Chapter 345 - 343: Demanding Salary

The April wind, carrying the scent of spring, blew against the bare tree trunks by the road, coaxing out new buds. New life was quietly blossoming.

「The Cleansweep Serenity Office.」

Jasmine Sterling got out of a taxi and glanced toward the office from a distance. She noticed a large crowd gathered outside the main entrance, most of whom were employees from the neighboring real estate agency and other shops.

The group was craning their necks to look inside, clearly there to watch the commotion.

She frowned slightly and walked forward, puzzled. Before she even got close, she could hear a loud, chaotic argument coming from inside the office, as if some sort of dispute had broken out.

It seemed someone in the gawking crowd knew what was going on, as they were busy talking amongst themselves.

"They didn’t get paid again?"

"They already made a scene about it last month. It’s the same day this month, so it looks like their pay is late again."

"What’s going on? Isn’t this housekeeping company pretty famous? They cater to the high-end market."

"Who knows? Maybe the boss took the money, invested it in something else, and it failed. If the cash flow wasn’t broken, why would he withhold wages from these ladies?"

"Exactly. This is the internet age. If something like this gets out, the company is finished. If the boss had the money, he wouldn’t dare hold it back. The company must be in trouble."

’Unpaid wages?’

Jasmine got the gist of it. She squeezed through a gap in the crowd and went straight through the office doors.

Inside, the noise was even more chaotic.

A group of employees had surrounded the manager, bombarding him from all sides. They were all talking at once, but the core issue was clear: they wanted the company to pay them immediately.

These full-time employees hadn’t been paid in two months!

Jasmine couldn’t get a word in, so she could only watch from a distance. She hadn’t even passed her probationary period yet. Although she’d completed several jobs, it didn’t add up to much money.

Besides, she had come to resign today anyway. She had decided to quit before her probation was even over. Jasmine didn’t expect to get her money back; she just felt it was better to come in person and give them proper notice.

But she never expected to walk into something like this!

The manager’s head was spinning. The employees were just too agitated. He’d been trying to calm them down for a while with little effect, so he finally just shut his mouth and waited for everyone to vent their anger.

After some time, the employees’ fury began to subside. The manager sighed helplessly, his tone aggrieved. "Everyone, please calm down. I may be the branch manager, but at the end of the day, I’m an employee too. You haven’t been paid, and neither have I. We’re on the same side here."

"I’m not entirely sure what the company’s situation is right now, but please believe me, I will actively negotiate with corporate on behalf of our branch’s employees. I’ll do everything I can to resolve this issue of delayed wages as quickly as possible."

"The company has always operated smoothly. Many of you are veteran employees who have worked here for years, so you know we’ve never had delayed wages before. For this to be happening now must mean the company is in some kind of trouble. Please, can you just give the company a little more time?"

"Manager, it’s not that we want to give you a hard time. The main thing is, with no income for two months, our lives have become very difficult!"

"Exactly! The cost of living in Lorcain is so high. How are we supposed to survive if we don’t get paid?"

"My elderly parents back home need medicine every month, and my kids have to go to school! Not paying us is like cutting off our lifeline, isn’t it?"

Most of these housekeeping employees had little formal education. They earned their money through honest, hard work. Many of them were the sole providers for their entire families, supporting both the young and the old. They truly couldn’t afford to have their wages delayed.

This situation, in particular, put them in a bind. If they quit, they couldn’t just find a more suitable job right away. But if they didn’t quit, they were afraid they’d end up working for free if their salaries never came.

The manager also wore a worried expression. Faced with this predicament, he didn’t know how to help his employees solve their financial problems either.

But as the branch manager, he was definitely on his employees’ side in his heart.

"Everyone, listen to me. Our company, Cleansweep Serenity, has over a dozen branches in the various districts of Lorcain. Our branch surely isn’t the only one in this situation. I promise you all, I will fight to make sure our branch is in the first batch to get paid. Please, you have to trust me, okay?"

The manager was very sincere. He had always been a responsible boss to the store’s employees. Just last year, under his leadership, this branch had even earned a company bonus. Although the amount each person received wasn’t much, the other branches got nothing.

Because of this, the branch’s employees were actually quite supportive of him.

Just then, Mina, a veteran employee who held considerable sway, stepped forward. She gestured for everyone to be calm and said, "Let’s not give the manager a hard time. That won’t solve anything. Since he’s promised to negotiate with the company for us, we should trust him. After all, he’s the only one who can interface with corporate. We’re all just rank-and-file employees."

As soon as Mina spoke, the crowd quieted down.

But Mina then turned back to the manager and said, "However, Manager, you know the difficulties everyone is facing. We can’t afford for this to drag on any longer. So, we’ll give you one week at most. We hope you can resolve this for us. If we don’t get paid in one week, we’re taking this to headquarters."

"Okay!" The manager nodded in agreement. "I’ll do my absolute best!"

’If he couldn’t solve this in a week, he wouldn’t have the face to stop them from protesting at headquarters. After all, if he, the manager, couldn’t fix it, maybe blowing the whole thing up was the only way for these low-level workers to get the wages they were owed.’

A temporary agreement was reached. The crowd finally dispersed. Those who had jobs to go to went out to work, and those who had posts to return to went back to their stations.

Mina saw Jasmine standing by the door and hurried over to her.

"Jasmine!"

Jasmine had heard everything. She couldn’t help but look at Mina and ask, "Has the company really been holding back wages for two months?"

Mina nodded helplessly. "Yeah. Especially our A-Team. Since Team A earns more, the amount they owe us is naturally higher. Don’t blame me for not telling you before. The company’s never been like this in the past, and I thought we’d get our money this month, so I didn’t say anything."

Jasmine shook her head. "Of course I don’t blame you. Besides, I was actually planning to resign today."

Mina froze for a moment, but then nodded in understanding. "It’s good to cut your losses. We still don’t know what’s really going on with the company. There’s no need for you to waste your time here."