Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 361: A Chance Encounter with Niu Xiaoli
"Su Xiaoxiao, is this your boyfriend?"
She turned around upon hearing the voice and saw Niu Xiaoli standing not far behind them. She couldn’t help but frown slightly; why did she bump into her everywhere?
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t particularly dislike this person, but the way she spoke and acted was indeed a bit uncomfortable.
It’s just that she didn’t want to interact, but it’s not quite aversion.
"Comrade Niu, are you also here to eat?"
Su Xiaoxiao felt there was no need to explain their relationship with someone she wasn’t familiar with, so she greeted politely.
Who knew, Niu Xiaoli was very familiar, and she directly plopped down beside Su Xiaoxiao, looking at Zhou Cheng opposite: "Hello, I’m Su Xiaoxiao’s friend, Niu Xiaoli."
Su Xiaoxiao: "..."
This is why she didn’t want to deal with this person.
Always felt like Niu Xiaoli had something wrong in her head, other people’s refusal seemed unheard.
Zhou Cheng nodded politely: "Hello, I’m Zhou Cheng."
Su Xiaoxiao saw that this person didn’t intend to leave, so she spoke through gritted teeth: "Comrade Niu, you should be here with friends too, right?"
Niu Xiaoli shook her head: "No, I came by myself."
While speaking, she moved her chair closer to Su Xiaoxiao: "You don’t mind if I eat with you, right?"
"Don’t worry, I’ve ordered food; it’ll be served soon."
Su Xiaoxiao: "..."
To put it bluntly, this person was excessively familiar.
She just didn’t understand, why Niu Xiaoli was determined to be friends with her? What did she see in her? Could she change?
Niu Xiaoli seemed oblivious to Su Xiaoxiao’s rejection and warmly said: "You’ve ordered so little food, not enough to eat. I’ve ordered more, let’s eat together."
Just as she finished speaking, a high-pitched female voice suddenly interrupted from the side.
"Xiaoli, why are you here? Didn’t we agree to eat together? I’ve brought my friends."
Su Xiaoxiao looked up and saw it was Wang Meili from the department store, she worked at the toy counter, but they didn’t interact much usually.
Upon seeing her, Wang Meili’s attitude instantly became more enthusiastic: "Oh, look who it is? Isn’t this our Manager Su? Let me introduce you, this is Manager Su from the sales department of our Second Department Store."
The enthusiastic attitude made Su Xiaoxiao quite uncomfortable, especially since this matter hadn’t been announced yet. If she admitted it early, how would everyone gossip behind her?
Not even a manager yet, already putting on airs? Was this position acquired through connections?
She pretended to look puzzled at Wang Meili: "Mr. Wang, what manager? When did I become the sales manager? How come I don’t know?"
Wang Meili thought she was being modest, smiling broadly: "Who doesn’t know in our Second Department Store, Manager Su, don’t keep it under wraps."
Su Xiaoxiao pretended to be pleasantly surprised: "Mr. Wang, I really don’t know about this, do you have any insider news? Come on, tell me quickly, when was it decided, is the news reliable?"
"This..."
Wang Meili initially intended to butter her up, but didn’t expect it to backfire.
She smiled awkwardly: "Manager Su, don’t joke with us, we’re all colleagues. Results will come out tomorrow, there’s no need to keep it from us."
"Mr. Wang, I really don’t know about this, where did you get the information? Tell me, I’ll quickly go and ask."
Su Xiaoxiao’s expectant expression left Wang Meili baffled.
Were the salespeople at the department store spreading this? Could it be false?
"Well...I also heard it from others, not very clear."
Wang Meili awkwardly smiled at Su Xiaoxiao and turned to Niu Xiaoli: "Xiaoli, let’s hurry and have lunch, haven’t you ordered all the dishes?"
Niu Xiaoli wanted to say something but met Wang Meili’s eyes, pursed her lips, and nodded: "Okay."
"Comrade Su, we’ll head upstairs first, too crowded here. We’ve booked a private room."
"Xiaoli, why are you still standing there? Lead the way."
Wang Meili affectionately linked arms with Niu Xiaoli: "Let’s go, everyone eat well and drink well, don’t be shy with me."
She waved at Su Xiaoxiao and turned to lead Niu Xiaoli upstairs.
During that time, without some connections, reserving a private room at a state-run restaurant was impossible.
Su Xiaoxiao watched them leave, and suddenly felt a bit sorry for Niu Xiaoli.
The obvious payer for this meal was Niu Xiaoli, but from start to finish, Wang Meili was the one stealing the spotlight, she seemed just like a paying tool.
But that’s all their business, nothing to do with her.
Now that the nuisance was gone, the two continued their meal.
Su Xiaoxiao didn’t want to hog the food, so she reached into her bag and pulled out two spicy duck necks, handing them over: "Captain Zhou, these duck necks taste really good, have a try."
Lately, the meals had been the same old dishes. If she didn’t have some spicy duck neck, she couldn’t even eat.
After handing over the duck neck, Su Xiaoxiao went back to gnawing her bun without any concern for her image.
Zhou Cheng felt the atmosphere wasn’t quite right.
Would a woman eat so carelessly in front of a man she liked?
The spicy aroma was intoxicating, Su Xiaoxiao took two satisfied bites, then noticed Zhou Cheng hadn’t moved, puzzled: "Captain Zhou, aren’t you eating?"
Zhou Cheng silently opened one: "Yes, eating."
Seeing the girl across gobbling down with red-stained lips, he lowered his eyes and took a bite, then quickly grabbed the enamel cup on the table and drank up.
So spicy!
"Tasty, right?" 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦
Su Xiaoxiao asked, engrossed in her eating.
"Yes, tasty."
Zhou Cheng agreed, giving her face, even though he couldn’t handle spicy food. But since Su Comrade gave it, he couldn’t let her down.
Silently pouring himself a full enamel mug of water, he maintained composure and praised: "I never realized duck necks could be so delicious."
"Right? If you like them, I’ll give you more next time."
Su Xiaoxiao was so engrossed she didn’t even look up.
If she had looked up, she’d see the man’s face was distorted, unlike his calm voice.
His face had lost control because of the spiciness.
With spicy duck necks accompanying the meal, Su Xiaoxiao had a great appetite, even devoured an extra bun.
After the meal, she stood up, patting her full stomach, feeling the waistband pinching.
"Captain Zhou, thank you for the meal. Next time, if there’s a chance, I’ll treat you."
Su Xiaoxiao spoke politely, the custom of reciprocity must be maintained.
Zhou Cheng was about to say something when the air became filled with an indescribable stench, getting stronger.
He frowned slightly, about to speak, when he saw Su Comrade’s eyes light up, her expression looking strangely excited.
