My Terrible Life in Those Years

I ignored his rebuke and instead calmed down and carefully read through the contents.

The layout is very simple, with minimal text and only two images.

The top photo is very prominent; it was taken before I arrived at the scene, and I can see it very clearly.

The worker was lying on the ground, surrounded by blood; it was truly a gruesome sight!

Anyone with even a slight understanding of Huacheng will recognize the backdrop in the photo as the landmark stadium in the new city center! It's the location of our overall image-building project!

Even more noticeable is that the project notice board above lists our glorious name as the contractor.

By then, a crowd had already gathered around, pointing and whispering.

The caption below the picture reads: "A migrant worker who made significant contributions to the development of Guangzhou fell from the scaffolding!"

I glanced at Wu Bo in surprise. What's wrong with these photos and text?

It's like I stepped on his tail!

I then looked at the second photo:

The ambulance has arrived at the scene, but Uncle Qingguo is still lying on the ground!

The accompanying text asks: Why is the injured worker refusing to get into the ambulance? Is it because he's afraid of delaying the project? Or is it because he's afraid no one will take responsibility and he can't afford the medical expenses?

I found it very interesting; this columnist, who shares the same name as Hong Panpan, is exceptionally talented.

With just two photos and a few lines of text, the cause of an event is described clearly and concisely, making it understandable even to people with limited education!

I flipped the newspaper over: "Huh? Where did it go? It only has this part from the beginning?"

Indeed, why does this page only show events that occurred before I arrived, and not those that occurred after?

Wu Bo slammed his hand on the table, his eyes reddening. "The rest? You... you still dream of a rest? Well, this is it! Our company is going to be famous, not just in Huacheng, but probably all over the country! Is this what you call a report on handling things well?"

Before I could explain, he continued, "Do you know? Our company is about to go public. Because of this report, all our approval documents will be rejected! We won't be able to submit anything for at least two or three years. Look what you've done! You'll be fully responsible!!!"

That slap made me dizzy and disoriented; I almost thought I'd been hit by a club!

He seized the opportunity and attacked me with deadly force!

I feel a bit cold!

Wu Bo clearly knew the details of what happened at the hospital, but instead of explaining the situation and reporting the truth to Aunt Shu and General Manager Liu, he made me take the blame.

Honestly, if this pot lid falls on me, the sky will fall and the earth will split open!

Just as Manager Wu was about to add insult to injury, Aunt Shu finally spoke up for the first time.

"When you were there, didn't you notice anything unusual? Were there reporters or similar people taking photos or videos?"

Her tone was somewhat cold, not like the coldness of Manager Wu who wanted to kill me, but a coldness that made me feel that she was suddenly a stranger to me!

I know they're starting to ask about the details of what happened.

Her attire today was as sophisticated and professional as ever, but I wasn't in the mood to appreciate it: "At the time, the scene was somewhat chaotic. Doctors and nurses were trying to persuade the worker to get into the ambulance, but the worker refused and lay on the ground. There were indeed some people taking photos and videos nearby, but I couldn't tell if they were reporters!"

"Tell me what happened again!"

I've organized my thoughts. I've been personally handling everything that followed, so I'll just tell you the truth.

"When I arrived at the scene and saw the situation, I immediately reported it to Manager Wu and General Manager Shu. General Manager Shu gave me instructions on the spot, and I followed those instructions to persuade the workers to get on the truck and go to the hospital for a check-up."

Manager Wu's face immediately flushed red: "I told you to check the situation first and wait for my call. You insisted on showing up and taking the blame. If I had asked Qian Jin to handle it, we wouldn't be in this predicament now, would we? Even if we were photographed, that's between Qian Jin and the workers; we could have easily protected ourselves!"

He glanced at President Shu a few times, implying that I hadn't handled things according to his instructions, but rather according to Aunt Shu's.

He absolved himself of responsibility in this matter.

This matter involves not only me, but also Aunt Shu's direct command.

Good heavens, he's subtly putting down Aunt Shu? It's practically like he's pointing at her and saying, "You're part of this mess too!"

I was shocked. This guy has such a wide range of targets.

They want to take me and Aunt Shu down at the same time?

A chill ran up my spine from my waist to my head. Good grief, that was really ruthless!

Sure enough, Mr. Liu's eyes inadvertently glanced at Aunt Shu's face.

My brain froze for three seconds.

"General Manager Liu, General Manager Shu, Manager Wu, may I share my thoughts?"

Mr. Liu never expected that I would still have the courage to speak at this moment.

Aunt Shu, who knew me a little, softened her expression slightly.

Manager Wu had no intention of giving me another chance to speak.

"What else is there to say? What else do you want to say? It's been reported, it's been reported! Do you even know how many copies this newspaper has? Even if you deal with the workers' issue afterward, the damage has already been done! What else can you say..."

There were just too many people around, otherwise he definitely would have yelled that "fart" out loud!

Mr. Liu originally wanted to listen, but out of respect for Manager Wu, an older employee, he couldn't directly refute him.

The atmosphere at the scene suddenly became strange again.

I ignored how furious he was, how enraged he was, and how much he wanted to crush me. I simply raised my voice and, in front of all my colleagues, said loudly, "Don't I have the right to speak?"

After saying those words, my entire way of thinking and my state of mind changed completely.

This matter is completely beyond my expectations and beyond my capacity to handle; even Aunt Shu may be implicated.

If things aren't clearly explained face-to-face, it's impossible to predict what will happen next.

Manager Wu's face flushed red, and just as he was about to stop him again, General Manager Liu raised his hand: "Then do you have anything else to say?"

"The situation was quite urgent, and I felt I couldn't handle it. So, after reporting to Manager Wu, I immediately reported to General Manager Shu and received her direct instructions. I also felt that her instructions were the best way to resolve the matter under those circumstances."

I'm sorry, Manager Wu, but what I meant was that I didn't think your method would work!

I try my best to adjust my mood and emotions.

I spoke in a tone that didn't make it seem like I was biased towards either side.

"The newspaper reports were taken before I arrived at the scene. That's all true. But what I don't understand is why what happened after I arrived wasn't photographed, or reported in the newspaper?"

"I don't know the specific reasons, but I still think that Mr. Shu's emergency response plan was correct and timely, and I did my best to implement the plan."

"As for why this part was missing from the newspaper report, I have no idea. It's not something I can control!"

"I'm done speaking!"

My voice is very loud, and I speak faster than usual.

What I'm trying to say is that I followed the correct plan diligently and didn't make any mistakes along the way.

And President Shu was certainly not wrong either.

Neither she nor I will take the blame for this!