"Did Chen Lian snitch on you?" A Lei guessed right away.

"Yes, Zhu Xu must have taken over Gao Daxiong's outsourcing work, so he sent our work to other factories. That's why the quality is inconsistent," Qin Xiaoyu analyzed.

The first thing I did when I got home was to call Factory Manager Fei and ask her to thoroughly investigate Zhu Xu's goods and see if there were any problems with the shipping address.

“I found the little fish. The shipping addresses were different on both occasions. One was from Zhujia Village, and the other was from Zhuhou Village.” Factory Director Fei had indeed discovered the problem.

"Zhu Xu lives in Zhujia Village, so the high-quality goods are shipped from Zhuhou Village?"

"Little Fish, you're amazing! That's how it is."

"I see."

Qin Xiaoyu was so angry she wanted to grind her teeth. This Zhu Xu was incredibly stupid, yet he always tried to make a fool of others. Didn't he know that being too clever for his own good was a recipe for disaster?

So, is Man Aihong aware of the pregnancy or not? The thought of Man Aihong being pregnant gave Qin Xiaoyu a headache. Qin Xiaoyu still worried about Man Aihong's health and was always afraid she would get hurt.

"Go and take care of it. There's no point in hiding things. Besides, it's affecting the delivery time," A Lei couldn't stand it anymore and reminded her.

"Sister Man has really had a tough time." Now that things had come to this, Qin Xiaoyu couldn't be soft-hearted anymore. She and A Lei boarded the train heading north. They had no choice but to resolve things face-to-face.

It would take three days to catch a plane, but only one day by train. Qin Xiaoyu didn't want to wait any longer.

Their first stop was Shijiazhuang. When A Lei drove the car out, Qin Xiaoyu also noticed that it was quite convenient for A Lei to have several homes.

When they arrived at Zhujia Village, it was already dark. There weren't many lights in the village, and they had to follow the road to find Director Bao's house.

Before he could even knock, the dogs in the yard started barking. Director Bao ran out to answer the door, still wearing his coat. As soon as he saw the car outside, he knew who it was.

"The garment factory is working overtime tonight," Director Bao said, leading them toward the factory.

The roar of machinery could be heard from afar, carrying far into the darkness. Qin Xiaoyu sighed. Was this round-the-clock work all for Gao Daxiong?

Zhu Xu was surprised by their arrival and warmly invited them inside. The office was inside. As they walked through the workshop, Qin Xiaoyu glanced at the production line, which was producing her fashion items.

She stopped in front of a machine; the female worker's stitches were large and somewhat rough.

"Brother Zhu, this won't do. It will have to be redone. The stitches are too thick." She shouted loudly to drown out the sound of the machine.

"Really? I'll have her adjust it." Zhu Xu leaned down and said a few words to the female worker. The female worker looked up at Qin Xiaoyu and adjusted the stitches unhappily.

Qin Xiaoyu had already moved on to the next machine. The stitches on the clothes sewed by the female worker were just right, but the fabric was pulled a bit too tight, which would make the quilted seams of the clothes uneven later on.

After inspecting three machines and finding fault with each one, Qin Xiaoyu was starting to lose her composure.

"Let's stop for a moment, this is just a waste of fabric."

"Stop work." Zhu Xu's face was grim, and the workshop fell silent.

"Brother Zhu, let's have a good talk." Qin Xiaoyu walked towards the front office.

The office was a mess. Several bowls and plates were scattered on the table, and there were chopsticks on the table and on the floor. There was an indescribable smell in the room, and I didn't know what had gone bad.

Looking at the makeshift bed made of two long benches next to it, the blankets weren't even folded yet, so it's likely that Zhu Xu has been sleeping here instead of going home.

"Sister Man isn't here?" Qin Xiaoyu noticed that Man Aihong hadn't shown up for several days. She was a capable person; if she were here, this room would be cleaned in no time.

“I told her to stay home and rest during her pregnancy, and not to come out,” Zhu Xu said in a muffled voice.

"Brother Zhu, the quality of this batch of goods is so bad that it's useless even if we produce them. I repeatedly told them beforehand, how come they're still producing substandard products?" Qin Xiaoyu was already suppressing her anger.

"Several machines broke down a while ago, which delayed the project. I had to ask the workers to work overtime, but there were too few experienced workers and some newbies, which is why the problems occurred." Zhu Xu's explanation sounded quite plausible. Qin Xiaoyu had originally guessed that the factory here must be doing Gao Daxiong's work, but now, hearing what he said, it seemed to be a problem with the workers being inexperienced.

"Did you make a special trip? You could have just called. Look at this mess, there's nowhere to entertain you. I'll take you back. Xiaoman will have to be careful, she won't be able to rest properly during her pregnancy. Don't worry, I'll take good care of her. You can go back now." Zhu Xu was eager to get rid of them. Qin Xiaoyu knew that repeating the same thing wouldn't work, so she stood up.

"We were just passing through. A Lei drove and left overnight. We're not staying here." Qin Xiaoyu gave A Lei a look, and the two of them came out.

There was no point in arguing with him further; he brought up Man Aihong again, so it was best not to press the matter any further.

A Lei drove the car a short distance, turned off the engine, and parked it on the side of the road. The two of them got out of the car.

They had already disturbed the snake as soon as they drove into the village, so they couldn't find any evidence against it. Now they have to go all the way back.

Qin Xiaoyu had come prepared, wearing only sneakers and traveling light. By the time the two of them reached the vicinity of the factory, it was already one in the morning. The factory was brightly lit, and the roar of the machine tools could be heard from afar.

They walked to the factory gate, pulled on the door, and locked it from the inside.

When Director Bao brought them over, they knocked for quite a while. A Lei glanced to the side and beckoned Qin Xiaoyu over. The bathroom window was open, and the smell wasn't pleasant.

A Lei moved a broken table over and climbed onto the windowsill. Qin Xiaoyu also climbed onto the table using both her hands and feet. With A Lei's help, the two of them went into the bathroom.

After leaving the restroom, you'll arrive at the workshop.

Contrary to what they had seen, every pair of machine tools was now covered in black, black synthetic cotton. A Lei turned around and pulled the switch at the door.

The room was pitch black, and screams could be heard from inside.

"What's going on? Another power outage. Even working overtime can't get a break." Zhu Xu ran out of the house with a flashlight in hand. His flashlight beam was very strong, and as he ran, the beam flickered, pointing directly at the power switch.

The light stopped when it swept across A Lei's face, and the workshop fell into a deathly silence.

A Lei turned around and switched on the power switch. In the light, Zhu Xu's face was ashen.

"Zhu Xu, you're really good at playing the game of tai chi. You make money off my processing work and then subcontract it out. You've also taken on Gao Daxiong's outsourcing work. You're something else." Qin Xiaoyu already had irrefutable evidence, so of course she wasn't afraid of his further attempts to deny it.

"Let me explain. I owe Gao Daxiong money, and I have no choice but to do this..." Zhu Xu's voice grew softer and softer.

"I need to see Sister Man, I have nothing to do with you." Qin Xiaoyu didn't want to waste her breath on someone like that.

"You can't see her. She's pregnant now, and the doctor said she needs to be protected to prevent miscarriage. You can't upset her!" Zhu Xu suddenly became agitated.