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

Inside the office, Director Yuan didn't speak, but simply turned his head and looked out the window.

Spring has arrived, and new buds are sprouting on the bare trees, their tender green color filling people with a sense of vitality.

Seeing that he couldn't get any information out of her, the factory manager had no choice but to put her matter aside for now, as the two people in front of him were more troublesome.

"Tell me first, what kind of mischief did you get up to last night?"

Grandma Xia looked at the factory manager with a puzzled expression: "Factory manager, if I tell you what I did, are you going to give us a certificate of merit?"

The factory manager said irritably, "Don't play dumb. You have no idea how awful the rumors are outside."

Grandma Xia: "How awful does it sound?"

Director Yuan said, "People outside say that you went crazy after your divorce. You can't stand seeing harmony in other families. You go around stirring up trouble in other families, hoping that couples will fall out and parents and children will break up. They also say that you encouraged women to go all out and cut off their children's lineage."

As for how to cover the retreat, even if Director Yuan didn't say, Old Lady Xia knew.

"How could I be so vicious?" Old Mrs. Xia couldn't believe it.

Jiang Wenhua chuckled a few times. "So, this isn't anything for me? Should I head back now?"

Jiang Wenhua felt that he had little influence in this incident, so he might as well run away early to avoid being implicated when the factory manager started scolding people.

But Director Yuan stopped him, saying, "Comrade Xiao Jiang, you also have rumors."

Jiang Wenhua, who had just lifted his buttocks, sat back down and asked curiously, "What rumors are circulating about me?"

Previously, he was rumored to be a stingy, unreasonable, and extortionate gay man, and was listed as the most unpopular person among lesbians, without exception. Is his image about to change now?

Director Yuan maintained his calm tone, saying, "You're so greedy for money that you've colluded with Comrade Xia to wreak havoc in the area. If you don't pay protection money, they might turn on you in the future."

So, your team leader called me in early this morning, saying he's transferring you to another team. He said if you stay in his loading and unloading group, the other guys will be terrified of you, afraid their wives will be ruined and they'll divorce them. By the way, all of the above are your team leader's exact words; I haven't changed a single word."

The rumors were getting more and more outrageous. Jiang Wenhua held back for a moment, but finally couldn't hold back anymore. "They're talking nonsense. It's a slander against my reputation. I'm going to report this to the police. I'm going to report this to the police."

Grandma Xia was initially very angry, feeling that these people were simply incomprehensible. When had she ever sowed discord? When had she ever suffered from mental problems because of the divorce? What she said wasn't true?

Those men themselves did a bad job, and they took it for granted that they had enjoyed their wives' childlike care for so many years. Now that their wives feel that this situation is not right and they don't want to continue taking care of an adult with hands and feet, those men are not happy about it. They are used to being treated like sons by their wives and have really started to treat themselves like sons.

Unable to argue with their wives, they helplessly vent their anger on the poor old woman, accusing her of being the troublemaker and sowing discord. If they could truly take responsibility and appreciate their wives' contributions, no amount of sowing discord would change anything.

Only an incompetent man would take his anger out on others because of his own inadequacy, and even spread rumors about her. If he's so capable, he should come and confront her face to face. But he doesn't dare to, and only talks behind her back.

They're like crickets, thinking everything they say makes perfect sense. But when the women talk about them behind their backs, they say these people are just idle gossipy old women.

If you ask Old Lady Xia, they're the real gossips, a bunch of spineless cowards.

As she thought and cursed, Old Mrs. Xia felt that what the factory director said made her ears feel dirty. "Alright, alright, shut up, Old Mrs. Xia. It wasn't me who said you."

Grandma Xia was indignant. "Last time when the dorm was talking about me, Director Yuan even called me in for a talk. Now that Xiao Jiang and I are being slandered by those cowards, have you investigated? If you haven't investigated or talked to them, I'm not happy. That means you're treating us differently."

The factory director was filled with anxiety and looked at Director Yuan with a questioning gaze.

Director Yuan has already learned her lesson once, so she's unlikely to repeat it. If she were that stupid, she wouldn't have climbed to the position of director. "I've already sent people to investigate, but it's too early to get results yet. I'll talk to them once I have the results. Also, the group leader of Comrade Xiao Jiang's group will be here later, and the factory director will criticize him then. I will definitely work with the factory director to eliminate these false rumors at their source."

The factory manager wondered: "...When did Lao Yuan become like this? He has no idea that he has to criticize others today. Why is Lao Yuan giving him extra work so casually?"

Seeing Director Yuan's serious, unyielding, and expressionless demeanor, the factory director felt a little intimidated. She was only trying to maintain a good atmosphere and order in the factory, and he... as the factory director, he had to support her.

In just a short while, the factory manager had already forgotten why he had called Grandma Xia and Jiang Wenhua over. His thoughts had been completely led astray by the three of them, and he had begun to reflect on his own actions.

Just a few days ago, the factory manager was called in by his wife for a heart-to-heart talk because he started sharing housework with her. She said that his biggest advantage in becoming a factory manager was that he was willing to listen to advice and reflect on himself. The factory manager had heard his mentor say the same thing when he was young.

Over the years, he has avoided many unnecessary and significant losses several times because of this habit, and the factory manager sometimes feels that he is quite capable.

While they were still in a daze, Grandma Xia and the other two prepared to leave. They figured that if the factory manager thought things through, they might get scolded, so it was better to run away now.

Just now, Grandma Xia and Jiang Wenhua didn't know why they suddenly made eye contact with Director Yuan.

"Sit down!" the factory manager shouted, and the three people who were about to leave sat back down.

Jiang Wenhua was annoyed. "Factory director, just say what you want to say. I don't think Lao Xia and I did anything wrong, and Director Yuan did a good job this time. What else do you want to say about us?"

Factory manager: "Can't I even say anything to you? All you do is cause trouble all day long, one wave after another. Of all the factories around here, which one has as many problems as ours? Next month I have to go to an experience exchange meeting with the leaders of other factories. What experience do you want me to share? Do you want me to share my experience on how to train workers to cause trouble?"

Jiang Wenhua retorted, "Factory director, what do you mean we're causing trouble? We're not causing trouble at all. It's the outsiders causing trouble. Lao Xia and I are just standing up for our workers."

Grandma Xia agreed, "Yes, does the factory director want these comrades who have been oppressed for so long to suffer in silence? Is this temporary peace what you want to see?"

Director Yuan suddenly opened his eyes wide, looked at Grandma Xia and Jiang Wenhua, and then started writing in his notebook. This gave Grandma Xia goosebumps; she felt like she was being tricked.

The factory manager was numb. For the first time, he wondered if he was a bad manager, because he could never refute what his subordinates said.