The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 827 - 826: Thoughts

Du Juan leaned back and looked at her assistant, asking without waiting for an answer, "If I were no longer the general manager, would you still stay by my side as an assistant?"

Mai Qiu nodded quickly, "Of course, Director Du. As long as you don’t disdain me, I’m willing to stay by your side for life."

Du Juan smiled slightly, "That’s good. Just do your work well; there’s no need to worry unnecessarily." freewёbnoνel.com

"Oh, then I’ll get back to work."

"Mhm."

On Shen Mingzhu’s side.

After assigning Xia Wushuang the task of ordering the door and nameplates, Xia Wushuang didn’t leave immediately, "Deputy Director Shen, you’ve written so many reform measures and proposals lately. Why didn’t you bring them up at the meeting when Director Du asked you?"

Shen Mingzhu looked at her assistant, "How do you think the management team treated me in the meeting room today?"

Xia Wushuang nodded, "Pretty well. They all looked forward to your return, hoping you would lead the factory to better development."

"Yes, they seemed enthusiastic and showered me with praise and respect, but appearances can be deceiving. Superficial efforts don’t hinder work, but when it comes to their personal interests, that’s when you can really see who’s friend or foe."

Xia Wushuang was puzzled, "Deputy Director Shen, I don’t quite understand. Your aim is to make the food factory better, and everyone should actively respond and support that!"

Shen Mingzhu smiled and shook her head, "Let me tell you a story to explain, and you’ll understand after hearing it."

Xia Wushuang nodded eagerly.

"Your father has been away for years, leaving just you and your mother at home, accustomed to that rhythm and lifestyle. Suddenly, one day, your father who’s been gone for years comes back. You’d think it would be a happy family reunion, but on his first day back, he starts nitpicking—complaining the house isn’t clean enough, the clothes aren’t washed well, and the food isn’t tasty enough."

"Indeed, these issues exist, and his intention is to see improvement, but as a daughter who lacked a father’s affection, what would your feelings be?"

Xia Wushuang honestly said, "Annoyed, angry, even resentful."

Shen Mingzhu nodded, "I’m like the ’father’ in this story. I dropped my responsibilities for three years, and in that time, Director Du and the management have been keeping the factory running. True, the factory is now on the decline, but as the saying goes—no credit for the good, but one must acknowledge the hard work. As soon as I return and start making suggestions, I’m essentially negating everyone’s efforts. What effect do you think that will have?"

Xia Wushuang had a flash of insight, "I understand now! Deputy Director Shen, you’re so clever, thinking about things so thoroughly and with such vision."

Shen Mingzhu laughed, "When you’ve been through as much as I have, you’ll do the same, or even exceed me."

"I can’t compare to you. When you were my age, you were already a successful businesswoman. But I will work hard to take you as an example!"

"Alright, no need to flatter me. Notify all staff from HR, administration, and logistics that there will be a department meeting in half an hour."

"I’m on it!"

In the HR department office.

After Mai Qiu relayed Shen Mingzhu’s appointments, the office erupted into discussions.

"What does this mean? Our department will now be under Vice General Manager Shen, and we don’t report our work to Director Du anymore?"

"The new boss lights three fires; life’s probably not going to be easy from now on."

"As if life is easy now. Last year at this time, orders came in like snowflakes. But look at this year, the workshop’s so idle it’s practically growing mold."

"When secure jobs were in demand, we weren’t in line; we missed out on the boom of private businesses, and now we can’t even catch the wave of foreign investment. Really, we can’t even catch up to a hot pile of shit; it’s a lifelong fate of poverty."

"If I had known the factory would turn out like this, I would have gone to Hui Kang back then. The HR manager there really liked me..."

She stopped mid-sentence when she saw a colleague across from her making faces. The woman turned her head and noticed Manager Wen Xiaoqin, who seemed to have emerged from an inner office at some point and was now watching her with a stern expression.

The female employee fell silent, sulking.

But Wen Xiaoqin didn’t intend to let it slide so easily and walked straight up to the woman so the whole department could hear her, "Water flows to lower places; people aim to climb higher. If you think the factory is not good and you have a better place to go, feel free to submit your resignation. The factory never coerces anyone to stay or hinders anyone’s development."

Everyone could tell that Manager Wen was addressing the whole department.

Even though the food factory was in decline, people understood reality—complaining but not acting.

If changing jobs were so easy, they would all be long gone instead of sitting here griping.

An uneasy silence fell over the department.

"Knock, knock."

The sound of knocking broke the silence.

Turning her head, Manager Wen saw Assistant Xia and quickly put on a smile, "Assistant Xia, what’s up?"

"Manager Wen, Deputy Director Shen is calling a department meeting at ten-thirty in the small conference room. All staff from HR, administration, and logistics need to attend."

"Alright, I’ll notify them right away."

After sending Assistant Xia off, Manager Wen looked at the department, "In your position, play your part. Don’t have meat in your mouth and curse mama when you put down the bowl. If I hear another complaint about the factory, that person will be fired immediately."

Although she didn’t name names, everyone could see Manager Wen was targeting that one female employee.

After delivering her scolding and instructing an administrative officer to inform logistics staff about the meeting, Manager Wen left the office.

With her departure, the office atmosphere visibly relaxed.

"Good riddance, let whoever wants to stay here, stay. I don’t want to be here for another day!"

As the woman spoke, she angrily began writing her resignation notice.

A female colleague sitting next to her, who was on good terms with her, tried to advise her in a low voice but, seeing she was not persuadable, simply kept quiet and went back to her own business.

...

Having left the office, Manager Wen headed straight for Shen Mingzhu’s office.

A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth, a stark contrast to her fiery demeanor in the office earlier.

Before, she wouldn’t have been so harsh; she always managed things smoothly and tactfully, only reprimanding staff in private to save face for both parties.

The food factory was indeed facing stormy times, with general unease, and even she had worried about her career prospects.

But with Shen Mingzhu’s return, she found peace of mind.

Good jobs are plentiful, but a good leader is hard to find.

Director Du, a woman who hadn’t even finished primary school, could become the general manager with Shen Mingzhu’s support, so why couldn’t she?

"President Shen."

Looking up to see Manager Wen standing at the office door, Shen Mingzhu wasn’t surprised, "Come in and talk."

"I thought"

"Remember this phrase—you can’t rush anything."