"Fellow villagers, this bottle of chili sauce is for you to try; thank you for all your hard work," Ji Ying said as she led Li Jianbin’s neighbors around the factory, handing each person a bottle of chili sauce.
These neighbors had spoken up for them at Li Jianbin’s house and had been outspoken and righteous at the hospital; Ji Ying was very grateful to them.
The Health Bureau officials had now cleared their factory situation, and their Chili Sauce Factory could officially start work tomorrow.
"How can we accept this?"
"Yeah, we didn’t do much."
There were seven or eight people there, and after visiting the factory, they all shared the same thought as the visitors from South City and Xu Yong: if this chili sauce isn’t clean, then there’s no such thing as clean chili sauce.
The chili sauce was the fish variety, eight yuan a bottle; even with thick skins, they felt embarrassed to take it.
Without any reason, they had just spoken some fair and truthful words and got a bottle of fish chili sauce worth eight yuan; they all felt somewhat undeserving.
"Everyone, please accept it confidently. If it weren’t for your speaking the truth, we wouldn’t even know if our factory could have resumed," Ji Ying said smilingly, her year-plus management of the Chili Sauce Factory had made her stronger and more decisive, without losing her gentleness.
Ji Ying continued, "In the future, we will still rely on you villagers to speak well of our Chili Sauce Factory. Later on, please give us more business. From tomorrow, our Chili Sauce Factory will give away ten bottles of chili sauce for free every day as compensation to everyone."
Ji Ying’s words made everyone feel very comfortable. After hesitating for a moment and exchanging glances, they accepted the chili sauce and assured her with a pat on their chests, "Boss Ji, you can rest assured, if anyone dares say anything bad about the chili sauce again, I’ll be the first to disagree."
"That’s for sure; to be honest, my kitchen isn’t even this clean."
The villagers chattered and Ji Ying smiled and responded warmly, not leaving until she had seen them all home. Then, Ji Ying hopped on her bicycle and headed for Shuanghe Village, excited to share the news that the Chili Sauce Factory would be able to operate again tomorrow, sparing the villagers the worry over the issue.
She also needed to tell Qinghe about the return of brother and sister Nian’an and Nianhua, to share the joy with him.
As Ji Ying approached the entrance to the village, she ran into Hu Aihong.
"Sister-in-law Ji," Hu Aihong said excitedly, "how is it? How is the factory?"
Hu Aihong’s voice was loud, and it called out to the nearby villagers. Several families came out to greet her, all concerned about the Chili Sauce Factory.
Liu Sanmei stood at her courtyard gate, watching from a distance as Ji Ying was surrounded by people. She muttered, "If the factory can’t continue, let’s see how happy your family can be."
Liu Sanmei pricked up her ears, trying to hear their conversation, but she was too far away to make out the words clearly!
"Sister-in-law Ji, that’s really great news, can we go to work tomorrow?" Hu Aihong said loudly and excitedly.
She had only joined the factory less than half a month ago, and already the factory had faced problems. Hu Aihong was extremely anxious, afraid her half-month of work would be in vain and she wouldn’t be able to earn money in the future.
"Sister-in-law Ji, are you really telling the truth?"
Several villagers asked, since many from their homes worked at the Chili Sauce Factory.
"Absolutely true," Ji Ying affirmed repeatedly, saying, "I came back today specifically to let everyone know, remember to come to the factory to work at eight o’clock tomorrow morning."