At the factory, when Old Lady Xia asked for leave, several people gathered in the conference room for a meeting. However, Director Yuan had changed his usual attitude of showing off and became silent today.
Yesterday, news came from the public security department that the origin of the entire rumor was actually Xiang Qiaoqian, who worked in the same office with Director Yuan. The factory director vaguely remembered that this girl was Director Yuan's niece.
When I first passed the exam, I was working in the workshop. Later, Director Yuan promoted me to work in his factory office.
Yesterday, Xiang Qiaoqian cried and said she just didn't want to be isolated in the dormitory. She and Qiao Yi used to be best friends, but recently Qiao Yi had been constantly looking for Old Lady Xia. At Director Yuan's plea, the factory director suppressed the matter, simply asking them to reconsider their responsibilities and not to do it again.
The matter was let go and no one was hurt. Considering that it was Xiang Qiaoqian's first offense and Director Yuan had worked for the factory for many years, the matter between the two was just lightly covered, although it was not fair to Old Lady Xia, the person involved.
Although their discussion today wasn't about rumors, it was certainly related to Old Lady Xia. They discovered that since Old Lady Xia had only been living at the factory for two weeks after her divorce, rumors about her had spread everywhere, and the police had been called twice.
Every day when she was wandering around with nothing to do, she would chat with this young female worker who had just joined the factory, or that young female worker who had just started dating someone. Then, within a few days, they would start arguing with the male workers, and they would have a lot of things to say.
One man even reported that he had been planning to take a woman to meet his family, but after one night, she refused to meet him and insisted on breaking up. When a workshop leader thought of this man, he pictured his bewildered and indignant expression.
I clearly saw Comrade Xia often silent and alone, and I thought it was because no one liked her when she got divorced. It turned out that the old employees didn't like her, but she herself would find someone to chat with, and they were all inexperienced female comrades, which made the young guys in the factory complain.
Their leaders all agreed that Comrade Lao Xia was the most restless time bomb in their factory, and that he might lead some weak-willed female comrades into a fight with the male comrades at any time.
It would be fine if they got into a fight with people from their own factory, but they were afraid that they would lead a group of people to fight with other factories. The leaders couldn't sleep well when they thought of that scene. Several factories often held parties or social gatherings together.
She must be kicked out and cannot live in the dormitory anymore. Several people in the meeting room agreed.
Seeing that they had already discussed it, Director Yuan said, "Have you decided where to take her?"
Factory Director: "Old Yuan, this is the job of your factory office."
Director Yuan: "I do have a few houses, but they have not been lived in for many years. No matter where they are, they need to be repaired. If Comrade Xia pays for it himself, I am afraid..."
The factory director interrupted her, "We still have to provide her with basic weatherproofing. Otherwise, she'll be living in a house that's about to collapse, and then she'll tear down my office. It's not uncommon for the factory to pay for repairs after allocating housing. Which ones do you have your eyes on?"
Director Yuan: "Considering that Comrade Lao Xia lives alone and doesn't have a large family, the house I chose is not big. One of them is in Huaihua Lane, which is in the same compound as Master Li's."
The factory director shook his head: "No, Master Li's compound has people from not only our factory but also other factories. Moreover, the people in that compound are notoriously bad-tempered. I'm afraid that when the time comes..."
Everyone knows the factory director, needless to say, and we are afraid that everyone will be led astray just like in the dormitory.
Director Yuan continued, "Or maybe it's the compound near the neighborhood committee. There are retired cadres living there, as well as retired leaders from several nearby factories. I'm afraid..."
The factory manager said, "That won't work. If that happens, the senior leaders will be scared and end up in the hospital every day. I'll definitely be criticized. Next one."
After several suggestions, no one was satisfied. Finally, Director Yuan opened his mouth and said, "Otherwise... the only option left is the large compound behind our factory across the river. It's close to here, and it's bustling every day. The houses there are also pretty good and don't need major renovations..."
The factory director's scalp throbbed. The compound was full of troublemakers from various factories, none of whom were easy to get along with. However, it was just that place, no matter how much trouble they made, it wouldn't be too conspicuous. It was simply a chosen place.
The factory manager nodded.
Seeing that they agreed, Director Yuan was still a little worried. Although the rumors she spread earlier made people think she was not a good leader, she was not a bad person to the core. She said hesitantly, "Comrade Xia is petite, a lesbian, and quite old. It would not be good if she was bullied living there."
Seeing that everyone had listened to her, she continued, "There are two strong men over there who are very difficult to deal with. I heard that one of them scared an old lady from their factory to faint when he opened his mouth."
The factory manager hesitated: "Is it really that scary?"
Director Yuan: "I just heard that there are no colleagues living there yet, and I haven't visited them. How about I go over there after get off work today to find out more about the situation?"
The factory director and other leaders were unsure what to do. If something went wrong, it would be terrible. "After get off work, go to the security department and find a few people to go with you. Don't go alone."
Director Yuan: "But if that one doesn't work, there really won't be anywhere else. Housing is tight right now. The houses I just mentioned, except for the last one, are only slightly better than dilapidated and can be used after some repairs. If those don't work, the rest are all on the verge of collapse. If we really assign them to Comrade Lao Xia, I'm afraid the factory will have to pay for a reconstruction. And if we do, the others will probably make a fuss."
The factory manager was in a new predicament. If the new housing was truly rebuilt, the other workers who had already been allocated housing would not only likely but certainly protest. When they were first allocated housing, it was already in a state of disrepair, and many had to pay for repairs themselves. If Old Xia were to be singled out, there would undoubtedly be those who would be dissatisfied. Once the first protest started, more would follow, making it difficult to handle.
"Go check out the house first. If it's okay, tell her directly. If not, just let her live in the dormitory. You can't push a good person into trouble just to save us some trouble."
After discussing these things, everyone dispersed and continued with their afternoon work.
Little did they know that Old Lady Xia had driven Tian Chengping away, rented a house outside for a month for his sister to move in first, and then rushed to the factory in a rage.
As a senior comrade and a sixth-level worker, the factory should give her priority in allocating housing. She meets all the requirements, even a very small house will do.
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