Chapter 2 — Respect Has No Price

She wiped her tears as she spoke, crying so much that it was as if she was the one being bullied. Two other employees standing nearby also immediately chimed in:

“That's right, very ferocious…”

I almost burst out laughing because I was angry. It's truly a classic "evil person accuses first" scene. The female police officer looked at them, did not answer, but turned to me:

“Tell me the situation.”

I try to tell everything as briefly and clearly as possible.

"Comrade police, I took my mother shopping. The store employee agreed to let us try this bag. Throughout the process, my mother wore gloves, her movements were very light, her nails were also cut short, it was completely impossible to create such a scratch."

I stopped for a moment, pointing towards the female employee who was still sniffling.

"Furthermore, they refused to check the surveillance camera. The manager directly insulted my mother, saying things like 'If you can't buy it, don't touch it', and even threatened that 'If you don't give 300,000 yuan today, don't even stand and walk out'. My mother was scared, so I chose to report it to the police."

“Where is the camera?”

The male police officer raised his head and asked the manager. The manager finally stood up straight from the counter, his expression extremely calm.

"Sorry police officer, our store's camera system was broken last week. It's still under repair. There's no recording today."

No cameras. What a coincidence. The male police officer frowned slightly, went to the display counter, picked up the bag and turned it over to examine the scratch. The female police officer also bent down to take a look.

“There are indeed scratches.”

The male police officer spoke up:

"But when did this mark appear and how did it form? Currently there is no camera so it is difficult to determine."

“It was them who did it!”

The young female employee immediately jumped out.

“Only the two of them touched this bag just now!”

I smiled coldly:

"If you say we did it, then we did it? Show me the proof."

"The evidence is right there in the bag! The scratches are still fresh!"

I raised my eyebrows.

"On what basis do you say it's new? Have you inspected it?"

Two employees immediately rushed to argue with me, and the whole store was suddenly as noisy as a market. My mother next to me impatiently pulled my sleeve and advised in a low voice:

“Stop arguing, child…”

The female police officer raised her voice:

“Everyone be quiet!”

The store was finally quiet again. The female police officer looked at me and then looked at the manager.

"Both sides have their own arguments, but without cameras, it's really difficult to handle them. Or like this, first record information from both sides, then..."

“Wait.”

I directly interrupted her. All eyes turned to me at once. I let go of my mother's hand, bent down and opened the canvas bag I always carry with me. The manager saw the bag, immediately rolled his eyes, and cursed in a low voice:

“Just the type of person who is poor and still likes to act.”

I rummaged through my bag for a moment and pulled out a black leather box just as big as my hand. Pull the zipper out. From inside, I took out an item. Specialized magnifying glass. Professional type, with LED ring, highest magnification up to sixty times. This is a standard tool in my work, I take it with me everywhere I go. I raised my glasses, shook them gently in front of everyone, then looked at the two policemen and slowly said each word:

“Comrade police officer, I think I need to introduce myself a bit.”

“I'm a professional Senior luxury goods inspector registered at China Inspection Group. Practicing for eight years, I have inspected more than three thousand high-end bag samples, including crocodile leather, ostrich leather, lizard leather and many other rare leathers."

The manager was immediately stunned. Even the young female employee's fake sniffles suddenly stopped. I held a magnifying glass and looked at the male police officer.

“Are the scratches on this bag new or old, caused by human fingernails or other tools…”

“Right now, I can do a live appraisal in front of everyone.”

My eyes glanced at the manager, my voice even colder:

“If the results show that this scratch has nothing to do with my mother…”

“So this will no longer be a consumer dispute.”

“It's blackmail.”

The manager's lips immediately tightened. I already said it. For my mother to suffer... It's true that a girl like me is useless. But what a pity. I'm extremely helpful.

“W… when you say you're an expert, are you an expert?”

The manager clearly didn't expect that I still had this identity.

“Who are you trying to fool by taking out a magnifying glass?”

I didn't bother to answer her. Just calmly opened the dark blue certificate book in his hand and handed it to the male police officer.

“This is a practicing certificate issued by China Inspection Group, the code can be looked up. In addition, my appraisal status has also been registered at the luxury goods industry association, you can verify it on the spot.”

The male police officer took it and looked it over, then looked up at me again and nodded.

"You do the appraisal, we'll stand here and observe."

“On what basis can she make an assessment?!”

The manager immediately panicked.

“She is an insider, how can an appraisal be fair?”

“So you guys put the camera out.”

The female police officer replied coldly. The manager immediately choked, his mouth opened and then stiffened, unable to say anything else. I walked up to the display counter and turned on the LED light on the magnifying glass. Soft white light immediately illuminated the scratch on the bottom of the bag. I bent down, my eyes close to the eyepiece, and began to observe carefully. Two policemen also approached and stood on both sides of me.

“Comrade police, everyone look.”

I tilted my body slightly so they could see the image clearly under the magnifying glass.

“After magnification, the details of the scratch appear very clearly.”

I held the magnifying glass steady, pointing at the edge of the scratch.

“Everyone, look at this edge. It is very smooth, with absolutely no torn or tasseled fibers.”

"If it is scratched by a fingernail, the crocodile skin will be pulled and torn, and the edge of the scratch will be jagged or rough."

“But not this stain.”