"Am I not keeping my word? Fine, this time it's me who's not keeping my word. Let me tell you, I used to be too kind, so some people thought they could ride roughshod over me. Now I'm telling you guys who want to go down the wrong path, you can leave, I, Qin Xiaoyu, am ready to fight you. When it comes to being ruthless, you're still too green!" Qin Xiaoyu didn't back down either, stood up, and directly confronted him.

The female workers had never seen Qin Xiaoyu so ruthless before. They all thought she was a bit weak, and that she was all smiles and lacked execution.

This was truly an eye-opening experience for Wang Lingling, who realized she was in the wrong. She could only swallow her anger and, hearing everyone's praise, slunk away.

After Qin Xiaoyu finished the meeting, she let the female workers leave the factory, but kept all the fashion design trainees behind.

"See? This is what you're supposed to learn. To learn design, you must first learn how to be a person. I, Qin Xiaoyu, don't tolerate any dishonesty. If you think I'm being too heartless, then leave now!"

"Director Qin, it's her fault. It's not your fault for being ruthless; you were doing it for the factory." A trainee whispered, and the others echoed his sentiment.

"You all need to have your own judgment. I'm announcing now that our factory is going to hold a design competition with big prizes. It's open to the whole city, so you can participate too. Also, don't embarrass our factory, you must bring back a ranking!" Qin Xiaoyu had this idea for a long time. She couldn't limit herself to this school anymore; she had to cast a wider net.

"Xiaoyu, when we organize a design competition, shouldn't we register it with the Second Light Industry Bureau?" Director Xie reminded her.

"Just give them a call and let them know that they can send a deputy director to be a judge." Qin Xiaoyu didn't take Director Sun seriously anymore.

Her plan is to start accepting submissions now, end the submission period in mid-January, announce the competition results when work resumes on the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, and award prizes on the fifteenth.

As for the judges, she wasn't worried. She would just find a few leaders to come and give them face. The final award would still be decided by her, and of course, she would choose people she approved of.

A generous reward will surely attract brave men; she refused to believe that she couldn't find capable individuals.

"Little Fish, after you've walked this lap, I feel you're becoming more and more mature," Factory Director Xie couldn't help but remark.

"Director Qin, are you really going to fire Wang Lingling? She's pitiful too. Her dream is to become an excellent designer. She's never had a boyfriend because she doesn't want to let a relationship affect her work..." Xu Xiaoqing ran over to Qin Xiaoyu and kept nagging.

"So what? If she wanted to succeed, she should have fought for it fairly and squarely. What is she now? She has no character and no integrity. She deserves this fate."

“But she’s unemployed now, and she’s having trouble making a living. Maybe we can let her come back and work as a factory worker to earn a living,” Xu Xiaoqing said, mustering her courage.

“Xiao Xu, you’re speaking out of your own considerations. You have compassion, and so do I. But your compassion won’t have any side effects. I, however, can’t afford to make a single mistake; the livelihoods of thousands of people are in my hands. If I let Wang Lingling go this time, many others will follow her example. Who will support those thousands of people?”

Qin Xiaoyu left Xu Xiaoqing speechless.

Factory Director Xie is right. She's becoming more and more enlightened with age. Life is too short to waste on jerks. She only cares about those she should care about.

She returned just in time; the atmosphere in Building 4 was eerie.

"We have guests at home, in Building 1." Qi Si's brows were furrowed tightly.

"What kind of guest?" Qin Xiaoyu guessed it was related to the person who secretly took photos last night.

"It's not clear yet. We called my father and mother over; it seems they know each other."

Qin Xiaoyu wanted to go over and find out, but was stopped by A Lei at the door.

"I feel this is unusual. Let them come to you; don't go there rashly."

For the next few hours, Building 4 was unusually quiet. Everyone wanted to know what was happening in the building next door.

When the phone rang, everyone in the room was startled, and A Lei was the quickest to answer it.

"Okay, Mom, let Xiaoyu go over there." A Lei said, gesturing towards Building No. 1. Qin Xiaoyu grabbed her coat and rushed out, with A Lei following closely behind.

Besides the Zhou couple, there were three strangers in the living room of Building 1. Two were sitting on the sofa, and one was standing behind the sofa. The one standing was the person who took the photos yesterday.

Commander Zhou and his wife looked somber.

"Are you Qin Xiaoyu?" the older man sitting on the sofa asked.

"Yes, it's me," Qin Xiaoyu replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Did you have these documents processed?"

Qin Xiaoyu glanced at it; it was the land deed Zhou Xing had left for her, which had been forged by a lawyer and then redeemed by Lei Bingzheng.

“Yes, I don’t trust these land deeds, so I have to get rid of them.” Qin Xiaoyu couldn’t guess what had happened. She couldn’t see any answer on Zhou Xing’s mother’s face, but she could feel that there was something sad and heavy in her eyes.

These things must have reminded her of Zhou Xing.

"Then sign it. Our family will take it back. You name the price." The old man placed the document on the table, and the young man next to him quickly put a pen on it.

"Sixth Uncle," Zhou Xing's mother suddenly called out, tears streaming down her face.

Commander Zhou reached out and took Zhou Xingma's hand in his, encouraging her.

"You don't need to say anything more. I know what I'm doing." Uncle Liu's face was full of disgust, as if sitting in this room for even a moment would make him feel dirty.

Qin Xiaoyu was incredibly clever; from that "Sixth Uncle," she had already guessed what was going on—this person must be Zhou Xing's mother's uncle. Zhou Xing's mother's marriage to Commander Zhou was an arrangement her family disapproved of, and she hadn't had the chance to return home since.

It was only after Zhou Xing grew up that he received a portion of his property as a gift, which is what he later gave to Qin Xiaoyu.

It now appears that when Qin Xiaoyu was dealing with the assets, she alarmed Zhou Xing's mother's family, who came out to question her. Now they want to take it back and give Qin Xiaoyu money to get rid of her.

"I don't know how to address you, I'd like to explain..." Qin Xiaoyu didn't want Zhou Xing's mother to be blamed without knowing why, so she wanted to explain.

"I'm sorry, I'm short on time and don't have time to listen to this. Please sign here. If you're not satisfied with the amount, we can add more." Uncle Liu was very impolite.

"Really? You're so busy, yet you still had time to have someone secretly take pictures? Was it all arranged very meticulously?" Qin Xiaoyu felt a sharp pang in her heart when she saw Zhou Xing's mother covering her mouth with a handkerchief and crying so sadly.

This so-called sixth uncle crossed Qin Xiaoyu's bottom line. She would fight to the death if anyone made Zhou Xing's mother cry.

Hearing her words, everyone in the room was stunned. Commander Zhou looked up at Qin Xiaoyu, his anger almost uncontrollable. Zhou Xing's mother fearfully gripped his hand, trying to calm him down.

"Ahem, this was my arrangement, it has nothing to do with my grandfather," the young man said.

"The matter of handling the property has nothing to do with my mother, so why are you looking for her? You should just come to me directly!" Qin Xiaoyu pressed aggressively.