Chapter 1 — Cup of Water Punishment H ai Van

My mother came downstairs to the company building to wait for me to get off work. The water dispenser at the reception desk was broken, so I conveniently used hot water in the tea room to pour her a cup. The next day, the general director of administration criticized me in a company-wide group: "Company data is not for family members to siphon off. Some people want to take advantage of even a glass of water. That's really unsightly." I was fined twenty thousand, saying it was a violation of regulations on using supplies in the office area. I smiled and signed the penalty record, then turned around and printed three copies of the administrative regulations. From that day on, anyone who asked me to coordinate with them to book a temporary meeting room, add documents, or stamp on their behalf, I only replied with one question: "Please submit your application three working days in advance according to regulations." Half a month later, the group director unexpectedly visited, the meeting room had not been approved, the tea and cakes had not yet been purchased, and the reception process was stuck in the administrative system. The general director impatiently called me: "Ngu Ha, quickly arrange for someone to take the director to the guest room first!" I turned over the regulations, my tone was extremely sincere: "General Director, the luxury guest room also belongs to the company's resources. If you use it without approval, you will be fined five thousand. I don't dare to arrange it." 1 “Ngu Ha, come here for a moment.” At ten minutes past nine on Monday morning, as soon as I turned on my computer, General Director of Administration Phuong Vi was standing in front of my workplace. She wore a black vest dress, her hair was not a strand of tangle. I followed her into the office. As soon as the door closed, she threw the phone on the table. “Last Friday, did you bring your family into the company?” “How are you going to explain this?” I was a little stunned. Last Friday, my mother took a three-hour bus from her hometown to visit me. By the time she arrived at the company, it was already 5:40 p.m. I still have twenty minutes until I get off work. She waited for me in the hall downstairs. As soon as she saw me, she said the first sentence. “Ha, mom is a bit thirsty.” There is a piece of paper on the water dispenser at the reception desk. “Equipment broken, under repair.” There is not even a convenience store next to the lobby. I saw that her lips were dry, so I took her upstairs and poured her a cup of hot water in the tea room. Before and after less than two minutes. She didn't even enter the work area, just stood at the door of the tea room, carefully holding the paper cup, and asked me. “Does being like this affect my work?” At that time I said no. “General Manager Phuong, my mother is waiting for me downstairs, the water dispenser at the reception desk is broken, I just poured her a cup of hot water.” Phuong Vi pushed the phone over. On the screen is a photo taken from a surveillance camera. My mother stood at the door of the tea room, her back slightly hunched, holding a paper cup in her hand, looking so reserved that it made people feel sad. “The company's tea room is the office area.” “The glass of water belongs to the company, the water also belongs to the company.” “You bring your family members to use company resources.” "If we set this precedent, everyone will bring their relatives and friends into the company in the future. What other system will the company come up with?" Before my mother arrived, she specially changed into a clean coat. She was afraid of making me lose face, even her hair was combed neatly. As a result, in Phuong Vi's mouth, she turned into a family member who came to the company to take advantage of things. “General Manager Phuong, it's just a glass of water.” “A glass of water also belongs to the company.” Phuong Vi looked up at me: "Rules are rules." She took a piece of paper out of the drawer and pushed it in front of me. It's clearly written on it. Ngu Ha, administrative coordinator, arbitrarily brought people outside the company into the office area. At the same time, using tea room supplies to entertain family members, now publicly criticizing the entire company. Deduct this month's performance and quarterly bonus, totaling twenty thousand yuan. I looked for a long time before slowly raising my head. “General Manager Phuong, twenty thousand yuan is my three months salary.” She didn't react at all. “So in the future, when you work, remember to learn from experience.” “Is a cup of hot water worth twenty thousand?” Phuong Vi finally put down the phone and looked straight at me. “Ngu Ha, don't count this debt with me.” “It's not a matter of how much water is worth.” “But you have to

Do you intend to join the company or not? She leaned back in her chair. “If you find it unreasonable, you can complain, you can go to labor arbitration.” "But today's notice will still be sent, money will still be deducted as usual." “If you don't want to make a big deal out of it.” “Then sign your name, this matter is over.” She spoke so firmly. I will definitely bow my head. Because I've worked at this company for three years, I've always been the easiest person to talk to. Anyone who needs to use a temporary meeting room, find me. If anyone fills out the payment form incorrectly, find me. Anyone who needs to stamp a contract urgently, the process has not yet been completed, can also find me. I always think that everyone is a working person, so if you can help, please lend a hand. There were times when I was busy until nine o'clock at night and didn't have time to eat, and no one saw anything wrong. They just smiled and said one sentence: "Ngu Ha is really trustworthy." The two words trustworthy, heard a lot, are actually quite cheap. I picked up the pen. The corner of Phuong Vi's mouth moved slightly. She thought I accepted it. I finished signing and put my pen down. “General Director Phuong, can you give me a copy of the regulations handbook?” She stopped. “What do you need that for?” “Study a little.” “To avoid making such low-level mistakes in the future.” I also smiled at her. Phuong Vi stared at me for a few seconds, probably not seeing any problem. “The front desk is there, you can go get it yourself.” When I walked out of her office, a large company group had shown a new announcement. "Notice of criticism of Ngu Ha's violation of regulations on use of supplies in the office area: Ngu Ha, administrative coordinator, brought people not belonging to the company into the office area, arbitrarily used tea room supplies to entertain family members, deducted performance and bonus of 20,000 yuan, hope all employees will take this as an example and seriously comply with company regulations." No one in the group said anything. But I know, everyone saw it. My mother took a three-hour bus ride to visit me, even drinking a sip of hot water was so awkward. I sat at work, staring at that notification for a long time. Then get up and go to the front desk. “Please give me three copies of administrative regulations.” The little girl at the front desk looked at me a bit confused. If you want a glass of water, you have to say the rules, so in the future, no one will say the rules are annoying. 2 That afternoon, the atmosphere in the office was so strange that it was hard to describe. In the past, after lunch break, Ms. Tran from the marketing department passed by me and always casually asked a question. “Ha Ha, the milk tea just came out, have you had it yet?” That day she saw me, her steps were clearly a little faster, I understood. In the workplace, no one wants to get too close to someone who is publicly criticized. Everyone is afraid of becoming next. On the contrary, Duong Pham sat diagonally across from me and secretly sent me a WeChat message. “Miss Ha, are Phuong Vi sick?” “Just a glass of water, is it that much?” I replied: “It's okay.” When I got off work, I called my mother. “Mom, I'm working overtime today, you should eat first, don't wait for me.” The other end was silent for a bit. “Ha Ha, last time mom came to your company, did you cause trouble for me?” My finger stopped. “No, why did you suddenly ask that?” "Today I saw a group message appear on your phone. I didn't click on it, but I saw your name." I closed my eyes. My mother doesn't know many words, so normally even sending voice messages on WeChat takes a long time. But coincidentally, in that announcement, she saw my name. “Mom, it's really okay, just a small problem at work.” “Is it because mom came to find you that people said you didn't?” Her voice was very small. My heart immediately felt intensely bitter. “No, it has nothing to do with mom.” “Mom, don't think too much.” After hanging up the phone, I sat at work for a long time. I spread out the regulations handbook and read each article one by one. Meeting rooms must be registered in advance. Seal must be signed for approval. Hospitality for visitors must follow procedures. Stationery should not exceed budget. Materials released from warehouse must have a record. Everything is written very beautifully. But I know better than anyone, normally these things are basically invisible to anyone. Last month had a video meeting with t

When the group arrived, Phuong Vi gave me an hour's notice and told me to give up the meeting room. I changed my department's weekly meeting. The sales department's contract needed to be sent urgently, the seal had not yet been approved, so Phuong Vi made a phone call. “Ngu Ha, just stamp first.” “Additional process later, don't miss signing the contract.” At the end of the year there was an annual party, the purchase order was added the next day, and that day he told me to take care of decorating the venue. I'm worried too. If these things were really counted according to the rules, any of them would be enough for her to report and criticize herself once. But since she is the general manager of administration, she can explain it into a special situation. My job, to put it simply, is coordination. To say it's harsh is to quietly clean up a bunch of illegal problems so that no one can pursue them. Before, I used to think, this is my value. People are used to me being easy to talk to, used to throwing trouble at me. Then rest assured and comfortably wait for the results. Once something happens, the first person to be pushed out is me. Like this glass of water, my mother was just thirsty, but she could say she had become a family member to drain the company's resources. I used a red pen to circle all the commonly used processes. Circle to the end, the nib of the pen tears the paper. I suddenly wasn't angry anymore. Doesn't Phuong Vi like rules? So I will do it according to the rules. Not a single thing is missing. 3 The next morning, I sent several departments an email. “Reminder about handling administrative items according to the correct procedures” The content is roughly that, from behind the meeting room, stamping, entertaining guests and the like are all done according to systematic procedures. Without approval, there is no coordination, without a signature, there is no processing. For unexpected needs, please contact the general director of administration for special approval. After I finished writing, I checked it twice, without any hint of sarcasm, and was so polite that I couldn't find any mistakes. I finally sent a copy to Phuong Vi. The moment I sent it, I felt a little relieved, finally able to release the burden that had been on my back for three years. At ten o'clock that morning, manager Han of the sales department was the first person to rush to my workplace. “Ngu Ha, a customer is arriving at 2:00 p.m., hold meeting room number three for me.” Before he said that, I already opened the system to transfer the meeting room to him. I'm not moving today. “Manager Han, the meeting room must be pre-registered and approved before it can be used.” He was stunned. "This afternoon has arrived, what else do you want to sign up for?" “On such a writing process.” “Didn't you make arrangements for me directly before?” I raised my head to look at him. "Before, I didn't follow the rules, now I don't dare anymore." Manager Han's face immediately became ugly. "You're intentionally making things difficult for me, aren't you? A customer is coming this afternoon, are you responsible?"