Ya Xi Ya was a private department store, so its general manager must be a ‘capitalist’!

Common people these days looked down on individual businesses and were wary of capitalists.

Unexpectedly, Xia Xiaolan, this young capitalist, showed considerable conscience, willing to pay for treatment even after discovering the child had chickenpox rather than a milk powder allergy… Thanks to Huang Guoqiang playing the foil, Xia Xiaolan’s image soared. Both “Xia the Conscientious” and “Officer Zhuo the Just” earned praise from the onlooking crowds.

Xia Xiaolan sincerely requested the doctor to provide careful treatment. With so many witnesses present, the doctor nodded solemnly:

“Chickenpox isn’t usually dangerous for infants, but we worry about complications. We’ll give the child a thorough examination and treatment!”

Meanwhile, Zhuo Weiping was taking the woman to the police station for questioning.

After all the commotion, the large group of customers who had walked from Ya Xi Ya arrived just in time. Everyone gathered in the emergency clinic’s courtyard, hearing Zhuo Weiping loudly interrogate the woman who had held the child:

“I’ve seen plenty of criminals – playing unconscious or playing dumb won’t work!”

“Tell the truth, is this your biological child?”

“You claimed you took the child to a doctor before going to the store, and the doctor said the rash was from milk powder – that’s a lie!”

“If you’d seen a doctor, you’d have known it was chickenpox.”

“Why bring a child with chickenpox to the store? Were you deliberately trying to extort money?”

“Chickenpox is contagious – was this intentional!”

With each of Zhuo Weiping’s questions, the woman dared not answer, evading constantly.

Combined with the outspoken Neighborhood Committeewoman and Huang Guoqiang playing his role, the newly arrived customers quickly understood the situation. Those who had brought children to watch stepped back, shouting angrily:

“Taking your chickenpox-infected child to the store, just to extort money – you’re rotten to the core! Go to hell! With hands and feet to work with, why resort to extortion? If you’re that desperate for money, we’ll each chip in ten or twenty cents to buy you a coffin and dig a pit for your whole family!”

The local dialect curses emerged, with “nin” meaning “you” in Yu’nan dialect.

None of the customers present found this inappropriate – such despicable behavior deserved cursing.

This woman’s actions were far worse than simple extortion. Extortion would only affect the store’s responsibility, not requiring everyone to pay from their own pockets, so it wouldn’t provoke such righteous indignation.

Chickenpox was highly contagious, especially for children with weak immunity. Those who hadn’t had it before could easily catch it.

On this cold winter evening, many people had brought their children to the store after dinner. Whether shopping or not, the store was lively and warm, spacious enough for children to play freely.

What if their children got infected? How much would they suffer?

So customers with children were particularly agitated, with two grandmothers who had brought their grandchildren trying to rush forward to hit the woman.

Zhuo Weiping pulled the woman behind her, blocking the angry women, and announced again loudly:

“Still won’t tell the truth? Then I won’t protect you – let them beat you!”

The woman trembled in fear, stammering pleas: “Officer, you… you must protect me…”

Huang Guoqiang spat, “Police protect good people. Look at those caught thieves – which one doesn’t get beaten half to death? Do you think police protect thieves!”

“Beat her!”

“Damn her, won’t feel better until we do!”

The crowd was enraged.

You could anger anyone, but never the masses.

As they say, the law can’t punish everyone – if everyone joined in beating her, nothing would come of it. This wasn’t the era where people had to compensate for injuring thieves. As several older women rolled up their sleeves, the woman finally broke down crying:

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! The child wasn’t harmed by milk powder. Someone paid me to bring the child to Ya Xi Ya to cause trouble. If Ya Xi Ya paid compensation, the money would be mine… I was wrong, please forgive me, I shouldn’t have been greedy for this money…”

She confessed!

If the store had forced her to admit being instructed by others, it would seem like a coerced confession.

But this was perfect – this result came from Officer Zhuo and concerned customers together. This public confession truly cleared things up!

The customers’ anger came from two sources: suspecting the woman deliberately brought a chickenpox-infected child to the crowded store to infect everyone, and rage at being deceived after the truth emerged… They had even helped her accuse the store of problematic milk powder. Damn it, they’d been deceived, giving sympathy to an extortionist – how infuriating!

Officer Zhuo’s protection was somewhat for the show, only separating the emotional crowd after the woman had taken a few punches and kicks.

“Everyone, please calm down. She not only deceived you all but also me. I need to apologize to Ya Xi Ya! The store manager is here – shall we ask her how to handle this?”

“Good, the officer is right.”

“Let’s listen to the police!”

Now this dramatic scene with many actors returned to Xia Xiaolan’s control.

The entire drama had always been under her control, but she wasn’t seeking fame and hadn’t arranged many scenes for herself. As Ya Xi Ya’s general manager, she only needed one or two key scenes to make her point and set the tone!

Just like now.

When Zhuo Weiping shifted everyone’s attention to her, Xia Xiaolan didn’t shy away.

“This woman – I’ll still call her sister – I don’t know who paid her to bring a child with chickenpox to extort Ya Xi Ya.”

Xia Xiaolan paused briefly before continuing:

“Yes, the child is pitiful, but if it weren’t for the kind customers and police officer here today, Ya Xi Ya couldn’t have cleared its name no matter what! I will pay for the child’s treatment, but I absolutely cannot forgive this woman’s actions. She didn’t just damage Ya Xi Ya’s reputation – she deliberately tried to infect our customers. This last point is unforgivable. Ya Xi Ya values every customer, not only providing the best service but also the most thorough care.”

Unforgivable!

Not because of the attempted extortion.

But because such actions endangered the safety of every Ya Xi Ya customer.

Xia Xiaolan’s words came completely from her heart, not an act.

…Setting aside basic human conscience, every customer who shops at the store is a valued patron! Running a business requires this awareness – if you don’t consider your patrons’ interests, address their urgent needs, or care about their feelings, how can you expect them to spend their money?

Xia Xiaolan genuinely hoped every Ya Xi Ya customer would be happy, and healthy – and then open their wallets to shop at Ya Xi Ya!

Huang Guoqiang led the applause while wiping tears from his eyes:

“Manager Xia, I know you don’t like flattery, but I must share my sincere feelings. Having a general manager who values every customer as you do makes all Ya Xi Ya employees proud. We’ll all follow your example, holding ourselves to the highest standards and providing the best service to every customer!”

Song Minglan’s teeth ached.

This suddenly emerged old hand’s flattery made Special Assistant Song feel threatened.

But even in comic dialogues, you need someone to play along. Xia Xiaolan’s speech needed Huang Guoqiang’s support to achieve its best effect. The scene erupted in applause, all for Xia Xiaolan and Ya Xi Ya!