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

Grandma Xia chuckled self-deprecatingly. Of course, how could she possibly place her hopes on a gay man?

She changed into her work clothes and went into the workshop.

"Old Xia, Old Xia, did you know? Director Yuan got divorced." As soon as she entered, the workshop erupted in chatter, with everyone talking about Director Yuan to her. They all stared at her with shining eyes, as if they all hoped to hear from her that Director Yuan's divorce had something to do with her.

Grandma Xia genuinely didn't know about this. When Director Yuan visited her last time, he only mentioned her family's troubles. Although she sensed Grandma Xia's anger, she didn't think about divorce.

As expected of the factory office director, she acted swiftly and decisively, getting a divorce without giving herself any chance to fend for herself.

She exemplified the ability to cut her losses in time. Compared to her, Old Lady Xia felt that she had overthought things during the period from her rebirth to her divorce.

As a result, I almost died of anger, and I didn't even manage to teach one child properly.

All morning, Old Mrs. Xia was lost in thought. One moment she was thinking about the first half of her life, the next she was thinking about her older sister and then about Jiang Wenhua's stepsister who had been beaten and miscarried, and then she was thinking about Director Yuan and his expectations of her.

She was in a state of unease until lunchtime, when she walked out of the door in a daze and saw Director Yuan and... Qiao Yi and Fang Yingdi waiting outside.

"What are you doing here?" Old Mrs. Xia walked over quickly.

Director Yuan took her hand first, "I have something to tell you, let's go to the factory manager's office."

Grandma Xia pulled her hand back and joked, "Don't pull me! If you do, everyone will say you divorced your husband for me, and then I won't be able to explain myself even if I have eight mouths."

Director Yuan: "If you put it that way, it seems like that's acceptable."

Grandma Xia: "What is it that requires you to come and invite me in person?"

Director Yuan: "This must be a huge deal for you."

Qiao Yi asked in confusion, "Master, you and Director Yuan seem to have a... pretty good relationship?"

Grandma Xia knew that Director Yuan probably had something important to tell her, so she didn't answer. Instead, she said, "You two want to see me about something? If it's not urgent, we can talk after get off work?"

Qiao Yi had no choice but to agree. She didn't actually have anything else to do; she just came to tell Grandma Xia about Director Yuan's divorce. She didn't expect that Grandma Xia already knew about it, so it was fine.

The two walked together toward the factory manager's office. Some people who knew them saw them walking together and immediately started whispering among themselves, but they didn't dare let them hear, since neither of them was someone to be trifled with.

The factory manager was waiting for them in his office. In addition to the factory manager, several other factory leaders were also sitting in the office. When they came in, they even saved two seats for them.

This looks like a major conference is about to begin. Why is it so serious?

This informal meeting was crucial in determining whether Grandma Xia could join the factory's labor union. It was an opportunity that Director Yuan had worked tirelessly to secure, so Grandma Xia was very nervous.

But as soon as the meeting began, the factory director made it clear that after discussion among them, they believed that although Old Lady Xia was senior, her work experience was not suitable for the work of the factory's trade union. Therefore, she was not qualified for the position of women's director, and was even rejected from joining the factory's trade union.

Director Yuan didn't understand: "What qualifications are needed to join the factory's trade union? Which of those comrades who are currently working in the factory's trade union had the qualifications when they came in?"

Factory manager: "But Comrade Xia is already at an age where he has worked in the workshop for so many years. He's almost at retirement age. Isn't it a waste of his time to go to the factory union?"

Director Yuan: "What do you mean by wasting time? Whose time are you wasting? Are you wasting Comrade Xia's time or the factory union's time for training talent?"

The factory manager said in a deep voice, "It's all a waste."

Director Yuan: "Factory Director, what I said before was a waste of time. The factory's labor union has had the same staff for so many years. What good things have those comrades done in all those years? What good comrades have they trained? Do they have the ability to train positive, hardworking, and ambitious workers? What time have they wasted?"

Factory Director: "Comrade Ke Xia's time is precious."

Director Yuan: "Comrade Xia's time is precious. You should make the most of her last year or two at the factory. She clearly has the ability and might even bring about some changes to the stagnant factory union."

Factory manager: "Then that's just your guess."

Director Yuan: "If you continue to manage the factory union in the same way as before, they will always be the same deadbeats."

These words displeased the leaders of the factory's labor union, and several people began arguing in the office.

This was the first time Grandma Xia had attended a meeting with such a leadership team. She found that they were just like that, each criticizing the other, except that they were speaking more politely, which made her feel somewhat at ease.

Seeing Director Yuan's determined stance on her behalf, and contrasting it with the cold words spoken by that brat Jiang Wenhua, Grandma Xia felt a warmth in her heart.

She felt that she couldn't let Director Yuan fight alone, and she also had to fight for herself.

So she stood up and said, "Factory director, I want to be the women's director."

Director Yuan, who was arguing with someone, stared at her with his mouth agape. No, he just said it out loud.

The factory manager curled his lip and said, "Old Xia, stop joking around."

Grandma Xia: "I didn't cause any trouble. I want to be the women's director."

Seeing her serious expression, the factory manager had no choice but to explain to her: "Women's directors are recommended by the higher-level trade union or women's federation, and also decided by several leaders in our factory. But you really don't meet the requirements. Women's directors must be experienced and capable in women's work."

Grandma Xia: "Don't I qualify? In just this short period of time, I've resolved so many problems for the women in our factory."

One of the hot-tempered deputy factory directors suddenly slammed his fist on the table and said, "Is that what you call solving problems? That's just stirring up trouble. You give people advice, and the women's families start fighting right away. Some of them had just started dating, and after you said that, they broke up immediately. Others have abandoned their children, stopped having sons, and stopped taking care of their in-laws. Is that what you call solving problems?"

Hearing this, Old Lady Xia got angry and stood up, slamming her hand on the table in front of the factory director, making a louder slam than the deputy director's. "How can this not be called solving problems? As the women's director, my job is to solve the problems of female comrades."

The woman whose family got into a fight—her parents made her work like a slave for her brothers, almost ruining her health. If she hadn't resisted, her body wouldn't have been able to take it. The man she's dating—he's always talking about how virtuous and gentle women should be; his head is full of ideas that could warrant a hundred years of labor reform. The woman who didn't give birth to a son or serve her in-laws—she works so hard to serve them but still gets beaten and verbally abused by them. That family is truly shameless. Since they're so rude, they might as well just be left to fend for themselves…and…”