Back to the 1970s: Building My Fortune Through Time Trading-Chapter 451: The Year-End Gala Begins

"Hello, I’m Su Xiaoxiao, and you are?"

Su Xiaoxiao was puzzled; she didn’t remember knowing this girl at all.

As soon as she said that, she saw the round-faced girl looking at her with bright eyes: "Mr. Su, I’m Lin Miaomiao, a salesperson at the Third Department Store. It’s a pleasure to meet you."

Lin Miaomiao smiled as she reached out her hand: "Mr. Su, I’ve heard about your achievements. You’re amazing! I didn’t expect you to be so young; you’re practically my idol."

Su Xiaoxiao felt a bit embarrassed, not expecting to meet a little fan girl at the party.

Lin Miaomiao took out some fruit candies from her pocket and handed them to her: "Please have these. Can I be friends with you?"

Su Xiaoxiao was more than happy to be friends with a cute and likable girl like Lin Miaomiao.

"Thank you for the candy."

Su Xiaoxiao accepted the candy and took out some beef jerky from her pocket to give her: "Here, have some."

Relationships are mutual; she couldn’t just take advantage without giving anything back.

Lin Miaomiao was both surprised and flattered: "Thank you, Mr. Su."

"No need to be polite; see you around."

Su Xiaoxiao waved at her and turned back to the Binhe Second Department Store area. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As soon as she returned, Zhang Guoqing eagerly approached: "Manager Su, what number did you draw? Don’t tell me it’s the very last one?"

He had noticed Su Xiaoxiao’s disappointed face after drawing her number and began expecting the worst outcome.

Su Xiaoxiao shook her head: "No."

"Then is it the very first?"

Zhang Guoqing continued to ask.

Su Xiaoxiao still shook her head.

Everyone immediately breathed a sigh of relief as Zhang Guoqing patted his chest: "It’s good, it’s good. Not the last one, nor the first one. Seeing your expression earlier, I thought it was one of those."

"Exactly, as long as it’s not the last or the first, that’s fine."

Just as they said this, Su Xiaoxiao added: "You all seem happy too early; I drew the second last."

Everyone: "..."

Silence loomed over like a bridge over troubled waters.

"Second last is still okay, much better than being the unlucky last, hahaha."

Zhang Guoqing laughed to diffuse the atmosphere until he saw a few women from the First Department Store pass by and glare at him fiercely.

"What’s wrong with being last? You can’t judge people by their positions. If you have the ability, being last could still mean winning the championship."

The woman leading the group snorted.

"Hey, what are you talking about? Why does me talking about the last spot concern you?"

Zhang Guoqing immediately retorted, only to be tugged on the sleeve by Su Xiaoxiao: "Mr. Zhang, is it possible that the First Department Store drew the last spot?"

Zhang Guoqing: "..."

At that moment, the announcer stepped forward and announced loudly: "Next, please enjoy the choral performance ’Singing for the Motherland’ by the Sixth Department Store in Binhe City."

The people from the Sixth Department Store marched on stage with their heads held high and spirits lifted.

The choral performance was rather conventional, with no highlights or flaws, so after watching, Su Xiaoxiao found that more than half of the competing teams chose to perform this type of chorus.

Many of them even chose the same song.

After hearing ’Singing for the Motherland’ three times, a group of leaders and the audience began to feel sleepy, losing any expectation for the following performances.

At this moment, the Fifth Department Store took the stage.

Their performance was a skit.

Everyone’s eyes lit up, feeling a rush of emotion.

Finally, something different from the monotonous chorus; their ears were close to growing calluses.

The leaders seated at the judges’ table perked up, finding the skit a refreshing change from the string of choral pieces that all sounded the same, making it difficult to rank their quality accurately.

As long as this skit was decently performed, they’d go ahead and award the first prize to the Fifth Department Store.

Then, after watching the performance, the judges were dumbfounded; wasn’t this still a chorus disguised as a solo song?

All actions in the skit were sung, so what difference does it have from a chorus?

The judges wanted to slam the table and shout, ’Isn’t this just a bait-and-switch performance?’

No way would this performance get first place.

By the time it was Su Xiaoxiao’s team’s turn, both the judges and the audience looked as if their eyes were ready to glaze over.

It wasn’t enjoying a show, but rather seeking punishment.

Su Xiaoxiao led her team at the front. They wore matching outfits and marched onto the stage with their heads held high, appearing more impressive than the other teams.

The audience immediately started murmuring.

"Why does the Second Department Store have uniforms for the competition? Why don’t we have any?"

"Exactly, I didn’t even see the First Department Store having them. Why does the Second Department Store get special treatment? It’s not fair."

"Yeah, the top officials are too biased. Although the Second Department Store has been quite prominent lately, they shouldn’t be treated so preferentially."

Director Song was seated in the judges’ area, and upon hearing this, his brow immediately furrowed.

"What’s up with the Second Department Store’s costumes for their performance? Why don’t other department stores have any?"

The secretary quickly stepped forward to explain: "Director Song, the thing is, the Second Department Store’s performance costumes were sponsored by themselves. The other department stores didn’t secure any sponsorships, so they naturally don’t have any."

Upon explaining, he couldn’t help but add: "The Second Department Store even got quite a few factories to sponsor the competition prizes, which are much more lavish than the ones we provided."

"I didn’t expect Yan Guohua to have such skills. That’s impressive. I should commend him at the end-of-year corporate gathering."

Director Song said just before the secretary urgently clarified: "Director Song, I heard the sponsorships were all thanks to the new Manager Su."

"What? Su Xiaoxiao? It was her?"

Director Song was surprised but thought it was only natural; that girl was full of clever ideas. He’d heard it was her idea for the recent end-of-year sales event, too.

Unfortunately, his son seemed lackluster; he wondered if he could ever catch up to her.

Far away in the Beijing military, Song Weidong sneezed uncontrollably. Who was gossiping about him behind his back?

"Squad leader, look at this. The Second Department Store in your area even made it to the newspaper."

After training, a group of people was resting together when one of Song Weidong’s soldiers handed him a newspaper.

Song Weidong wasn’t much interested at first, but then he caught sight of that bright smiling face in the newspaper and snatched it away.

"I didn’t expect this idea to come from a woman. And she’s quite pretty. Squad leader, she’s from your area; do you know her?"

The voice nearby brought Song Weidong back to reality. His fingers unconsciously traced the smiling face on the newspaper as he spoke, word for word: "Of course I know her, and I’m quite familiar."

The person was suddenly intrigued: "Squad leader, does she have a partner? Does she mind if her partner is in the military?"

Song Weidong looked him up and down before speaking: "She doesn’t have one now, but she’s about to."