CHAPTER 553: CHAPTER 537: PICKING A FIGHT

"When are you bringing the people over?" Su Ling had been waiting for this day.

"Let them flaunt for a couple of days. They’ve definitely dropped their prices very low, so we’ll take the opportunity to stop our supply for a couple of days."

"Why are we doing this?" Yin Peibai was puzzled.

Lin Wan gave a mysterious smile but deliberately didn’t tell them.

Sure enough, just as Lin Wan had said, their batch of clothing was fifty cents cheaper than theirs.

On the contrary, despite advertising for half a month, people coming over saw that the same styles were even cheaper than theirs, and some were poached by them.

In the past two days, Lin Wan had roughly instructed Ye Zi to keep an eye on things, and in just two days, they had sold over a hundred pieces. The profit was quite considerable.

But Yin Peibai and Su Ling were worried as they watched their side not selling anything, while the other side sold more than usual, leaving them with dry lips.

...

On this day, with Su Ling and Yin Peibai both having sore lips, early in the morning, Lin Wan brought two big tricycles loaded with clothes to the store and told Su Ling to start taking action.

By around ten o’clock in the morning, a group of people appeared on the street, aggressively approaching the store next to the Qingyi shop. A middle-aged woman, holding a piece of clothing, said, "This is the one, yes, this is the woman who sold us the clothes."

"Yes, it’s her. Back then, she talked it up, saying how great her clothes were, how guaranteed the quality was. Look, I just bought this a week ago and washed it once, and it’s turned into rags," said another person holding a piece of clothing.

"Exactly, mine is the same. The material looked good, but who knew it would turn out like this after just one wash."

"Yes, mine too."

"Young lady, we bought these clothes from your store. You promised us they could last five or six years, and look at them now. What do you plan to do?"

Zhang Dandan was in a good mood these past few days. She was so happy with her bulging wallet that she couldn’t stop smiling even at night. She didn’t even want to eat breakfast at home anymore, instead opting to buy two big buns near a department store.

Every day, people came to pick up goods, keeping her extremely busy. She enjoyed seeing Lin Wan’s stall so deserted that it was almost frosty, while Lin Wan wore a worried face all day, which made her feel elated.

With a little money, she thought she was no longer one of them. When poor relatives gave her a sour face, she returned the favor. She thought she could still earn some bucks here, just like Lin Wan.

Just as she finished grumbling to herself, a dozen people aggressively approached, looking at the goods in their hands, making Zhang Dandan uneasy.

All thanks to Ye Qing, who purchased some shoddy goods because she wanted to save a little. Now they’ve come knocking at the door. What was she to do?

"Ma’am, many sell this style; how can you insist it’s from us? Look at the stall up front; perhaps you bought it from them."

"What? Are you trying to deny it? I bought my clothes myself, and I know where I bought them."

"Yes, it’s from your store. I remember it well. There’s no way a dozen of us all remembered it wrong. This clothing is what you sold to me in front of the department store. It took me days to find you. Back then, you said that for any quality issues, you’d compensate with two items for one. I don’t even want to bother asking for compensation. You sold it to me for six yuan, just give me back twelve yuan today."

"What? You’re robbing me! I never said such things. Only a fool would take verbal promises seriously when it comes to sales."

"What did you say? Who are you calling a fool?"

"Who are you talking to?"

"This is outrageous!"

Zhang Dandan’s offhand comment successfully incited public outrage among the crowd.

Including some customers who were taking their goods; they discreetly put down the clothes in their hands and stepped back.

Lin Wan and her group secretly observed from inside the store, unable to contain their excitement.

"Today is going to be quite a show," Su Ling said enthusiastically, finding the best spot to watch.

"Did you see the young girl from their store just sneaked out? I bet she’s gone to call Ye Qing," Yin Peibai guessed correctly, as the girl indeed went to fetch Ye Qing. After Zhang Dandan was swindled out of fifty yuan by Lin Wan last time, Ye Qing feared she’d fail to handle such situations. So she had advised the girl to run to the office if necessary.

"Lin, good thing I listened to you. I’ve known Ye Qing for so long and never realized she’d sell such terrible clothes," Yang Erni, already abandoning her own business, joined Lin Wan and the others to watch the commotion. "To think she’s from your hometown?"

Lin Wan nodded, "Yes, back home, you’d never see it, but maybe she started to drift after leaving."

"Haha, well said, Xiao Wan," Su Ling laughed, finding the words aptly fitting, though not knowing it was a modern internet saying.

"You really can’t judge a book by its cover. I better be more cautious in the future," Yang Erni said, now more aware of Ye Qing’s shady dealings thanks to Lin Wan’s "chats" over the past few days.

"The same clothes sold to her for six yuan cost me more by two yuan?" "Yes, why did we also pay an extra yuan? You’re quite unscrupulous, charging so much more for the same item."

"It’s because you didn’t know how to bargain, or should I have chased after you to offer a lower price? You’re not here to return anything, just to stir up trouble, aren’t you?"

"Young lady, we don’t want to hold up your business, nor do we insist on double compensation for quality issues. We just want to return the clothes."

"You’ve worn them for so long, who would give you a refund? Hurry and leave, don’t waste my time."

Unlike last time when she foolishly refunded them after being intimidated, Zhang Dandan pushed them away impatiently. "Comrade, you must refund us today. You sold this piece for six or seven yuan, equivalent to our half-month salary. If you don’t, we’ll go to the police."

"Feel free to go, just leave quickly and don’t waste my time making a living."

"There’s no justice, exploiting us common folks. Such greed."

"Everyone, come take a look. Their clothes fall apart after just one wash. They promised double compensation for quality issues, but now they deny it. If we don’t deal with such unscrupulous merchants, who knows how many more will get scammed?"

"Yes, their clothes are unwearable. I came from the countryside to buy clothes here and got scammed. Just look at this batch I got from them; people returned it to me before I even left. The seams are coming undone, and it’s almost in half."

Coincidentally, a family buying goods from them recently brought over a batch holding an order slip from them.

Everyone started pointing, making Zhang Dandan’s face flush with embarrassment.

"You’re blaming us for your damaged clothes? That’s far-fetched. Our outgoing garments have intact seams."

"Why would I, someone who makes a living through business, purposely ruin clothes?" The person, too angry, put down the clothes and pulled out a piece to show everyone. The fabric edges were well sewn, but the cloth still unraveled. "Look, does it seem like my doing? Every item I got is like this. Don’t believe me? See for yourself." Then, addressing Zhang Dandan, "I took these just yesterday, and they’re all here. I don’t want them, refund me now."

"We don’t do refunds once goods leave with the customer. Usually, they sell fast once taken."

Zhang Dandan didn’t realize her words and tone had already angered everyone, even the market goers who saw the commotion and chatted with companions about never buying from there again.