Chapter 199: Zhou Xiaoqing Is Fired
Chapter 199: Chapter 199: Zhou Xiaoqing Is Fired
"What, are you afraid I’m going to take your money?"
Looking up to meet Jiang Qing’s mocking gaze, Zhou Xiaoqing gave an embarrassed laugh. "Oh, no, I didn’t mean to doubt you. It’s just that with money, it’s better to count it in front of each other to avoid any misunderstandings later, right?"
Jiang Qing sneered, "So, did you count it all?"
Seeing that Jiang Qing was angry, Zhou Xiaoqing hastily zipped up her wallet. "All counted. Let’s go."
Where Zhou Xiaoqing couldn’t see, Jiang Qing secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
She had been worried Zhou Xiaoqing would discover the secret in the hidden compartment, so she had faked her anger to distract her.
On the way back, Zhou Xiaoqing asked about Jiang Qing’s job at the machinery factory’s cafeteria.
"How much do you make a month?"
"Twenty."
"That’s so little! It’s way worse than your old job at the sugar factory. Back then, with your monthly salary plus the perks from selling sugar on the side, you made almost forty yuan."
Jiang Qing said coolly, "Yeah, a real shame some dog-bastard—who deserves to be struck by lightning and have sons born without buttholes—reported me. What goes around comes around. Heaven spares no one. I’m just waiting to see her get her just deserts."
Zhou Xiaoqing’s expression stiffened. She quickly said, "Jiang Moli really is rotten to the core. She doesn’t have a job herself, so she got jealous and made you lose yours too."
Jiang Qing was noncommittal.
Probably out of guilt, Zhou Xiaoqing quickly changed the subject. "I have some good news for you! I got a raise! Starting next month, I’ll be making an extra 3.30 yuan. Our cotton mill gives raises every two years. In just a few years, my salary could be up to fifty yuan. And the factory is about to build new family housing, so I might even get assigned an apartment."
Lost in her pleasant daydreams, Zhou Xiaoqing completely failed to notice the look in Jiang Qing’s eyes—as cold and sinister as a viper’s.
...
The next day, Zhou Xiaoqing arrived at the factory.
After putting away her satchel and putting on her cap and sleeve protectors, she took her wallet and went to the workshop to start the morning shift.
Zhou Xiaoqing was a machine operator, primarily responsible for the carding process.
As usual, she worked while gossiping with her workshop colleagues about their daily lives.
Suddenly, the smell of something burning drifted over from somewhere.
"Oh my god, it’s a fire!"
Someone shouted, and the entire workshop descended into panic.
The workshop was full of cotton. If it caught fire, it would be a disaster!
The workers swarmed toward the exit, a cacophony of screams and cries rising and falling.
Fortunately, the source of the fire was found quickly, and the flames were soon extinguished.
Although only one roving frame was burned and the damage wasn’t severe, a fire in the production workshop was an extremely serious matter.
A ban on fire and smoking had always been the cotton mill’s strictest rule.
After a thorough investigation, it was determined that the disaster was caused by aging electrical wiring.
This result left Director Liu Qirong deeply dissatisfied.
The higher-ups allocated funds for equipment and workshop maintenance every year. A fire caused by aging wiring was tantamount to openly telling them that he hadn’t put the maintenance funds to proper use. ’Does he even want to keep his job as director?’
Just as he was worrying about how to explain this to his superiors, a letter was delivered into his hands.
...
In the workshop, Zhou Xiaoqing stood in front of her carding machine, working deftly while chatting with her colleagues about the morning’s fire.
She hadn’t been at the factory long and had never experienced an accident like this before. It had given her quite a scare.
A short while later, Workshop Director Zhao Juan came looking for her.
"Xiao Qing, Director Liu wants to see you in his office."
"Now? But I’m still carding cotton."
"Leave it to someone else. Come with me, the director is waiting."
As she spoke, she casually picked up Zhou Xiaoqing’s wallet, which was hanging on a rack.
Several workers from her group watched her leave with the workshop director, whispering among themselves.
"Why would the director want to see Zhou Xiaoqing?"
"You don’t think she’s getting a promotion, do you?"
For ordinary workshop laborers like them, a high-ranking leader like the factory director usually wouldn’t even give them the time of day.
Calling Zhou Xiaoqing over specifically was bound to make everyone speculate.
When Zhou Xiaoqing arrived at the director’s office, she found that several of the factory’s top leaders were there, all staring at her with stern expressions.
Zhou Xiaoqing had never been in a situation like this in her entire life. Her heart was pounding.
Liu Qirong took the wallet from Zhao Juan’s hand and asked Zhou Xiaoqing, "Zhou Xiaoqing, is this wallet yours?"
Baffled, Zhou Xiaoqing nodded.
Right in front of her, Liu Qirong opened the wallet and laid out its contents one by one on the desk.
There was a keychain, a handkerchief, and a little over one yuan in loose change.
’Don’t tell me the factory suspects me of stealing?’
Just as she was thinking this, she saw Liu Qirong pull open the wallet’s hidden compartment and take out several pea-sized stones.
"What is this?"
Zhou Xiaoqing was completely bewildered. "I don’t know. That’s not mine."
Liu Qirong slammed his hand on the table and roared, "So many people saw this come out of your wallet with their own eyes, and you still deny it?"
Zhou Xiaoqing felt terribly wronged. "It’s really not mine! I’ve never even seen it before!"
The deputy director pinched two of the stones, sniffed them, and said, "It’s flint."
Zhou Xiaoqing was dumbfounded.
’How could there be flint in my wallet??’
Before she could even react, the leaders’ reprimands rained down on her like a torrential storm.
"How dare you bring flint into the workshop! What were your intentions? If the factory had burned down, could you have taken responsibility?"
"The factory has issued repeated orders forbidding flammable and explosive materials in the workshop. Not only did you violate the rules, but you also caused a serious fire! Zhou Xiaoqing, you’ve got some nerve!"
Zhou Xiaoqing was so scared her legs went soft.
But no matter how she explained that the flint wasn’t hers and that she had been framed, nobody believed her.
Zhou Xiaoqing became the scapegoat for the fire and was fired from the factory that very day.
But that wasn’t the worst of it.
The cotton mill issued a notice about the incident to the entire factory, so all the employees knew she had brought flint into the workshop and caused the fire.
With such a stain on her record, it would be incredibly difficult for Zhou Xiaoqing to ever find another job.
...
"I’ll beat you to death, you damn mutt! Did you eat so much your brain swelled up? Why the hell would you carry that thing on you?"
"It’s not mine, WAHHHH..."
"You’re still talking back! Director Liu himself found it in your bag. He’s such a high-ranking leader, would he really frame you?"
The crisp sound of slaps, accompanied by Zhou Xiaoqing’s miserable screams, came from the Zhou Family’s home.
The neighbors all gathered outside the Zhou Family’s door to watch the commotion.
"What’s going on? Why is it so chaotic?"
"You haven’t heard? Director Zhou’s daughter got into huge trouble. She brought flint into the production workshop and nearly burned the whole cotton mill down! And so, she got fired by the factory!"
"Oh my, what a pity. That was such a good job."
"Tell me about it. Finding a job these days is harder than climbing to heaven."
Jiang Qing mingled with the neighbors, watching the chaos unfolding at the Zhou Family’s home, feeling an indescribable sense of schadenfreude.
She remembered how she had once considered Zhou Xiaoqing a true friend, telling her everything.
What she got in return was Zhou Xiaoqing stabbing her in the back, reporting her for speculation and profiteering, and causing her to lose her job at the sugar factory.
Now, she had repaid her in kind—an eye for an eye.
’Zhou Xiaoqing, now you can have a taste of what it’s like to lose your job and have your reputation ruined!’