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

Chapter 208: Zhang Dongmei Brings Trouble

"What dishes can those two country bumpkins even cook? Maybe they got the contract through gifts and backdoor deals?"

Zhang Dongmei had never gotten along with Su Xiaoxiao, and this time the bidding issue made her hold a grudge even more deeply, so she’d seize any opportunity to sarcastically mock her.

Now, she marched over aggressively with a group of people.

These were all people whose families had bid but failed to win the contract.

"I wonder how her family got selected? Her sister and mother are just ordinary rural women, how could they be better than my brother, who is a chef in a reputable state-run restaurant? There must be something fishy going on."

A sales clerk said aggressively.

"Yeah, yeah, Comrade Su, you need to give us an explanation."

Several sales clerks glared at Su Xiaoxiao with righteous indignation.

Because Yan Guohua and Xu Cuilan were sitting with their backs to them, the group hadn’t noticed them.

Zhang Dongmei gave Su Xiaoxiao a smug look and said, "Su Xiaoxiao, you must give everyone an explanation for this today, or it won’t end well."

She reported Su Xiaoxiao for speculating and profiteering, and the top was expected to investigate soon. Then she’d take the chance to mess with the canteen food, and she didn’t believe they could stay at the department store anymore.

Thinking of this, Zhang Dongmei felt a wave of relief.

At this moment, a familiar, steady male voice sounded in their ears, "It seems you all have strong opinions about Comrade Su’s family running the canteen."

Hearing this voice, the expressions on the salesclerks’ faces froze, and they looked down in unison, only then seeing that the two people sitting with their backs to them were none other than General Manager Yan Guohua and Human Resources Manager Xu Cuilan.

Realizing what they had just said, their faces instantly turned pale.

The crowd quickly exclaimed in unison, "Gen... General Manager, that’s not what we meant, don’t misunderstand. We were talking about backdoor deals, which have nothing to do with you."

Yan Guohua’s face showed displeasure, "I was personally responsible for the canteen bidding process. If you’re saying Comrade Su’s family went through the backdoor, who else could they have gone through but me?"

"This... this..."

The group was so anxious that cold sweat was dripping from their foreheads, and they all focused their eyes on Zhang Dongmei: "General Manager, it was all Mr. Zhang who told us about this. We don’t know the details; you should ask her."

"Yes, yes, it was Mr. Zhang who told us that Comrade Su went through the backdoor and that we should come to demand an explanation."

"Mr. Zhang, go on, didn’t you say you had evidence?"

Zhang Dongmei had no evidence. She just thought of assembling a group to confront Su Xiaoxiao, to embarrass her and cause her some trouble.

The group saw Zhang Dongmei hesitating and unable to come up with a coherent explanation, and suddenly their hope sank.

"Mr. Zhang, is it possible you really just made this up? Isn’t this slandering? And you brought us here to make trouble. How can you be so malicious?"

"Exactly, exactly. Because of you, what have we become now?"

The woman looked apologetically at Su Xiaoxiao, "Comrade Su, don’t misunderstand, we were also deceived by Mr. Zhang."

"Yes, yes, Comrade Su, we apologize sincerely. What we did was indeed wrong, but we were also misled."

Zhang Dongmei was instantly dumbfounded. These people were pinning all the blame on her, how could that be acceptable?

They were all so indignant when they came, how did it all become solely her problem when things went wrong?

She quickly looked to Yan Guohua to explain, "General Manager, don’t misunderstand, things aren’t as you think."

Su Xiaoxiao spoke faintly, "What do you not want the General Manager to misunderstand? That you said he gave me a backdoor pass, or that he accepted bribes?"

This remark was like adding fuel to the fire, and Yan Guohua’s face immediately turned darker.

He spoke with a stern expression, "Mr. Zhang, like it or not, you are part of our department store, representing our store’s image. How could you indiscriminately blame others like this?"

"General Manager, I... I didn’t mean that."

Zhang Dongmei hurriedly shook her head like a rattle, desperately afraid of being misunderstood by General Manager Yan.

She was just trying to mock Su Xiaoxiao to gain the upper hand verbally and had no idea the General Manager and Manager Xu were also present.

If she had known they were here, she would never have said such things.

Su Xiaoxiao looked at Zhang Dongmei with a face of disappointment, "Mr. Zhang, I really need to talk to you about this. I know you’ve never been on good terms with me and have always had opinions about me, but between us, I hope you won’t drag others into it. Everyone knows the General Manager is upright and honest; how could you accuse him like that?"

"Our General Manager Yan always considers the employees, treats everyone equally, and never works in a special way. How could you have the conscience to accuse him of accepting bribes? Doesn’t that go against your morals?"

"I know you don’t like me and love to gossip behind my back. I can put up with that, but I absolutely cannot tolerate you slandering our upright General Manager Yan. General Manager Yan is such a good leader, always thinking of the employees; he even set up this canteen to provide us with affordable and hot meals. You couldn’t find a better leader even if you searched with a lantern. How can you act this way? You are disappointing our General Manager."

Su Xiaoxiao’s words not only flattered General Manager Yan but also harshly criticized Zhang Dongmei.

Zhang Dongmei’s face turned red and white intermittently. This damned girl, what nonsense is she spouting? When did she ever say that General Manager Yan accepted bribes and gave favors?

Even if that were true, she couldn’t speak of it openly.

Yan Guohua was almost embarrassed by the compliments, "Comrade Xiao Su, aren’t you exaggerating a bit? Am I really that good?"

Upon hearing this, Su Xiaoxiao looked at him sincerely, "General Manager, heaven and earth can testify, every word I said is true. In my eyes, you are the model of our department store, just and impartial, caring for subordinates. If you were in ancient times, you’d definitely be remembered as a virtuous official for generations."

Yan Guohua gave a couple of light coughs; Comrade Xiao Su really knew how to speak. In such a short time, she had flattered him so much that he was almost disoriented.

Looking at Zhang Dongmei, his tone turned severe, "Comrade Zhang Dongmei, speaking requires evidence. We’re all colleagues at the department store; it’s excessive to make baseless accusations that Comrade Su used the backdoor."

Following Yan Guohua’s words, Su Xiaoxiao also looked at Zhang Dongmei, "Mr. Zhang, my mom and my sister are from the countryside. They don’t have great abilities, nor cunning tricks; they only know to make a living through hard work and skills. We don’t do things like using backdoors. If you have issues with me, direct them at me, not my family. This is too excessive!"

"This... this..."

Zhang Dongmei’s face turned even whiter, "General Manager, don’t listen to her nonsense, I didn’t mean it. I was just casually joking."

Unexpectedly, after she said this, Yan Guohua’s face grew even more stern.