After driving for more than ten minutes, she arrived at the company, parked in the underground garage, and took the Elevator up to the eighteenth floor.
This time, when An Ran entered the Elevator, everyone understood what was happening. They watched closely, eager to figure out how the small room worked.
Unfortunately, they could not deduce how it worked from its exterior alone. Even if they came up with a theory, they could not determine whether it was correct.
After clocking in, An Ran walked toward her office. Along the way, several employees greeted her.
“Good morning, Sister Ran.”
“Good morning.”
“Good morning, Sister Ran. Are you feeling better?”
“Much better. Thank you for your concern.”
As soon as she entered the office, before she had even turned on her computer, someone called her to the conference room. Her superior wanted to see her.
An Ran rolled her eyes, but she was no longer angry. Since she had decided to resign, she no longer needed to put up with that treatment. If he said anything unpleasant, she could throw it right back at him.
When An Ran reached the conference room, her superior had not arrived yet. She sat there, bored and staring into space.
An Ran remained calm, but the people of ancient times could no longer remain calm.
Although they had seen Women selling things at roadside stalls, the Ancient Era had such women as well. They usually worked in specific occupations or ran small stalls. That was different from a business employing so many Women and having Men perform the same work.
Even dynasties that imposed fewer restrictions on women had nothing like this.
They did not know whether this was common everywhere or whether this place was special. Perhaps these Women were all from the Nobility or wealthy families?
Even so, it was enough to make many people dissatisfied.
“This, this, this—What kind of propriety is this? What kind of propriety is this!”
“The Later Generations are absurd. How can Men and Women work together?”
“Women of the Later Generations can work and earn money like Men!”
“Judging by her status, this Woman named An Ran seems to hold a high position!”
“That’s right. So many men even took the initiative to greet her. How impressive!”
“Do they have no boundaries between men and women? How can men and women work together? What man would want a woman like that as his wife?”
“Since Men and Women can work together, perhaps they no longer have such concerns?”
“How are these men willing to accept this? Aren’t they angry at all that women have climbed above them?”
“How could they not be? Perhaps this place is special. Maybe it is prosperous, with most people wealthy or noble. Since these Women come from high-status families, Men of lower status have no choice but to endure it.”
“That makes sense. Still, even so, they have it much better than we do.” As for them, they could not earn money outside the home; even going out for a walk was subject to countless restrictions, and they could not act according to their own wishes.
It was not long before her superior arrived. He first exchanged a few polite words with An Ran about her health, then expressed his dissatisfaction. Even if she was unwell, he said, she should have finished the documents and sent them over first because they were urgently needed. Since she had not completed them in time, they had nearly lost the chance to work with a partner.
He also said that he had managed to turn the situation around and cover for her, then told her to be more careful next time.
An Ran listened to him with a smile without saying a word. After he finished, she handed him the resignation letter in her hand.
Her superior stared at the resignation letter in shock. “Why? What made you decide to resign?”
She had prepared the resignation letter, so this clearly was not because of his reprimand. Hadn’t everything been fine before? Why had she pulled this?
“There has been too much overtime, and my health is not good. I need to resign and recuperate.” An Ran made no excuses and told him the truth.
Her superior frowned, thinking An Ran was trying to threaten and manipulate him. He was displeased and handed the resignation letter back to her. “If you work more efficiently in the future, you won’t need to work overtime. If your health is poor, you can take your Annual Leave first. When you come back, I’ll give you a raise.”
An Ran smiled. “Is this a problem with my work efficiency? Have you forgotten how you give me temporary assignments every day? I don’t care about that little bit of extra money. As for my Annual Leave, I nearly forgot about it. I’ll take it before I leave.”
After saying that, she stood up. “Find someone to take over my work as soon as possible. If there’s nothing else, I’ll leave now.”
Seeing that he had offered her a way out, but she had refused it and even spoken unpleasantly, her superior’s expression turned cold as well. “Forget it. You can leave now. The company hasn’t reached the point where it can’t function without you.”
An Ran raised an eyebrow. “All right, then. I have ten days of annual leave. I’ll come back to hand over my work in ten days. Farewell.”
With that, she returned to her office, packed up some important belongings, and took them with her.
During that time, someone came over to report on their work. An Ran told them to go to her superior. “I’ve resigned. Someone else will take over my position later. If it’s urgent, go to General Manager Zhao first.”
“Huh?” The employee looked utterly bewildered. This was too sudden!
After hearing that An Ran was leaving, all the younger employees came over to express their concern. Someone asked cautiously, “Did General Manager Zhao make things difficult for you, Sister Ran?”
“No. My health isn’t very good, and I can’t handle such High-Intensity Work anymore. I need to rest for a while. Do your best, everyone. I’m leaving now. See you again if fate allows.”
Everyone waved goodbye to An Ran with reluctance, then worried that their next superior might not be even half as good as An Ran.
They had not yet recovered from their shock at the Later Generations having Men and Women perform the same Work and at Women’s improved status when they saw An Ran fall out with her superior and quit.
The Women shook their heads and lamented. “How can she be so willful? Having a job that allows a woman to earn money is already something to be immensely grateful for, yet she quit.”
“She doesn’t appreciate it at all. If only I could have that opportunity!”
“Do you think she’s a poor member of the common people like you? She must be a young lady from a wealthy family. Even without this job, she has other work available. She treats it all as a game.”
“That’s true. Now I understand. I was wondering how those men could willingly work under a Woman. Whether they are men or women, people from wealthy families are far more noble than us.”
“Sigh, I hate not being born into a rich and powerful family!”
Because they assumed that everyone with a job was wealthy, the common people found it perfectly normal. They were not as shocked as those young ladies.
The men, especially the scholars and upper-class people accustomed to oppressing women, were delighted when they saw An Ran’s situation.
“Hmph, at least she knows her place. Women should return home to support their husbands and raise their children. What kind of propriety is this, appearing in public?”
“The other women should resign and return home as soon as possible. They should wait to marry, support their husbands, and raise their children.”
“Heh, no one will marry them when the time comes, right?”
“Haha, why not? They can find some penniless man. In any case, they are all women who do not observe proper feminine conduct, so those poor laborers are perfect for them.”
……
Unaware of the outrageous remarks those Ancient Era men were making, An Ran emailed her superior the work that needed urgent attention. Then she went off to enjoy her Annual Leave.
To call it enjoyment was an exaggeration—in reality, she was going home to lie down. Before returning, however, she went to the Supermarket. She did not expect to go out for the next few days, so she needed to stock up on fruit and snacks.
After entering the Supermarket, she went straight to the Fruit Section and bought grapes, dragon fruit, Hami melon, and more.
Then she headed to the Snack Section and bought potato chips, nuts, instant food, and various other snacks. Finally, she pushed the full cart to the checkout and waited to pay.
The People of Ancient Times were amazed when they saw so many fruits they had never encountered before.
The store itself also shocked them. How could it carry so many things? Almost everything needed for clothing, food, housing, and transportation was available there. Whatever they wanted, they could buy it by walking through the store once. They no longer had to spend so much time running from place to place to gather what they needed.
Some shrewd, capable merchants immediately planned to imitate the Supermarket and set up one of their own.
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