"Waaah... Mom, please stop hitting me. I promise I'll never do it again. I'll give you all my wages from now on, and I won't keep a single penny for myself, okay?" the little girl cried, begging for mercy.
The mother vented her anger before stopping, saying, "You want to do it again? You're not behaving when I don't keep an eye on you. I've wasted my time giving birth to you and raising you all these years."
Yan Xin was furious and turned to go in to confront the person, but Lin Xiazhu stopped her. She shook her head and whispered to Yan Xin, "Don't go in now, we'll talk about it later."
It would be better to call the mother and daughter in separately to talk. Going in now would only allow the mother to blame everything on her daughter, making the little girl suffer even more.
Actually, since they weren't working properly during work hours and were instead taking care of personal matters in the restroom, their supervisor could have easily fired them. However, it's not easy to work away from home, and Lin Xiazhu didn't want to make things difficult for them. But she also hoped that this kind of thing wouldn't happen again.
During the 10 o'clock break, Lin Xiazhu had the cleaner called in for questioning. "...I heard what you and your daughter were saying in the restroom. From now on, be more attentive to your work during work hours. Your daughter left her post just to listen to your scolding. Does she think the factory is her home?"
Lin Xiazhu disliked the cleaning lady. Her conversation with her daughter reminded Lin Xiazhu of Zhao Xiaolian. In her past life, Zhao Xiaolian was similar to this cleaning lady. She wished her daughter would hand over all her wages, and even then, she would still be scolded and receive no credit.
The cleaner, fearing she would lose her job, groveled and fawned over her, her attitude practically groveling. Lin Xiazhu felt a tightness in her chest. This was the kind of person she knew: fawning over others in public, yet treating her family like slaves, communicating only by yelling, resorting to violence at the slightest disagreement, making her children seem like enemies.
After the cleaner left, Lin Xiazhu called the girl in again and gave her some advice. This time, Lin Xiazhu didn't say anything harsh, but encouraged her to have her own thoughts, do what she wanted to do, and not care too much about what others thought.
The person being referred to was actually her mother, her family. However, Lin Xiazhu wasn't sure if she could understand. Lin Xiazhu couldn't directly criticize her mother, after all, she was her own mother. If you spoke ill of her mother in front of her, she might not be grateful and might even complain that you were meddling.
"Xiaozhu, have you ever read historical fiction? You know, the kind of online novels that will be super popular in a few years or ten years. I sometimes read them when I'm bored. Actually, online novels already exist now. Do you want to be a writer?" Yan Xin nudged her with her elbow with a smile.
The two sat in the inner room of the large office, which was the boss's office. There were only the two of them, so no one could hear what they wanted to say. Yan Xin had remembered this matter after overhearing Lin Xiazhu's conversation with the cleaning lady and her daughter.
"I'm not cut out for that. If you're interested, go ahead and write it. I can support you then." Lin Xiazhu had no desire to write a novel; the thought of sitting in front of the computer for hours just gave her a headache.
"Xiaozhu, you should replace your old pager. The latest color screen slider phone is out. We're the boss now, even if we're just small business owners, we still need to maintain a good image. We can't be too shabby." Yan Xin was very disgusted with Lin Xiazhu's pager. She had been using it for seven or eight years. Did she really intend to use it until it died?
"Of course, my point isn't about the difference between a PHS phone and a mobile phone. I just want to remind you that the internet age has officially begun. In a few years, everything will rely on the internet. Oh, I'm thinking of opening an online store or something. Now is the perfect time to start." Yan Xin was delighted because she had discovered another way to make money.
"That's good. I wish I had become a programmer, developed software, designed games, and so on. But being a programmer often means staying up all night, and I've heard it's easy to die suddenly. The risk is too great. It's safer for us to make money and invest." Lin Xiazhu said with a serious expression.
She remembered that Xiao An's company seemed to be involved in software and game development, something she knew nothing about. However, she did know that Xiao An sometimes worked late into the night, and thinking about it carefully, she was quite worried. She would have to remind him to stay up less late in the future.
"Staying up late damages your internal organs, makes your skin lose its luster and become dull, and it's also easy to develop spots and pigmentation. People with poor health are prone to nosebleeds... Staying up late is like committing slow suicide. We women absolutely cannot work late at night." Yan Xin said a bunch of alarmist things.
"Shh, take it easy. Don't let the employees hear these words. Our factory is full of women. They work in two shifts in the workshop. They rely on working overtime and staying up late to earn money. If you say things like that, how are they supposed to survive?" Lin Xiazhu shook her head helplessly.
In her past life, she had also worked night shifts for several years. There was no other way; there was a night shift allowance, which added a hundred or two hundred yuan to her salary. Although it was only a hundred or two hundred yuan, it was hard-earned for a worker. The salary for the long day shift was slightly lower, and in order to encourage workers to work the night shift, the long day shift often did not give overtime, which made the salary even lower. Therefore, many workers preferred to work the night shift.
"Poor working people, unfortunately I can only offer some moral support and verbal sympathy, there's nothing more I can do," Yan Xin said truthfully.
“Your family is so rich, you can use your own savings to subsidize some of it. For example, give a bonus of three to five yuan to outstanding employees, or a bonus of one or two hundred yuan for overproduction on the production line. That would comfort the girls,” Lin Xiazhu kept encouraging.
"I'd rather be a cold-blooded capitalist. I've never been a good person. I'll just pretend to be a saint and let myself turn evil on my own." Yan Xin said coldly.
"Hopeless. All you see is money. If I were as rich as you, I would definitely do more good deeds. After all, I am more kind-hearted than you," Lin Xiazhu said sarcastically.
Yan Xin ignored her and refused to fall for it. The factory's benefits were considered good in the entire industrial zone. If you asked around, you would find that no other small factory in the vicinity offered better benefits than theirs. That was enough. Too much kindness would only make the workers more greedy, and then the leaders of other factories would have something to say about it.
If it arouses public outrage, it will be difficult to handle. Every industry has unspoken rules, which are necessary to maintain social order. Otherwise, you'll be attacked by a mob.
Around noon, the security guard came in to report that someone was looking for him outside. The guard didn't recognize the man, so he didn't let him in. "Mr. Lin, that young man looks very tall and handsome. He's driving a sports car. He looks like a rich man's son. As soon as he got out of the car, he said he wanted to see you and told me not to dawdle and to come in and inform you."
As the security guard spoke, he kept a close eye on Lin Xiazhu's expression, trying to glean something from her face. Based on his years of experience as a security guard, he was certain that the handsome young man was one of President Lin's suitors.
The young man looks very outstanding and comes from a good family, but he is too cold-hearted, domineering, and has too strong an aura. When he speaks, it feels like he is giving orders and not allowing any disobedience.
"Who is it? Could it be Bai Ru'an? How did he find his way here? You went back this afternoon, why are you in such a hurry? Is something wrong?" Yan Xin's tone was certain that the person who came was Bai Ru'an.
Lin Xiazhu picked up her mobile phone and glanced at it. There were no missed calls. She put her things into her bag, stood up and said, "I'll go check. If it's Xiao An, I'll go back with him. I won't wait for you."
"What a guy who values women over friends." Yan Xin scoffed.
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