The Beautiful Stepmother from the Eighties: Marrying a Factory Director to Raise Kids

Chapter 492

These people didn't really know the true relationship between the two families. They just heard the rumors, which spread from one person to ten, and ten to a hundred, with each version becoming more outrageous than the last.In this day and age, filial piety meant everything.

No matter how bad one's parents might be, they were still the ones who raised and nurtured them.

Even if you didn't like them, you had to endure it and be filial.

It was incredibly rare to see someone completely disown their parents.

Let alone refusing to help or acknowledge them when you had money. What was the difference between that and an animal?

They also thought about how young this woman was. Previously, she had left the children for the boss to take care of, while no one knew what she was doing herself.

Everyone felt that this was not the behavior of a virtuous wife and loving mother at all.

How did such a good man like Boss Zhou end up with a wife like her?

She might look young and beautiful, but to them, she was just an empty vase with no inner substance, which made them look down on her.

Si Nian didn't hear any of this, but Fu Qianqian, who arrived right after her, heard it all.

Originally, she had gone to the Zhou residence to find Si Nian today. Having finally gotten a day off, she had hurried over to show off.

Unexpectedly, the children told her that Si Nian had gone to the company with Zhou Yueshen.

Only then did she remember Yu Dong briefly mentioning this matter before.

After asking for the address, she rushed over.

Her main reason was to see what kind of company it was.

Perhaps she could even introduce someone to interview them and help advertise their company.

After all, her current network was nothing to scoff at; she knew people from every newspaper, as well as various reporters and editors-in-chief.

Of course, the prerequisite for her recommendation was to first see if their factory met the standards.

Although she was good friends with Si Nian, she wasn't very familiar with Zhou Yueshen. She only knew that he used to run a breeding farm and later went to Beijing to do business.

He had only returned this year to expand his business here.

She had to be sure it was an ethical company before recommending it to anyone.

Otherwise, if she recommended it and people found it lacking, it would just cause trouble.

She was someone who sided with reason over personal relationships.

She had come over full of curiosity. Just as she saw Si Nian going upstairs and was about to chase after her to say hello, she heard these people turn around and start gossiping about Si Nian.

And the things they said were getting uglier and uglier.

She had no idea what had happened.

She ​​‌‌​‌‌​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌‌​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​‌​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​‌​​‌‌​​​​​‌‌​​‌​​​‌‌​​​​‌​​‌‌​‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​​​‌‌​‌‌​​​‌‌​‌​​​‌‌​​‌​​​​‌‌​​‌‌‍originally wanted to step forward and confront them directly, but after a second thought, she suppressed her anger, walked up, and asked, "Are you talking about the boss's wife of this company?"

The group was startled and turned to look at her.

Someone exclaimed, "Oh my, aren't you that TV host?"

"Yes, yes, I remember! Your name is Fu Qianqian, right? I've seen you on TV!"

"Goodness, this is my first time seeing someone from TV in real life. Are my eyes playing tricks on me?"

Fu Qianqian tugged at the corners of her lips. "You're right, I am Fu Qianqian. I heard a large electronics company opened here and attracted a lot of people, so I wanted to come over and interview the folks here. I just heard you mention that the boss's wife is unfilial. Did something happen?"

As soon as they heard her ask, everyone immediately started chiming in, talking over one another about what happened yesterday.

They were absolutely filled with righteous indignation.

After listening, Fu Qianqian understood. It turned out that Father Si had come looking for Si Nian. Although they didn't know the reason, Si Nian refused to acknowledge him and had him chased away, which led to the rumors spreading like this.

However, she was a bit puzzled. "How do you know he is the boss's wife's adoptive father? Maybe he's actually a fake?"

"Oh, how could it be fake? It was all said by people from their home village. It is the absolute truth. Why would they lie to us?"

"People from their home village?"

"Yes, anyway, the rumors spread from their side. Otherwise, would we just make things up? How does the saying go? Where there is smoke, there is fire. If she really had not done anything, would people be talking about her like this?"

Fu Qianqian's lips twitched into a faint smile. "That makes sense."

Seeing how easy she was to talk to, the group immediately smiled and asked, "Are you here for an interview? Is our company going to be famous?"

"Yeah, it looks like we made the right choice coming here. I was a bit worried about job security, but if even a TV host is here for an interview, this place must be rock solid."

Fu Qianqian replied, "I am not here for an interview."

They exchanged glances, full of confusion. "But you just said you were here to visit someone. If you are not here to interview our boss, who are you looking for?"

Fu Qianqian said, "I am here to see your boss's wife."

"Huh? Her? What do you want with her?"

Fu Qianqian smiled, though her smile carried a hint of schadenfreude. "To catch up, of course. I forgot to mention earlier, but she and I went to elementary school together..."

The crowd was speechless.

Fu Qianqian continued, "Do not worry, I will pass along everything you just said to your boss's wife, word for word."

She sighed. "I do not know who fed you all these stories, but I think that person must really hate you. Gossiping about the boss's wife—it is obvious they want you to lose your jobs. If you know what is good for you, you will pack your things and leave now. Otherwise, it is going to be pretty humiliating when you get fired."

Their faces flushed red with a mix of shock and fear. "No, you cannot do that! We were not lying!"

"How were you not lying? Si Nian and I grew up together. Do you not think I know what kind of person she is better than you do? Back then, her foster parents sold her off to a country man to take their biological daughter's place in an arranged marriage. Afterward, those same foster parents hired thugs to beat her brother and parents so badly they all ended up in the hospital. They were issued multiple critical condition notices. She was devastated. How could she possibly still associate with people like that? You started badmouthing her without knowing anything. Do you really think you are in the right?"

Having finished her lecture, Fu Qianqian let out a cold snort and walked away.

She had to go find Si Nian and tell her all about this.

If it were not for her, Si Nian would have been dragged through the mud.

It was entirely thanks to her that Si Nian's reputation was saved.

Zhou Yueshen had a meeting first thing in the morning. He brewed some floral tea, left it on the desk, and headed out.

He had told her to wait a bit and to drink the tea if she got thirsty, as he did not have much else around the office.

The floral tea was actually brought over by Si Nian that morning.

Si Nian had mentioned her ideas to him yesterday, so he had the purchasing agent come over bright and early.

He told her to just let the agent know whatever she needed.

The company's basic infrastructure was still somewhat incomplete.

Even though it was already operational, Si Nian felt it still needed some improvements.

Pointing to the open area outside the cafeteria, she said, "We can put up two basketball hoops here and make it a basketball court. We can put two ping-pong tables on the side. And what is this room used for?"

The agent immediately and respectfully replied, "Ma'am, this room is still empty. We have not figured out what to do with it yet."

"That is perfect. Let us turn it into a convenience store. We can sell water, sports equipment, and daily necessities. It will be convenient. I noticed it is not very easy to buy things around here. If the company has its own store, everyone will not have to travel far to get what they need."

The purchasing agent nodded repeatedly. "You're absolutely right, ma'am. I was just looking at that empty space and wondering if I should ask the boss to put something there. Doing exactly as you suggested will put it to perfect use."

Si Nian nodded. "I just happened to notice it and casually mentioned it. If your boss agreed, then go ahead and do it. It's empty anyway, and such a large space shouldn't go to waste."

Just as she finished speaking, someone else came in.

It was Zhou Yueshen's assistant. "Boss's wife, here is the company roster the boss asked me to bring you."

Si Nian coughed into her fist. Being called "boss's wife" over and over again was really going to her head.

She dismissed the two men to go about their work and opened the roster to take a look.

Zhou Yueshen's factory now had over two hundred employees—a modest scale, neither too big nor too small.

Currently, only two assembly lines were running.

The personnel for each department were listed separately.

Si Nian skipped right past the assembly line workers, figuring that someone who had worked in a place like the Si household would never settle for a lesser job.

Let alone someone like Liu Dongdong, who was desperately trying to climb the social ladder.

Sure enough, she eventually found Liu Dongdong's name under the Human Resources department.

How did she manage to get into HR?

She remembered that Liu Dongdong didn't have much of an educational background.

Looking further down the line, Si Nian was surprised to discover that Liu Dongdong's educational background was listed as a technical school graduate.

No wonder she was able to enter this department.

Si Nian was astonished. Liu Dongdong really kept her talents well-hidden.

To think that in the years since leaving the Si family, instead of returning to her village or choosing another path, she had actually gone to a technical school.

It was indeed a solid way out. Si Nian actually quite admired women like her—low-key, capable of independent thought, and highly proactive.

Yet, of all the places she could have gone, she just had to come here.

Si Nian didn't believe for a second that Father Si coming here to ask Zhou Yueshen for backdoor favors had nothing to do with her.

As she was lost in thought, Fu Qianqian arrived.

Si Nian assumed she was looking for Zhou Yueshen and had her shown in.

Instead, she was greeted by the sight of Fu Qianqian in high heels, dressed like an elite, powerful businesswoman.

Fu Qianqian had not only matured but also lost weight. Paired with her professional attire and high heels, her tall figure exuded a commanding presence.

Si Nian raised an eyebrow. "What brings you here?"

Fu Qianqian let out a cold snort, her sophisticated aura instantly vanishing the moment she opened her mouth. With a scolding tone, she said, "If I didn't come, you wouldn't even know how people are badmouthing you behind your back."

"Badmouthing me?" Si Nian asked in confusion. "Who's badmouthing me?"

"Who else? The people in your man's factory!" Fu Qianqian rolled her eyes at her. "I mean, it's not like you're some horribly wicked person, so how come you get cursed at wherever you go? Are you really that easy to hate?"

Si Nian replied, "...You're a pretty good person too, it's just a shame you have a mouth."

Fu Qianqian retorted, "Oh, don't say that. I make my living with this mouth."

Seeing that Si Nian didn't seem to care much, she recounted what had just happened downstairs.

It wasn't that she deliberately wanted to make her feel bad; she just felt that some things were better known than ignored.

Otherwise, treating those people like good employees and being nice to them in the future just wouldn't be worth it.

After listening, Si Nian fell silent for a moment. "Did the people from our village spread it? That's certainly possible."

"You know how it is. There are so many people in the village, it's impossible for all of them to be on good terms with me."

"Even so, they shouldn't act like that! Coming to work at your family's factory while cursing you behind your back—trying to have their cake and eat it too. People like that shouldn't be kept around!"

Fu Qianqian absolutely despised people who talked behind others' backs.

Not to mention she is still working in their factory; it is the textbook definition of biting the hand that feeds you.

Si Nian nodded and asked, "Do you remember Liu Dongdong?"

Fu Qianqian froze for a moment, then nodded. "Of course. When my brother was still around, she used to come over to our house all the time. Later, I heard Lin Sisi drove her away, but I am not too sure about what happened after that."

Si Nian said, "She is working in Zhou Yueshen's factory right now."

"What?" Fu Qianqian's eyes widened in sheer disbelief. "No way?"

Si Nian handed her the roster to look at. "And she is in the recruitment department, no less. She probably went off to a technical school over the last few years, which is why she hasn't been around much. This year, Zhou Yueshen opened up a factory, and word likely reached her ears through the villagers, so she came running. I was originally wondering how the Si family knew Zhou Yueshen was the boss here, but the moment I saw her, it all made sense."

Fu Qianqian immediately caught on. "So you are saying it is highly likely that she was the one who intentionally spread those nasty rumors about you?"

"Nine times out of ten. After all, other than her, there probably isn't anyone who hates me enough to go out of their way to badmouth me."

Si Nian had just returned, and yesterday was only her first day at the factory.

Since she hadn't been back to her hometown for many years, even the locals might not necessarily recognize her right away.

Let alone gossip about her behind her back.

This Liu Dongdong was truly a malicious troublemaker.

"But you never even offended her, so why is she targeting you?"

Fu Qianqian couldn't understand it.

Si Nian stroked her chin and said narcissistically, "Probably because I am just too beautiful."

Fu Qianqian was speechless. Did she really have no other reason besides that? The last time Lin Sisi pulled a stunt like this, she seemed to have said the exact same thing.

Fu Qianqian seriously suspected that this woman just loved tooting her own horn!

She snorted in frustration. "...Can't you just fire her?"

Si Nian replied, "She signed a contract. Do you think we can just fire her on a whim?"

"Then what should we do? Regardless, I think there is something super creepy about this Liu Dongdong. I didn't like her back when she was with the Si family, and I hate her even more now. Seriously, why does she always hover around you and Lin Sisi?"

Fu Qianqian gave an exaggerated shudder.

Si Nian's eyes darted thoughtfully. "Do you remember who those people from earlier were?"

Fu Qianqian nodded. "I remember what they look like."

"Good. I will have someone call them over."

"Why call them over?"

"Since they were merely the ones spreading the gossip, if things go south, they will definitely go looking for trouble with the source of the rumor."

Fu Qianqian looked bewildered. "But I asked them, and they didn't know exactly who started it either."

Si Nian smiled. "That is exactly why they need us to guide them. As far as they are concerned right now, the culprit can be anyone, as long as it absolutely isn't them."