The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Once they came to an agreement, the matter was settled. A few days later, it was the end of the month, and Liu Yuan’s team caught those few people red-handed. However, they kept it quiet. When they saw the list of candidates for outstanding employee submitted at the end of the month, those same people’s names were on it. Liu Yuan sneered. This time, none of them would be able to get away.

The department store closed at 8:30 p.m., after which they gathered all the employees for a meeting. During the meeting, the offenders’ behavior was severely criticized. They were made to write self-criticisms and had three months of their bonuses docked. One of them was still defiant, arguing that he had only received two months of bonuses, so how could they dock three? As a result, Liu Yuan and Qu Feng reprimanded him and docked him an extra month’s bonus. They announced to all employees that a first offense would be recorded; a second would result in immediate dismissal.

They then announced the new regulations, which received the support of the majority of the staff. Most people worked diligently and honestly and wouldn’t resort to deception, so they were happy with the new rules. As for the few who had been slacking off and faking their work, this lesson made them afraid of being fired. They finally settled down and began to work earnestly.

Gu’er learned from Li Hua that the cleaning staff who had been disciplined were now behaving quite well and no longer dared to slack off. She nodded. ’It seems our actions were effective after all.’

Things at the department store were settled now. In another week, it would be the one-month anniversary of her marriage to Sun Jiaming, and they had to go out of town to help his aunt finalize her divorce.

Initially, Chen Fengjiao had suggested that Gu’er didn’t need to go, as Sun Jiaming and the others would be enough. But Lin Shan wasn’t going, and if Gu’er didn’t go either, then the aunt wouldn’t have any of her family there to support her. She would surely feel awful. Therefore, Gu’er decided she would go.

That day, Sun Jiaming went to visit Cao Qiu. Since they were leaving in two days, he had to let his mother know. Gu’er didn’t go with him; she didn’t want to run into Wei Hong.

Gu’er went to the department store instead. She wanted to check on how things were going, since she would be away for several days. She wouldn’t have been able to leave with peace of mind otherwise.

When she got to the fifth floor, she was surprised to see Li Zhi there.

"Oh? What are you doing here? Where’s Dingzi? Isn’t he with you?"

Gu’er asked Li Zhi. The two of them were usually inseparable; it was rare to see one without the other.

"He took his grandma for a stroll in the park today. Don’t be fooled by how quiet he usually is—that guy’s actually really devoted to his family. Whenever he’s free, he takes his grandma out for a walk. Not like me. When I’m home, the house is always full of people trying to set me up on dates and whatnot. It’s driving me crazy. I had to get out for some fresh air."

Li Zhi was no longer wearing his usual playful smirk. He frowned as he vented his frustrations to Gu’er.

Gu’er sighed to herself. ’Dingzi really is a good grandson. Once we’ve sorted out Aunt’s business and come back, Sun Jiaming and I should take Grandma out more often. We brought her to the city and moved her into a big house, but we haven’t taken her anywhere. It’s like we just moved her from one bed to another, which is meaningless. We should take Lin Zheng and go out with her this weekend.’

Li Zhi understood what was on Gu’er’s mind.

"If you guys want to go, I can drive you. There’s a pretty nice new park that just opened. I’ll take you to see it."

"Sure, how about tomorrow? The weather looks nice, and the flowers are all in bloom. We can ask my mom and Lin Zheng, bring Grandma Dingzi and my grandma, and all go together. We won’t even have to come back for lunch. In a little while, we can go downstairs and buy some food and drinks. We’ll grab a few mats and have a picnic. What do you think?"

Gu’er believed there was no time like the present. If they were going to go, why wait until after their trip?

"Sure, I’m free. Tomorrow it is."

Li Zhi nodded. He was free anyway, so he was available anytime.

"So what’s really going on with you? Uncle Li and your mom keep setting you up with one person after another, but you don’t seem to like any of them. You shouldn’t be so picky. If you wait too long, all the good ones will be taken." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Gu’er asked Li Zhi what his intentions were.

"One after another, sure, but I have to actually click with them, you know? Some are good-looking enough, but I can’t stand their personalities. Then the ones with decent personalities are just too plain. Anyway, none of them feel right. Why are you in such a hurry for me? I’m not even worried myself. It’s just my parents panicking for no reason. With my looks, you think I can’t find a wife? If I really wanted to, I’d have plenty of women to choose from. I just see you and Jia Ming, all lovey-dovey since you just got married. If I got married now, I’d be like that too, and then who’d be left to run the business? Look at Liu Yuan—he’s not seeing anyone either, is he? So don’t you worry about me."

Li Zhi sounded carefree, but inside, he was still in a bit of pain. The woman he had fallen for was somebody else’s wife. He had suppressed his feelings, but it was impossible for him to forget her just like that. So whenever he went on these arranged dates, he couldn’t help but think of Gu’er. He truly had no interest in other women at the moment and planned to wait a couple more years before trying again.

Gu’er understood his feelings. She had only asked casually; it wasn’t like she could help him.

Just as Gu’er opened her mouth to say something, a man ran up to them, out of breath. He reported that a huge argument had broken out downstairs. Two women were screaming at a sales clerk, demanding she be fired. The floor manager had been called over and had made the clerk apologize, but one of the women still wouldn’t drop it. She was being incredibly vicious, claiming that they were the girlfriends of Boss Li Zhi. She said that if the sales clerk wasn’t fired, she would have Li Zhi fire all of them.

The manager was stunned and said he needed to get the full story, asking them to come to his office so he could handle it properly. But the two women refused. The employee reporting this happened to know Li Zhi was on the fifth floor, so he had run up to inform them.

Gu’er glanced at Li Zhi. ’What a mess,’ she thought. ’Two women, both claiming to be his girlfriend? Even if it were true, they couldn’t possibly show up together.’

"What the hell? Since when do I have girlfriends? Two of them, no less! Let’s go take a look. Who’s spreading these damn rumors about me?"

Li Zhi was so angry he swore. He had just been talking to Gu’er about how he didn’t have a girlfriend, and now two had suddenly appeared—and he, the man at the center of it all, knew nothing about it.

"I’ll go take a look, too."

Since Gu’er had nothing better to do, she followed him down.

They went down the stairs to the third floor, which was dedicated mostly to clothing, especially women’s apparel. A large crowd had gathered in front of a shop selling womenswear from the Soviet Union.

"So what if you’re the manager? Is a manager more powerful than the owner? This little brat offended us, so she can forget about working here anymore! How dare she look down on us? Do you have any idea who we are? Forget a few dresses—this whole department store will belong to our Lili one day! She can have as many as she wants! And this girl dared to suggest we couldn’t afford it! What an ignorant little wench! Since you’ve offended us, we’ll show you who you’re messing with. We’ll see then if those blind dog eyes of yours still work!"