Yu Shuqin left excitedly with the truck.
Manager Wang, however, was visibly displeased. “I had such high expectations for Jiang Xiuyun.”
The others exchanged glances, none of them daring to speak. With Manager Wang already in a bad mood, no one wanted to risk saying the wrong thing and bringing trouble upon themselves.
Meanwhile, Yu Shuqin directed the driver straight to the village she had arranged beforehand. She knocked on the village head’s door.
“Village head, didn’t we agree that our Supply and Marketing Cooperative would purchase the green onions from your village? Please have the villagers harvest them tonight. Our truck is already at the fields.”
The village head yawned and waved his hand dismissively. “Comrade Yu, you’re too late. The green onions in our village have already been harvested.”
He was about to close the door when Yu Shuqin panicked. “Village head, wait! Didn’t we have an agreement? How can you go back on your word?”
The village head glared at her. “Comrade Yu, that’s not what you said before. You told me the cooperative was interested, but it would depend on the situation. Maybe you would buy them, maybe not. You told me to wait for your message.”
“We never finalized anything. There was no written agreement.”
With a loud bang, he shut the door, nearly hitting Yu Shuqin in the face.
“Village head, then who did you sell the green onions to?”
“Stop asking. I’m going to sleep. If you keep making noise, don’t blame me for being rude.”
The dogs in the village barked nonstop. Left with no choice, Yu Shuqin angrily got back into the truck and headed for the next village.
She went to five villages in a row and didn’t manage to collect a single green onion.
After being turned away five times, an uneasy feeling rose in her heart. Something wasn’t right.
Who would be buying such a large quantity of green onions? Besides Jiang Xiuyun, who else could it be?
At that thought, a chill ran down her spine. She hurriedly told the driver to turn around.
When the truck reached the Supply and Marketing Cooperative’s yard, she saw that there were no trucks inside. She let out a breath of relief. It seemed Jiang Xiuyun hadn’t returned yet.
Seeing Manager Wang walking out of the office, Yu Shuqin quickly approached him. “Manager Wang, has Jiang Xiuyun brought the green onions back? I ran into her on the way just now and had her bring them back. The 25,000 kilograms of green onions are all accounted for, not a single kilogram missing. Manager, her task is completed now, so you can rest assured.”
Manager Wang narrowed his eyes. “What do you mean you had Jiang Xiuyun bring them back?”
Yu Shuqin hurriedly corrected herself, “Manager Wang, no, no… not that I had her bring them back. I meant Jiang Xiuyun found a production team herself and purchased the green onions. I misspoke just now.”
Manager Wang looked at her with a faint, unreadable smile. “Comrade Yu, explain clearly. What exactly is going on? If you don’t make it clear, I will hold both of you accountable.”
Yu Shuqin lowered her head and spoke softly, “Manager Wang, please don’t blame Comrade Jiang. This task was assigned to both of us. If she couldn’t complete it, she would be criticized. She had no choice, so she took the 25,000 kilograms of green onions that I had purchased. I originally didn’t want to say anything, but I didn’t expect… I didn’t expect you to notice.”
She paused, then added, “Manager Wang, if you’re going to blame someone, blame me.”
The faint smile on Manager Wang’s face gradually faded. His voice turned serious. “Comrade Yu, let me ask you one more time. Exactly how many green onions did you help Jiang Xiuyun procure?”
Yu Shuqin hesitated briefly, calculating quickly in her mind. Jiang Xiuyun’s task was 25,000 kilograms. If she said 25,000 kilograms, that number shouldn’t be wrong.
“I… I helped her procure 25,000 kilograms of green onions.”
Manager Wang nodded slowly. “Oh, I see. Then I understand now. I didn’t expect Jiang Xiuyun’s overachievement of 150,000 kilograms to have nothing to do with you. Alright, Comrade Yu, I understand.”
He continued calmly, “Comrade Jiang really is something. The city’s 300,000 kilograms green onion task has already been arranged. This time it’s 150,000 kilograms, and next time there will be another 150,000 kilograms. Yet she still remembered to include you in this task. It seems she knows how to unite her colleagues.”
“I wasn’t wrong about her. Not only did she exceed the task, but she also anticipated things leadership hadn’t considered and acted on them. She didn’t just complete her own task—she even helped her colleagues complete theirs.”
“She’s truly a promising leader.”
As soon as Manager Wang finished speaking, Yu Shuqin was stunned. Her mind buzzed, and only one number echoed within it… 150,000 kilograms.
She stammered, “Ma… Manager Wang, what… what did you just say? Jiang… Jiang Xiuyun completed 150,000 kilograms?”
“Of course. She came back late because she arranged for additional trucks to transport all 150,000 kilograms together. With the snowfall coming, this batch can be delivered to the city in time, avoiding any delays on the road.”
“More importantly, it’s not just these 150,000 kilograms. Comrade Jiang has already arranged for continuous overnight harvesting. The remaining 150,000 kilograms might also make it to the city before the snow falls.”
“I didn’t expect her to be so capable. She managed to coordinate with all the villages in advance and completed the city’s task ahead of time.”
“Manager Wang… this can’t be possible. How could Jiang Xiuyun… how could she possibly collect 150,000 kilograms of green onions?”
Just as she spoke, Jiang Xiuyun appeared, one hand supporting her lower back as she walked out from inside the building. Her expression was calm, with a faint smile on her face.
Looking at Yu Shuqin, she said, “Comrade Yu, I didn’t see any 25,000 kilograms of green onions from you. When did you give them to me?”
She paused slightly, then added, “Did we miss each other? If so, I can send someone with you to collect them.”
Manager Wang turned to look at Yu Shuqin. By now, the others in the room had also come out. Clearly, they had heard everything just now.
Everyone looked at Yu Shuqin with strange expressions. Who would have thought she had tried to stab Jiang Xiuyun in the back?
Luckily, they had heard it themselves. Otherwise, they might have continued to think she was a good person.
Yu Shuqin’s face flushed red instantly. “I… I…”
This lie was too easy to expose. All Manager Wang had to do was ask the driver, and he certainly wouldn’t cover for her.
“I… I haven’t finalized the arrangements yet.”
Manager Wang glanced at her with disdain. “Comrade Yu, if you haven’t finalized anything, how can you speak such nonsense? Saying Jiang Xiuyun already brought back 25,000 kilograms of green onions… isn’t that framing a colleague?”
“Work should be done honestly and steadily. You can’t try to claim credit for others’ achievements, nor should you play such petty tricks.”
“Fortunately, Comrade Jiang had already brought the green onions back and was inside with everyone. Otherwise, if I had misunderstood her because of your words, what would have happened?”
“People like you are afraid of unity among colleagues and always want to stir up trouble behind the scenes.”
“Comrade Yu, your behavior is disgraceful. I hope you learn from this and never let it happen again.”
He then turned to Jiang Xiuyun. “Comrade Jiang, as the future director of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative, you must maintain strict standards with your team. People like this must not be tolerated.”
With that, Jiang Xiuyun’s position as director was practically set in stone.
Yu Shuqin nearly collapsed to the ground.