novelraw Chapter 210: Reported
Chapter 210: Reported
She pointed at Su Xiaoxiao with a face full of schadenfreude: "Leaders, this is Su Xiaoxiao."
Although Su Xiaoxiao didn’t know why these people were looking for her, seeing Zhang Dongmei’s look of eagerness for a spectacle, she knew it was nothing good.
She stood up and walked over, standing straight with an open expression: "May I know what business you have with me, leaders?"
Though young, she had a pleasant appearance, her eyes clear and pure, speaking in a graceful and unperturbed manner. This increased the admiration the three officials from the Industry and Commerce Bureau had for her.
Fan Zhenguo, the leading official, cleared his throat and began: "Comrade Su, here’s the situation: someone reported you for profiteering, and we are here to investigate this matter."
Su Xiaoxiao feigned surprise: "Leaders, could there be a misunderstanding? Although I often help neighbors and villagers by bringing things for them, it’s merely voluntary and for convenience, without any profiteering or stuffing my own pockets. If you don’t believe me, you can visit our village for an investigation."
Zhang Yulan also spoke up: "Leaders, what Comrade Su said is true. She sometimes helps us bring things, but those things are brought by relatives at market prices without profiting a single cent."
Following this remark, several shop clerks for whom Su Xiaoxiao had brought goods stepped forward.
"Leaders, we can all testify."
Though the state no longer strictly investigates profiteering, if someone files a report openly to the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, they still send people to investigate.
To guard against this, Su Xiaoxiao always used the pretext of ’helping’ when buying things for others.
Zhang Dongmei was dumbfounded seeing many people step forward to testify for Su Xiaoxiao.
This wasn’t how she had imagined things would turn out.
Since when did Su Xiaoxiao, this pesky girl, become so well-liked?
Frustrated, she bared her teeth, but with leaders from the Bureau coming over, she couldn’t let this opportunity slip away.
Thinking of this, she stepped forward and squeezed to the front of the crowd: "Leaders, I have evidence of Su Xiaoxiao’s profiteering."
As she spoke, she pulled out a pink rhinestone hair comb from her pocket, exactly what Su Xiaoxiao had previously charged her a high price for.
"Leaders, this hair comb is worth only one to three yuan on the market, but Comrade Su sold it to me for ten yuan. Isn’t this profiteering?"
Unexpectedly, as soon as she finished speaking, someone next to her chimed in: "What ten yuan? This comb clearly only costs one yuan."
The speaker was a young girl with delicate looks. Following the voice, Su Xiaoxiao realized the girl seemed familiar.
Zhou Yuanyuan noticed her gaze and shyly smiled at her.
Su Xiaoxiao then remembered this was Comrade Zhou who had bought a comb from her before.
Zhou Yuanyuan had initially joined the department store with Su Xiaoxiao but had come to report a few days late due to family matters, and her assigned counter was far from the grocery counter. So, despite being there so long, she hadn’t bumped into Su Xiaoxiao.
Upon hearing the commotion, she came downstairs to join in the fun and happened to catch this moment.
She had always been immensely grateful to Su Xiaoxiao; if it weren’t for her anti-hair loss shampoo, her cousin’s hair wouldn’t have turned lush and black again.
Zhang Dongmei was dumbfounded by this remark: "You’re lying? This comb clearly costs ten yuan."
She anxiously looked at the three officials from the Bureau, speaking urgently, "Comrades, I’m telling the truth; I definitely bought this comb from her for ten yuan."
At this moment, Huang Mei also scoffed coldly, her tone sarcastic: "How could it be ten yuan? A few days ago, I saw Comrade Su wearing it prettily and bought one from her for only one yuan."
Saying this, she took off a purple rhinestone hair comb of the same style from her head and waved it at Zhang Dongmei.
Zhang Yulan squeezed out from the crowd at this moment: "Leaders, this Mr. Zhang always bullies and spreads false rumors about Comrade Su. Just this noon, she was gossiping that Comrade Su had pulled strings. I think this may also be her fabrication; if you don’t believe me, ask everyone. Everyone knows about it."
Normally, Qin Shuang doesn’t talk much, but she couldn’t remain silent when it concerned Su Xiaoxiao, so she stood by Zhang Yulan immediately: "Leaders, I can testify that Mr. Zhang normally spreads false rumors about Comrade Su."
As soon as her words fell, Qian Xiaoyan also stepped forward: "Leaders, I can testify as well. I used to have a good relationship with Mr. Zhang, and she always liked to invent stories about Comrade Su; she definitely did this."
Originally squeezed in the crowd watching the spectacle, Zhang Guoqing saw several people from the group rehearsing the program with him stepping forward, and he couldn’t remain just a spectator.
Biting his teeth, he stepped forward as well to declare his stance: "Leaders, although I’m not too familiar with Mr. Zhang or Comrade Su, while rehearsing with them, I found Mr. Zhang to be conceited and dismissive towards Su."
As soon as he finished, several other shop clerks also stepped forward.
Many of these people had bought things from Su Xiaoxiao, forming a good impression of her.
"The stuff Comrade Su brought for us was not only fairly priced but also of good quality. We trust she would never engage in profiteering."
As the saying goes, when the wall is about to fall, everyone pushes. Not long ago, Zhang Dongmei was still smug, but now she instantly became the target of everyone’s criticism.
She looked in disbelief at the queue of people stepping forward, only feeling her breath becoming labored.
"You... you all..."
Stammering for a long time, she couldn’t find the words.
Not to mention the comb, Su Xiaoxiao clearly sold it to her for ten yuan, yet now no one believed her.
The three male officials from the Bureau, here to investigate, also realized they had been tricked.
The three looked at Su Xiaoxiao together, full of apology.
The leading male official said: "Comrade Su, we truly apologize; we didn’t realize the situation. Once we return, we will thoroughly investigate and severely punish whoever maliciously wrote that report, framing and defaming you, and make sure to seek justice for you."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Dongmei turned pale and almost fainted on the spot.
She was the one who reported, though anonymously, but once they trace back from the report’s clue, it won’t take long to find out it was her.
No, if she gets found out, not only her reputation will be destroyed, but her hard-earned job might also be ruined.
Her face turned white in waves, realizing she had indeed shot herself in the foot.
What on earth did Su Xiaoxiao, this pesky girl, do to get so many people to speak up for her?
Nonetheless, now desperately defending herself, she had no time to delve into this matter.
Su Xiaoxiao looked thankful and bowed to the trio: "Thank you for coming such a long way, leaders, and thank you for trusting me."
She paused and added: "I believe the person who reported me is likely an employee from our department store; I will report this matter to the leaders at the city supply."