Chapter 40 The Gloomy Little Poor Girl of the 1970s
The man was wearing drab overalls, his eyes darting around as he looked around frequently. When no one was looking, he quickly stuffed several packs of cigarettes and a box of chocolates into his large cotton-padded coat, tightening it with his belt to prevent the stolen items from falling out.
But he didn't make a fuss, knowing full well the importance of catching thieves red-handed.
He silently noted the man's features and followed him at a distance, watching the man pretend to be calm as he wandered around the supermarket a couple more times, picked up a few cheap little items, and then headed towards the checkout counter.
The line at the checkout was quite long. The man placed the few items he had on the counter, but he didn't dare to look the cashier in the eye. He unconsciously pressed his bulging belly with one hand.
The cashier had calculated the amount of items he had placed on the counter.
"Comrade, that's one dollar and twenty cents in total."
The man gave a mumbled reply, paid, picked up the meager amount of money he had paid for, and turned to leave quickly.
"Comrade, please wait a moment."
Shen Huai's cold voice rang out. He stepped forward and blocked the other person's way, and the people queuing to pay around looked over curiously.
The man, feeling guilty, changed his expression and tried to remain calm, speaking in a gruff voice.
"What are you doing? We've already paid, aren't you letting us leave?"
"You're not trying to scam us, are you?"
"You paid the money at the counter."
Shen Huai pointed to his bloated belly and said calmly, "But you haven't paid for the things you hid in your clothes yet."
The crowd erupted in commotion, all eyes fixed on the man's obviously unnatural abdomen.
The man's face instantly turned a deep shade of liver, filled with shame and anger, and he began to curse loudly.
"Bullshit! What nonsense are you spouting, you little brat! Who hid anything? I'm completely innocent! Which eye of yours saw that? How dare you slander me!"
He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and then raised his fist to smash it at Shen Huai.
"You little punk, spouting nonsense! I'll beat you to death!"
If you just beat this kind of person down, no one will know he took the stuff.
Shen Huai's eyes turned cold. He was about to dodge and retaliate. He was not someone to be trifled with. Shen Ci had been having Zhou Zheng and others teach him some self-defense skills.
However, an arm was faster than him, firmly grabbing the man's wrist as he swung it. The force was so great that the man cried out in pain and froze instantly.
"You want to hit my son right in front of me?"
Shen Ci had arrived at some point, her face as cold as frost. She shielded Shen Huai tightly behind her, her voice as cold as ice.
"Who gave you the guts?"
The man's wrist was gripped painfully, and seeing that the other party was a well-dressed woman, he became even more unruly, yelling at the surrounding crowd. This woman was cutting the ribbon at the opening ceremony, so she must be the supermarket owner.
"Everyone, please be the judge! This supermarket is bullying us! They won't let us leave after we've bought our things, they falsely accused us of stealing, and they even tried to hit us! This is outrageous! We need an explanation!"
"statement?"
Shen Ci released his grip and sneered, "Of course I'll give you an explanation."
She called out, "Manager Song, pull up the surveillance footage and show it to this comrade and everyone else!"
Surveillance? The onlookers looked at each other in bewilderment; this term was still unfamiliar to most of them.
Song Mingli immediately responded, and soon two staff members carried a small black-and-white television set to the service counter and connected it to the line.
"What do you mean? You catch the thief and then you want to let us watch TV?"
"This supermarket is really generous! They even have such a huge TV!"
"If they put on a TV, even if I don't buy anything, I'll still come over and watch it for a while every day. That would be so rare!"
"This is the first time I've seen a supermarket where you can watch TV. But why do they show us TV when they're catching a thief?"
"Are you all stupid? Didn't you hear them mention surveillance cameras? You're acting like country bumpkins. It's not like we don't have surveillance cameras here. Even if you haven't eaten pork, you've seen pigs run!"
A slightly blurry but recognizable video began playing on the screen, showing the man furtively stuffing cigarettes and chocolates into his clothes between the shelves! Even the action of him tightening his belt was clearly captured!
Closed-circuit television (CCTV) surveillance systems did exist and were used in some important locations in the 1970s, but they were extremely rare and expensive.
Shen Ci spent a fortune to purchase the latest security technology through overseas channels, all for this supermarket. In short, he's got money to burn!
The visuals are silent, yet they are more powerful than any words.
The once noisy scene fell silent instantly. The man's cursing stopped abruptly, his face turned from red to white, then from white to green, and he stood there with his mouth agape, unable to utter a single word.
Oh no, we've really caught a thief red-handed. What else can we say, bro?
"Did you see it clearly?"
Shen Ci's voice broke the silence, her gaze fixed intently on the man. "Is this the explanation you wanted? Caught red-handed, what excuse do you have?"
The man completely deflated, his legs went weak, and he almost collapsed to the ground. Trembling, he pulled out the things he had hidden in his clothes one by one, begging for mercy incessantly.
"I...I was wrong...I'll never do it again...Please forgive me this time..."
Damn it, who would have thought this supermarket would have something like this!
In places like supply and marketing cooperatives and department stores, the sales staff keep a close watch on the goods, so there's nowhere to steal from behind the counter.
We finally found a place like this, it was like a mouse falling into a rice jar, I never expected there was such a powerful thing here!
It's like Sun Wukong meeting the Buddha!
Shen Ci didn't look at him anymore, but turned to look at Shen Huai behind her. Her cold expression softened instantly, and she gently patted his arm.
"Are you alright? You did a great job, you were very observant and handled things calmly."
There was not a trace of blame in her words for his meddling; they were full of affirmation and protection.
Shen Huai raised his head and looked at his mother's back as she stood in front of him. Hearing her unwavering protection and affirmation, the anger that had risen in his heart from being insulted vanished without a trace.
Instead, it brings an indescribable sense of security and comfort.
That was close; I almost turned to the dark side.
No matter what happens, his mother will always protect him like this.
This feeling is wonderful.
"Ding dong! Villain rescue value +5%, current progress 30%."
Darkening value -5%, current progress 70%.
Special mission triggered: Spend 5 million for the villain within ten days to receive a 100-fold return and a mountaintop manor in Country M as a reward.
Shen Ci was already immune to this kind of sound, but she was a little surprised that the mission time was within ten days. In the past, the missions were always done right on time, for fear of making her anxious.
According to her observations, the key to triggering the special mission was Shen Huai.
This time, Shen Huai's rescue value increased and reached a whole number. The system immediately issued a special mission. Based on previous experience, something must happen to the son recently before the system will give him ample time.
In other words, we've reached a crucial, special plot point.
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