Stepping into the courtyard of the Banbanhaobang Cotton Spinning Factory, Ye Lingyun felt as if she had been transported back twenty years!
The sights along the path from the main gate to the factory office showed almost no change from the cotton mill she remembered.
Especially the bulletin board beneath the factory office building—it was exactly as she remembered it.
She remembered that back then, at the beginning of every month, the factory would post the names of the previous month’s “model workers” on the bulletin board. Whenever this happened, male and female workers would crowd around to see if their names were listed.
Of course, given her social background at the time, she certainly had no chance of being named an “outstanding worker.”
But she did remember one time when Liu Juanjuan was named an outstanding worker. Since the award came with a 5-yuan bonus, Juanjuan, overjoyed, treated her to a serving of braised pork that day—a meal that cost a full 70 cents.
It was the first time she had eaten a dish made entirely of meat since she started working at the factory.
As her thoughts wandered, the group arrived at the cotton mill’s office building and, led by Factory Director Yang and others, entered a very nicely decorated reception room.
After entering and taking their seats, Director Yang said with a hint of nervousness, “Comrades… please have a seat. I’ll have someone fetch Comrade Chunfang right away, and I’ll also have them check on Comrade Liu Juanjuan!”
“Alright!”
Then, Li Yi looked at a middle-aged man standing next to Yang Junfeng and said, “If I’m not mistaken, you must be Deputy Director Huang, right?”
The middle-aged man replied immediately, “Comrade Li has a good memory. I didn’t expect you’d still remember me after all this time!”
“Haha, it’s been less than two years—hardly that long!”
Then Li Yi added, “By the way, Director Huang, I need to use the restroom. Would you mind showing me where it is?”
“Sure, sure, sure. Please follow me!”
Led by Deputy Director Huang, the two left the reception room, one in front and one behind.
Once they arrived at the restroom, Deputy Director Huang immediately said, “Comrade Li, please go ahead. I’ll wait for you outside!”
“Wait a moment, Director Huang!”
“Is there something else?”
Li Yi looked at him and asked in a low voice, “Director Huang, I noticed that all of you changed color when you heard my mother-in-law’s name. Could you tell me what’s going on?”
Deputy Director Huang was taken aback for a moment. He opened his mouth but said nothing.
“Is there something you’re finding hard to say?” Li Yi asked, furrowing his brow.
“No… Comrade Li, you really don’t know?”
“Know what? If I knew the reason, I wouldn’t be asking!” Li Yi retorted.
Deputy Director Huang paused briefly, then said, “Comrade Li, haven’t you noticed that our factory has a new director?”
“I did. What happened to the previous director, Hu?”
“He was arrested and sentenced to 20 years!” Director Huang said.
“???”
Seeing the look of astonishment on Li Yi’s face, Deputy Director Huang immediately added, “It seems you really didn’t know about this, Comrade Li. Actually, it wasn’t just Director Hu who was sentenced. Four deputy directors and several workshop directors and deputy directors were arrested at the same time. More than half of them were sentenced to prison, and those who weren’t were all fired. The entire leadership of the cotton mill has undergone a massive shake-up!”
“As for why those people were arrested and fired, while there are many theories, the most widely circulated one is that they bullied a woman back then…”
At that moment, Li Yi interjected, “That woman is my mother-in-law—Ye Lingwan!”
“That’s right!”
Deputy Director Huang continued, “Although this account hasn’t been verified, it came directly from the mouths of those who were dismissed, so it carries a high degree of credibility!”
Hearing this, Li Yi had a pretty good idea of what was going on.
This must have been his father-in-law’s doing. The man was notorious for his ruthlessness; the nickname “White-Haired Blood Butcher” was no empty title.
In his previous life, he had sent no fewer than ten thousand corrupt officials to prison, striking such fear into the hearts of leading cadres throughout Guangdong Province that they trembled at the mere mention of his name.
Now that he’s set his sights on dealing with those scoundrels in the Tang family, he might very well be sweeping up the cotton mill’s leadership in the process.
Compared to a heavyweight like Jiang Shiying, the leaders at the cotton mill aren’t even worth mentioning—they’re nothing more than insignificant pests. Facing such overwhelming force, it’s only natural that these people now tremble at the mere mention of my mother-in-law’s name.
True to form for his father-in-law—he doesn’t act unless he’s going all out, and when he does, he uproots everything, digging three feet deep into the ground!
With that in mind, Li Yi immediately said, “Alright, just keep this to yourselves. Don’t go spreading it around!”
“Yes!”
“Alright, let’s head back!”
The two had barely returned to the reception room when, before Li Yi could even speak to his mother-in-law, they heard a rush of hurried footsteps outside.
Immediately afterward, a woman’s voice rang out from the doorway: “Report!”
Hearing the woman’s voice, Ye Lingyun immediately stood up, her eyes fixed intently on the newcomer, and she couldn’t help but look a little nervous.
When she saw the beauty mark between the woman’s eyebrows, the image of the older sister from her memories instantly merged with the middle-aged woman standing before her.
No sooner had Factory Director Yang said, “Come in,” than Ye Lingyun hurried toward the door and said, her voice trembling yet tinged with joy, “Sister Chunfang… is that you?”
Qiao Chunfang was taken aback at first. She stared intently at Ye Lingyun for a moment before exclaiming in shock, “You… you’re Wanwan?”
“I’m Wanwan… Sister Chunfang, I’ve seen you again!” Ye Lingyun said excitedly.
Qiao Chunfang was equally moved. She stepped forward, took Ye Lingyun’s hand, and said, “Two years ago, I heard someone say that someone had come to the factory to inquire about you—and that they were your daughter. I wanted to come ask about you right then!”
“But by the time I found out, several days had already passed, and I couldn’t find my grandniece anywhere…”
At that moment, Qiao Chunfang also noticed Jiang Xue standing behind Ye Lingyun and immediately said, “Wanwan, this… this must be your eldest niece, right? She looks just like you did when you were young—the resemblance is uncanny!”
“Yes, she’s my daughter!”
Ye Lingyun then turned to Jiang Xue and said, “Xue’er, this is Aunt Fang. Back then, it was thanks to Aunt Fang’s care that we managed to get through it—otherwise, the two of us might not have made it!”
Jiang Xue hurriedly replied, “Hello, Aunt Fang. I’m Xue’er!”
Qiao Chunfang studied Jiang Xue closely for a moment, then asked, “Dear, do you have a classmate named Kang Manyang?”
“Yes, Kang Manyang is my middle school classmate. Why do you ask, Aunt Fang?”
“He’s Aunt Fang’s son!”
“Oh, really? That’s such a coincidence!” Jiang Xue said happily.
“It really is a coincidence. When the Tang family scandal was all over the news two years ago, Manyang came back and told me you were his classmate. That’s when I found out that Wanwan’s daughter had actually been switched at birth. And you, my eldest niece, have been right by my side all along. It’s just a shame I hadn’t met you before—otherwise, I might have recognized you long ago!” Qiao Chunfang said.
“Ah, Sister Chunfang, I suppose you could say fate has played a cruel trick on us. But at least Xue’er has finally returned to me—that’s a blessing in disguise!” said Ye Lingyun.
“Yes, yes, yes—as long as the child is back, that’s what matters!”
Then Qiao Chunfang added, “Since you’ve finally made the trip back, come over to my place for lunch today. I’ll treat you to a proper meal…”
Ye Lingyun immediately replied, “Sister Chunfang, there’s no rush about lunch. I was wondering if Juanjuan is still working at the factory?”
Hearing Ye Lingyun ask about Liu Juanjuan, Qiao Chunfang sighed and said, “Juanjuan? She’s already retired!”
“Retired?”
Then Ye Lingyun spoke again: “She’s not even as old as I am—how come she’s already retired?”
“Oh, she’s had a rough life. Eight years ago, she made a mistake at work and had her arm severed by a machine. She became disabled and had no choice but to take early retirement,” Qiao Chunfang said.
“So, Sister Chunfang, do you know where Sister Juanjuan lives now?” Ye Lingyun asked.
Qiao Chunfang shook her head and said, “I heard that Juanjuan moved to the countryside after she retired, but I don’t know exactly where she lives!”
“But the factory took pity on her and gave her job to her sister-in-law. Maybe she’d know!”
“Okay, what’s Juanjuan’s sister-in-law’s name?” Ye Lingyun asked.
“Li Xiaoyan. She works in Workshop Two!”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Factory Director Yang hurriedly interjected, “You two continue talking. I’ll have someone bring Comrade Li Xiaoyan over right away!”
“Thank you so much, Director Yang!”
After that, Ye Lingyun took Qiao Chunfang by the hand and led her into the reception room, where they began to catch up on their sisterly bond…
………