"The factory director was taken away by the police. What should we do with our factory? It won't be closed down like this, right?"

"I don't know, but I hope it doesn’t close down. This job is close to my home and it's not tiring. I'd rather they keep it open until I can't do it anymore."

"I just heard from the police that Jiang Hai put the factory's money into his own pocket. Can we still get paid last month's salary?"

Compared to the villagers who were just joining in on the fun, the factory workers were obviously more concerned about practical issues. Shu Ping and her uncle and aunt also came together. After listening to everyone's words, uncle Shu Weimin stood up as a representative to express his position.

"Everyone, please be quiet and listen to me. This factory was founded by my eldest brother. He passed away suddenly. Pingping was young and still in school, so he entrusted the factory to Jiang Hai to manage. At that time, we agreed to give him a 30% dividend of the annual net profit, but he wasn’t satisfied. He stole goods and transferred the money from the factory to himself. He also colluded with outsiders to forge a plan to take over the factory. I had no choice but to call the police because the funds involved were too large, and he controlled the entire food factory. The problem cannot be explained in a few words."

What Shu Weimin said was what Shu Ping had taught him at home. The point was to let everyone know what kind of person Jiang Hai was and to suppress him with public opinion. Sure enough, everyone present was talking while listening, and they couldn't restrain the gossip fire burning in their bodies.

Some people thought that Jiang Hai had brought this upon himself, while others thought that the Shu family was unkind. The villagers were simple and honest, and usually they would just let it go after a quarrel. This was the first case of calling the police.

"The food factory will continue to operate in the future, and my niece Pingping will be in charge of the management. Shu Jun and I will assist. The incident happened suddenly. The workers will have to work hard these days to help Pingping sort out the big and small things in the factory. Those who are willing to continue working will not be treated unfairly. Those who are unwilling to continue working can find Shu Jun to handle the resignation procedures. All unsettled wages will not be delayed."

When Shu Weimin mentioned the subsequent development of the factory, it got everyone's attention. When they heard that the factory would continue to operate, the workers were relieved. Although everyone was not optimistic about Shu Ping being the factory director, the food factory was originally privately run by Shu Hemin. Shu Ping was an only child, and it was natural for the father to pass on the business to the daughter.

As for whether they were willing to continue working, that was needless to say. Who would have a problem with earning money?

Fengxiang Village was mainly engaged in farming. There was only one food factory, one clothing factory, and one noodle factory in the village. Working in the factory didn’t interfere with the family's farm work, and they could also make extra money to supplement their family income. If this wave of workers quit, another wave could be recruited immediately. The supply was less than the demand. Not only the villagers of Fengxiang Village, but also many people from several neighboring villages wanted to work here.

Shu Jun helped with the case and hired a professional lawyer introduced by Zhou Yuanhua. Shu Ping stayed in the factory to familiarize herself with its various affairs.

In fact, her uncle and aunt weren’t at ease at first about her being the factory director. They thought that she would be assigned an internship immediately, and after the internship, she would become a formal elementary school teacher. It was safer for girls to be teachers.

But Shu Ping was very persistent. In the end, they discussed that she would work for half a year first. If she didn't do well after half a year, then she would forget it. If it really didn't work, then Shu Jun would come back after graduation to take over. This was better than letting others take over.

"Pingping, don't get me wrong. We don't want your brother to help you just to get benefits like Jiang Hai. Your brother will work for you. You just need to pay him enough money every month to feed him. What I'm thinking is that your brother will also work for others after graduation, so it's better for him to work for a family member. The main thing is that such a large factory costs a lot of money for the factory buildings and machines alone. I don't know how much it’ll cost to sell it. Don't say you feel bad, we don't feel good about it either."

Her aunt was afraid that she would think too much, so she explained it specially, which made Shu Ping comfort her instead.

"Auntie, I understand what you mean. I won't think too much. If my brother is willing to help, I'll be very happy. He's a famous university student, the only one in our village."

At present, there were only more than 60,000 yuan in the books of the food factory, and Jiang Hai had transferred away no less than 300,000 yuan in total. It was still unknown when he could return it. After Shu Ping paid a sum for the raw material fees, the remaining money must be spent carefully.

The Hongyun Food Factory mainly produced brown sugar, fruit candy, and crisp candy. A year ago, it added two production lines for peach crisps and biscuits. Now it was March, and the Chinese New Year had just passed. Every household had saved up a lot of food for visiting relatives and friends. The market was temporarily saturated, and the factory's inventory was full. The food factory mainly sold wholesale and retail. At least in Anping County, half of the stores, restaurants, and hotels got their goods from them. There was no need to worry about sales, so it was no wonder that Jiang Hai wanted to swallow up the factory.

With the current season, the goods wouldn’t sell well before the Dragon Boat Festival. After all, there was only the Qingming Festival between the Chinese New Year and the Dragon Boat Festival, and it wasn’t a popular festival to visit relatives and friends and give gifts.

But her aunt reminded Shu Ping inadvertently. While weeding the vegetable garden, she said, "There’ll be a market the day after tomorrow. You have to buy more vegetable seeds to plant things such as soybeans, eggplants, and peppers. The field in front of your house has been empty for a few years now. How about I turn it over for you in the next two days? Then we can plant all the seeds together."

The market was also called the fair. On the 15th of every month, there were people setting up stalls on the main road at the east end of the village. Some were doing small businesses, and some were farmers who brought their own fruits, vegetables, chickens, ducks, and geese eggs. It was very lively.

Sometimes, even though things could be bought in town, people were willing to wait until the market to buy them. They enjoyed the sense of ritual, which was a habit formed over the decades.

Shu Ping decided to set up a stall with the people from the factory that day. The price would be 10% higher than the wholesale price of the retailers.

When Jiang Hai and Gu Zhihong were arrested, people from both families came to plead for mercy. The one who made the most noise was Jiang Hai's mother, who asked them to let Jiang Hai go because of the relationship between the two families and promised to pay back the money Jiang Hai had embezzled, even if she had to sell everything she had.

This kind of talk really disgusted Shu Ping. "Auntie, I just want to ask you one thing: Did your family know that Jiang Hai embezzled money from the factory? I heard that Jiang Hai bought a house in the county last year, but did you ask him where the money came from? Now you say you’ll sell everything you have, as if we forced you to do so. How can this be possible?"

Auntie Zhou was silent when Shu Ping hit the sore spot. Shu Ping ignored her and continued, "Also, you said that the two families are related. Indeed, everyone living in the village is a relative. My father took special care of Jiang Hai for this reason. In the end, the snake repaid the farmer's kindness with enmity. So, don't cry in front of me anymore. I’m an orphan who was cheated by others. I’m more pitiful than Jiang Hai. I should be the one crying, right?"

The neighbors who were watching the fun nodded to one another, thinking that Shu Ping was reasonable. Those who thought she was unkind before also changed their minds.

"I thought he had embezzled only a few hundred thousand, but he actually embezzled hundreds of thousands and bought a house in the city. If I were her, I would have called the police to arrest him. It's so infuriating."

"No wonder he was drinking and playing cards all day long, and his temper was getting worse and worse. It turns out that he had made a lot of money that he couldn't spend in his lifetime."

"It's a pity that Shu Hemin died. If he were still alive, with his ability, I don't know what kind of fairy life the Shu family would be living now."

"I used to think that the girl from the Shu family was quiet and soft-tempered, but I didn't expect her to speak in an orderly manner. She is worthy of being a child of the Shu family. Shu Hemin is capable, and Shu Jun is also smart. The Shu family members are not stupid."

In a few words from the others, Shu Ping's change was quickly defined, and everyone thought that Shu Ping was normal.

In 1998, ordinary workers only earned three or four hundred yuan a month. Anyone who had tens of thousands of yuan would be envied, and hundreds of thousands of yuan were unheard of.

The food factory was on the right track in recent years. Shu Hemin did make money, but after building buildings and adding new production lines, he didn't have much savings. Jiang Hai was completely reaping the benefits.

Jiang Hai's illegal acts were clear, and he confessed his crime very quickly. In order to seek leniency, the Jiang family quickly raised 130,000 yuan to return to Shu Ping, with the purpose of asking her to allow him to write a letter of apology and be released on bail.

"We really don't know how much he has embezzled. This is all we can take out now. We’ll find a way to pay the rest as soon as possible. He will definitely not default on his debts. Please be magnanimous and forgive him. Look, your uncle and I are so old, and Xiaofei is only nine years old. If Jiang Hai goes to jail, what will happen to Xiaofei in the future?"

"Auntie, I can't help you with what you want. If I didn't find evidence, what would have happened to my life? Not only did he cheat me of my money, but he also hired someone to cheat me of my feelings. Isn't it cruel to get something for nothing? I won't accept his letter of apology. The final result depends on the court's decision. As for Xiaofei, as long as he studies hard, he’ll still have a bright future. As for the money you paid back in advance, I’ll tell the lawyer to reduce the charges as appropriate, provided that you pay back the remaining money as soon as possible."

She knew that Jiang Hai bought a house in the city last year and wanted to transfer Xiaofei to the city school. The reason why he hasn't gone there yet was that his student status hasn’t been properly processed yet.

Being kind to your enemy is being cruel to yourself. This was the lesson Shu Ping learned after working for ten years.

When she just graduated, she treated everyone sincerely and kindly. As a result...

Jiang Hai and his family were not worthy of her sympathy.

In addition, Gu Zhihong, as Jiang Hai's accomplice in transferring the assets, falsifying accounts, and evading taxes, would also face one to three years in prison and was currently being held in a detention center.

After Shu Ping sorted out the affairs of the factory, she held a meeting for all employees and expressed her attitude.

"Something happened in the factory two days ago, and it has come to an end now. As everyone knows, this factory was run by my father, and I, as his daughter, am the only legal heir to this factory. From now on, I’ll have the final say on all the matters in the factory. No matter what happened in the past, from now on, I’ll formulate a new work system. The most important thing for our food processing factory is hygiene and safety. In the future, I’ll treat all employees who work hard as family members. In addition to wages, I’ll also show my appreciation during the New Year and other festivals. I’ll also provide some benefits that everyone needs. If there is something at home that affects your work, you can take a leave at any time. The more you work, the more you get. The factory won't keep people with bad work attitudes. I believe everyone can understand this. Opening a factory is not playing house or doing charity. Every month, workers' wages, raw material costs, various taxes, water, and electricity are all spending money. Only when the factory is profitable will everyone's income and benefits increase. 'Win together, lose together.’ We’re not enemies, but partners and relatives who advance and retreat together. The goal is to work together to make the factory better and better."