When Su You went out, the sales assistant had also stepped away, so the reception room was empty.

But since Su You wanted to ask Manager Wang about the supermarket and she wasn’t familiar with the layout, she sent a message to Yuan Li, asking to meet him.

Yuan Li quickly replied that Manager Wang would be over shortly and asked her to wait there.

Su You decided to wait a bit, took out her phone, and continued checking her inventory list in her notes app.

If she could take over this supermarket, then fresh produce, grains, oils, snacks, drinks, alcohol—especially those big jugs of purified water and mineral water, along with toothpaste, toothbrushes, toilet paper, laundry detergent, daily-use and skincare products, plus energy supplies like batteries and solid alcohol fuel—would no longer need to be purchased separately.

That way, she could shift her focus to coal, oil, gas, medicines, medical equipment, seeds, livestock, and even weapons and books.

Even though the other modules of the base hadn’t been unlocked yet, she still needed to maintain a sense of crisis and prepare in advance.

For high-quality seeds, breeding stock, and self-defense weapons, she’d even need to make a trip abroad.

All of this would require enough money and time.

Just then, another saleswoman with curly hair came in, holding a rag and broom, clearly here to clean.

But when she saw Su You inside, her face darkened. She tossed the rag onto the table.

“Sorry, but once purchases are completed, staying in the reception room is not allowed.”

At that moment, the original sales assistant returned.

She jogged in, slightly out of breath and sweaty, quickly apologizing: “Sorry, sorry, I was delayed by something. Thank you for waiting.”

Su You took note of both Yuan Li and the curly-haired saleswoman but didn’t show anything on her face. She simply nodded.

The curly-haired one turned on Yuan Li with an ugly look. “Lili, are you done with this client? If so, hurry up and leave. You want to work overtime, fine, but I still need to finish cleaning and go shopping with my boyfriend after work.”

Yuan Li shot her a look and whispered, “Sister Xia, this lady placed a huge order—she’s one of our premium clients.”

The curly-haired saleswoman sneered. “That’s your premium client, not mine. You get commission, I don’t see a dime. Don’t waste my time—get out already.”

“I… I…”

Yuan Li had only just graduated college and had never faced this kind of bullying from a seasoned workplace veteran. With Sister Du turning on her so bluntly, her face immediately flushed with embarrassment.

Su You, of course, saw right through the hostility.

The woman was simply jealous that the new hire had landed a big client.

Su You stepped in to ease the situation. “It’s fine—we can just switch to another reception room.”

After moving, Yuan Li looked mortified, repeatedly apologizing. “I’m so sorry, Miss Su. Manager Wang said he’ll be here right away. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.”

Su You didn’t hold it against her.

This saleswoman had shown good attitude—there was no reason to make things hard for her.

Renovating the supermarket into a warehouse-style one was just a cover. What Su You really wanted was to use the purchasing manager to buy up goods from various wholesalers. That meant she needed reliable people to help with management, not petty employees who played tricks.

As for the curly-haired woman, Su You’s time was too precious to waste on such small-minded people.

When Manager Wang arrived, Su You got straight to the point about her intentions.

Manager Wang gave a bitter smile. “To be honest, with the rise of the internet industry in recent years, plus increasing rent and labor costs, even a large supermarket like ours has been struggling. We’re on the verge of closure. Since you’re interested in taking over, I’ll contact the general manager for you.”

This was exactly the situation Su You had already researched—one of the reasons she had chosen this supermarket.

“But… the revenue here is very weak. Are you sure you want to take over a store like this?”

With his years of experience, Manager Wang couldn’t help but question Su You’s intentions.

Su You calmly nodded. “I’ve looked into it. The location is a bit out of the way, so scattered retail is badly affected by foot traffic. I plan to convert it into a large warehouse-style supermarket. These days, most families own cars, travel is convenient, and once it’s set up, bulk sales won’t be a problem.”

Manager Wang was stunned. He hadn’t expected this young woman to have such foresight.

Yuan Li had already told him—this Miss Su had just spent 400,000 on goods without even blinking.

Although he admired the warehouse-style idea, the supermarket’s cash flow was already drying up, and closure was imminent. There was no chance of new capital coming in to fund a transformation. Selling the supermarket really was the best option.

Seeing his hesitation, Su You knew she had nearly secured the deal.

After all, she had survived three years in the apocalypse, learning how to read people. Manager Wang struck her as reliable.

She added, “If possible, I’d like you to handle the process. And your position will be retained in the supermarket.”

That made Manager Wang even more tempted. He immediately agreed: “No problem—leave it to me.”

In middle age, facing the risk of unemployment, this was a much better opportunity. Of course he would give it his all.

After Su You left, the curly-haired saleswoman suddenly came fawning over, smiling brightly.
“Oh my, Manager Wang, what are you doing in this reception room?”

Being a workplace veteran, Manager Wang didn’t miss the detail that the meeting had been moved to another room. Coupled with Yuan Li’s sour expression and the fact that the curly-haired one had just come out of that room, he quickly pieced together what had happened.

He had never liked her much anyway—lazy, scheming, stirring up trouble, and even treating major clients without the slightest sense of right or wrong.

His face turned cold. “Lu Xia, do you realize that Miss Su is one of our most important clients? With the supermarket failing, she’s considering taking it over and changing the business model. If that happens, she’ll become the owner of this place. What did you just say and do to her? I’ve already received several complaints about you. I gave you chances. Now you’d better think carefully about your actions.”

After his sharp reprimand, Lu Xia’s face went pale.

She turned to Yuan Li. “Is that true?”

Yuan Li nodded softly. “Sister Xia, it’s true. I was right there—I heard everything.”

Lu Xia staggered back a step, then quickly grabbed Manager Wang’s hand, pleading, “Manager Wang, I didn’t mean it! Please, put in a good word for me with the new boss!”

This supermarket paid well and was loosely managed. If she lost this job, finding another one wouldn’t be easy.

But Manager Wang shook her hand off, his tone icy. “We’re all adults. You do the deed, you bear the consequences. I have other matters to attend to.”

As he and Yuan Li left, Lu Xia’s face twisted in rage. She kicked the trash can by the door, her eyes full of venom.

“Acting all high and mighty, huh? Just you wait.”