Lin Jiang nodded, understanding the whole story.
’He’s most likely the new deputy manager hired to replace Liu Hongquan.’
"Has this guy been giving you any trouble?"
"He’s pretty rude every time he comes over. He always finds some minor issue for me to fix. I figure he’ll drop the act soon enough and start handing out fines."
"Don’t worry about him. I’m actually curious to see what he’s capable of."
"Oh, stop worrying about me. Let me go get your things."
The two returned to the shop. Xu Lin took out two boxes of sea cucumbers and a ginseng root from behind the counter.
"These two boxes are Liaodong sea cucumbers, and the ginseng is an old wild root from the Northeast. They’re all top-grade. Take them back for your mom," Xu Lin said.
"Ginseng is good stuff. Not something just anyone can buy."
"Of course. I had to wait a long time to get my hands on it," Xu Lin said.
"Don’t be so polite with me, or I’ll get upset."
"If Boss Xu insists, what else can I say?"
"That’s more like it."
COUGH, COUGH, COUGH—
The coughing interrupted their conversation. It was Fu Yaohua, who had walked over.
"The manager’s here."
Seeing Fu Yaohua, Xu Lin greeted him with a smile.
Fu Yaohua gave a faint nod.
"Several people have come to me recently, saying there are problems with the medicinal products you sell here. They say you’re passing off inferior goods as premium and selling them at high prices. It’s fine to want to make money, but that’s not how you do business."
Fu Yaohua said, pointing around condescendingly,
"And look at the product display in your shop. Why is it so messy? When customers see this, they’ll think Berkeley is some third-rate mall."
"Manager, if you say my product display is messy, I can fix it. But if you’re accusing me of passing off inferior goods, I won’t accept that. We’ve never done anything like that."
Xu Lin said amicably,
"You can’t just listen to rumors and come here to falsely accuse us."
"Hey, hey, hey, Sister Xu, you can’t just say things like that. Business is all about conscience. I’ve never done anything to benefit myself at others’ expense," the woman in the qipao retorted.
"I wasn’t talking about you. The fact that you suddenly chimed in, isn’t that an unwitting confession?"
Lin Jiang glanced at the woman across from them. ’It feels like she put all her Skills points into being a flirt and completely neglected her intelligence.’
"Stop talking about others. We’re talking about your problem right now," Fu Yaohua said sternly.
"I’ve always been fair and just. If something’s good, it’s good; if it’s bad, it’s bad, and I’ll say it to your face. Given the situation here, you need to fix this immediately. Everything is piled up in a total mess. What kind of operation is this?"
"Doesn’t it look perfectly neat? Where’s the mess?" Lin Jiang spoke up.
Fu Yaohua looked at Lin Jiang. "What does this have to do with you? I’m the mall manager. Do you know more than me?"
"I don’t know anything about management, but I can find someone who does," Lin Jiang said, fiddling with his phone.
"You know, a person should live honestly and not do things that weigh on their conscience. Otherwise, there will be karma."
"Who the hell are you to talk to me about karma? This is none of your business. Stay out of it."
"You haven’t made things clear yet, so I can’t leave."
"What’s not to understand? There’s stuff piled up everywhere. Are you blind?"
Fu Yaohua turned his verbal attack on Xu Lin. "I pointed out a few of your problems, and you’re not happy about it? You even found someone to argue with me?"
"Manager, please don’t misunderstand. That’s not what I meant. I’ll tidy up the stock in a bit and try to make it look better."
"It’s too late for that now. A fine of 1,000 yuan. Go to the finance department tomorrow and pay up," Fu Yaohua said with a stern face.
"This is just a warning. If the same problem happens again, I’ll have your business shut down for rectification."
Xu Lin’s expression turned cold.
"Manager, isn’t that a bit much? Fining me 1,000 yuan right off the bat? How much do I even make in a day?"
"How much you make is your business. If you don’t follow the mall’s regulations, you have to accept the punishment," Fu Yaohua said.
"If you want to stay in business here, then follow the rules and fix it. If you don’t, just say the word. No one’s forcing you to stay."
Fu Yaohua snorted coldly and turned to leave, but Lin Jiang called out to him from behind.
"Don’t go just yet."
"What do you want? You want to start a fight with me?"
Lin Jiang’s physique was somewhat intimidating to Fu Yaohua, who stood his ground, not daring to get any closer.
"Let me tell you, this is a public place. Don’t try any of that gangster stuff. I’m not afraid of you."
"We’re all civilized people here. Why would I do something like that?" Lin Jiang said with a smile.
"I’ve called your managers over. Let them be the judge and see if there’s really a problem with my friend’s shop."
"I haven’t done anything wrong! I’m not afraid even if you call the managers!"
Fu Yaohua pointed at Xu Lin’s counter and said,
"It doesn’t matter who comes today, her shop has problems and must be fixed! When our managers get here, they might even fine her more."
"Then let’s wait for them to arrive before we say any more. There’s no rush."
"Heh..."
Fu Yaohua sneered, not taking Lin Jiang seriously at all.
’The people coming are on my side,’ he thought. ’Why the hell would I be afraid of you?’
Meanwhile, Lin Jiang saw the woman in the qipao start tidying up her own shop. Her bosses were coming soon, and she didn’t want to leave any incriminating evidence.
Before long, Huang Youwei and He Jing arrived.
Seeing the two of them, Fu Yaohua went up to greet them with a smile.
He had expected He Jing to come, but he was surprised to see Huang Youwei as well.
’They probably ran into each other on the way and came together.’
In reality, for the past few days, Huang Youwei had been inviting He Jing along for everything he did.
When Lin Jiang had first come to Berkeley, it was He Jing who had brought him in, and the two had maintained a good relationship ever since.
With the vice president position at the mall now vacant, Huang Youwei figured that with her relationship to Lin Jiang, she might be promoted very soon. It was only natural that he would pay special attention to her.
Huang Youwei gave a faint nod and, along with He Jing, quickened his pace toward Lin Jiang.
"President Lin, what happened?"

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