Work Prophet
Chapter 86 - 2: Barbecue Stand and Casual Chat

Chapter 86: Chapter 2: Barbecue Stand and Casual Chat

"I heard you got a new job?" Xu Ming set down his phone on the table, sipping on his Coke as he spoke.

"It’s in consultancy. Basically, I listen to people talk about their problems and then I help them solve them," Li Yu said.

"Like the All-purpose House in ’Silver Soul’?"

"Kind of."

"Sounds pretty interesting," Xu Ming said. "I’ll come to you for help if I face any problems in the future, and I can support your business too."

"You’d better not have too high expectations."

"Why not?"

"Because humans are not gods. No matter how hard we try, there are some difficulties that just can’t be resolved," Li Yu said.

"That’s such a pessimistic thing to say, doesn’t sound like something you would say," Xu Ming was surprised. "What, is the new job not going well?"

"Not really," Li Yu paused. "But there is indeed something that has been troubling me."

The proprietor brought over the cold dishes they ordered—a plate of cold bitter chicory and a plate of sesame paste mixed with gluten.

Xu Ming pulled out two pairs of disposable chopsticks from the chopstick container, handed one pair to Li Yu and broke apart the other for himself, rubbing off the splinters, "Let’s hear it."

"Hmm, do you remember a debate topic from our debate club before? The one about whether an unconscious evil is still evil."

"I vaguely remember," Xu Ming started eating the gluten, then beckoned, "Don’t just talk, eat up. It tastes just like it used to, hasn’t changed at all... Oddly enough, no other place’s sesame paste and chili oil are as fragrant as this one’s."

Xu Ming couldn’t help but sigh, "Ah, speaking of the debate club, I really miss our school days. Every year there were quite a few pretty juniors joining the club, and that jerk of a President, taking advantage of his little bit of power to change girlfriends every year. I’ve heard he’s headhunting now, probably causing trouble for many female job seekers."

"President Zhang?"

"Yeah, I even ran into him at China World Trade Center recently. Got off topic, let’s not talk about that guy. So, the unconscious evil, was there something wrong with that debate topic? I remember we won the debate."

"An evil act is an evil act, regardless of subjective consciousness. A newly hatched chick might push its siblings out of the nest to fall to their deaths without realizing its evil, simply out of a survival instinct to get more food.

"But its actions indeed have a detrimental impact on the other chicks, so this is an evil... I remember that’s what you said at the time."

"Hmm." Li Yu also took a sip of his orange juice. "Imagine a group of people commit a wrongdoing out of survival, and they come to you, willing to pay a large sum for your help, hoping you could save them, and you have the ability and really need the money, what would you do?"

"Is it illegal?"

"What?"

"I mean, is saving them illegal?"

"That... would not be illegal."

"Then there’s nothing to hesitate about, save them!" Xu Ming said without hesitation.

"They are evil people, according to our previous discussion."

"Yeah, so what if they are villains? How does that concern me? Plus, you said the payment was substantial, and you just happen to need that payment. But is this really legal? From your description, those people seem like they’ve committed some serious crimes. Be careful, make money by all means, but don’t get yourself involved." Xu Ming advised.

"The things they’ve committed are indeed serious and severe, but they really don’t violate our country’s laws," Li Yu said.

"I see," Xu Ming thought for a moment, "If it were me, I would have saved them."

"I thought you would start from a moral standpoint and advise me to give up that payment..."

"What’s the use of morals? Can they feed you? Of course, I’m not saying that people don’t need morals. Without morals, the world would turn into a bloody jungle, and no one would like to live in such a hellhole, but... Li Yu, do you know what your problem has always been?"

"What?"

"You set your moral bottom line too high. You are capable, clear-minded, and methodical in your actions, one of the most outstanding people I’ve known. You work hard enough as well, but do you know why you haven’t been able to get a promotion in three years?"

"Because I always encounter a bunch of messes?"

"That’s because you bring it on yourself."

"I’m already trying my best to not meddle in others’ affairs."

"Not meddling in others’ business is just the first step. Next, you need to learn to let yourself go. When issues come to you, or when you need to do something, you also have to lower your moral standards a bit."

"That’s a bit difficult since my job is full of moral sense," Li Yu said.

"That doesn’t matter; double standards are human nature," Xu Ming sighed, "Do you still remember our conversation about education? I was impressed by something you said back then."

"What did I say?"

"You said our education system tends to reward those students who obey the rules and excel academically, but once we enter society, we often find that the ultimate winners are those who break the norms and tread uncommon paths."

"Um, schools or teachers do that probably to reduce the management costs of students. To achieve this, they’ll try every means to reinforce students’ obedience. After all, the measurement in school is pretty straightforward, which is academic performance," Li Yu said.

At that moment, the proprietress had already brought out the squid, shrimp, and skewers of meat on an iron plate, the aroma of meat wafting through the air.

Xu Ming picked a greasy chicken wing and, while eating, said, "But society is different. Unless your abilities are so strong that those around you can’t survive without you, being sociable is very important. And if your moral baseline is too high, you might not even be able to carry on with normal work."

Li Yu picked up a skewer of squid tentacles, "It’s not exaggerated to that extent; I’d also choose to save people, just that there’s always some discomfort in my heart."

There were some things Li Yu couldn’t mention, but what truly touched him was what Miss Rabbit had said before he left Teacup Castle.

The girl had looked into his eyes earnestly, "I don’t like those lizard people at all. The reason I agreed to let them settle in my territory isn’t because I trust they’ll keep their agreement with me, but because I trust you."

This comment had somewhat concerned Li Yu.

Xu Ming kept on babbling, "Really, you’ve been working for over three years too; you should have seen as many messy things as I have, and here I was worrying about when you’d turn cynical. Unexpectedly, you’re still struggling with this kind of stuff.

"You should learn from President Zhang, when I saw him last time, that guy was so imposing, it seemed like he got another promotion. If not, at least keep up with trends; don’t you know what’s popular nowadays? The protagonists who are decisively aggressive, it’s all about ’vengeance without delay, blood splatters at the slightest provocation’—people love to watch that."

"Got it, just enjoy your skewers," Li Yu said, "I’ll handle my own matters."