Due to Director Ma’s malicious obstruction, Lin Ning was no longer able to enter Dong’an County’s clothing factory, effectively ending her opportunity to wholesale bath scrub towels. Once again, she found herself unemployed.

In modern terms, what Lin Ning had been collecting was effectively a patent fee. Since the scrub towel was her invention, the clothing factory had to pay her royalties to use it. However, with a change in leadership, the new management refused to honor this arrangement.

Lin Ning pulled out the contract she had signed, which bore Director Cao’s signature. The contract had also been witnessed by Dong’an County Party Secretary Dong Yikuan. She decided to seek them out.

First, Lin Ning visited the Yongzhou clothing factory and found Director Cao. After explaining the situation, Director Cao looked troubled. “Comrade Lin Ning, I’m no longer the director of Dong’an County’s clothing factory, so I can’t intervene in its affairs. Besides, Director Ma wouldn’t listen to me even if I tried. He has significant backing.”

It turned out that Director Ma’s full name was Ma Wenbiao, and he was the brother-in-law of the mayor of Yongzhou. Previously, Ma had been the director of Yongzhou’s clothing factory, which he had managed so poorly that it suffered losses year after year, even failing to pay its workers’ wages.

When Ma heard that Dong’an County’s clothing factory had turned profitable, he had his brother-in-law arrange for him to switch positions with Director Cao. Ma went to Dong’an County’s clothing factory, while Director Cao was transferred to Yongzhou’s. Ma had essentially taken credit for Director Cao’s hard work.

Director Cao spoke bitterly, his face full of resentment. “Our factory had just hired a new batch of workers and purchased a set of sewing machines. We were ready to expand production when he swooped in and took it all away. I was so angry I couldn’t sleep for days!”

Lin Ning silently agreed—it seemed Director Cao was in an even worse situation than she was.

“Can Secretary Dong help?”

“You could ask him, but you should know that with a new leader, there’s always a shake-up. Ma Wenbiao has overturned all the policies I put in place. Secretary Dong might not want to interfere, as this is considered an internal matter of the factory.”

Director Cao had subtly shifted the narrative. Lin Ning’s issue had nothing to do with policy changes; she had a legally binding contract. The responsible party was Dong’an County’s clothing factory, regardless of who was in charge. If Ma Wenbiao refused to honor the contract, it amounted to contract fraud.

Next, Lin Ning went to Dong’an County’s government offices and waited outside for half a day before finally meeting Secretary Dong Yikuan.

“Secretary Dong!”

“Comrade Lin Ning, what brings you here?”

Lin Ning explained her situation, and Secretary Dong frowned deeply. “This Ma Wenbiao has only been here a few days, and he’s already causing so much trouble.”

It turned out that after Ma took over Dong’an County’s clothing factory, he had conducted a sweeping personnel change, replacing the accountant, workshop supervisors, and other key staff with his own people. The displaced employees had already come to Secretary Dong several times to protest.

Secretary Dong sighed. “Comrade Lin Ning, I’ll accompany you to the clothing factory and have a word with Ma Wenbiao.”

“Thank you, Secretary Dong.”

The group headed to the clothing factory. When Ma Wenbiao saw Dong Yikuan arrive with Lin Ning, his expression flickered. “Secretary Dong, what brings you here?”

“Director Ma, Comrade Lin Ning is the inventor of the bath scrub towel, which has made significant contributions to our county. According to the contract, the factory should pay her royalties on time.”

“Secretary Dong, the contract was signed under Director Cao, not me.”

“Ma Wenbiao, don’t play games with me! The contract is with Dong’an County’s clothing factory. Settle her royalties immediately!”

Feigning helplessness, Ma Wenbiao replied, “Secretary Dong, it’s not that I don’t want to pay her, but the factory really has no money left. We’ve spent it all on equipment and raw materials, and we can’t even pay the workers’ wages.”

Secretary Dong didn’t believe him. “You’ve only been here a month, and the factory is already out of money?”

“It’s true. If you don’t believe me, take a look.”

Ma called Accountant Li, who rattled off a series of financial statements. In summary, the factory had spent a lot, hadn’t recovered its receivables, and was not only unprofitable but also in debt.

“Secretary Dong, I wasn’t lying. I was actually planning to ask the county for financial support for the factory.”

Secretary Dong was furious. So this was how Yongzhou’s clothing factory had ended up in such a state. With Ma’s management style, even ten factories wouldn’t be enough to cover his losses.

Secretary Dong had hoped to make Dong’an County’s clothing factory a model enterprise for the county. But now, it seemed the factory had become Ma’s personal piggy bank. Not only was the county not earning revenue, but they might also have to subsidize the factory.

After calming down, Secretary Dong said, “Fine, let’s leave it at that for now.” He then left the factory with Lin Ning.

Accountant Li, uneasy, asked Ma, “Director, will we be alright?”

“Don’t worry. My sister’s got my back.”

Outside, Secretary Dong told Lin Ning, “You saw what happened just now. Ma Wenbiao is incredibly arrogant, and I can’t control him for now. But don’t worry—I’m investigating him. Once I have evidence, I’ll remove him from his position. When that happens, your royalties will be paid in full.”

Lin Ning nodded. “Thank you, Secretary Dong.”

While Secretary Dong and Lin Ning were discussing ways to deal with Ma Wenbiao, Ma was planning his next move.

“Where’s Mouse? Call him over,” Ma said.

Mouse was a local thug under Ma’s payroll, often handling dirty jobs for him.

“Boss Ma, what do you need?”

“There’s a woman named Lin Ning. Look into her background.”

“Got it.”

Mouse quickly gathered detailed information about Lin Ning, even finding out that she had recently purchased a house.

When Ma heard this, he sneered. “So, she used the factory’s money to buy a house and still wants more? Let’s stir up some trouble. Spread rumors in town that Lin Ning has struck it rich—not only buying a house but also hoarding a large amount of savings. Make sure her family hears about it and causes a scene.”

“Understood, Boss Ma.”

Meanwhile, Lin Ning was contemplating Ma’s motives. Yongzhou’s clothing factory was much larger than Dong’an County’s, so why would he leave it to come here? There must be something he wanted.

After some thought, she concluded that the bath scrub towel was the only thing worth targeting.

Recently, many knockoff products had appeared on the market, some made from twisted nylon fabric. However, they couldn’t match the quality of those produced by Dong’an County’s clothing factory. Director Cao had led the workers to refine the process, ensuring their product remained a market leader.

Could Ma Wenbiao have come to steal the manufacturing process?

Determined to uncover the truth, Lin Ning decided to investigate. The best way, of course, was to plant a listening device on Ma Wenbiao.

Activating her third skill, she opened her exchange space. “Miniature Listening Device.”

Rows of listening devices appeared, all with glowing buttons indicating they were available for exchange.

Lin Ning chose a cloud-shaped device, which cost 1,000 yuan to exchange. She grimaced at the price. Earning money was hard, but spending it was far too easy.

She took 1,000 yuan from her spatial storage, placed it on the table, and pressed the exchange button. A flash of light later, the money disappeared, and a tiny, soybean-sized device appeared on the table.

Lin Ning pocketed the device and waited until midnight. Sneaking into the clothing factory, she climbed over the wall and headed straight for the director’s office.

The door was locked, but the window was ajar. She climbed in, closed the window quietly, and crouched under the desk to stick the listening device in place.

Just as she was about to stand up, she heard the creak of the door opening. Someone was coming in!