During the New Year, normal companies have a seven-day holiday, but departnt stores are clearly not normal companies.
On the fourth day of the lunar New Year, Su Xiaoxiao crawled out of bed with dark circles under her eyes to go to work.
There’s no other way; their industry is all about service, and even these three days of vacation were secured by General Manager Yan with great effort.
So, on the fourth day of the New Year, the entire departnt store begrudgingly went to work.
Su Xiaoxiao had just arrived at the departnt store when she ran into an unexpected person.
Liu Changjiang, dressed in a suit and tie, his short hair slicked back, looking very much like a successful person.
Seeing Su Xiaoxiao, his eyes flashed with satisfaction: "Mr. Su, long ti no see."
"I just ca back from Hong Kong. Do you know Hong Kong? Only wealthy people spend money over there."
Liu Changjiang’s face was full of smugness.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to pay attention to him, but he stuck to her like a leech.
"Speaking of which, I have to thank you, Mr. Su. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have left the departnt store and started my own business."
Saying this, he pretentiously took out a business card from his pocket: "Mr. Su, I’m in the clothing wholesale business now, running my own shop. If you need clothes, you can co to for a discount."
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to deal with him: "Sorry, Mr. Liu, could you please move? I’m going to be late for work."
With that, she quickly walked inside.
Liu Changjiang squinted at her retreating figure, letting out a light scoff.
He’s a big boss now and doesn’t think much of clowns like Su Xiaoxiao.
Is being a lousy sales manager really worth being so important?
Thinking of his purpose for coming this ti, he directly headed to the general manager’s office.
Yan Guohua was busy at his desk. Hearing a sound, he looked up and, seeing him, frowned slightly: "What’s up?"
Liu Changjiang ignored his attitude, casually pulled a chair and sat down, crossing his legs: "General Manager, I’m here to discuss a business deal."
Yan Guohua frowned at him: "What business?"
Given Liu Changjiang’s unreliable work history, what kind of business could he possibly discuss?
Just as Yan Guohua thought this, he heard Liu Changjiang leisurely speaking: "I’m in the clothing business now and can get the latest styles from Hong Kong. These are popular styles and not accessible without connections."
"If our departnt store sources from , I can give you a 10% discount on our usual purchase price."
The departnt store needs a significant amount of clothing each season, and a 10% discount would an considerable savings.
However...
Yan Guohua wasn’t entirely convinced about Liu Changjiang.
After all, this man has always seed unreliable.
"Let think it over; I’ll get back to you in three days."
After considering for a mont, Yan Guohua gave his answer.
This matter is no small issue; should anything go wrong, his position as general manager could be jeopardized.
He must convene a eting with various departnts to discuss this before making a decision.
"Okay, General Manager, think about it, but I can only give you a day to decide. After all, ours isn’t the only departnt store in the city; others are very interested in my offer. If it weren’t for our relationship, I would’ve approached soone else by now."
With that, Liu Changjiang swaggered off.
Su Xiaoxiao had just left the office and happened to run into him.
Seeing him co out of the general manager’s office puzzled her a bit.
Could he be up to sothing again?
She thought as she instinctively followed him.
Just as she reached the first-floor lobby, she ran into Zhang Yulan and Qin Shuang.
The two were about to greet her when Su Xiaoxiao gestured for them to be quiet.
They imdiately got the hint and quietly followed.
Seeing the well-dressed man ahead, they both beca curious.
"Xiaoxiao, who is this man?"
Zhang Yulan asked, puzzled.
"Didn’t you recognize him? That’s our forr sales manager Liu Changjiang."
Upon hearing it was Liu Changjiang, Zhang Yulan’s brow imdiately furrowed: "Wasn’t he in Hong Kong doing business? What’s he doing at our departnt store?"
Su Xiaoxiao, hearing her say this, obviously knew sothing.
She and Qin Shuang turned their gazes to Zhang Yulan.
Zhang Yulan didn’t hold back; she imdiately shared what she knew.
"You’re saying your ex-husband has also been doing business in Hong Kong recently, and he’s partnered with Liu Changjiang?"
Su Xiaoxiao imdiately sensed sothing was off.
The two of them together make a pair of rogues; they’re definitely up to no good.
"Sister Zhang, has your ex-husband shown any unusual behavior lately?"
Zhang Yulan thought for a mont: "Nothing much, except he’s been contacting relatives recently, saying he wants to start a business with them."
"You two keep an eye on him; I’m going to talk to the general manager."
With that, Su Xiaoxiao rushed off.
As expected, upon asking in the general manager’s office, Liu Changjiang had indeed co to discuss business.
She imdiately beca vigilant.
"General Manager, you haven’t agreed to him, have you?"
Yan Guohua shook his head: "No."
"That’s good. Let’s first see what he’s up to. I suspect they’re engaging in fraud."
"Fraud?"
Yan Guohua’s face imdiately darkened.
Liu Changjiang is truly full of deceit. If it weren’t for his caution, he might have fallen for it.
"General Manager, I’ve asked Sister Zhang and Shuangshuang to keep an eye on him, so we should have news by this evening."
Yan Guohua nodded: "If this person indeed harbors ill intentions, I’ll personally hand him over to the police."
In the past, due to the old general manager, Yan Guohua had been quite lenient with Liu Changjiang, but now he was determined to act justly.
The two of them waited until noon.
Qin Shuang ca running back, out of breath: "Xiaoxiao, your instinct was spot on. That Liu Changjiang isn’t in any legitimate business; those clothes of his did co from Hong Kong, but they were taken off corpses—definitely not new styles..."
Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao imdiately realized it was akin to modern-day foreign waste. Who’d have thought there was already a prototype?
Sure enough, Liu Changjiang is no good.
Without hesitation, Yan Guohua reported to the police, and three days later, Liu Changjiang was caught red-handed during a transaction.
The buyers, upon learning how those clothes were sourced, were so furious they almost beat Liu Changjiang to a pulp.
If the police hadn’t intervened, he might have been beaten beyond recognition.
Liu Changjiang was caught, but Zhang Yulan’s ex-husband escaped, rumored to have fled to Hong Kong.
Early that year, a red-headed docunt was issued confirming the specific dates for the college entrance exams, set for December of that year.
Su Xiaoxiao began preparing vigorously for the exams while working.
Although she had been a top student at a prestigious university in modern tis, it had been quite a while since then, so she had to start from scratch.
Fortunately, she had a solid foundation, so picking it up was quite easy.
Ti flew by, and the college entrance exams arrived, held at the county high school.
Su Wenbing, worried she’d be worn out from cycling, took leave to drive her to the exams.
On the morning of her departure, Liu Cuilan fussily put two eggs in her pocket, claiming they would ensure she scored full marks.
Even as she left, Liu Cuilan was muttering prayers to gods and Buddhas.
Su Xiaoxiao wanted to tell her mother that this was all superstitious nonsense, but seeing her mom more nervous than she was, she decided to hold her tongue.
In contrast to her family’s excitent and nerves, Su Xiaoxiao remained quite calm; after all, it wasn’t her first ti in an exam room.
In modern tis, she had experienced countless exams, big and small; compared to those, this exam seed insignificant to her.
The exam was a chaotic affair.
So people’s pens ran dry, splattering ink all over their papers; others got stomachaches, and soone even had an epileptic seizure, causing chaos.
Su Xiaoxiao answered questions seriously, unaffected throughout.
She felt that compared to modern college entrance exams, this one seed relatively easier...
In February of the following year, Su Xiaoxiao received an admission notice from Jing University, causing Liu Cuilan to almost faint from excitent.
When it was ti for Su Xiaoxiao to report to school, the entire family turned up to send her off.
Seeing the once-familiar school sign in front of her, Su Xiaoxiao took a deep breath, feeling as though ti had tied her back to this place again.
A new journey was about to begin.
—The End—
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