Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 376: Beef Cubes

She had just left when someone knocked on the office door again.

"Come in."

Su Xiaoxiao responded, and the door opened to reveal an unexpected visitor.

Liu Chunxiang smiled ingratiatingly: "Manager Su, I wanted to discuss the matter we talked about yesterday."

Su Xiaoxiao knew she was here to confirm her identity but didn’t call her out: "Have a seat."

Liu Chunxiang looked around the office; there wasn’t any place to sit except the chair under Su Xiaoxiao. She couldn’t exactly sit on the floor, could she?

She chuckled awkwardly: "No need, I’m fine standing."

Yesterday, she didn’t feel it, but now, knowing Su Xiaoxiao was really the sales manager, Liu Chunxiang felt uncomfortable standing before her.

It was a bit like the embarrassment of meeting the class teacher.

Seeing Su Xiaoxiao not speak, she took the initiative: "Manager Su, here’s what I plan to do..."

Liu Chunxiang cautiously explained her plan.

She planned to give Zhang Yulan laxatives so she would have diarrhea and couldn’t make it to the department store.

The method was straightforward and ruthless.

The department store has a rule where staff absent for more than three days without cause are immediately dismissed.

This old woman sure is ruthless.

Su Xiaoxiao didn’t say yes or no, only responded, "I’m not concerned with how you handle things at home. Just have your daughter report in three days, and I’ll help her with the onboarding."

"That’s great, thank you!"

Liu Chunxiang was overjoyed, reaching into her pocket to pull out two eggs: "Manager Su, keep these two eggs for yourself to eat. I’ll go now."

Leaving the eggs on the table, Liu Chunxiang left briskly.

Having left, Su Xiaoxiao turned to knock on the HR manager’s door.

The two were old acquaintances, and especially after hearing Su Xiaoxiao became the sales manager, Xu Cuilan’s attitude became more enthusiastic.

Her usually serious face was all smiles: "Manager Su, congratulations!"

"Thank you."

Su Xiaoxiao accepted the congratulations graciously; being overly modest can be insincere.

"Manager Xu, there’s something I’d like your help with."

She candidly recounted Zhang Yulan’s family affairs to Xu Cuilan.

If you want someone’s help, you can’t afford to hide anything.

Also being a mother, upon hearing Zhang Yulan’s mother-in-law secretly sold two kids, Xu Cuilan was enraged, pounding the table: "Manager Su, rest assured, I’ll definitely help."

Arranging temporary work isn’t a big issue.

Su Xiaoxiao felt it wouldn’t be fair to ask her to do it for nothing, pulling out a package of beef jerky from her bag: "Manager Xu, I brought you some beef jerky from my last business trip, hoping you wouldn’t mind using them as snacks for the kids."

The beef jerky’s packaging had been replaced with brown paper bags long ago.

Seeing a full bag of beef jerky, Xu Cuilan felt a bit embarrassed: "How much is it? I’ll pay you; I can’t just take it for free. If word gets out, what kind of person would I look like?"

"Don’t worry, Mr. Zhang has been a diligent worker at our store. I’ll definitely help."

Fearing she’d overthink, Xu Cuilan hurriedly supplemented.

Su Xiaoxiao placed the beef jerky on the table: "Manager Xu, it’s really not expensive, they were on sale, very cheap, just one yuan a big bag."

Xu Cuilan quickly took out money for her: "You must take this money; otherwise, I can’t accept the beef jerky, principles cannot be compromised."

Seeing her insist, Su Xiaoxiao accepted.

Even then, Xu Cuilan felt uneasy, "Manager Su, are you bluffing me? This is real beef, independently packaged, how could it be so cheap?"

Each piece of beef jerky was wrapped in colorful candy paper, not looking cheap at all.

"It was just luck; I have a relative working there, and they split the remaining with employees."

Su Xiaoxiao casually made up a reason.

Xu Cuilan felt much relieved but still felt she owed Su Xiaoxiao a lot.

The bag weighed at least half a pound.

Fresh beef costs over one yuan per pound, how could beef jerky only be a few yuan?

Thinking in the future, she’d try to help Su Xiaoxiao whenever needed.

Su Xiaoxiao wasn’t aware of the impact casually giving away beef jerky had on Xu Cuilan.

After a few more pleasantries, Su Xiaoxiao finally bid farewell.

Once she left, Xu Cuilan prepared to find a place to hide the beef jerky.

This is a rare item; it wouldn’t look good if everyone saw her eating alone.

She had just picked up the bag when the door suddenly swung open from outside.

"Cousin, what are you up to?"

The visitor was her cousin Xu Xiaowan, just graduated from Gong Nong Bing University, assigned as a secretary to the city’s steel plant director.

Xu Cuilan was startled by her, gasping for breath: "You scared me, why didn’t you say anything before entering?"

Xu Xiaowan squinted and spotted the brown paper bag she held: "Cousin, what delicious treats are you hiding?"

Hearing her loud voice, Xu Cuilan felt her temples throbbing: "Close the door first."

"Look at you, all jumpy?"

Xu Xiaowan muttered but obediently closed the door.

"Is this beef jerky?"

Once she clearly saw what was inside the brown paper bag, Xu Xiaowan was too excited to speak.

"Cousin, when did your department store get this rare stuff? Is there more? Get me two pounds."

"You want two pounds? Here, take this, that’s all there is, no more."

Xu Cuilan disdainfully grabbed some for her, generously without reservation.

"Our department store doesn’t have rare stuff like this; I bought it from someone else."

Currently, meat is scarce; fresh beef is a rare sight, much less high-quality beef jerky.

Xu Xiaowan’s eyes lit up: "Who did you buy it from? Tell me; I’d love to buy some for my parents."

Afraid of troubling Su Xiaoxiao, Xu Cuilan grabbed another handful for Xu Xiaowan: "There’s not much left with them, don’t think about it, take these and eat."

Xu Xiaowan pouted: "I could pay extra, look at how stingy you are."

Her family conditions were good, with a decent salary; she usually didn’t fuss about clothes or attire, only liked eating, and wouldn’t pass this chance for good food.

While speaking, someone knocked on the office door abruptly.

Xu Cuilan quickly stashed the beef jerky, glaring at Xu Xiaowan: "Hide it, don’t let anyone see."

Once she put the things away, she called out to the door: "Come in."

The door opened, revealing none other than Su Xiaoxiao who had just left.

Su Xiaoxiao, on her way back, thought it over and felt a single bag was too stingy, intending to give Xu Cuilan another bag.

She’d say she recalled the price wrong, it should’ve been one yuan for two bags.

With the stuff in hand, she entered and noticed the unfamiliar girl in the room.

Seeing the familiar brown paper bag in her hand, Xu Xiaowan’s eyes brightly lit up and she eagerly approached.