Chapter 82 Connections

Zhao Xinning had already lost patience and confidence after a few cuts, but she had to persist because she had boasted in front of the handsome guy. Upon hearing this, she naturally threw down the knife and refused to continue. "You old thing, do you not want to work anymore? How dare you tell me what to do? I'm a master chef with an advanced certificate. Who are you to tell me how to do things?"

Master Li retorted defiantly, "I'm a veteran worker in this factory with over forty years of experience. I started from the bottom with Mr. Ai! I may not have made any great contributions, but I've certainly put in a lot of hard work. What right do you, a pretentious little brat, have to fire me?"

The other workers immediately objected.

“Master Li, who said you haven’t made any contributions? Since Mr. Ai left, you and several veteran potters have single-handedly kept the factory afloat. One by one, those master craftsmen have passed away, and now we’re relying on you as the pillar of the factory!”

"That's right. If it weren't for Master Li's diligent efforts in controlling the quality, Yitao would have been ruined by you bunch of parasites long ago."

"Headquarters is truly blind and nepotistic, allowing this Zhao family of incompetents to run the Yitao business and act like tyrants. If Master Li leaves, this lousy place will have to close down in less than three days!"

"You lazy little girl dare to call yourself a student trained by Old Hong? Although Old Hong was just a handyman for Mr. Ai back then, he was still quite skilled, just not without ulterior motives. I heard he got into trouble and was arrested in the antique street not long ago. I think he was your crooked teacher."

Zhao Xinning stomped her foot angrily, "Nonsense! You...you've gone too far! Just because my dad is the president of Yitao, what can you commoners do to me?"

After listening to the whole story, Su Youling roughly figured out the conflicts of interest within the factory.

She nudged Li Tingxi. "This Miss Zhao's father is your uncle? You two are really distant relatives. Doesn't she recognize you?"

Li Tingxi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Zhao Fu is just a distant cousin of my mother's. My mother's clan is small, and back then..."

Because of her insistence on being with Li's father, Li's mother went from being his first love to a mistress who couldn't be seen in public. Many relatives were ashamed of this and had long since severed ties with Li's mother and son.

It was precisely because of this that after Li's mother became successful, she put her mind to winning over those relatives in her maternal clan who had never given her a cold shoulder, wanting to prove that she was right. She even humbled herself to curry favor with distant relatives who were thousands of miles away, and she did so with great enthusiasm.

In the past, he and his father thought they could make his mother happy, so they didn't interfere much with the personnel appointments at the branch company. They never expected these people to go so far.

It's true what they say: when the cat's away, the mice will play.

"In short, they're completely unrelated relatives, only interacting with my mother." Li Tingxi frowned. "It's time to purge these parasites."

"I'm relieved to hear you say that." Su Youling smiled as she watched Zhao Xinning kick and scratch Master Li.

A group of grown men were so angry they dared not speak out, and those who tried to break up the fight were even scratched several times.

She shook off Li Tingxi's hand and strode over, saying, "Ms. Zhao, if you lay a hand on me again, I'll call the police."

The entire room fell silent!

The workers looked at the naive young girl with mixed feelings—who was this girl surnamed Zhao? With the Li family backing her up, even the big shots in the area had to give her some face.

What's the use of an alarm?

"Call the police? Haha, what nonsense are you talking about!" Zhao Xinning instantly shifted the focus, shoving Master Li aside and glaring fiercely at Su Youling. "You ugly monster with a scarred face, how dare you..."

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"Mind your own business"

Su Youling raised her hand and touched the scar at the corner of her eye.

After several dozen days of rest, the scars have faded a lot, but she has never liked wearing makeup, and she went out without makeup after becoming pregnant, so the marks are still somewhat noticeable.

Is it really that ugly?

Her cheeks flushed, and Li Tingxi actually leaned down and kissed her on the corner of the eye in front of everyone. "Don't listen to her nonsense. I think this place is beautiful and sexy."

"!!" Su Youling reflexively pushed the person away. "Are you crazy? Even if you're going crazy, you should consider the occasion!"

"You two?" Zhao Xinning's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, filled with jealousy and hatred. "You two adulterers! Get out of the factory right now, you're not welcome here."

"Does this arrogant and domineering shrew even deserve to be called 'Master Zhao'?" Li Tingxi shrugged, the anger he had been holding in for half a day instantly dissipating. He stood behind Su Youling, refreshed and ready to be the man behind her success. "Director Su, this kind of good-for-nothing must be someone with connections."

Su Youling: "???"

Doesn't Zhao Xinning know whether she's a relative or not?

That bastard Li Tingxi actually tried to shift the blame onto her!

but……

Director Su?

Is it really okay for him to publicly announce his identity like this?

Before she could figure it out, Zhao Xinning looked the two of them up and down, then suddenly sneered, "Director? What kind of wild director are you, coming out of some remote mountain village, daring to come to Yitao and cause trouble!"

She took out her phone and called the security office directly, "Send a few people here, there are two troublemakers here, get brooms and get them out of here right now!"

Looking at the two strikingly good-looking young women, Master Li shook his head and advised, "Young ladies, take your boyfriends and leave quickly. This factory... who knows how much longer it can stay open? If you want to learn pottery, you can learn it anywhere else."

He seemed disheartened and resigned, turning to leave. The workers tried to stop him, but Zhao Xinning stood there arrogantly with her arms crossed, saying, "Master Li, you're a veteran of the factory, you've worked here your whole life, I still respect you."

She glanced at the indignant crowd, figuring they wouldn't dare rebel, and her tone became even more arrogant: "As long as you admit your mistake in public and acknowledge that my skills are top-notch and better than yours, I'll let an old piece of trash like you continue to retire here."

Li Shi felt a sudden rush of blood to his chest. He was so humiliated in public by such an ignorant little girl that he almost fainted from anger.

The workers were furious.

"What are you saying! Master Li's skills are among the best in the industry. Who do you think you are to compare yourself to him?"

"Just because they're relatives of the Li family, they wantonly mistreat us frontline workers! Bah! If it were us good-for-nothings, your lousy company would have gone bankrupt long ago."

"You and your father are cut from the same cloth, bullying men and women and doing all sorts of bad things. You don't even treat us like human beings. We've had enough! If Master Li leaves, we'll just quit!"

"You! You all! How dare you talk to me like that?" Zhao Xinning was furious that she, who usually acted arrogantly and no one dared to defy her, was now being trampled underfoot by a group of lowly workers. "Fine, if you want to leave, then get out. But according to the contract, you need to pay a large sum of lost wages and breach of contract penalties..."

When such a large sum of money was involved, everyone was stunned, and the voices of resistance became much quieter.