Chapter 70 Misunderstanding

Chapter 70: A Misunderstanding

Shang Fushun’s mother wants to report Director Fang?

Xie Xinyi hadn’t heard Shang Fushun's name in a long time, and neither had Sister Liu. When Xiao Jiang mentioned that Shang Fushun’s mother intended to report Director Fang, everyone turned their attention to Xiao Jiang.

Feeling a bit uncomfortable under their gazes, Xiao Jiang asked in confusion, “Wh-what’s wrong?”

She had taken half a day off the previous afternoon, with Cui Jun’s permission, to go to the hospital for a check-up due to some stomach pain. But as soon as she stepped out, she ran into Shang Fushun’s mother.

The old woman, who had somehow found out where Xiao Jiang currently lived, saw her husband helping her out and immediately flew into a rage like a mad cow. Not only did she hurl insults at Xiao Jiang, but after being restrained by Xiao Jiang’s husband, she even threatened to report both Xiao Jiang and Fang Mingan.

Report her and Director Fang?

At the time, Xiao Jiang was puzzled by the old woman’s words. It wasn’t until the neighbors helped drive her away that her husband figured it out.

“It’s probably because I divorced her son so decisively. She thought I had found a powerful backer. Plus, not long after my divorce from Shang Fushun, he once saw me with Director Fang.”

Sister Liu and Xie Xinyi knew about the incident where Xiao Jiang ran into Director Fang while shopping at the department store after her divorce. They were also there that day, though not with Xiao Jiang—they were in another section, about ten meters away.

At that time, Xiao Jiang had just gotten divorced, and Xie Xinyi and Sister Liu had been keeping her company for a few days.

Director Fang happened to be there buying a gift for his niece and ran into Xiao Jiang, who was picking out fabric for her mother at a shelf.

Xiao Jiang exchanged a few polite words with Fang Mingan upon seeing her superior. Unfortunately, Shang Fushun happened to be there with his Li Xiaofang, shopping for their unborn child.

Shang Fushun even greeted Fang Mingan at the time. When Xie Xinyi and the others joined them later, Xiao Jiang mentioned how awkward the encounter was. Little did they know that that jerk had been plotting something like this behind their backs.

Reporting Xiao Jiang and Director Fang—what a twisted idea Shang Fushun’s mother had come up with.

After being driven away by Xiao Jiang’s husband, the old woman even pointed at him and shouted that he had picked up a "worn-out shoe" as a treasure, which really infuriated Xiao Jiang.

On her way to the factory to report the incident, Xiao Jiang thought hard about why Shang Fushun’s mother would do such a thing and finally concluded that it was likely a reaction to the Li Xiaofang incident.

She had heard from relatives that after Li Xiaofang’s lover came to Beijing and beat up Shang Fushun, the Shang family kicked Li Xiaofang and her child out.

They were convinced the child wasn’t Shang Fushun’s, and shortly after the divorce, Shang’s mother found a new wife for her son.

The woman was from their hometown, with a well-proportioned figure that suggested she’d be fertile. Shang’s mother had carefully chosen this wife, hoping she would give the Shang family a healthy grandson. But after more than half a year, the woman showed no signs of pregnancy.

Anxious, Shang’s mother made Shang Fushun divorce her.

However, the woman was no pushover. Not only did she take many valuable things from the Shang family during the divorce, but she also publicly insulted Shang Fushun in front of the neighbors, saying he wasn’t a real man.

And she didn’t mean it metaphorically.

The woman had been married several times and had given birth to multiple children. She was far more blunt than Xiao Jiang, comparing herself to a laying hen and claiming that Shang Fushun lacked the "seed" to produce offspring.

Shang’s mother was so angry she stayed in bed for days. The neighbors thought the woman’s words were too harsh, but soon after returning from the divorce, she married another man and, five months later, proudly paraded her pregnant belly in front of Shang Fushun’s house for several days.

The facts spoke for themselves.

Now, the whole neighborhood knew that the Shang family’s eldest son was infertile. Shang’s mother, driven mad with rage, not only harassed Li Xiaofang but also sought out Xiao Jiang after learning she had been seen chatting and laughing with Fang Mingan, cursing her as a "worn-out shoe."

The Shang family was shameless, but fortunately, Xiao Jiang’s husband was level-headed. He didn’t believe their accusations and instead quickly sent Shang’s mother away. He even helped Xiao Jiang analyze the situation and urged her to report it to the factory.

Xiao Jiang had married the right man this time, but she was too late.

Upon learning that Director Fang had been taken away early that morning, she stood frozen in guilt. “It’s all my fault. If I hadn’t greeted the factory director that day…”

Maybe none of this would have happened.

The young woman’s face fell, tears welling in her eyes. Xie Xinyi quickly stepped forward to comfort her.

“Even if you hadn’t greeted the factory director that day, Shang Fushun and his mother would still have found a way to cause trouble. This is not your fault at all.”

“That’s right,” Sister Liu chimed in. “You can’t stop them from doing evil.”

These people had dirty minds and saw everything through a dirty lens.

You couldn’t control what they thought, and you couldn’t avoid it either.

As for their false accusations against Director Fang, Xie Xinyi felt they shouldn’t panic yet. It was better to wait for more information.

Although Shang Fushun’s mother claimed she would report them, Xie Xinyi thought about the timeline and felt something didn’t quite add up.

Moreover, the reason Shang’s mother gave for reporting Director Fang seemed inconsistent with what Deputy Director Yuan had said.

She comforted Xiao Jiang, advising her not to get too upset for the sake of her unborn child, and suggested they all act as if nothing had happened for the time being.

The factory director being taken away for questioning was like a general being captured during a war—the more people knew, the more morale would suffer.

Especially now, when they were swamped with production tasks.

Both the Nonstaple Food Workshop and the Frozen Products Workshop had key projects to complete. Regardless of why Director Fang had been taken away, they had to ensure production continued smoothly.

Xie Xinyi understood the timeline. Although she didn’t know the exact reason for Director Fang’s detainment, she was certain it had nothing to do with production issues.

She urged everyone to keep their cool and wait for the outcome. Yuan Kang and Old Liu had said the same thing when they came to instruct Cui Jun.

“Focus on organizing production for now. We’ll discuss the rest when Xiao Yuan and I return.”

Having joined the factory at a young age and weathered many storms over the years, Liu Yinsheng had seen it all.

During the most tense years, he and Fang Mingan had survived together. Now that the situation was improving, he refused to believe that the authorities would convict Fang Mingan of fabricated charges based on mere allegations.

Liu Yinsheng wasn’t superstitious. After giving his instructions, he took Yuan Kang to do some digging.

Xie Xinyi and the others waited on edge in the workshop, pretending to carry on with production as usual while secretly worrying about Director Fang.

After two days of nervous waiting, Old Liu finally brought news just before quitting time in the evening.

“It’s nothing. They just questioned him.”

When Old Liu shared what he had learned, Xie Xinyi and the others finally breathed a sigh of relief.

“Making such a big deal out of a simple questioning,” Cui Jun grumbled, recalling the scene Sister Liu had described. “I thought someone was scheming behind the scenes again.”

During the stricter years, many people had stabbed others in the back with false accusations. The previous factory directors had fallen victim to such plots, so when Cui Jun heard Director Fang had been taken away, he assumed it was another case of sabotage.

He was about to say he had overthought it when Old Liu nodded and looked over. “Someone was indeed making trouble behind the scenes, but fortunately, Xiao Xie had taken precautions.”

Xie Xinyi had taken precautions?

Everyone present turned to look at her.

Xie Xinyi: "..."

After mulling it over, "When was that?"

Seeing her confusion, Liu Yinsheng reminded her, "That time Liu Zhenzhu stole the factory's corn ice cream."

Although she wasn't caught red-handed, Xie Xinyi had set up precautions beforehand. Not only did she tweak the packaging and labels, but she also rigged the freezer in the finished product storage room.

Colophony powder easily causes skin allergies and, without proper handling, is hard to wash off quickly.

Because it was harmless to people, Xie Xinyi used it on the freezer when setting a trap for the traitor, thinking that anyone attempting to steal the samples would inevitably come into contact with the colophony powder she had applied to the freezer door.

That day, when Liu Zhenzhu lingered without inspecting herself, both Xie Xinyi and Old Liu were suspicious but let her go.

Originally, they planned to use her own scheme against her, and while their plan succeeded, they never expected Liu Zhenzhu to retaliate by filing a complaint against the factory leadership instead.

It was Liu Zhenzhu who directly reported Director Fang!

When Old Liu revealed this, not only were Cui Jun and the others shocked, but even Xie Xinyi was taken by surprise.

Liu Zhenzhu accused Director Fang of corruption and misconduct, alleging he had improper relationships with multiple female subordinates. She also claimed that Director Fang was radical, ignored advice, and showed favoritism within the factory.

Her accusations sounded sincere, and she protested daily, making such a fuss that the authorities had no choice but to summon Fang Mingan for questioning.

The questioning was just that—civil and respectful, without any coercion or harsh treatment. They even allowed Fang Mingan and Liu Zhenzhu to face off on the spot.

"During the confrontation, Fang Mingan accused Liu Zhenzhu of stealing state property, but she stubbornly denied it," Old Liu said, turning to Xie Xinyi. "Fortunately, you had informed Director Fang about your precautions in advance. The colophony powder still on Liu Zhenzhu’s hands became the best evidence of her theft."

Old Liu detailed the whole confrontation as he had heard it from Fang Mingan. After everyone grasped the situation, they heaped praise on Xie Xinyi. Xie Xinyi herself hadn’t expected that her initial plan to catch the traitor would end up helping Director Fang at a critical moment.

Liu Zhenzhu, the guilty party, filed first. Not only did she fail to drag Fang Mingan down, but she ended up solidifying her own guilt for theft.

Few people had known about her theft of the new product formula from Guohui Food Factory. If she had kept quiet, she could have pretended nothing happened, found a job in Beijing, and lived a peaceful life.

But she, accustomed to arrogance and unable to tolerate humiliation, blamed all her misfortunes on Guohui after Hongguang Food Factory failed to deliver on their promises.

Recalling the humiliation of being inspected at the workshop entrance, Fang Mingan firing her, the way her colleagues looked at her, and Xie Jianjun’s attitude after her father’s downfall…

She decided to smash the broken pot—if she was going down, she’d take others with her.

Thus, Director Fang became her first target.

Xie Xinyi guessed that Liu Zhenzhu’s real target was probably her, since the formula Liu Zhenzhu tried to steal belonged to Xie Xinyi, and Xie Xinyi was present when she was caught.

Being suppressed and mocked by someone she once looked down upon must have filled Liu Zhenzhu with hatred.

If she wanted to drag someone down, Xie Xinyi would undoubtedly be her first choice. However, Xie Xinyi had someone escorting her to and from work, and her husband was not someone to be trifled with.

Liu Zhenzhu didn’t dare confront her directly, so she vented all her resentment on Director Fang instead.

"How dare she report him?" Xiao Jiang exclaimed after hearing Old Liu’s account.

But despite her shock, she finally felt relieved.

Knowing that it was Liu Zhenzhu who reported Director Fang, and not Shang Fushun’s mother, lifted a weight off Xiao Jiang’s heart.

Freed from guilt, she spent a good while cursing the traitorous Liu Zhenzhu. Xie Xinyi and Sister Liu also lamented the situation for days.

The whole mess ended after Liu Zhenzhu was sent for labor reform. Just as Xie Xinyi thought she could finally focus on her pregnancy after completing the last batch of production, an unexpected visitor showed up at her door.