On the ninth day of the new year, Li Xiangyang and Liu Da boarded a truck to the provincial capital.
Lin Lan went to the shop with Qiaohui and Tong Xinglan, while Lin Yuezhen, who was suffering from severe morning sickness, rested at ho.
The holiday had just ended, so there weren’t many custors buying pastries. After making a few batches to put on the counter, Lin Lan rembered that Woodworker Li and his n were renovating the shoe store. She got on her bike and headed to Limin Street.
The roll-up door of the Lanyang Clothing Store on Limin Street was halfway open so Woodworker Li and his team could get water.
Lin Lan had also asked Little Xue to put up a sign at the entrance: "New inventory arriving soon. Stay tuned!"
Lin Lan parked her bike at the entrance. Seeing that Woodworker Li and his n were tearing out the old fixtures and kicking up dust everywhere, she went to the adjacent shop, planning to pull down its door to keep the dust from getting inside.
She had just gone inside and co back out with the tal hook used to pull down the door when she saw three n with armbands swaggering toward her.
One of them, a skinny, dark-skinned man, stepped forward. Looking at Lin Lan with a grim expression, he asked, "Are you the person in charge of Lanyang Clothing Store?"
Lin Lan gave him a cool glance. "I am. What can I do for you?"
The skinny man said, "You need to co with us. We’ve received a report from the public saying the clothes in your store are overpriced and of terrible quality. We suspect you of passing off inferior goods as high-quality ones, deceiving the masses, and engaging in speculation and profiteering!"
’Poor quality?’ Lin Lan knew the quality of her clothes better than anyone.
When she opened the store, she had no intention of selling cheap, street-stall goods. She had sourced only high-quality clothing; there were no issues with the craftsmanship, quality, or fabric.
Furthermore, she, Little Xue, and the others had inspected every item while ironing and putting them on the racks. They had even snipped off all the loose threads. It was impossible for there to be any quality issues.
Besides, people in this era were far more conscientious in their work than they would be thirty or forty years in the future. Even street-stall goods only differed in the quality of the materials used; the workmanship was still guaranteed.
"Speculation and profiteering" referred to making exorbitant profits through ans such as short selling, hoarding, or buying up and reselling goods.
’This accusation is too serious. If it sticks, the lightest penalty would be having the shop sealed and a fine. The heaviest would be jail ti, forced to work on a sewing machine. I absolutely cannot admit to this.’
Lin Lan sensed sothing was wrong. Even if a custor did find a problem with a piece of clothing, their first step would be to contact the seller to negotiate an exchange or compensation. Why would they report it directly to the civil defense team?
’These n are clearly targeting .’
"Comrades, there is absolutely no way my clothes have any problems. Since you say a custor filed a complaint, I’d like to see the item in question and what the issue is. If there really is a problem, I’ll have to file a complaint with my wholesaler."
By now, many pedestrians had stopped to watch the commotion.
As it happened, two people who had bought clothes from Lin Lan’s store were in the crowd. One pointed to the wool sweater she was wearing and said, "What I’m wearing is from her store. The quality is great."
The other person nodded. "That’s right. They even taught how to wash and care for it."
Two of the n with armbands shot them a cold look. The two custors didn’t dare say another word and quickly got on their bikes and left.
The skinny man pointed at Lin Lan arrogantly. "Don’t waste my ti with all this talk. Hurry up and co with ."
Lin Lan said in a low voice, "Since you’re here in response to a report, may I ask which unit you’re from? And which of my products was the custor complaining about?"
One of the n said, "We’re from the civil defense team. Let’s go, stop wasting ti."
’Just because you say you’re from the civil defense team, I’m supposed to believe you?’ Lin Lan looked at them. "I can go with you, but let see your work IDs first."
In those days, people didn’t have the habit of carrying their work IDs. Most ordinary citizens would go weak in the knees at the sight of these n; who would dare ask the civil defense team for identification?
One of them sneered, "Impersonate the civil defense team just to investigate you? A small-ti private business owner like you?"
"I know I’m just a small-ti private business owner, but I’m also a citizen of this country, and I have the right to see your identification!" Lin Lan said firmly. "Since you claim you’re not impersonators, then show your IDs."
The skinny man pointed at Lin Lan, his tone dripping with bureaucratic authority. "Comrade, we will not wrong a good person, nor will we let a bad one go."
"Co with us to the civil defense team headquarters to clear this up. As long as you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ll be released. I’m warning you again, you’d best cooperate with our investigation."
Lin Lan gave him a cool look. "I wouldn’t be so sure about that. What if you’re criminals pretending to be the civil defense team to trick ? With so many people watching, just show your work IDs, and I’ll go with you imdiately."
As she spoke, Lin Lan looked at them with a feigned expression of horror. "Could it be that you really are..."
She trailed off, but everyone in the crowd of onlookers understood her unspoken aning.
The crowd began to murmur. If they were from the civil defense team, they must have work IDs. She was only asking to see them, so why was it so difficult?
A young man spoke up, "Yeah, just show her your IDs and this will all be over."
"Exactly! If you show her, she’ll go with you!" said another.
The n with the armbands exchanged glances. The skinny man pointed at Lin Lan and threatened, "We tried to be reasonable, but you refuse to listen, is that it? Do you want us to cuff you?" With that, he moved forward to grab her.
Lin Lan quickly backed away, grabbing the handle of the roll-up door. She shouted at him, "I already said I’ll go with you as soon as you show your IDs!
Why won’t you show them? On what grounds should I go with you without seeing any identification? What if you’re criminals impersonating the civil defense team? If I go with you, where will my family go to find ?"
"You’ve got a sharp tongue! Resisting law enforcent is enough to land you in a world of trouble!" the skinny man roared, lunging forward to pull at Lin Lan.
They had only been asked by soone to take Lin Lan away and intimidate her. They never expected her to be so feisty, unafraid of the civil defense team and even daring to ask for their IDs.
Lin Lan clung tightly to the door handle and scread, "Help! I’m not resisting law enforcent! I haven’t passed off shoddy goods or engaged in speculation! I’m begging you all, please help call the police station! Soone is impersonating the civil defense team and trying to abduct soone!"
The n with armbands looked at each other in bewildernt. ’She’s actually asking soone to call the police station?’
The onlookers on the street began to whisper and gossip amongst themselves.
Just then, Woodworker Li and his n in the next shop heard Lin Lan’s shouts. They ran out and stood protectively in front of her. "On what grounds are you arresting her?"
The n with armbands were furious. One pointed at Woodworker Li’s nose and yelled, "You dare to gather a mob and resist the law? Believe it or not, I’ll arrest all of you!"
Woodworker Li was taken aback for a mont, but then he rembered that Lin Lan had connections. He stuck his neck out and said, "We’re not resisting the law. We’re from the sa production brigade as Little Lin. We know she wouldn’t do anything illegal. Can’t we even ask for a reason?"
The skinny man, now furious with embarrassnt, yelled, "Take them all away!"
"Master Li, go call the police station! Soone is impersonating the civil defense team and trying to abduct people!"
Shouting, Lin Lan raised the tal hook and swung it at the n. It struck the skinny man on the arm.
"You bitch!" the skinny man roared, raising his foot to kick Lin Lan. Woodworker Li lunged forward and grabbed him.
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