Ma Shengli was a bit confused, but out of instinct, he immediately changed his tune. "I also think those guys are okay. Should we allocate a counter to them?"
Director Xu gave him a meaningful look, and his tone suddenly turned cold. "Manager Ma, as the manager of the department store, you should follow the rules in everything."
Ma Shengli was taken aback, completely at a loss.
What did that mean?
He was supposed to take care of them, but not give them a counter. How was he supposed to show them favor?
After seeing Director Xu off,
Ma Shengli sat in his office alone, thinking for a long time but still couldn't figure it out. He had no choice but to consult someone smarter than him.
Ma Shengli reserved a private room in a hotel and prepared a sumptuous feast to invite his superior.
The superior knew about Director Xu's visit. After a few rounds of drinks, he gave Ma Shengli a hint. "Director Xu doesn't really want those people to have a chance to shine. What he means is for you to play the bad guy first and give them a hard time. But you should mention Director Xu's kindness in front of them. When he has time, he'll come and do them a favor to win them over. The electrical appliance business is booming now, and Ningcheng is an inland area. What he's after is the ready - made electronics factory, not the people."
Only then did Ma Shengli suddenly understand.
"Okay, okay, I got it."
The superior looked at his honest and straightforward appearance. He was honest, but too rigid in doing things.
"You should also leave yourself a way out when doing things. Don't be used as a pawn by others."
Ma Shengli had to be submissive, feeling extremely bitter in his heart.
It wasn't that he wanted to be used as a pawn.
If he dared to defy Director Xu, the latter might turn his gun on the department store. He didn't know how long he could keep his position as the manager.
It was really easy to talk when you weren't in the situation.
All he could do now was respond, "Yes, yes, I'll remember."
...
At noon when work was over,
Li Chuchu was about to go out when she ran into Mu Wan at the factory gate.
She was about to step forward to say hello when she noticed a man standing opposite Mu Wan.
He was very tall, with dark skin, a broad forehead and a square face. He was dressed in a military uniform.
"Wanwan, we're not young anymore. I hope you can seriously consider our marriage." As he spoke, he seemed to hand Mu Wan something.
Hearing this, an alarm bell went off in Li Chuchu's mind.
She almost forgot!
A few days ago, Teacher Xie said that Senior Sister Mu was absent - minded. Could it be because of this man?
The person who showed up at this time was most likely the violent and abusive veteran who tricked Mu Wan into marriage!
Could this scumbag just get out of here?
Li Chuchu still remembered Mu Wan's fate in the original book. She was not only beaten and had a broken leg by the scumbag, but also couldn't even get a divorce in the end. Her whole family was deceived by the scumbag's lies, and Mu Wan herself was dragged to the brink of collapse by this marriage.
It was a pity that Mu Wan couldn't hear Li Chuchu's thoughts. She was shocked by Yu Xiuyuan's sincere look, and a blush appeared on her face. She seriously replied to him, "I'll seriously consider this. You can go back first."
Hearing her answer, Yu Xiuyuan finally showed a faint smile on his face. "Okay, Wanwan. I'll go back and wait for your news."
After Yu Xiuyuan left,
Mu Wan just turned around when she was startled by Li Chuchu who suddenly appeared behind her. She gently stroked her chest and gasped for breath. "Why are you here? You walked so quietly. You almost scared me to death."
"..." Li Chuchu was speechless. "Is it that I walked quietly or that you were too engrossed in your conversation?"
Mu Wan blushed shyly. "Did you hear everything?"
Li Chuchu didn't deny it. "Is this the marriage partner arranged for you by your family?"
Mu Wan was a bit shy. After all, she had never been in a relationship before, and it felt kind of embarrassing to mention this term. "Yes."
Looking at her lovestruck expression, Li Chuchu couldn't just say, "You're not suitable. He's a domestic abuser." Instead, she asked indirectly, "Didn't you say before that you didn't like him?"
This seemed to hit a soft spot in Mu Wan's heart. She quickly explained, "I was wrong before. He's very considerate and knows how to take care of people. He always brings things to our family. These gloves were prepared by him for me. He said it was cold, and I would be cold when riding my bike to work, so he prepared them for me."
Li Chuchu glanced at the gloves with messy stitches, which seemed to be bought from some small stall. Then she looked up at Mu Wan, who was completely touched, and felt a sense of helplessness like trying to persuade a lovesick best friend.
She said directly, "Are you so short of gloves? Weren't you wearing a pair of rabbit - fur gloves before?"
Mu Wan choked. "Chuchu, you're so unromantic. That pair was bought by my mom. They have different meanings."
What different meanings?
All she saw was a lovesick girl.
Li Chuchu sighed and explained,
"I'm not unromantic. If a man really cares about you being exposed to the wind, he'll find a way to take you to work and shield you from the wind and rain, instead of just buying you a pair of gloves that you already have and saying some nice words to prove his so - called consideration."
This statement was so harsh that Mu Wan's mind went blank for a few seconds. She struggled to speak and tried hard to defend Yu Xiuyuan, but found no reason. She could only reply as best she could,
"But... but he's very busy..."
Li Chuchu simply followed her words and asked, "What has he been doing recently?"
"He just came back from the army recently. He officially retired this year and is now at home..." Mu Wan's voice got lower and lower. "It wouldn't be appropriate for him to come and pick me up. We haven't officially established our relationship yet. It wouldn't look good if others saw us."
Li Chuchu sighed.
"Establishing a relationship is something the man should consider. If he can only do this much for you at this stage when he should be desperately trying to please you, then he'll probably only be able to do this much in the future. Moreover, you don't really know what kind of person he is. Do you really think you know him well?"
Mu Wan didn't agree with Li Chuchu's view, but couldn't find anything to refute. She just pretended to be nonchalant. "Oh, I know what I'm doing. I know you're doing this for my own good. I'll be more careful in the future. Besides, our two families have been family friends for generations. Even if I can't see his true character clearly, my parents can see more clearly than me. Anyway, I believe Yu Xiuyuan is a worthy life - partner."
Watching Mu Wan reassuring herself one sentence after another, Li Chuchu had all her words stuck in her throat.
She was really out of ideas this time.
Li Chuchu rubbed her temples in distress. Mu Wan thought she was worried about her,
and instead comforted her, "You haven't met him, so you don't know what kind of person he is. Your prejudice against him now is just because you're too worried about me. Next time, if I get the chance, I'll introduce him to you. Maybe you'll change your opinion of him then."
Mu Wan thought for a while, and her eyes lit up. She came up with a good idea. "How about this? I mentioned you to him before, and he said he also wanted to meet you. I'll invite you then, and the three of us can have lunch together. What do you think?"
Chuchu was prejudiced against Yu Xiuyuan just because she didn't know him well enough. As long as she got to know Yu Xiuyuan better, she would surely approve of their being together.
Li Chuchu thought: Spending time with this scumbag? It was really killing her.
If she didn't know what kind of person Yu Xiuyuan was, she wouldn't be so anxious.
Li Chuchu felt extremely helpless now.
If only she didn't know the plot. Then she wouldn't have to worry so much. She felt like all this worrying was making her old.
Under Mu Wan's extremely expectant gaze, she closed her eyes, looking as if she had eaten something disgusting. "Okay. I'll try to be as objective as possible then."
...