Chapter 16 – Payday

Translator: ChuRen/ YuQiChen

Editor: Xinghe

A few days later, Wu Wuwu and Guo Guoguo came to Su Ling and the others to present a banner.

“Oh, so polite, even presenting a banner…” Su Ling grinned as he opened the banner, then suddenly froze.

In golden letters on the banner, two lines were elegantly written:

‘Promote the culture of the underworld, building a harmonious world.’

Guo Guoguo, observing Su Ling’s expression, cautiously asked, “Boss, do you not like it?”

She had even specifically referenced the slogan she had seen in the meeting room, thinking that Mr. Su particularly liked this kind of red-themed style.

Su Ling rubbed his chin, somewhat unsure how to respond.

What in the world was underworld culture?

And what did “harmonious world” mean?

With a quick “snap,” Su Ling swiftly folded up the silly banner, then warmly waved to Meng Xiaoman, “Thank you both. Xiaoman, could you please get some water for our guests?”

Guo Guoguo hurriedly refused with a frightened expression, “No need to trouble yourself!”

“It’s no trouble, please,” Meng Xiaoman replied crisply.

Guo Guoguo was on the verge of tears, “I’m not troubled, really, I don’t need water.”

Su Ling watched, amused and exasperated.

After seeing off the two, it was time to settle the accounts for this period.

As the company’s accountant, Wu Pan reported the statistics, “This month, the company handled three cases: the ghosts at the funeral hall, the haunted house ghosts, and Guo Guoguo’s ghost.”

Simple and straightforward names, easy to understand.

Su Ling nodded, encouraging everyone in the usual manner, “Well, we’ve done a good job this month. Let’s keep up the good work next month.”

People clapped half-heartedly.

Wu Pan cleared his throat and continued, “Next, let’s calculate everyone’s workload.”

In matters of wages, all the ghosts perked up, secretly straightening up and listening attentively.

“The first case, funeral hall ghosts. Attendance: Su Ling, Sheng Ze, Shi Kongzang. Project income 880,000 yuan, half of which goes to the company, the rest split among the three.”

“The second case, haunted house ghosts. Attendance: all employees. Chang Wu and Chang Bai had an attendance rate of 50%, so each counts as half a person…”

Wu Pan was interrupted by Chang Bai halfway through.

“Why only count us as half?” Chang Bai questioned.

Wu Pan had a valid reason, “You weren’t present during the first visit to the haunted house.”

“But we didn’t gain anything during the first visit to the haunted house either,” Chang Bai protested, “Clearly, we were the ones who lured out the drowned ghost the second time before you completed the mission.”

“This…” Wu Pan looked at Su Ling for help.

Su Ling nodded, “Makes sense, then let’s count them as full attendance. But speaking of the haunted house, I bought the tickets for both visits. Shouldn’t I be reimbursed for that?”

Wu Pan was speechless, “The tickets only cost a little over a hundred yuan in total.”

Su Ling was serious, “Business is business, personal is personal.”

Wu Pan was angry, “Then why don’t you return the company property you’ve swallowed first?”

Su Ling earnestly changed his tune, “But sometimes the boss also needs to contribute to the company.”

“In that case, I also have something to report! When Chang Wu and Chang Bai were on a business trip, they used company funds for a taxi.” Shi Kongzang chimed in.

Su Ling turned to the two brothers, furious, “Who told you to take a cab instead of riding the little electric bike?”

Chang Wu and Chang Bai were momentarily speechless.

After a moment, Chang Bai suddenly remembered something and raised his hand, “I also have something to report! The gift Shi Kongzang brought to a date was taken from the company’s warehouse.”

Su Ling continued to be angry, “You actually snuck into the private storage? What did you take?”

Shi Kongzang hesitated, “A night pearl.”

Su Ling exclaimed, “The Southern Sea Night Pearl? I’ll kill you!”

“Speaking of the night pearl, did that roulette ghost secretly give you a night pearl yesterday?” Sheng Ze also chimed in, asking Wu Pan.

Wu Pan:…

Su Ling was puzzled, “Why did it give you a night pearl?”

“To help plead with the underworld, to lighten the punishment,” Sheng Ze explained calmly.

Wu Pan cleverly shifted the blame, “I didn’t even take the bribe. To open a backdoor, I immediately gave the night pearl to the judge!”

There was nothing wrong with taking the blame for oneself!

The other ghosts looked at Wu Pan with complex expressions.

Only Su Ling, feeling sorry, said, “Did you really give it? Well, I’ve heard that old guy hates it when people take bribes privately. If you did give it, you’d probably get a severe punishment.”

Wu Pan:…

The employees couldn’t help but suppress their laughter.

“Didn’t the judge punish you?” Su Ling asked seriously.

“He did,” Wu Pan gritted his teeth, determined to take this blame to the end, “Three severe punishments, not one less.”

Su Ling nodded sympathetically, “That must have hurt your butt.”

The employees burst into laughter, unable to contain themselves!

They laughed uproariously, their gaze subtly lingering on a certain part of Wu Pan.

Wu Pan blushed and embarrassedly slammed the table, “Stop laughing! Sheng Ze, do you think I don’t know that the roulette ghost also gave you a roulette yesterday?!”

The room fell silent instantly.

All the ghosts immediately composed themselves.

Wu Pan: qaq

Was it too late to take back that statement now?

Su Ling looked at Sheng Ze in surprise and exclaimed, “It actually has a roulette as well?”

“Yeah, it handed it to me itself,” Sheng Ze remained calm, casually passing the blame, “But I also didn’t keep it and gave it to Ksitigarbha.”

Suddenly prompted, Ksitigarbha: ??

“You mentioned before that you were afraid Ksitigarbha would hold a grudge, so I, on behalf of the company, delivered it for you,” Sheng Ze maintained a composed and righteous demeanor.

Su Ling was indeed very moved, “You always consider things carefully.”

Shi Kongzang angrily slammed the table – being blamed again, being blackened again, he simply couldn’t bear it anymore!

“Boss, I don’t think Ksitigarbha is that kind of ghost…” Shi Kongzang tried to correct Su Ling’s mistaken impression of him.

Sheng Ze chuckled lightly, giving him a meaningful glance – dare you deny it?

Shi Kongzang: …of course, he didn’t dare.

“I think for that kind of ghost, one roulette might not be enough,” Shi Kongzang said dejectedly.

“Fair point. Since you’ve met Ksitigarbha before, Sheng Ze, you should handle it next time. I appreciate your hard work,” Su Ling pondered.

Sheng Ze waved his hand lightly, modestly deflecting the praise, “Just doing what’s best for the company.”

Su Ling nodded and reminded Wu Pan, “We can’t let employees suffer losses. Remember to compensate Sheng Ze for the value of the roulette.”

Wu Pan nodded without daring to show his anger, “Okay.”

With that, the monthly commendation meeting and reporting session concluded, with the biggest winner being Sheng Ze.

Mr. Qian, along with his assistant, followed the navigation and arrived at Su Ling’s company just in time for their award ceremony.

After wandering around the company for a while without finding anyone, Mr. Qian started feeling a bit eerie. As he turned around, he saw a strange black cat.

The black cat sat silently in a corner, its bright green eyes staring at him eerily.

Mr. Qian shuddered, getting goosebumps all over. But after a second thought, he felt embarrassed for being scared by a cat.

The cat lazily got up, leaving plum-shaped paw prints on the ground with its claws.

The color looked like blood.

Mr. Qian couldn’t help but tremble, watching the cat come closer and closer… He gritted his teeth and angrily scolded the cat, “Beast, who do you think you’re scaring? Believe me, I’ll have someone cook you in a pot!”

The black cat opened its mouth, but instead of a “meow”, it let out a cold laugh.

Mr. Qian froze upon hearing the familiar voice.

“Qian Dong, do you still want to mess with me?” The voice of the black cat seemed to be right beside his ear, sometimes near, sometimes far, “Do you think I won’t cook you in a pot first?”

Author’s Notes: 

Black cat: Do you believe I’ll cook you in a pot? And then add Sichuan peppercorns, potatoes, enoki mushrooms, wood ear mushrooms, corn, rice cakes, and wide noodles…

Mr. Qian: Boss Su! Boss Su, help!

Su Ling: Hold on, that sounds delicious, let me go have some hot pot first…

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