"So what if I'm short? Did I eat your rice?"

"Okay, I'll eat your rice. Uncle, she always bullies me."

"Xiaoyu, you can't do this. This is your man. You have to listen to him." Third Uncle is a typical male chauvinist. Qin Xiaoyu didn't like hearing that and pouted.

"Has Grandma stopped bothering you lately?" Qin Xiaoyu asked, leading her third aunt to the kitchen.

"She avoids me whenever she sees me, afraid that I might bother her." My third aunt covered her mouth and laughed.

"That's really good."

"It's your third uncle, sigh, that shameless fellow. He always tries to get close, but he never hears anything nice. There's nothing I can do about it."

"Let him be, as long as he's happy." Qin Xiaoyu knew that her third uncle was a very filial son, and some things couldn't be forced.

It was past 10 p.m. when we left my third uncle's house, but thankfully it wasn't far from home. There were streetlights, and the two of us walked home arm in arm, the snow crunching under our feet.

"Look at this distance. When our house is built, it will be this far away. Isn't that great?" A Lei dreamed for a moment.

"If we take Dada and the others to Guangzhou, will we need to buy a house?"

“No need. Let’s stay together for now. Once we have children, we can find another place nearby. I think it’s good for us to live together. Look at my grandma, she’s all alone, living in those big buildings.”

"You know that too? I thought you didn't." Qin Xiaoyu rolled her eyes at him.

"Grandma's birthday is in March, so prepare a special gift for her. Don't say I didn't remind you."

"I've already prepared, please accept this." Qin Xiaoyu was indeed ready. The horse-face skirt that Madam Fang had specifically requested last time was already finished, and she also paired it with a vest. As she gets older, it gets chilly in the mornings and evenings, so wearing it would look nice.

"There seems to be someone ahead?" Before they even entered the courtyard, they saw a figure flash outside Building No. 4. Qin Xiaoyu's heart tightened, and she snuggled into A Lei's arms.

Ah Lei wasn't like Qi Si; he wasn't as reckless. His priority was protecting Qin Xiaoyu, so he kept quiet and observed from a safe distance. The man seemed to have a camera; he took a few photos and then left.

The two then went around to Building No. 4.

The building was quite lively; everyone was there.

"Is Xiaoyu cold? She looks so pale."

"You're not dressed warmly enough." Qin Xiaoyu didn't dare to say it, afraid of scaring Zhou Xing's mother, so she forced a smile and sat down at the table.

It was late, and Commander Zhou wasn't feeling well. Seeing Qin Xiaoyu return, he told her to go back to sleep. Zhou Xing's mother went upstairs with him.

Commander Wang and his wife also went upstairs, while Hanhan's grandfather helped his wife stroll back.

Only Qi Si remained seated without moving.

"Aren't you leaving?" Fourth Sister-in-law, carrying Xiao Zichen, was also about to go back into the house.

"Sister-in-law, go inside and check. Make sure the front door is locked from the inside," Qin Xiaoyu instructed.

The four buildings are now connected by a sunlit passageway, so at night people only enter and exit through Building 4. The doors of the other buildings are locked from the inside for added security.

"Little Fish, what is it?" Qi Si asked only after everyone else was around.

"Brother, how did you know?" Qin Xiaoyu asked curiously.

"When you came in, Arena's eyes were wide open. He only widens his eyes when you're in danger," Qi Si said with a smirk.

“We just saw someone secretly taking pictures inside the house, but we don’t know who it was,” A Lei said hurriedly.

"Just ask Tang Hu's dad to check the surveillance footage tomorrow, he has everything there." Qi Si couldn't hold back any longer. This family included the old and the young. He and A Lei went out to inspect the area again, checking every door and window before returning to their rooms.

When A Lei returned, Qin Xiaoyu had already finished showering and dried her hair, and was sitting on the dressing stool in a daze.

"Are you alright?" Qin Xiaoyu reached out to him, and A Lei bent down and hugged her, planting a kiss on her hair before taking off his clothes one by one to prepare for a shower.

"Could it be that Bai Weiwei is up to her tricks again? Or is it Jing Tian?" Qin Xiaoyu asked worriedly.

“Judging from his back, he’s definitely not someone we know. Who cares who he is? We’ll deal with whatever comes our way. Tell me first, have you done anything bad lately?” A Lei teased her on purpose.

"Don't you know what I do? You follow me around 24 hours a day," Qin Xiaoyu said angrily.

"You're so stubborn, I'll have to torture you. Just wait a minute, and I'll show you how to deal with you." A Lei went into the bathroom.

The next day, they got up early and called their cousin to watch the video. No one recognized him. The strangers just took a few pictures of the house and the house itself, and didn't seem to do anything else.

“I don’t think we need to worry about that. People who do this kind of thing are usually insidious. I actually like this kind of attack. It’s better than a direct blow. There’s a chance to mitigate the damage,” A Lei said, trying to calm Qin Xiaoyu down.

"Just tell me about physical attack and magical attack, stop being so verbose." Qin Xiaoyu didn't give him any face.

Today, she was going to hold a factory-wide meeting at Riyue Garments to deal with Wang Lingling. When she came downstairs, she saw Zhou Yue wearing a camel-colored wool coat and her hair was neatly tied up. It seemed like she was going to walk with her.

This week, she's been taking such good care of herself during her postpartum period. Her skin is glowing, and her hair looks like it's coated with a layer of light.

“I’ll go with you. It’s a big day, I have to be there.”

A Lei drove them to their destination. Qin Xiaoyu was worried about bothering him and told him to go home and wait. But he was still worried and stayed in the office.

There were too many people attending the conference, and the meeting room was no longer big enough. Qin Xiaoyu had the tables and chairs in the cafeteria cleared out in advance, and everyone gathered in the cafeteria.

The factory director, Xie, began by giving a speech, recounting the entire story of Wang Lingling's switcheroo. The female workers were stunned, not expecting such a dramatic turn of events.

"He usually seems like a very honest person."

"That's bad, it almost got us into trouble."

"If the Shanghai counter is gone, we'll lose a lot of bonuses."

"Shameless..."

The audience buzzed with discussion. Wang Lingling sat in the front row, her face ashen. She hadn't wanted to come; she knew it wouldn't end well. After returning from that place, she had taken sick leave and stayed home. But Qin Xiaoyu had sent word that if she didn't come, she would be fired.

Without her job, she wouldn't get her retirement pension anymore. Wang Lingling was terrified and rushed over.

"Comrades, quiet down." Qin Xiaoyu began to speak.

“Many of our colleagues here have come from the ranks of Xiaotaiyang, and they know how tough the journey has been. I won’t go into details. The current situation is that if we can’t find a new path, Riyue Garments will become another Xiaotaiyang, so reform is a must. This time, I brought Master Liang north to broaden his thinking, generate new designs, and lead our factory forward.”

Qin Xiaoyu glanced at Wang Lingling in the front row and cleared her throat.

"Comrade Wang Lingling abused her power and privately modified production orders, causing huge economic losses to the garment factory. Our factory has decided to dismiss her from her job."

"Director Qin, you can send someone to tell me that I won't be fired if I come here. You're not keeping your word!" Wang Lingling exploded when she heard this.