Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading

Chapter 192: Rehearsal

Chen Meilan cleared her throat and began, "Starting today, anyone who signs up to participate in the city-wide department store gala can leave work an hour early each day for rehearsal. This time will be counted as regular working hours and included in your salary.

As soon as she finished speaking, the room erupted.

"Why’s the management so generous this year? If I had known, I’d have signed up too."

"Exactly, those who signed up got really lucky. I wonder if I can still sign up now?"

"Why didn’t they tell us about this benefit earlier?"

Chen Meilan cleared her throat again, interrupting the chatter below, and continued, "Additionally, everyone participating in the gala will receive extra material rewards. However, what’s going to be offered hasn’t been decided yet."

"Alright, everyone, back to work. That’s all I had to say."

As she spoke, she looked at Su Xiaoxiao, "Comrade Su, come over here for a moment."

Su Xiaoxiao nodded and immediately followed her to a quiet corner.

Chen Meilan glanced at Su Xiaoxiao’s face, and after a moment, she spoke, "Regarding the sponsorship, the general manager suggests you take a few days off to secure this sponsorship."

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t expect such a good opportunity and beamed with joy, "Thank you to the general manager and Director Chen. Don’t worry, for the honor of our factory, I will definitely secure the sponsorship."

When she heard this, Chen Meilan nodded, her gaze at Su Xiaoxiao carrying a hint of appreciation. "Alright, if there’s nothing else, you can go back."

As soon as Su Xiaoxiao returned, she was surrounded by everyone.

"Comrade Su, did Director Chen just talk to you about the gala?"

"Can we still sign up now?"

"What exactly are the prizes? Can you give us a hint?"

With everyone crowding around her full of regret and curiosity, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t know how to respond and suddenly caught a glimpse of the clock on the wall.

"Umm... it’s almost business hours, let’s get to work first, we’ll talk about the rest later, okay?"

At that moment, Chen Meilan also came to the door and turned back to the crowd, "We’re about to open, why are you all gathered here? Want to get your wages docked?"

With those words, everyone immediately returned to their respective counters to prepare for the afternoon sales.

Qin Shuang, who was closest to Su Xiaoxiao, secretly moved closer to her, "Xiaoxiao, did you help us fight for this? Not only do we get off work early, but we also get paid training. That’s impressive!"

Su Xiaoxiao hurriedly smiled, "I’m not that capable; it was the general manager who proposed it."

She was speaking the truth, yet Zhang Yulan beside her chimed in, "That stingy general manager, how could he propose something like this voluntarily?"

Su Xiaoxiao: "..."

So this is how the general manager is perceived by everyone?

Qin Shuang looked at Su Xiaoxiao as if looking at her idol, her eyes almost sparkling.

Su Xiaoxiao felt a bit embarrassed under her gaze, "You’re all flattering me too much; it really was the general manager’s idea; I don’t have that kind of influence."

Zhang Yulan obviously didn’t believe her, "Even if it was the general manager’s idea, it must be out of respect for you. Without you acquiring the sponsorship, the general manager definitely wouldn’t have proposed the prizes."

Su Xiaoxiao’s face reddened from the compliments, unsure of how to respond, when the department store’s doors opened.

With customers entering, Qin Shuang and Zhang Yulan quickly returned to their counters, unable to continue chatting with Su Xiaoxiao.

The afternoon wasn’t too busy. As Su Xiaoxiao worked, she thought about securing the sponsorship; time flew by, and it was soon time to leave work.

This was, of course, the end of the workday for the six of them.

The other salespeople watched them leave early with their bags, feeling both envious and jealous.

The general manager specifically gave Su Xiaoxiao the key to the meeting room, putting her in charge of rehearsals.

The group arrived at the meeting room together.

There was a small stage at the front of the meeting room, just right for their rehearsal.

Zhang Dongmei felt envious watching Su Xiaoxiao unlock the door.

"It’s just sucking up to the boss, who can’t do that? Get praised and they really consider themselves someone important? Pft."

She couldn’t wait to see how Su Xiaoxiao would still be pleased with herself in front of the leaders once she secured the sponsorship.

Since they were a bit far apart and Zhang Dongmei spoke softly, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t hear what she said, nor was she inclined to bother.

She looked up at everyone and said, "Regarding the rehearsal program, do you all have any good ideas?"

Zhang Guoqing scratched his head, "In past years, it’s been pretty much the same—either poetry recitations or group singing, and sometimes skits. Why don’t we go with poetry recitation, it’s not too difficult and easy to rehearse."

Zhang Yulan disagreed, "It’s easy, sure, but isn’t it too ordinary? The leaders are really investing this time, showing how much they value the gala. If we just rehearse a poetry recitation, won’t that seem like we’re not putting in much effort?"

Qin Shuang agreed, "Since the leaders are paying us to rehearse, we should come up with something unique. Doing the same old routine would certainly disappoint them."

Qian Xiaoyan shrugged, "I’m just here to have fun. Whatever you decide, I’m in."

Seeing that no one had any concrete ideas, Zhang Dongmei cleared her throat, feeling it was her time to shine.

"How about we write our own song and compose music for it? We can include praises for the leaders in the lyrics. Maybe we’ll win first place if the leaders are impressed."

She thought her idea was brilliant, not only getting to shine in front of the leaders but also having them favor her if she mentioned it was her suggestion.

However, the others didn’t even look at her, instead focusing on Su Xiaoxiao, "Comrade Su, you always have good ideas. What do you think we should prepare?"

Seeing that they were ignoring her, Zhang Dongmei was even more upset.

"Didn’t you hear my suggestion? Writing and composing our song shows sincerity and demonstrates our abilities to the leaders. Isn’t that great?"

Zhang Yulan snorted, "None of us have a professional background. Who knows how to compose or write music?"

Zhang Dongmei: "Can’t we hire someone?"

Qin Shuang unkindly jabbed, "How is that any different from just performing a group song?"

"Of course, it’s different. Our lyrics and music would be unique and would surely wow everyone," Zhang Dongmei insisted.

Just as she finished defending her idea, Su Xiaoxiao spoke up, "I suddenly thought of an idea. I’m not sure if it’s feasible."