She won't clear her name; she'll throw away all the scum.

Director Yuan was so angry that her heart ached. She had seen old workers cause trouble over welfare distribution before, but she had never seen Old Lady Xia so infuriating.

She simply called people over to ask about the situation, and this is her attitude? If everyone shares her attitude, how can the factory office get anything done?

We must suppress her arrogant attitude. Director Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "Comrade Xia, I'm still trying to talk to you nicely. If you continue to be uncooperative, I will report your situation to the factory director."

Grandma Xia: "You're still complaining to me? I haven't even gone to the factory manager to cry yet. I'm not talking to you anymore, I'm going right now."

Grandma Xia turned to leave, but when Director Yuan saw that she was serious, he stood up and grabbed her. In the struggle, Director Yuan swayed and grabbed the hem of Grandma Xia's clothes. Then, with a "rip", a huge tear was ripped in Grandma Xia's coat, and the entire back of the cotton-padded jacket was pulled off, revealing the snow-white cotton inside.

Both of them were stunned.

Suddenly, Director Yuan's memories of the first half of her life flashed before her eyes. Then she remembered the compound where Old Lady Xia used to live, where everyone was capable and troublesome. Any one of their actions could be reported in the factory's newspaper. Director Yuan felt a pang of guilt and her face turned pale.

"I...I didn't mean to." Director Yuan, his mind blank, frantically tried to press the piece of fabric that was already half-falling off Old Lady Xia's buttocks back onto her back, but to no avail.

At this moment, she was actually glad that she always called people to an empty meeting room for the meetings, so that no one would have seen this, otherwise she would have been really embarrassed.

Grandma Xia's eyes were red. "These are my new clothes."

Director Yuan stammered, "Comrade Xia, I'll compensate you. How much? I'll pay you right now. Or, how about I buy you a new one?"

Grandma Xia sneaked out of the conference room. Luckily, the entire corridor was deserted. She wanted to get back to the workshop as soon as possible to change into her work clothes. It was her own fault; she felt uncomfortable around her neck in the new work clothes, so she would take them off every time she came out of the workshop. Now, well, her new cotton-padded coat was gone.

Unbeknownst to her, someone at the stairwell had inadvertently witnessed the scene. Grandma Xia and Director Yuan stealthily emerged from the meeting room one after the other, one of them with her clothes torn to shreds—was this acceptable?

Sure enough, before it was time to leave work, new rumors began to circulate in the textile factory, even suppressing the previous gossip about Old Lady Xia bullying the young workers.

When Grandma Xia went to work in the afternoon, she always felt that many people were looking at her, but she thought they were looking at her because of what Director Yuan had said before about her bullying others.

Although she was a little annoyed, since the other person didn't say it to her face, she couldn't explain herself.

After get off work, she went to the cafeteria alone, got her food, and sat down to eat by herself. Suddenly, an older coworker put her lunchbox on her desk, his eyes lighting up. "Comrade Xia, did you really get into a fight with Director Yuan in a meeting room this afternoon?"

Mrs. Xia:...?

"What?" Old Mrs. Xia asked back, she really didn't understand.

Just then, another person appeared from the side, his eyes even brighter than the old coworker's. "Your information is outdated. Now everyone's saying that Director Yuan forced Comrade Xia into prostitution, saying he wanted her to do bad things."

This rumor made Grandma Xia's eyes widen. What was that all about? What kind of bad thing was that?

Then, a young comrade came in, his voice extremely loud, "But I clearly heard that Director Yuan had ulterior motives towards Comrade Xia, and even tore his clothes."

This sentence echoed throughout the entire cafeteria, and everyone held their breath. It was utterly outrageous, yet the more they heard it, the more intrigued they became.

Director Yuan had just come in with her lunchbox to get food to take home when she heard this. Her lunchbox fell to the ground, which was very noticeable in the otherwise quiet cafeteria.

Everyone turned to look in Director Yuan's direction. Director Yuan opened his mouth, his voice hoarse, and he couldn't help but swear, "What nonsense are you all spouting? Can you even speak human language?"

"Then, Director Yuan, could you explain why Comrade Xia came out of the meeting room disheveled after entering the meeting room with you?"

What did Director Yuan mean by saying he would take responsibility after leaving the meeting room?

"If you two were having a serious conversation, why were you sneaking out of the meeting room?"

"If they didn't do something shameful, why would things be like this?"

"The cotton-padded coat was torn to shreds, how intense was that?"

"Perhaps it was Comrade Xia who resisted fiercely; that old comrade is steadfast and unyielding."

"Do you think Comrade Xia's divorce might also be because of Director Yuan?"

Now that you put it that way, I understand.

"My God, two women, that's so daring."

"What's the big deal? In my old village..."

Seeing that their words were becoming increasingly absurd, Director Yuan shouted, "Shut up, all of you! Comrade Xia and I have serious business in the meeting room. You are not allowed to spread rumors anymore. Whoever started it, step forward and I will not pursue the matter with you."

No one spoke, but whispers kept reaching Director Yuan's ears.

“Serious matters, what could be more serious than the most important matters in life?”

"As expected, we were right. Look at how many female comrades she wronged in the past. When did she ever actually investigate the rumors? Now that it's her turn, she's going to hold them accountable."

"Old Xia has also ushered in a second spring, but how come he's with Director Yuan?"

"Yes, Director Yuan is not as good as her ex-husband."

The more they talked, the more outrageous it became. Even the presence of the two parties involved couldn't stop them from making increasingly far-fetched guesses. Director Yuan's face went from white to green, then from green to black, and finally he turned and ran away, not even taking his lunchbox.

Grandma Xia was completely baffled; how could things have developed to this point?

Some busybodies, seeing Old Mrs. Xia still quietly stuffing food into her mouth, impressed by her remarkable composure, went up to her and asked, "Old Mrs. Xia, are you really with her...?"

Grandma Xia: "What's your name? Which workshop are you from?"

"Liang Li from Workshop 5, what's wrong?"

Grandma Xia: "I'll report this to the police after I finish eating. You can tell the police what you have to say. Even though I'm an old woman, I won't allow people like you to slander my innocence."

The man's face immediately turned pale. "I was just joking, why are you making such a fuss? It wasn't me who brought it up first."

Grandma Xia stuffed the last mouthful of rice into her mouth and said, "Then tell me, who told you that?"

The man said, "Many people are saying, how can I possibly remember all of this?"

Grandma Xia: "Tell the police what you're saying."