Chapter 3 Resignation

Although he was going to resign, Chu Mingcheng still took his work seriously today.

Seeing that it was almost time to finish, he picked up the proposal he had completed during overtime last night and handed it to Boss Chen, who was watching a movie in the office.

"President Chen, this is the proposal you assigned to me yesterday."

Boss Chen picked it up, flipped through it briefly, and then tossed it back: "This proposal still won't do, revise it again."

"Alright, I'll revise it tomorrow."

He flipped through it, and that's it? And he still wants me to revise it?

He didn't mention the proposal all day, nor did he seem in any hurry about it!

But remembering that he was going to submit his resignation tomorrow, Chu Mingcheng suppressed the urge to retort and picked up the proposal to leave.

However, Boss Chen, who had heard "tomorrow," was not willing to wait: "Hey, hey, hey, not tomorrow. Work overtime tonight, the customer is in a hurry!"

Chu Mingcheng felt confident and shook his head in refusal: "I have plans tonight and won't do overtime!"

Boss Chen straightened up upon hearing the refusal and continued with his spiel: "Ah Cheng, how can you be so thoughtless! Old Ma has said, '996 is a blessing,' you should appreciate the opportunity!"

996 a blessing?

That's just another capitalist brainwashing exploitation tactic!

Chu Mingcheng couldn't help but laugh bitterly, even if 996 were really a blessing, it should come with overtime pay!

"According to labor law regulations, working beyond 8 hours counts as overtime, and the pay should not be less than 150% of my regular wages. I don't mind working overtime if you provide the overtime pay."

"Don't bother with talk about learning opportunities and chances; I'm here to earn money, not to listen to your grand principles."

"Also, once I finish tomorrow, I won't be coming back. Remember to transfer my salary to my card on the tenth of next month, otherwise, I'll see you at the labor bureau."

Argue and reason?

Chu Mingcheng wasn't interested. He had intended to leave on good terms, but Boss Chen kept finding ways to make him stay for overtime, which was just asking for trouble.

"You..." Boss Chen was momentarily dumbfounded and his face darkened once he realized what was happening, "You're resigning too?"

"The company has a policy that resignation must be submitted one month in advance. You can't just leave on a whim, or you'll be treated as absent without leave."

Chu Mingcheng chuckled and shook his head: "Your company hasn't signed a labor contract, and most employees don't have benefits like social insurance and housing fund. If this really becomes a dispute, it's you, not me, who will suffer."

Seeing he wasn't intimidated, Chen Jie narrowed his eyes and said threateningly, "I remember you're a local, aren't you? Aren't you afraid you won't find a job around here if you do this?"

"That's none of your concern. I had planned to work until tomorrow so we could part on good terms. But given the current situation... I won't be coming in tomorrow. How about you just transfer the money for the 29 days of work to my card tomorrow?"

With that said, Chu Mingcheng ignored Chen Jie's displeased expression, returned to his desk, packed his things, and left.

Colleagues in the office noticed something was amiss. His desk neighbor wanted to ask, but the sight of Chen Jie's dark expression scared them off.

...

After leaving the company, Chu Mingcheng felt a sense of relief.

Resigning sure felt fantastic, and he didn't need to worry about finding a job. The only trouble was explaining it to his family; he had to keep it a secret for now.

If it came down to it, he would just move away, convincing them he found a good job elsewhere.

Back at his rental, Chu Mingcheng called the landlord to terminate the lease.

He had rented the place on the third of the month, and since it wasn't far from the third now, he wasn't at a loss.

He paid a deposit of one thousand, and after deducting the utilities for this month, he had 854 yuan left. Mainly because of the hot weather, he used the air conditioning a lot, which cost quite a bit of electricity.

That night, Chu Mingcheng packed all his belongings in the car, returned to his old house, and planned to spend the National Day holiday there.

```

Whether he needed to leave for another place or not, he couldn't possibly leave during the National Day holiday period.

High-speed train and plane tickets were probably all gone by now, and driving himself there was a big chance of getting stuck on the highway, so it was better to wait until the rush was over.

Chu Mingcheng's old family home was located halfway up a hill, with a twenty-plus meter path in the backyard that just allowed a car to pass through.

At the other end of the path was the road up the mountain, so moving didn't require passing by the neighbors' doors; he could just park the car directly in the backyard.

There were hardly any young people living on the island, as most of them had gone out to make their way in the world, seeing little financial prospects by staying on the island.

Therefore, the ones who stayed were mostly the elderly. His father was alright, but Chu Mingcheng was particularly afraid of the gossiping aunts in the area. If he encountered them, they would nab him and prattle on and on.

But do you think they really wanted to chat with you?

No, they just came to show off their younger relatives who were doing well, comparing them to you. Once they had put you down, they felt better inside.

Especially since Chu Mingcheng was approaching thirty and still unmarried, he was exactly the kind of subject they loved to gossip about.

Returning home, he took out his keys and opened the door, then started moving his luggage inside.

The old house looked old from the outside, but inside it had been freshly renovated the year before last.

In addition, he and his family often came to stay for short periods, so inside the house was not dirty.

The old house had two floors; entering from the back door led to a corridor that went straight to the front door living room. On the left was a large kitchen, and under the stairs that led upstairs on the right, there was a bathroom.

Following the corridor to the front was the living room, where they usually dined.

Next to the living room was a room that used to be his grandparents' bedroom, but since they had passed away over a decade ago, the room was now used as a storage space, filled with all sorts of items.

Stepping out of the living room led to the front yard, which was not small, almost as big as the house itself, about seventy to eighty square meters.

On the left side of the yard was a well and a laundry platform.

Carrying his luggage, Chu Mingcheng moved up to the second floor, where the layout was very simple: just two bedrooms and one bathroom.

Originally, there were three bedrooms, but the one connected to the bathroom was very small, leaving little space after fitting in a 1.2-meter wide bed—it was his room when he was a child.

Now that no one lived there, during the renovation, they knocked down the walls and specially made a shower room complete with a bathtub.

As for Chu Mingcheng's room, it was of course not one of the two larger bedrooms at the front; he moved his luggage into the small attic.

He particularly liked silence when sleeping, as any little noise would disturb his rest.

He used to sleep in one of the larger bedrooms at the front, but the old ladies in the neighborhood couldn't sleep well due to their age and would gather early in the morning to chatter...

It was like Tang Seng reciting scriptures. Unable to sleep well, Chu Mingcheng's temper grew increasingly irritable. In the end, there was no choice; during the renovation, he made a quiet attic that finally solved the problem.

In the attic, as long as he pulled the curtains and closed the door, he could sleep until the next afternoon and still doubt whether it had dawned, enjoying very good sleep quality.

Entering the attic, Chu Mingcheng took out the quilts and mats that had been aired out and laid them down, making do for the night, planning to air them again tomorrow.

He put the clothes into the wardrobe, the laptop on the desk, and some things would be sorted out after getting up tomorrow.

After washing up and lying in bed, Chu Mingcheng calculated his current savings.

He had earned 1,580 yesterday, and a deposit of 854 was returned today, now having a bit over twenty-three thousand.

He guessed that Boss Chen wouldn't hold back his salary, so with an additional six thousand seven hundred due on the tenth, he would have nearly thirty thousand available.

This was enough for now, and he hoped that Golden Finger could help him ensure he wouldn't starve to death.

As for the future, he wasn't worried about not making money.

Just by upgrading the grades of certain common and abundant aquatic products, he might be able to ensure his living standards were decent.

```