Zhang Hongfa quickly approached Guo Wenxiu as soon as he saw her coming, pouring out about the chaotic events that had occurred in the village today, his mind still buzzing,
"Exactly, Director Guo, you have no idea what happened today. Everything was fine when I left in the morning, but now my head is killing me. Lu Yonggang got drunk again and went to the workshop to hit his wife, and some old women made trouble, saying they wanted to replace Shen Meng with Zhou Jiaojiao in charge. Isn’t that a mess? The textile factory, the Cooperative Society, and the Soviet acknowledge only Shen Meng. Director Guo, the village chief didn’t mention anything else, just this workshop. From beginning to end, Shen Meng didn’t gain a cent of benefit from it, but we three end up getting an extra fifteen yuan each month. If the person in charge changes, what kind of people would we become? How could we explain to the Director? How could we face Shen Meng and Zhenping?!"
"Hongfa, this isn’t the time to talk about this. We need a good discussion. Harsh words aren’t what we should be saying right now. The most important thing is how we solve this issue. Oh dear, it was too chaotic at the time. If it weren’t for Lu Yonggang suddenly barging into the workshop and hitting people, Shen Meng wouldn’t have come back to intervene, and those old women wouldn’t have started making trouble. This isn’t something we can clarify in a moment, and there were even people from other villages watching. If I dealt with it harshly, wouldn’t that just make us the laughing stock of the neighboring villages?"
Guo Wenxiu looked at Lu Debang, utterly speechless: What a time to still be worrying about the village’s reputation, Zhou Jiaojiao doesn’t know anything.
"Hongfa is right. Shen Meng has wholeheartedly considered the best for Lu Family Village. If you, the village chief, could have firmly stood behind her then, would she have thrown in the towel? What is face worth? Can it feed people? Let me tell you, the head of the sales department at the textile factory told me that they want to increase the business with the peanut deals, but specifically mentioned that Shen Meng must be involved. Without her, it would be problematic to continue in the future."
Lu Debang felt a tightening in his heart, his face a mix of panic and confusion.
"I, I just think, Shen Meng being a woman, much of this must be Zhenping’s ideas. What can a woman understand? Even if she’s somewhat wronged, it could still be fixed later. Director Guo, I thought wrong, but considering how Shen Meng cares for our village, she shouldn’t be angry, right? Persuasion should do."
Director Guo lowered her eyes for a moment, realizing these old men still look down on women, not just Shen Meng. They think that because Lu Zhenping is competent, even the Soviet Director Feng Si is under him.
So, they still believe that as long as Lu Zhenping, the decision-maker, speaks up, Shen Meng will definitely follow his lead. Damn it!
"Let it be then. They’re causing a fuss about having Zhou Jiaojiao in charge, right? Let her manage. I’ll see what she can come up with. I won’t interfere with the peanut business anymore. I only recognize Shen Meng. If she’s replaced, why should I bother? I have plenty of other things to deal with at home anyway. I won’t stay much longer, but before I go, there’s one more thing to discuss. Since Zhenping has been back, other than going to the county for a gathering during the New Year and dealing with peanut matters with the Soviet Director, when have you seen him leave the village? Whether it’s taking the kids to school or Meng going to work, if he’s not up in the mountains hunting, he’s down in the river fishing. Even the village dogs see him more often than their own food. In Lu Family, Shen Meng is in charge."
After finishing, Guo Wenxiu turned and left, heading not to her own home but to Shen Meng’s, wanting to discuss something with her.
Seeing Director Guo leave, Zhang Hongfa hesitated for a moment before also turning to leave, leaving Lu Debang alone, bewildered. He hadn’t intended for Shen Meng to leave, he had expressed his own opinion, didn’t he? He was just worried about the village being ridiculed!
During dinner, there was a knock at the door, and Director Guo’s voice was heard. Mingyang hurried to open the door.
"Mingyang, how’s your mom? How’s her mood? Has she cried?"
"She’s having dinner, quite happy actually."
Huh?
She hurried over, intending to console Shen Meng, and as she looked up, she saw Shen Meng motioning with a bowl in her hand.
Director Guo: "......"
She looks more than just happy, slightly excited even; what’s going on???
In the living room, Shen Meng took Ming Kai’s bowl, poured some silky chicken soup, and handed it to Director Guo.
"Ming Kai’s bowl, don’t mind it. You must have come over about the workshop issue, right?"
Director Guo took the bowl without standing on ceremony and began sipping the soup.
"I know what you’re here for, and I know what you want to say. I plan to stay out of it for now. The more I rush to handle it, the more people will suspect there’s something shady going on. You should just keep doing what you’re doing; I have other things to handle anyway!"
"Those who caused the trouble, are you just going to let it slide? You are usually so tough, but now you’re all easy-going, you might get walked all over in the future!"
"Hey, you’ve known me for a while, and I’m not one to be trifled with. I simply won’t let this issue pass; that would mean all my hard work has been in vain. Aunt, I’ll speak frankly, they can force me out, but if they want me back, the ringleaders and Wang Lianhua better not step foot in the workshop again. This small temple can’t accommodate such ’big Buddhas’. And about Lu Yonggang, the village needs to make it clear to me. But we’re not in a rush; let the village chief and secretary think it over. Give me an answer in three days."
Director Guo watched Shen Meng calmly handling the situation, wondering what significant day was three days from now.
She raised her head, recalling that tomorrow was delivery day and the third day was for collecting materials from the textile factory, which needed Li Qianqian’s signature and new orders from the Cooperative Society and the Provincial City, along with new design samples.
If Li Qianqian withholds the raw materials, neither Xie Jinghao nor Su Xiaomei can produce the new designs, making whomever they connect with ineffective.
These three are all driven by Shen Meng’s influence; regardless of the relationship, if Shen Meng doesn’t approve, none of them will bother.
It seems that Shen Meng had already planned her response when the trouble began.
"Alright, then we wait three days, giving them a three-day deadline and letting everyone see who truly has the capability and authority. I also need to inform the village chief and secretary so they can prepare to give you a satisfactory answer."