Back To The 80s-Chapter 388 - 398: Suspicious Goods_1

Upon hearing this, Lu Zhanguo hugged Gu Xiaobei, patting her on the back as if he were soothing Xiaopang, and said, "Don’t cry. If we lose money, we can always make more."

Gu Xiaobei sobbed, "I was planning to stock up this month and use the extra money to prepare for the New Year’s goods. Now, I have no money left. To get the lowest price for New Year’s goods, we certainly need cash at hand. What do we do now?"

Lu Zhanguo hugged her and led her to the sofa, comforting her, "If it doesn’t work out, we just do a little less. There’s always next year."

"It’s all my fault. I should have stocked up bit by bit, this way, even if some were lost, not all would be lost. Now, all is gone." Tears welled up again as she berated herself for her own negligence and greed.

"Did you report it to the police? Perhaps they might be able to find the batch. If not, we’ll just have to consider that we won’t be selling mooncakes this year." Lu Zhanguo said sympathetically. Seeing Gu Xiaobei working tirelessly from dawn till dusk, losing the hard-earned money this way truly pained him, both for her and for the money, but he cared about her more.

"I have reported it, though I don’t think we can retrieve it, unless we can find the drivers. Otherwise, we won’t even know where the mishap occurred, and what exactly happened," Gu Xiaobei said sadly.

Lu Zhanguo got up and fetched a wet towel, wiping her face he said, "Alright, stop crying. Look at Xiaopang, he doesn’t cry."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xiaobei glared at him with teary eyes, "Nonsense. Xiaopang clearly cries more than me."

Lu Zhanguo chuckled, pinching her nose, "Yes, Xiaopang cries more. Alright, let bygones be bygones. Worst comes to worst, we’ll start again from scratch." 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Gu Xiaobei leaned into his arms, saying, "I’m just upset over the money. Otherwise, we could have switched to other business by next spring."

This incident served as a wake-up call to Gu Xiaobei. Current logistics were too precarious; it might be more reliable to start her own production business.

Due to various constraints, the case Gu Xiaobei lodged remained stagnant until the end of October. The two drivers also hadn’t been found yet.

But Gu Xiaobei noticed her business was getting worse each day. Some bosses hadn’t taken their goods for more than ten days, which was very unusual.

The more Gu Xiaobei thought about it, the more suspicious it seemed. She asked Chen Zhao and Wang Wei to go to the nearby city and investigate why boss Zhang hadn’t been picking up goods lately. Was the business not doing well or was there some other reason?

Four days later, Chen Zhao and Wang Wei returned with alarming news. Someone had recently delivered a batch of goods to Zhang at an exceptionally low price, even lower than Gu Xiaobei’s factory cost.

Gu Xiaobei knew something was fishy, and the goods Zhang received were definitely her lost batch. Presumably, her other customers had also received such cheap goods. The question was, who had stolen her goods and how did they know so many details about her customers?

She scanned everyone in the shop. Of the four people Lu Zhanguo had brought with him, she was certain none of them would leak information. That left Xiao Hong and Xiuxiu. However, neither of them exhibited any unusual behavior. If they were involved, their ability to remain so calm was rather alarming.

Just as Gu Xiaobei was struggling to identify the problem, the police arrived. They informed her that the drivers had been found—one dead, one severely injured. The injured driver had just regained consciousness and revealed what had happened.

The goods were robbed at the border between Shaanxi and Gansu. It was suspected to be the work of highway robbers. After seizing the goods, they fled with unknown whereabouts.

Gu Xiaobei reported the customers who received the low-priced goods to the police. The police took it seriously and after a round of investigation and inquiry, found that the people who directly delivered the goods to the merchants were outsiders. After they received payment, they moved on, leaving no name or origin. All in all, it was apparent that these were illegal gains, but this couldn’t prove that they were the goods Gu Xiaobei had lost. Thus, the case became a mystery.

Gu Xiaobei knew she had to accept her bad luck. All the paperwork wasn’t online, so even if the factory was investigated, without the production batch number, it couldn’t be proven that the goods were hers.

This issue disturbed Gu Xiaobei for several days. She sat in the shop doing nothing, just observing her employees. If there was an insider, there would surely be some signs.

Qin Li was also worried and whispered to Gu Xiaobei, "I suspect Xiao Hong and Chen Zhao."

Gu Xiaobei was a bit surprised, "I didn’t notice anything."

Qin Li looked around to ensure no one was listening, then lowered her voice, "One day, I saw Xiao Hong leave work early, checking her surroundings as she went. After a while, Chen Zhao also sneaked out."

On hearing this, Gu Xiaobei burst into laughter, "Silly girl, they seem to be dating. Let’s keep observing. From now on, we cannot tell everyone about restocking. It will suffice if only you and I know the details. We’ll just tell them a rough timeframe."

Qin Li nodded then added, "Uncle Jin will report to work in a few days. I reckon Jiujiu and his gang will come soon too. Let’s go to the station together to pick them up."

Gu Xiaobei nodded and smiled, "Sure, this is good news. I don’t have much to do today; I’ll go home early. I’ve been so preoccupied recently that I’ve neglected my two darlings."

Qin Li pointed to the entrance and laughed, "You timed it just right, your Gun God is here."

Lu Zhanguo was also busy recently. But he managed to finish work early today, so he jogged over to pick up Gu Xiaobei after work.

Chen Zhao and others saw Lu Zhanguo enter and enthusiastically went over to greet him. Only Sun Jiahe hesitated in the back.

Sitting on the stool, Gu Xiaobei quietly observed their behaviors, not missing Sun Jiahe’s expression. She secretly hoped her assumption was incorrect.

After exchanging pleasantries with everyone, Lu Zhanguo turned to Sun Jiahe, who was about to say something yet holding back, and asked, "Sun Jiahe, is there something you want to say?"

Sun Jiahe hesitated for a while before saying, "Boss, I want to quit. I’ve been wanting to tell sister-in-law but couldn’t bring myself to do it."

"What happened? Why are you quitting all of a sudden?" Lu Zhanguo asked, quite puzzled.

Chen Zhao and others were evidently unaware of this and asked, "Why are you quitting all of a sudden?"

"Yeah, did something happen at home?"

"Sister-in-law treats us so well, what are you unsatisfied with?" Chen Zhao was somewhat disgruntled when he finally spoke up.

Sun Jiahe, blushing, stuttered, "No, no. that’s not it. My mom wants me to return home to find a wife."

Just as Lu Zhanguo was about to speak, Gu Xiaobei stood up and said, "Why so sudden? Can’t you continue working here after the arranged marriage? I can give you a marriage leave."

Sun Jiahe hurriedly waved his hands, "Sister-in-law, that’s not necessary. My mom told me that once I’m married, I should settle down and farm at home. I shouldn’t go out anymore."

Seeing this, Gu Xiaobei didn’t say much more. She laughed and said, "Fine, let me know the day you leave, and I’ll calculate your salary accordingly."

Sun Jiahe thought for a while and said, "Sister-in-law, I want to leave on the first day of next month. Is that okay?"

"Of course, why wouldn’t it be? When you go back for your wedding, remember to write to us and let us share in your happiness," Gu Xiaobei said, her eyes gleaming with laughter.