E-Ladies: Navigating the Wired World
Chapter 154: Episode 154 Joint Disaster Relief Charity Sale 5

Chapter 154: Episode 154 Joint Disaster Relief Charity Sale 5

"This person indeed seems unreliable, but he did help watch the stall today, and the inventory and sales matched up. Moreover, there’s surveillance; he surely wouldn’t be so brazen, right?" Zhou Xueyin looked at Wei Jingzhu doubtfully.

"If I hadn’t seen it yesterday, that limited edition watch might have disappeared..." Wei Jingzhu said cautiously, "Anyway, it’s good to have someone keep an extra eye on things!"

"Alright, I’ll pay more attention tomorrow! Thanks for the heads-up!"

Zhou Xueyin took the grilled skewers, "Boss, grill 20 more skewers, mildly spicy. Xiaojing, I’m telling you, his skewers are so tasty! Later, take these 20 skewers and share them with the dorm mates."

"Thanks! I won’t be polite then." Wei Jingzhu smiled.

The next day, unfortunately, it started to drizzle, and noticeably fewer people came to the market.

Compared to the bustling first day, the second day was clearly much quieter, and most of the visitors were just asking for prices without buying. Quite a few merchants from upstairs came down out of boredom to look around.

When it was time for lunch, everyone gradually went to eat, but Zhou Xueyin stayed to watch the stall.

"President Zhou, aren’t you hungry? You’re personally staying to watch the stall," Zhang Lei wandered over to Zhou Xueyin and chatted with her casually.

"I ate a lot this morning, I’m okay. Why aren’t you going to eat?" Zhou Xueyin looked up at Zhang Lei.

"I asked Xiaowei and the others to bring something back for me to eat..." Zhang Lei said distractedly, his gaze continually drifting towards the limited edition Seiko watches.

"What? President Zhang, you seem really interested in that watch? If you like it, you can buy it. There’s an additional 300 yuan off for employees!" Zhou Xueyin asked tentatively.

"Do I look like I’m lacking watches? Nowadays everyone checks the time on their phones, who still wears watches..." Zhang Lei quickly covered up, and moved to another counter.

But Zhou Xuemin kept watching him, making it difficult for him to make a move. He just picked up a graphics card to look at, put it down, then picked up a mouse to look at, and put it down again, pretending to be indifferent.

"Yinyin... ah no, President Zhou, I’m back. Go have lunch!" Zhao Caiyun was the first to return to the charity stall.

"Hmm! Good! Just be careful with the goods, make sure nothing gets stolen!" Zhou Xueyin cautioned again before going for lunch.

"Your president Zhou really is cautious, even wary of her own people..." Zhang Lei commented, watching Zhou Xueyin as she walked away, and gossiping with Zhao Caiyun.

"President Zhou’s caution is justified..." Zhao Caiyun gave Zhang Lei a cold look.

At this morning’s kickoff meeting, Zhou Xueyin had emphasized that everyone should be extremely careful.

He wasn’t supposed to be here but had shown up offering his eager help, possibly with some ulterior motive.

Yet just then, whether it was because Zhao Caiyun had eaten too quickly just now, or something else from the morning, she suddenly felt sharp pains in her stomach...

"Hurry up... someone come back soon!" Zhao Caiyun anxiously looked in the direction everyone had left, but it seemed like it’d be a while before anyone returned.

"What’s wrong? You’re sweating buckets?" Zhang Lei also noticed Zhao Caiyun’s discomfort and came over pretending to be concerned.

"It’s nothing..." Zhao Caiyun endured the pain and waved her hand away.

"I’m back!" Just then, Li Hua came back in time, "Xiaoyun, what’s wrong with you? Why do you look so pale? Haven’t you had lunch yet?"

"You’re back just in time, I need to go to the WC... Keep an eye on the stall..." Zhao Caiyun struggled to stand up with Li Hua’s help, and headed straight for the restroom without looking back.

"You don’t need to guard me like you would a thief... I don’t fancy anything here." Zhang Lei knew everyone disapproved of him but he wouldn’t leave until he achieved his goal.

"Mr. Zhang, that’s a bit harsh of you to say. How could we guard against you? You’re taking time out of your busy schedule to help us watch the stall. We should be thanking you, not guarding against you," Li Hua quickly responded with polite words, as they were all from the same company. No matter how much they disliked this person, they had to maintain a semblance of respect.

What if Zhang Lei genuinely came over to help? If they treated him like a thief, it would tarnish the company’s image. How would Yinyin save face in the company group later on?

But indeed, Zhang Lei had ulterior motives. While Li Hua was focused on texting her boyfriend, Zhang Lei slipped two of the newest graphics cards into his bag.

The limited edition watches were kept in the display cabinet and he couldn’t lay his hands on them, though he planned to grab them amid the packing chaos later.

The rain intensified in the afternoon, resulting in almost no customer flow.

Yinyin glanced at the time. With two hours left until the marketplace closed, she figured no one else would come and started preparing to close up the stall.

It just so happened that this was when customers were more likely to show up.

Two foreigners arrived at the stall, and after seeing the prices of the graphics cards, they were shocked and decided to buy immediately.

Since Zhang Lei didn’t understand English, he had to ask Yinyin to attend to them.

While she was serving the foreigners, Zhang Lei quietly moved the watches from the counter into his bag, then put the base back into the watch boxes.

After the foreigners left, guessing that no more customers would come, everyone hurried to close up the stall. They merely made a quick inventory check without inspecting the contents of the packaging, and then packed everything up.

"Alright, thanks for your hard work these past few days. Go home and rest... Who wants to rest first tomorrow? Report to me," Yinyin said after packing the boxes, looking at everyone.

"I... I must have eaten something bad; I’ve got diarrhea." Zhao Caiyun spoke weakly.

"Okay! Take a rest tomorrow..." Yinyin nodded in agreement.

"Miss Zhou, tough two days! See you tomorrow!" Zhang Lei put on his backpack, waved at Yinyin, and walked towards the elevator.

Yinyin always felt something was off about his backpack, but couldn’t quite pinpoint it. She sensed that it seemed heavier than when he had arrived that morning.

But because everything unsold matched the inventory list during the pack-up, she didn’t dwell on it too much.

Plus, after working for five straight days, and supposed rest days spent watching the stall, she simply didn’t have the energy to unpack and check the boxes again.

"Let’s go, that’s it... I’ll handle the rest! You all hurry home and rest! See you tomorrow!" Yinyin watched everyone leave, followed the truck to deliver the goods back to the warehouse, planning to check everything the next day.

Just like Yinyin, Li Hua and the others collapsed into bed once they got home, drained from the past two days. They didn’t have the energy to reflect on the situation or tally the sales. All that would have to wait until tomorrow!