Yang Ruoqian thought the proof problem was finished.
Then the next file arrived with yellow highlights.
He stared at the first page.
Changed: entrance photo replaced.
Changed: wiring proof added.
Changed: rent clause corrected.
The owner had not sent a new pile.
The owner had sent a map through the pile.
Yang felt personally betrayed by stationery.
At nine, finance opened the file in the meeting.
"This is easier to review."
Yang closed his eyes.
The sentence had become too familiar.
"Why are the changes marked?"
The operations manager said, "Because we only need to look at what changed."
"No."
"No?"
"We need to look at everything."
"For risk?"
"For labor."
No one wrote that down.
Labor was increasingly difficult to protect in open meetings.
At nine-thirty, Yang issued the first order.
"Do not require owners to mark changes."
The assistant lead nodded.
"We do not require it."
"Then why did they do it?"
"They did not want staff to reread unchanged pages."
