Old Mrs. Song is reborn; get out of here, you scumbag husband and illegitimate child!

Mrs. Sheng explained with a smile:

"Her father used his connections to find her a job at the post office, and today is her first day. My daughter Zhizhi is so grateful for your care in Haishi, it's only right that we invite you to come and visit. I was sick for a while and came back in a hurry. I'm still taking anti-thrombotic medication."

"How are you feeling after taking the medicine?"

"The doctor I found was good, and the surgeon was good too. I feel much better now."

Mrs. Sheng looked at the things on the table. "Why are you carrying such expensive things? Why is everything so valuable?"

Two Jinhua hams.

Two bottles of Feitian Moutai.

Two Chinese characters.

Two boxes of bird's nest.

In addition, there were several boxes of various delicate pastries and chocolates.

This doesn't seem like a gift exchange between friends; it's more like a prospective son-in-law coming to propose marriage.

Mrs. Sheng's heart began to pound.

This young man is being unusually attentive; he must be up to no good or a thief.

However, when she thought of Song Xianglan, Madam Sheng wondered if she was overthinking things.

Liu Yukun caught a glimpse of the wariness in Sheng's mother's eyes out of the corner of his eye.

His mind works incredibly fast.

"Auntie, please don't be so polite with me. These are things my godmother told me I had to buy. If I came empty-handed, she'd skin me alive when I got back. Besides, I'm here on business. I just wanted to get acquainted with the place so I can bring my godmother next time."

Mrs. Sheng pulled up a chair and sat down. "Don't you work in Haishi? Are you here on a business trip?"

"I run my own business. My godmother has a clothing brand in the new city that's doing quite well. I was thinking of coming here to find a suitable fabric supplier. There are also many clothing factories here, so I'd like to source some goods here. Eventually, I'll open a shop in Haishi."

I heard it was for business.

The wariness in Mrs. Sheng's eyes lessened a bit.

"You're here to find fabric?"

After thinking for a moment, Mrs. Sheng said, "Then you've come to the right place. My daughter-in-law, Zhuo Yun, works at a textile factory in our town. There are many textile factories and garment factories here."

The voice just fell.

The curtain to the inner room was lifted.

Zhuo Yun walked out in her cloth shoes.

Their factory has stopped production and given employees a holiday.

She heard people talking in the main room and came out to see what was going on.

Zhuo Yun's eyes widened as soon as he glanced at the mountain of gifts on the octagonal table.

Even the prospective son-in-law had never seen such lavish spending.

"Mom, we have guests?" Zhuo Yun straightened her hair and walked over with a smile.

Pointing to Liu Yukun, Mrs. Sheng introduced him: "This is Comrade Liu from Haishi. Ruzhi received care from his godmother in Haishi. He stopped by to visit us today."

Zhuo Yun is a straightforward person.

Immediately pull out a chair and sit down.

Mrs. Sheng: "Comrade Liu is a big boss, and he wants to find a source of fabric in our area."

"Comrade Liu, if you had bought goods from our factory a few years ago, you would have had to wait in line for a permit. These past few years, our factory has declined, while those small private workshops are thriving."

Liu Yukun: "How so? I heard your factory is a very famous old factory."

"Even established brands can't compete with small private workshops stealing their business." Zhuo Yun sighed, picked up some sunflower seeds from the table and started cracking them open. "Now state-owned factories can't beat private ones. Those small workshops have lower costs, newer designs, and faster delivery."

The key is that the service is exceptionally good; I heard the owner is in sales. He's extremely accommodating to customers in order to sell their products.

Our factory has been doing poorly for several months, and we haven't been able to pay wages in full. For the past two or three months, we've only received half the wages, with the other half paid in cloth. Can I eat or drink that stuff?

Mrs. Sheng chimed in from the side:

"There are still several bolts of fabric piled up at home. Your dad said he'd take them to the tailor to make a few clothes, but we still can't wear them all. And the colors aren't even nice; even the kids don't like them."

Zhuo Yun tossed the sunflower seed shells into an empty plate. "The factory is in a state of panic right now. Many experienced workers have been forced to take unpaid leave. Judging from the current situation, the factory manager might just slam his fist on the table one day and our huge factory will really shut down. Everyone will have to go home and starve."

"Is it that serious?" Mrs. Sheng asked in disbelief. "The government will take care of it, won't it?"

Zhuo Yun became more and more worried as she spoke.

"Everyone says it's a secure job, but I think it's full of holes now. Mom, the government can't handle it all. They say some workers have already been laid off, and they're encouraging them to find their own way."

Mrs. Sheng advised her:

"If things really don't work out, just go home. It's not like your family is starving. Dawei's salary is enough to support the whole family. You can stay home, take care of the kids, and cook. It'll be fine."

Zhuo Yun immediately frowned.

"Mom, how can this be? What kind of life is it for a woman to stay at home all day without a job, just sitting around the stove? I can't stand being treated like that, even buying a scallion has to be at Dawei's beck and call. I'm a working woman too."

Mrs. Sheng was unhappy.

Mothers tend to favor their own children.

"When has David ever given you a hard time? You can't talk nonsense in front of outsiders."

"Not now, but who knows what will happen in the future?" Zhuo Yun said bluntly. "It's not a pleasant feeling to beg for money with your palm facing up. I'm sure you wouldn't be happy to ask Dad for money either."

"I have a pension, so I don't need to ask him for money."

Liu Yukun interrupted.

"Sister-in-law, you've hit the nail on the head. The state-owned factory model isn't working out anymore. Outside, it's all market economy, and everything is decided by the market. The factories in the south are undergoing reforms, with machines constantly belching smoke as they rush to finish production. At the current rate, state-owned factories will eventually go bankrupt on a large scale, and then there will be laid-off workers everywhere."

Zhuo Yun felt a chill run down his spine.

"Will that day really come?"

"Judging from this trend, it's almost certain." Liu Yukun said with certainty, "When that time comes, everyone will be laid off, and it will be too late to find a way out."

Why not take the initiative to apply for unpaid leave now and explore other options? Start a small business, like a clothing stall; you'll definitely earn more than you'd toil away in the factory.

Zhuo Yun's eyes lit up.

Mrs. Sheng shook her head repeatedly from the side.

"Comrade Liu, you make it sound so easy. Doing business isn't that easy. That's speculation. Besides, Zhuo Yun is already a mother, what's the point of her going out and making a fuss? Can she handle the work that young people do?"

"It's better to stay in the factory and give the workers an explanation when it closes down."

Zhuo Yun's face darkened.

Liu Yukun turned to look at Mother Sheng and smiled.

"Auntie, you're mistaken." Liu Yukun gave a thumbs-up to his chest. "My godmother, Song Xianglan, started her business in her early fifties. She didn't have much money back then. Now she buys apartments in Shanghai like they're cabbages."

Zhuo Yun gasped.

"Starting a business in your early fifties?"

Liu Yukun then fanned the flames:

"I started my business after retiring from the slaughterhouse. My godmother often says that there are advantages to being older. You have more experience, you've seen the coldness and warmth of human relationships, and you've become more thick-skinned."

When it comes to doing business, she's much more reliable and avoids a lot of pitfalls than a young, inexperienced man. My sister-in-law is the perfect age; she has work experience and is willing to be shameless in her sales pitches. She has elderly parents to support, young children to raise, and plenty of other pressures.

These words struck a chord with Zhuo Yun.

"Mom, I'm not afraid of hardship or fatigue, I'm just afraid of having no way out in the future. Living with your palm facing out means handing your life over to someone else. No matter how good Dawei is to me, I still won't feel at ease."

Mrs. Sheng pursed her lips.

He didn't say anything more.

Her son isn't the kind of heartless person.

"Even if Dawei treats me very well, our two children will need to go to school and get married and start their own families when they grow up. We can't put the burden of supporting the family on Dawei alone. We are husband and wife and we should support each other."

Mrs. Sheng looked much better.

She didn't want her son to work too hard either.

Liu Yukun understood: Sheng's mother was a conservative, while Zhuo Yun was a troublemaker.

As long as we can bring Zhuo Yun to our side.

Why worry about not seeing Sheng Ruzhi again?

"With this kind of awareness, my sister-in-law is bound to achieve great things in the future." Liu Yukun put down his teacup. "If you really intend to take a leave of absence without pay, I'll teach you how to source goods and manage sales. Anyway, I'll be staying in town for a while."

Zhuo Yun was overjoyed:

"That's great! Don't leave at noon, sister-in-law, I'll go buy a fish, and we'll eat at home."

"How could I possibly accept that?" Liu Yukun feigned reluctance.

"Don't mention it, you brought so much stuff. How come you can't even have a simple home-cooked meal?" Zhuo Yun stood up and walked out. "You stay in the main room, I'll be right back."