Seeing Tao Chunlan arrive, Wu Guihua worried that Gu Qinghe might take the opportunity to complain about her.
With her sharp little eyes rolling, she hurried over first and said in a shrill voice, "Chunlan, you're finally here. Where did you recruit this little girl from? She has zero manners. If everyone in our Supply and Marketing Cooperative starts working like her, things are going to descend into utter chaos!"
Tao Chunlan gave her a calm, side-long glance without replying, turning instead to Gu Qinghe, who stood nearby. "Qinghe, tell me what happened."
Wu Guihua's expression stiffened slightly, her eyes darting away before she shot Gu Qinghe a fierce, warning glare.
As if completely oblivious, Gu Qinghe wore a faint smile, her poise effortless and elegant. "Director Tao, it's nothing major. Sister Wu and I just had some differences regarding our work."
"Differences?" Tao Chunlan looked back and forth, confused by Gu Qinghe's unruffled composure and Wu Guihua's openly hostile expression, then asked in a stern voice, "What differences?"
Wu Guihua didn't feel she had done anything wrong. Seeing that Gu Qinghe had backed down, she became even more aggressive.
"Oh my! Chunlan, I don't know where you recruited this young girl from, but she doesn't know a thing. Ignoring my advice as an elder is one thing, but she actually took it upon herself to let people casually test our merchandise!"
Wu Guihua crossed her arms and let out a cold laugh. "If everyone operates like her, won't the Supply and Marketing Cooperative be in absolute chaos before long?"
Song Yuqing suddenly raised her head, looking panicked. Fearing that Gu Qinghe might be reprimanded by the leadership because of her, she hurriedly explained, "N-no, it's not Comrade Gu's fault. It's my problem. I shouldn't have touched the items on the counter without permission—"
Gu Qinghe shot her a reassuring smile, then met Tao Chunlan's gaze. "Director Tao, our Supply and Marketing Cooperative doesn't have any rules against this, right?"
Tao Chunlan's eyes narrowed slightly as she shook her head impassively.
Before she could speak, however, Wu Guihua jumped in. "Even if there's no rule against it, that doesn't mean anyone can just touch things as they please! Who's going to be responsible if something gets broken?"
Tao Chunlan frowned. Although she disliked Wu Guihua's loud and acid-tongued personality, she had to admit she was right.
If an item were accidentally damaged, it would lead to a messy argument, which would inevitably create a lot of unnecessary trouble.
"What you're saying does make some sense," Tao Chunlan mused.
Believing that Tao Chunlan was agreeing with her, Wu Guihua immediately lifted her chin toward Gu Qinghe in smug triumph.
"Then why are some people allowed to pick things up and choose, while others aren't?" Gu Qinghe asked unhurriedly, her eyes sweeping calmly over the group of art troupe girls before finally landing on Wu Guihua. "They're all customers. Why should there be differential treatment?"
Tao Chunlan's frown deepened. She looked at Wu Guihua with displeasure and asked, "Guihua, is this true?"
Wu Guihua's face turned ugly for a split second. After glaring viciously at Gu Qinghe, she squeezed out a smile and stubbornly defended herself, "How could that be? I've always treated everyone equally..."
Song Yuqing's face scrunched up. She wanted to speak up for Gu Qinghe, but worried that saying too much would draw the resentment and exclusion of the clique.
Just as she summoned the courage to act as a witness, Gu Qinghe had already turned to the group of girls.
"Have you paid for the lipstick and vanishing cream in your hands?"
The girl leading them had two braided pigtails and a somewhat pretty face, but her mean-spirited expression made her thoroughly unlikable.
Hearing Gu Qinghe's question, she immediately let out a disgruntled, cold snort. "So what if we haven't paid? It's not like we can't afford it!"
"Besides, this is an internal conflict within your Supply and Marketing Cooperative. Why drag us into it?"
That single sentence from the girl was all Gu Qinghe needed; she didn't care about the girl's attitude.
"Director Tao, you saw it for yourself. It's precisely because we, as salesclerks, apply different standards to customers that disputes arise," Gu Qinghe said.
A flash of admiration for Gu Qinghe crossed Tao Chunlan's eyes. Her originally stern and rigid expression cracked. "Judging by what you're saying, you have a solution?"
She had already held Gu Qinghe's abilities in high regard, which was why she placed her alongside someone as thorny as Wu Guihua—the cosmetics section dealt with a clientele of a higher social bracket than other areas.
She hadn't expected that right upon arrival, not only would Gu Qinghe refuse to be bullied by that troublemaker Wu Guihua, but she would also calmly and steadily begin fixing the shortcomings of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
She truly lived up to the person she had set her sights on!
Merely having her work as a salesclerk at the counter was a waste of her talent.
Still, this was only the beginning; there would be plenty of opportunities for her to be promoted in the future.
Gu Qinghe took a tube of lipstick from the counter in front of her, popped off the cap, and displayed the color. "I think we can take one of each—different shades of lipstick, different brands of vanishing cream, perfume, and other cosmetics—and set them out as testers for customers to try."
"This way, we can treat every single person who comes to buy things fairly, while also letting them accurately pick out the cosmetics they actually like, truly ensuring they get value for their money."
Song Yuqing's eyes sparkled with admiration for Gu Qinghe.
The clique of girls who had felt somewhat dissatisfied with Gu Qinghe fell silent at these words, acknowledging the merit of her proposal from the bottom of their hearts.
Only Wu Guihua, whose thinking was conservative and backward, failed to see this as a good thing. Instead, she felt it would damage the interests of their Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
She immediately jumped out to object. "There are so many cosmetics out there. If we have to take one of every single item out as a tester, how much would our cooperative lose? You really just open your mouth and say whatever comes to mind."
Tao Chunlan took all of this in; naturally, the final decision rested with her.
"Right, Chunlan?" Wu Guihua asked, smiling broadly at her.
She figured that as the head of the cooperative, Tao Chunlan certainly wouldn't watch idly as its profits were damaged.
Instead, Tao Chunlan smiled and looked toward the customers who were preparing to buy cosmetics. "What about you all? How do you feel about our Salesclerk Gu's proposal?"
Song Yuqing was the first to step forward. "I think Comrade Gu's suggestion is wonderful. It lets people like us..."
She was still a bit shy, but thinking that she was speaking up for Gu Qinghe, she summoned her courage and continued, "...people who have no idea which cosmetics suit us, have more references and choices."
Wu Guihua gritted her teeth, looking with hopeful eyes toward the group of girls, wishing they would stand on her side.
Yet, even though they didn't like Gu Qinghe, they didn't find any fault with her suggestion.
The leading girl wore a frosty expression as she said, "It's barely acceptable, I suppose."
Once she said that, the people who followed her lead naturally chimed in agreement.
Aside from these young girls, several middle-aged women who had raised children also supported Gu Qinghe.
"This young girl's suggestion is wonderful! For folks like us who only know how to stay home and wash clothes or cook meals, how would we know which brand of vanishing cream is good? We have to try them ourselves to know."
"Having testers is going to be a huge help."
"Exactly, exactly! If the Supply and Marketing Cooperative can go this far, it's truly a benefit to the people!"
Tao Chunlan cast an appreciative glance at Gu Qinghe, then raised her voice to announce her decision to the prospective cosmetics buyers.
"Since everyone thinks this is a good idea, starting today, our cosmetics section at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative will provide free testers for everyone to try out and choose from!"
"Wonderful!" The crowd erupted into enthusiastic applause and cheers.
Tao Chunlan pulled Gu Qinghe close, showering her with praise.
Only Wu Guihua, forgotten off to the side, found her resentment difficult to shake.
Why should a newcomer of a girl manage to outshine her and steal all the spotlight?
In her heart, she secretly resolved to find an opportunity to teach Gu Qinghe a lesson!