CHAPTER 436: CHAPTER 436: WHAT’S THE POINT OF KEEPING IT?

Xu Xiuxiu’s words had a profound impact on the store, leaving the sales associates dumbstruck. When Xu Xiuxiu entered leading a group, the staff hadn’t reacted yet; they were chatting around the counter. But as they turned their heads, they saw Xu Xiuxiu walking through the entrance, followed by a procession of Soup City’s senior executives. Upon hearing the bombshell Xu Xiuxiu dropped, their faces went pale. They knew then, even the slowest among them, that Xu Xiuxiu was no ordinary person and just one word from her could cost them all their livelihoods. Good heavens!

Realizing this, the few people present all inhaled sharply, their faces showing regret and horror.

"President Lu..." The store manager panicked as well. Actually, everyone at the scene had quite an impression of Xu Xiuxiu—in fact, they were just talking about her! But she had come back with a new identity, someone even the executives of Soup City could only follow around. Thinking of the possibility of losing their jobs after what Xu Xiuxiu had said, she approached Lu Zhenglin with a look of terror, bending over in a pleading gesture for an explanation, while also glancing at another executive behind Lu Zhenglin. That executive was a distant relative of hers. Being able to serve as the store manager of a Soup City luxury brand store was largely due to this relative’s care. Now seeing things turn sour, she looked at the distant cousin with a begging expression, hoping they would help say a few good words on the basis of family connection.

"Didn’t you hear what Mr. Xu just said? You’re all fired. Each one of you so arrogant and underperforming. I’ve said it time and again that the customer is king. If you can’t treat them like royalty, at least learn to approach them with respect. You all, go collect this month’s pay and leave!" Lu Zhenglin had been questioned by Xu Xiuxiu just before, and was feeling apprehensive. Now, following behind Xu Xiuxiu, he saw the sales associates chatting carelessly and, piecing together what Xu Xiuxiu had said, knew why she was angry.

In truth, as a manager of Soup City, he had done quite some work before. In every industry, there are snobs, but these employees had the misfortune of crossing Xu Xiuxiu. Now he was quite bothered himself and hardly dared to care about their fate; in the end, they had brought it upon themselves.

"President Lu, we were just..." The female store manager’s face grew even uglier when she heard this, trying to explain in a panic, but looking down on Xu Xiuxiu was a fact, and they couldn’t make up excuses. Helplessly, she turned to that executive with her question.

The executive, whom the store manager was hoping would speak on her behalf, even though he knew that speaking out might cause him trouble, didn’t know Xu Xiuxiu well and was aware of her status. A man’s ego tricked him into thinking women were easy to deceive. Moreover, considering Xu Xiuxiu often stayed in the Imperial City and the store manager was his distant relative, who was now looking at him in a pleading manner, he stepped forward to try his luck: "Mr. Xu, President Lu, this store has the highest sales of all our stores. Firing them all at once could impact our performance and business. What about just firing those who have abandoned their duties? If it is a minor mistake, we could do a small punishment, like a fine or a pay deduction."

However, things might have been better if he hadn’t spoken up. The moment he did, Xu Xiuxiu’s anger ignited instantly.

"Impacting performance and business isn’t something I should worry about; that’s for you executives and managers to consider. And if so many of you are stressed out over a few disrespectful sales associates who neglect their duties, and if these few people can affect Soup City’s business and reputation, then I must question your capabilities. It only further proves how useless you all are. If there are problems with your abilities, then why am I paying you high salaries? To cause me trouble?" Once Xu Xiuxiu got angry, she was particularly difficult to handle, and her words were even sharper than usual.

"..." Xu Xiuxiu’s questioning left everyone present shocked, sweating profusely and not daring to utter a word.

"Well, speak up! What did I hire you for?" Xu Xiuxiu continued to press with a stern face.

The female store manager was a smart woman. She didn’t become a manager solely through connections. Without real abilities, she wouldn’t have been stable in her position. She was capable enough, but her problem of judging people by their status seemed impossible to change. A moment ago, hearing her distant relative address Xu Xiuxiu as Mr. Xu, in all of Soup City, the only female who could be referred to that way was none other than Xu Xiuxiu herself.

So, once she realized what was happening, the female store manager immediately signaled the sales staff behind her. One of them, sharp as a tack, stepped forward to plead: "I’m sorry, Mr. Xu, we were wrong. We should not have judged people by their appearances. We won’t dare do it again. Please don’t fire us. We have families to support, elders and children... I can’t afford to lose this job!"

The saleswoman appeared pitiful as she spoke, almost ready to kneel and apologize. However, Xu Xiuxiu utterly despised such women who played the sympathy card when things went wrong.

"Mr. Xu, my management was inadequate. You have every right to be angry and blame us. Deduct our bonuses or pay--we have no objections. But could you possibly, for the sake of our decent performance over the past two years, spare us this one time? I promise we will correct our behavior." The female store manager also bowed deeply in pleading, hoping that Xu Xiuxiu would not only consider their good performance. After all, their store was the highest-earning in Soup City, and she didn’t believe Xu Xiuxiu, as a businessperson, would disregard that fact. How much revenue could be lost if the store closed for even a day? As the store manager, she knew this very well, and surely Xu Xiuxiu did too.

Though apologizing through gritted teeth, bowing their heads in apology was still better than losing their jobs. The welfare and treatment at Soup City were far superior to other places. She had previously been an employee of the welfare shop in the city, but now that the welfare shop was privatizing except for some small county towns, being replaced by department stores, she had worked hard to secure the position of store manager at this luxury Soup City store and couldn’t afford to lose it just like that.

"You shouldn’t be apologizing to me; you should be apologizing to the customers whom you looked down upon with your ’dog’s eyes.’" Xu Xiuxiu raised her voice as she spoke, looking disdainfully at the female store manager.

Had the employee with the bad attitude offered an apology in her capacity as a store manager to Xu Xiuxiu as a customer just now, Xu Xiuxiu might have been willing to let it slide. But the saleswoman’s attitude was undeniably contemptuous, clearly of poor character, and the store manager had just stood by, without the slightest intention to set an example. If that was the case, why keep such employees?