The deputy factory director was panting like an old ox doing manual labor. "This is simply nonsense. What does their family affairs have to do with you? Do you have to give them advice behind their backs?"
Old Lady Xia: "I didn't offer any advice. I was just trying to comfort them. They have to figure out their family affairs themselves before they know what to do. If they can't figure it out themselves, no matter what outsiders say, it's useless. Please don't say anything."
The deputy factory director said, "If you hadn't comforted them, they could have continued on as they were before, with a stable and harmonious family and smooth relationships. How wonderful it would have been to live like that. And Director Yuan, you've brought her up like this. Now she's divorced and alone."
Director Yuan: "A lonesome family is more lively than a large one. But it's better for me to serve the whole family alone, don't you think?"
The deputy factory director said, "You've really been led astray, Lao Yuan. I don't remember you being like this before."
Director Yuan: "What was I like before? I had to wash clothes for the whole family before I had even finished giving birth. Or, those people who were healthy were sitting there like paraplegics, asking me, who had just given birth, to prepare meals and hand them chopsticks.
Or maybe after all these years of hard work, they still say I'm not as virtuous as other people's wives, that no one's wife can earn money, or that no one's wife's family can help them? "
The deputy factory manager said, "Every woman has gone through this. This is your fate. Why didn't anyone complain when life was harder? Now that things are better, you find it unbearable. I think you're just too full, so you have the time to think about these things."
Old Lady Xia: "Tsk tsk, speaking of eating, how can you be as full as you? People don't forget the well diggers when they drink water. Your mother went through so much hardship to give birth to you, and you think she deserves it. You're really worse off than giving birth to a dog..."
Director Yuan suddenly coughed: "Cough cough."
Old Mrs. Xia immediately realized that these were not the people she had scolded before, and that what she had just said was indeed a bit vulgar.
She paused for a moment, and seeing the deputy director's face flushed red, she felt a little nervous. "Deputy Director, you're still more useful than a dog. Dogs aren't as lucky as you."
The deputy factory director's face immediately darkened. "Comrade Xia, listen to what you're saying. Is that how you're supposed to be the director of women's affairs? When you're involved in women's affairs, are you going to be talking about dogs and cats all the time?"
Old Mrs. Xia was furious. "Then why were you, men who don't even know the suffering of women, appointed as the director of women's affairs in our factory? I'm not qualified, so why should you be?"
Listen to what he just said. He explained how suffering like this is our fate as women. I think it's because of leaders like you who exploit and despise women that we women have such a hard time. Is it true that in your family, if you say one thing, your wife dares not disobey you, and if your father says go east, your mother dares not go west?
Isn't this just landlord behavior? Are your wife and mother farmhands? Don't they have human rights? Do they have to listen to the bullshit you and your father tell them? You're lecturing me! I see more clearly than you how hard life is for us women, and I deserve to be the director.
Director Yuan suddenly clapped his hands loudly. "I agree. I support it."
The final result was that Old Lady Xia and Director Yuan were kicked out together because the deputy factory director, who had just been scolded by Old Lady Xia, suddenly felt unwell and almost fainted.
"Old Yuan." Old man Xia called her guiltily.
Director Yuan sighed, "Old Xia."
Old Lady Xia: "Do I still have hope?"
Director Yuan: "I will do my best to help you."
Mrs. Xia: "I will continue to work hard to learn how to persuade others in a civilized manner."
Director Yuan: "You must work hard."
Old Mrs. Xia returned to the workshop dejectedly and didn't even want to eat.
Until the end of the day, Old Mrs. Xia kept thinking about what the people in the office were thinking.
She always felt that no one wanted her to be the director of the women's department, and even the factory union didn't want her to join.
Otherwise, even if she didn't become the director of the Women's Department, she could still work as a grassroots member of the factory union and get in touch with a lot of people.
Old Lady Xia had spent most of her life at the grassroots level in the workshop, quietly working as a front-line worker. She never thought about what the leaders were thinking, so even though her head hurt from thinking about it, she could only vaguely feel that her path to the top was extremely difficult.
This state of affairs was unacceptable. Old Mrs. Xia was very upset and felt that she still had many things to ask others for advice.
She originally thought that Jiang Wenhua might be able to see things more clearly than her. Although the boy was just a porter, he was smart. But he said that he didn't want to see her climb up the ladder, so she would never go to him again.
Old Lady Xia walked slowly back home. She wanted to ask Yu Hongzhen for advice, as he was also a capable man. But thinking of Jiang Wenhua's talk about gay men and lesbians, Old Lady Xia felt that Yu Hongzhen might not know how to teach her.
Her path to climb up was different from Yu Hongzhen's, and it was completely different in difficulty.
She went home and whispered to her sister for a long time until dinner time. Then Chen Xiangbei, the child, came in having escaped from somewhere again, with a weed hanging in his hair.
Old Mrs. Xia was thinking about her own things and didn't pay any attention to him.
There were sounds of arguing outside the door, and the heads of the three people in Old Lady Xia's family couldn't help but pop out.
A short old man who looked a little withered was pointing at Jiang Wenhua's nose and cursing. Several men were following behind him, and they seemed to be rushing to their house.
Jiang Wenhua's face darkened as he pushed the old man's hand away. "Dad, my sister has been beaten like this, and you still want to take them away from me? She's your own daughter."
The withered old man was none other than Qiu's father. He was jumping up and down like a wild monkey, ranting wildly, "You little bastard, who's your dad? You ruined your sister's marriage before, and now you want to get her kicked out by her in-laws? I'm telling you, if she really gets kicked out, I'll hang myself at your doorstep. I'll let everyone know you're an unfilial son who forced your adoptive father to death."
Jiang Wenhua: "Are you my dad? One moment you say no, the next moment you say yes. Are you or are you not?"
Father Qiu felt like he was going to die of anger. He always got mad every time he talked to this kid. Is now the time to talk about this? Regardless of whether he is his father or not, regardless of whether he recognizes him as his son or not, the most important thing now is to apologize to his son-in-law and his family, and then send his daughter back safely.
"Jiang Wenhua, don't tell me anything else. Call your sister out right now and let her go back with my son-in-law. How can she live in her brother's house when she's already married?"
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