Lu Guihua quietly said to He Yingying, “Leave this to me. Whatever I do in a moment, don’t interfere. It’s all an act. I’m just trying to scare her.”
With that, Lu Guihua ran over and sat down directly opposite the old woman. She immediately began slapping her thigh and wailing.
“Oh, no! The mother of Deputy Director Chen is bullying people! Her grandson beat someone up, and now they want to extort money from us! They’re bullying us workers! Oh, my heart disease is acting up! My heart hurts!”
Lu Guihua had actually seen patients with heart disease when she had gone to a major hospital in the provincial capital. She had even seen several patients have attacks where their bodies jerked uncontrollably. She didn’t know exactly what illness they had, but that didn’t stop her from copying the way they looked.
Now that she was putting on an act, she played the part perfectly. Her whole body jerked repeatedly, making it look as though she really was having a heart attack. It was frightening to watch.
Hmph! You want to compete with her? They were still far too inexperienced!
She had practiced this before!
Lu Guihua thought smugly as she continued pretending to cry.
Chen’s daughter-in-law was also there. She was holding her younger son and had begun to panic. She knew her mother-in-law’s health very well. The old woman didn’t have any illness at all.
But the elderly woman opposite them looked as though she really was about to have a heart attack.
If something actually happened and someone died, her husband might not blame his own mother, but he would definitely blame her.
Thinking of this, she quickly put her son down, turned around, and tried to persuade her mother-in-law. She then helped the old woman to her feet.
Chen’s mother had originally intended to keep sitting on the ground, crying and making a scene. But when she looked at the old woman across from her, she became frightened too.
What if the woman really did have a heart attack?
Lu Guihua saw this and immediately began gasping for breath. It looked as though she might pass out at any moment.
Even in that state, she struggled to speak in broken sentences.
“Today… even if I… die… die right here… I still… still have to… get justice… We can’t let… the deputy director’s… family… bully people…”
As she spoke in fits and starts, she even reached out and grabbed Chen’s mother’s clothes.
“You… you can’t… don’t even think… think about running away!”
Chen’s mother had never encountered anything like this before.
The villagers she had seen throwing tantrums in the past would sit on the ground, roll around, cry, and shout at the top of their lungs. But none of them had ever looked as though they were genuinely about to die.
What was wrong with this old woman?
Could she really be sick?
At that thought, Chen’s mother became frightened too. She no longer cared about pretending to be unwell. Getting away from this sickly-looking old woman was far more important.
She couldn’t let herself get blamed if something happened!
With that, she practically jumped three feet away and dragged her grandson with her.
Where was the fearless old woman who had just been sitting on the ground, shouting that she was sick?
He Yingying quickly went over to support Lu Guihua. She gave a cold snort.
“The mother of Deputy Director Chen is someone ordinary workers like us simply can’t afford to offend. It’s a good thing she got up. Otherwise, if something had happened, wouldn’t Deputy Director Chen have crushed ordinary workers like us?
“My father-in-law went on a business trip with Director Wen, and my husband was also sent away on business. There are only my mother-in-law and me at home, along with our little daughter.
“Now our daughter was bullied at kindergarten. And because the other child’s family has a deputy factory director, we’re the ones being threatened with punishment!
“When Director Wen comes back, I’m definitely going to ask him about this.
“Workers leave their own families behind and spend half a month or more away on business, working tirelessly for the factory’s development and traveling everywhere to do their jobs. Yet when they’re gone, is this how the factory’s senior leaders treat the families they’ve left behind?
“They let their family members use the deputy director’s position to bully us widows and orphans and frighten a little girl who isn’t even four years old.
“If all the factory leaders behave like this, then in the future, which worker will still dare to leave his family behind and travel around for the sake of the factory?”
Lu Guihua, now supported by He Yingying, continued acting as though she was weak and on the verge of collapsing. She looked as though she would lie right back down if the other side didn’t give her an explanation.
Chen’s wife felt that He Yingying was deliberately making a big issue out of this. She wasn’t sure whether this woman would actually dare to take such a minor matter to the factory director.
But she still felt uneasy.
What if this woman really wasn’t afraid of retaliation and actually went to Director Wen?
Her husband cared deeply about his reputation. If this incident caused him to lose face, he would definitely be angry.
And there was also that sickly-looking old woman watching them like a hawk.
At the same time, Chen’s wife was furious with He Yingying for refusing to let the matter go.
What a formidable woman!
In the past, whenever she and her mother-in-law mentioned her husband’s position as deputy factory director, the other side would immediately become frightened.
Not every worker was as bold as this woman. She actually dared to offend a deputy factory director!
But there was no point thinking about that now.
The most important thing was to settle the matter first. Once they returned home, she would tell her husband everything and have him make things difficult for that woman.
They were all workers at the steel factory. She refused to believe they couldn’t teach He Yingying a lesson.
Gritting her teeth, Chen’s wife said, “My mother-in-law was just too emotional earlier. And this was partly my son’s fault too. He didn’t explain the situation clearly, so his grandmother thought he had been bullied and stepped in to defend him.
“That’s just how elderly people are. They love their grandchildren.
“How about we each take a step back? My son was beaten, but let’s just treat it as a lesson for him. We won’t ask you to pay any compensation either. Let’s consider the matter settled.”
He Yingying sneered.
As expected, they only bullied people they thought were weak.
Her daughter had been the one who was bullied and had merely fought back. There was no reason for them to pay anything in the first place.
Yet now they were making it sound as though they were the ones giving up something.
Money didn’t matter to her.
But when she hadn’t been there earlier, these people had been so arrogant and had even wanted to punish her daughter.
Her entire family had to apologize to her daughter.
She absolutely refused to let her child suffer any injustice.
“No. You have to apologize. Otherwise, we’ll ask the factory director to come and settle this.”
Chen’s wife felt a surge of anger.
She hadn’t expected this woman to be so unreasonable even when she clearly had the upper hand.
But she was afraid that He Yingying really would take the matter to Director Wen, which could affect her husband.
After all, their side was clearly in the wrong.
In the end, she gritted her teeth, took her son’s hand, and walked over to the little girl.
“Um… Auntie wants to say she’s sorry to you.”
Then she turned to her son.
“Guoqing, apologize to her!”
The chubby Chen Guoqing had been spoiled rotten. How could he possibly be willing to apologize?
With his eye swollen, he cried out, “I’m not apologizing to some useless girl! When I get home, I’m going to tell Dad! I’ll have him deal with her!”
Eldest Brother He frowned at those words and stepped forward.
“Watch your mouth! If a child talked like that back in our village, he’d get his mouth slapped. Are city people really worse at teaching their children than we are in the countryside?”
Eldest Brother He was tall and heavily built, and his fierce expression frightened the little boy so much that he immediately hid behind his mother.
When Qiao Jia Jia heard that, she immediately felt that her punch earlier had been too light.
That little fatty was really annoying!
She looked at her mother and her two uncles.
Her side had more people, and they were clearly in the right. On top of that, the little fatty didn’t seem to think he’d done anything wrong. He was still acting arrogantly.
Qiao Jia Jia felt that if she didn’t tell her mother what had happened, she would be doing a disservice to that little brat’s “useless girl” comment.
So Qiao Jia Jia ran out of the protective circle formed by her classmates and went to her mother.
“Mom, when I told Chen Guoqing to apologize to Jiang Jiang today, he called me a useless girl. He said girls who aren’t worth anything deserve to be beaten.
“He also said our family has no sons left, so our family line will end and we won’t have anyone to carry on the family name!”
When He Yingying heard this, her heart ached even more for her daughter.
She immediately picked Jia Jia up.
“Our Jia Jia isn’t some useless girl. You’re the treasure of our family!
“You were right to hit him back today. If anyone bullies you in the future, don’t be afraid. Hit them back. Mom will always stand up for you.”
When Teacher Tao had explained the whole situation earlier, she had mentioned that the chubby boy was in the middle kindergarten class.
Considering that most children at that time didn’t start kindergarten until they were three or four, he was probably no more than five years old.
There was no way he had come up with those words himself.
Someone in his family must have repeatedly said those things in front of him, which was why he remembered them.
He Yingying had always known that Deputy Director Chen and her father-in-law didn’t get along.
It was one thing for him to insult the adults.
But she had never imagined that the family would frequently insult her daughter too—a little girl who wasn’t even four years old.
Her father-in-law, on the other hand, had never said anything bad about Deputy Director Chen at home.
With a smile that didn’t reach her eyes, He Yingying said to Chen’s wife, “So this is what you teach your child at home?
“I didn’t realize my daughter had done anything to offend your family.
“We absolutely will not settle this privately.
“Either your entire family apologizes, and I mean everyone—not one person missing—or I’ll make sure everyone hears about how Deputy Director Chen’s family teaches their child to insult people every day and how they use their position to bully others.”
He Yingying truly wasn’t afraid of retaliation from the deputy factory director.
Deputy Director Chen already hated her father-in-law, yet hadn’t been able to do anything to him.
As long as Director Wen was still in charge, Chen, one of the five deputy factory directors, could never have complete control over the steel factory.
After hearing this, Chen’s mother was about to start making another scene.
But when she saw the old woman opposite her once again gasping and clutching her chest, she immediately stopped.
She didn’t dare go over.
She was afraid the old woman would grab her clothes again and refuse to let her leave.
Chen’s wife had never expected to encounter someone so difficult this time.
She had no choice.
After whispering a long string of persuasive words into her mother-in-law’s ear, she finally managed to convince the old woman to apologize with her.
Without his grandmother backing him up, Chen Guoqing no longer dared to act arrogantly either.
He could only follow his mother’s instructions and apologize to that annoying little girl.
But deep down, he was already planning to go home and complain to his father.
Seeing the entire family of three finally apologize, He Yingying finally felt that some of her anger had been released.
Lu Guihua, however, thought Qiao Shifu’s daughter-in-law was far too soft-hearted.
They should have made the other side pay some money too!
Hmph! They had frightened a little girl half to death and thought an apology was enough?
Shouldn’t there at least be some compensation?
Still, not asking for money wasn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Otherwise, after leaving the kindergarten, the other side might refuse to acknowledge what had happened. They could then claim that since they had already paid money, the matter was settled and therefore couldn’t be considered bullying through their position.
If people brought the matter up later, they could use the compensation as an excuse to defend themselves.
Meanwhile, Qiao Jia Jia was nestled in her mother’s arms.
She thought that although the little fatty had apologized, he definitely hadn’t meant it sincerely.
Fortunately, He Xiaojun had helped hold him down at the time and had also kicked him several extra times.
That had helped her vent some of her anger.
Then she looked at Teacher Jin, who had been so flattering toward Chen’s family.
Qiao Jia Jia felt that it would be a waste not to kick someone while they were down.
She had never claimed to have a particularly nice personality.
She was petty and held grudges.
Taking her time, she said, “Mom, Teacher Jin said earlier that I’d grow up to be a female hooligan.
“Everyone says hooligans are bad people. I don’t want to become a hooligan when I grow up!”
Before He Yingying could even get angry, Second Brother He clenched his fists until his knuckles cracked.
With a lazy grin, he said, “So this is how teachers in the city behave?
“You can just say something like that about a little girl?
“Back in our village, if anyone dared to slander a girl’s reputation like that, her entire family would come to your house and beat you up.
“Our Jia Jia may only be a little over three years old, but her reputation is still important.
“I don’t think you’re a teacher. I think you’re just a gossip!
“You’re even worse than the old women in our village when it comes to spreading rumors.
“Apologize to my niece right now.
“Otherwise, just wait. I’ll come to your house every day and shout that you’re a female hooligan. Then I’ll see what your neighbors think of you!”
Teacher Jin was the kind of person who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
Now she saw a burly man nearly six feet tall approaching her with clenched fists.
She was terrified.
On top of that, Chen’s family had already apologized, while this huge man had just threatened her.
She immediately knew which way the wind was blowing.
“Um… Comrade Qiao Jia Jia, I’m sorry. Teacher Jin was wrong!”
He Yingying had already been dissatisfied with Teacher Jin from the beginning.
The teacher had refused to distinguish right from wrong and had immediately blamed her daughter.
Chen’s family was detestable, but this teacher wasn’t any better.
He Yingying was grateful that Teacher Tao was Jia Jia’s teacher.
If Jia Jia had ended up with someone like Teacher Jin, she didn’t even want to imagine how many grievances her daughter might have suffered.
“Please make sure Teacher Tao tells the kindergarten director exactly what happened today, from beginning to end.
“Teacher Jin’s behavior of casually slandering a student must be punished.
“If the director refuses to do anything, I’ll come here every day to make a complaint. If necessary, I’ll take it to the authorities above the kindergarten.”
He Yingying spoke without expression.
Getting Teacher Jin fired was probably impossible.
At that time, unless a worker had committed an extremely serious offense, workers couldn’t simply be dismissed.
The kindergarten was run by the steel factory, so its teachers received treatment similar to factory workers. Even if Teacher Jin were fired, she could still take the matter to the trade union and make a fuss.
But at the very least, Teacher Jin needed to receive some form of disciplinary action.
Lu Guihua immediately added, “If the director doesn’t deal with it, I’ll go cry at the director’s doorstep every single day.”
Teacher Tao had just witnessed the “fighting power” of this elderly woman.
She estimated that even the kindergarten director would be frightened.
If they weren’t careful, they could genuinely end up with this old woman causing a death scare right at their doorstep.
Surely the director would make the sensible choice.
At least, Teacher Tao hoped so.
She replied, “Don’t worry. I’ll definitely report this matter to the director.”
Teacher Tao had been the one protecting Jia Jia when He Yingying wasn’t there.
He Yingying didn’t want to make things difficult for her, so she didn’t pursue the matter any further.
Instead, she said, “Jia Jia was badly frightened today. Would it be all right if I took her home early?”
Teacher Tao immediately nodded.
“Of course, of course. Comrade Qiao Jia Jia really did suffer quite a lot of grievances today. Please comfort her well when you get home.”
From her mother’s arms, Qiao Jia Jia quietly asked, “Can I say a few words to Jiang Jiang and He Xiaojun before I leave?”
He Yingying was feeling especially protective of her daughter at that moment and wanted to indulge her in everything.
She gently put Jia Jia down.
“Of course. Go ahead. Take as long as you want. Mom will wait here.”
“Okay!”
Qiao Jia Jia happily jumped down and ran toward her friends.
“Jiang Jiang, I’m going home now! See you tomorrow morning!”
Jiang Jiang had already stopped crying.
With a nasal voice, she quietly said, “Okay! Thank you for beating up the bad guy for me, Jia Jia! Tomorrow I’ll bring you some little bread to eat. My mom works at a food factory!
“And I’ll bring candy too. I’ll bring lots for you!”
The little girl was rather proud when she said this.
She could invite her best friend to eat lots of delicious sweets.
Then she turned to He Xiaojun.
“I’ll bring some for you too. And thank you for helping me!”
He Xiaojun hadn’t expected to get some food too.
Normally, Jiang Jiang didn’t like him very much because she thought he was always monopolizing Jia Jia and was closer to Jia Jia than she was.
He grinned.
“Thank you, Jiang Jiang! If we run into that little fatty again, I’ll protect you again!”
Today, He Xiaojun and Qiao Jia Jia had both beaten up Chen Guoqing.
However, perhaps because Jia Jia had been the one who punched him in the eye, the little fatty hated her the most.
In the end, Chen’s mother and grandmother had focused all their anger on Jia Jia and completely forgotten about He Xiaojun standing nearby.
Originally, He Xiaojun had been worried that his father would come pick him up after school and beat him when he found out he’d gotten into a fight.
But after hearing that Jiang Jiang would bring him delicious food tomorrow, he instantly forgot all about it and became happy again.
Before leaving, Qiao Jia Jia turned to the children in her class.
“Bye, everyone! I’m going home! See you tomorrow morning!”
The children were reluctant to see Jia Jia leave.
One by one, they craned their necks toward the kindergarten entrance, practically wishing they could follow Jia Jia home.
On the way home, Eldest Brother He and Second Brother He felt a little embarrassed.
Eldest Brother He said, “Your second brother and I didn’t really help much by coming along. This time, we have this old lady to thank.”
He Yingying also felt that Lu Guihua had helped tremendously.
If Lu Guihua hadn’t been there, she genuinely wouldn’t have known how to deal with Chen’s mother.
When an elderly person started making a scene, you couldn’t exactly argue with her.
If something really happened, who would take responsibility?
Even if they were in the right, they could easily end up being blamed instead.
“Why don’t you come over and have dinner with us tonight? I really need to thank you properly. You helped us so much!”
He Yingying held her daughter and spoke gratefully.
Lu Guihua waved her hand and laughed.
“What is there to thank me for? It was just a little thing.
“Fugui asked me to keep an eye on your family, so I was only helping a little.
“How can this compare to all the effort Master Qiao puts into teaching our Fugui every day?
“Go home and take good care of the little girl. Comfort her properly. Don’t let those adults frighten her too badly!”
Lu Guihua was laughing happily on the outside.
She was laughing even more happily on the inside.
She was absolutely delighted!
Coming along today had definitely been the right decision.
When Master Qiao came home, wouldn’t his daughter-in-law tell him about what had happened?
She had just helped her son earn a huge amount of goodwill in front of his master!
How could Master Qiao possibly forget Fugui now?
She didn’t need that meal anymore.
As long as they felt that she had genuinely helped them today, that was enough.
Eldest Brother He and Second Brother He had already stayed for quite some time, so they didn’t linger either.
After saying a few more words to their niece, they left.
It was rare for He Yingying to have another chance to sleep on the same bed while holding her daughter.
She gently patted Jia Jia’s back, helping her slowly fall asleep.
She thought her daughter must have been terribly frightened during the day.
But Qiao Jia Jia hadn’t been frightened at all.
Her mind was still replaying what had happened that afternoon.
This was the first time in this lifetime that she had hit someone.
Well… it was pretty memorable, wasn’t it?
The only problem was that she’d revealed a little too much of her fierce side.
Although she normally looked obedient and sweet, she wasn’t actually a soft-hearted person.
If someone provoked her, she really would hit them without hesitation.
But being patted by her mother and lying comfortably in her arms felt wonderful.
Before long, Qiao Jia Jia had no time left to think about those messy things.
She soon fell asleep in her mother’s arms.
That afternoon, when Qiao Zhufang returned from work at the neighborhood office and learned what had happened, her heart broke for her precious granddaughter.
She nearly rushed straight to Chen’s house to give the mother and daughter-in-law a thorough scolding!
She cursed angrily, “Hmph! As they say, birds of a feather flock together. Deputy Director Chen isn’t a good person, and sure enough, his family is exactly like him!
“Yingying, don’t worry about him using his position as deputy factory director to make things difficult for you.
“Your father is the only Level Eight master fitter in the steel factory. He still has some standing with Director Wen.
“Once Director Wen and the others return, let’s see if that Chen guy still dares to pull any tricks.
“It’s just that you might have to put up with things for a few days.
“The factory director has gone to the Canton Fair and isn’t at the factory right now.
“When the tiger is away, the monkeys become king.
“Chen Jianming is a deputy factory director, so he’ll probably enjoy throwing his weight around for a few days.”
He Yingying wasn’t afraid at all.
Someone with nothing to lose didn’t have to fear someone with everything to lose.
Chen Jianming didn’t dare fire her.
If he tried to make things difficult for her, she would simply make a scene.
And just as the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law had expected, after Chen Jianming heard about what had happened at the kindergarten from his wife and mother, he was furious.
He felt that the Qiao family was simply destined to clash with him.
It was one thing for Qiao Qiusheng to openly oppose him.
But now even Qiao Qiusheng’s daughter-in-law dared to ignore his authority as a deputy factory director and refuse to give his wife and mother any face.
To make matters worse, Qiao Qiusheng’s granddaughter had actually dared to hit his youngest son.
He felt that he absolutely had to teach them a lesson.
For the next half month or so, with Director Wen away on business and the other four deputy factory directors unwilling to oppose him, the factory was practically half under his control.
Secretly making things difficult for He Yingying wouldn’t be difficult at all.
And sure enough, He Yingying soon began to clearly feel the pressure at work.
It seemed that the leaders in the logistics department had been bought off by Chen Jianming.
But she wasn’t afraid.
Whenever something made her uncomfortable or one of her superiors suddenly changed their attitude toward her, she would deliberately raise her voice.
“Is this because I offended Deputy Director Chen before? Are you deliberately making things difficult for me?
“Everyone, take note!
“In the future, whether it’s you or your family members, whenever you see Deputy Director Chen, make sure you stay out of his way!
“If you can’t avoid him, just stand there and let him bully you. Whatever you do, don’t fight back!
“Otherwise, you’ll end up like me, with your own leaders making things difficult for you!”
What had originally been an unspoken rule that everyone understood suddenly became awkward once He Yingying said it aloud.
The logistics department leader could only give an embarrassed smile.
“How could that be? Everyone, don’t overthink it.”
At the same time, he thought bitterly that agreeing to help Deputy Director Chen had really landed him in a difficult situation.
He could only hope that Deputy Director Chen would keep his promise and promote him more often in the future.
After that, no matter what reason the leader used to criticize He Yingying, she always assumed he was deliberately making things difficult for her.
She immediately made a fuss about it.
After this happened several times, how could the logistics department leader dare to do anything else?
He didn’t want to lose both his dignity and reputation.
If this continued, everyone in the factory would find out exactly how Deputy Director Chen’s family used their position to bully others.
And everyone would know that he was Chen Jianming’s lackey.
Besides, whenever He Yingying was unhappy, she would bring up the kindergarten incident again.
She always dragged Deputy Director Chen into it, and as a result, the logistics department leader was quickly becoming part of the gossip too.
Unfortunately, he was guilty and couldn’t say much in response.
Whenever He Yingying was unhappy, she complained loudly, making sure every sentence mentioned Deputy Director Chen.
The unspoken practice of making things difficult for her had now been dragged into the open.
It didn’t matter whether the leader was annoyed or Chen Jianming was furious.
In this era, even a factory director couldn’t simply fire a worker at will.
And He Yingying wasn’t waiting for a promotion, nor did she need to maintain a good relationship with her superiors.
So what did she have to fear?
Of course, as a leader, there were still ways to make a worker’s life difficult even if they couldn’t fire them.
They could simply transfer the worker to another position and assign them the hardest, most exhausting work.
If the worker refused, they could accuse them of having a poor attitude toward work or ideological problems.
However, the leaders above didn’t dare go that far with He Yingying.
Compared with the subtle pressure they’d been applying, that would be too obvious.
If they did that, they would truly make an enemy of her.
Qiao Qiusheng was the steel factory’s only Level Eight master fitter.
Fitting was already one of the most respected and sought-after trades in the factory, and he was a Level Eight master at that.
Even the factory director treated Qiao Qiusheng with respect.
If Qiao Qiusheng returned and learned what had happened, he would definitely make a huge scene.
And Director Wen would certainly intervene.
After more than a week, Deputy Director Chen had apparently realized that He Yingying was not someone he could easily mess with.
He finally stopped.
He Yingying considered it a victory.
“I originally thought Heping would be back after a few peaceful days. But it turns out there’s also a technical workers’ exchange meeting over there, so he’ll have to stay for several more days.”
That evening, Qiao Zhufang spoke helplessly to her daughter-in-law.
Qiao Heping had called the neighborhood office.
Since Qiao Zhufang was now working there, making and receiving phone calls was much more convenient.
He Yingying comforted her mother-in-law.
“It’s fine. Surely the two of us can take care of ourselves at home.
“If we have to wait a few more days, then we’ll wait a few more days.
“It’s not every day that you get a business trip like this. If one finally comes along after more than half a year, then staying a few extra days isn’t a big deal.”
Qiao Zhufang nodded.
The two women continued talking for quite a while before finally going to bed.
Late at night, when everyone was asleep, the world outside was pitch-black, and hardly a person could be seen.
“It’s this house, right? The one on the far east side of the first floor?
“How much money do you think they have saved? Do you think there could be more than a thousand yuan?”
“Definitely. Didn’t you hear?
“There’s a Level Eight worker in this family. He earns 126 yuan a month!
“Good grief, I’ve never even held a hundred yuan in my hands before.
“Quit wasting time.
“Neither of the two men in charge of this household is home tonight. Let’s go inside, knock everyone unconscious, and take all their money.
“After that, we probably won’t have to worry about money for the rest of our lives!
“When you pick the lock later, be careful and keep the noise down. Don’t wake them up too early.
“If they start shouting for help, we’re finished.”