On the last day of May, my mom was "cursed" by Boss A seven or eight times over the microphone. At that moment, I was sitting next to her, feeling both angry and impressed by her mental resilience.

My mom is the accountant at Company A. In May, Boss A entrusted her with the task of handling the address change for Company A's business license, but the change could only be processed in early July, and it required reconvening the shareholders to sign the relevant documents.

That day, I accompanied my mom to the government service center to submit the materials. The staff member reviewed the documents and refused to accept them for two reasons: first, the start date of the new lease contract for the office was July 1, and it was not yet the processing period; second, the content of the amendment to the articles of association (the processing document) did not match the provisions of the original articles.

Initially, Boss A had B, a colleague (a capable assistant who had been with him for over ten years, a man around 50), hand over the business documents to my mom and instructed B to report the progress to him in a timely manner.

Coincidentally, due to the busy schedule of the property management company, the lease contract was signed at the end of April (the deposit was paid in May), but the contract only reached B's hands at the end of May. On the day of submitting the documents, B only handed the contract to my mom. While preparing the materials, my mom relied solely on a deposit receipt to confirm the office address and lease dates.

The last time Company A changed its business scope, it was handled by a brokerage firm, and afterward, they did not return the backup documents, even deliberately deleting one clause from the articles, causing this amendment to be inconsistent with the original articles.

Since the matter could not be resolved, my mom decided to return to the company first and return the documents to B for safekeeping.

On the way, we hailed a taxi and rushed back to the company. However, the driver was not easy to deal with; even with navigation, he kept taking detours, intending to charge more. My mom called him out, and he became furious, yelling at us. In response, my mom and I remained unyielding, urging the driver to head to our destination faster, ultimately completing the 2.5-kilometer journey for 16 yuan.

The driver's erratic behavior made me feel that life is not easy, but my mom said that besides workers, bosses also have it tough; they have their tempers and moments of humility too.

As we talked, I unconsciously left my mom behind and arrived at the company entrance first.

Looking into the office, I saw only B there, so I immediately called out his name to signal that I was back. Just as I finished speaking, I realized I had come at the wrong time—B was on the phone with Boss A. He frowned, his gaze cold, glanced at me, and then lowered his head to continue the call.

“So you were on the phone with Boss A,” I said softly.

He ignored me and continued speaking into the microphone, lowering his voice to report, “I haven’t seen Accountant Huang (my mom) return, only her daughter...” Hearing this, I realized—my mom had somehow “gotten lost.”

Not long after, B hung up the phone. However, to avoid further misunderstandings, neither of us spoke, and the awkward silence felt like time had stopped—I comforted myself, thinking that I had never set foot in the company.

Fortunately, a minute or two later, my mom walked in, breaking the previously frozen atmosphere in the office.

“Accountant Huang, Boss A wants you to call back. I just reported the progress, and I got “swept” (scolded) by Boss A.”

“I’ve been with him for many years, I know his temper well. You need to be mentally prepared for a scolding,” B preemptively explained the situation to my mom.

After hearing this, my mom nodded, picked up her phone, and prepared to call.

“Use my phone; I’m his old partner. He’ll at least pause a bit when he sees my number.”

To clarify the situation, my mom took B's phone, put it on speaker, and after connecting, she began to explain the situation to Boss A earnestly...

“Why do things always go wrong? Even when I pay salaries, things go wrong, is that okay?” After hearing the explanation, Boss A first brought up the issue of salaries.

“The new lease contract was only received today, the lease period is in July, and it’s not yet the processing period; the people at the government service center won’t accept it...”

“You’ve been an accountant for decades; can’t you ask clearly first?”

“This situation is very rare; I’ve never encountered it before...”

“I don’t care! What I want is the result, not the process!”

“If it’s really troublesome, you can handle it online, so you don’t have to trouble your elderly sister (one of the shareholders of Company A) to come to the company to sign; she can sign by scanning a QR code. If she doesn’t understand, your niece can assist her...”

“Cursed! My sister is in her seventies; how would she know about that high-tech stuff! Cursed! You take my salary, shouldn’t you run around a few more times! Cursed! Don’t use convenience as an excuse; you’re just lazy...”

“The online processing method was strongly recommended by the staff at the government service center.”

“You and your daughter are both unreliable; next time, let B take you along! Cursed...”

I sat next to my mom, listening and observing her reaction. Even though Boss A kept verbally insulting my mom and me, I didn’t dare to retort because he was essentially my mom’s boss. If I stood up for her and angered Boss A, my family would lose a stable source of income.

I saw Boss A on the microphone spewing venom, and my mom, seeing this, started to laugh, as if she had heard a funny joke.

“I’m not joking with you; we need to get this sorted out. You should ask the property management office what the situation is since the lease period hasn’t started...” My mom’s laughter silenced Boss A, his anger gradually subsiding as he began to calm down and seek a solution.

“Boss, I know you’re anxious, but things really need to be processed according to the regulations. I will communicate with the relevant departments as soon as possible to resolve this issue.” My mom’s voice was calm but filled with determination and resolve.

Unexpectedly, the young man at the property management office responded, “We have many tenants, and the signing time of the contract does not match the lease period. If you have a problem, you should have raised it earlier!”

After hearing this, B criticized me again, saying my handwriting was too messy and that next time I should type the forms on a computer.

When we got home, I asked my mom, “Mom, doesn’t it upset you that Boss A insults people like this?” My mom replied that the phrase “cursed” was not an insult; it was Boss A’s catchphrase!

“Mom! I think Boss A is insulting people, and both you and I were present, how embarrassing! At that moment, why didn’t you vent your frustration on me and retort at him?!”

“If I really scolded you, wouldn’t that be even more embarrassing?! Don’t get hung up on those rotten people and rotten things; just smile and let it go when you encounter a bad temper!”