"What can you do? Can you go and reason with the county magistrate?"
Lin Li was somewhat unwilling, "This factory manager probably got it through some dirty tricks, it's not fair at all."
In terms of seniority, who does Chen Yunyun count for? She's an outsider, so what makes her qualified to be the factory manager?
"What, does that mean you want to be the factory manager?" Xu Zhijin complained, annoyed by Lin Li's constant chatter.
"That's not what I meant." Lin Li at least had some self-awareness; even if Chen Yunyun didn't become the factory manager, the position wouldn't fall to her family.
Lin Li leaned close to the gloomy-faced old lady and whispered, "Mother, that woman doesn't get along with us. If she really becomes the factory director, how will we live in the future?"
Old Mrs. Liu's expressionless face was somewhat eerie. Hearing her daughter-in-law's words, she raised her wrinkled eyelids. She knew very well what Lin Li was up to.
Since they moved back from the county town, they've had a lot of conflicts with Chen Yunyun. The two families have formed a grudge, and it won't be easy to resolve it.
"Elder sister, what's the use of saying all this? Is there any other way?"
Lin Li's eyes darted around. "You mean if Chen Yunyun falls and gets hurt, then she won't be able to be the factory manager?"
The idea was rather malicious. Xu Zhiyin and his wife exchanged a glance before Kong Guihua, who was pregnant, finally spoke.
"Sister-in-law, you came up with this idea. Would we harm anyone? If we get caught, we'll be shot."
Kong Guihua touched her heavy belly and said, "Mother, this is too risky. We have Fubao, there's no need to do this."
"Kong Guihua, aren't you afraid of hurting your mother's feelings by saying such things?"
"You forgot? That wretched woman made me bedridden for months! Instead of trying to find a way to help me, she's just pretending to be a saint here."
"If you let them go, they might not let you go!"
“When everyone in the village goes to work as a permanent employee in the factory, and our family is still toiling in the fields, I can’t bear the shame.”
After listening, Liu Xiulan showed Lin Li a rare kindness, as she agreed with her eldest daughter-in-law's point of view.
Seeing that his elder brother, sister-in-law, and mother had united, Xu Zhiyin stepped forward to support his wife, saying, "Mother, Guihua is doing this for our own good. It's not worth it to get herself into trouble if she does something illegal."
"Alright, second brother, stop talking. If we're careful, no one will find out."
The old lady had made up her mind and wouldn't listen to any advice.
"Second son, you stay here and write a letter to your younger brother." The old lady called Xu Zhiyin into the house.
Xu Zhitie was Liu Laotai's third son. He had graduated from high school, worked in the county town, and married the daughter of the furniture factory manager. He was the most successful of the three brothers.
The old lady should inform Xu Zhitie about the factory to be set up in Xujia Village.
The old lady had quite a plan in mind; if Chen Yunyun was removed from her position, someone else would naturally have to take her place.
If the eldest and second eldest aren't good enough, the third might be.
There were quite a few people who shared the same idea as Old Mrs. Liu, but they weren't as malicious. At most, they just hoped that their sons could get a better position in the factory and become officials.
A week later, the announcement for the factory's establishment was released, and Chen Yunyun was named the factory director.
A red congratulatory notice bearing Chen Yunyun's name was posted outside the commune, visible to everyone passing by.
"Our Xiyun Commune is going to set up a factory? And it's a joint venture with foreigners?!"
"We learned about this a couple of days ago. The factory is located in Bajiao Brigade and is built in the mountains."
"Why does the factory manager's name sound so much like a woman's?"
"Chen Yunyun? She's obviously a woman."
"A woman can be a factory manager? Why not choose a man?"
There were also quite a few female comrades who had gathered around to watch the commotion. After hearing this, they couldn't help but retort: "Chairman Mao said that women hold up half the sky. Why can't female comrades be factory directors? Do you have a problem with female comrades?"
The man who had been reprimanded was somewhat embarrassed and hurriedly explained, "No, no, I... I've never seen a female factory manager before, so I was a little surprised..."
"Hmph, women can be very good factory managers too. I saw they're hiring, I'm going to apply!"
In addition to announcing the factory's establishment, the notice also included a job posting: the raw material factory was looking to hire twenty people, and everyone was encouraged to participate.
Seeing this, many people were tempted. Who would care if the factory manager was a woman if they could work there!
"I want to sign up!"
"I want to go too!"
A wave of registration for raw material factories has swept through Xiyun Commune.
Meanwhile, in Xujia Village of Bajiao Brigade, Captain Zhang Shun gathered the villagers for a meeting in the large open space where grain was usually dried.
"Everyone has heard that our county is going to build a raw material factory, and the site will be in our village."
"Now is the time when we need manpower, so please sign up and participate."
"We only have 20 slots available. We will select people through a unified screening process. Don't worry if you're not selected. We still need to build factories and repair roads. We need people everywhere."
"By the way, the factory manager of the raw material plant is our Comrade Chen Yunyun."
"In the past six months, Chen Yunyun has served as the storekeeper, and everyone can see her achievements. Not a single farm tool has been lost."
"Moreover, Comrade Chen Yunyun's checklist recording method is concise and efficient, and the entire Bajiao Brigade and even many commune cadres are using it."
"This time, it was thanks to Comrade Chen Yunyun's full participation that we were able to cooperate with our foreign comrades."
"So, Comrade Chen Yunyun will serve as the factory director. Does anyone have any objections?"
Two or three responses came from below. Zhang Shun's face darkened. He had always had a bad temper, but he had toned it down a bit since becoming the team leader.
Zhang Shun had already heard about what had happened in the village these past few days.
A lot of outsiders came to the village, all of them relatives of so-and-so in the village, and they all came for the raw material factory.
Seeing this, Chen Yunyun didn't react much; she had long known that things wouldn't go so smoothly.
After all, even in the prosperous 21st century, there was still much discussion about women in higher vocational education, let alone now.
"Does anyone have a problem with this?"
Zhang Shun had a very loud voice, which was deafening.
One of the bolder people below responded, "I have a problem with that!"
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