Work and choice

He asked when the unpaid project payments would come through

27 August 2025Jinan, Shandong Translated by AI

A client asked about 1.2 million in unpaid payments. I told him to remove all dragon-shaped items from his home and carry a small ox charm.

The screenshots were masked before they were posted. Names, avatars and birth details are covered in the originals; where a translated line reads [redacted], the source was covered too and nothing has been guessed.

Client

Zongyuan, I’d like to ask for your help. These past two years I’ve taken on some work after a lot of effort, but now the client is using all kinds of strange excuses to delay payment. There’s still over 1.2 million [redacted] outstanding. Could you help me see when I can get this money back? And if there’s anything I need to watch out for in the process.🤙

猫猫师兄，想请你帮忙看看，这两年费劲八累的接了点儿活，现在甲方各种稀奇古怪的理由，结算的极其磨叽，现在还有120多万未结算回来。师兄帮我看一下，这钱得啥时候能请回来。过程中有没有需要注意的地方。🤙

昨天 18:13

Zongyuan

I’ll look at it tomorrow when I have time.

我明天空了看哈

昨天 18:26

Client

[image] Thank you, I’m almost driven crazy. I’m really confused.

[image] 辛苦师姐，快被逼疯了。很迷茫

Zongyuan

2 You have quite a few dragon-shaped ornaments, dolls, and red envelopes at home. Find all of them and throw them away. Then carry a small ox charm with you — gold or silver is fine, it can be a necklace, keychain, or phone charm.

2 你家里有不少龙造型的摆件，玩偶，红包，全部找到之后清理掉。而后随身带一个小牛的挂件，金银都可以，项链，钥匙环或者手机链。

Please accept [the reading fee].

请收

Client

Right now the payments are like squeezing toothpaste. It’s not that they don’t pay at all, but the small amounts they give are barely helpful. It’s just dragging on slowly.

嗯，现在的回款就跟挤牙膏似的，说不给呢也给点，说给点呢还不如不要，几乎起不到啥啥用。就是慢慢磨呗

08:53

Right now my partners and I are thinking of going to the client’s sales office to make a scene. The consequence might be that we lose any chance of working together again.

现在我们几个合伙人意思去他们甲方的售楼处去闹一闹，这样的后果可能就是连合作机会都没了。

Zongyuan

You basically won’t work together again later anyway.

后期基本不会合作了

Your luck pillar is shifting.

换运了

It’s not just the client — these partners of yours won’t be working with you in two years either.

不仅仅是甲方，你这几个合伙人这两年也不合作了

Client

Dragon-shaped ornaments... I don’t think I have any. Let me think — the only thing is my kid carved a long wooden object that’s sort of like a wooden knife.

龙形的摆件。。貌似没有，我想了一下就是孩子用木头修了一个类似于木刀的的长形状物体。

Zongyuan

Look carefully. I see quite a few, they’re thin.

仔细找找，我看到不少，挺薄

They might be paper, red envelopes, calendars, things like that.

可能是纸张，红包，日历本什么的

Go back and look thoroughly.

你回去仔细得看

Client

Yeah, there’s a lot of stuff at home and it’s really messy.

嗯，家里东西的确很多又杂乱。

Zongyuan

Mm. Let me know after you’ve found them.

嗯，找完再跟我反馈

Client

I live in several places. Should I focus on the one I stay at most, or check all of them?

我现在住的地方好几个，具体还是看那个地方住的多还是都看一下。

Zongyuan

Check all of them, especially the one you live in most often.

都要看，尤其是常住的地方

Client

There’s a high chance I’ll switch careers. My brother-in-law has a domestic waste treatment project, and he’s been asking me to go over as general manager. He’s been saying it for two years, it’s been dragging on. Now I guess it might not officially start until 2026.

换事业儿的可能性很大，我有个姐夫弄了个生活垃圾处理的项目，一直要让我过去当总经理。已经说了两年了拖拖拉拉的，现在我估计真得要到26年估计才能正式启动。

Sometimes I wonder if this is fate.

我有时也在想，这是不是命运的安排。

[image]

Zongyuan

Mm. Big changes start next year. You’ll basically leave 90% of your old circle behind.

嗯，明年开始大变动，基本之前的圈子会脱离掉90%

Client

Found one.

找到啦一个

This pen holder.

这个笔架

Zongyuan

There are at least 4.

至少有4个

Client

I’ll throw this one away then.

这个就扔了吧

Zongyuan

Yes.

对

[image]

09:10

Mm, that’s 3 so far.

嗯目前3了

Client

Is there a specific reason for the dragon-shaped things?

这个龙形有啥具体原因吗

Do I have to be careful about them from now on?

是以后都得加小心么

Zongyuan

They gather all the water and wood elements in your chart into a storage, so you have no autonomy.

把你全局的水木都收到一个库里了，你没有自主权

Think carefully — a lot of things this year were caused by last year.

今年很多事儿你仔细回忆，都是去年导致的

Client

Right. The biggest debt started last August.

对，欠款最多的就是去年八月开始的

Those two projects alone owe nearly 60 [redacted].

结果就这两个项目欠了将近 60

Zongyuan

Mm. No more dragons in the house from now on.

嗯之后龙不进家门

Also be careful with people born in the Year of the Dragon.

属龙的也注意

09:13

Client

Another one was taken on at the end of last December. Seven days after I took it over, an old man died of a heart attack on the job. We hadn’t even signed the contract with the client for that project.

还有一个是去年12月底接的，刚接手7天就有一个老头心梗死在岗位上了。这个项目和甲方合同都没签。

Zongyuan

Mm.

嗯

Client

At least I managed to squeeze back over 160,000 [redacted] this month.

好赖着这个月磨回来16万多

We’ve been through three rounds of lawsuits and it’s still not over.

官司打了三轮还没打完呢,

I just asked my wife again, she said there are still some dragon-shaped red envelopes in the car.

我刚又又问了我媳妇，说还有一些龙形的红包在车里

The kind made for the Year of the Dragon.