“Mom, Fan Eryong touched this cup. I suspect he must have put something in it!”
That’s exactly how it was written in the original book—there was a love potion inside, which led to them being discovered getting intimate in the office. Tong Jiahui couldn’t defend herself and had to hastily marry Fan Eryong to quell the scandal.
“How can people be so wicked!” Tong Jiahui’s expression darkened.
After her husband’s sacrifice, there were indeed men who had designs on her, but once she rejected them, they gave up. Only Fan Eryong seemed incapable of understanding human language, always trying to get close to her!
Tong Jiahui was 38 this year, had attended university, and was beautiful. Therefore, there were still men in the factory of similar age, either single or widowed, who wanted to marry her.
Not only was she exceptionally attractive and had a good job, but the compensation her husband left for her after his death amounted to three thousand yuan—enough to tempt some people.
It was also rumored that her ancestors were nobles from the Qing dynasty, and her great-grandfather or even her grandfather had held high official positions. Surely they must have left some family wealth behind?
Because of this, even though she was widowed and had seven underage daughters, plenty of men still wanted to marry her.
Tong Yuheng: This is just the beginning; their wickedness hasn’t even fully manifested yet!
“Mom, it’s not just about Fan Eryong wanting to marry you and take advantage of our family. Fan Dayong is the wolf in human skin. The Fan Family wants to devour our family’s legacy! We all need to be careful from now on!”
“I’ll fetch some hot water for you so you can wash the blood off your neck. Is the injury serious? Maybe we should go to the hospital to get it checked and bandaged!”
“It’s fine. I got a bump on the back of my head and a little bleeding, but wiping it off will be enough. I know who did it. I’ll ambush him with a sack in a few days!”
After they cleaned up, Tong Yuheng quickly sketched a portrait of the great leader with chalk and wrote the phrase “Serve the People” in large letters, without adding overly complex content.
On another bulletin board, Tong Jiahui had basically finished writing. She added some floral patterns as embellishments, completing it smoothly!
【Why Haven’t the People Come to Catch the Cheaters Yet? Their Efficiency Is Terrible!】 Just as she was pondering this, footsteps indeed echoed from downstairs.
Leading the group was Han Ailian, the wife of Section Chief Hu from the Propaganda Department. She was also a factory employee, but worked in the workshop.
This woman was deeply jealous of Tong Jiahui’s beauty and elegance, always suspecting that since Tong Jiahui worked in the same department as her husband, she might seduce him.
Tong Jiahui’s husband, Tong Linsheng, was the head of the Security Department at the factory, a former military officer. He was handsome and capable, and despite Tong Jiahui having given birth to seven daughters without a single son, he still adored her endlessly. This drove Han Ailian into a frenzy of jealousy.
To her surprise, Tong Linsheng had sacrificed himself. Now, this widow with seven burdensome daughters was surely struggling. She had to keep her husband guarded, lest he be seduced by this beautiful widow!
Tong Yuheng: You’ve got serious issues in your head! With your husband’s pancake face, tiny squinty eyes, and unbearably ugly appearance, could my mom possibly be interested in him? Unless her eyes grew out of her belly button!
Han Ailian didn’t think this way. In the eyes of a lover, even a plain man becomes a beauty. She believed her husband was cultured and a section chief—something everyone coveted.
It seemed she had heard something from somewhere, saying that her Old Hu and Tong Jiahui were both working overtime, and she just couldn't sit still. She even called a few women who were close to her and also somewhat jealous of Tong Jiahui to come and "catch them in the act"!
As long as she saw Old Hu and this woman in the same office, she would rush over and slap her, throw dirty water on her, and have the leader transfer her out of this department!
This group of women came swarming over, only to find the mother and daughter who had just finished the bulletin board and were packing up to go home.
"Tong Jiahui, have you been here the whole time?"
"Oh, it's Sister Han! My daughter and I have been here all along. Are you looking for me? Is there something you need?"
Tong Jiahui looked at her changing expressions and, thinking of Fan Eryong's actions earlier, realized that this lunatic Han Ailian had been used as a pawn by someone!
The troublemaker had even used a chain of schemes: on one side, they injured her daughter to keep her from showing up; on the other, Fan Eryong drugged her, and when the drug was estimated to take effect, they stirred people up to catch them in the act!
Was she, a woman nearing forty, worth all this trouble?
"Oh, I heard my Old Hu was working overtime, so I came to call him home to carry coal briquettes! He's not here?" Han Ailian didn't see her husband, so she couldn't make a scene.
"I don't know, I haven't seen him. We've been here working on the bulletin board since around noon. Maybe we didn't notice, but he might be in his own office?"
Old Hu's office was on the other side of the staircase. If he had gone straight to his room when he came in, it would be normal for them not to see him.
Han Ailian took the women to Old Hu's office, but the door was locked. Peering through the window glass, there was no one inside!
Unwilling to give up, she checked both the men's and women's restrooms and, finding no one, left with the women. Hearing them go downstairs, Tong Yuheng glared fiercely at them!
These women were the factory's notorious gossipmongers, always chattering about this family's affairs or that family's business.
On such a bitterly cold day, instead of staying home, they had nothing better to do than wag their tongues! They couldn't stand to see others doing well and were just waiting for Tong Jiahui to fall into misfortune!
"Sister Han, who told you Old Hu and Tong Jiahui were working overtime together? Wasn't that person just pulling your leg?" one woman asked.
"It was the Fan family daughter who said it! She said she was going to play with the Tong family's eldest daughter, and her mother and the unit leader were working overtime to draw. She even wanted to come over later to take a look! Isn't their leader my Old Hu?"
"The Fan family girl? She's no good either. I've seen several boys in the residential area buzzing around her like flies on rotten meat. You shouldn't listen to her!"
"That damn girl spouting nonsense almost made me lose face! Just wait, I'll deal with her!" Han Ailian seemed to realize she had been played.
"I advise you not to provoke her. Her father is now a team leader in the factory's G Committee, and he can make life miserable for people. We can't afford to cross him!" another auntie quickly said.
"You think she's hard to deal with? Do you think the Tong family's eldest is any easier? Almost every troublemaker around her age in the compound has been beaten up by her—she's fiercer than any wild boy!
My son was beaten black and blue that time, and her father even came to our door demanding an apology from my son! Was my son wrong? Their family is just a bunch of barren women, giving birth to a bunch of worthless girls. And they even have the nerve to call them the Seven Fairies—what a joke!"
Tong Yuheng stood on the open balcony corridor, watching a group of people walk away. Her hearing was sharp, and she had caught every word of their mocking remarks about her family. Fine, she’d remember every one of them!
Mother and daughter went into the small side room and dragged Fan Eryong out. By then, he had woken up and was whimpering, begging Tong Yuheng to let him go.
"Fan Eryong, I can guess about eighty to ninety percent of what you were scheming today. You slipped something into my mother’s cup, didn’t you? Let me guess—what kind of drug was it?"