"I drank a little and left first. When I came back, I saw the note you left in the house."
"Really? I have nothing to do. I want to invite you to have breakfast."
"Thanks!"
"You wait over there for a while, I'll be ready and I'll be here soon."
Liu Mei is 32 years old. She has sharp eyes and thin lips, and looks older than her actual age. She fell in love and got married to Qi Wen, and she used to work in a beauty salon in a neighboring county. She is in charge of finance and involved in operations. Some people say that she is smarter than her husband, and it is all thanks to her that the store can run as well as it does today. Employees were more afraid of her than her husband.
The kitchen is as clean and beautiful as a room in a high-end apartment, and the first-class household equipment is as complete as an advertisement photo. Green leaves are swaying outside the bright window, and the white curtains are slightly swaying.
Zuo Yunshan sat on the chair, picked up the morning newspaper on the polyester marble-patterned table, and turned to the social section. The title of the third message on the left suddenly came into view:
"A female employee was killed in the apartment."
Zuo Yunshan was about to look down when Liu Mei came in.
"That's good, just wait a moment."
Liu Mei ordered the maid. There was the sound of pots and plates coming from inside.
While waiting for breakfast, Zuo Yunshan read the newspaper.
"At about 6:50 a.m. on the 11th, the manager of an apartment in Dongsheng District found female employee Qu Xiaobo (19 years old) dead in Room 5 of the apartment. Her body was covered in blood and her clothes were torn. The police determined based on the chaos in the room This is a robbery and homicide case, and a special investigation team has been set up to investigate the victim's interpersonal relationship."
A common homicide. Zuo Yunshan flipped through the newspaper, looked at the radio and TV pages, and his eyes fell on the women's column. Throughout the year, women continue to be killed by men. These murders have nothing to do with him.
"Sorry for the waitting."
Liu Mei put bowls and plates on the table, including pickles, grilled pollack, braised sweet potatoes, fried poached eggs, spiced seaweed, etc.
"Thank you for hospitality."
"I'll eat with you."
Qi Wen and his wife often invited Zuo Yunshan to have breakfast at home. This is a favor shown to the store employees. Lunch is usually eaten in the store with the employees, but sometimes Qi Wen takes him outside for lunch.
"Is the teacher coming back today?" Zuo Yunshan asked while moving his chopsticks. Here he refers to Qi Wen as "teacher".
"He called and said it would be rescheduled to tomorrow evening." Liu Meili said proudly. Her husband was traveling as a lecturer to give lectures in various places, which made her feel very proud, but she was complaining, "I often go to run those things, and the store really can't cope with it when it's busy."
"However, that way the teacher can become famous all over the world and not suffer any loss."
"That's not the case, but that will make you tired. You are the teacher's agent in the store."
Is he really Qi Wen's "agent"? Zuo Yunshan is no less skilled than Qi Wen. Compared with the boss, the customers are more enthusiastic about themselves, and Liu Mei also knows this, but of course she cannot say this clearly. They just think of themselves as employees.
When Qi Wen was away, the number of customers continued to increase, so Liu Mei described him as Qi Wen's "agent". What a competitive and calculating woman.
What would the proprietress do if she announced her resignation from this store? Once he knew that the attempt to retain him was ineffective, his smiling face would become hysterically distorted.
Employees were vaguely aware of his recent independence. However, judging from Liu Mei's current enthusiastic look, the news has not yet reached her ears. Employees are of the same mind.
At 2:30 this afternoon, I am going to see the land with Ye Ya, and we have agreed to meet at the station. At 6 o'clock in the evening, I have a tryst with another female guest. He decided to take the morning off.
After eating and drinking tea, Zuo Yunshan mentioned it calmly:
"Master, I'm sorry, I want to take leave this afternoon."
"Oh why?"
As expected, Liu Mei's expression changed suddenly.
"I have something to do. I have a date with the friend I met last night. I'm sorry."
He thought that this kind of thing should not be too accommodating.
"Can't it be today?"
There are raised wrinkles between Liu Mei's eyebrows.
"Yeah, we've already made an appointment."
"I don't know what kind of date you are going to have, can you push it back a little bit?"
"It's no longer possible to contact that friend." Zuo Yunshan refused.
"This is not easy to handle, and the teacher is not at home."
Liu Mei seemed to want to say, you obviously know this, but you can't be rude to this top employee, but she didn't say anything.
"I'm sorry for embarrassing you. Actually, I thought the teacher would be back in the afternoon."
"The plan changed and I couldn't come back as scheduled. ...Oh, who is your friend?"
"Classmate from home."
"From Xiping?"
"Yes, we studied together in the middle school in Gongyu County, and then came to Nanguang. He now works in a factory. I heard that he will return to Xiping recently, so we will get together today."
"That's right!"
Liu Mei's face became increasingly embarrassed.
When Liu Mei asked who the friend she was meeting with today was, Zuo Yunshan thought she wanted to get to know her, but she pretended to be asking casually. If she had heard from her employees that he was going independent, she would have reacted fiercely, but now she was simply embarrassed that key employees were taking leave today.
If it were any other employee, she would have scolded him and told him not to be arrogant, but she had to be patient with Zuo Yunshan. Of course, this is for business.
"Oh, by the way, the lady is here today." Liu Mei said as if she suddenly remembered.
"Who is it?"
Zuo Yunshan thought she was referring to Ye Ya, and couldn't help being surprised. Ye Ya shouldn't come to the store today.
"Mrs. Sangyu!"
"Mrs. Sangyu?"
"Here, it's the round-faced, petite one. She is said to be Mr. Prosecutor's wife."
"...the prosecutor's wife?"
"It doesn't look like it, right? She has no airs."
"Hey, what are you thinking about? Haven't you remembered yet?"
"No, I understand." Zuo Yunshan raised his head, "No matter what, just give me a day off today!"
Liu Mei seemed to be surprised by Zuo Yunshan's unexpectedly strong words.
"Well, what can I do?"
Sure enough, I was unhappy. An unpleasant atmosphere enveloped the two of them for a moment.
"I'm sorry." Zuo Yunshan stood up from the chair, saw her face, and sat down again with a smile.
"Oh, Master, I would like to ask you something. Are there any customers in our store whose husbands hold important positions in the company?"
"how?"
Liu Mei's eyes flickered, as if she felt uneasy in her heart.
"That's what happened. There is a neighbor in the apartment where I live who is a commercial graphic designer. He can draw posters, brochures, labels and so on. He wants to find suitable customers and asked me to introduce him to some wives of important people in the company."
He had two meanings in saying this. One was to fulfill his promise to help Ye Gang; the other was to use this digression to eliminate Liu Mei's displeasure. She also understood that if she continued to stalemate like this, she would not be able to get off the stage.
