Ji Xia immediately thought of Lin Haodong. He was a man who held grudges and sought revenge. When he asked her for money earlier, he didn't show any sign of being humble or subservient, as if she owed him something.
He should know that he's made some money on the side, so he naturally assumes she should spend it on him?
The three of them quickly packed up everything, even tearing Ji Xia's design sketches to shreds and throwing them into the trash can behind the supply and marketing cooperative.
Just as they finished tidying up, Director Liu of the supply and marketing cooperative barged into the cooperative with a group of menacing men.
Several customers exclaimed in surprise, quickly paid, and ran off with their purchases.
Ji Xia feigned surprise and stepped forward: "Director Liu, what's wrong with you all?"
Director Liu gave her a stern look and asked, "Someone reported you for selling clothes in the supply and marketing cooperative, which is considered exploiting the petty bourgeoisie. Is that true?"
Ji Xia stared in astonishment, her mouth agape, and instinctively glanced at the several fierce-looking men beside Director Liu.
"There's a problem with selling clothes, Director Liu? The supply and marketing cooperative has over two hundred kinds of fabrics, and at least a thousand sets of clothing for men, women, and children. Don't you need to sell these?"
Before Director Liu could answer, someone next to him sneered, "Someone reported you for selling your own clothes and making money off yourselves."
"How is that possible? We reconcile all the clothes that come in and go from the warehouse, and a manager comes to check the accounts every month."
He Qiuying seemed to have been greatly insulted. In anger, she placed more than a dozen account books and various receipts, as well as cloth coupons and money coupons she had received, on the counter for anyone to check.
"Director Liu, this is the ledger for garments, this is the ledger for fabrics. If you don't believe me, you can check the accounts. Here are the sales receipts and the daily revenue."
Director Liu was relieved to see this and smiled at the inspection team leader, saying, "Captain Feng, all the ledgers are here. How do you plan to reconcile the accounts?"
Captain Feng, who appeared to be in his thirties, had a faint scar on one side of his cheek. His sharp, eagle-like eyes swept over the three young women: "Who is Ji Xia?"
Ji Xia raised her hand: "I am Ji Xia."
"I heard you can draw, is that true? Can I see for myself?"
Ji Xia looked a little uneasy: "Yes, I am quite interested in painting."
As she spoke, Ji Xia handed over her sketchbook of drawings and line drawings from under the counter: "These are just random scribbles, not very good, please excuse me."
Having studied sketching in her past life, she picked up a paintbrush and started practicing the basics after Teacher Rong gave her some advice a while ago.
Without geometric shapes, she drew enamel mugs, teacups, wine bottles, or fruits, etc.
There are also sketches of wildflowers and architectural outlines; more than a dozen sketches have already been drawn in the sketchbook.
Of course, she hasn't painted for decades, and her sketches are only of average quality, good enough to fool laymen.
But for Captain Feng and the others, that was enough.
Captain Feng flipped through the pages from beginning to end, not even missing the dates, before finally asking, "Is this all? There aren't any pictures of clothes?"
Ji Xia smiled helplessly: "You mean drawing people? I tried it, but my skill level isn't high enough, and the people I drew didn't look good. A university teacher suggested that I practice my basic skills more."
When Captain Feng pressed for answers, the men he brought turned the entire supply and marketing cooperative upside down.
The fabric and ready-to-wear counters are of course of paramount importance, since you can see everything at a glance in the food and daily necessities section, and there's practically no clothing at all.
They checked the ledgers and warehouse shipment records one by one.
Captain Feng continued to interrogate Ji Xia at a leisurely pace, occasionally asking unexpected questions while keeping a close eye on her expression with his hawk-like eyes.
Unfortunately, Ji Xia is not a truly naive eighteen-year-old girl, but rather a Ji Xia who has lived two lives and experienced numerous setbacks.
Ji Xia knew that the inspection team was already on its last legs, and that she was not a girl who could be easily manipulated. Moreover, the supply and marketing cooperative had not left any evidence against her, so her expression remained calm despite her unease.
After enduring half an hour of Captain Feng's intense gaze, several men came over to report the progress to Captain Feng, and only then did he release Ji Xia.
A man smiled reassuringly at Ji Xia and whispered comfortingly, "Nothing will happen until evidence is found."
Ji Xia felt that this person looked somewhat familiar. After thinking about it carefully, she realized that he seemed to know her second brother. Hearing this, she felt a little more at ease.
Captain Feng questioned the three men one by one, interrogating them for two or three hours, but the group found nothing wrong.
Just as they were about to leave, a dark-skinned, honest-looking young man ran into the supply and marketing cooperative.
Seeing the tense atmosphere at the supply and marketing cooperative, he nervously smiled at Ji Xia.
"Comrade, I want to buy a new wedding dress for my girlfriend. I heard that there are places here that can make wedding dresses, is that right?"
Ji Xia pointed expressionlessly to the wardrobe counter: "The clothes are over there, go pick them out yourself."
The young man didn't move, but smiled at Ji Xia and said, "I heard you can make wedding dresses for people? You design your own wedding dress and then make it yourself?"
Ji Xia narrowed her eyes and gave him a cold glance: "If you want to find a tailor, go to the end of the street. There's a century-old tailor shop there."
"But I heard that the wedding dress you drew is beautiful, and my boyfriend said he only wants the wedding dress you made."
Ji Xia stared coldly at him. The young man looked away uneasy, and after a while, he pleaded ingratiatingly, "Comrade, please help me. My girlfriend says she won't marry me if I don't have a pretty new wedding dress."
Ji Xia smirked: "If you like my drawings, it's simple. First, go die, bury yourself completely, and I'll draw something and burn it for you."
"you--"
The young man's seemingly honest face changed, turning vicious, and he raised his voice, shouting, "They all say you're willing to help make a wedding dress, but isn't it all about money? How much? Name your price!"
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
