Chapter 243

Chapter 243: A Stick and a Sweet Date

Being stared at like that made Manager Wen’s scalp tingle. He had a feeling he was going to get unlucky too.

Sure enough, the next second he heard Du An Rao say slowly: “You are both right. Since that is the case, we will have to pay the buyers extra money when we buy these things back. That extra amount will be taken out of your year?end bonus this year, Supervisor Li. But I do not think your bonus will be enough to cover it, so, Manager Wen…”

Caught off guard by being named, Manager Wen could not help shivering. He blurted out: “President Du.”

“Supervisor Li is indeed at fault, but in the end, this man was brought in by your cousin.”

A light flashed in Manager Wen’s eyes: “You are right. My responsibility in this matter is no less than Supervisor Li’s. My year?end bonus will also be deducted as compensation for those guests. Besides…”

“Okay, we will do it like that.” Before Manager Wen could finish, Du An Rao cut him off first: “All of your bonuses this year will be deducted and used as compensation for the guests. I will make up whatever is still missing out of my own pocket.”

“How can that be?” Supervisor Li had already prepared himself to be one of the “three fires” burned by the new boss.

He had not expected that in the end it would only be a deduction of his bonus. As a mid? to high?level employee in the auction house, his year?end bonus was not small. But with such a big mistake, not being fired was already very lucky. Having only his bonus deducted could really be called a blessing in misfortune.

Manager Wen was also shocked. He truly had not thought that Du An Rao would choose to pay the final gap herself. This decision clearly did not fit the usual rules of how management should handle their people.

But given the current situation of their auction house, and the fact that Du An Rao had just taken over, this way of handling it was without question the most suitable.

“Why not? But this is only for this time. It will not happen again. Think of it as a lesson. If something like this happens again in the future, you will not only have to pay this little, and it will not just be about compensation. You all saw it. Even without solid evidence, if it is something I want to know, I have ways to find out. Do you understand?”

When Du An Rao said this, everyone could not help thinking of Xiang Qiu Fu, who had just been stripped of a layer of skin. They all felt a chill on their backs and hurriedly nodded: “We understand, we understand.”

Du An Rao quietly let out a breath, her eyes full of a smile.

Xi Jing Yue could not help smiling too. It seemed he really had been worrying too much.

With absolute strength and a bit of cleverness, it was more than enough for her to handle these more or less reliable ordinary people.

Ms. Qiu’s call came in at that moment. The finished bracelets were meant to be a wedding gift for an elder, and Du An Rao was now staying at that elder’s home.

After Ms. Qiu received the bracelets, she took the initiative to call and ask whether they should send the newly finished pair directly to Jingyu Street now, or if they should meet somewhere else so that Du An Rao could pick them up herself.

After thinking for a bit, Du An Rao decided to go herself. She arranged to meet them at a hotel, planning to pick up the bracelets and also treat the two of them to a meal to thank them for their strong support that night and for rushing to finish this pair of bracelets.

When Xi Jing Yue learned that Du An Rao was going to meet the Qiu mother and son, he volunteered at once to drive her there himself.

Because of the matters of taking over the auction house, the two of them had been coming and going together these days. Du An Rao was already used to sitting in his car, so she did not refuse.

As soon as they sat down in the car, Xi Jing Yue could not hold back his curiosity and asked: “Was what you just said really true?”

“Which sentence?”

“That a person’s good fortune in life is all fixed.”

“Oh, that one.” Du An Rao nodded in sudden understanding. “It is true. But this number is not something that can never change. It is like doing bad things that hurt your karma and doing good things that build up blessings. Even though your fortune has a base amount, if you do good deeds and build up blessings, your fortune will increase. On the other hand, if you do bad things and hurt your karma, your fortune will decrease.”

“So that is what people mean by good being rewarded with good, and evil with evil?”

“Yes.” After Du An Rao answered, she fell silent herself.

“What is wrong?”

“Nothing. I just suddenly feel that even though we say that, in real life a lot of good people run into bad people more easily, and bad people like to bully good people. Like Mr. Wen’s second uncle and aunt. While it is true that evil people also get punished by other evil people, there are some bad people that no one dares to mess with.” Like that Yao Fang Jin they had met earlier at Gourmet Pavilion.

Xi Jing Yue paused. After thinking for a long time, he still could not think of any words to comfort her. He had to take a step back and say: “The things in this world change all the time. No one can be sure whether an accident or tomorrow will come first. So we only need to focus on ourselves. As long as we live our own life well and can sometimes help others when we can, that is already very good.”

Du An Rao froze for a moment, then smiled as well: “You are right. No matter what, it is enough to do our best to be ourselves. As for everything else, we just do what we can.”

“It is best if you can think like that.”

People say deep feelings do not last long, and great wisdom brings hurt. The person in front of him had only just reached adulthood not long ago. Xi Jing Yue did not want her to press too many unnecessary things onto herself and think too much.

“Eh?”

“What is it?”

“Ms. Qiu is asking if she can bring two more people with her for dinner later.” While speaking, Du An Rao turned her head to ask Xi Jing Yue’s opinion: “Is that okay?”

“I do not mind. You decide.”

“Then I do not mind either.”

Du An Rao had agreed with Ms. Qiu to meet at a hotel, and Ms. Qiu had chosen the place.

After the two of them drove to the hotel and gave Ms. Qiu’s name, a waiter enthusiastically led them straight to a private room.

By then, Ms. Qiu and her son were already waiting in the room. As soon as Du An Rao appeared, the two of them quickly came up to greet her.

“Miss Du, you are here. Come sit down and see if you are satisfied with this pair of bracelets. If there is anything you do not like, I will take them back and have them changed.”

Following Ms. Qiu’s hand, Du An Rao lifted the lid of the box. Inside were two crystal clear four?color bangles. After being carefully polished, they shone brightly under the light and looked even more dazzling than before. In just an instant, they captured Du An Rao’s heart.

“They are so beautiful. Auntie Qiu, your company’s workers are really amazing. The finished pieces are even better than I expected. They are just perfect.”

Hearing this, Ms. Qiu finally relaxed: “As long as you like them.”

“With such beautiful bracelets, how could I not like them? I am sure my grandmother will like them when she sees them too.”

“Since there is no problem with the bracelets, let us sit down and order food first.”

“Yes, yes, let us order first.”

“These two are…” After being pulled to sit down by Ms. Qiu, she finally noticed two slightly nervous middle?aged people sitting on the other side, and one of them looked a bit familiar.

Du An Rao thought carefully for a moment. Then a light flashed in her mind as she matched a vague shadow in her memory with the woman in front of her.

“You are… the Auntie who spoke up for me at the auction house that day?”

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