Zhu Xiuling's face flushed red with anxiety. She hurriedly said, "That middle-aged man looks like he's not an ordinary person; he's probably a cadre. I know Xia Liang's family is from the countryside. How could she possibly have relatives like that?" The reason she knew Xia Liang was from the countryside was because of her cousin, Huang Huiying. She had visited her cousin's house recently and been scolded by her cousin, who said that her uncle had told her that Deputy Factory Director Yang wasn't that kind of person and wouldn't collude with Xia Liang to scheme for his position. Her cousin had also praised Xia Liang, saying that a girl from the countryside could be so capable, so familiar with the factory's machinery and equipment, and that Xia Liang could handle many things that the factory's repairmen couldn't. Knowing that Xia Liang was from the countryside made her even more resentful. The factory director was her cousin's husband, yet he wasn't helping his own people but instead siding with a country girl.
Everyone turned their attention to Xia Liang, who calmly stated, "He is indeed a cadre." Before anyone could speak, Zhu Xiuling, as if she had caught Xia Liang red-handed, shouted, "Did you hear that? I didn't slander her; she admitted it herself." Xia Liang glanced at her. "Admitted what?" Zhu Xiuling said smugly, "You said he's a cadre. You're just a country girl; where would you get city relatives? And you still won't admit you two had an affair?" Everyone fell silent. The enthusiastic military wife who had just spoken up was retorted, "See? This Comrade Xia Liang isn't a good person. Don't think all military wives are like you; there are differences." She spoke with an air of worldly wisdom. The enthusiastic military wife's face darkened, especially when she saw the others' gazes. She probably hadn't expected the person she had just spoken up for to be such a despicable person, as if she herself had been tainted. Feeling uncomfortable, she prepared to leave the group. Then Xia Liang spoke up again: "He is indeed a cadre, but he is also my husband's father. A few days ago, my parents-in-law came to see me from the county town. They were worried that I was all alone and had no one to take care of me, and they were busy, so they asked a relative, a martyr's widow, from their hometown to come and stay with me. We are both military wives, so we have common topics." She mentioned Wu Ma because she was afraid some people would say that she was acting like a capitalist, hiring a maid. But if she was a relative and a martyr's widow, no one would say anything. In fact, Wu Ma was indeed a martyr's widow. When she was young, she married a soldier. Three years after their marriage, her husband died in battle. Since she had no children, her husband's family was afraid and kicked her out. Her own family wanted her to remarry and collect another dowry, but she had deep feelings for her deceased husband, so she left home and supported herself by cooking and doing housework. The wind shifted, and everyone sighed. The warm-hearted military wife's face warmed up, as if she knew she hadn't misjudged him. Zhu Xiuling was also dumbfounded. She hadn't expected that the person was actually Xia Liang's father-in-law. She had worked so hard for nothing and even got slapped for nothing. She turned to run, but Xia Liang stopped her: "Comrade Zhu Xiuling, I have no grudge against you. Well, no, you provoked me before by wanting my position, which I thought was healthy competition between colleagues, so I didn't hold it against you. But now you're slandering me without any evidence, isn't that going a bit too far? And now I've already said that he's my father-in-law, and you don't even apologize to me, yet you want to leave?" Hearing this, everyone surrounded Zhu Xiuling. Seeing this, Zhu Xiuling panicked and said, "What do you want? Let me tell you, the factory director is my cousin's husband! If you dare do anything to me, my cousin's husband will definitely not let you off!" Xia Liang was speechless. This idiot, dragging the factory director into this at this time is just asking for trouble. Is this some kind of glorious thing? A comrade from the security department said, "Comrade Zhu Xiuling, did you put up the big-character poster about Comrade Xia Liang before?" Zhu Xiuling denied it outright, "No, I didn't know, I didn't do it." After three consecutive denials, Xia Liang couldn't stand it anymore: "Could this kind comrade please go and invite Director Li and Deputy Director Yang for me?" Xia Liang smiled and looked at the kind military wife from before. The kind military wife saw that Xia Liang was looking at her and knew that she was talking to her, so she smiled and said, "Okay, I'll go right away." Xia Liang thanked her with a smile.
Not long after, Deputy Factory Director Yang and Factory Director Li, who was often away on business trips, arrived. As soon as Zhu Xiuling saw Factory Director Li, she cried out, "Uncle, they bullied me and even hit me!" Factory Director Li's face darkened. On the way there, he had heard this woman talk about the stupid things his wife's cousin had done. It was one thing to slander a colleague, but she even dared to put up big-character posters. Did she know how serious the consequences of putting up big-character posters were? Seeing her uncle's dark face, Zhu Xiuling didn't dare to speak further. It was Deputy Factory Director Yang who spoke first: "Comrades, Xia Liang has already told us about her situation. It was all an accident. Please don't spread rumors; reputation is very important. Also," Deputy Factory Director Yang emphasized, "I don't want this kind of thing—posting big-character posters—to happen again in the factory. You all know the seriousness of this. If you have any complaints, you can come to my office and explain. I will investigate thoroughly and deal with it seriously." He turned to Zhu Xiuling beside him and said, "I also want to reiterate the punishment Zhu Xiuling mentioned. Posting big-character posters on colleagues without understanding the truth is extremely egregious. The factory has decided to take severe action against you." "Punishment: one major demerit and six months' salary subsidy to be given to the victim." Zhu Xiuling cried out in injustice: "Deputy Factory Director, why punish me? I didn't put it up." Factory Director Li, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore: "You didn't put it up, I did? Do you even know where that piece of paper you took is from? That's the factory director's office paper, you idiot." Zhu Xiuling was speechless. Before, she had seen Gu Weiguo picking up Xia Liang from get off work at the factory gate. After returning home, she asked her aunt about Xia Liang's family background. After learning that Xia Liang was a country girl, she felt that she couldn't possibly have such a high-status relative. So she asked her aunt for a piece of white paper to write a big-character poster. Who would have thought that she would be so unlucky? Huang Huiying didn't know what she wanted the paper for either. She went to her husband's study and randomly found a piece of white paper for Zhu Xiuling. That day, Deputy Factory Director Yang called Xia Liang to his office, and Xia Liang handed him the big-character poster. She clearly knew it was the factory director's special paper, but she didn't know why the factory director would write a big-character poster about her. But Deputy Factory Director Yang knew. He originally wanted to spare his cousin out of respect for Old Li, but he didn't expect her to be so outspoken.
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