Chapter 46 Farce
"Just the two of us? Or, why don't we let Mom come along too?"
Qin Guifang was a little worried.
"You silly child, they just wanted you two to go out and relax. What's the point of bringing me along? Just go and have fun."
Zhou Shufen spoke in a lighthearted tone.
Zhou Haiqing squeezed Qin Guifang's hand, signaling her to stop talking.
"Mom is right, then we appreciate it."
He knew Zhou Shufen meant well.
Too many refusals will only make the atmosphere awkward.
the next day.
The two then began packing their luggage.
After everything was ready, they went to the living room to say goodbye to Zhou Shufen.
Then they set off happily.
Once they left, the room became much quieter.
Zhou Shufen suddenly felt empty inside, and was a little unaccustomed to it.
She sat on the sofa in a daze for a while, her thoughts slowly returning.
After a moment, she picked up her phone and scrolled through her contacts.
He quickly dialed Zhou Liya's number.
"Meilan, are you free today? Let's go shopping."
Zhou Liya readily agreed on the other end of the phone.
The two agreed to meet at the entrance of the mall.
The sun was shining brightly outside.
As soon as Zhou Liya saw Zhou Shufen, she immediately took her arm affectionately.
"Mom, why did you suddenly call me out?"
“Yesterday I gave Haiqing and Guifang some money so they could go out and relax for a few days. The house is so quiet now, and I have some free time too. Today is a good day for us to go out for a walk. Buy whatever you want, don’t be shy.”
Zhou Shufen spoke frankly.
Zhou Liya nodded with a smile.
"That's true. If we don't seize the time to have fun now, once Guifang has her baby, we'll be busy taking care of the child for the next two or three years, and it will be difficult to even go out."
She pulled Zhou Shufen into the mall.
"Mom, you've made such a thoughtful arrangement."
That's how I planned it.
Zhou Shufen smiled.
The mother and daughter walked and chatted, buying quite a few things along the way.
As luck would have it, Li Qiaodi had recently had a bit more money on her hands, so she also came to the mall.
She had just come out of a shoe store when she happened to see Zhou Shufen and Zhou Liya walking towards her from the opposite side.
The two were carrying several shopping bags, walking and laughing, clearly in a good mood.
Li Qiaodi stopped in her tracks instantly.
She recognized those bags; they were from expensive brands in the mall.
Li Qiaodi felt uneasy.
Even though I work from dawn till dusk every day, I wouldn't dare spend money like this.
But Zhou Shufen, despite her business being so bad, still had the leisure to go shopping.
"They must not have lost enough money, otherwise why would they be laughing?"
She muttered something under her breath.
He immediately made up his mind.
If you can't change the price, then cut costs and save every penny you can.
The next day, Li Qiaodi went to buy goods, specifically choosing the cheapest ones.
She didn't care whether the fabric was good or not; as long as the price was low, she'd take it all.
Anyway, I already have regular customers.
As long as the styles are similar and the prices are low enough, sales will be good.
Over the course of a few days, she did sell quite a bit of goods.
The numbers in the ledger kept increasing day by day, which was a pleasant sight.
Just as I was feeling smug, a commotion suddenly broke out outside the shop.
Immediately afterwards, a group of people rushed in.
"Don't you have any conscience? Your clothes are in such a terrible state!"
"Exactly! It's only been a few days, and the customer is already coming to return it. The seam came undone after just one wash. What kind of quality is this?"
"Give us our money back! You must compensate us for our losses!"
Li Qiaodi was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized what was happening.
She immediately retorted at the top of her lungs.
"What are you yelling about? My goods could be defective! Are you trying to scam me?"
These words only fueled the anger of the others.
"Are you being unreasonable? Why would we bother trying to extort you?"
"You assured me with your confidence that the goods were fine!"
"Who knows if what you took is actually from me? Maybe you bought it from somewhere else and are trying to pin the blame on me!"
Li Qiaodi didn't back down at all.
But she was actually a little uneasy.
The fabrics have been changing too frequently lately, especially the last batch that came in, which was ridiculously cheap.
She herself had doubts at the time.
If the quality can still be the same as before, that would be a miracle.
"You shameless woman, you dare to argue!"
One of them was so angry that he rushed forward to attack.
Upon seeing this, Li Qiaodi was so frightened that she quickly shrank back.
"What...what are you going to do? Let me tell you, it's illegal to hit someone!"
She glanced toward the doorway, hoping someone would come in and rescue her.
"I don't care about anything else right now!"
The man's eyes were red, and his eyes welled up with tears before he could finish speaking.
He took a step toward Li Qiaodi, his eyes filled with anger.
"ah--"
Li Qiaodi screamed and immediately closed her eyes.
He clutched his head tightly with both hands.
Just then, a group of people rushed into the store.
They pulled the man aside and restrained him.
Someone showed their identification and loudly stated their identity, and the scene was instantly brought under control.
Li Qiaodi immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
"See? I already said it had nothing to do with me, and look, the person was arrested on the spot!"
She stood up straight, a victorious smile on her face.
"You are Li Qiaodi?"
The staff member looked her up and down and asked in a cold voice.
"Yes, that's me! This guy tried to hit me, take him away quickly!"
Li Qiaodi immediately nodded, looking like she was waiting to see the show.
As soon as he finished speaking, he was pinned down.
The man had a serious expression.
"We're from the Industry and Commerce Bureau. There's a problem with the clothes in your store, and we need to take you back for investigation. You're not allowed to operate for the next two days!"
Li Qiaodi's smile froze instantly.
Even after being dragged out of the shop, she was still shouting that she was innocent.
But nobody paid any attention to her.
Zhou Shufen stood at the entrance of her shop, cracking sunflower seeds and watching the farce with a smile.
The timing was perfect.
She secretly reported him and brought him here.
Zhou Liya looked delighted.
"Serves her right! Who told her to be so arrogant a while ago, always trying to be clever in business? She was bound to fall sooner or later. When she first opened her shop, she was bragging about how many customers she had, but now even her suppliers have cut off her orders. Her tricks are nothing to honest business people. Now that she's been reported for tax evasion, let's see how she gets out of this mess."
"Facts have proven that she couldn't go far down this path."
Zhou Shufen chuckled softly.
"Alright, stop watching her. After this, she can't cause any more trouble. Her so-called connections are nothing but pulling strings and using back channels. The policies are strict now, and people like her are most likely to get into trouble. Besides, she's offended a lot of people, so who would lend her a hand?"
Just as the mother and daughter turned to go into the store, Zhou Hailiang came over with Zhou Xiaowei.
As he reached the door, Zhou Hailiang straightened his collar.
"Mom, I'm planning to marry Xiaowei, and I've come to invite you to the wedding. The date is set for the eighth day of next month, and the hotel has been booked—the Lily Hall in the east of the city. Relatives and friends will be coming, and as an elder, it would be most appropriate for you to sit at the head table."
They're actually getting married?
Zhou Shufen, on the contrary, became alert.
She sat on the sofa, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Zhou Hailiang and Zhou Xiaowei.
Zhou Xiaowei kept her head down, appearing quiet and well-mannered.
But the more this happened, the more Zhou Shufen felt something was wrong.
Her son was never one to stay put.
Zhou Hailiang dropped out of high school and started working in society, and was chased by debtors several times.
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