Chapter 421 Demand an Explanation from the Factory

Chapter 421: Seeking Answers from the Factory

The personnel change notice from the Second Mill had just been posted when the news spread rapidly throughout the mill and the housing complex.

Jiang Yu was a well-known figure in the factory; her name often came over the loudspeaker, always with praise or awards. But this time, not only was she suspended, but her position was also taken over by an assembly-line worker. The whole thing felt downright ridiculous.

"Who’s Wu Jingyi? Is she really better than Deputy Section Chief Jiang?"

"An assembly-line worker? What skills could she possibly have? She’s just got connections."

"Exactly. I heard she’s seeing Jiang Mingrui and has become Deputy Section Chief Jiang's daughter-in-law."

"If I had a father-in-law who’s a leader in the security office, I could land a manager’s job too."

"What about Jiang Yu? Is she coming back?"

"They say she’s demoted but can still return to the PR department. But if it were me, I wouldn’t dare show my face there again."

"..."

The matter was the gossip of the factory, and the housing complex was no exception.

At first, when people mentioned it, no one believed it. Jiang Yu had a proven track record and made contributions to the factory. Though some liked to talk smack, saying she’d be fired, nobody actually believed it.

But as more and more people brought it up, many rushed to the factory gate to check the notice—only to confirm that Wu Jingyi had indeed become the new Deputy Section Chief.

And Jiang Yu? She was demoted!

Xu Lihua was about to go ask Jiang Yu for details when she saw her burst out of the house, fuming, striding off.

"Jiang Yu, where are you going?"

Jiang Yu replied coldly, "To seek answers from the factory!"

Xu Lihua was startled. "You didn’t know about the demotion beforehand?"

Jiang Yu sneered. "If I had known, do you think I’d let Wu Jingyi walk all over me?"

Xu Lihua frowned and sighed.

"The factory really screwed this up."

Jiang Yu had contributed to the factory—how could they demote her without a heads-up?

Watching Jiang Yu pedal off furiously, Xu Lihua took off after her.

Since Jiang Yu was still an employee of the Second Mill, the guard didn’t dare stop her.

She went straight to the factory office, unstopped.

But at the door of Factory Director Zheng’s office, she was stopped.

"Jiang Yu, he won’t see you until you own up to your mistakes."

Jiang Yu tilted her chin up defiantly.

"What did I do wrong? I accepted the suspension, but how dare you demote me without my knowledge! Isn’t this just killing the goose that lays the golden eggs?"

"Comrade Jiang Yu, please don’t cause a disturbance here. If you refuse to listen, I’ll have to call the security section. For Section Chief He’s sake, you’d better leave on your own."

Jiang Yu’s face flushed red with anger, her fists clenched tightly.

"You’re going too far!"

In the end, she turned and walked away after seeing Factory Director Zheng, her posture bristling with anger.

Just as she reached the ground floor, she bumped right into Wu Jingyi.

Wu Jingyi’s face was full of joy, a stark contrast to Jiang Yu’s fury.

"Jiang Yu, I was just looking for you!"

Acting as if nothing had happened, Wu Jingyi reached out to take her arm, but Jiang Yu shoved past her.

"What do you want? To show off how capable you are, pushing me aside after just getting here?" Jiang Yu glared at her coldly.

Wu Jingyi bit her lip, pretending hurt. "Jiang Yu, you’ve really misunderstood me. I didn’t know about this notice beforehand—it’s just as sudden for me."

Jiang Yu’s eyes filled with mockery. "Everyone knows you’re dating Jiang Mingrui. Now that you’re Deputy Section Chief Jiang’s daughter-in-law, of course you’d ride his coattails."

Wu Jingyi quickly defended herself, "My promotion has nothing to do with Deputy Section Chief Jiang! He’s always been impartial—how could he mix personal and professional matters? Don’t worry, Jiang Yu, when you return to the propaganda department, I’ll *take good care* of you."

Jiang Yu sneered. "Save the act."

She pushed past Wu Jingyi and strode away.

Wu Jingyi watched her leave, her face troubled.

"Jiang Yu’s *mad*. Now what?"

Cai Xiaole opened her mouth but said nothing. She felt Jiang Yu was acting unusually today.

She shared a look with Wu Jinshun, who shook his head slightly. Both silently chose not to speak.

Only when Jiang Yu was out of earshot did Wu Jingyi finally look away.

She felt a flicker of disdain—Jiang Yu was nothing special.

In such a short time, she had already driven her out.

How could someone like this be worth the Party’s caution?

"Break’s over, everyone back to work. Now that Jiang Yu is gone, I won’t be as lenient as she was. From now on, latecomers or slackers will face docked pay."

Cai Xiaole rolled her eyes in quiet scorn.

New brooms throw their weight around—barely in the propaganda department, and already trying to flex authority.

Meanwhile, Jiang Yu pedaled slowly home.

Only after leaving the second factory’s territory did she finally relax.

*Playing* the role was exhausting—almost wiped her out.

She had just pushed her bicycle into the residential compound when she spotted Wang Moli waiting to gawk at the drama.

"Jiang Yu, I heard you got fired!"

Wang Moli looked like she'd hit the jackpot, grinning from ear to ear.

"Not fired—demoted. If I wanted to, I could walk right back in," Jiang Yu corrected her.

Wang Moli didn’t believe a word of it, snickering behind her hand.

"You got demoted and still have the nerve to go back? What’s the difference between that and being fired? Karma's a bitch, ain't it?"

Jiang Yu crossed her arms. "Even if I were fired, I could always start over. Like I don't have what it takes?"

Wang Moli scoffed. "Then I’ll wait and see how long it takes for you to 'start over.'"

Humming cheerfully, she walked home on cloud nine.

She'd barely set foot in the courtyard when she saw Deng Hongyi coming out of the house.

"Get ready—Mom and my eldest brother are arriving tomorrow!"

Wang Moli froze like she'd seen a ghost, staring at him in shock.

Old Lady Qian, whom she had pulled strings to get rid of, was coming back!

"Why are they showing up out of the blue?"

Deng Hongyi’s sharp gaze saw right through her reluctance.

"Talk about double standards—he could send Old Lady Qian back to their hometown like it was nothing, but he wouldn’t tolerate Wang Moli’s attitude."

"She’s my mother. What’s the problem with her coming to my house?"

Wang Moli backpedaled fast, "I was just surprised—can’t I even ask?"

Deng Hongyi replied coldly, "Her leg injury wasn't getting better back home. I’m taking her to the People’s Hospital for treatment."

"That'll cost an arm and a leg! If they couldn’t fix it there, how can they fix it here?"

"We won't know till we try!"

In a hurry to leave, Deng Hongyi brushed her off, only instructing her to clean up the room so there’d be a place for them to stay.

But Wang Moli felt there was more to discuss and cut him off.

"Fine, they can stay—fine by me. But what about the medical expenses? You have three brothers—they should chip in their share, right?"

She wasn't even keeping tabs on the money spent on food and lodging, but they couldn’t possibly foot the whole damn bill alone.

Deng Hongyi shoved her hand aside, his expression icy.

"What are you implying? Mom hasn’t even arrived, and you’re already nickel-and-diming! Is this how family treats each other? I never knew you were this cold-blooded!"

"How am I cold-blooded? You’ve been sending so much money back home every month—they must have savings by now. There’s no reason we should be the damn ATM."

Deng Hongyi wasn't having this conversation. "Just clean the room first. We’ll talk about the money later!"