"Uncle Wu, your annual salary is 2.4 million. I think we should raise it to 3 million. Li Xia is also on an annual salary? Let's increase it by 50,000, 200,000. In addition, everyone else's monthly salary will be increased by 1,000, and there will be a double salary at the end of the year. Uncle Wu, when you have time, please announce it..."
After carefully reviewing the payslip, Zhuang Rui looked up at Wu Zhuozhi and said that the store's annual net profit could reach as much as 50 million, so giving Wu Zhuozhi an annual salary of 3 million was not very high.
Zhuang Rui himself used to work odd jobs, earning only two or three thousand yuan a month, which wasn't even enough to cover rent and food. So he raised the wages of the ordinary employees in the store. This amount of money was nothing to him, but it was a real surprise for these working girls.
"Boss, why don't you come and announce this yourself when payday comes? That's what a boss should do..."
With his annual salary increasing to three million, Wu Zhuozhi was all smiles. However, it was inappropriate for him to announce the salary increase. In Hong Kong, when businesses reopen after the Lunar New Year, the boss personally stands at the door to greet employees and distribute red envelopes. Even a big boss like Li Ka-shing is no exception.
"Okay, I'll be there then..."
Zhuang Rui thought about it and realized that made sense. It was better for him to do such a favor himself. Just as Zhuang Rui was about to continue reading, a commotion suddenly broke out outside, which even included Nannan's crying. Zhuang Rui immediately stood up.
Chapter 405 Fury
"Manager Wu, someone's here to cause trouble..."
The VIP room door, which had been slightly ajar, was suddenly pushed open from the outside, nearly bumping into Zhuang Rui who was walking out. A sales clerk rushed in, looking anxious.
"Making trouble? No way?"
Wu Zhuozhi never expected this to happen. Although competitors are often rivals, he had a good relationship with all the major jewelry stores in Beijing. Sometimes he would even help out in times of emergency by selling some goods to his competitors. He had a great reputation in the industry. In the five years since he opened his business, he had never been sabotaged like this before.
Upon hearing Nannan's cries, Zhuang Rui didn't have time to ask what had happened. He ran past the sales clerk like a gust of wind, and Wu Zhuozhi followed him out.
Qin Ruilin's shop was large, with each type of jewelry divided into a small area. Diamonds and jade jewelry were in different places, separated by decorative elements, ensuring customers could easily choose. The decor was very user-friendly. After Zhuang Rui came out of the VIP room, he didn't see Qin Xuanbing and the others, but Nannan's crying became even clearer.
Turning past the diamond jewelry section, Zhuang Rui saw Qin Xuanbing holding Nannan, standing behind the manager Li Xia, arguing with a young man and woman. The thin man was pointing at Nannan relentlessly, scaring her so much that tears welled up in her eyes.
"Uncle, Uncle!"
The little girl saw Zhuang Rui at a glance, stretched out her little hands and wanted Zhuang Rui to hug her, squeezing half of her body out of Qin Xuanbing's arms.
Afraid that the little girl would fall, Zhuang Rui quickly went to her, took her from Qin Xuanbing's arms, took out a tissue to wipe her face, and asked softly, "What happened? Don't cry, tell your uncle what happened?"
"The uncle and aunt are bad people, they stole Nannan's things..."
Although the little girl is very angry and scared, she grew up with Ouyang Wan and is very well-mannered. Although she pointed at the man and woman and called them bad people, she still called them uncle and aunt.
"Hmm, what's going on?"
Zhuang Rui's face darkened. He noticed that the imperial green Buddha pendant that Nannan had been wearing underneath her clothes was now outside, and there was a thin, clearly visible mark from a rope on Nannan's delicate, fair neck.
“They stole Nannan’s things; they are bad people.”
The little girl couldn't explain clearly, repeating the same few sentences over and over. Her chubby little finger pointed at the couple. Zhuang Rui's arrival had made her much bolder; she hadn't dared to look at the two of them before.
"Little girl, don't talk nonsense..."
The young man, who looked to be no more than twenty years old, suddenly pointed at Nannan and threatened her in a harsh voice, which frightened Nannan so much that her mouth twisted and tears welled up in her eyes again.
"Shut up! Shout again and I'll kill you!"
Zhuang Rui was furious. If he hadn't been holding Nannan, the kid he went to beat up this morning would have been covered in bruises. The kid's small frame was no match for Zhuang Rui.
The couple seemed to be frightened by Zhuang Rui's harsh words. The woman seemed to whisper something in the man's ear, and the man took out his phone and turned to walk out.
"Trying to leave?"
Zhuang Rui put Nannan down and rushed forward. He grabbed the man by the neck, pulled him back, and said, "Stay here obediently. If you try to leave again, I'll break your leg!"
Zhuang Rui didn't have many relatives growing up. Even though he has now recognized his maternal grandfather's family, in his heart, his mother and sister's family are the most important. Right now, his little girl is being bullied, and Zhuang Rui has been holding back his anger for a long time. If he wasn't afraid of scaring the little girl, he would have taken action just now.
Ever since killing wolves in Tibet, Zhuang Rui had developed a ruthless streak. Now that the honest man had gotten angry, the kid was also frightened by Zhuang Rui and stood dumbfounded where Zhuang Rui pointed.
"Xuanbing, you tell me, what exactly happened?"
Zhuang Rui saw Qin Xuanbing pick up Nannan and asked her a question.
"It's not our fault, it's their shop's fault..."
The woman next to the man stepped forward, seemingly about to offer an explanation.
"Shut up! If you say another word, I'll hit you too!"
Zhuang Rui glared at her, startling the woman into retreating to the young man's side. Zhuang Rui thought the woman looked somewhat familiar, but he didn't pay much attention. Whoever it was, he wouldn't let someone who messed with a little girl under three years old get away with it.
“Rui, they have no manners at all. Nannan, go inside and play with this older sister…”
Qin Xuanbing walked over carrying Nannan. Given her composure, the fact that she uttered the words "ill-mannered" showed how angry she was. After handing Nannan over to a sales clerk, Qin Xuanbing recounted the whole incident to Zhuang Rui.
It turned out that the man and woman had come to Qin Ruilin to select jewelry. The man originally wanted to buy the woman a diamond necklace, but the woman was more interested in jadeite. She asked the salesperson to bring out several jadeite pendants to choose from. However, the woman had high standards and was not satisfied with any of the ones she looked at. She casually complained that Qin Ruilin was not living up to its reputation.
The little girl happened to be playing by that counter when she saw the jade pendant that the saleswoman took out. It was similar to the one she was wearing around her neck. Feeling a little proud, the little girl took her pendant out of her clothes and showed it to the woman.
The woman was quite knowledgeable; she immediately recognized the pendant the girl was wearing as a top-quality imperial green jadeite pendant. She turned around and demanded the man buy her the same one. The young man, rather arrogantly, immediately ordered the sales clerk to bring out an identical pendant; he wanted to buy it.
However, after the sales clerk saw the girl's pendant, she recognized it as the one Zhuang Rui had brought last time, and told the couple that the pendant was brought by someone else and was very expensive, costing six or seven million yuan.
Upon hearing this, the man assumed the sales clerk meant he couldn't afford it, so he reached out and tugged at the pendant around the girl's neck, saying, "What's so special about it? Little girl, take it off, and I'll pay right away..."
Qin Xuanbing didn't expect that this man would suddenly act tough on the child. By the time she realized what was happening, the little guy was already in pain from the rope and started crying loudly.
"Is what she said true? Xuanbing, go and bring Nannan over..."
Zhuang Rui's face was very ugly. This young man was really ill-mannered, even scaring a child who was only a few years old.
The young man, having recovered his composure, realized how humiliating it was to have been intimidated by Zhuang Rui. After secretly making a call to his cronies, his spirits lifted, and he arrogantly pointed at Zhuang Rui, saying, "Who are you? Kid, don't think you can fight just because you're big. Don't run away, buddy, I'll make you regret this..."
"Damn it, I'll let you play, I'll let you play, let's see how you're going to play me to death?"
Zhuang Rui was already heartbroken when he saw the marks on Nannan's neck, and he was burning with rage. When he saw that this young man dared to challenge him, he took a step forward, reached out and grabbed the man's neck. He lifted the man up sharply, causing him to roll his eyes back into the air.
"Brother, brother, we were wrong. This is going to cause trouble. Please let go, I'll make him apologize..."
Seeing that Zhuang Rui had acted so ruthlessly, and noticing that the young master Fan, who had come with her, was barely breathing, the woman quickly grabbed Zhuang Rui's arm and told him to put her down.
This woman has a good eye. Seeing that the little girl's casually worn items are worth five or six million, she can tell that the girl must come from a wealthy family. She's afraid that her temporary boyfriend has gotten into trouble.
"Zhuang Rui, what are you doing? Put him down! Don't be impulsive! Uncle Wu, quickly help him put him down."
At this moment, Qin Xuanbing also came out carrying Nannan. When she saw Zhuang Rui's right hand with bulging veins, and that he had pinched the young man so hard that he was spitting out white foam, she was startled and quickly asked Wu Zhuozhi to go up and stop him.
Everyone has a violent impulse within them, but some people are good at controlling it and rarely show this emotion in front of others. Zhuang Rui's temperament is usually very gentle, but his family is his Achilles' heel. No matter who it is, if they hurt his family, Zhuang Rui will never let them off the hook.
As soon as Zhuang Rui released his grip, the young man collapsed to the ground like a dead dog, panting heavily. His face was flushed and purplish-red, and his eyes showed fear. He could feel that Zhuang Rui had really wanted to kill him; that large hand seemed to have strangled his throat.
"Stop playing dead, get up and apologize!"
Zhuang Rui kicked the man hard in the stomach. The man, who had been lying flat, immediately curled up like a boiled shrimp. He couldn't even breathe properly and could only tell from the heavy breathing in his throat that the boy was crying out in pain.
"If your uncle hits someone, your grandma will scold you..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to kick her a few more times, he heard Nannan's timid voice and stopped, both amused and exasperated. How did this little brat become such a pushover? Her uncle was trying to help her vent her anger, but she ended up scolding him instead.
"Zhuang Rui, stop hitting him, something bad will happen if you keep going..."
Qin Xuanbing also pulled Zhuang Rui back. Although she felt relieved, this man was not a wolf on the grassland. Killing him would be a legal matter. Besides, this matter was not serious enough to warrant taking his life.
"Yes, hitting people is wrong, Uncle won't hit them anymore."
Zhuang Rui reached out and pinched the little girl's cheek. He had been very careful not to pinch the man's trachea, otherwise the boy would have been dead long ago.
"Mr. Zhuang, that woman seems to be a celebrity, and quite famous at that..."
Li Xia then walked up to Zhuang Rui and whispered to him that, in their eyes, these stars on screen seemed to be very capable and could command the wind and rain.
Chapter 406 The Flood Washed Away the Dragon King's Temple
For these ordinary girls, celebrities are figures who are high above and unattainable. Although they often come into contact with celebrities and wealthy women due to the nature of their work, they still feel a sense of envy and fear towards them.
Li Xia meant that she wanted Zhuang Rui to call his friend from last time. After all, Xu, the big star, had a much higher status in the film and television industry than the person in front of them. If Xu came, they probably wouldn't dare to cause trouble again.
"Female celebrity?"
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui carefully examined the woman's face and realized she did look familiar. Wasn't she the Taiwanese star from a Qiong Yao drama a few years ago, the one who kept calling out "Emperor, Emperor!" in the show? Although Zhuang Rui hadn't seen the drama, the overwhelming publicity surrounding it, coupled with the woman's two dimples, made it hard for him not to remember her.
"It's alright, even if her imperial father came, it wouldn't make a difference..."
Zhuang Rui thought the female celebrity was at least somewhat sensible; at least she had tried to reason with the man earlier. He didn't want to act tough with her. So he kicked the man on the ground and said, "Get up, apologize, and then get lost!"
The young man surnamed Fan had caught his breath by now. When he saw Zhuang Rui raise his foot again, he was so frightened that he quickly covered his head with his hands, but the look in his eyes through his fingers was full of resentment.
"Zhuang Rui, forget it, let them go..."
Qin Xuanbing reached out and grabbed Zhuang Rui. This shop belonged to them, and it would be very troublesome if word got out that they had assaulted customers. At this moment, many customers who had come to buy things had gathered around.
A young sales clerk was eloquently recounting what had just happened to everyone. The people who came later also criticized the young man for being ignorant, but after seeing the shocking purplish-blue marks on his neck, they still advised the store to call the police and not to beat him up on their own.
Seeing this, Zhuang Rui realized that continuing the commotion in the store wouldn't work, so he said to the female celebrity, "Help him out of here, get out of here quickly, and don't let me see this kid again..."
"Thank you, thank you sir..."
The female celebrity surnamed Mu was also afraid that this incident would get out and affect her reputation, so she helped Mr. Fan up, and the two walked out of the store. Mr. Fan wanted to turn back and say a few harsh words, but he didn't dare. The beating he had just received was caused by his foul mouth.
"Damn it, they're always there for meals, drinks, and women, but now that I'm at a disadvantage, not a single one of them is coming to help!"
Young Master Fan didn't dare turn around, but he felt incredibly aggrieved. From childhood to adulthood, his family had never laid a finger on him, yet here he almost got strangled to death.
What made Mr. Fan even more upset was that his pathetic state had been witnessed by the big star beside him. He had lost face big time, and if he couldn't get his revenge, he, Mr. Fan, would never be able to walk with his head held high in Beijing again.
"Hey buddy, what are you doing here mopping floors for someone?"
"Young Master Fan, what's the rush? I'm busy right now..."
"Sister Mu, what happened? Why is Lao Fan in such a sorry state?"
Just as Young Master Fan took out his phone to make another call, more than a dozen young men burst into Qin Ruilin's gate. They were all dressed smartly, with slicked-back hair, some of them accompanied by women, and several others were carrying baseball bats. They stormed in aggressively.
"Hey guys, smash this place up now, smash it up! I'm buying out the whole Heaven on Earth afterwards, damn it, I'll take responsibility for anything that happens..."
When Young Master Fan saw his cronies entering through the door, he felt closer to them than to his own mother. Ignoring their insults, he roared with a ferocious expression, his voice already trembling with tears.
"Uncle Wu, call the police. Xuanbing, take Nannan inside..."
When Zhuang Rui saw more than a dozen people rushing in, he knew something was wrong. These young guys in their early twenties were fearless and didn't know their own strength. He quickly told Qin Xuanbing and the others to hide in the manager's office.
"Boss Zhuang, come in too. Don't bother with them. I've already called the police..."
Wu Zhuozhi didn't expect that such a thing would happen on the first day the new boss came to the store. It wasn't that no one had ever caused trouble before, but those were all people who were dissatisfied with the items they bought and came to ask for a refund. They were all relatively civilized. This was really the first time since the store opened.