"Yesterday, you didnât say that. Yesterday you said that within half a month you could return or exchange without any reason, but today youâre playing tricks with me. Do you think you can deceive me because Iâm an outsider? You people from S City are really unreliable."
"Miss, you got it wrong. Sheâs not from S City," someone in the crowd shouted loudly.
Su Ling laughed from her spot, and only then did Lin Wan realize that Su Lingâs grandmother was also there.
"Thatâs right, Miss, weâve been tricked by her too. The clothes from their shop are unwearable. We people from S City wouldnât do such a thing."
"Luckily, I didnât pay any money. I donât want these clothes. Just now when I was picking clothes, you also mentioned no reason returns within half a month." A young lady nearby who was choosing clothes at the stall just now hadnât had time to pay, and upon hearing her attitude, she didnât dare to buy anything either. "Quickly give me my refund, hurry up and refund!"
"Yes, hurry and give us our refunds."
"If you donât refund us today, weâll go to the police station and report you as a dishonest merchant."
"Yes, if you donât give us our refund, we wonât leave. Weâll stay here until you refund us. Weâve been deceived, and we canât let others be deceived again."
"Yes, weâll sit here and wonât leave. Letâs see how youâll continue to trick people."
"Su Ling, the people you found this time are impressive. Remember to thank them properly once this is over," Lin Wan whispered in Su Lingâs ear.
"Donât worry, itâs all friendly assistance, and my grandma is here."
"Theyâre coming, the police are coming."
Someone shouted, and everyone looked back to see that there were indeed two officers coming over. "Whatâs going on here? Gathering to cause trouble? Do you all want a ride to the station?" Once the two officers arrived, Zhang Dandan was scared stiff, trembling all over. Her face turned as pale as paper. She thought they were just bluffing, trying to intimidate her, but to her surprise, they really brought the police this time.
"Ye Zi, well done," Yin Peibai over here gave Ye Zi a big thumbs up.
"What did you tell them over there?"
"I just said thereâs a gathering causing trouble over here. Didnât say anything else." Ye Zi finished speaking, and with a mischievous glint in her eye, she added, "I did chat a bit more with the officers on the way."
Several people exchanged knowing smiles, understanding each other without words.
"Officer, youâve come at the right time. These are clothes we bought here not even a week ago. Look, theyâre already like this. At the time, she said that if there was a quality issue, weâd be compensated with two for one. Itâs not just me, take a look, there are dozens of us."
"Officer, you have to help me out. I picked up stock from her shop just yesterday, and now itâs problematic. I come here today, and she doesnât acknowledge it. We came all the way from the countryside, and the money for the stock was gathered from bits and pieces loaned by our relatives. Our family depends on us doing business to make some money to pay off debts. Now she wonât refund us, what should I do? Itâs over a hundred yuan, itâs like sheâs pushing me to a dead end."
The officer frowned and turned to the shop owner, who was already petrified into immobility, Zhang Dandan, and asked, "Is this true?"
Zhang Dandan didnât dare to speak, and mechanically nodded her head.
The officer asked again, "Are these clothes from your shop?"
Zhang Dandan nodded again like a robot.
This time, the officerâs face turned cold, and his tone was more serious, "Since these are your clothes and thereâs a quality problem, why donât you offer exchanges? Or is it really like they said, are you trying to welch?" Zhang Dandan was only sixteen or seventeen, and had never seen such a situation. Now, all she knew was to nod.
Once the officer said that and saw her nod, he immediately said, "In that case, come with me to the station."
The officer spoke and was about to pull her out. When Zhang Dandan saw this, she immediately backed away and shook her head vigorously, "No, itâs not that, officer, Iâll refund, Iâll refund, I didnât say I wouldnât refund."
"If you were willing to refund, why didnât you say so earlier?" several women shouted.
"Itâs because you were being too rude."
"Oh, the officer is here, and you still dare to lie? Everyone heard who was rude just now."
"Alright, alright, if youâre willing to reconcile and itâs your mistake, then quickly refund the people. Otherwise, you really might have to visit the station." The officer wasnât really intending to take her to the station; itâs best to resolve a civil dispute like this privately.
"I have two items, originally bought for five yuan each. I should get a refund of ten yuan, you take your clothes." With the officer speaking, the leading lady opened her mouth first.
With officers around, Zhang Dandan didnât dare act tough. She obediently took out ten yuan from her bag and handed it to the lady.
With someone taking the lead, people started crowding in to get their refunds. Whatever price they claimed, Zhang Dandan couldnât verify it; besides, she did sell at the prices they mentioned.
"Xiao Wan, this way, she might have to compensate quite a bit," Su Ling and Yin Peibai were grinning almost from ear to ear now, with blistered lips that made Lin Wan almost burst out laughing.
"Itâs her own fault for being scared out of her wits at the sight of the police. If she were smarter, she could directly refund at the lowest price of four yuan and
say she didnât refuse, minimizing her loss."
"Sheâs just tough at home but clueless when it comes to real matters, all her ideas are crooked. When faced with serious problems, she has no idea at all," Yang Erni understood clearly.
"Exactly."
While they were chatting, the commotion on that side resumed.
It turned out that there was no more money, the big money was probably with Ye Qing, and if Ye Qing arrived, it wouldnât be as easy to deal with as Zhang Dandan.
Lin Wan thought for a moment and said to Su Ling, "You go and tell Aunt Liu, if thereâs no money use clothes of the same price to settle it. Their storeâs khaki pants arenât bad, let them ask for those."
"Got it," Su Ling responded and stealthily walked to her grandmotherâs side, lowered her head and whispered something in her ear. Then she pretended to be just watching the spectacle and retreated.
"I... I ran out of money, all our money is tied up in stock," Zhang Dandan was speaking the truth. This week, the money for the hundreds of items sold was all with Ye Qing.
She often just carried small change.
"Weâre not just after your money. If youâre really out, we wonât insist. How about settling with clothes of the same price? Since thereâs no money, weâll just take a piece of clothing."
Upon hearing that she didnât have to pay cash, and with lots of stock at her shop, of course, Zhang Dandan agreed. As a result, most people behind ended up taking those khaki pants.
The two officers saw that the issue was resolved and quickly asked everyone to disperse. Not long after, they left too. At Zhang Dandanâs stall, the clothing was suddenly half as much. The girl from the countryside, after getting her money back, prepared to return home somewhat dejectedly.
At this moment, she happened to bump into the young man who had come to pick up stock from her shop earlier; the two seemed to know each other.
The young man said, "Why are you here? Did you see the ad in the newspaper and come here to wholesale too?"
The girl was also surprised to see the young man. Meeting a fellow villager here seemed like finding a support system. She said, "Yes, but I got tricked. The clothes from their shop are unwearable. Look," she said, pointing towards Zhang Dandanâs stall and repeating her story. The young man laughed, "So typical of you women with long hair and short insight. Wasnât the store name included in the newspaper ad? You walked into the wrong place and got fooled. Who can you blame? Come on, Iâll take you to the right place. Their goods are good and cheap, Iâve been dealing with them several times these days."
The young man spoke so loudly that some others who came to pick up stock became curious and followed them to Lin Wanâs place.
The stall, which had been quiet, suddenly became bustling. Lin Wan, to reassure them, even took the time to introduce the quality of the clothing at their store carefully, explaining the materials used.
After hearing Lin Wan speak, they felt they had finally found the right place. And it was evident upon comparison that her shop was more professional. Closer inspection revealed a significant difference in materials and sizes.
Although the shop offered only a weekâs return policy, everything else was handled so well it was quite convincing.
In a moment, the goods hadnât moved for days, but today, everything was replenished.
Ye Qing arrived from the office to find the whole Qing Dress Wholesale Market in chaos.
Old clothes, already rummaged through by the ladies, were all piled up.
Ye Qingâs heart sank halfway, and right upon arrival, he questioned, "Did you refund all the money for the clothes?"
"Yes, finally used our current stock for those who lacked money."
Upon hearing this, Ye Qing was so angry he threw the bag in his hand at Zhang Dandanâs face, "Idiot."