None of the three of them happens to be the type who pays attention to pomp and rules.
Since it was almost dinner time, the three of them didn't bother to leave the cafe to find somewhere to eat.
After discussing with each other, we found that no one wanted to eat anything. So we simply decided to order some sandwiches, cakes, ice cream and other food on the spot to deal with it a little bit.
By the way, the extra large ice cream is served with ice water.
Although Russell also mentioned that it would be bad to eat ice cream on an empty stomach at night... But Bing Shui blocked it with a smile and a spiritual difference.
It's not easy for him to ask the other party, "What are your spiritual characteristics?" This topic is too private.
Of course, AA paid the money.
This is mainly because everyone has a tacit understanding to avoid some troubles.
According to the company's rules, when people of different ages meet for the first time, in order to show their respect for the younger or younger generation, the older party will often treat the other party to a meal to show care;
And when the elder party resigns, gets promoted, or is transferred to another island, and the two parties may never see each other again, how many of the younger ones who had that meal can still remember the kindness and recognition of the other party over the years?
If you show your support, you can invite me back again.
The specifications of these two meals are completely different from the usual treat. It usually indicates how much you value the other person - how many people will come when you leave, which usually means how popular you are in the company and what your character is like.
Theoretically speaking, this is a rule shared by the seven sky islands, which seems to have been brought from the terrestrial era. It's just that the execution intensity and details of different sky islands are different.
When Russell was still in college, he heard that something big was happening on Happy Island.
That happened about four or five years ago: because there was a senior executive of Tianen Group, no one came to see him off when he retired, and he finally chose to commit suicide by taking poison at his farewell party.
Even because he didn't have to go to work every day, it took two days for the body to be discovered.
After all, he was an executive of the head office, with a very high status, but he died in such a trivial matter. This incident caused a considerable degree of discussion on the Internet, and even spread to Sogo Island.
After that, anonymous forums on the Internet criticized the custom very fiercely.
So Tian En Group later followed suit and banned this rule island-wide. At the same time, it tightened the review standards for happiness.
But there are still some old-timers, or very traditional people, who still insist on the principle of "treating guests to dinner when they meet for the first time" - for example, the old elf Russell met on the airship, Amyrus.
In the end, this "prohibition" quickly swung to the other side and became a new custom: when people meet for the first time, no matter how good the conversation is or how close the relationship is, they cannot go with each other.
Eat. You must wait until you meet again before you can eat together.
At the beginning, it was because everyone was very taboo about this matter, and they didn’t know if the other party would have random thoughts about the meaning of this meal.
The result later became a new "ritual". Many experts have put forward various explanations for this, trying to make it more scientific and reasonable.
"In fact, these morbid rules are the epitome of the morbid life and society on Kongdao."
While chewing on his sandwich, Russell said casually: "Think about it, was it the rule itself that killed that executive?"
"——The person who killed that man was actually himself."
Xia frowned: "No matter how you say it, it's really too much if no one comes.
"I have been working in the head office for more than 40 years, and I don't know how many people I have mentored, but in the end, not even a single person was willing to give him a lift. This shows that this person has reached the level of causing public outrage."
"Not necessarily."
Bing Shui put his left hand on his cheek and dug into the ice cream with his right hand, and said quietly: "Maybe everyone has forgotten about him, or maybe he is too busy at work and just happened to work overtime. Although the probability is very small, it is not impossible.
"The real problem is...he actually guessed it a long time ago, or felt it. Otherwise, how could he bring the poison to the banquet to farewell him."
"It's almost the same. But you don't realize the crux of the problem... In fact, the real problem does not lie in the banquet itself."
Russell shook his head: "If everyone is doing well, then this kind of gathering is not a pressure at all, but a 'team building' to unite new employees and bid farewell to old employees. Even the company can pay for part of the reimbursement, or long-term
Booking a hotel in exchange for a membership price, etc... After all, it actually helps improve team cohesion.
"Moreover, this rule has been at least a hundred years old. There was such a rule before the sky era. Why didn't something happen until the past few years?
"The reason is simple... because the company's development has begun to slow down.
"When everyone starts to have a bad life, they will look for reasons and a responsible party. In the end, people vent some of their hatred onto this tradition and reverse it, trying to correct themselves
life.
"This behavior itself is like a dance to pray for rain. If it rains, then the prayer is effective; if it doesn't rain, then the prayer is not sincere enough... But in short, it doesn't cost money to try. I just want peace of mind.
.”
“…has development slowed down?”
Xia was a little confused: "But I see that Tianen Group's income seems to have been increasing."
"some."
Bing Shui on the side nodded.
She looked at Russell with great admiration, and at the same time explained to Xia in a low voice: "Because of the lack of supplies."
"...Lack of supplies?"
Xia couldn't understand this word for a while.
In other words, most people in this era are like this.
Schools will not teach ordinary people where the food they eat every day comes from, and where the materials for various products come from... Knowledge about the Earth Age is basically not taught in schools. Because once taught
, it would be difficult to explain "why they moved to heaven".
In most people's minds, these are constantly being shipped out of the ever-roaring factories in Xiacheng District.
These supplies are not worthy of attention, and even the gangs in the lower city will not move their base near factories that produce important supplies.
They have no idea what the earlier forms of those product materials were.
"Have you not noticed that prices have started to rise in recent years?"
Bing Shui slowly said: "Yes, you are the eldest lady, so you shouldn't be able to notice it."
"I'm still aware of this - but prices have been rising, right?"
Xia asked back: "Isn't it because the recent price increase is due to the battle between Angel and Xiacheng District that destroyed too many factories?"
"That's true. But in fact, the uneven pace of price and income growth began about seven or eight years ago.
"Due to fierce market competition, companies can only choose to forcefully occupy the market ecological niche by giving away profits, or increase prices simultaneously with powerful competitors that can dominate the market. This has led to a lag in the speed of market price increases.
due to real price increases.”
The short-haired girl shook her head: "I guess you don't know...it's because the raw materials have been reduced."