It was the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, the first day back at work, and the weather was sunny.
By the time Su Ying arrived at the Community Service Center, it was already 11:30 a.m. She glanced at the opening hours sign and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that the morning session ended at 12:00 p.m.
At least she had made it in time.
Su Ying entered the service hall. There was a ticket dispenser by the entrance. Just as she was about to take a number, an older man in a security uniform walked over and asked kindly, “What kind of business do you need to take care of?”
Su Ying: “I’m here to ask about pension insurance for flexible employment.”
Upon hearing this, the security guard turned and shouted at the top of his lungs, “Someone’s here to pay their pension insurance!”
After saying that, he turned and pointed in a direction for Su Ying: “Over there.”
“Thank you!”
Su Ying walked toward the direction the security guard had indicated. There were four counters in total, but only two were staffed. One person was busy organizing something, while the other was typing at a computer.
Su Ying hesitated for a moment, then approached the person at the computer: “Hello, I’m here to ask…”
The person at the computer turned at her voice. Their eyes met, and both were taken aback.
“Su Ying?”
“Zeng Shuqing!”
Zeng Shuqing was Su Ying’s college roommate—the only one of the four in their dorm who had successfully transferred to a four-year university. She was tall, with a pointed chin and slightly upturned eyes, giving her an aloof, cool demeanor.
“You actually passed the civil service exam!!!” Su Ying was utterly stunned. She smiled and gave Zeng Shuqing a thumbs-up. “That’s so awesome, sis!”
Zeng Shuqing’s gaze shifted slightly at this, and the clerk on the other side, who had been organizing documents, paused upon hearing it.
Su Ying kept gushing: “Remember back then when all four of us in the dorm said we’d transfer to a four-year college? In the end, you were the only one who made it. Then you said you’d take the civil service exam, and you actually passed. You’re so amazing, you…”
Zeng Shuqing cleared her throat twice to interrupt Su Ying, her expression showing some impatience: “Hey, Su Ying, what are you doing here…”
Her eyes scanned Su Ying from head to toe, and for a moment, she was taken aback.
It had only been three years, but how could Su Ying be so completely different from the timid, video-game-obsessed country girl she remembered?
Zeng Shuqing worked at the service counter and had seen countless people come and go; she considered herself somewhat of an expert at judging people. They say winter is the best time to gauge a person’s true financial standing. Although Su Ying’s down jacket didn’t bear a visible brand name, the craftsmanship alone made it clear this wasn’t some hundred-yuan knockoff from Taobao.
The gold bracelet on her wrist and the vintage floral print covering her crossbody bag made Zeng Shuqing gasp in shock. LV wasn’t exactly a rarity at their workplace—everyone had one, just like a bubble tea cup.
But this was Su Ying! The Su Ying who was so broke she bought instant noodle packets on Taobao just to eat instant noodles!
Had she secretly struck it rich behind her back?
Zeng Shuqing looked from Su Ying to the bag with a look of disbelief, then finally smiled warmly, “What kind of business did you come here to handle?”
Seeing a familiar face, Su Ying’s earlier sense of awkwardness vanished instantly. She sat down on a stool, placed both hands on the counter, and leaned forward: “I’m here to sign up for flexible employment pension insurance.”
A flash of surprise crossed Zeng Shuqing’s eyes, and she asked uncertainly, “Are you sure it’s flexible employment, not the resident pension plan?”
Su Ying nodded and replied cheerfully, “ “It’s flexible employment—the one where you pay a little over 900 yuan a month.”
Zeng Shuqing took a deep breath and smiled weakly: “You’re so young—why are you starting to pay into the pension system now? Retirement age is 55 these days, but by the time we retire, it’ll be 60 at the very least—maybe even 65. You’ve got 40 years to go.”
Another clerk turned to her and added, “ “That’s right, you’re so young—there’s no need to pay into it. Just look at the current birth rate; if you start paying now—” The clerk seemed to realize something and clammed up.
Su Ying knew they meant well. She’d seen these arguments before while scrolling through social media; many people even cited the example of the neighboring island nation, where, although the legal retirement age is still 65, they’re already encouraging people to retire at 70 or 75.
But Su Ying’s thinking was simple: she already had 2 million yuan in savings. She could easily set aside a little over 10,000 yuan each year. Even if she didn’t buy pension insurance, she’d probably spend that money on other things anyway, so why not pay into the pension fund and give her retirement life an extra layer of security?
Su Ying smiled sheepishly: “It’s fine. I’ve done my research. Since I have to pay for 15 years anyway, starting early might even be cheaper.”
Zeng Shuqing double-checked: “That’s over 900 yuan a month—more than 10,000 yuan a year. Are you sure you’ve thought this through?”
Su Ying nodded vigorously: “I’ve thought it through. I need to pay it while I still have the money!”
Another clerk looked at Su Ying as if she were an idiot, shook his head, muttered “rich people” under his breath, and turned back to his work.
Zeng Shuqing’s eyes flickered, as if she’d caught a glimpse of a secret. She smiled and said, “Alright, so you’re paying for one year, right?”
Zeng Shuqing handed Su Ying a form: “Just fill this out according to the instructions.”
Su Ying took the form and began filling it out diligently. Zeng Shuqing turned back to her computer, typing as she spoke, “Actually, you could also pay through Alipay or WeChat.”
“I know, but I just don’t feel at ease with that. I’ll only feel secure if I hand it over to you in person.”
At this, the corners of Zeng Shuqing’s expressionless mouth twitched slightly.
“All done! Here you go!”
When she turned back to Su Ying, she had resumed her impeccable smile.
With a “beep,” 12,000 yuan—rounded off—was gone in an instant.
But this time was different from before. Before, it was just spending money; this would eventually become her pension.
Seeing how excited Su Ying looked, Zeng Shuqing called out to her: “ “Su Ying, I’m getting off work soon. It’s been ages—let’s grab a meal together?”
Su Ying stared at her blankly, then nodded vigorously after a moment: “Sure.”
She found a seat in the lobby and still couldn’t believe Zeng Shuqing had actually invited her to dinner. This was Zeng Shuqing, after all—the aloof goddess of their dorm!
During school, Zeng Shuqing basically only hung out with Yan Dandan, the rich, pretty girl. Aside from dorm team-building activities, she rarely spoke to Su Ying or their other roommate, Li Ruolan.
Thinking of these roommates, Su Ying felt a pang of sadness. Back then, all four of them had scored more than twenty points above the undergraduate cutoff. Unfortunately, those scores were only good enough for a private undergraduate program, and ultimately, for various reasons, they all ended up at Chun Specialized College.
Every time Su Ying thought about it, she still felt a sense of regret. With her high school grades, she should have easily gotten into a public second-tier university.
Unfortunately, her father passed away before the college entrance exams, and her stepmother ran off with all the family’s money. In the end, she completely bombed the exams.
Her teachers had advised her to retake the exams, and Su Ying wanted to, but… where would the money come from?
“Let’s go.” Zeng Shuqing gave her a discreet once-over, and Su Ying quickly stood up to follow.
Across from the Community Service Center was a small shopping complex. Su Ying wasn’t familiar with the area, so she kept close behind Zeng Shuqing.
“Want some bubble tea?” Zeng Shuqing walked into a Guming store and ordered a Crumble Crisps Milk Tea.
Su Ying had never been to Gu Ming before. After glancing at the menu for a moment, she ordered a Brown Sugar Pearl Milk Tea.
Leaving the tea shop, Su Ying followed Zeng Shuqing into a hot pot restaurant.
Su Ying glanced at the menu and gasped. The cheapest Three-Seafood Hot Pot was 22 yuan, while the Crispy Pork Hot Pot that Zeng Shuqing ordered was 28 yuan. She even added a 6-yuan Tiger-Skin Chicken Feet dish.
Su Ying’s mind raced. Just for this one lunch, Zeng Shuqing had spent 16 + 28 + 6… 50!!!
Working 22 days a month, she’d spend 1,100 just on lunch!
She used to spend less than that on all three meals combined in a month.
Su Ying’s gaze toward Zeng Shuqing instantly changed. Civil servants really do have money!
Su Ying really wanted to pull out her phone to check if the restaurant had any group-buying deals, but Zeng Shuqing kept urging her to order, and with people waiting in line behind them, Su Ying gritted her teeth and ordered a three-seafood hot pot.
When the hot pot arrived, the only thing in Su Ying’s bowl that even remotely resembled meat was a few pieces of starchy ham sausage. She felt it wasn’t worth the money—she might as well have gone next door for rice noodles and a chicken strip wrap for just 18 yuan.
She was already surprised that Zeng Shuqing had invited her to eat together, but what surprised Su Ying even more was that Zeng Shuqing wasn’t nearly as aloof as she appeared—on the contrary, she was actually quite talkative.
Zeng Shuqing complained, “I’m really sick of this lousy place, Chun City. Wages are low and living costs are high. Even a simple meal costs over twenty yuan, and if you want something that actually suits your taste, it’s thirty. When my monthly paycheck comes in, I don’t even need to do anything else—it’s not enough just to cover my meals…”
Su Ying chuckled, “Come on, you’re a civil servant. Your salary is the top tier in Chun City. “But doesn’t your office have a cafeteria? Eating there is a bargain!”
Hearing this, Zeng Shuqing paused with her spoon mid-air, a look of disgust on her face. “Top of the pay scale? I only take home a little over three thousand. What can I even do with that? And as for the cafeteria food—is that even fit for human consumption? You have to stand in line to get your food yourself, and it’s always packed with people. Just looking at it is annoying.”
Su Ying gave a silly “hehe” laugh. She’d seen the photos of cafeteria food Su Jiayu had posted—it looked pretty hearty to her. Maybe the food varies by workplace.
Zeng Shuqing smiled. “But seriously, you’ve really blown me away. You’ve only been out of school for two or three years, and you’re already carrying a Louis Vuitton? Impressive.”
Su Ying looked a bit embarrassed. “It’s… not bad, I guess.”
Zeng Shuqing said with a smile, “Do you stream solo or in a group? I sometimes come across your streams. It must be exhausting, right? But with looks like yours, you must be a hit with those innocent young virgins…”
Su Ying grew more and more confused as she listened. What on earth was she talking about? Saying she was popular? She didn’t really think so…
Su Ying felt increasingly embarrassed, surprised by how flattering Zeng Shuqing’s words were: “No way.”
After finishing their meal, the two went to browse a fruit shop. The prices of even the most casual items Zeng Shuqing picked up made Su Ying gasp: 39.9 for a 250g box of Grade 2 cherries, 29.9 for a small box of white strawberries, and 25.8 for just two pomelos.
There was also a row of shelves in the store selling dried fruits and candied fruits. Zeng Shuqing picked up a jar of pistachios, then a jar of half-sliced plums, but after hesitating for a moment, she put them back.
Su Ying’s little brain couldn’t wrap its head around it, but one thing was certain: a single 100-yuan note definitely wouldn’t cover it.
“Aren’t you going to buy anything?” ” Zeng Shuqing asked, looking at Su Ying, who had been trailing behind her like a little tail, her hands empty.
“Huh? Should I buy something?” Su Ying was a bit confused. She actually thought this fruit shop was a bit pricey; she’d rather watch live streams on short video apps. Last time she bought a 5-jin box of 3J cherries for just 228 yuan—the texture was unbeatable, crisp and crunchy, pure sweetness with no sourness.
However, to avoid disappointing Zeng Shuqing, she went ahead and bought a pineapple for 16.8 yuan.
After they finished browsing, Zeng Shuqing asked if she wanted coffee. Her reasoning was sound: “How am I supposed to get through the afternoon without a cup of coffee?”
With that, Zeng Shuqing turned and walked into Luckin to buy another cup of coffee.
Su Ying, standing nearby, was left speechless. Hadn’t the total for the day already hit around 200 yuan?
Su Ying instantly recalled a saying: “Don’t use your salary to compete with someone else’s pocket money.”
But then again, are civil servants’ salaries in Chuncheng really that low? Maybe she should ask her senior brother about it sometime?