Chapter Two — The Vanished Order

As expected, Yishu did not receive the three-thousand-yuan bonus in her March salary. After deductions for insurance and various fees, less than five thousand remained.

Staring at the text message on her phone, Yishu was overcome with an indescribable feeling.

By contrast, Yan Lu beside her was quite pleased with her own salary of just over three thousand. She seemed to have almost no pressure—her parents were still in good health, both with their own jobs, requiring no care from her. Yan Lu was not required to hand over her monthly wages and was allowed to save them for her dowry when she married. Yet she lived quite comfortably, never hesitating to indulge in clothes, cosmetics, or snacks she fancied. Perhaps, having grown up with little material comfort, she now sought to make up for the past since she finally had some financial independence.

A new month began, and everything started anew.

After months of relentless rain, there was finally a brief respite.

The office area was still filled with the ceaseless clatter of keyboards and the clicking of mice. Occasionally, loud complaints and curses erupted when staff encountered particularly troublesome customers.

Being an online curtain customer service agent was far more challenging than working in a physical store. Sometimes, even a slight deviation in the measurements provided by customers led to curtains that were too long or too short, triggering returns and exchanges, all of which fell on customer service to resolve. This was especially true for floor-to-ceiling windows and bay windows, where precision was critical—floor-to-ceiling curtains needed to be about a centimeter above the ground to avoid getting dirty, while bay window curtains had to touch the sill to prevent light leakage. One also had to consider installation methods—both tracks and Roman rods affected the amount of fabric required. Every detail demanded the utmost care.

Near noon, Customer Service Supervisor Liu Hanzhang walked in, her steps heavy as always, never once brisk or cheerful.

"Don't mind me; carry on with your work. I'll just say a few words," Liu Hanzhang announced, standing in the most spacious spot at the center of the office. "A new month has begun. I don’t need to tell you—performance, sales! Give it your all, stay sharp. Don't let any potential customer slip away! For every inquiry, follow up immediately. For those who placed orders but haven’t paid, remind them regularly. Whoever closes the deal gets the credit. And if any of your relatives are buying or renovating homes, they’ll need new curtains—go and pitch to them!"

When Liu Hanzhang left, a collective groan rose from the office.

"Yan Lu, if any customers message, can you reply for me?" Yishu turned to her colleague. "I need to go to the workshop and check with the shipping clerk about the orders I placed last week."

"No problem!" Yan Lu replied, fingers flying over her keyboard.

The workshop was north of the office building, not far away. After descending the stairs and passing through a patch of greenery, Yishu reached the main entrance. Kaisheng Curtain & Fabric Co. was not a large enterprise; aside from the cafeteria and security booth, there was just one administration building and a production workshop. Its location was not ideal, situated on the outskirts of Yun City. But in recent years, government efforts to improve the environment had relocated many small and medium textile and dyeing factories from the city center to the suburbs, forming this sizable industrial park.

Inside the workshop, the sounds of sewing machines, overlockers, and grommet machines interwove in a chaotic symphony. Donning shoe covers, Yishu made her way along the walkway to the shipping department.

The shipping area was well-organized. Shelves were lined with finished curtains, sorted by type. Near the entrance, a section was piled with returned parcels, looking messy and disorderly.

"Master Lu, could you tell me why the 'Snow Drifting on the Sea' curtains I ordered last week haven’t shipped yet? The customer is getting impatient. Is there any way you could prioritize my order?" Yishu bowed slightly, appealing to the shipping supervisor.

Master Lu’s full name was Lu Xuyang. Though only in his early thirties, he’d been with Kaisheng for over a decade, joining after high school through a family connection. In the workshop, his experience earned him the title "Master," especially since most of the staff were migrant workers who’d barely finished middle school and just turned sixteen. With twice their years, "Master" was the only fitting address.

Lu Xuyang looked up from his work. "Yishu, it’s not that I’m refusing to ship; the batch you’re asking about isn’t even here. It probably hasn’t been made yet."

"Are you sure?" Yishu forced a polite smile, knowing it was rude to question him.

Lu Xuyang walked to a desk in the corner, took a long drink from his cup, and wiped his mouth. "If you don’t believe me, check for yourself. I can account for every item that passes through my hands and know exactly where each one is."

At his words, Yishu said no more. Lu Xuyang was well regarded at Kaisheng, respected by both management and colleagues alike for his diligence.

Beyond the shipping area was the cutting workshop. Orders handled by customer service were first sent here, where Master Yao was responsible for calculating materials, laying out patterns, and cutting.

Master Yao was likely Kaisheng’s most senior employee, around sixty years old. He’d applied for retirement two years ago, intending to return to his hometown with his wife. However, none of the apprentices could yet manage on their own. Years before, one promising apprentice had been lured away by a rival company with a higher salary. Given the critical importance of fabric layout—where savings amounted to hundreds of thousands each year—the company had no choice but to persuade Master Yao to stay, mainly by raising his salary annually.

Having weathered decades of storms at Kaisheng, Master Yao felt reluctant to leave. The company had always treated him well, and he didn’t want to abandon them when he was most needed.

Just as Yishu was about to speak with Master Yao, she noticed her colleague Guo Yamei standing nearby, smiling as she talked, a sheet of paper in her hand—almost certainly an order.

"Master Yao, did you finish cutting the 'Snow Drifting on the Sea' order I gave you last week?" Yishu set aside any pretense of privacy, knowing she had many more customer messages to answer and Yan Lu was already juggling two accounts.

"Did you give it to me?" Master Yao adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses, looking at Yishu in surprise. "I don’t recall that."

A jolt of unease ran through Yishu. "Master Yao, could you check again? I’m sure I gave it to you. The order’s been delayed almost a week, and the customer is losing patience. Once you cut it, I still need the seamstresses to sew it, and then with shipping, it’ll be at least another week."

"My, aren’t you selfish!" Guo Yamei seized the moment to interject, a smug look on her face. "Do you expect everyone to drop everything for you? Your orders are urgent, and ours aren’t?"

Yishu ignored her, focusing on appealing to Master Yao.

Guo Yamei had joined the company two years before Yishu and had often topped the sales charts. But within three months of Yishu’s arrival, she’d been overtaken, and with every subsequent defeat, her resentment only deepened.

To avoid unnecessary conflict, Yishu had even swapped seats with another colleague, relocating to a desk diagonally opposite Guo Yamei’s. She avoided all contact unless necessary for work, and even when subjected to bitter sarcasm, she endured it as long as it didn’t go too far. Yan Lu, on the other hand, often spoke up for her, which only fueled Guo Yamei’s animosity.

Seeing Yishu ignore her, Guo Yamei fumed, "What’s with the pitiful act? Aren’t you usually so capable? Cat got your tongue now?"

"Why waste your energy? If you put half as much effort into typing as you do into talking, you’d never lose what you value most," Yishu replied, keeping her composure.

Sometimes, tolerating malice—even verbal abuse—without taking action was simply enabling it.

"What’s that supposed to mean? Don’t get all high and mighty with me," Guo Yamei scoffed. "You think you’re cultured? You only have a high school diploma—how much learning or refinement can you possibly have?"

Yishu couldn’t be bothered to argue. After all, Guo Yamei, with her junior college degree, was working as an online customer service agent just like herself. What gave her the right to look down on someone in the same position? The statement she’d just made was enough to show her stance; there was no need to say more.

Having lived through a lifetime’s worth of disputes, Master Yao sensed the tension but dared not intervene; siding with one meant offending the other.

"Xiao Guo, I’ll process your order as soon as I can. Please get back to your work," Master Yao said, taking the order from Guo Yamei before turning to Yishu. "Xiao Su, I really can’t remember your order—I must be getting old. If you don’t mind, check the drawer to my left; perhaps it was misplaced."

Yishu searched the drawer thoroughly, examining every piece of paper, but her order was nowhere to be found.

Back in the office, she saw Yan Lu struggling to handle both accounts.

"Thank goodness you’re back—I can’t take it anymore!" Yan Lu exclaimed with relief.

Yishu pulled out her chair and sat down. "Thanks to you."

"How did your order go?" Yan Lu asked, glancing over while typing.

Yishu shook her head bitterly.

Yan Lu nodded, half understanding.

The lost order was unlikely to be found. There was little point in investigating whose hands it had vanished in. The only solution was to rewrite the customer’s order by hand, get Liu Hanzhang’s signature, and send it to Master Yao for rescheduling.

Though Kaisheng was not large, its divisions of labor were clear, and each department had its responsibilities. Orders closed by customer service before 4 p.m. were printed by Min Hangrui and delivered to the workshop the same day. For cases like Yishu’s, where an order was lost, reprinting was not allowed. Years ago, an employee had deliberately printed two copies of an order and took one batch of curtains home for personal use. After the incident was discovered, the company dismissed those involved.

Yishu knocked on Liu Hanzhang’s office door and found her frowning at her computer, clearly dealing with a difficult after-sales issue.

"Why do you need me?" Liu Hanzhang glanced up.

Yishu briefly explained, handing over the rewritten order.

Liu scribbled her signature.

"You’ve been at Kaisheng for almost five years now, haven’t you?"

"Yes, four and a half."

"Time flies… I was the one who promoted you, after all. Is something bothering you? You seem distracted lately. If there’s anything you want to talk about, let me know—if I can help, I will. Your performance has always been outstanding. I believe your current issues are temporary. I hope you’ll adjust your attitude soon and not let me down."

Taken aback by this unexpected, if somewhat perfunctory, show of concern, Yishu could only respond with polite agreement and thanks.

She thought that Liu Hanzhang meant no harm. Holding a position of authority brought many helpless compromises and mounting pressures, which would eventually wear down even the best temperament and attitude. Her severity was reserved for work; in her private life, she was probably a gentle and kind person.