Someone Got Promoted. Even My Plant Is Anxious.

The opening joke is wonderfully literal. Bi slumps over his phone while a classmate's feed announces a promotion, a new home, and a new start. Beside him, books labeled "PROMOTION," "HOME," "MARRIAGE," and "MILESTONES" make the comparison feel as if an entire life checklist has been stacked on his desk. His attention then lands on the tiny potted seedling, and the anxiety spreads by association: he tells it that everyone else is flowering while it barely has a sprout, with "HURRY UP, GROW!" stuck to the pot. The plant has done nothing wrong, which is exactly why the scene is funny.

Bi makes the comparison even more concrete in panel 03 by bringing out an actual ruler. Around it are labels for "CLASSMATE: PROMOTED," "COLLEAGUE: HOUSE," "FRIEND: MARRIED," and "OTHERS: STARTUP," while his own position is reduced to "ME: ?" The woman in mustard overalls catches him doing this and asks whether he is comparing progress with the plant again. Her interruption matters because she does not argue that the other milestones are unimportant; she points out that Bi has turned other people's events into the measuring marks for his own life. His embarrassed "Huh? I was just..." keeps the exchange playful rather than preachy.

The turning point arrives through specific evidence rather than reassurance alone. The woman asks what Bi has done in the past six months, and the notebook titled "MY SIX MONTHS" lists learning to cook, keeping moving, reading three books, caring for family, changing work direction, and still showing up. Bi answers, "More than I thought." In the next panel she holds a watering can beside an enlarged view of a plant with a dense web of roots exposed beneath the soil. His surprised response—"Wow. So much happening underneath!"—works visually because the comic does not pretend the small seedling suddenly became the larger plant. Instead, the separate rooted plant makes hidden development visible without claiming that every life or every plant follows the same timetable.

Bi then changes what he records. In "MY PROGRESS," he writes down focused work, cooking a meal, talking with family, repotting the plant, having a steadier week, and taking one step toward his direction. The following illustration keeps the contrast rather than erasing it: under "THEIR PACE" stands a large established tree accompanied by promotion, house, marriage, and startup, while "MY PACE" contains a much smaller seedling with its own roots. Bi asks, "Different seeds, different seasons. Why one ruler?" and follows it with "I have my own rhythm." The ruler has stopped being the judge even though the visible difference in size remains.

The ending becomes quieter instead of turning into a victory montage. Over botanical mugs, the woman tells Bi that slower is okay and that he is living and growing; he replies that he would like to care for what is here now. In the final panel the original pot still contains only a small shoot, and an orange-and-white cat sleeps peacefully beside it. The pot's label—"NO IPO. STILL GROWING."—delivers the last joke, while Bi echoes it: "One leaf so far. No IPO. Still growing. Me too." The closing line, "Some flowers catch your eye early. Some are putting down roots," connects naturally with the supplied Daodejing passage as a contemporary reflection: attention shifts away from defeating someone else's timeline and toward recognizing and directing one's own life.

One who overcomes others has strength; one who overcomes oneself is strong.

Daodejing · Chapter 33
English rendering of the Silk B base reading excerpt