At the year-end bonus distribution event, every department was grinning from ear to ear. They were receiving bonuses in the tens or even hundreds of thousands. But when it came to our Logistics Department, each person was only given a small bag of sunflower seeds worth maybe fifty cents. VP Miller looked at us with a benevolent smile: "Although the Logistics Department is somewhat dispensable, the company hasn't forgotten you." "A bag of seeds might not fill your stomach, but it shows our appreciation." "I hope that next year, under the leadership of your new director, you'll all strive to earn a cash bonus!" The jeering from the crowd below abruptly stopped. After a few seconds of stagnant air, significant murmuring broke out. "New director? Chloe has been the Director of Logistics for five years and she's just being replaced like that?" "Who is so capable?" "I heard it's the recently converted intern, Mia. Who knows which executive she's connected to." "She joined the company aiming straight for management. Chloe has no backing, so of course they'd replace her." While I was still digesting the reality of the rumors, VP Miller confirmed it to me. "Mia will take over as Director of Logistics after the New Year. You will cooperate with the transition in advance." Director of Logistics? No backing? I glanced sideways at Mia, who was looking at me with a smug smile. I almost couldn't hold back a laugh. Competing with the boss's wife for a position? Then this time, she's probably kicked a steel plate. 01 Back in the office, a bag of sunflower seeds symbolizing humiliation sat on everyone's desk. Everyone looked crestfallen, like frostbitten eggplants. No one said a word, but the oppressive atmosphere protested their dissatisfaction. After a long while, I heard the low sobbing of Lily. "My mom is waiting for my year-end bonus for her chemotherapy." "Now I get a bag of sunflower seeds. What am I going to do about my mom's illness?" Sarah also wiped her tears: "My son wants to buy a house, he's just waiting for my year-end bonus to help with the down payment..." Jake, full of youthful vigor, jumped up, ready to demand an explanation. "I'm going to ask him, why no year-end bonus? This isn't fair!" Sarah pulled him back, advising in a low voice: "Forget it, going won't help..." "Why forget it? Our department's total year-end bonus is only a few thousand dollars, not even a fraction of what one employee in the Sales Department gets." "Distributed among us, it's only a few hundred bucks per person." "Is the company really that short on cash? This is blatant bullying!" After he finished speaking, everyone's eyes turned to me. A flush of embarrassment burned across my face. The Logistics Department, six people in total, handles a myriad of miscellaneous tasks: cleaning, maintenance, purchasing and storing office supplies, etc. From a single sheet of paper or a pen, to the maintenance of electrical equipment, and even the renovation of the entire office building, everything falls within the Logistics Department's scope of responsibility. When the toilet leaks, they find us. When the public water dispenser is empty, they find us. When the cafeteria food is too salty or too bland, they find us. Every little detail; if a speck of dust falls from the ceiling, it's our job. Yet they call this dispensable? Jake stared at me with bloodshot eyes: "Chloe, this is naked humiliation. Are we just going to take it lying down?" Looking at their eyes, full of indignation and expectation, I picked up that bag of sunflower seeds. "Of course we won't take it lying down." I went straight to VP Miller's office. Cutting right to the chase, I threw the sunflower seeds on his desk: "Mr. Miller, what is the meaning of this?" "Our Logistics Department worked our fingers to the bone for a whole year, and we're brushed off with a bag of sunflower seeds?" VP Miller barely lifted his eyelids, not even looking me in the eye. "Is this too little? Besides spending money, what contribution does your Logistics Department make to the company?" "No contribution?" I forced down my anger. "Our Logistics Department saves the company tens of thousands of dollars a year on office supplies alone." "Trash removal, office facility maintenance, electrical repairs—we never spend money to hire outside help, saving tens of thousands more." "Over five years, everyone in the Logistics Department has become a jack-of-all-trades in maintenance, decoration, and clearing drains. Does this not count as a contribution?" VP Miller finally looked at me squarely, his eyes gloomy. "One order from the Sales Department leaves you in the dust, and you have the nerve to present this little bit of money as a contribution?" "Chloe, you need to broaden your perspective. The company trained you to become jacks-of-all-trades and didn't even charge you tuition, did they?" I was truly driven mad by his shamelessness. "You mean, we should be paying the company tuition? We shouldn't even get a salary, we should just let you exploit our labor for free?" He slammed his hand on the desk, his face darkening. "Chloe! Watch your language!" "The company needs talents who can create value, not handymen who only know how to clean toilets and do repairs." "Compensation is based on work. The work you do isn't even worth a bag of sunflower seeds." "Giving them to you is to take care of your feelings. Don't be ungrateful!" Compensation based on work? The Logistics Department has an approved headcount of 10 people. We only have 6 people but do the work of 10. When others are on vacation, we are rushing to repair electrical circuits. During the holidays when families are reuniting, we are pulling all-nighters cleaning the septic tank. Almost every department gets a salary increase every year; only our Logistics Department hasn't seen a dime of increase in five years. When I applied for a salary increase and additional staff, how did he promise me? [The Logistics Department has no performance link, so salary increases are restricted. You are in management, you must look at the big picture. We'll give you a larger year-end bonus so your hard work won't be in vain.] Because of this one sentence, we endured a bitter year, only to wait for a bag of sunflower seeds! I suppressed my emotions: "Mr. Miller, either raise our salaries or give us the year-end bonus. You have to give us one or the other, right?" His face immediately turned black, and he viciously stubbed out a half-smoked cigarette in the ashtray. "Chloe! Do you think you own this company?" "Your Logistics Department hasn't created value for the company, you all deserve a pay cut. Where do you get the nerve to ask for a year-end bonus?" "We've had it every year, why this year..." "Then look for the reason within yourself!" VP Miller interrupted me. "You are about to be removed as the Director of Logistics. I advise you not to stick your neck out." "If you still want to stay in the company, keep your head down and behave!" I froze abruptly. So that was it. The entire Logistics Department was implicated because of me. I looked at him and suddenly smiled: "You'd better not regret this." 02 Walking out of VP Miller's office, gazes invariably fell upon me one after another. There was scrutiny, mockery, and also sympathy. The discussions grew from quiet murmurs to unbridled comments. "The Logistics Department is inherently about trivial matters." "Trying to compare themselves to mainstays like the Sales and Marketing Departments is just humiliating themselves, isn't it?" "That Logistics Department is used to making a big deal out of nothing." "Getting a pen requires registration. In that time, I could have signed a contract and bought a whole truckload of pens!" "Exactly. Who doesn't know how to clean a toilet? Which grown man doesn't know how to change a lightbulb?" "Claiming credit for this? If I make a promotional video that increases the company's customer acquisition rate by 30%, does that count as a monumental achievement?" "A mud idol crossing a river can hardly save itself, yet she's advocating for others' bonuses. How can she lack self-awareness so much!" Those piercing sarcasms were like fine needles, continuously piercing my chest. Every breath carried a dense, fine pain. To make the office environment more comfortable, the entire Logistics Department used our weekend time to go to remote rural areas. We helped flower farmers work for a day in the nurseries, just to save money and ensure every desk could have a potted plant. The restrooms had a strong odor, and ordinary air fresheners didn't work at all. Several of us researched various materials and worked overtime until dawn for a month to create a homemade air freshener with strong odor-eliminating effects and a lasting scent. When it snowed heavily in the middle of the night, to make it convenient for all employees to park in the morning, our entire Logistics Department was on duty at 4 AM. We completely cleared thousands of square meters of snow around the office building. Sarah suffered frostbite on her hands because of this. It recurs every winter, red and itchy, yet she never utters a single complaint. And in their eyes, these are all trivial matters, just the basic duties expected of us! In the column for "Logistics Department Performance," it is always blank. I returned to the office without saying a word. Pushing open the door, I saw everyone's expectant eyes. My chest tightened, and the words I wanted to say stuck in my throat. I watched the light in everyone's eyes dim little by little, finally turning into disappointment. My nails dug deeply into my palms, feeling too ashamed to show my face. Sarah comforted me, saying: "It's okay, I'll ask relatives to chip in for the kid's house money." Lily's eyes were red, obviously having cried, forcing a smile. "Chloe, Jake lent me some money and helped me set up a GoFundMe. It's okay..." A wave of sourness surged from the bottom of my heart. Ultimately, it was all because of me. Because someone coveted my position and wanted to show me who's boss, they implicated my team, causing them to lose their rightful rewards. I exhaled, fighting back a sob: "Don't worry, I won't let this go. Salaries will be raised, and the year-end bonus will be retrieved down to the last cent." Jake looked at me with deep concern: "Chloe, is what Mr. Miller said about changing the director true?" I didn't answer. Jake was furious: "Why? You've given so much to the company." "To save the budget, you compare prices for every single pen and binder store by store. How much money have you saved the company? What right do they have to replace you?" Lily's eyes grew wet again, and she asked timidly: "Just now, Tom from HR told me that after Mia takes office, she's going to lay off 30% of the staff." "That means laying off two people. I came last, and I'm the youngest. Am I going to lose my job?" Sarah also lowered her head. If there really were layoffs, the two of them were in the most danger. Jake is a guy, capable of doing heavy lifting. The other two male employees are also multi-tasking all-rounders; they would never be laid off. Jake patted Lily on the shoulder and comforted her: "Don't be afraid. If there really are layoffs, I'll leave." "I'm a guy, it's easy to find a job. I was just thinking about switching to a company that treats everyone equally anyway." "We'll leave too!" The door was pushed open, and Old Lee and Old Zhao, who had gone to the After-Sales Department to fix a water pipe, walked in. "We know how to do everything. If worse comes to worst, we'll go out and open a repair shop together." "It's better than being bullied in this cold-blooded company!" Sarah also perked up: "Right, Chloe, if they replace you, none of us will work here anymore!" A warm current flowed through my heart. There is nothing more moving than loyalty unto death. I smiled and said with an incredibly firm tone: "Don't worry. I'm in management. Personnel appointments and dismissals require President Sterling's personal signature. They wouldn't dare make a decision on their own." 03 But reality quickly slapped me in the face. Just minutes after I said that, a personnel appointment and dismissal notice was posted in the large company chat group. [Logistics Director Chloe Davis has treated her work with perfunctory negligence, failed to demonstrate the value of a key position, and made insufficient contributions to the company's core operations.] [Therefore, after research by the company, it has been decided to dismiss Chloe Davis from the position of Logistics Director.] [Mia will serve as Logistics Director, officially taking office after the Spring Festival.] I was stunned for at least five seconds. I hid my identity for five years, working hard in the Logistics Department without complaint, just so that Ethan Sterling would have no worries on the home front. Ethan would absolutely never sign this. I really wanted to see who had such immense courage and reached so far. The HR Director immediately @'d me: [@Chloe, during the handover period, purchasing authority will be handled by Mia. You will still temporarily manage the basic operations of the Logistics Department. Strengthen inspections during the Spring Festival period and stand your final post well.] I was so angry I almost laughed. Only managing the money and not doing the work? I was wondering why she insisted on taking office after the New Year. It turned out she didn't want to be caught at the company for duty inspections during the Spring Festival. In my five years in the Logistics Department, which Spring Festival was I not inspecting every corner of the company? She sure knows how to calculate things to her advantage. Mia immediately replied in the group: [Thank you to the company leadership for your trust. I will certainly live up to expectations, lead all Logistics Department personnel, and do my utmost to generate revenue for the company, building the most valuable department in the company.] The named members of the Logistics Department stared at each other; no one replied. Below was a long string of compliments for Mia. [Congratulations Director Mia, on becoming the company's youngest manager.] [Director Mia, a suggestion: cancel those tedious processes of signing and registering. Who cares about a broken pen anyway?] [Director Mia, please replace the AC in our office with one that has fresh air ventilation.] [Director Mia, I want a 100-inch TV for screen casting during meetings.] Flattered by the repeated "Director Mia," Mia lost all sense of proportion and agreed to everything without hesitation. [Director Mia is so generous, unlike a certain someone who is so stingy.] [This is against the rules, that has regulations, as if she were spending her own family's money.] [That's a sign of incompetence. Director Mia has the ability to fight for resources.] [Unlike her, no background at all, thinking getting some plants and scenting the bathroom is a great achievement.] People, familiar and unfamiliar, stepped forward to flatter the high and step on the low. They completely disregarded the fact that I, the demoted person, was still in the group. VP Jones @'d me in the group: [Chloe, personnel appointments are the result of careful consideration by the company. You are a veteran employee; don't let your emotions get the better of you.] [The company won't fire you. Aren't you guys always short a janitor to clean the restrooms? You can fill that spot for now.] I simply couldn't believe my eyes. He actually wanted me, a manager, to clean toilets? This was naked humiliation, a blatant slap in the face! Through two doors, I clearly heard the roaring laughter coming from other offices. I could even imagine Mia's currently smug, arrogant, and gloating expression. I gripped my phone screen tightly, my knuckles turning white. Almost trembling, I replied with one word: [Okay.] Perhaps not seeing the anger he expected from me, VP Miller @'d me again. [Veteran employees have good awareness. I hope you will shine in your new position.] Mia followed up with a message: [Please rest assured, Mr. Miller, I will strictly enforce company policies and manage subordinate employees well.] She then @'d me: [Sister Chloe, I won't be soft-hearted just because you used to be in management. If you don't clean well, I will issue a fine.] Every word was a stab to the heart! Murder is nothing but a nod of the head. If the tiger doesn't roar, do they really think I'm a sick cat? I replied provocatively: [Okay, I'll be waiting for your fine.]
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