Xia Liang was unaffected. She squatted down to check on her daughter, wanting to see if she was frightened. The little one had somehow gotten hold of a candy and was now happily munching on it! Seeing this, Xia Liang knew she wasn't scared. She pulled her along and asked the homeroom teacher to lead the way to the classroom to wait. Everyone made way for them, and Xia Liang led her child and Chen Yanling and the others to her daughter's classroom to wait.
Lele's mother has just arrived at the furniture factory with her child. At the entrance, she was stopped by the gatekeeper. Seeing her disheveled hair and looking like she'd been rolling around in a rage, the gatekeeper assumed she was there to cause trouble and kept his distance. Lele's mother cried out, "Grandpa, please open the door and let me in! I need to find my husband. We're a widow and her child, and we're being bullied to death!" The old man, who had initially feared she would cause trouble, was less worried upon hearing she was being bullied, but he still didn't open the door for her. After all, the big boss had instructed him not to let just anyone in; if something went wrong, he'd lose his job. However, he still approached the door and asked, "What's wrong, lady?" Lele's mother gave a distorted account, saying, "My son was beaten up by a classmate at school, so I went to the school to ask the teacher to have the other child's parents come in so we could talk things over. But when they came, they saw we were easy targets and started hitting us without saying a word. That's why I was thinking of asking my husband to help us get justice." She wiped away tears as she spoke, as if she had suffered a terrible injustice. The gatekeeper... The old man was a kind man. Seeing her crying so pitifully, he quickly comforted her, "Don't cry. I can't open the door for you, but I can call someone for you. What department does your husband work in? What's his name?" Lele's mother sobbed, "My husband's name is Wang Peng. He works in Technical Workshop One." The old man nodded, "Okay, I understand." Then he spoke into the microphone installed in the guardhouse, "Wang Peng from Workshop One, your wife is waiting for you at the door. Wang Peng from Workshop One, your wife is waiting for you at the door." He called out three times before turning off the microphone and saying to Lele's mother, "Wait here for a while. He'll be out soon." Lele's mother thanked the old man obediently and waited for her husband at the door. It wasn't that she was particularly polite, but she was afraid of being scolded by her husband. After all, this was at the entrance of her husband's workplace. If she caused trouble and embarrassed him, he would definitely beat her to death.
At that moment, Xia Dahe was in the first technical workshop, checking on the workers' progress. Hearing the announcement over the loudspeaker, he looked towards Wang Peng. Wang Peng, having clearly heard it too, quickly approached him to ask for leave: "Supervisor Xia, I need to go out for a bit." Xia Dahe wasn't one to make things difficult for people. Although they'd been quite busy since the furniture store opened, every business has unexpected events; it was all normal. He nodded: "Go ahead." Wang Peng, having received permission, thanked him profusely and ran out, cursing his stupid wife under his breath. Why couldn't she wait until they got home? Why did she have to make a scene at the workplace? And to make matters worse, her father saw them. He'd have to give her a good beating when they got back. He thought this fiercely as he walked out.
Upon reaching the door and seeing his wife disheveled, his initial anger subsided. However, seeing his son standing beside his mother, sobbing, his rage reignited. He demanded, "What happened?" He could tell at a glance that the mother and son had been bullied, but he knew his wife's personality—she usually benefited, rarely suffered a loss, but she couldn't stand seeing her son being bullied. He confronted his wife, demanding, "What exactly happened?" Seeing her husband's anger, Lele's mother was a little frightened, but still stammered, "Yesterday, Lele was beaten up, and today I said I'd go to the school to find her parents to settle things. But her parents were unreasonable; they brought four or five people and beat me up." Thinking of the slaps and the kicks that still throbbed in her stomach, she started sobbing again. Wang Peng impatiently said, "Stop crying. I'll go ask for leave. I want to see who's so arrogant." With that, he ran towards the workshop.
Upon arriving at the workshop, Xia Dahe noticed Wang Peng, who had been all smiles just moments before, now had a gloomy face. He asked with concern, "What's wrong?" Wang Peng immediately adopted a pitiful posture, saying, "Manager Xia, my child was beaten up at school. My wife went to reason with them, but a lot of people came. Seeing that we were a widow and her child, they beat my wife too! Life is unbearable! It's not easy for us outsiders to make a living in Beijing!" Xia Dahe felt sorry for him. Indeed, those without support in a foreign land are easily bullied. Back in their village, even when he and his brothers went to the city for odd jobs, they were easily bullied; let alone outsiders who had come all the way to Beijing. His compassion instantly surged. He said, "Jiang Liang, come here for a moment." Jiang Liang was in workshop one... The foreman, seeing his supervisor calling him, quickly put down his work and ran over, saying, "Supervisor Xia, what's the matter?" Xia Dahe said, "Wang Peng's family member in your team has been beaten up. Get a few workers to go with him and save face. We can't let people think we outsiders are easy to bully." Jiang Liang, also a hot-blooded young man, immediately called over several strong young men, saying, "Supervisor Xia, do you think we have enough people?" Xia Dahe saw that they were all strong laborers in their twenties and thirties; a dozen or so would be enough. He nodded and said, "Okay, but remember one thing: don't fight! Just apologize. If it gets too much, go to the police station." Jiang Liang nodded, "I understand, Supervisor Xia." He then led the group to the door to meet up with Lele's mother and son.
Seeing his wife standing there dumbfounded, Wang Peng shouted, "Let's go! I'm going to the school to get justice!" Lele's mother, seeing her husband return with so many people after just one trip inside, instantly straightened her back. She grabbed her son and followed behind the group of strong men, determined to teach that woman a lesson today; anyone who dared to hit her would be in deep trouble. When they arrived at the school gate, the crowd that had been watching the commotion was still there. Seeing Lele's mother had brought so many people, some gloated, "Those people inside are doomed. They're definitely going to be beaten to death today. But they deserve it; they bullied them with numbers first, so they can't blame them." Others, fearing things would escalate, said, "What should we do? Should we go to the police station? What if someone gets killed?" But most of the onlookers, eager for a good show, said, "Don't worry, they'll be taught a lesson, but it won't come to any harm."
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