"Are you trying to trick me?"
Hearing Manager Zhang's words, Ye Shishi sneered, "You say this knife isn't that knife, so how do you prove it's not?"
"No proof is needed because if this knife were bought at our supermarket, it would be indestructible and wouldn't break from chopping a fish head."
Manager Zhang, despite his smiling face, spoke with extreme arrogance, "Miss, can we let this matter go, please?"
"Let it go?"
Ye Shishi scoffed at the suggestion. "Manager Zhang, right? I'm giving you a chance to repeat what you just said. If you maintain that attitude, I guarantee this supermarket won't be open tomorrow."
Ye Shishi never imagined that a cleaver bought from a supermarket could be so shoddy. What was even more infuriating was that when she came to assert her rights, the other party dared to twist the facts and accuse her of fraud.
Enraged, Ye Shishi was utterly furious. If Manager Zhang didn't provide a satisfactory response, she would make him and this entire supermarket pay dearly.
"Miss, are you threatening me?"
Upon hearing Ye Shishi's words, Manager Zhang's expression turned cold. "Do you know who the big boss behind this supermarket is? You've probably come to the wrong person to make threats."
"So, you're saying you don't want to talk this through properly?"
Seeing his attitude, Ye Shishi, in her anger, snatched the receipt from his hand and immediately took out her phone to make a call.
"Hello, Director Lin from the Administration for Market Regulation? This is Ye Shishi. I'm at Wang Xiaoquan Supermarket. My sister bought a cleaver, and it broke while chopping a fish head. Could you send someone to take a look?"
"Hello, Director Zhao from Nanling Television? This is Ye Shishi. I'm at Wang Xiaoquan Supermarket. My sister bought a cleaver, and it broke while chopping a fish head. Could you send someone to cover this story?"
"Hello, Director Li from the Quality Supervision Bureau? This is Ye Shishi..."
Ye Shishi made one call after another, and with each call, Manager Zhang's face grew more ashen.
Manager Zhang never expected the woman in front of him to be the renowned Ye Shishi, nor did he anticipate that she knew so many influential people. He realized he had stirred up trouble.
"Miss Ye, I apologize. I was foolish and didn't recognize your status. Please forgive my earlier offense. I am willing to represent the supermarket in offering compensation."
Manager Zhang wiped the sweat from his brow and spoke to Ye Shishi with great apprehension.
"Compensation? No, no, no, why would I let you compensate?"
Ye Shishi sneered. "This cleaver isn't even from your store. If I let you compensate, wouldn't that be blaming you unfairly?"
"Or would you prefer the Administration for Market Regulation, the Quality Supervision Bureau, and the media to clarify the matter? If this knife is not from your supermarket, then I will apologize to you."
Saying this, Ye Shishi flicked the hem of her skirt and ignored Manager Zhang.
As minutes ticked by, fifteen minutes later, a group of people in uniform entered. Leading them was a man in his early forties.
The man approached Ye Shishi with great respect. "My apologies, Miss Ye, we are a little late. We have understood the matter you reported, and we will get to the bottom of it."
The man's name was Lin Zhengyi, the director of the Administration for Market Regulation. However, few people knew that he was actually a graduate student mentored by Ye Shishi's father.
"Director Lin, you are too kind. I hope you will enforce the law impartially, without wronging the innocent or the guilty."
"Ah, Miss Ye, we are so sorry. It is our Quality Supervision Bureau's oversight that allowed such shoddy products to enter the market. We apologize."
After Ye Shishi finished speaking, another middle-aged man, accompanied by several men in uniform, entered and spoke to Ye Shishi with an apologetic tone.
The middle-aged man was Li Zitong, the director of the Quality Supervision Bureau, and also a graduate student mentored by Ye Shishi's father.
Ye Shishi's attitude towards Li Zitong was the same as towards Lin Zhengyi. She said calmly, "Director Li, you are too kind. I hope you will enforce the law impartially, without wronging the innocent or the guilty."
Following Li Zitong's arrival, a group of reporters carrying cameras, video recorders, and microphones soon entered.
Judging by the logos on their microphones, they were reporters from Nanling Television.
With the Administration for Market Regulation, the Quality Supervision Bureau, and the media all present, Manager Zhang's face turned a deep shade of purple, looking utterly miserable.
At this point, Ye Shishi handed the broken cleaver to Lin Zhengyi. "This is the cleaver my sister bought. It broke while chopping a fish head and also cut my leg. When I came to seek an explanation, this Manager Zhang told me the knife was not bought from the store. And when we showed the receipt, he said the receipt only proved my sister bought a knife at the store, not that the broken one was the one purchased."
Hearing Ye Shishi's account, even Lin Zhengyi and Li Zitong, who had not been present, were furious. They glared at Manager Zhang and exclaimed, "Scoundrel merchant, playing word games and twisting the truth!"
Lin Zhengyi instructed his subordinates, "Such a corrupt merchant has surely evaded taxes. Investigate their accounts."
"Understood!"
His subordinates nodded and began examining the accounts.
Li Zitong, meanwhile, told his team, "You, take the broken knife and compare it with the knives in the supermarket. See if they are from the same brand. Also, conduct random checks on all products in their store to assess their qualification rate."
"Understood!"
Li Zitong's subordinates acted swiftly. They took the broken knife, located where the cleavers were sold, and began their examination.
As time passed, an hour later, several of Li Zitong's subordinates approached. "Director Li, we have tested the broken knife and the knives in the supermarket. They are identical in material and all other aspects. Therefore, we can confirm that this knife was indeed purchased from the store."
"Furthermore, in one hour, we randomly sampled seventy-three products from the supermarket. Only one percent of them met the quality and environmental standards."
Upon hearing this, the reporters immediately started recording.
At the same time, Lin Zhengyi's subordinates came forward and reported, "Director Lin, we have examined all the accounts of this supermarket since the beginning of the year and found that they have evaded taxes through various means, amounting to over two million yuan."
"Corrupt merchants, they have no bottom line whatsoever."
Hearing his subordinates' report, Lin Zhengyi turned to Li Zitong and asked, "Director Li, how do you think this matter should be handled?"
"What do you mean 'how'? Of course, we should close the supermarket first, take the relevant personnel back for investigation, and upon completion of the investigation, transfer them to the Public Security Bureau for disposal."
Li Zitong stated, "Should we not deal with such corrupt merchants according to the law? Should we let them celebrate the New Year?"
"Exactly!"
Li Zitong's words were immediately echoed by Lin Zhengyi. Thus, half an hour later, the supermarket was sealed, and Manager Zhang was taken away. The storm finally ended.