Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 306: Expired Pastries

"Bah, what kind of fairness are you upholding? I think you just don’t want to admit your mistake. My granddaughter is still lying in the hospital, you can go check anytime if you don’t believe me."

The old lady spoke angrily and rolled her eyes at Su Xiaoxiao, blaming this dead girl for ruining her plan. The man almost relented just now.

Five hundred yuan is indeed a lot of money, but for a profitable store like the department store, it’s just a drizzle.

If she makes more fuss and causes some trouble, the man might agree.

Su Xiaoxiao acted as if she didn’t see the old lady’s dirty looks.

"Ma’am, you must rely on evidence when speaking or doing things. If you have no evidence to prove what you’re saying is true, we can consider you as deliberately causing trouble and report you to the police."

The old lady was quite calm initially, but as soon as she heard about involving the police, she became a bit intimidated.

She turned her head to Zhao Fuming, compromising, "Fine, I won’t ask for five hundred anymore. Give me one hundred, and I’ll leave right now."

If this were at the beginning, Zhao Fumin might have already agreed. But after Su Xiaoxiao’s reminder, he realized that if there wasn’t any evidence to prove the old lady’s claims, her actions would be considered malicious slander.

At this moment, Director Liu also came over and addressed the old lady on the ground, "Ma’am, aren’t you looking for the highest official? That’s me, I’m Director Liu of the City Federation of Trade Unions, I think I’m qualified to handle this matter."

Director Liu looked serious, always with a stern face, giving an oppressive feeling when looking at people.

The old lady was startled by Director Liu’s gaze.

She didn’t understand what position the City Federation Chief held, but seeing the surrounding people’s attitude toward Director Liu, she guessed his position wasn’t low.

After pondering, she asked, "Can you make a decision about this matter of five hundred yuan?"

Director Liu nodded, "No problem, as long as what you’re saying is true, I can approve five hundred yuan for you immediately."

Upon hearing this, the old lady felt more at ease.

"Sir, what I said is true. I bought that pastry at the counter on the left side of the subsidiary food section, near the wall. The seller was a young girl with a round face, who had little tiger teeth when she smiled..."

Immediately, the Market Place Department Manager spoke up, "Director Liu, the lady is probably talking about Xiao Chen from the subsidiary food counter. I’ll go and bring her over right now."

With such obvious features, Manager Sun from the Market Place Department instantly remembered.

He turned around and ran off to find the person immediately.

After waiting for a while, they saw him returning breathlessly, with a young girl with a round face following him.

Su Xiaoxiao observed and realized the girl was the one who raised her hand first during her lecture.

Xiao Chen squeezed into the crowd following Manager Sun, and she immediately saw the old lady surrounded by people.

"Xiao Chen, have a look, this lady says the pastry she bought at your counter has gone bad in the last few days. Do you remember anything?"

Manager Sun made room for Xiao Chen to clearly see the old lady’s face.

Xiao Chen thought for a while and asked, "Ma’am, do you remember what kind of pastry you bought?"

She saw so many people every day, it would be impossible to remember them all so clearly.

However, the pastries supplied by the department store vary over time. Based on the type, the purchase date can be roughly confirmed.

"It was the Changbai Cake covered with a layer of sugar, I weighed a bit more than half a pound at that time."

As the lady’s words fell, Xiao Chen’s brows furrowed.

"Ma’am, the Changbai Cake was sold at the department store half a month ago, covered with sugar which doesn’t keep well. Although the weather is cold, it can only last three to five days at most. If you leave it for so long before eating, it must have gone bad by then."

Things these days didn’t have as many additives as modern ones, and food expiration was usually short.

Pastries from half a month ago, even if aired outside, would likely have spoiled.

"How could it have gone bad? I checked it beforehand, broke off the bad parts, and didn’t give them to my granddaughter. How could there be any problem?"

The old lady argued confidently. Among the onlookers, it became clear that she likely cherished the items too much to eat, let them spoil, and just took them out.

Many elder folks had this issue.

Su Xiaoxiao remembered seeing a piece of news before, where an old woman’s wheat was gnawed on by mice, but not wanting to waste, she ground it into flour, made dumplings for her family, and managed to send her entire family to the hospital.

Just as she was thinking, a sudden scream echoed from the crowd.

"Granny Zhou, you should quickly go home and check, your grandson isn’t feeling well and has gone to the hospital!"

The old lady who was just sitting on the ground refusing to get up bounced up instantly and sprinted outside upon hearing her grandson was in trouble.

Her response speed startled the surrounding people.

Just now she looked unwilling to budge, but upon hearing her grandson’s accident, her legs seemed faster than a rabbit’s.

After running a couple of steps, the old lady suddenly remembered something, turned back, and grabbed Director Liu’s arm.

"My grandson must have gotten sick from eating the pastry from your store, you have to come with me!"

Director Liu was startled by her action; although the old lady appeared much older than him, she was still a lady, and pulling him around like this wasn’t quite appropriate.

"Hurry up, don’t dawdle. If anything happens to my grandson, I’ll never let you off!"

The old lady was now so anxious that her eyes seemed on fire, nothing like her calm demeanor when talking about her granddaughter’s hospitalization.

Director Liu tried to pull his arm back, "Ma’am, let go a bit, I’ll go with you, isn’t that enough?"

The old lady wouldn’t loosen her grip, afraid he might run off, and pulled Director Liu along while rushing out.

Director Liu struggled but didn’t manage to break free; for someone who appeared weak, the old lady had quite some strength.

"Ma’am, let go a bit first, let’s talk this over."

Zhao Fumin maintained a smile on his face, fearing that if anything happened to Director Liu here today, his position as general manager would be over.

"Get out of my way. If you can’t decide on five hundred yuan, you’re wasting your breath with me."

The old lady rudely pushed, and Liu Fumin was caught off guard, landing on his behind.

Seated on the ground, he was stunned for two seconds before realizing the humiliation, covering his face in embarrassment.

"Ma’am, ease your grip slightly, this way, we can move faster. I’ll have someone drive us there directly. If it’s our responsibility, we won’t shirk it."

Director Liu finished speaking and glanced at Su Xiaoxiao nearby, "Comrade Su, you follow along too."

Among a group of men, it’s indeed inconvenient to handle things with an old lady; having a female comrade would make it easier.

Since Director Liu had spoken, Su Xiaoxiao couldn’t refuse and nodded, following them.

The old lady finally released Director Liu upon hearing they would send a car.

"I’m telling you, if you try any tricks, I’ll hang myself at the department store entrance to prevent it from operating."

"Ma’am, rest assured, I absolutely stand by my word."

Minutes later, Su Xiaoxiao sat in the car with Director Liu en route to the City People’s Hospital.