Chapter 3: Doomsday Ark, I Want Two, Swipe the Card

Aside from the residents near the recycling station and the old men who sell scrap, Liu Mu's social circle was actually not very large; looking back, she was surprised to run into a director from the paper mill.

The director was nearly fifty, his hair already somewhat gray, and like Liu Mu, he was very surprised to meet someone he hadn't expected to see here.

"Hello," Liu Mu didn't really remember this man, but she recognized the woman clinging to his arm.

That was the new accountant at the paper mill, with a plump figure and a face always covered in heavy makeup, making it almost impossible to tell her age.

And what caught Liu Mu's attention most was her attire... it was very bold.

For instance, just taking the present moment, it was the second lunar month, and she had to wear a cotton-padded jacket just to go out.

Yet this woman was wearing only a short qipao skirt under her coat, revealing her exquisite figure to the fullest, though she was wearing leather boots that looked cold just to see.

Liu Mu didn't dare stare at the woman, only greeting the man, "Director, long time no see. Are you here to look at cars too?"

"You little girl, didn't we see each other the day before yesterday? How is it a long time?" The director might have been a lecher, but he was still a decent person. "How could I afford the cars here? I'm just passing by to see my daughter."

As he spoke, he pointed to the other side, where a female clerk in a black uniform was nodding; it was Xu Xiaoxia, who had already been introducing cars to a young couple for an hour.

"What about you, what are you doing here? You aren't buying a car, are you?"

After the director finished asking, before Liu Mu could answer, the accountant laughed first, saying in a coquettish voice, "Honey, what are you saying? How expensive are the cars here? Even with Xiaoxia's internal discount and our high dual-income, we still can't afford them. And she's just a scrap collector?"

Xu Daqiang didn't think so, "Young people have ambition, we shouldn't discourage them like this. Little Liu, don't mind her, your aunt means no harm, she just hopes you earn money in a down-to-earth way."

Didn't this still mean he thought she had no money?

Liu Mu didn't have any taboos about hiding her wealth now; three months from now, it would be good if one in ten of these people survived.

Besides, it wasn't certain whether she would even see them again in the future.

"Old Xu, you're just kind-hearted. When encouraging young people, you have to look at the reality. These cars, as Xiaoxia has already said, if their parents don't buy them, they basically have no hope in this lifetime. As for Little Liu..."

Another person mocking her status as an orphan. If it were any other time, Liu Mu would have endured it and let it pass, but today... she didn't want to!

"Auntie, I don't agree with you saying that. We young people must have ideals and goals to strive for. What if I buy one someday?"

This time, even Director Xu didn't just care about saving face; he adjusted his reading glasses, revealing a hint of surprise, "It's very good for a young girl to have ideals."

The tone was as if he were bluntly saying Liu Mu was delusional.

His young wife was not so polite, "Oh my, there is still a difference between ideals and fantasies."

"Old Xu, you can't just lie to her because she has no education."

"Little Liu, don't mind me being blunt, but we should act according to our circumstances. Look at you, a scrap collector, why force yourself just for the sake of face?"

"The brochure isn't worth anything either, just take two and leave, it won't be good if you get kicked out later."

Liu Mu's expression turned completely cold, and just as she was about to retort, another displeased voice interrupted the woman, "Auntie, you've lived half a life, and you're the same generation as my dad, why are you being so mean?"

"Just because someone can't afford it now doesn't mean they won't be able to in the future. Besides, only a young girl as down-to-earth and capable as Liu Mu can make a fortune."

"Society now is different from your time; always thinking about taking shortcuts won't bring long-term benefits!"

Xu Xiaoxia had never liked this gold-digger anyway, so she didn't give her any face in front of outsiders and retorted.

Director Xu had a headache and, taking on the posture of a father, said unhappily, "Xiaoxia, she is your aunt, be polite!"

At this moment, the young couple she was serving was also there, looking Liu Mu up and down, and the man said somewhat arrogantly, "Miss Clerk, your aunt is right. You know the price of these cars best; do you really think this little sister can afford one?"

The woman also said, "What kind of status does she have, daring to shop at the same store as us? It's quite funny."

In this month, this couple had already come ten times, and each time they insisted on Xu Xiaoxia serving them.

Not only did they make her explain everything, but they also lingered in the store to eat and drink during meal times, which annoyed Xu Xiaoxia to no end.

Now seeing them look down on others like this, although she didn't think Liu Mu could afford it either, these two were even more unpleasant.

"You two, she might not be able to afford it, but you have already shopped here several times. Why don't you place an order now, so you don't have to keep running back and forth?"

The two were instantly embarrassed. The man coughed twice and said, "We still need to consider it further. I like your brand's cars, but my wife prefers sports cars, so we still need to discuss it."

The woman said, "Exactly, what's so good about an SUV? It's better to go next door and buy a Ferrari. Besides, what kind of attitude is that? Can't we shop if we don't buy today?"

This woman's voice was not soft, and the few customers on the three floors of the lobby were all attracted over.

Hearing the commotion, the duty manager also came out. Seeing Xu Xiaoxia arguing with customers, he came over and criticized her,

"Xu Xiaoxia, what is going on with you? Don't you know the customer is God? Where is your service?"

Xu Xiaoxia didn't expect to attract so much attention, even her leader had come, so she said with a flushed face, "No, Manager, I was just asking them if they had seen anything suitable today and if they were ready to buy."

The woman immediately took the man's arm, "Honey, look at what she means. We just shopped a couple more times, and she's forcing us to place an order. How can she be like this!"

The man didn't want to stay long. He brought his girlfriend to shop at the 4S store just to make this woman think he was rich. Seeing that he could trick her into a hotel if he just went out and bought a small gift today, he was furious that a problem had cropped up at this moment.

The man was also unhappy, "Baby, why bother arguing with such a person? Since she offended us for the sake of a beggar, we won't buy from her. Anyway, I was planning to buy you a Ferrari, let's go!"

When the woman heard this, her eyes lit up, and she immediately kissed the man on the cheek, "I knew you were the best, honey. I'm not like some beggar who runs here to mooch off scrap paper, humph! A woman still needs a good husband!"

"Manager, I think your clerk really has no eye for people, actually offending customers for the sake of someone like that. I don't know why you keep her."

As they spoke, the two were about to leave. Xu Xiaoxia's face was bright red; she certainly didn't like these two, but after such a scene today, she figured her job was gone.

Losing her job wasn't the main issue, but she had already sold one car this month and had a commission of over a hundred thousand; just thinking about it made her heart bleed.

"Xu Xiaoxia!" The manager immediately wanted to fire Xu Xiaoxia.

Liu Mu suddenly took out a card, "Xiaoxia, I remember the most expensive one you have here is that 'Doomsday Ark', right? Help me swipe for two of them, both top-tier configurations!"

Once these words were out, everyone froze for a moment, and then, far from anyone being amazed, there was nothing but mockery.

The duty manager laughed first, "This lad... y, perhaps you don't know the price range of our brand's cars."

"For example, the 'Doomsday Ark' you just mentioned, it is not an SUV, but an off-road RV. The base configuration starts at twenty million. If it's the top-tier configuration, it's at least twice as expensive."

"Twenty million, you've probably never seen that much money in your life, right?" The couple who hadn't left yet stopped. The man didn't hide his contempt, "No, big sister, why don't you tell us what you do? 'Doomsday Ark', and you want two? Do you think they're made of paper?"

Xu Xiaoxia's stepmother also laughed out loud, "Her? She's just a scrap collector, an orphan with no father or mother. She can buy a car here? She couldn't even afford one if she robbed a bank. Little Liu, why are you acting like a big shot here? Even if you took your whole body apart, it wouldn't be worth a single tire. Hurry up and leave, you've caused our Xiaoxia to lose her job."

There wasn't a shred of concern for Xu Xiaoxia in this tone; it was clearly gloating.

Xu Xiaoxia clutched the card, her face burning, feeling extremely aggrieved. She knew that her stepmother coming to her workplace would never lead to anything good; it turned out she wanted her to lose her job.

"That's enough from you all. Liu Mu was just here to take a look, you all insisted on making snide remarks. She saved my life before. Dad, can you control your woman!"

A few years ago, Xu Xiaoxia was fishing at a reservoir with her college classmates and accidentally slipped in. None of the male classmates dared to save her, but Liu Mu, who was passing by on a broken tricycle, saved her life.

Later, after learning that she collected recyclables, Xu Xiaoxia pestered her father to purchase Liu Mu's waste paper at a high price, which could be considered a reluctant way to repay the favor.

Now that her job was gone, she threw caution to the wind; ignoring the manager's expression, she insisted that her father teach that woman a lesson right here!

"Xu Xiaoxia, I don't care what kind of family issues you have. You are fired for disturbing the store's order and intentionally offending a customer. Pack your things and get out!"

The manager did not want the situation to escalate further, and even less did he want to affect other customers during his shift; he just wanted these people to get lost immediately, especially that beggar-like Liu Mu.

"Do you have the authority to fire her?" Liu Mu stepped forward, her voice somewhat loud. "What kind of manager is a shift manager? Call your store manager out. I have already said I want to buy a car; are you representing your store by refusing to do business?"

The shift manager was just about to say he wouldn't do business, but then he thought that since this person was being so arrogant today, he couldn't let her leave so easily.

If the card couldn't be swiped, he could humiliate her severely then, and while he was at it, have the manager drive Xu Xiaoxia away, and then wouldn't her commission card become his own?

"Fine, if you are sincere about wanting to buy, I won't stop you. Come, come, please follow me to swipe your card!"

The manager was named Hu Junhao; he was average-looking, a fair-skinned man of medium build, a full fist shorter than the one-meter-seventy-five Liu Mu.

"Not you!" Liu Mu pressed down on the hand Xu Xiaoxia was using to hand over the card and said, "I am Xu Xiaoxia's customer; it has nothing to do with you!"

"Also, if you fire her, then I won't buy from your store either. I remember there is a car dealership on the next street with similar positioning to yours, right?"

"What was its name again?"

Xu Xiaoxia nodded in cooperation: "Yes, there is a competitor store."

Without waiting for the shift manager to say anything more, Xu Xiaoxia pulled Liu Mu toward the manager handling the paperwork. On the way, she lowered her voice: "Sister Xiaomu, when we pass the main entrance in a moment, I'll push you, and you just run. It's not worth it to be a sucker and spend your hard-earned money to vent my anger; I don't want to work here anyway."

Her appearance didn't look like she didn't want to work at all; her uniform was ironed without a single wrinkle, her hair was neatly coiled at the back of her head, and her makeup was standard—everything clearly showed how much she valued this job.

Liu Mu didn't reply; she reached out, grabbed her arm, bypassed the main entrance, and went straight to the reception area.

Sitting down on the sofa, she said directly: "S800 Apocalypse Ark, I want two. Swipe the card."

There was a dedicated person for handling paperwork who had already seen what happened in the lobby, and now with a group of people watching from behind, she didn't take the card immediately.

The shift manager was from the sales department, but Wu Hong would not let other people's conflicts affect her own performance.

She put on a standard professional smile and said very politely: "Ma'am, I'm sorry, it's like this. According to company regulations, purchasing this model of our car requires a simple capital verification. That is to say, if your bank account and other assets are sufficient, we accept installment payments. If you want to pay in full, then before preparing the documents, I need to check if your account has sufficient funds."

"Do you see, is that convenient?"

Wu Hong reached out toward Xu Xiaoxia, meaning she had explained it and the card could be taken now.

Seeing that Xu Xiaoxia was about to cry from anxiety, Liu Mu smiled faintly: "Give it to her."

Wu Hong bowed slightly to take it, said "Please wait a moment," and began to check, during which she had Liu Mu enter her password once.

Seeing the balance in the account, the smile on her face became increasingly sincere.

She came before Liu Mu, handed over the bank card with both hands, and then enthusiastically shook her hand: "Boss Liu, it is we who failed to recognize a person of importance; please don't take offense. Rest assured, we will absolutely satisfy the car you want and all other conditions; I guarantee it will be handled immediately!"

"There is one more thing," Liu Mu said, sitting casually on the sofa despite her shabby attire, and deliberately hooked her finger toward Xu Xiaoxia, who was standing to the side. "This is my sales guide. The commission for this order and her salary for this month—of course, I believe that since she was able to land a big client like me, she is also qualified to receive a bonus... Please calculate all of these for her at once as well."

"At the same time as I make the payment, I hope you will transfer the money to her on the spot. After all, some leaders here look like the type who would embezzle employee wages..."

She deliberately glanced at the shift manager Hu Junhao before continuing slowly: "I really don't trust them. Little sister, today I, your big sister, am taking care of your business, so I can't let others get the benefit."

Xu Xiaoxia was completely stunned. It was only after Liu Mu finished speaking for quite a while, and under Wu Hong's hint, that she nodded woodenly: "Oh, okay, Sister Xiaomu."

"That is of course, that is of course. We have always known that Xiaoxia is our most outstanding employee and have always been dedicated to cultivating her."

With such a large order, Wu Hong naturally also had a considerable commission, so she certainly didn't want any slip-ups at this time. Thus, she deliberately made a few veiled sarcastic remarks about Hu Junhao before finding the store's finance person at the fastest speed.

Xu Xiaoxia's professional skills were also excellent; in order to earn a high salary and get rid of her annoying stepmother and muddled father at home, she had memorized the information for every car model in the company better than the promotional brochures.

Once the personnel were in place, other customers saw seven or eight store employees and leaders surrounding a young person wearing a tattered green patriotic cotton-padded jacket to look at cars.

Those who didn't know would have thought they were hosting the boss of some major conglomerate.