First, two strings of firecrackers were set off, then lion dancers entered from both sides. Then, a minor singer who was somewhat famous in the southern part of the city was invited to sing. It was incredibly lively.
Besides the performances, every existing member received a gift, and new members also received a small gift. Just like last time, anyone who made a purchase in the store could enter a lucky draw. People were winning electric fans, kettles, and even a bicycle. Although no one won the grand prize or the first prize, these items still made the onlookers envious.
"Mom, that lion dance was so impressive! I want to learn it when I grow up." Tianbao was still engrossed in the lion dance performance.
Jingjing wanted to pop the balloons instead, so Shuyan picked her up and told her to pop whichever one she liked. Unfortunately, she didn't win the grand prize, but instead won a kettle.
"You're already amazing. Look at all those people who tried to pop the balloons and failed, but you succeeded on your first try," Shu Yan said, trying to comfort her, worried that she might be disappointed.
"Mmm." Jingjing happily picked up the water bottle; she liked this one too.
Shu Yan watched outside for a while, then said goodbye to Zhang Huaxiu and left with Hu Ruixue.
"What did you mean by what you just said? What do you mean by 'pretty good'?" She always felt that Hu Ruixue's words had a hidden meaning.
“I mean, it’s good to have someone pursuing you. I see you’re also interested in finding someone else. Although I don’t know much about Fang Zeyu, he seems quite stable and responsible. You could try getting to know him.” Hu Ruixue herself didn’t plan to find someone else and didn’t intend to drag Shu Yan into it.
"He's a really nice person. But you know, I'm divorced and have two kids. It's not that easy for me. And him? He has his own concerns too. I don't know what to say. Let's just take it one step at a time." Shu Yan wanted to talk to Fang Zeyu to clear things up, but he's been busy with something lately and she hasn't seen him at all.
Only the person experiencing the relationship truly knows the situation; others only see the surface. Besides, Hu Ruixue doesn't know Fang Zeyu very well, so she can't offer much advice.
Shu Yan decided to leave everything to Zhang Huaxiu, and since there was nothing much going on at the company, she simply took her two children to visit Hu Ruixue's home.
On the other side, Fang Zeyu was scolding the two boys who were delivering the flower basket.
"Who gave you permission to call her 'sister-in-law'?"
"Brother Mao said that's our sister-in-law," one of them said, scratching his head sheepishly.
"Don't listen to his nonsense. Don't call people that randomly next time." Fang Zeyu was silent for a moment, then asked hesitantly, "What was her reaction?"
"ah?"
"It's nothing, if there's nothing else, then get lost." Fang Zeyu's ears turned red.
The two touched hands and exchanged a glance.
"The eldest brother is so happy to hear that we call her 'sister-in-law'!"
"Listen to Brother Mao, he's right. From now on, call her sister-in-law."
"What are you two arguing about? Get out," Fang Zeyu glared at them.
"My sister-in-law was stunned for a moment, and then immediately asked us if we were the ones who sent it. Boss, why did she guess you and not anyone else? There must be something going on."
"It doesn't mean anything." Fang Zeyu glanced at them. "Alright, this is none of your business... Call Lao Mao in here." Fang Zeyu thought for a moment and then called out.
"What do you need me for? I'm busy over there."
"Don't go around telling the people below me next time. You know my situation. It won't do her any good." Fang Zeyu was very worried that he would implicate Shu Yan.
“Isn’t the net about to close? Soon you’ll be exonerated. You don’t necessarily have to stay at the university. She comes to the company every day, and you can meet and date.” Mao Weiping felt that Fang Zeyu was worrying too much.
It's precisely because he likes her that he has concerns; otherwise, he wouldn't have considered so many things.
"I'll tell her once I've sorted things out on my end," Fang Zeyu said firmly.
"Don't let someone else beat you to it, then you'll have nowhere to cry." Mao Weiping glanced at Fang Zeyu.
Fang Zeyu didn't say anything, and Mao Weiping couldn't do anything about it. "Then hurry up and get rid of those scoundrels, otherwise they won't even be able to get married."
“That’s what I meant too.” Fang Zeyu narrowed his eyes.
Over the years, he has been collecting information on those people and has actually discovered quite a bit. For example, the mastermind from back then had a father who was the director of XX factory and had a good relationship with a leader in the GJ. Over the years, he has found out who that leader was and also has evidence of their private transactions. If he didn't want to uproot the people behind him, he could have brought him down long ago.
"Should we ask the old commander for help? He was very angry last time you got into trouble and didn't ask him for help," Mao Weiping asked.
"No need. If I had to ask the old chief for something this simple, all these years of my life would have been for nothing." Fang Zeyu shook his head.
That day, when Shu Yan arrived at the company, she heard many people talking about the news that employees of XX factory had staged a sit-in protest in front of the SZ government.
"What happened?" Shu Yan asked her assistant, turning her head to the side.
"Didn't you know? Yesterday's big news: the factory manager of XX factory colluded with higher-ups to sell off a lot of things in the factory, and the money didn't go to the workers at all; they pocketed it all. Someone published an article exposing it, and the evidence is crystal clear. Now the workers are protesting and demanding justice."
News of worker riots is not uncommon. Many state-owned factories have gone bankrupt, and workers are dissatisfied with being laid off, so there are riots every few days. The problem is that XX factory is a large factory with 10,000 employees. If you include their families, there are 50,000 employees. Even if only one-tenth of them are mobilized, the scene will be absolutely spectacular.
"I was at home with my son and daughter yesterday and didn't notice this." Shu Yan frowned when she went in and saw that Hu Ruixue's expression wasn't very good. "What? Does this involve your family?"
“No, that’s not true. Our family would never do such a despicable thing. There are plenty of ways to make money. We’re not afraid of bringing trouble upon our descendants if we’re greedy for this kind of money. However, this matter does involve a relative’s nephew. It’s not really related to our family. The main concern is our next steps,” Hu Ruixue said worriedly.
The lingerie chain is pretty much settled. Hu Ruixue wanted to start a women's clothing business. The clothes were all designed, the advertisements were all shot, and they were about to launch advertising nationwide. Unexpectedly, this incident happened. It's going to cause a stir in Nancheng. It's better to keep a low profile.
"A lot of people are involved?"
Hu Ruixue nodded, "There are a lot. Some of the people who were transferred might have their past grievances brought up. Tens of thousands of workers and their families, don't they need an explanation?"
It was a really chaotic time, with many people embezzling state-owned assets. But the factory director who was exposed this time had embezzled over 30 million yuan—over 30 million yuan in the 1990s! Shu Yan really couldn't imagine it. This matter had blown up so much that it had reached the highest levels of government, and it might be used as an example to severely punish those involved.
As expected, several key figures, including the factory director, were sentenced to death, while their accomplices received suspended death sentences or life imprisonment.
As these individuals fell from power, their past misdeeds were unearthed one by one. Shu Yan, out of boredom, paid some attention and inadvertently came across Fang Zeyu's name, immediately taking a close look at the report.
So, the person Fang Zeyu beat up back then was this factory director's son? The one who was accidentally hit by a car was the son of one of the factory's directors, and the girl who turned around and accused him was the daughter of a factory worker.
To Shu Yan's surprise, the girl who had turned around and accused Fang Zeyu back then actually came forward to admit her mistake and was willing to appear in court as a witness. She even publicly apologized to Fang Zeyu in the newspaper.
Fang Zeyu was equally surprised; he hadn't expected Yin Xueqin to step forward.
"Brother Fang, the person we sent to contact Yin Xueqin said that she wants to meet with you."
"Meet me? No need." Fang Zeyu refused.
She said she was about to leave Nancheng for a faraway place and that they might never meet again, so she wanted to see you in person to apologize.
"Tell her that you don't regret saving her. Now that you've apologized, let's just let it go."
Back then, she was just a teenage girl. When she encountered that kind of thing and was threatened, she chose to remain silent. Fang Zeyu could understand that. From beginning to end, he hated those spoiled brats who acted recklessly because of their families.
Fang Zeyu carried a bag of fruit home, and everyone who saw him pointed and whispered. He was taken aback. Some people gossiped behind his back, but rarely pointed and whispered to his face. What was going on today?
He only found out the reason when he reached the intersection.
A very beautiful woman was kneeling at the intersection holding a sign. He could tell at a glance that it was Yin Xueqin from back then.
"What are you doing?" Fang Zeyu frowned.
"Hello. I'm the girl you saved back then. I'm so sorry." Tears streamed down the woman's face. "I was terrified back then. Those scumbags came to my house and threatened me, saying that if I dared to stand up and testify, they would make our whole family suffer. I couldn't drag my parents down with me, so... I'm sorry! I've always wanted to apologize to you, but I never had the courage. Heaven has eyes, and those scumbags have gotten their comeuppance. I know it's too late, but I still want to apologize to you. I'm sorry."
"Get up first."
"Will you forgive me?" The woman covered her face and wept bitterly. "I dream about that day every night. Since that day, I haven't had a single day of peace. I..."
"Stop talking, it's all my fault? Xueqin wanted to come out and testify, but I stopped her." Xueqin's mother rushed over, supporting her daughter and crying bitterly, "It's karma, now look what happened."
"mom."
We're so sorry, so very sorry!
"I accept your apology." Fang Ziyu looked at Yin Xueqin. "Let's live a good life from now on."
Neighbor 1: "What do you mean? Fang Zeyu really went to jail for saving someone, so he was wronged."
Neighbor 2: "He was wronged from the start. It was even published in the newspapers. Didn't you see it?"
Neighbor 4: "Oh dear, so all these years I've been wrongly accusing innocent people?"
Neighbor 5: "Which one of you? Everyone in the surrounding villages has wronged him. Actually, at first everyone believed that Fang Zeyu was a good person, but his stepmother kept talking bad about him. After a while, everyone thought that he really had killed someone and was in jail."
Neighbor 6: "As expected, if there's a stepfather, there's a stepmother."
Neighbor 1: "That's right, such a good hero, and his stepmother has turned him into this, sigh!"
Because of Yin Xueqin's outburst, Fang Zeyu has been completely exonerated.
"It's good that the truth has come out, it's good that the truth has come out. Our Xiaoyu is such a good person, and they treated him like this. He deserves a good meal today." The old lady was overjoyed.
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