Chapter 19

As it turns out, Hu Zhenzhen was right about him.

Fang Ping is indeed very talented in animal husbandry and is also an extremely hardworking person.

Her life had been so hard that even with 200% effort, she always felt it wasn't enough.

Hu Zhenzhen gave too much.

She offered her a factory manager position, a high salary of 10,000 yuan per month, comfortable accommodation, and a private management tutor.

Fang Ping felt like she was in a dream these past two days.

She took her daughter to her new school. By the fence, she saw her new classmates greeting Zhenzhen. Zhenzhen had cut her overly long bangs and smiled so happily for the first time in three years.

Since she couldn't drive a car, Mr. Hu could only give her an electric scooter.

But this is enough for Fang Ping. With this electric car, she can go to many places she has never been before, and she can also pick up her daughter herself every weekend.

Fang Ping felt like she had woken up from a dream when she saw Li Huaen at the entrance of the dairy factory construction site.

The day has finally come.

Her nightmares returned.

Standing at the entrance of the still-unfinished milk factory, Fang Ping felt a sense of trepidation, almost afraid to go in.

Unfortunately, even though she didn't move, Li Huaen noticed her from a distance.

"Honey, I've finally found you! Why didn't you tell me you were moving?"

Fang Ping felt a wave of dizziness upon hearing this.

"We're divorced. Please have some self-respect."

"Self-respect?" Li Huaen scoffed. "Oh, you're using such elegant words now. You're my wife, we've had our wedding ceremony, we've hosted a big feast for the villagers, you'll be a member of the Li family for life."

We're divorced!

Fang Ping put on a fierce expression.

But Li Huaen wasn't afraid of her. "Alright, we can talk about divorce later. Give me the money first. I've heard that you met a super rich female boss, haven't you?"

Li Huaen's eyes gleamed with greed as he exaggeratedly drew a circle in the air with his hand. "Such a big garden, such a large piece of land, and she gave it all to you. She must have given you a lot of money too, right?"

He moved closer. "Give me the money, I'll pay off the loan, and we can live a good life together, giving Zhenzhen a complete family. Isn't that better?"

He's good at saying nice things when he's trying to fool people, and Fang Ping won't be fooled anymore.

Mentioning Zhenzhen sent a jolt through her body, causing her to tremble violently. She grabbed Li Huaen by the collar and said, "If you dare to harass my daughter, I'll haunt you even in hell."

Li Huaen's neck was being strangled by the collar, but he smiled and grabbed Fang Ping's hand that was gripping his collar.

“That’s right. If you give me money, I won’t visit my daughter. She transferred to the best middle school, right? I’ve heard about it.”

His voice was low, like the tongue of a venomous snake, drilling into people's ears.

Should we really give him the money?

Fang Ping gritted her teeth.

No, absolutely not.

For the first time in her life, she was trusted and saw the potential in her life. She was unwilling to accept that this man would ruin everything again.

In her haste, Fang Ping bit the man's outstretched thumb.

She used every ounce of her strength, and for a moment she didn't think about anything else.

"Damn it, you crazy woman, you fucking let go!"

The man slapped her with all his might, but he couldn't pull his finger out.

"Are you fucking crazy? Let go of me!"

The commotion was so loud that it alerted the employees guarding the entrance to the farm.

"Hey, what are you doing!"

The security guard called out, took a closer look, and discovered that the one who bit the person was the newly appointed manager of the farm. He immediately rushed forward.

"Factory manager, what's wrong?"

The moment the question left his mouth, the security guard sensed something was wrong. The factory manager had always been very gentle; there was no reason for him to be so fixated on one person.

He had a sudden inspiration, remembering the big boss's instructions, and swung his arm to slap Li Huaen.

This slap not only stunned Li Huaen, but also Fang Ping, who unconsciously relented.

"Damn it! Are you fucking crazy?!"

Li Huaen started cursing as soon as he opened his mouth, and the security guard didn't tolerate him. Seeing that Fang Ping had let go of his hand, he had no more worries and slapped her with even more force.

Hu Zhenzhen hired professional security guards, and every member of the security team had a combat sports certificate.

Li Huaen, a spineless coward who only knows how to eat, drink, gamble, and whore, might have enough strength to deal with weak women, but he's completely outmatched by security guards.

He tried to fight back, but before his fist could land on the security guard, he was already knocked over.

Fang Ping was stunned and didn't move for a long time.

Li Huaen lay on the ground howling, temporarily unable to fight back. Taking advantage of this moment, the security guard quickly dialed a phone number.

"Hey, Captain, that guy Mr. Hu mentioned is right at the door. Should we arrest him?"

"Okay, I'll hold him down and wait for you at the door."

Fang Ping only heard those two sentences.

These few minutes passed quickly. Soon, the iron gate of the farm was opened, and the security captain led three men out.

"Is this the person you're looking for?"

Fang Ping trembled slightly as she recognized the three men as the loan sharks from before.

However, now, these three tall, broad-shouldered, burly men all wore polite smiles and thanked the security captain.

"Yes, yes, this is the person. We've been looking for him for a long time."

"If it's him, that's fine," the security captain gestured to the guards at the door to raise their hands. "Take him away. Every wrong has its perpetrator, and every debt has its debtor. If he comes looking for trouble with our boss again, things won't be so easy to resolve."

"Don't worry, don't worry, we will definitely not come again."

The loan shark loudly assured him.

They dragged Li Huaen off the ground like a dead pig and quickly left.

The scene was completely different from what Fang Ping had imagined.

When the three loan sharks passed by her, they even avoided eye contact, as if she were some kind of monster.

Fang Ping vaguely realized that something was different.

She looked at the security guard and said, "Thank you."

"You're welcome, you're welcome," the security guard on duty at the gate quickly waved his hand. "This was all instructed by General Manager Hu in advance. She said that such a person might appear soon, and we should all be careful."

The security guard chuckled sheepishly, "Whoever catches this person will get a thousand yuan reward."

"Did President Hu give these instructions a long time ago?" Fang Ping asked.

“Yes,” the security captain said, “she even specifically instructed us to notify those loan sharks. If you ask me, it makes sense. Of all people to offend, these loan sharks had to make trouble for Mr. Hu.”

He lowered his voice, gossiping, "Factory manager, you don't know, do you? I heard that General Manager Hu called the loan shark company directly, and their boss was so scared that he immediately wanted to call them back from our farm."

"Then why are they still here?"

"Hey, Mr. Hu said that every wrong has its perpetrator and every debt its debtor. Whoever owes the usurious money should be the one to collect it. He even offered to help them find the debtor. When the usurious loan sharks heard this, they sent these two people over. They've been waiting here for three days, just waiting for the debtor to walk right into their trap."

Fang Ping said "Oh" and entered the gate with an outwardly indifferent expression.

The two security guards watched her retreating figure and whispered to each other, "Captain, is the factory manager alright? She seems a little unhappy."

"What do you know?" The security captain took out a handful of sunflower seeds from his pocket and started cracking them open. "This is called extreme joy and sorrow; you can't make an expression for a moment."

He turned his head to the side and said, "How can you not be upset if you have an ex-husband who owes you high-interest loans and keeps pestering you for money? It's only because our General Manager Hu cares about his employees that he can even resolve this kind of issue. Otherwise, the factory manager would probably still be being pestered."

The security guard's eyes lit up when Mr. Hu was mentioned.

"Hey, Captain, when will we get the bonus of one thousand?"

The team leader threw the sunflower seed shells into the trash can. "What's the rush? I'll apply for it for you tomorrow."

Fang Ping didn't hear a word of the security guards' discussion behind her. She walked straight ahead with her head down, heading straight back to her dormitory. Only after lying on her bed and pulling the blanket over her head did she dare to breathe deeply.

A slow-motion replay appeared in my mind, showing everything that had just happened.

It's true, she really got rid of that man.

The thought swirled in Fang Ping's mind, and her eyes suddenly welled up with tears. She opened her mouth and laughed.

Tears and smiles fell together, and the previous cowardice seemed to disappear with them.

Fang Ping realized for the first time that Li Huaen's strength was not so great after all; he was not invincible and could be dragged along like a dead dog.

She can defeat him too.

Fang Ping realized this. Although she relied on President Hu this time, she had learned how to defeat Li Huaen.

She will study hard, create value relentlessly, become a superior person, and then trample him underfoot for the rest of his life.

He will never again threaten her, nor will he ever again try to disrupt the lives of the mother and daughter.

Fang Ping wiped away her tears, crawled out of bed, and washed her face.

After tidying up her appearance, she solemnly took out her phone, opened Hu Zhenzhen's WeChat, and sent a message.

Fang Ping: Mr. Hu, thank you for today. I will continue to work hard and make Baihua Dairy Factory the best dairy factory in S City as quickly as possible!

In the Woshan Villa, Hu Zhenzhen lay in a small room specially prepared for massage, enjoying the acupressure from the masseuse.

Chen Kaili stood beside her and read the newly arrived WeChat message to her.

"Boss, it's a thank-you message from Fang Ping."

"Okay, please tell her 'you're welcome' for me," Hu Zhenzhen said, her face still embedded in the groove of the massage bed, not forgetting to gossip, "What did you say about Li Huaen?"

Chen Kai smiled slightly, "Factory Director Fang's ex-husband has been taken away by loan sharks. The owner of the loan company just called to thank you for catching this habitual offender for him."

"recidivist?"

Chen Kai immediately explained to her, "Li Huaen borrows money from loan sharks every time he gambles, and then his parents and wife pay it off for him. He has borrowed from almost every loan shark in S City."

“His parents died of anger because of him last year, and Factory Director Fang divorced him around that time. However, Li Huaen would often rush to their former residence to extort money. For the past year, Fang Ping has lived in his shadow and still has to pay back his money from time to time.”

Hu Zhenzhen cursed, "What a scumbag."

“He borrowed from every loan shark, but he never paid back all of them. In total, he still owes more than 700,000 yuan, and three of those debts belong to the company owned by that boss.”

Hu Zhenzhen immediately understood and burst out laughing.

"This boss is really unlucky. It seems that the information of his various companies is not shared. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been ruined by one person."

Chen Kai smiled too.

"So after catching Li Huaen, Boss Chen was very excited and said that he would make Li Huaen move bricks on his construction site to pay off the debt. He would release him only when the debt was paid off."

"He even called to thank you, not only for helping him solve his business problems, but also for discovering the abnormality of the school's milk source, preventing the children from continuing to drink toxic milk."

Hu Zhenzhen suddenly looked up. "His child also goes to Beiguan Elementary School?"

"That's right, they seem to be in the second year too, but in a different class."

Hu Zhenzhen became even more energetic; she had never encountered such people from the gray area in real life before.

Did he attend the last parent-teacher conference?

"No, he said he only found out how unreliable the school's milk was after his wife mentioned it. By the way, besides expressing his gratitude, he also sent an invitation to discuss business with you at Wanfu Shopping Mall."

Hu Zhenzhen raised an eyebrow slightly and refused.

She didn't want her business to be associated with bosses who were thriving in the gray areas.

"Wanfu Mall has already been planned. I told Mr. Chen that it's a pity we can't have the opportunity to cooperate."

The mention of the parent-teacher meeting made Hu Zhenzhen think about tomorrow's meeting, and a lot of questions arose.

"Has the meeting venue been cleaned up?"

Chen Kai took out his notebook and, before Hu Zhenzhen could ask any other questions, began to explain the meeting arrangements one by one.

"As you suggested, the coffee shop on the top floor of Wanfu Shopping Mall has been completed first and is temporarily separated from the dog park area which is still under construction. It will be able to serve guests normally tomorrow."

"In addition to the optional coffee, we will prepare 100 kilograms of fresh milk for parents to sample on-site."

"Baihua Dairy Factory's qualifications have been approved, and the production line will be fully operational by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

Hu Zhenzhen stood up, patted him on the shoulder, and praised him, "As expected of you, Chen Kai, you handled things very well."

Chen Kai smiled and continued, "Director Fang will also open the gates of the cattle farm tomorrow, ready to welcome parents who may want to visit."

Four days have passed since Hu Zhenzhen bought the cattle and sheep.

She had previously mentioned to the principal that she would recommend a milk brand to him in a week.

It seems there is still enough time.

That's enough for her to bring Baihua Milk to market.

"How's the preparation for reporting Sanniu Milk coming along?"

"The document has been anonymously sent to the mayor's email address," Chen Kai said, his brow furrowing deeply as he mentioned the matter.

"Boss, there's something I'd like to report to you."

Hu Zhenzhen had complete faith in Chen Kai's judgment. "Go ahead and speak."

"San Niu Milk made the news yesterday, voluntarily exposing the issue of additives."

"Um?"

Hu Zhenzhen was genuinely surprised by their actions and let out a puzzled sigh.

Chen Kai opened the video on his phone and handed it to Hu Zhenzhen.

The reporter is interviewing two middle-aged people.

The older-looking man is the factory manager of San Niu Dairy Factory in S City.

Reporter: "Why did you choose to expose the additives in San Niu milk?"

The factory manager hung his head, looking guilty. "Due to our employees' negligence, propylene glycol, which should have been added to the dumpling wrappers, was added to the milk instead. This was our mistake, and we should apologize to the public."

The person standing next to the factory manager is Wang Changyou.

Seize the opportunity and quickly add fuel to the fire for the factory manager.

"Since discovering this oversight, the factory director has been unable to eat or sleep, and has been losing clumps of hair from anxiety. He has a very strong sense of morality and feels guilty towards the public, which is why he made up his mind to announce this matter to the public and apologize to everyone."

“This incident was just an accident. San Niu Milk could have suppressed the incident, but we still decided to take responsibility to the public, sincerely apologize to everyone, and recall the milk produced in May and June.”

The factory manager added, "Consumers who have consumed Sanniu milk over the past two months, please don't be afraid. This milk was originally intended to be added to dumpling wrappers, and the dosage is within the safe range and will not have any effect on the human body."

Hu Zhenzhen had no patience to listen to what they said next.

She turned off the screen. "That's a good move. Taking the initiative in front of the public will at least give a good impression of admitting your mistake."

Hu Zhenzhen originally only wanted to report them.

But it seems that simply reporting it is not very useful, and Sanniu Milk will continue to operate in the market.

"Let's wait and see. The whistleblower letter has only just been submitted. Maybe they'll be punished later."

Human energy is limited, so Hu Zhenzhen still wants to improve her Baihua Milk business so that the students of Beiguan Primary School can drink safe and reliable milk.

As for San Niu Milk, others will naturally take care of that.

That was Hu Zhenzhen's initial thought.

But the moment she opened WeChat and saw the mention in the group chat, her thoughts changed completely.

[Zhang Xinjie, representative of Class 1, Grade 5: Is the thing trending on Weibo true? @Hu Zhenzhen, representative of Class 3, Grade 2]

[Zhang Xinjie, representative of Class 5-1: Did you really steal the child?]

Hu Zhenzhen's smile faded. After checking Weibo, she finally understood what had happened.

The thing that went viral was also an interview.

The interviewee, Hu Zhenzhen, is Jiang Hua's older sister.

She lay in the hospital bed, looking noticeably thinner than when Hu Zhenzhen had last seen her.

She broke down in tears when facing reporters.

"Yes, Hu Zhenzhen is my younger brother's wife. They met online, and my brother got completely absorbed in the relationship, ignoring his family's objections and getting married to her in a flash."

"The day we got our marriage certificate, he died in an accident."

“He only left behind his son Jiang Chen, my poor nephew. He used to live with me, and now Hu Zhenzhen has taken him away.”

Opening the comments section, you'll find many netizens helping to uphold justice.

[Seriously? The stepmother just took the child away? Does she have a sadistic streak? I'm worried about the child.]

We should also consider the child's own feelings. How is it any different from being abducted if a stranger suddenly takes him away?

[I have a dark thought: could this person be marrying for the sake of the child?]

[It sent chills down my spine. Did her brother really die in an accident?]

...

There are thousands of such comments.

All the online trolls need to do is set the tone, and the thoughts of passersby who come in later will naturally follow their lead.

Of course, there were also objective onlookers, but they were few in number and were lost in the crowd.

Hu Zhenzhen stood still, staring at her phone.

Chen Kai, standing behind him, sensed something was wrong. He noticed the interface on his boss's phone and opened Weibo, where he saw the trending topics.

"Boss, should I hire an online troll army to help you deal with this?"

Hu Zhenzhen was scrolling through the comments when she said, "No need. Someone has already made a move. If I make the same move, wouldn't that be too boring?"

She turned around, a relaxed smile on her face.

"Someone actually bought a trending topic for us. It would be a waste not to make good use of it."

"I'll take this opportunity to let everyone know that Xiao Chen is now my son and has nothing to do with the bloodsucking Jiang Chen family anymore."

Seeing her smile, Chen Kai's mood calmed down as well.

"Boss, please tell us, what should we do?"

When Hu Zhenzhen demanded a written agreement from Jiang Lintianxia to sever their relationship, she had already considered the possibility that Jiang Lintianxia might change her mind.

Jiang Lin alone couldn't have caused such a commotion.

The person behind this is also quite obvious.

It's such a coincidence that Jiang Lin and Sanniu Milk both appeared on the trending topics list during the same interview at roughly the same time.

"Let the rumors fly a little longer, let things escalate."

The masseuse who had been massaging Hu Zhenzhen had already left, leaving only Hu Zhenzhen and Chen Kai in the room.

"Once things blow up, we'll post the evidence and use the buzz to boost Baihua Milk's brand awareness."

"This saves us money on advertising."

She clicked her tongue, looking slightly disappointed.

"However, the parents' meeting will have to be postponed for now. We'll reschedule with the principal for three days later. I think by then, Baihua Milk will give him a satisfactory answer."

Chen Kai agreed, but he was still somewhat worried.

"Shouldn't we explain this to the parents first?"

"No need," Hu Zhenzhen decisively tossed her phone aside. "Saying anything now would be a waste of time."

"Let them find out the truth for themselves," she said with a smile, comforting Chen Kai, who looked gloomy. "Maybe they'll have to apologize to me later."

A few minutes later, Hu Zhenzhen saw Jiang Chen standing pitifully at her bedroom door and immediately felt the urge to explain things as soon as possible.

Kids these days are out of the internet at a young age, so Hu Zhenzhen bought Jiang Chen a cell phone so he could contact his classmates.

It's not so surprising that he would see things trending on social media.

"Did Xiao Chen see what was said online?"

Jiang Chen nodded, took the initiative to hold Hu Zhenzhen's hand, and comforted her, "Mom didn't treat me badly, and I didn't want to go with Aunt."

He was noticeably more talkative than when Hu Zhenzhen had just brought him back, but when faced with such an urgent matter, he still couldn't find the right words to say.

Hu Zhenzhen patted his head. "I know."

Jiang Chen was a little anxious and looked up, saying, "They don't know, I'll go explain for Mom!"

He was in a hurry and acted immediately, pulling out his phone right then and there.

Hu Zhenzhen found Jiang Chen's earnest expression endearing, and she gently rubbed his increasingly chubby little face.

For the first time, Jiang Chen refused Hu Zhenzhen's advances, solemnly pushing her hand away, "Mom, Xiao Chen is doing something important!"

Okay──

Hu Zhenzhen regretfully let go of Jiang Chen's hand, and looked at his face a few times with reluctance.

"Then I'll leave the explanation to Xiao Chen."

Jiang Chen gave a strong "hmm" and went back to his room with a lot of momentum.

Hu Zhenzhen couldn't help but laugh as she watched his retreating figure.

"We should probably hire some online trolls, otherwise it's too pitiful for Xiao Chen to fight all by himself."