Chapter 81

The person was so surprised that he didn’t control his volume. His shout was heard by everyone around, and everyone’s faces were filled with confusion and surprise, and they started discussing:

“He’s just a boilerman? Why did everyone say he was an officer before?”

“That’s simple, who doesn’t like to exaggerate? Oh, by the way, has anyone seen her husband?”

“No, but Qingning seems pretty honest, not like she’s bragging.”

“Yes, I don’t think so either. Xiaohong, where did you hear that?”

Liú Xiǎohóng didn’t explain anything, but instead curled her lips into a smile, full of sarcasm, saying:

“I didn’t say she was bragging.” Then she deliberately guided everyone: “Even if he’s a boilerman, he’s still a soldier, right?”

Liú Xiǎohóng was very beautiful, but unlike Xia Qingning’s delicate beauty that made people feel sorry for her, her eyebrows and eyes had a natural charm, making her look alluring and seductive.

Before Xia Qingning was hired, she was one of the most beautiful women in the textile factory. Many men in the factory looked at her with straight eyes, and everyone would compliment her on her beauty when they met, which greatly satisfied her vanity.

But then Xia Qingning came, and everything slowly changed.

When she first came, Xia Qingning wasn’t as beautiful as she is now, and people’s attention was more focused on Liú Xiǎohóng.

But later, Xia Qingning developed better and better, her face became more and more beautiful, and Liú Xiǎohóng was very proud and arrogant, very difficult to get along with. She treated everyone with a condescending attitude.

So gradually, everyone liked the humble and polite Xia Qingning more, and their attention to Liú Xiǎohóng decreased.

Moreover, recently, Xia Qingning has been dressing better and more confidently than before, and everyone compliments her when they meet. Liú Xiǎohóng felt very unbalanced. When she had the opportunity to belittle her, she would naturally magnify it infinitely, and she wouldn’t help to clarify anything.

“Although they are all soldiers, officers are definitely different from boilermen. Xiaohong, where did you hear that? You can’t just talk nonsense without evidence!” A big sister kindly reminded her.

“Yes, you can’t just talk nonsense and slander Qingning.” A female worker who had a good relationship with Xia Qingning quickly followed suit.

“Oh, I remember Xiaohong’s brother is also a soldier. Could it be that you heard it from your brother?” Another female worker reacted and immediately asked.

Qián Xiǎofāng, who was sitting beside her, was immediately eager when she heard others mention Liú Xiǎohóng’s brother. She quickly explained:

“Yuanzheng ge is not an ordinary soldier, he’s a platoon leader with a rank, he’s very impressive.” Speaking of this, Qián Xiǎofāng looked at Liú Xiǎohóng with bright eyes:

“I heard that Yuanzheng ge is going home to visit his family, right? When will he arrive?”

Liú Xiǎohóng had always known Qián Xiǎofāng’s thoughts. Her brother was known for being a handsome man. Looking at Qián Xiǎofāng in front of her, with her square face, small eyes, and big forehead, before she could speak, a big sister beside her teased:

“Haha, Xiaofang, you wouldn’t want to be Xiaohong’s sister-in-law, would you?”

Hahaha…

Everyone laughed, and no one went on to investigate whether Xia Qingning’s husband was a boilerman.

Liáo Qiáng sat at his desk, looking at the production records in his hand. His head was lowered, and he was bald from his forehead to the back of his head, with only a few sparse hairs around the edges. From the front, he looked like a peeled boiled egg.

He still felt that he had a lot of leadership charm, and he pretended to be busy recording something on a notebook with a pen.

Xia Qingning walked to the outside of Liáo Qiáng’s office, glanced inside with disgust, maintained basic politeness, and knocked on the door.

The person inside seemed not to have heard, still pretending to be very focused. Although Xia Qingning had a good temper, she also had to see who she was dealing with. Seeing that he was pretending not to hear, she turned around and prepared to leave.

She knew that he couldn’t have anything real to do with her work. If she wasn’t worried about Qin Zǔzhǎng’s face and didn’t want her to be too difficult in Liáo Qiáng’s place, she wouldn’t even come.

Liáo Qiáng saw her turn around and was about to leave, so he stopped pretending and immediately called out to her:

“Oh, Xia, you’re here. Come in.”

Xia Qingning looked at the people coming and going, and couldn’t help but frown. If she had a conflict with Liáo Qiáng now, it would definitely attract attention.

The original owner had indeed gone out to eat and watch movies with him alone. In this conservative era, if these things were brought to light, it would be very unfavorable for her.

Xia Qingning hesitated for a moment, but still turned around and walked into the office.

“Did you knock on the door just now? I’m sorry, I was writing and I was too focused, I didn’t hear it.” Liáo Qiáng explained hypocritically.

Xia Qingning didn’t want to beat around the bush with him, and directly asked:

“Director Liáo, what do you need?”

Liáo Qiáng put down his pen, walked over, and asked with concern:

“Xia, how’s work going lately? Have you encountered any difficulties?”

Xia Qingning’s eyebrows slightly furrowed. She really didn’t want to listen to his obvious nonsense, and said directly:

“Director Liáo, if you don’t have anything else, I’ll go then.”

“Oh, Xia, I’m just concerned about your work. Why are you so bad-tempered now? It would be much better if you were as gentle and sweet as before.” Liáo Qiáng finished speaking and suddenly leaned closer to Xia Qingning, deliberately lowering his voice and saying:

“Of course I’m looking for you for good things. I have a statistics position here, with a high salary and it’s easy. Do you want to try it?”

Xia Qingning moved a few steps to the side in disgust, creating some distance between them. Her voice was devoid of warmth as she directly refused:

“No need!”

This was a common tactic used by male leaders in factories to deal with female subordinates. Easy and high-paying positions, what would they be exchanged for? Xia Qingning couldn’t possibly be unaware.

“Don’t refuse so quickly. Why don’t you think about it again?” Liáo Qiáng looked at Xia Qingning with a smile, revealing a set of yellow teeth.

“No need to think about it. Such a good position, I’m not qualified for it. Director Liáo, you should keep it for someone else.” Xia Qingning frowned and declined.

“Whether you’re qualified or not, I have the final say. I say you’re qualified, and no one dares to say no.” Liáo Qiáng said very domineeringly. Then, as if he had thought of something, he continued:

“The factory is going to recruit a batch of female workers in two weeks. Didn’t you say last time that your younger sister wanted to come to our factory? How about it, do you need my help?”

The original owner had indeed mentioned to him that He Shanshan wanted to enter the factory. At that time, he refused on the grounds that the factory was not hiring. Now that he brought it up again, it was undoubtedly adding more leverage to Xia Qingning.

“As long as you listen to me, I can give you more than just this.” Liáo Qiáng continued to tempt her, and once again tried to get closer to Xia Qingning. However, as soon as he reached her side, Xia Qingning suddenly raised her hand…