The Adopted Cannon Fodder Made a Comeback

Zhang Lili and Lan Hua left. After all, Gu’er and the others weren’t actually going to sue them. It wasn’t worth the trouble. All she wanted was for Zhang Lili and Lan Hua to apologize, to show the employee some respect, and to make it clear that the mall and its staff had done nothing wrong. Zhang Lili and her friend were the ones who had been making a scene.

As they left, Lan Hua reached out to support Zhang Lili, but Zhang Lili shook her off.

"You think I’m desperate to help? Take a good look at yourself. Stop putting on airs. If you don’t want my help, fine by me. Saves me the trouble. Don’t come looking for me ever again."

Lan Hua muttered with a sneer, then stalked off ahead of her.

’Gu’er could imagine it all. Zhang Lili and Lan Hua were finished. Knowing Lan Hua’s personality, she would definitely spread all sorts of nasty rumors about Zhang Lili, ruining her reputation. But this was what Zhang Lili deserved. You play with fire, you’re going to get burned. If you try to use people, you have to be ready to face the consequences.’

After they were gone, Gu’er glanced at Qu Feng, then turned to Bai Xiaohua. "Xiao Bai, I am so sorry. I want to apologize to you for what you had to go through today. I expect everyone to treat customers well and not look down on them, but not all customers can be judged the same. If you ever encounter a customer like her again, no matter the circumstances, you don’t need to apologize. You did nothing wrong."

Gu’er apologized to Bai Xiaohua.

Bai Xiaohua’s eyes welled up. "Ma’am, please don’t say that," she said. "I don’t feel wronged for apologizing. At the time, all I could think about was not tarnishing the mall’s reputation or causing it to make enemies because of me. The fact that you made them apologize to me today... I’m truly touched. Thank you, Ma’am."

Bai Xiaohua spoke from the heart. She felt that Gu’er had treated her like a human being, not like the kind of boss who would sacrifice employees for the good of the company. ’From this moment on,’ she thought, ’I’m truly willing to work at this mall. I’d be willing to work here for the rest of my life.’

"I apologize as well. I was the one who made Xiao Bai apologize without getting the facts straight, and I wronged her. From now on, when something like this happens, I’ll be sure to investigate the situation first. We need to treat our customers well, but not at the expense of our own employees. What I did today was wrong."

Qu Feng also stepped forward and apologized to Bai Xiaohua.

’Seeing Qu Feng’s reaction, Gu’er nodded to herself. The fact that he could swallow his pride and apologize showed he was a decent man. Some managers would never apologize to their subordinates, right or wrong. They’d just find someone to take the fall when trouble arose. But a man like Qu Feng could take responsibility.’

With the matter resolved, Bai Xiaohua returned to her post. As for what followed, Gu’er had Qu Feng focus on mentoring Bai Xiaohua, who was promoted to supervisor and, eventually, to manager. But that is a story for another time.

Gu’er and Li Zhi went back up to the fifth floor.

"Sigh. To think someone so beautiful could be so ugly on the inside. What a waste." 𝘧𝑟𝑒𝑒𝘸𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝓁.𝘤𝘰𝓂

Li Zhi sighed as he spoke to Gu’er. Before today, he hadn’t particularly liked Zhang Lili’s attitude, but he hadn’t been repulsed by her either. He couldn’t deny she was beautiful, and there was nothing wrong with a pretty woman acting a little spoiled now and then. If he hadn’t spent the last couple of years hanging around Gu’er and the others, broadening his horizons, he might have actually tried to make Zhang Lili his wife. A wife that beautiful would certainly be great for his image, and she’d be easy on the eyes at home. But he had feelings for Gu’er. Because of that, he wanted to find someone more like her—someone he could work with, someone he was on the same wavelength with. So, even though he found Zhang Lili beautiful, he had never developed feelings for her.

After today’s fiasco, Li Zhi was determined to keep his distance from Zhang Lili. From now on, no matter what, he wouldn’t get involved with her.

"You can’t lump everyone together. And don’t be in such a hurry. The right person just hasn’t come along yet. When the time is right, someone wonderful will be waiting for you."

Gu’er also hadn’t expected Zhang Lili to be such a deceptive, faux-innocent type. When Li Zhi had first talked about her, Gu’er had just assumed she was a young woman who liked to act cute. Now she saw that wasn’t the case at all.

"What do you think that Lan Hua woman meant when she mentioned Zhang Lili’s stepfather and her being sixteen?" Li Zhi asked Gu’er.

"Why are you such a gossip? Even I, a woman, am not curious. Why are you, a grown man, trying to pry into her private affairs?"

Gu’er shot him a look. ’Truth be told, it wasn’t that she wasn’t curious; she just felt it was pointless since it had nothing to do with her.’

"I was just making conversation. Oh, by the way, I’ve noticed you’ve picked up some bad habits from Jia Ming since you got married."

Li Zhi looked at Gu’er.

Gu’er gave him a puzzled look.

"Those questions you asked Zhang Lili before—about whether I’d held her hand, put my arm around her waist, or kissed her. How could you ask something like that? See? You’ve definitely been corrupted by Jia Ming!"

Li Zhi explained, his eyes fixed on Gu’er after he spoke.

’Gu’er felt her face flush. She hadn’t really thought about it at the time. Besides, in the future, words like that would be nothing, but for this era, they were probably a bit risqué.’

"I was sticking up for you, you know! I was worried she’d try to trap you, and this is the thanks I get? You criticize me and then blame it on Jia Ming? Fine, from now on, you can deal with your own problems."

Gu’er glared at Li Zhi.

"Whoa, whoa, I was wrong, okay? I’ll shut up. You can’t abandon me! Dingzi and I are planning to come freeload off you for meals once we move. You have no idea what I’m going through! My mom feeds me radishes, cabbage, and potatoes every single day. If not that, it’s stewed green beans or stewed sauerkraut. I’m so sick of it! I’m dying for your cooking. If you ignore me, I’ll starve from craving your food! And if I starve to death, how am I ever going to get married?"

Li Zhi quickly put on an apologetic grin.

Gu’er let out a snort of laughter.

"Alright, enough messing around. We’re leaving the day after tomorrow. I came over today to pick up some prepared food for the road. Have you gotten in touch with everyone on that end?"

Gu’er asked Li Zhi.

"Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of. Uncle Qi said to leave finding the men to him. He’s going to get a whole truckload of guys to go with us. We can’t have them help for nothing, so I was thinking if they want cash, we give them a hundred yuan each. If they don’t, we’ll give each man a carton of cigarettes. Once the job is done, I’ll treat them all to a big dinner with plenty of drinks. How does that sound?"

Li Zhi asked for Gu’er’s opinion.

"That works. You’re right, we can’t expect them to help for free. Even though we aren’t going there to start a fight, but just to prevent the people in that village from getting physical, we’ve still asked for their help. We can’t let them go to all that trouble for nothing. Let’s do it your way."

Gu’er nodded, agreeing with Li Zhi.

"Good, then leave this part to me. When the time comes, you need to talk to our aunt. Tell her that no matter what it’s like over there, she has to stand firm on the divorce. She can’t go soft."

Li Zhi, however, was worried Lin Shuying wouldn’t be able to go through with it. After all, she had spent so many years with the man.

"Don’t worry. For the sake of Brother Zhongshan’s and Xinghua’s futures, she won’t go soft."

’But Gu’er knew that a mother could give up anything for her children.’

"That’s good. Come on, let’s see what you need to grab. We’ll get it, and then I’ll drive you home. Guess I’m mooching dinner off you tonight."

After speaking, Li Zhi went downstairs with Gu’er. They bought some food for the road on the first floor, then headed back to the Sun Family’s home.