A smile in purgatory 火海一笑 (BxB)

Why did they hire him

Hanson offered a cold handshake to Simon, who returned the handshake, but added on a sincere but childish, innocent smile.

Hanson did not smile back, which Wen Kexing thought that was very impolite and rude, so he immediately did not like the man before him.

Simon thought that Hanson would ask him about his background, work experience, etc. but he did not. Most people would on first days, to get to know each other.

But Hanson simply told him with a monotonous voice,

"My name is Hanson Zhou Zishu. My title is Raw Material Manager, but I only manage materials, not people, not even you. Our manager is Brian. If you need to come in late, leave early, call out sick, don't tell me, tell him or tell HR. I will say this to you right away. I'm not easy to work with, most people can't put up with me, but I don't care, I do my work, I go home. If the boss is happy, he keeps me, if he's not, he can fire me. If you can't work with me, you don't need to quit, just tell Brian or tell HR, and they will gladly move you to another department. Every department is understaffed. It won't be a surprise to them because everybody knows I'm difficult. It is nothing personal against you. If I have problems with you, I will tell you, but if you got problems with me, don't tell me because I won't change. And last but not least, do not smile at me."

"Uh, ok." Simon nodded. He thought the statement was rather strange.

Hanson continued,

"The department of Raw Materials only have 2 people, you and me, but I'm not your boss. You are my assistant, here to help me. If I ask you to do something and you don't want to do it, no problem, tell me and I will do it myself. If I give you too much to do, tell me and I will do it. I work 6 am to 6 pm five days a week, but they only pay me for 40 hours. This means, if you work more than 40 h, you also only get paid for 40 h. So if you want to work just 40 h, that's fine. I don't mind. What you cannot do, I will do. What you don't have time to do, I will do. I'm a worker like you, I'm not above you."

"So is there a lot to do? Why the long hours?" Simon asked.

"A lot, that's why they hired you, and they are still looking to hire one more person to help us. Also, every so often, you will see me go over there." Hanson pointed at the Quality Control room.

"That's QC. I'm their Coordinate Measuring Machine programmer supporting Research and Development, for new products that will be distributed to our soldiers and police force, so the projects are a top priority. If you see me there, then you know why."

Hanson then walked Simon to the different areas where materials are located, the two sites where they will be working at, and the database they use to track material inventory and location.

When they finished the tour and introduction, Hanson sent Simon to get his forklift training and certification. Over the next few days, Hanson trained Simon on how to use the manual saw, the CNC saw, the deburring machine, the tractor trailer, the Optical Emission Spectrometer to test material composition, the Rockwell tester to check metal hardness, etc. It was a lot. They also spent time working on the computer, to use the material database software, print inventory reports, submit purchase order request for materials that are low in inventory, etc.

Before the end of the first week, Hanson already realized a few things:

1- Simon could not read or write very well. He struggled with Chinese, but especially with English.

2- Simon could not use the computer at all. He didn't even know how to open windows, close them, use the mouse, keyboard, etc. He never used emails before, and did not know Excel, Word, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe, Powerpoint, etc.

3- Simon has a learning disability. He forgets things that Hanson taught him, despite Hanson repeats himself over and over. Since he can't write, he could not take notes, so learning how to use instruments, steps to follow to test materials, check hardness of metals, etc., became a problem. But a raw material handler is required to test materials before dispensing to production.

Hanson started to wonder why the company even hired somebody like that.

But he told himself that Simon would ask to move to another department soon, because nobody could work with Hanson for too long anyway, he was too difficult. People never said it to his face, but he just knows. The whole company works with him because they have to, but nobody likes him.

And he doesn't care.

He deals with work, not people.

He gets the job done, he waters his own grass.

Simon won't last long working with him, so he will just let Simon continue until Simon moves to another department. Hanson thought to himself.

This coming weekend was a long weekend, and they get Monday off.

Since Hanson works 3 jobs, he never gets time off, except during holidays, which is about 7 times per year.

This is his never-changing holiday schedule:

9 am. Get up. Go to the gym, work out 4 hours.

1 pm. Go boxing. For 4 hours.

5 pm. Go to the bookstore, read latest articles on robot programming, software development, and computer technological advances. For 4 hours.

9 pm. Go to the Hawaii bar and hire a sex worker. No string attached. No name or phone number exchange.

1 am. Go home and go to bed.

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If you are as lonely as Syrius, you too would crave for some connection, even if it is only physical.

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(Timeline: Week 2 Monday)