Apocalyptic Hoarding Diary

Chapter 266 Designated Merchants

Let's take a look at this so-called "solely designated" monopoly company first.

What kind of chaotic situation exists within the company? What kind of trouble can arise between employees or between employees and customers?

This can be considered a different kind of "market research" and "intelligence gathering".

Perhaps we can glean some insights into the company's management style, staff quality, or even... a breakthrough point for negotiation?

After thinking for a moment, she stuffed all the relevant paper documents, such as the User Manual, Procurement Guide, and Vehicle Registration Form, which were on the passenger seat, into her backpack.

Then, she jumped out of the car, closed the door behind her, and jogged toward the outer edge of the growing crowd.

In just a short while, even more people gathered to watch the spectacle, forming a tight, impenetrable crowd.

People behind kept pushing forward, while those in front were jostled about, yet reluctant to leave their best viewing spots.

Xu Xiaoyan managed to squeeze to the very edge of the crowd, but couldn't get any further in.

Ahead was a thick wall of people, and only through the gaps and the spaces between the heads in front could one barely see glimpses of the fighting inside.

In the arena, after enduring several heavy punches from the burly man, the "Honghu" shop assistant seized the opportunity when the man's center of gravity was slightly unsteady after a sudden lunge.

He suddenly ducked and turned to the side, dodging a punch, while simultaneously launching a vicious counterattack with his own fist from below, slamming it solidly into the burly man's left cheek!

"Bang!" A dull thud that made your teeth ache was clearly audible.

The burly man's head snapped to the right after being hit, and his cheek visibly swelled up instantly.

A crack appeared at the corner of his mouth, and a thin stream of bright red blood immediately seeped out and dripped down his chin.

"Hiss—!" The crowd of onlookers gasped in shock.

They felt both relieved by the punch and a little afraid that someone might actually die, so they unconsciously took a half step back.

But everyone's eyes were fixed on the two figures rolling and wrestling in the middle of the field, afraid of missing any exciting moment.

Xu Xiaoyan wasn't very tall, and there were several layers of tall people blocking her way.

She stood on tiptoe, craning her neck as far as she could, but still couldn't see the whole picture clearly.

All that could be heard inside were the sounds of fighting, panting, cursing, and the occasional sound of something being knocked over.

She was getting anxious and wanted to know more specific details.

Watching fights without any beginning or end isn't entertaining enough.

She wanted to squeeze in a little further, hoping to hear the onlookers' comments and get a better view.

But the people in front were so densely packed that it was impossible to squeeze in, and I was even pushed and shoved a few times by the people surging in from behind.

Just as she was feeling a bit annoyed, she noticed a tall, thin young man standing not far away. He had clearly taken a relatively good spot with a good view.

Xu Xiaoyan had a sudden inspiration and quietly moved two steps closer to the other side.

She tugged at the tall man's sleeve very gently, so as not to offend him.

"Big brother," she lowered her voice, asking in a tone that was both curious and gossipy:

"What's going on inside? Why are they fighting so fiercely? It's like they have a deep-seated grudge."

The tall man was engrossed in watching and was not annoyed by the interruption. Instead, he seemed to have suddenly found an audience to show off his "well-informed" knowledge and immediately turned his head away.

His face glowed with the excited redness typical of someone watching a spectacle, his eyes shining, and he began to describe it vividly, speaking very quickly:

"Hey! This is amazing! Did you see that? Did you see it clearly? That guy in the 'Honghu' uniform is a shop assistant, I think he's a foreman or something!"

"The one who hit him is here specifically to settle scores!" He gestured towards the crowd with an expression that said, "I know the inside story."

"Settle accounts? Do you owe him a lot of money? Or is there a problem with the goods?" Xu Xiaoyan asked cooperatively, trying to get more information out of the other party.

"It's much more serious than owing money! It's not about the money at all!" The man curled his lip, his tone brimming with a mastery of the essence of gossip and a desire to spread it:

"I heard it all clearly from the front! It was one of the guys from Honghu Company who got someone's daughter pregnant!"

He then denied everything and disappeared! He won't even see me! He won't answer my calls!

The father searched for him for days, finally finding out he worked here, and today he came straight to the store to beat him up! Don't you think he deserved it?

Xu Xiaoyan was secretly astonished. This was truly... moral depravity combined with violent conflict, chaotic and melodramatic enough.

In an era where survival is so difficult, to commit such a disgraceful act of starting something and then abandoning it is no wonder that the father was furious and resorted to violence.

The quality of the employees at Honghu is evident.

"So...isn't anyone in the store going to do anything about it? Are they just going to let them fight like that in front of the store? Where's the boss? Where are the other employees?"

She looked deeper into the shop, feigning confusion.

Through the gaps in the crowd, one could vaguely see several figures, also dressed in "Honghu" dark blue overalls, standing behind the shelves inside the shop.

But they just stood far away, arms crossed, watching coldly.

Some even wore mocking, amusement-seeing smiles, showing no intention of stepping in to break up the fight or stop it.

"Manage? Who's in charge? Who wants to deal with this mess?"

The tall man chuckled, as if Xu Xiaoyan had asked an extremely naive question.

He lowered his voice and leaned forward slightly, assuming a posture of sharing a secret, but the sarcasm in his words couldn't be concealed. Didn't you see those people standing inside watching the show?

They were all his colleagues!

I just heard it; their boss is in that small office in the back, separated by glass.

The door was closed, but I have sharp ears, and I heard him yell, and it wasn't quiet at all—

"As long as fights and brawls don't happen inside the store and don't damage any valuable equipment or parts, I won't interfere!"

"Let them fight it out. If they kill each other, that's their own business, none of ours! Just don't interfere with my business!"

"Tsk, listen to this, listen carefully, how 'sensible' and 'knows how to behave' this boss is!"

Xu Xiaoyan was stunned; this time, she was genuinely surprised.

The employee's personal conduct scandal has already had a very bad impact, and now the person involved has come to the store and started a full-blown fight in front of the store.

If this gets out, it will be a heavy blow to the shop's reputation and image. Who would dare to come here for modifications and repairs in the future?

But the boss just let it go, and even drew an absurd bottom line like "just don't smash things in the store"?

This is practically a case of "it's none of my business" written all over their face.

She couldn't help but interject, her tone filled with disbelief:

"Are we just going to throw away the store's reputation? Who would dare to buy things or get their car repaired here in the future? Isn't the owner worried that nobody will come back?"

"Reputation? Hahaha!" The tall man next to him seemed to have heard something extremely ridiculous and naive.

He suddenly turned his head and looked Xu Xiaoyan up and down, his eyes seeming to say, "You're so young, how can you be so naive?"

He chuckled, "Hey girl, what era are we in now? Open your eyes and look around! This is a 'designated merchant'! The 'officially and exclusively designated cooperative service provider'!"

See that sign by the door? Red background with white lettering, and the word "Designated"!

He pointed forcefully at the conspicuous signboard of Honghu with his chin, his tone full of sarcasm:

"They have connections! This qualification and this monopoly position were granted by the management department in black and white!"

"Come or don't come, it's up to you. You think it's too expensive? You think the service is bad? You think it's messy here? No problem, you can just turn around and leave."

He paused for a moment, then said, "But if you want to install a stove, cookware, or anything else in your car, or if your car breaks down and needs repairs later, you can only find this one place in the entire C district! There are no other branches!"

If you do it elsewhere, that's "unauthorized modification," which is illegal! If you get caught, your car might be confiscated! Understand?

His tone became even more aggressive: "What's the point of reputation? Can you eat or drink that stuff? Can you use it as points?"

If someone spits in your face right now, you not only have to wipe it off silently, but you might also have to smile and say, "Good job spitting, you've worked hard, would you like another one?"

Otherwise what? Do you still want to modify your car? Do you still want to drive it for business?

In this world, whoever holds your life in their hands is the boss! Rules? Rules are made by others! That's reality! Got it?

Yes, terms like "designated merchant" and "solely designated service provider" may represent a guarantee of quality and reputation in peacetime.

However, in this era of resource control and highly centralized power, they increasingly point to a monopolistic position backed by administrative power.

Xu Xiaoyan stopped trying to squeeze into the increasingly crowded and smelly center of the crowd.

She obediently retreated to a spot a little further away from the crowd, where the air was relatively well-ventilated.

My ears were still filled with the dull thuds of fists and feet colliding, heavy breathing, occasional roars, and foul curses.

But her eyes were no longer focused on the chaotic and violent fight itself.

Her gaze began to sweep across the area in front of Honghu Company, trying to gather more useful information.

The exterior walls of the shop are covered with silver-gray stainless steel plates, which are haphazardly covered with stickers of various sizes and colors.

"Designated repair shop in Zone C", "Professional vehicle modification", "Genuine original parts", "Hung-hu service, safe and reliable".

Through the gaps in the open door and the swaying crowd.

Inside the shop, you can see various types of tires, shelves of metal parts reaching the ceiling, and some disassembled engines or chassis.

And the silhouettes of several vehicles undergoing different stages of repair or modification.

In the open space near the entrance, besides the ever-growing crowd of onlookers, there were also a few scattered vehicles that were clearly waiting for service:

It's a light green convenience food cart that's almost exactly the same as her No. 03 model!

Some of them looked newer, while others were slightly older, and different numbers were painted on their bodies.