Chapter 706: Lu Jiaxin's Side Story 10
Chapter 706: Lu Jiaxin's Side Story 10
Lu Jiaxin had originally planned to stay in the Capital City for a couple of days, but Lu Hongjun wanted to spend more time with his grandchildren and begged her to extend her stay.
Lu Hongjun pleaded, "Jiaxin, I don't know how much longer this old man will live. This might be the last time I see the children. Jiaxin, please stay a little longer and let me spend more time with them."
Seeing his pitiful expression, Lu Jiaxin remembered Lu Jiaguang's previous words and remained silent for a moment before saying, "If you wish, I can send someone to pick you up during the New Year, and after the celebrations, I'll send you back."
She wasn't willing to face Lu Hongjun's old face every day, but she could tolerate it for a few days during the New Year. After the celebrations, they were planning to go on a family vacation, so it would be a convenient excuse.
Lu Hongjun was overjoyed and quickly agreed.
In the following days, Lu Hongjun spent time with the children, even taking them out for walks. With the babysitter and housekeeper accompanying them, he wasn't worried about the children's care. As for Lu Jiaxin, she visited several of their stores. She was satisfied with the service at Five Blessings Jewelry and the clothing store, but the supermarket was a complete mess. The staff had sour expressions, as if the customers owed them money; and the security guards were even worse, suspecting a poorly dressed female customer of stealing and rudely demanding a body search.
Lu Jiaxin had only seen similar incidents on TV and never imagined it would happen in her own supermarket, causing her face to darken with anger.
Surveillance equipment was expensive at the time, so the supermarket didn't have any installed. There were indeed some dishonest people, but the supermarket had a policy that if a customer was suspected of stealing, they should be taken aside and questioned. If they didn't admit it and return the item, the police would be called to conduct a search. Of course, the mainland's legal system wasn't as comprehensive back then, but a body search should at least be conducted by someone of the same gender. It was clearly inappropriate for a man to search a woman.
Lu Jiaxin didn't show herself but had Qian Xiaoxiao intervene. In the end, it was found that the female customer hadn't stolen anything, and it was purely slander by the security guard.
When Qian Xiaoxiao threatened to have the guard fired, the guard not only showed no fear but also arrogantly claimed that his boss was his brother-in-law and no one could fire him.
After returning to Shichahai, Qian Xiaoxiao reported to Lu Jiaxin, "Boss, I looked into it, and this person's sister is Boss He's woman, and they've been together for two years."
It was common for wealthy people in the Port City to have mistresses in the mainland during this era, and Lu Jiaxin despised it, but as long as it didn't affect work, she wouldn't interfere as it was a personal matter. However, Boss He's behavior crossed her bottom line.
Lu Jiaxin felt that if there was a problem in one store, there might be issues in others, so she had the other eighteen stores investigated. Fortunately, the other stores didn't have similar problems, or she would have fired Boss He immediately.
As a result, Lu Jiaxin demoted Boss He from General Manager to Manager and deducted a year's bonus. She also warned him that if such an incident happened again, he would be fired.
This incident also led to the establishment of an oversight department for the mainland jewelry, clothing, and supermarket companies. If anyone used connections or didn't follow procedures, employees could write a report to this department.
Upon receiving a report, the oversight department would handle it immediately. The head of this new department reported directly to Lu Jiaxin for major issues.
After learning about this incident, Nie Zhan disagreed with her approach, "You should have fired Boss He and replaced him with a more professional manager."
Lu Jiaxin shook her head, "A more professional manager might not do as well as Boss He. Moreover, he has invested a lot of effort into this supermarket, and firing him over such a minor issue would make me seem heartless."
"The security guard is despicable, but it didn't affect the supermarket's normal operations. And He Bin was unaware of this incident, so Lu Jiaxin is willing to give him another chance. If he still doesn't cherish his reputation, don't blame her for not showing mercy."
"Everyone has their own way of doing things. Nie Zhan didn't force her when she disagreed: 'A few days ago, I visited Grandpa, and he hopes we can return to the ancestral home for the New Year.'"
The main reason Lu Jiaxin mentioned this was because she had previously said she would go traveling during the break. Nie Zhan couldn't bear to refuse such a request, especially since Elder Mr. Nie is almost eighty years old and in poor health.
Lu Jiaxin was annoyed because Nie Zhan's mother secretly checked the baby's gender and insisted on giving the child her surname if it was a girl. Last year, she spent the New Year at her own home and didn't go to the ancestral home.
Lu Jiaxin refused, and she had a ready excuse: 'I promised my father that he would come to the Port City this year to celebrate the New Year with us, so I can't go to the ancestral home.'"
Nie Zhan was a bit surprised but was relieved that the father and daughter could resolve their differences: "Should we spend the New Year here or at my place?"
Lu Jiaxin didn't want to keep moving: "Let's spend the New Year here. The mansion on the mountain will be ready next year. We'll wait until next year to bring Grandpa to the mountain and celebrate together."
The mansion on the mountain had been completed this year, built according to Lu Jiaxin and Nie Zhan's specifications, taking three years and finishing in August. But even after construction, there was still the matter of renovation, another massive project.
"Okay."
A month passed. As dusk approached, Nie Zhan hadn't returned home yet, so Lu Jiaxin called to inquire: "Why aren't you back yet? Are you on the way or held up by something?"
Nie Zhan replied, "I'll be home in a few minutes."
When he arrived home, Lu Jiaxin noticed his grim expression: "What happened?"
Nie Zhan removed his tie and said, "Let's go upstairs to talk."
The matter must be serious if he didn't want the servants to overhear. Once upstairs, Nie Zhan took off his coat and threw it on the sofa, saying, "Since last month, my mother has been calling Grandpa constantly for money. Grandpa, feeling sorry for her, transferred ten thousand to her, but she called again a week later asking for more. Grandpa refused, and she called over twenty times a day. Grandpa felt something was wrong and, fearing something had happened, asked me to go check on her."
Lu Jiaxin was extremely annoyed. A woman in her fifties should not be so fickle, chasing after one thing today and another tomorrow. Every time she created a mess, others had to clean it up; she deserved to be left to her own devices. But she held back, remembering that this was Nie Zhan's mother.
Nie Zhan spoke gravely, "I was busy and refused, but I sent Ah Hu and a lawyer to check on her. I just received a call from Ah Hu, saying they found her and rescued her, but..."
Lu Jiaxin felt a sense of unease as she listened to Nie Zhan's anger: "But what?"
Nie Zhan's face turned awkward as he said, "She's become addicted to drugs. That man sprinkled drugs into the milk she drinks every day."
Lu Jiaxin fell silent for a moment before asking, "What do you plan to do about this?"
Nie Zhan didn't hesitate: "She must quit, and after she's clean, she can return to the Port City."
Lu Jiaxin knew that Nie Manlin lacked the willpower to quit, and this matter must be kept under wraps to avoid a scandal for the Nie family. Those gossip media outlets would spin wild tales, and who knows, they might even claim that everyone in the Nie family was addicted.
To prevent such a situation, Lu Jiaxin said, "Remember the island I bought? Let her go to the island to undergo rehab, and after she's clean, she can stay on the island for a year to get it out of her system."
"Okay."
(End of Chapter)
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