The receptionist explained, “As a receptionist, I provide services to all of the employees. In addition to greeting customers, I should also timely handle the demands of our coworkers. The amount of favorable feedback is referenced to calculate my monthly bonus. The more favorable feedback I have, the higher the bonus. Our boss set this requirement.”


  Such a thing like this existed?

  This was really eye-opening to Ruan Xia. She thought it over and asked, “Can your bonus be really high?”


  As soon as she asked this question, she regretted it. It seemed inappropriate to ask your coworker’s salary or bonus. It wasn’t allowed either. It was too careless of her to make a mistake like this on her first day.

  The receptionist didn’t seem bothered by her question. On the contrary, she lowered her voice and said, “It can be very, very high. That’s why your favorable feedback is very important to me.”


  Ruan Xia didn’t know how much “very, very high” was, but she knew she shouldn’t continue this line of questioning. She very generously said, “Okay then, I’ll write a favorable feedback note for you.”


  Beaming with pleasure, the receptionist said, “Thank you so much!”


  Now that things had gotten to this point, Ruan Xia understood why the receptionist was so friendly to her. It was because her bonus was connected to the amount of positive feedback notes she got from her coworkers. If she was in her place, she would also become the friendliest person in the company.

  When Ruan Xia returned to her desk, her phone vibrated. Lucky Koi Song had sent her a message: How’s work? Have you gotten used to it?

  He truly was very caring about her. Ruan Xia snuck a peek at the other employees before quickly responding: It’s pretty good. Everyone in the company is polite. Someone asked me if I had breakfast and offered me a sandwich. Oh yeah, I think this company’s atmosphere is very relaxed. Ah, how did I get so lucky to get a job at such a wonderful company!

  Song Tingshen was very relieved after reading her message. He knew that this wasn’t Ruan Xia’s first time working in office. She had interned at his company before graduating college, but she hadn’t worked for several years after that. Thus, he wasn’t sure if she could adapt to worklife and was inevitably worried.

  Song Tingshen replied: Let’s talk about this after you get off from work, so I can learn how to get my employees to feel the same way about my company.

  Ruan Xia: But……

  Why did she say but? Song Tingshen: What’s wrong?

  Ruan Xia: I don’t know if it’s because I’ve been out-of-touch with society for too long, but I keep feeling that although this company is very good, something seems off about it. Whether it’s the receptionist or my department’s supervisor, they’re too polite to me. It’s not like I’m a customer. They seem to care about my opinions a lot. It’s also possible that I’m overthinking things, and they’re just naturally very nice people.

  Song Tingshen thought it over for a while before replying: Every company has a different culture. Maybe this company’s culture is the reason why the overseas department’s business in your company is doing very well and why your boss can afford to pay you such a high salary. Although I don’t agree with this approach, this is also a desirable outcome. By giving employees good enough conditions, they’ll work hard to do their best, creating a win-win situation for everyone.

  Ruan Xia: …… That makes sense. Anyways, with such a high salary, I always feel like I would be wronging the company if I don’t do the job well.