Chen Lishu could not let her take the blame. She squeezed Wang Aixiang's hand back and said to the staff, "I am in charge of this shop. It has nothing to do with her. If you have any questions, I will go with you."
Wang Aixiang stomped her feet in anger and shouted, "Little sister!"
One of the staff members suddenly spoke, "Who is Chen Lishu?"
"I am."
The other person nodded and then looked at Wang Aixiang, "What do you do? Don't you know that only shop owners are allowed to operate now, and hired hands are not? Otherwise, it's practicing capitalism. You'll have to come back with us for investigation as well."
"Comrade, she is my older sister. It's just that I had some family matters recently, so she came to help. There is no employment relationship. I can go with you to cooperate with the investigation. There's no need to involve others, right?"
Chen Lishu said with a smile, and subtly slipped two large ten-yuan notes into the man's hand.
The man's expression eased considerably. He whispered, "Your situation is quite difficult. You've offended someone important. Even if we wanted to help, we can't."
Chen Lishu thought, as expected.
From the moment the staff member called her name, she had a bad feeling. What she couldn't understand was that she had always kept a low profile while running her shop. She only sold bell-bottom pants, and there was no competition with other shops. Could someone be jealous? Chen Lishu didn't think so either. Not many people came into the shop every day, as everyone could see. Compared to the Yimin Store across the street, it was even a bit deserted.
Unable to figure it out, Chen Lishu decided not to guess wildly. She took out two more ten-yuan notes and handed them to the man, negotiating, "Comrade, could you give me a hint? It would help me know which direction to exert myself."
Seeing her understanding, the man took the money and said, "Our section chief specifically asked us to come here."
"What is your section chief's name?"
"Our section chief's surname is Sun, Sun Zhiqiang."
Section Chief Sun...
Chen Lishu frowned and thought for a while, then suddenly remembered Sun Ling's father, whom she had met when she was getting her business license.
That explained everything.
"Since it's an investigation, both of you have to come with us."
Lin Qi happened to be out inspecting construction sites that day. Ever since the city began its infrastructure projects at the end of last year, there had been a significant increase in such work. They were short-handed, so Chen Lishu had asked him to go out and make some contacts. After running around for three days, they finally had some leads. Just as he was about to return to ask for Chen Lishu's opinion, he suddenly saw a crowd gathered at the shop entrance. Sensing something was wrong, Lin Qi's expression changed. He quickly jogged over and saw Chen Lishu and Wang Aixiang being led away by several people.
"Sister Chen!"
Lin Qi called out and rushed to Chen Lishu's side in a few steps.
Seeing this, Chen Lishu, fearing he would be implicated, quickly smiled at the comrade she had just given money to and said, "This is my younger brother. He came to call me home for lunch. I just need to say a few words to him so that my family won't worry."
The other person nodded, "Hurry up."
Chen Lishu thanked him and walked to Lin Qi's side. She whispered a few words to him, and Lin Qi quickly nodded, but his gaze was still filled with worry, "Sister Chen, are you going to be alright?"
Chen Lishu shook her head, "I'm fine. I've done everything according to the rules, so what could happen? As long as you do as I say, I can be back by this afternoon at the latest."
Watching Chen Lishu and Wang Aixiang being taken away, Lin Qi stood there for a moment, then turned and left.
"I wonder how things are progressing." Jiang Yuwei kept looking out the window, but Chen Lishu and the staff were nowhere to be seen.
"Don't worry, my father has already spoken to them. They'll make that wretched Chen girl pay today." Sun Ling felt a strange excitement at the thought of Chen Lishu falling into her hands.
What good was it to be good-looking? What good was it to study well? To stoop to being a small vendor, peasants were indeed peasants; their petty bourgeois mentality was something they could never shed.
Han Shenglin was going to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to find someone. Just as he was about to go in, his eyes caught a familiar figure in the distance. He stopped and squinted to get a better look. When he realized it was Chen Lishu, he didn't rush in. Instead, he waited by the entrance for a moment. Only when he saw her climbing the steps did he greet her with a smile, "Little Chen."
Chen Lishu looked up when she heard the voice and found it was Director Han from the Wool Mill. She smiled back, "Uncle Han."
Han Shenglin looked at the staff members beside her and asked curiously, "What is this?"
"It's a long story. The bureau asked me to come in for a few questions."
Thinking it was for some work-related matter, Han Shenglin didn't think much of it. "Alright, I have some business to attend to, so I'll go in first. It won't take long. I'll wait for you at the entrance later."
Chen Lishu was about to say she didn't know when she would be out, but the man had already turned and entered the bureau.
At this point, a staff member urged, "Hurry up, our leader is waiting."
Jiang Yuwei and Sun Ling saw Chen Lishu being taken to an office and exchanged glances. Sun Ling even couldn't help but lean by the door to eavesdrop.
Sun Zhiqiang looked at the two women brought in, his gaze scanning them back and forth, finally settling on Chen Lishu.
He had already heard the general situation from his daughter. He knew that this young woman, although a university student, was from the countryside, had no power or influence, and had not seen much of the world. He figured that as a section chief, he was likely the highest-ranking official she had ever met. If he could just scare her a little and mislead her, she would definitely have no chance to recover.
Was his daughter, Sun Zhiqiang's daughter, someone to be bullied so easily? As a section chief, crushing this young girl in front of him would be as easy as crushing an ant.
As long as the charge of speculation and profiteering was confirmed, not only would she be ruined, but she would also have to go to jail obediently.
"What's your name?"
Chen Lishu frowned instinctively at his feigned ignorance but didn't say much, "Chen Lishu."
Wang Aixiang also chimed in, "My name is Wang Aixiang."
"Do you know what crimes you have committed?"
Chen Lishu was very displeased with his interrogating tone. She looked at a chair nearby, pulled Wang Aixiang over to sit down, and looked into Sun Zhiqiang's eyes, saying earnestly, "I don't know what crimes we have committed. And even if there were any crimes, shouldn't we talk about them at the police station? We are here today only to cooperate with the investigation. If Section Chief Sun has any questions, you can ask them directly. I will cooperate as much as I can, and you have no right to ask what I cannot say."
Sun Zhiqiang was momentarily stunned by Chen Lishu's words. When he recovered, he became furious. What merchant dared to speak to him like this? He immediately slammed the table and pointed at her nose, saying, "What is your attitude? I'm showing you some respect because you're a young girl. Do you know that when the Administration for Industry and Commerce was also called the Office for Cracking Down on Speculation and Profiteering, people like you would be severely punished if caught!"