Chapter 4: She Wants Compensation!

Xie Yunshu didn’t get flustered. Instead, she calmly pulled out another document from her bag—a termination letter issued by the factory.

“Xie Yunshu is dismissed from the packaging factory due to having a mental illness.”

She read the statement aloud and then looked at Director Li with a half-smile.

“Even though there’s proof this was a misdiagnosis, Director Li still used this as the basis for my dismissal. Isn’t that slander? It’s fine if you won’t give me an explanation. I’ll go report everything truthfully to the labor union. And if no one handles it, I’ll take a train to Jingbei and report it there! I don’t believe there’s no one in our country who’ll stand up for me!”

Director Li never imagined Xie Yunshu would go this far! On paper, her dismissal might appear legal and compliant, but if the union got involved and dug deeper, he would be the first to go down! He couldn’t withstand an investigation…

But reinstating her job? That was impossible.

“Xie Yunshu, let’s talk this over. We’ve known each other for a long time—no need to make this ugly. I remember your father was a good comrade,” Director Li said, eyes darting around, switching to a softer approach.

“How about this: if a new position opens up at the factory, I’ll prioritize giving it to you?”

But Xie Yunshu saw right through this stall tactic. Who knew when a new position would open up? The factory was barely staying afloat—many workers in their forties had to retire early just to make room for their children.

If she really waited, she’d be starving long before anything changed.

“I don’t want the job. What I want is compensation.” Xie Yunshu finally revealed her goal. Her demand was simple—money.

“This job was bought with my father’s life, and you fired me on trumped-up charges. Even if we go to the union, I’m still in the right! The monthly salary is 33 yuan, that’s 396 yuan a year. I’m only 22—I could’ve worked another 20 years!”

“Forget bonuses or perks—I won’t even ask for those. Just give me 6,000 yuan in compensation. Let someone else take the job. I promise I won’t petition anymore.”

Director Li was stunned by the figure. He rejected it without hesitation.

“Impossible! Xie Yunshu, you’ve got a wild imagination. Do you even know what 6,000 yuan means? No way—1,000 yuan at most!”

One thousand yuan could feed a family rice for an entire year, and she wanted six times that? Ridiculous!

But Xie Yunshu remained calm.

“If we can’t agree here, then let’s let the union decide. If the union says I deserve only 1,000, then I’ll accept that.”

She was confident because she knew what Director Li didn’t want anyone else to know: one year from now, there would be a major national anti-corruption crackdown, and the first person caught in their city would be Director Li. He had embezzled a shocking 80,000 yuan from a small factory!

No wonder the factory was doing so poorly—it was rotten from the top.

With that kind of skeleton in his closet, Director Li wouldn’t dare let the union investigate. Even if the union only awarded her 1,000 yuan, the risk wasn’t worth it for him.

Sure enough, he took a deep breath.

“Six thousand is too much. How about this: I’ll authorize 4,000 yuan on behalf of the factory. That’s already giving a lot of face to your late father…”

Xie Yunshu smiled slightly.

“Make it 5,000. Any less, and I’m heading to the union.”

This damned girl wouldn’t budge! Director Li was both embarrassed and angry, but he was genuinely scared of the union getting involved. He had no choice but to relent.

“Fine, I’ll get the approval for your compensation. But let’s be clear—once you get the money, the factory has nothing more to do with you.”

“Of course,” Xie Yunshu nodded. This job had been her father’s legacy, and while she was angry at how she’d lost it, she didn’t truly want to work there anyway.

Factory work was grueling and low-paying. Workers in the textile and steel industries could earn 50 to 60 yuan a month, while this packaging factory barely scraped by. The only reason it survived was because it was state-owned—for now. In the upcoming wave of state enterprise reform in the ’90s, this factory would be one of the first to go bankrupt.

She’d rather take 5,000 yuan now than cling to a dying job.

Leaving the factory, Xie Yunshu felt surprisingly good. She hopped on her bicycle and headed home. By now, her mother probably already knew about her being admitted to the psychiatric hospital and losing her job.

In her previous life, when her mother found out that Lu Zhiwei had had Xie Yunshu committed, the woman—who had always been gentle and timid—almost lost it and tried to fight Lu Zhiwei. Her little brother, still in high school, even skipped class to stand up for her.

But at the time, Xie Yunshu had been completely obsessed with Lu Zhiwei and refused to divorce him. Her stubbornness had broken her family’s hearts. They didn’t want to make things worse for her, so they swallowed their anger and suffered in silence.

But now? She would not swallow a single ounce of injustice.

Her family lived in a communal building on Changning Street in Haicheng. It had a long hallway connecting several independent rooms. The Xie family lived on the first floor—a small suite right next to the shared water area. It was dark and damp.

The door bore the number 106. Xie Yunshu’s eyes stung with emotion. She sniffled and knocked gently.

“Mom, it’s me—Yunshu.”

The door creaked open. A middle-aged woman with graying hair stood inside. Her eyes were red. The moment she saw Xie Yunshu, tears streamed down her face.

“Yunshu! My Yunshu’s back! Come in, quick—let me take a good look at you…”

After ten years, she was seeing her mother again. No matter how hard she tried to hold it back, Xie Yunshu couldn’t stop the overwhelming sadness from surging up. Like a wounded animal, she threw herself into her mother’s arms and sobbed:

“Mom… I missed you so much…”

“My poor Yunshu… You’ve suffered… Don’t cry, baby, don’t cry…”
Li Fenlan gently patted her daughter’s back and soothed her in a soft voice.
“Mama’s here, it’s okay now…”

Xie Yunshu bit her lower lip until she tasted blood, forcing back the urge to completely break down. She straightened up, her face filled with sorrow and guilt.

“Mom, I’m sorry… I lost Dad’s job…”

Her father had traded his life for that job. Her mother had always kept her uniform spotless, constantly reminding her to work hard and never shame her father’s memory.

And now, she had been fired.

Li Fenlan shook her head and pulled her to sit down. Then she walked into the inner room and came back with thirty yuan in hand.

“Yunshu, take this money. Lu Zhiwei didn’t treat you right—but you must treat yourself right.”

Just those words made Xie Yunshu want to cry all over again.