The atmosphere in the Ye family has been getting increasingly tense these past few days. Ye Zhiguo has a dark face every day, not only because of Ye Lan's job, but also because he feels he has lost face.

Because he suddenly realized that in the factory director's heart, his trusted confidant could actually be discarded at any time.

Even if Zhao Di's backer is the president of the Chamber of Commerce, she is just a temporary worker. The factory director could easily add another position. The salary is only five hundred yuan a month. The factory director and secretary spend more than that on a single meal!

But the factory manager said he was giving up without hesitation, only offering him a polite remark—

"Zhiguo, when we hire people in the future, we must give priority to your daughter!"

Who knows when they'll hire more workers again? Ye Zhiguo didn't believe any of these future promises. He suddenly remembered that the factory manager had made many promises to him about the future, but many of them hadn't been fulfilled.

She promised him a raise, promised to help him get a job at the factory with a relative from his hometown, and even promised to get him a color TV voucher...

So many things, but none of them have come to fruition.

His salary hadn't increased for three years, and his relatives back home hadn't been able to get jobs at the factory. The color TV was a grey market product he'd bought at a high price several years ago. The more Ye Zhiguo thought about it, the more depressed he became, and a deep sense of crisis welled up inside him.

His biggest asset in the factory was the factory director. If the director began to disregard him, his position as head of the security department could be taken over by someone else at any time.

The machinery factory was nominally a large state-owned enterprise, but in reality, it was just a private kingdom of a few factory directors and secretaries, who made all the decisions. In the machinery factory, the factory director was the emperor.

Ye Zhiguo, after much painful reflection, realized that he hadn't visited the factory director's home enough in the past two years, which was why the director had neglected him. He resolved to pull himself together and try to have a heart-to-heart talk with the director two or three times a week to solidify his position.

As for Wei Yugang, Ye Zhiguo didn't intend to let him off the hook. If this kid didn't handle his business well, then he shouldn't blame Ye Zhiguo for being impolite!

Ye Lan's shoe factory went bankrupt, and her clerk also left. She couldn't find a job for a while, so the old lady naturally wouldn't let her go. She handed over all the housework to Ye Lan, except for the three meals a day.

The hardworking old lady does laundry, mops the floor, wipes tables, chairs, and cabinets, and also picks up rotten vegetable leaves and stalks thrown away at the market. She also bought a few half-grown chickens, which she eats a lot of every day.

Every morning at six o'clock, the old lady would wake Ye Lan up on time and start working. She was more punctual than a crowing rooster. Ye Lan was busy from morning till night, her feet never touching the ground. It was no easier than working in a shoe factory.

She used to decide how much work she did at the shoe factory; she could do as much as she wanted and slack off when she didn't want to. But now, with the old lady supervising, even if Ye Lan went to the toilet a few more times, the old lady would scold her mercilessly.

Ye Qingqing was in a great mood every day. She was happy to see Ye Lan suffer. However, it wasn't good for Ye Lan to stay at home all the time. She had to create opportunities for Wei Yugang.

We must find a way to get Ye Lan back to work.

Ye Qingqing made up her mind to take some time to go to the job market to see if there were any shop assistant jobs available. These jobs were more flexible and would be more suitable for Wei Yugang.

Ye Lan, who was in dire straits, only found a little comfort in thinking about Lu Qingquan. She kept telling herself that the suffering was only temporary, and that once Brother Qingquan made something of himself, she would be someone of high status.

That old hag will definitely try to curry favor with her from now on, but she won't even acknowledge her.

With this belief, Ye Lan gritted her teeth and persevered, each day feeling like an eternity.

Before long, it was the last day of August. Ye Qingqing finished her summer homework and prepared to register at school the next day. Ye Tong's school also had registration the next day, and they had to pay a semester's living expenses all at once.