Chapter 123: Are they really planning to start a factory with just a few of them?

Chapter 123: Are they really planning to start a factory with just a few of them?

Chenchen, with tearful eyes, pouted even more upon seeing his mother. His chubby little hand wiped his eyes, and with pursed lips, he reached out to his mother, looking utterly pitiful, crying "Wuwuwu," tears streaming down in big drops.

This quiet crying was far more heart-wrenching than loud wailing, showing just how heartbroken the child was.

Su Taotao's heart was in knots; Chenchen seldom cried.

She took the child from Fu Yuanhang, gently patted his back, and after making sure he wasn't hurt, she felt a bit relieved. She spoke in the gentlest tone she could muster: "Look how wronged our Chenchen feels, it's okay, it's okay, mommy is here. Did Chenchen miss mommy?"

Chenchen hugged his mother tightly: "Mommy~~ Wuwuwu~~"

If he kept crying, Su Taotao felt like her heart might give out. She gently patted his back, softly comforting him: "It's okay, it's okay, mommy is here, don't be scared."

Su Taotao didn't try to stop the child from crying; Chenchen seldom cried, and it was better for him to let it all out if he was truly upset, better than keeping it all inside.

Su Taotao asked Fu Yuanhang in a low voice: "Yuanhang, what exactly happened?"

Fu Yuanhang's eyes were red with emotion. He looked at Su Taotao, unsure where to begin.

Meanwhile, Xia Zhiqiu had also picked up Dongdong, who was crying so hard he could hardly breathe, and he wasn't hurt. Dongdong seldom cried, and Xia Zhiqiu gently comforted him, her heart breaking.

Uncle Mu said angrily: "It's all because of Xu Zhiyong, Cheng Hongyi, and Li Junxiong. They were horsing around in the classroom, knocked into Chenchen's cart, smashed Chenchen's most treasured conch, and almost hit Dongdong's foot. Both Chenchen and Dongdong were scared."

Su Taotao wondered why the surnames of these children sounded so familiar.

Uncle Mu seemed to notice Su Taotao's confusion and added: "They are the same ones who fought with Yuanhang last time."

Auntie Zhong immediately remembered: "Xu Zhiyong is the son of Xu Weidong and Zhou Xiaoyan, Cheng Hongyi is the son of Cheng Jianguo and Wu Lihua, and Li Junxiong is the son of Li Dongqing and Yang Liuyue.

That Zhou Xiaoyan who confronted you in Director Chen's office last time, Xu Weidong, Cheng Jianguo, and Li Dongqing were the ones who brought those troublemakers to our house to apologize last time. It hasn't been long, and they're at it again?"

Auntie Zhong's words reminded Su Taotao, who asked: "Did they do it on purpose?"

Uncle Mu really couldn't say for sure. Those classmates seemed to have improved, at least they didn't resort to physical violence as easily as before, but verbal provocations and minor pranks were still hard to shake off. So whether they intentionally knocked into Chenchen's cart or it was an accident was hard to tell.

Fu Yuanhang said: "I think they did it on purpose, but they apologized, so I couldn't do anything."

Fu Yuanhang was perceptive; he could easily sense whether someone's intentions were good or bad. After they bumped into the cart, they laughed and apologized, but there was no sincerity in their eyes. Fu Yuanhang was furious, but since they didn't resort to violence, he had no chance to retaliate.

Before Su Taotao could get angry, Auntie Zhong was already furious: "Those troublemakers, the lesson we gave them last time wasn't enough. No, we need to talk to their parents again."

Su Taotao said: "No rush, let's go eat first, don't stand here."

Su Taotao took out a handkerchief to wipe the child's tears. The child loved his big conch so much, pouting and hiccuping as he cried: "Mommy~~ Conch~~ Hic~~ Broken~~ Wuwuwu~~"

Su Taotao kissed his cheek: "It's okay, when the sun is almost down, mommy will take you to find a bigger and more beautiful conch, okay?"

Chenchen shook his head, still crying with snot and tears: "No~~ Don't want~~ Want that one~~"

No matter how well-behaved and smart Chenchen was, he was only two years old. It was normal for him to be upset after losing his favorite thing for the first time. Su Taotao had to say: "Chenchen, when you went to the beach with daddy, did you see lots and lots of conches?"

"Mm~~" Chenchen nodded.

Su Taotao continued: "How about this, we won't look for a bigger and more beautiful one, but let's go see if among all those conches, there's one exactly like the one Chenchen had before, okay?"

Chenchen stopped crying, sniffling: "Is~~ Is there~~?"

Su Taotao said softly: "Mommy doesn't know, so we have to go look. What if there is one? Right?"

Chenchen nodded reluctantly: "Okay... uh... Dongdong..."

Su Taotao wiped Chenchen's tears, her heart aching, and said to Dongdong, "Dongdong, don't cry either. Let's go look for seashells together later, okay?"

Dongdong wasn’t really upset. Kids are like that; when one starts crying, the other is sure to follow, perhaps even more pitifully.

Dongdong nodded: "Uh... okay."

Xia Zhiqiu had originally planned to take him over the weekend, but they woke up late that morning, and the weather was too hot. Dongdong, being forgetful, later forgot about it and didn’t end up going.

Today, the cafeteria had a dish that both children loved—shrimp and tofu stew. By lunchtime, they had mostly calmed down.

Their eyes were still red and puffy, looking pitiful and heart-wrenching.

Fu Yuanhang said quietly, "Sister-in-law, earlier Cheng Hongyi and Li Junxiong said their mothers are also going to be plant managers and have submitted some plans."

At that time, Cheng Hongyi and Li Junxiong looked particularly smug, deliberately saying it right in front of him. Their exact words were, "Don’t think your sister-in-law being a plant manager is such a big deal. My mom also submitted a plan and is about to become a plant manager too. My real mom—your sister-in-law’s nothing."

When the last class ended, they started roughhousing. He was on high alert, always protecting Chenchen, but they still managed to bump into Chenchen's cart, right when Chenchen had just picked up the seashell to listen to the sound of the waves.

Chenchen fumbled and dropped the seashell near Dongdong's feet. Both children loved that seashell, and seeing it shatter before their eyes, Chenchen knew he had almost hit Dongdong. How could he not burst into tears?

But they just laughed and said, "Oops, sorry, we didn’t mean to."

At that moment, Fu Yuanhang really wanted to hit them, but he knew he couldn’t. His sister-in-law had warned him that if he threw the first punch, even if he was in the right, it would turn wrong. Plus, with Chenchen and Dongdong there, he couldn’t possibly strike first and had to endure it.

Su Taotao had only met Zhou Xiaoyan before, who didn’t seem like someone who could take on a big role. She hadn’t met the other two, so it was hard to judge, but mothers who raised their children like this didn’t leave a good impression on Su Taotao.

Su Taotao said, "There’s no rule saying there can only be one factory on the island. The capable should rise to the top. Starting another factory to create more jobs and increase the base’s revenue is a good thing."

Auntie Zhong laughed upon hearing this: "Those few want to open a factory? Honestly, even if they came to apply, they’d be the first to be rejected. They really don’t care if people laugh at them."

Su Taotao and Xia Zhiqiu said in unison, "Why?"

...