"Why would the shoe factory accuse your father of stealing?" Mayor Zhao felt heavy-hearted. He was reluctant to believe that the shoe factory would do such a thing, but Zheng Dandan looked very confident.
"Of course it's for profit. Shoe factory jobs are very popular, but unfortunately there are not many. One job for each person. If the boss wants to assign relatives or friends, he has to kick others out first. People like my dad who have a rural background and no one to rely on are undoubtedly the first choice." Zheng Dandan said very bluntly.
"Do you have any evidence?" Mayor Zhao asked with a cold face.
"How could a poor, vulnerable person like me possibly get evidence?" Zheng Dandan said sarcastically. "If he had evidence, my dad wouldn't have left the shoe factory."
"Comrade Zheng Dandan, your words are just empty talk," Mayor Zhao warned, frowning. He had doubts about the shoe factory, but he was also worried that Zheng Dandan had been deceived by her father, or that she was too bold to lie to him.
"There's no evidence, but there are many doubts," Zheng Dandan continued, recounting the strange events that happened back then. "For example, after my father was reported, the factory committee and labor union didn't even investigate and simply let him go. Another example is that before he even left, a relative from the factory committee started taking over his job."
Perhaps because they felt that Zheng Datong was not a threat, the shoe factory's affairs were handled extremely perfunctorily and with many loopholes.
After hearing Zheng Dandan's statement, Mayor Zhao knew there was definitely something fishy going on. Thinking about the shoe factory's declining performance over the past year and the government's support for them, he couldn't help but feel furious. "Investigate! Investigate immediately!"
"Thank you, Mayor Zhao." Zheng Dandan curled her lips in thanks.
"You are quite confident." Mayor Zhao snorted coldly. He was in a very bad mood.
"I spend every day with my father and I have great confidence in his character," said Zheng Dandan.
Mayor Zhao was decisive in his actions. After deciding to investigate, he immediately led people to the shoe factory, and Zheng Dandan was among them.
When the shoe factory leaders heard Mayor Zhao was coming, they all gathered at the factory gate to greet him. Unfortunately, they didn't find out the specific reason, and without exception, they were met with a cold shoulder.
"Are you all free?" Mayor Zhao's face darkened when he saw that almost all the leaders of the shoe factory were present.
"Mayor, we heard you were here, and we're all worried you might have trouble finding someone," the factory manager said with an apologetic smile. He approached courteously, "I wonder what you want from me today?"
"Who recruited Chen Hua?" asked Mayor Zhao. Chen Hua was the relative of the factory committee member who replaced Zheng's father.
The shoe factory leaders looked at each other in confusion. Finally, a middle-aged man slowly raised his hand and said, "It's me."
He was Chen Hua's relative, the deputy director of the shoe factory. "Mayor, what's wrong with him?"
"How was he recruited? Did it comply with the procedures?" Mayor Zhao did not answer and continued to ask.
"This..." Chen Hua's entry into the factory was not a legitimate one. Mayor Zhao suddenly asked, and Deputy Director Chen became very nervous and stammered, "It complies, it complies, how can it not comply?"
"How did you get recruited?" Mayor Zhao repeated the question that Deputy Director Chen ignored.
"That's... that's it, someone gave him his job." Deputy Director Chen replied.
"Who gave him the position?" Mayor Zhao continued to ask questions.
"Zheng Datong is an old worker in the shoe factory." Under the repeated questioning of Mayor Zhao, Deputy Director Chen had no time to make up a story and could only report the name of the employee who replaced Chen Hua, breaking out in a cold sweat.
The other shoe factory leaders were also very nervous. They realized that Mayor Zhao had come with bad intentions and exchanged glances secretly.
"Why did Zheng Datong give him the position?" Mayor Zhao looked at Deputy Director Chen coldly with a fierce look.
"That... how would I know? Maybe they're just close," Deputy Director Chen grumbled, vaguely saying. Although he didn't know what had happened, he knew that his relationship with Chen Hua couldn't be exposed to Mayor Zhao.
"Zheng Dandan, he said that Chen Hua has a good relationship with your father. Is that true?" Mayor Zhao looked at Zheng Dandan and asked.
Zheng, Chen Hua, your dad... The shoe factory leader caught the key words in Mayor Zhao's question, and immediately realized Mayor Zhao's purpose, and his face turned pale.
"My dad and Chen Hua have no relationship, and he has never given up his job." Zheng Dandan replied.
"Old Chen, you must have remembered it wrongly. Chen Hua was recruited through a job exam." The workshop director of the shoe factory saw that things were not going well and spoke up to make amends.
"Yes, I got in through a recruitment exam." The factory director agreed.
"Really? I was mistaken." Deputy Factory Director Chen took the opportunity to get out of the situation. He looked at Mayor Zhao and said, "Mayor, I was mistaken. Chen Hua got in through an exam."
"Do you take me for a fool?" Mayor Zhao's face was filled with dark clouds. He already had the answer in his mind after being questioned for so long, without any need for investigation.
Mayor Zhao wanted to see how long the shoe factory leaders could continue their outrageous and stubborn behavior, so he continued to scold them harshly, "Why was Zheng Datong fired?"
"He stole goods from the factory and sold them." Deputy Director Chen had been answering, and when Mayor Zhao asked, he subconsciously continued. He had personally orchestrated the false accusation, and the memory was still fresh in his mind.
"Where are the investigation files?" Mayor Zhao asked Deputy Director Chen.
"We investigated thoroughly and suspended and dismissed him. His file was accidentally lost some time ago."
"Do you believe what Deputy Director Chen said?" After hearing Deputy Director Chen's answer, Mayor Zhao looked at the other shoe factory leaders.
The leaders of the shoe factory all remained silent and said nothing.
"Full of loopholes!" Mayor Zhao scolded coldly. He was furious just looking at the shoe factory's leaders. "From top to bottom, everyone's obsessed with flattery, scheming, seeking personal gain, and framing others. No wonder the business is so bad. A shoe factory like this should be disbanded!"
When the shoe factory leaders heard this, their faces changed drastically.
"Mayor Zhao, we know we were wrong. Please give us another chance. We will definitely change our ways!"
Their favorable conditions, decent positions, and respected status are all based on the shoe factory. They cannot live without the shoe factory!
"After investigation, it was confirmed that it was indeed the shoe factory's fault. Do you have any requests?" Mayor Zhao ignored them and asked Zheng Dandan.
"I only ask for a public apology," Zheng Dandan replied. She wasn't interested in the shoe factory job. While no one in the village was complaining about it now, some might have, and that was also Zheng's father's concern.
"Can we give you compensation?" The shoe factory leaders looked at Zheng Dandan. They felt it was too embarrassing to apologize publicly.
"I'm not short of money." Zheng Dandan said lightly.
"We'll give you five thousand!" The director of the shoe factory didn't believe it. In his opinion, Zheng Datong's family were just farmers who worked in the fields for a living. How much money could they have?
"I haven't introduced myself yet. I'm the director of the Ginkgo Village Cannery." Zheng Dandan didn't want to argue with them about compensation.
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