A company CEO looked back on his rookie days in an X (formerly Twitter)-style post: “As a new hire, an executive told me, ‘Just buy any bread, I don’t care which,’ so I bought exactly what was asked — and got yelled at anyway. I get it now.” The story drew reactions from 5ch users. The thread buzzed with theories about which bread he actually bought and what made it the “wrong” choice, with some sympathizing (“getting mad after saying ‘anything’s fine’ is unreasonable”) and others taking a harsher line (“a new hire should at least ask about preferences”). In the end, not even the poster revealed what the “correct” bread would have been — and that unresolved mystery became the biggest point of debate.
What people said
1AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:29
@
Back when I was a new hire, an executive told me:
"Just buy any bread, I don't care which"
2AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:31
So when exactly was he a "new hire"? How old is this guy now that he's a company president?
3AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:32
I genuinely don't understand what was wrong with his choice
4AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:32
Saying 'anything's fine' was the mistake in the first place. You're supposed to give options down to a third choice, like: 'anpan, jam bread, or chocolate bread — if none of those, then whatever.'
5AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:33
A tiny NewDays (convenience store chain) only stocks snack-grade sweet breads anyway
9AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:35
Fair enough if it happened when he was a fresh grad — but if he's pushing late 20s and still doing this, that's pretty sad
11AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:36
That's literally the tastiest bread there is. Is it a no-go just because it's sweet?
12AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:36
Given the context, doesn't it sound more like he meant 'go grab me lunch'?
14AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:37
Saying 'anything's fine' and then getting mad about it anyway — what kind of person does that?
15AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:37
It's delicious, I don't get what's wrong with it. Was he supposed to buy a savory bread instead?
16AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:37
This same thing happens with onigiri too
17AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:38
Saying 'anything's fine' and then complaining after the fact is just messed up
20AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:40
If he wanted it as a substitute kneaded eraser for charcoal sketches, then yeah, this one wouldn't work
64AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:59
Re: #20
Nice O. Henry-style twist ending there
21AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:41
I can kind of guess what a construction worker's drink order would be, but I have zero clue on this one
22AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:41
This isn't really bread, it's a chocolate bar wrapped in bread dough, isn't it?
71AnonymousOct 18, 2026 10:01
Re: #22
Yep
Way too much of a snack to pass as lunch lol
25AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:42
If you're told 'anything's fine' and just go buy the first thing, even a kid could manage that. Someone competent would at least ask about preferences first
26AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:43
He was being tested, you know
35AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:45
Re: #26
Tested on what, exactly?
27AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:44
It's during work hours, so the correct answer is obviously something classy and health-conscious, like domestic-wheat bread
28AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:44
He says 'anything's fine,' but the moment you ask about preferences he snaps, 'I said anything's fine, didn't I?'
29AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:44
If it's coming from an executive, you should just be able to read between the lines
31AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:44
If you want to run a test, do it in an exam room
32AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:44
When you're asking someone who has no idea what you actually like, you just shouldn't say 'anything's fine'
34AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:45
This isn't the kind of bread a college student would eat, so no way is this right
36AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:45
How you handle getting yelled at afterward is part of the lesson too
37AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:45
I get that it's a test, but what's the actual correct answer?
38AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:46
Figure out the correct answer yourself lol
41AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:47
Re: #38
Since you can't answer it, there is no correct answer
39AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:46
One thing's for certain: employees should get out of a company run by a guy like this as fast as possible
40AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:47
He should've gone with the pull-apart banana stick bread — easy to share
43AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:48
Japan's economic decline, perfectly summed up in this one exchange lol
44AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:49
Honestly, I've never seen 'go buy me bread' happen even at the most bottom-tier job sites
45AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:50
The correct answer is a sandwich, not a sweet pastry bread
52AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:52
Re: #45
Why though? He said anything's fine
54AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:53
Re: #45
Considering he might hate vegetables, a sandwich is off the table
59AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:54
Re: #45
If you're not careful the filling spills out of a sandwich, so depending on the situation that's not a safe pick either
63AnonymousOct 18, 2026 09:58
Even if he was too new to casually ask around, he should've at least asked, 'sweet or savory?'
69AnonymousOct 18, 2026 10:01
Re: #63
The person making the request should just say so themselves — subordinates aren't slaves
Background and Key Talking Points
The scenario of being told “just buy whatever, I don’t care” — then getting scolded anyway for picking something totally reasonable — is a recurring workplace-friction story on 5ch, and this is just the latest version. The thread buzzed with competing theories — Team Savory Bread, Team Sandwich, Team Domestic-Wheat Bread — but neither the original poster nor anyone else in the thread ever confirmed what the “correct” choice actually was. That’s really the point: this isn’t a puzzle with a hidden answer, it’s about how “anything’s fine” quietly demands that the other person read their preferences and the situation correctly, while giving a new hire no real clues to go on. Plenty of commenters argued the person making the request should just state their actual conditions — though others pushed back with “reading the room is part of the job,” too. Which side feels right probably depends on your own experience of office life.
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