend it. For example, in a more upscale neighborhood, with convenient transportation, a fancy meal at a high-end restaurant that she might not even be willing to spend money on, or a trip that she doesn't even know where to go right now. Youyou told me that she saves money on her phone, tablet, computer, and even her rent from these things."

Qin Huai: ...

Although An Youyou's thrifty spirit is touching, Qin Huai, as An Youyou's boss, was at a loss for words when faced with his employee's behavior of frantically taking advantage of him.

No, An Youyou can also drink the herbal tea brewed by Ms. Zhao Rong, and she can even bring two pots home every day.

You should have said so earlier! You should have given her all the Seven Flavors Dehumidifying Tea from last year. The two largest water bottles weren't enough, so Qin Luo had more. He guaranteed he could fill them all up and take them home for An Youyou.

Qin Huai interrupted Qu Jing, saying, "I think I understand what you're trying to say, but isn't this the fundamental reason why An Youyou works so hard and strives for success? Why did you just say that An Youyou's goals aren't actually clear?"

"Because Youyou needs a very clear goal to drive her to do something. For example, her most urgent goal right now is to move into the Cloud Community, but even the cheapest apartment in the Cloud Community costs 11,000 yuan a month. With Youyou's current salary, even if she doesn't eat or drink and works overtime every day without a break, it would be difficult for her to afford such a rent."

“Under normal circumstances, Youyou’s current goal should be to work hard to improve her cooking skills, get promoted and get a raise, and get rid of the helper’s job to become a chopping chef or a pastry chef.”

"But Youyou didn't choose that. She hadn't even thought about it because no one told her or guided her. She enjoys being the boss. Right now, she's the foreman of the helpers, and all the helpers have to listen to her. If she were to leave her position as a helper and become a pastry chef, she would be the lowest-ranking pastry chef in the Cloud Canteen."

"She is someone who is easily swayed by her environment. Despite her love for money, she was able to work for so many years in a shop in her hometown, earning only 200 yuan a month for pocket money. This is because she is easily influenced by her current environment. If Youyou hadn't loved money so much, she wouldn't have suddenly decided to leave her hometown and come to Shanshi to work without understanding the situation, like a headless fly."

Qin Huai understood a little of what Qu Jing was trying to say.

"You mean the Cloud Cafeteria provided An Youyou with a great working environment, but my previous efforts to promote her and give her a raise, making her the foreman, somewhat restricted her. All of An Youyou's memories are related to the main quest, which is very difficult and takes too long to complete. If we want to help her awaken quickly without completing the quest, we need to give her a different environment where she is not restricted."

Qu Jing nodded emphatically: "That's exactly what I meant. Youyou's essence is actually very simple and pure. The remaining memories of the spirits haven't affected her much. Her simplicity makes her very logically consistent. Youyou told me that sometimes she dreams at night that she is begging or working, and when she wakes up, she feels that she is reminding herself to earn more money."

"When I passed away, the remaining memories made me crazy and mentally unstable. But Youyou's remaining memories only made her desire for money unusually strong. Although we still don't know what Youyou's obsession is, it is definitely related to money. Letting her get promoted and earn more money through her own efforts to satisfy her obsession is safer and more reliable than Mr. Luo's suggestion to give her money directly."

In the end, Qu Jing even took the opportunity to criticize Luo Jun's previous unorthodox methods.

Luo Jun remained silent with a stern face. It could only be said that people's words are indeed kind when they are about to die. Bi Fang's days were numbered, and his temper had also improved.

Chen Huihong thought Qu Jing's analysis made a lot of sense and praised her highly. Her voice became much warmer, rising eight octaves: "Jingjing, you're amazing! You've managed to come up with so much without making a sound. I always thought that you chatted with Youyou on WeChat every day just to show her concern and care, just like I showed you concern and care before, to prevent her from thinking about suicide."

Qu Jing sometimes smiled sheepishly: "I was just trying my luck. Youyou is different from me. She's much more normal than me. Besides, Youyou has a very healthy mindset. She's unlikely to commit suicide in this life. She'll probably just die a natural or accidental death."

Chen Huihong clicked her tongue in amazement: "That three-legged toad is really something. It's very rare for a monster that lives a muddled life in the middle world not to commit suicide."

“Actually, not all of them commit suicide. Sister Hong, look at Mr. Gong and Grandpa Wang. I think they are both in very good mental condition.”

"That's not necessarily true. The mental state of people in the intermediate world comes in waves. You never know when they might suddenly have a mental breakdown and just die."

Shi Dadan, who had been quietly eating his takeout, suddenly joined the group chat, picked up the takeout box, took a sip of the noodle soup, and said seriously, "Indeed, you can die anytime you want. I died very quickly in my first life."

Qin Huai: ...

Okay, that's enough. The internet isn't a lawless place. Even though we're not all human, we should at least say things that are human.

Qin Huai turned his phone back and raised his hand to indicate that he wanted to interrupt this interesting conversation.

"So our top priority right now is to provide An Youyou with an environment where she can be ambitious but not obsessed with being the boss, and yet still yearn to be the boss, right?"

Luo Jun looked at the camera with the eyes of someone looking at an idiot, his face saying, "Are you okay? Did you go crazy from making egg tarts these past few days?"

Shi Dadan slowly took two more sips of soup, then looked up at Qin Huai and reminded him, "I think Dr. Qu means that he wants you, Qin, to ask him to transfer An Youyou to Zhiweiju as an apprentice." Qin Huai was stunned for a moment. He wasn't pretending to be stupid; he genuinely didn't react immediately.

"An Youyou was transferred to Zhiweiju as an apprentice, and she followed..." Qin Huai was halfway through his sentence when he suddenly realized that the Zhiweiju he had come to know in the past few days was different from what he had imagined.

Zhiweiju is currently expanding its apprentice recruitment. Basically, anyone with a basic skill and a willingness to work hard as an apprentice can get an entry qualification. Then, it's a process of getting in and out, and whether you can get out depends on your individual ability. It's easy to get in, but it's also easy to be eliminated quickly.

An Youyou is absolutely qualified; she has the foundation and is willing to take on the challenge.

The apprentice salary at Zhiweiju is low, so An Youyou might not be very motivated. But that's okay, An Youyou can use the guise of exchange to recruit at Zhiweiju, and the salary will be determined by Qin Huai; the better the recruitment, the higher the salary.

Although Zhiweiju normally only hosts master chefs for exchanges, there is no explicit rule prohibiting apprentices from doing so.

Boss Su is a very flexible person, as flexible as he can be.

"It seems possible," Qin Huai sighed. "There are plenty of apprentices at Zhiweiju. The boss who wants to become an apprentice will have to endure some hardship. Moreover, there are not only apprentices here, but also prospective disciples and direct disciples. Anyone below the master can be recruited. If you succeed, you will get a promotion and a raise."

"This isn't some crooked path, it's a perfectly smooth road!"

Qu Jing smiled but didn't say anything, keeping her achievements and fame hidden.

"I'll message Huang Xi later and ask her to ask An Youyou if she's interested in coming to Zhiweiju for an exchange."

"The reason is... We need to strengthen the management of the helpers in our Cloud Canteen. We need to send the best helpers to Zhiweiju to learn advanced apprenticeship experience. There are extra subsidies and bonuses for business trips, so An Youyou should be willing to come."

Seeing that the important business was over, Luo Jun became a little impatient and asked, "Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to watch TV. All that chattering is giving me a headache, and I can't even watch TV. I don't know what's wrong with Zhang Shumei lately; she's bought so much fruit that it's going to spoil at home."

Chen Huihong immediately said enthusiastically, "You should have said so earlier! I'll pick Huihui up from her tutoring class later and then go to your house to pick some fruit. Jingjing, what kind of fruit do you want? I'll pick some out and bring it to you."

"kiwi."

"Okay, I'll pick out more then, and if there are any particularly good ones, I'll get some for you too."

Luo Jun's response was a cold snort.

Qin Huai was a little puzzled and casually asked, "Sister Hong, haven't you been to Mr. Luo's house for tea parties lately?"

Chen Huihong waved her hand: "I don't have time. Huihui's deskmate signed up for a violin class a while ago, and Huihui wants to learn with her. Now she goes to the teacher's house to learn the violin every night, and I have to pick her up and drop her off."

“Jingjing Hospital was very busy with a lot of medical disputes recently, right? And there's been some kind of seminar or something lately. Jingjing is writing a paper and doesn't even have time to choose a burial plot. I'm the one who chooses the burial plot.”

"Look at the lousy land you picked. You won't even want to be buried there when you die," Luo Jun complained.

Chen Huihong ignored Luo Jun's words and continued on her own: "Speaking of which, it has been a long time since we got together for a tea party. It seems like none of the people in our group have ever had a tea party together. I've never even met Chen Gong in person."

"I wonder if we can all get together and have a meal before Luo Jun dies."

“Sure.” Chen Gong suddenly spoke, startling everyone. Everyone had been chatting enthusiastically and no one had noticed when Chen Gong joined the video call.

"Assistant Chen, when did you come in?" Qin Huai asked.

"I was in a meeting and couldn't get in right away. When I came in, I heard everyone discussing ways to die by suicide. I also had some follow-up work to finish, so I kept quiet."

"I just don't know if Mr. Luo plans to die this year or next year? If he dies next year, I'll have more time. If he dies this year, we'll have to set a date. I'll ask our CEO Han for leave to go there for a tea party."

Everyone looked at Luo Jun's square.

Luo Jun: ...

Luo Jun really wanted to breathe fire and burn everyone in this video call to ashes. He wanted to be angry, but he couldn't muster any more anger. He could only say with an angry expression but a calm voice, "Do you believe I'll die right now?"

"Mr. Luo, haven't you finished watching the TV series yet? At least finish watching it before you die," Qin Huai advised.

Luo Jun: ...

He felt that Qin Huai's words were sarcastic. Luo Jun vaguely remembered that Qin Huai didn't talk like this before. How come he changed after visiting Zhiweiju?

Before Luo Jun could speak, Qin Huai continued, "It's better to have a get-together sooner rather than later. Who knows what might happen if we delay too long? How about we arrange a time to meet for a casual meal after I get back from Zhiweiju, or we could have a tea party at Mr. Luo's house?"

"Suit yourself," Luo Jun said irritably. "If you want to come to my house, just say so in advance. There's only one condition: Chen Huihong is not allowed to cook in my kitchen!"

(End of this chapter)