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

Director Yuan was being criticized in the factory director's office. The factory director was not alone in the office; there were also leaders from other departments and two deputy factory directors.

"Old Yuan, what can I say about you?"

“Our factory has never lost face like this before. Now, we’ve lost face twice in a row.”

"Other factories are mostly honest except when they catch thieves and have to deal with the police."

“Our factory just got rid of Tian Chengping, who was causing trouble, a while ago, and now another one is spreading rumors. Our factory is a place for normal workers, but now it’s as lively as a vegetable market every day.”

"Look at you, a director, how can your ideological awareness be so poor? You didn't even ask clearly before saying it was the fault of the person involved in the rumor. Now the rumor has fallen on you. Tell me, didn't you make a mistake?"

"I've never seen anyone do things this way before."

Director Yuan lowered her head, feeling both resentful and aggrieved. How could she have known things would develop to this point? In the past, when the young workers were scolded by their superiors, none of them dared to report it to the police. But this old lady Xia had been restless ever since her divorce, causing constant turmoil in their factory.

"It's all because of that old Xia comrade's restlessness. If it weren't for her, how could so many things have happened?" Director Yuan was still unwilling to be scolded, and as soon as he opened his mouth, he wanted to put the blame on old lady Xia.

The factory manager was so angry he laughed on the spot.

"Old Yuan, I think you're taking this director's job too for granted. What problem did Comrade Xia have? When she questioned you in the meeting room, what was wrong with what she said? Was it wrong to ask you to call people in for a confrontation, or was it wrong to ask you to investigate the source of the rumors?"

Director Yuan: "Her attitude was wrong. If she had spoken to me properly, would I have made things difficult for her?"

The factory manager stood up from his chair, hands behind his back: "Old Yuan, if you continue to be so unrepentant, I think you can forget about being the deputy director. Do you think those old workers are the same as the young workers you used to be able to scold at will? Who are they? They are the ones who dare to barge into my office and challenge me. They are frontline workers, much more important than you. How do you put yourself in the position you're putting these people in?"

Director Yuan: "Well, I'm at the same level as the workshop director, can't they show me some respect?"

Factory manager: "Then you should do something that will earn your respect first. Look at what you've done. Come to think of it, you're the one who has made our factory lose face this time."

Director Yuan: "Even if she was dissatisfied, she could have just stormed into your office to complain, just like you said. But now there's no chance to ease things up at all; she's gone straight to the police."

The factory manager pointed outside the door, "Who do you think she is? How many women her age dare to get divorced and are easy to mess with? How many people from their compound have been sent to the hospital this year, and how many police reports have been filed? You dare to mess with someone like that? Are you brainless?"

Grandma Xia followed Chen Xiangbei to a remote and dilapidated alley in the east of the city. They quickly found the mud house that Chen Xiangbei had inquired about. All the houses in this area were like this. Even in broad daylight, the inside of the house was pitch black.

Before they even knocked, Tian Chengping's angry curses could be heard from inside.

Chen Xiangbei couldn't help but worry. If the person inside really was his aunt, given how much his mother cared about her, his mother would probably go crazy on the spot.

Chen Xiangbei regretted not bringing his second brother along; he would have found a way.

Grandma Xia knocked on the door, and Tian Chengping inside shouted, cursing, "Who is it?"

The person who opened the door was an old woman who looked exhausted. Although her hair had turned quite white and some strands were loose, you could still tell that her hair was neatly combed. Her fingers were red and chapped, and there were water droplets on her hands, as if she had been soaking in water for a long time.