Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 273 The Family's Disappointment

Looking at the familiar old Wang family house, Wang Xia'an felt no warmth at all; instead, she felt ice-cold all over.

He has been fired from Dapeng Sugar Factory and lost his job that many people envy. How can he face his family now?

"Hey, isn't this Xia An? Why are you back at this hour?"

Zhao Yuju often strolled around her neighborhood when she had nothing to do, and soon she saw Wang Xia'an, whose eyes were full of confusion.
"I told you, the sugar factory has great benefits. Not only are the wages high, but the working hours are also short."

"They're off work by now, which is much better than factories in the city."

"Xia An, you've worked hard. Come in and rest. I'll go and ask your mother to cook for you right now."

"My precious grandson, you mustn't go hungry."

As if she were a walking corpse, Wang Xia'an was dragged into the house by Zhao Yuju. Her expression was uncertain, and although she wanted to speak, she didn't have the courage.

At this moment, Wang Xia'an's parents and grandfather also came out from the inner room upon hearing the noise.

His father, Wang Jinshan, was all smiles, his smile as radiant as a blooming flower.

"Son, you're finally back! You must have done a lot of work at the sugar factory today, right? You're the most promising person in our village. Now that you've gotten a job at Dapeng Sugar Factory, our family will have something to look forward to!"

As she spoke, she reached out to pat her son's shoulder, her eyes filled with pride and joy.

Zhao Yuju also quickly came over, holding a freshly steamed sweet potato in her hand:
"Xia An, quickly try the sweet potato your mother steamed, it's so sweet!"

“You work in a sugar factory, so you must have seen a lot of good things. Don’t look down on what’s at home.”

"But once you earn more money, we can live a good life, and then we can eat whatever we want."

As he spoke, he stuffed the sweet potato into Wang Xia'an's hand.

Wang Degong, also with a broad smile, said:

"We've been waiting for this sugar factory to finally open! The training course paid thirty yuan a month, and the salary will surely be even higher in the future!"

"Grandson, you have brought great honor to our Wang family!"

"So many people would kill to get a job at this sugar factory, you'd better do a good job and not let this opportunity slip by."

Looking at her family's joyful faces, Wang Xia'an felt as if a thousand needles were pricking her heart.

He opened his mouth, wanting to tell them he had been fired, but his throat felt like it was choked by something, and he couldn't make a sound.

His hands unconsciously clenched the hem of his clothes, fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and his face grew increasingly pale.

The family was still chatting happily, completely unaware of Wang Xia'an's unusual behavior.

Liu Xiumei was already busy in the kitchen, and the sounds of pots and pans clattering could be heard:
"Xia An, wait for me, I'll make you your favorite braised pork. I'll treat you to something nice today."

Amidst the lively atmosphere, Wang Xia'an felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar.

He had to speak up; otherwise, he feared he wouldn't have the courage to even open his mouth.

He took a deep breath and said in a trembling voice, "Grandma, Dad, Mom, Grandpa, I...I've been fired from Dapeng Sugar Factory."

"The factory even said they would post this on the village bulletin board, but I, I..."

The moment those words were spoken, the entire room fell silent, as if time had stopped.

The smiles on the family members' faces froze instantly, their eyes wide with shock and disbelief.

The spatula in Liu Xiumei's hand fell to the ground with a "thud." Wang Tieshan opened his mouth, speechless for a long time. Zhao Yuju was even more stunned, and the sweet potato in her hand also fell to the ground.

Grandpa Wang Degong swayed, almost losing his balance. "You... what did you say? You were fired? How is that possible?"

After a brief silence, Wang Jinshan was the first to recover, his voice rising several decibels:
"What exactly happened? Tell your father clearly, is someone deliberately making things difficult for you?"

"Is it your shameless third uncle and his family?"

"They're just relying on Wang Chengpeng's abilities and his contribution to the establishment of the sugar factory. If they dare to mess around, I'll make them pay."

“We paid a high price for this job, so why should they fire us just like that? Even if we take this to the commune, we are in the right.”

Zhao Yuju screamed and shouted:

“That damned Wang Tieshan, I’m going to find him right now. If he dares to ruin my grandson’s job, I will disown him as my son.”

Wang Degong's eyes were unreadable, but instead of making a scene, he directly asked Wang Xia'an:
"They must have a reason for firing you. Tell me about it properly."

He knew the character of Wang Chengpeng and his family; they would never do something like getting Wang Xia'an fired from the factory without any reason, relying on their connections.

When her name was called, Wang Xia'an, like a frightened ostrich, finally raised her head and timidly said:

"I was just a little slow when making the sugar, so it doesn't look as good as theirs."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yuju screamed again:
"I knew it must be Wang Chengpeng who was up to something. How could the factory possibly fire my Xia An just like that?"

"No, I have to go and argue with Wang Yong."

At this point, Zhao Yuju made a move to leave, as she was truly determined to fight for Wang Xia'an's cause.

You have to understand that this job was obtained in exchange for Wang Tieshan's support relationship. Now that it's gone, wouldn't it be a huge loss?
But Wang Xia'an wasn't about to let her go so easily. He knew he was in the wrong, so he could only stammer and continue speaking:

"Also, I was so angry at the time that I smashed a piece of equipment in the factory."

Wang Xia'an's words immediately made Zhao Yuju stop in her tracks, staring blankly at him.

A moment later, she quickly tried to cover it up, saying:
"It's just a piece of equipment, it's not like our Wang family can't afford to pay for it."

"Tell us how much that equipment costs, and our Wang family will compensate the factory, won't that solve the problem?"

Wang Xia'an certainly understood such a simple principle, but as a worker in the factory, he knew the price of that equipment.

Lowering her head, Wang Xia'an spoke in a voice only she could hear:

"That equipment is very expensive; I heard it costs three or four thousand yuan per unit."

Frowning slightly, Wang Degong shouted, "Louder!"

"What, even at this point you're still planning to hide things from us, your family?"

Her face was flushed crimson, as if it could bleed, but Wang Xia'an still didn't dare to raise her head. She simply raised her voice a little more and repeated what she had just said:
"That equipment is very expensive; I heard it costs three or four thousand yuan per unit."

Even Zhao Yuju didn't dare to speak loudly anymore, only muttering:
"What kind of crappy equipment is this, that it's so expensive?"

The Wang family does have some savings, but it's almost impossible for them to come up with three or four thousand yuan.

Most importantly, whether this job is worth three or four thousand yuan is still a question.

"Hehe." Looking at Wang Xia'an, who had disappointed everyone, Wang Chun'an gloated, "I said from the beginning that this job should have been given to me, but you all insisted on giving it to my second brother." "This is the second brother you all had high hopes for, and he really gave you a big surprise."

"I'm going back to my room to rest. You guys can help him clean up this mess."

After saying these words, Wang Chun'an went straight back to his room.

Looking at Wang Xia'an, who seemed like a complete coward, he felt utterly satisfied.

You treated him like a treasure, and now you're regretting not giving me the job!

Ignoring Wang Chun'an's unusual behavior, Wang Jinshan's eyes were filled with helplessness as he murmured:

"Now how to do?"

Zhao Yuju spat and said, "What kind of broken machine costs several thousand yuan? Isn't this extortion?"

"It's just a lousy job in a textile factory. Our Wang family doesn't care about it. If we don't want it, we don't want it."

Zhao Yuju said she didn't care, but you could tell from her increasingly frantic eyes that she was really furious.

Only Wang Degong seemed to have found the only chance of survival. He sighed and said:

"Xia An, have you received official notification of your expulsion?"

Wang Xia'an shook his head and said, "The factory said they would write things down more clearly before posting the notice, but it hasn't been posted yet."

Slightly relieved, Wang Degong said, "Since no notice has been posted yet, this matter can be considered undecided."

"Although the equipment is expensive, it shouldn't cost too much to repair, maybe a few hundred dollars at most."

"Let's go talk to Director Wang and ask him to make an exception. There should still be a chance for this matter."

Upon hearing Wang Degong's words, Wang Xia'an's eyes lit up, and he shouted:
"Grandpa, please go and beg Director Wang for me. I know I was wrong, and I won't do it again."

Hearing Wang Xia'an's words, Wang Degong was furious. He pounded his cane on the ground and shouted:

"I'm not the one who made the mistake, so why should I apologize?"

"I've given you my solution, and I'm willing to pay for the equipment repairs. Whether you go to apologize or not is your own business."

With that, Wang Degong no longer wanted to look at his troublesome grandson and went straight back to the inner room, leaving the others in the room looking at each other in bewilderment.

Finally, Zhao Yuju spoke up, saying:

"Jinshan, you go with Xia An to discuss this matter."

After quickly weighing the shame of apologizing against the benefits of keeping his job, Wang Jinshan stood up after a moment and said:
"Alright, you can go with Xia An now."

"I believe that as long as we are sincere, Director Wang shouldn't make things difficult for us."

Zhao Yuju chimed in, "Does Wang Yong dare to disrespect us?"

"It would be a blessing for my grandson to apologize to him. He might not even have to pay for the equipment repairs."

Looking at their confident eyes, Wang Xia'an hesitated, wondering whether she should tell them everything that had happened at the factory.

This matter is not as trivial as I make it out to be; in fact, I made many mistakes along the way.

He opened his mouth, but ultimately didn't say anything.

Anyway, his dad and grandma are so confident, they should be able to handle this little thing.

Thinking this, Wang Xia'an raised her head again, and the slight regret she had finally felt vanished instantly.

……

Zhao Yuju and Wang Jinshan were both action-oriented, and together with Wang Xia'an, the three of them rode on their old bicycles from home, bumping along the road towards the Dapeng Sugar Factory.

Wang Jinshan and Wang Xia'an were alright; after all, they were young and healthy enough to withstand the bumpy ride.

But Zhao Yuju suffered terribly, constantly groaning and moaning along the way.

Especially recalling the comfort of riding on the back of Wang Chengpeng's bicycle, she said with extreme dissatisfaction:
"This bicycle is still not enough. Once Xia An earns some money, he should definitely buy another bicycle for the family."

"I think the 28-inch bicycle is fine. If you're going to buy one, you should buy the Phoenix brand. It looks much better than the Forever brand."

In other words, Wang Chengpeng had already bought out his parents' support relationship; otherwise, at this point, Zhao Yuju would probably be eyeing the family's bicycle again.

With a slight pout, Wang Xia'an immediately prepared to refute Zhao Yuju's words.

He has money, so he should use it himself. How could he possibly use it to buy a bicycle for his family?
Especially since it's such an expensive Phoenix brand bicycle, which would cost him many months' salary.

But thinking that he was still counting on Zhao Yuju to help him get his job back, he ultimately didn't say anything, and simply turned his head away, pretending that he hadn't heard his grandmother's words at all.

On the contrary, Wang Jinshan's eyes lit up, and he said with a smile, "Then we'll have to buy another bicycle."

“I’ve always felt that this bicycle is a bit too old, and it’s time to get a new one.”

Upon hearing Wang Jinshan's words, Wang Xia'an turned her face away again in dissatisfaction.

Wang Jinshan is driving a new bicycle? What kind of car is he driving? It's simply outrageous!

Although riding a bicycle together was slow, it was still much faster than walking, and they managed to get there before Dapeng Sugar Factory closed for the day.

As soon as they parked their bicycles, Wang Jinshan and Zhao Yuju, disregarding everything else, prepared to storm into Wang Yong's office, only to be stopped by the militia guarding the sugar factory.
"Halt! Factory grounds, no unauthorized personnel allowed!"

Once stopped, Zhao Yuju immediately started throwing a tantrum, shouting:
“This sugar factory belongs to Wangjia Village, and I am also a member of Wangjia Village. Why can’t I go in?”

"Open your dog eyes and look carefully! I am the grandmother of Wang Xia'an, an employee of your factory. Why can't I enter this sugar factory?"

Zhao Yuju frowned as she looked at Ding Yongkang, but she recognized Wang Xia'an, whom he mentioned, and immediately said:

“Wang Xia’an? We don’t have a worker named Wang Xia’an in our factory.”

"Don't try to cause trouble, or if the police are called, you'll be in big trouble."

Such a major event as firing a worker would naturally not be done without notifying the guards at the gate. Moreover, Wang Yong had already made it clear that Wang Xia'an must never be allowed to come to the sugar factory again.

Hearing Zhao Yuju's words, Zhao Yuju was stunned. How could this situation be different from what she had imagined?
Let alone causing trouble for Wang Yong, they couldn't even get into the factory.

Wang Jinshan, being more adept at interpersonal relationships, flashed a fawning smile and said:

"Comrade Ding, it's a misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding."

“Xia Anke from our family wasn’t fired from the factory. We’re here to deal with this matter.”

(End of this chapter)