Jiang Shaozhen stood at the door, still holding the net bag in his hand. Fine beads of sweat glistened on his forehead, indicating he had run upstairs. Several female workers were already peeking in their direction from the corridor.
"Why did you follow me here?" Shen Mingzhi closed the ledger, her voice cold and hard.
Jiang Shaozhen placed the net bag on the dresser. "I bought this for you. Remember to eat it... No one else in the family likes to eat it."
"No need," Shen Mingzhi interrupted him. "If I want to eat, I'll buy it myself."
Jiang Shaozhen's hand froze in mid-air before slowly lowering it. He glanced around the shabby room, his gaze lingering on the damp corner for a moment, his brow furrowing even more deeply. "Zhizhi, at least let me help you find somewhere else to stay. This place is too damp; it's bad for your health."
"I'm perfectly fine." Shen Mingzhi stood up, stuffed the enamel mug into the drawer, and said, "Jiang Shaochen, we've broken up. Give me some peace and quiet."
These words pierced Jiang Shao Chen's heart like a knife. He took a deep breath, "I'm sorry... I'll try to appear in front of you less often in the future."
"I hope you keep your word." Shen Mingzhi walked to the door, gesturing for him to leave. "I still need to go to the workshop; please go back."
Jiang Shaozhen stood still.
He stared at Shen Mingzhi's stubborn profile and suddenly said, "Your factory is currently discussing technological upgrades. I can help you contact experts at the Haicheng Daily Chemical Research Institute."
Shen Mingzhi suddenly looked up. "You investigated me?"
"Director Sun came to my dad's house yesterday," Jiang Shaozhen explained, "and mentioned your desire to improve the face cream formula."
Shen Mingzhi never expected that Director Sun would go to the Jiang family because she had left the Jiang family...
She felt uncomfortable, but still said, "I'll handle things at the factory myself."
"Zhizhi," Jiang Shaozhen's voice lowered, "Even if...even if we have problems, don't let work get to you. If the White Peony brand doesn't improve, the factory won't survive this year."
These words struck a nerve with Shen Mingzhi. In the two months she had been at Baoli Chemicals, she had personally witnessed the company's accounts being embroiled in a massive financial crisis.
Last month's salary was paid in full thanks to Director Sun's efforts to secure a talent loan.
Seeing Shen Mingzhi remain silent, Jiang Shaozhen took out a slip of paper from the pocket of his Zhongshan suit. "This is Professor Zhang's phone number from the Haicheng Daily Chemical Research Institute. He's coming to the provincial capital for a meeting next week. If you'd like, I can arrange a meeting."
Shen Mingzhi stared at the note, struggling internally. Finally, she reached out and took it. "Thank you. But this is business, it doesn't mean anything else."
A flicker of sadness crossed Jiang Shao Chen's eyes, but he quickly nodded. "I understand." He turned to leave, then stopped. "Oh, by the way, tomorrow's my dad's birthday, and my mom made dumplings..."
"What's wrong? You want me to go back and see them?" Shen Mingzhi interrupted him. "I should have made myself clear to you. I have no need to get involved with your Jiang family anymore."
Jiang Shao Chen lowered his eyes, his tone tinged with disappointment, "My dad really wanted you to go back. But if you don't want to, then forget it."
After saying that, he turned and left, closing the door behind him.
As Shen Mingzhi listened to his heavy footsteps fading into the distance, she finally unfolded the crumpled piece of paper she had been clutching.
Besides the phone number, there was a line of small print: "Zhizhi, give me a chance to make amends."
Shen Mingzhi stuffed the note into the ledger and rubbed her sore eyes. She picked up her work clothes to go to the workshop, but bumped into Old Ma, the workshop director, who was rushing over at the door.
"Comrade Shen, I've finally found you!" Old Ma said breathlessly, "Something's happened! There's a problem with the fragrance formulation in the new batch of face cream; all the products on the filling line have solidified! Director Sun wants you to go check it out right away!"
Shen Mingzhi's heart tightened. Without thinking, she followed Lao Ma to the workshop. The production line had stopped, and the workers were gathered around the filling machine, discussing the matter.
Dozens of boxes of freshly sealed products were piled on the ground. When opened, the paste had already hardened into lumps.
"What's going on?" Shen Mingzhi squatted down to inspect the product.
Quality inspector Xiao Wang was almost in tears, "I prepared the ingredients according to your formula, but after adding the flavoring..."
Shen Mingzhi sniffed carefully, then frowned and said, "This isn't the fragrance we ordered; the scent is off."
Section Chief Li from the purchasing department squeezed through the crowd, exclaiming, "That's impossible! I personally sourced the goods from the provincial chemical plant!"
Shen Mingzhi stood up, her gaze sharp. "Let me see the purchase order."
After checking the documents, she looked at Section Chief Li and asked in a cold tone, "Why is the fragrance you purchased different from what I said? The content and purity are not up to standard. Most of this batch of raw materials has already been used, and the preliminary estimate of the loss is around 20,000 yuan."
Factory Director Sun's face turned ashen. "Old Li, explain yourself clearly!"
Section Chief Li's face turned pale, but he still pointed at Shen Mingzhi and said, "How should I know? She approved the procurement application. Why should I explain?"
Everyone looked at Shen Mingzhi.
She calmly flipped through her work log. "I signed off on the standard jasmine fragrance application, priced at 12 yuan per kilogram. But you actually purchased a mixed fragrance at 8 yuan per kilogram."
She handed the logbook to Factory Director Sun, saying, "The records are here."
After reading it, Factory Manager Sun immediately understood. "The factory is already in such a state, and you still dare to secretly take kickbacks? Don't you want us to survive?"
After saying that, he asked Shen Mingzhi with a look of anxiety, "Comrade Shen, what do we do now? This batch of goods is an order for the provincial department store, and it needs to be delivered on Friday... I finally managed to secure this deal!"
Shen Mingzhi remained silent and did not answer.
There wasn't enough time to start production again, and the factory didn't have the money to buy more raw materials.
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