Xu Weiguo told everyone else to go back to their rooms first. He figured they were probably colleagues from the Public Security Bureau, since at this hour, no one else would be coming.
When Xu Weiguo opened the door, he saw Xu Fang's family and knew that they had also been in trouble.
Chen Ming looked so disheveled. His hair and clothes clearly showed signs of burning, and Xu Fang could also tell that he had been crying.
"Come in quickly, why are you so late?"
Xu Fang carried the sleeping Chen Liang into the room. Then, upon hearing Xu Weiguo ask her a question, tears suddenly streamed down her face.
She couldn't control herself at all, thinking about how her family had almost lost their lives that day, and how their home had been destroyed tonight.
Besides the bicycle Chen Ming rescued, all they have left are the thousand yuan Xu Fang brought out and their household registration certificate. They don't even have clothes left; everything was destroyed in the fire.
Although their family didn't have anything particularly valuable, even a dilapidated house can be worth a fortune. Replacing even basic items like bowls and chopsticks would cost a lot of money.
Xu Fang choked back tears as she said, "Big brother, our house caught fire tonight... Someone deliberately set it on fire. I almost didn't get to see you again, sob sob..."
"This is outrageous!"
After hearing this, Xu Weiguo slammed his fist on the table in anger. The police station's archives caught fire tonight, and Xu Fang's house also caught fire today.
Xu Weiguo didn't believe there was no connection between the two events. His suspicions about Xu Weimin were growing stronger.
Zhang Yumei patted Xu Weiguo's hand and said, "Afang, you and your brother-in-law are tired too. I'll boil some water for you to take a bath now. You two should get some sleep first. We can talk about the rest after you've rested."
"Money is just an external thing. As long as you're alive, everything will be alright."
......
Because she didn't sleep well the night before, Huang Qinqin kept dozing off at work today.
The department store's sales volume has dropped significantly recently. According to Huang Jianmin, Manager Gao has been particularly irritable lately because the department store's sales volume is now even lower than that of the supply and marketing cooperative.
Last time I went to a meeting in the city, I was singled out for criticism. Manager Gao was at a loss and had no idea what went wrong.
Even though the products sold were exactly the same, and the sales staff at the department store were much better at serving customers than those at the supply and marketing cooperative, the sales volume was getting worse every day!
Several of their senior leaders have held meetings to discuss the matter, but they haven't been able to reach a conclusion.
Huang Qinqin had some guesses about the reasons for the decline in department store sales. She thought it was because the department store was missing some basic items.
The department store now mainly sells items that were originally in short supply in the city, such as bicycles, fans, and radios. Or it sells local specialties that are specially transported back from other cities.
However, basic necessities like rice, oil, and salt are not available in department stores. To put it bluntly, no one buys these expensive items every day, even if every household does.
Once someone buys something, they generally won't buy it a second time, so naturally, the transaction volume will decrease.
The same goes for clothes like Huang Qinqin's; although they didn't require cloth coupons, they still cost money. And nobody buys them every day.
However, items like eggs, dried vegetables, or oil and salt, even if you don't buy them every day, will need to be repurchased once they're used up.
Don't be fooled by how inexpensive these things are; the quantity used is huge, and it adds up to a considerable amount. I wonder when the leaders will ever think of this.
Of course, this is just Huang Qinqin's personal speculation, and who knows if it's true or not.
However, Huang Qinqin hopes so, because she has an idea in her mind that, if possible, would be a win-win plan for both the department store and herself.
Huang Qinqin was lost in thought when suddenly her colleague from the shoe and sock counter came over mysteriously.
He lowered his voice and asked, "Hey, have you heard? The police station caught fire this morning!"
Mo Jiaxin also chimed in with a gossipy look, "I've heard about it, I've heard about it!"
"On my way to work this morning, I saw a lot of people talking about it!"
"Right? I heard from my mom that it was actually one of the police officers who set the fire!"
"No way? Why would he do that?"
Huang Qinqin was stunned. Did the news spread so quickly? When it happened in the middle of the night, they knew that the police station had caught fire, which Huang Qinqin thought was normal.
After all, there was a fire, such an obvious commotion that everyone could see it. But how did they know that someone deliberately set the fire, and that it was someone from the Public Security Bureau?
Huang Qinqin asked curiously, "Really? Did someone really set the fire on purpose?"
"Really? The information is guaranteed to be true!"
“My mother’s eldest uncle’s sister’s cousin’s son works at the Public Security Bureau. Last night they all went home, and they said the arsonist was caught on the spot.”
"He was a temporary worker at the Public Security Bureau, mainly responsible for logistics. But why he did this is unclear."
Mo Jiaxin felt terrified: "Could it be... you know, a spy..."
"Probably not, but it's possible. People like him should be sent to labor camps. If he sets fire to other places next time, that would be terrible."
They wanted to say something more, but when they caught sight of Manager Gao approaching, they immediately dispersed and returned to their posts, displaying remarkable 'dedication'.
Manager Gao was clearly in a bad mood because he had just been criticized by his supervisor, who demanded that he find out the reasons for the decline in sales at the department store.
And we'll turn things around next month.
Before hanging up, the manager added, "Remember, you applied to come to the department store on your own initiative. If the situation doesn't improve, then it's hard to say whether you, as manager, still have any reason to stay."
Manager Gao broke out in a cold sweat. When he applied, he thought that the department store would definitely have a higher sales volume than the supply and marketing cooperative, since they had many large items that were hard to buy elsewhere.
If things continue like this, he won't lose his job, but being demoted would be a real problem for him!
Sure enough, after finishing the phone call, he started inspecting the department store, only to find that there were very few people inside.
He went to the supply and marketing cooperative again and saw that it was bustling with people. He couldn't understand why everyone went to the supply and marketing cooperative and not the department store. Weren't the things in the department store better?
Is it possible that it's just too good? It's common knowledge that good things equal expensive things.
When Manager Gao walked over to Huang Qinqin and the others, he suddenly remembered that she had signed up with Fang Chuchu.
"Hey, what's your name again?"
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