Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 281: Giving Watches

"The former sales manager was backstabbed by him; he’s notoriously petty and holds grudges, so be careful around him."

"There’s a saying, ’It’s better to offend a gentleman than to offend a villain.’ Don’t take it lightly."

Zhang Yulan earnestly reminded her.

Su Xiaoxiao wasn’t naive; she didn’t deal with Manager Liu often, but he always spoke and acted with an agenda, adjusting to how others were, making him quite unlikeable.

"Thank you, Sister Zhang, I’ll definitely be careful."

She replied earnestly, acknowledging the kindness intended for her.

During lunch, Su Xiaoxiao distributed the electronic watches she had previously brought for everyone according to the list.

When it was Qin Shuang’s turn, she placed the watch in Qin Shuang’s palm and subtly slipped a stack of money to her.

Qin Shuang was surprised; wasn’t this the money she previously gave for the watch? Why was it returned?

Just as she assumed Su Xiaoxiao made a mistake and was about to say something, she saw Su Xiaoxiao quietly place a finger over her lips, signalling silence.

Qin Shuang had to swallow her words and thought she’d ask her when there was no one around later.

The women who received the watches wore them on their wrists, looking at them with delight.

When the watches caught the sunlight, they shone brightly like gemstones, looking very pretty, and had many functions, unlike traditional watches which were bulky and heavy, only serving to tell time.

Look at this electronic watch, chic and lightweight, wearing it is like wearing nothing at all.

Zhang Yulan watched as each woman showed off their new watches, full of envy.

But she had limited funds and couldn’t afford one, so she could only admire them.

Lost in thought, she felt someone tugging her sleeve.

She looked up to meet Su Xiaoxiao’s cheerful gaze, feeling puzzled: "Xiaoxiao?"

Su Xiaoxiao seriously handed her a pink electronic watch: "Sister Zhang, this is the electronic watch you ordered yesterday."

Zhang Yulan froze for a moment, thinking Su Xiaoxiao remembered it wrong, hurriedly shook her head to explain: "Xiaoxiao, I didn’t..."

Before she finished speaking, Su Xiaoxiao made a shushing gesture to her, seriously said: "Alright, everyone received their watches, anyone with a problem can return them within a day."

After finishing, she reached out, grabbing Qin Shuang and Zhang Yulan by the arms: "Sister Zhang, Shuangshuang, let’s go eat."

Before the two could react, she dragged them to the small cafeteria.

Once they were alone, Zhang Yulan urgently whispered: "Xiaoxiao, I didn’t order this watch, you should take it back."

"Sister Zhang, this watch is my gift to you; I didn’t take money from Shuangshuang either. You both have helped me a lot, and I don’t have much to give, so consider this a token of appreciation for all you’ve done for me."

Su Xiaoxiao genuinely felt this way.

In the department store, Qin Shuang and Zhang Yulan were the closest to her. They took care of her regularly, and she had been looking for an opportunity to thank them.

"But this is too precious, I can’t accept it."

Zhang Yulan hurriedly tried to return the watch to Su Xiaoxiao, feeling such a valuable gift was inappropriate as a token of gratitude.

Her help was merely small favors and accepting such an expensive gift made her feel uncomfortable.

Qin Shuang echoed: "Xiaoxiao, this watch is indeed too valuable. How can we not pay?"

Knowing they’d react this way, Su Xiaoxiao pretended to be upset: "If you both don’t accept, it means you’re being distant, and I won’t speak to you again."

While the watch seemed valuable to them, Su Xiaoxiao didn’t spend much, so giving it away didn’t bother her.

"Well then..."

The two exchanged glances, Zhang Yulan said: "How about this, we’ll pay you the cost."

"Yes, if you don’t want the cost, we cannot accept it."

Qin Shuang immediately agreed.

Seeing their attitude, Su Xiaoxiao realized if she really refused, they definitely wouldn’t take it.

Su Xiaoxiao conceded: "Alright, the cost of the watch is just forty, you can give me forty."

Zhang Yulan could hardly believe her ears: "Such a good watch for only forty? Xiaoxiao, are you kidding us?"

Originally, Su Xiaoxiao sold the watch cheaply; available watches on the market weren’t priced below a hundred, and also needed coupons.

"I am telling the truth, but you need to keep this confidential; we are genuine people here, I’m being honest."

She made a considerable profit, but lowered the stated price fearing they’d believe her even less.

Ultimately, the three agreed, with the two insisting on paying Su Xiaoxiao fifty instead.

Zhang Yulan was embarrassed, saying: "Xiaoxiao, I didn’t bring that much cash today; I’ll give it to you tomorrow."

"Sister Zhang, no rush, you can give it whenever."

Zhang Yulan and Qin Shuang felt they had gotten a great deal, feeling uncomfortable about it.

The three went to the cafeteria for lunch, and Su Xiaoxiao smelled meat from afar, making her stomach growl.

Zhang Yulan stopped her from going to line up: "Xiaoxiao, you go find seats, we’ll treat you to lunch." 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

"Yes, yes, with all we gained from you, we have to treat you to lunch."

Qin Shuang quickly chimed in.

Su Xiaoxiao feeling a bit guilty with their words, knowing she made a handsome profit.

But telling them would likely be met with disbelief.

She thought to find future opportunities to give them another gift.

Friendship deepens with reciprocity, back and forth exchange leads to familiarity, can’t let only one side suffer losses with no reciprocation.

Su Xiaoxiao went to reserve seats while the two went to choose dishes.

Shortly after, they returned with the dishes.

Zhang Yulan carried two lunch boxes, one with braised fish, the other with stir-fried potatoes.

Qin Shuang carried two as well, one with sweet and sour ribs and the other with stir-fried broccoli.

As four dishes were placed on the table, many around looked enviously over.

What kind of situation is this? Eating so well at noon.

Normally, they’d get one dish per person, with close acquaintances exchanging dishes.

Three people got four dishes, and two were meat dishes.

The two placed both meat dishes in front of Su Xiaoxiao, making her feel even more embarrassed.

"Don’t let us be polite with you, so you can’t be polite with us either."

Zhang Yulan said.

"Yes, yes, don’t be distant with us, otherwise, we’ll have to pay the original price of the watch."

Qin Shuang quickly added.

They were so enthusiastic that Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t resist being modest any longer, so she picked up her chopsticks to eat.

Seeing her eat, the two finally felt pleased.

The three happily chatted and ate, then walked back arm in arm. Just as they reached the grocery counter, they bumped into Manager Liu returning from lunch.

"Xiao Su, come here for a moment, I need to discuss something with you."

Manager Liu spotted Su Xiaoxiao and waved her over, his face showing warmth.