Readers who have read my previous articles should know that I am interning, working as the <after-sales front-desk receptionist>. This job is all women; to be precise, my colleagues are all aunties, five in total, and each has children.

My college roommate works at another company in the same position, except his coworkers are all men. At first I was puzzled: front desk reception must be better for women, with a good image; in most companies the reception is mostly women, and pretty women at that. Don’t you need women? Why are they all men?

Now I realize belatedly that the leadership at my classmate’s company is truly wise! I used to hear the saying, “three women make a drama.” I studied automotive engineering in high school and college, in all-male classes, and I hadn’t had the chance to encounter the so-called “scheming among women.” Now that I’m on the job, I can finally understand.

In the mornings, going to work is already a pain, and to top it off I have to listen to the aunties’ complaints. Their grievances cover a broad range, mainly three categories: “the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship,” “complaints about husbands,” and “complaints about children.” In my view, the mother-in-law/daughter-in-law relationship is the most ridiculous. It also made me realize the importance of finding a good wife; honestly, it makes me somewhat wary of marriage...

First, a story, hereafter referred to as Aunt Y: Aunt Y can’t get up in the morning, but she wants to eat xxx (I forgot what it’s called). The mother-in-law gets up very early the next day to make it for her; on the first day Aunt Y was very happy to see the breakfast she liked. The mother-in-law thought Aunt Y liked it, so kindly cooked it for three days in a row; unexpectedly, Aunt Y ends up shouting at her. She says, “You eat this for three days—aren’t you tired of it? Why make it every day? There’s a problem.” In my view this is very absurd—early in the morning she’s nagging like a shrew; the whole front desk echoes with complaints. One day is one thing, but this happens every day.

What I heard really makes me frown; the mother-in-law is willing to cook out of kindness. If you don’t like it, just say so. If you’re tired of it, you can order something else—do you not have a mouth? What is the mouth for? The mother-in-law is willing to cook, yet she is directly cursed. And there are outrageous remarks like: “Hey, other people’s moms aren’t as close to their own moms as mine.” When I first got married, I told my husband, “Never think I’ll treat your mom as well as I treat mine.” That is really too outrageous. What does this husband even gain from her?

Aunt Y’s husband works in frontend development, with a post-tax monthly salary between 13k and 14k yuan. Aunt Y’s outrageous remark: “I only give my husband 1,000 yuan each month; all the rest goes to me. He is a man who doesn’t need to schmooze, doesn’t smoke or drink, clocks out on time, and sometimes even works from home. 1,000 yuan is totally enough, OK?” Listening to that really annoys me; I want to roast. What can you do with 1,000 yuan in Ningbo? Never mind, I won’t comment… a thousand curses ran through my mind.

Wait, there are also various outrageous statements. One isn’t a big deal; basically four of the five people are not normal, and it really makes me fear marriage. Today the Sales Advisor upstairs came down to pick up a car; after listening for one minute he shook his head and said: “Aunties, are you going through menopause? Can you talk about something else?” Incredible—so bold; Northeastern men are just tough.

The aunties always like to blame heaven and earth, complaining about husbands, children, the company—anyway, nothing in life seems worth praising. In the past the company’s meals were packaged lunches; they cursed the meals as garbage every day. Later the company listened to feedback and improved the meals; running a shop by oneself is indeed good, but they still curse. Our street is lined with 4S stores; our meals are absolutely the best among them. Yet this still gets roasted around here.

They complain about the job, but they actually work about five hours a day; the environment is good, the lunch is good, the benefits are good—basically one hour on, one hour off. They always think of striking or quitting, believing the company and leadership owe them, and that they could find a better job outside. In my view, they have zero self-awareness: you earn as much as you’re capable of; if there really are better jobs outside, wouldn’t you leave immediately? Age is here, skill is here; there’s not a shred of self-awareness about themselves.

In short, there are many other ridiculous things, such as two-faced types. They keep a stiff, cold face toward you, look down on everyone. When they need you to do something, they smile; just seeing that is annoying.

I still enjoy hanging out with the consultants upstairs; they’re all young, fresh blood. In real life they don’t vent; on blogs they vent; learn to keep quiet; in real life you don’t judge people. It’s 12:00 a.m. now; time to sleep; tomorrow I’ll keep pushing forward!