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

Liu Chunhua also picked up a few bags of pastries and followed Liu Chounu out. "See you at Lin Fang's shop tonight."

The courtyard gate was closed.

Finally, I have some peace and quiet.

Song Xianglan went into the kitchen, added firewood to the stove, and boiled a large pot of water.

I took a nice, relaxing shower and changed into a dry polyester shirt and black trousers.

The sluggishness and sour smell from the train were completely gone.

After tidying up.

Song Xianglan picked up the two bags of local specialties from the table, locked the courtyard gate, and headed straight for the food processing plant.

The afternoon sun was scorching.

The asphalt road surface was baked until it gleamed white.

As soon as she arrived at the gate, Tang Zhong, the gatekeeper in the guard post, spotted her immediately.

Tang Zhong pushed open the window and shouted at the top of his lungs, "The boss is here!"

His shout was so powerful that several workers who were unloading goods nearby stopped what they were doing and turned around to greet him.

Hello, boss.

"The boss is back."

Song Xianglan smiled and waved to the crowd, then walked to the guard post and handed over the paper package in her hand.

"Here you go," Song Xianglan said. "These are some pastries I brought back from Haishi. Share them with the brothers on duty today."

Tang Zhong wiped his hands on his trouser leg, then took the gift with both hands, grinning broadly.

"Thank you for your concern, sir. We haven't been at ease since you last visited the factory these past two months." Tang Zhong placed the pastries on the table, his face showing worry. "I've overheard people in the workshop gossiping about it behind my back."

Song Xianglan raised an eyebrow:

"What are you muttering about?"

"They're saying that all of our factory's most profitable instant noodle and potato chip production lines are going to be moved to another city." Tang Zhong rubbed his hands together. "Everyone's afraid the factory will go bankrupt, and then no one will have a job. People are getting a bit restless."

Song Xianglan remained calm and waved her hand.

"The factory won't go out of business. It's a strategic adjustment for development. The factory here in Qingyang is too small. In the future, all the potato chip and instant noodle factories will be moved to Shenzhen and Shanghai. The factories in our village will specialize in seafood processing."

Tang Zhong's eyes widened.

"All seafood?"

"Yes. Seafood will be our flagship product in Qingyang Factory from now on." Song Xianglan explained patiently, "Qingyang is located by the sea, so we have a great advantage in terms of marine resources."

The instant noodles and potato chips were moved to another location to save on raw materials and shipping costs.

Those who are willing to go to the new factory in another city can go there. Those who don't want to leave home can transfer to the seafood production line. Tell your subordinates to work hard, and they won't be shortchanged.

Tang Zhong felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders and patted his chest in relief.

"That's enough. I don't know what those people are doing all day gossiping."

As they were talking.

Zhao Guodong walked briskly along the factory road.

His dark blue work clothes were faded from washing, his hair was neatly combed, and he had a notebook tucked under his arm.

Nowadays, the factory has expanded to a huge scale, with each major product category having a dedicated deputy factory manager in charge.

Zhao Guodong secured his position as the general manager of Qingyang Factory thanks to his hard work, quick thinking, and management experience.

When Zhao Guodong saw Song Xianglan, his tense face relaxed.

"Boss Song, you're back."

Song Xianglan looked at him. "You're quite busy as the factory manager. Has production in each workshop fallen behind lately?"

"Nothing's wrong. Everything's going according to plan." Zhao Guodong tucked his notebook back under his arm. "I've been in the R&D lab every day lately. The workshop just produced a few new seafood samples. Why don't you go to the R&D department and try them?"

Song Xianglan became interested.

"What good stuff is it? Let's go take a look."

The two walked side by side toward the office building.

"We have canned ribbonfish and grilled fish fillets with a new recipe," Zhao Guodong reported as he walked. "The recipe has been adjusted three times. The previous one had too strong a fishy smell, so this time the new chef added some local rice wine and spices to remove the fishy smell and enhance the flavor. I think this batch of goods has great potential."

Song Xianglan nodded as she walked, her gaze sweeping over the busy factory.

The workers pushed carts back and forth, and the roar of the machines was the most reassuring reward to her.

She walked with firm steps toward the office.

Zhao Guodong led Song Xianglan into a spacious office.

A new wooden sign hangs above the entrance, which reads "Product Development Department".

A long conference table was set up in the room, and several young people in white coats were taking notes around it. When they saw Song Xianglan enter, they all stopped writing.

"Boss."

"Boss Song."

Song Xianglan nodded and walked to the table.

There were seven or eight transparent glass jars on the table, and some small plastic bowls containing samples next to them.

Zhao Guodong pointed to the items on the table and introduced them. "These are the products we've developed over this period. Mackerel, ribbonfish, spicy crab, and braised pork trotters with soybeans. The bag over there contains new flavored potato chips, which were also sent over by the R&D department of the second factory for tasting."

Song Xianglan picked up a small spoon, scooped up a piece of mackerel, and put it in her mouth.

The meat is firm and has a rich, savory sauce flavor.

"The mackerel is good." She put down her spoon. "It's just that the flavor is a bit monotonous. If you're going to do it, do it on a larger scale and offer more flavors. Spicy, fragrant and spicy, to cater to different people's tastes."

The young man wearing glasses next to him quickly scribbled notes in his notebook.

Zhao Guodong then picked up a can of soybeans and pig's feet. "Several deputy factory directors have tasted this canned pig's feet and said it's good. But we've encountered a problem."

"What's the problem?"

"We can't get that many pig trotters here." Zhao Guodong flipped through his notebook. "The pig trotters in Qingyang are basically enough for the fresh food market, and the amount allocated to processing plants is pitifully small. If we want to produce on a large scale, the raw materials can't keep up."

Song Xianglan pondered for a moment.

"If we don't have it locally, we'll source it from other places. We'll negotiate purchases across provinces; we're sure we can get a large quantity."

Zhao Guodong nodded and noted it down.

"However, the cost of sourcing meat from other places is high, and transportation losses are also significant." Song Xianglan tapped the table with her knuckles. "We shouldn't expand this too much yet. Let's start with a trial production run, releasing a small portion to the market to see the response. If the response is good, we can always import frozen meat from abroad."

Zhao Guodong closed the notebook.

"Okay, we'll do it your way. I'll send someone to check the prices tomorrow, and also take a look at the prices abroad."

The business is over.

Song Xianglan placed the paper package she had brought on the table and untied it.

"Let's share the pastries that Hai Shi brought back. Everyone will get a bonus when we introduce new products."

The young people's eyes lit up, and they thanked them repeatedly.

Song Xianglan did not stay long.

He wiped his hands and walked out of the R&D department.

She went straight to the office at the end of the corridor and grabbed the black telephone on the table.

I dialed the number of the small shop at the entrance of Niejiazhuang Village.

There was static coming from the microphone, followed by Song Xiangmei's slightly hoarse voice. "Feed? Buy what?"

"Elder sister, it's me, Xianglan."

There was a two-second pause on the other end of the phone, followed by a sniff. "Third Sister? You're finally back."

Song Xianglan pulled up a chair and sat down. "I heard from Old Li this afternoon that Lao Wu's two kids really came back?"

Song Xiangmei burst into tears on the phone.

"That heartless woman. She took the pension and remarried in the neighboring county, refusing to leave her two children behind. Now that her two sons are back, she hasn't seen her posthumous daughter."

Song Xianglan frowned. "When did you get back?"

"My two sons are as thin as sticks," Song Xiangmei said between sobs. "My heart aches so much. My fifth son was the most promising, but he died out there. My two children are just like him."

"Stop crying," Song Xianglan interrupted her. "Why did you come back?"

Song Xiangmei gritted her teeth on the other end of the line, "Xiuhong remarried to a neighboring county and had three more children with that man. The two eldest brothers, Wentao and Wenqiang, work in the fields every day. Their stepfather there won't let them stay any longer."

"That's not even the worst part," Song Xiangmei said, her voice trembling. "That heartless stepfather changed both children's surnames. They don't have the surname Nie anymore; they have his. Tell me, what kind of logic is that?"

Song Xianglan listened to Song Xiangmei crying on the phone.

"Third sister, I really can't bear to see them go back to suffer. Xiuhong has no say in that family; she's completely controlled by the man there."

Song Xiangmei was sobbing on the other end of the line, "Tomorrow I plan to host a meal at home and invite some elderly people from the village to witness this, so that the two children won't be allowed to go back."

I just want my granddaughter to come back too. I'm afraid they'll just find that poor girl any random family for the sake of the bride price. Would you like to come over for lunch tomorrow?

"Okay. I'll go first thing tomorrow morning," Song Xianglan reassured him. "Xiao Chuan is doing well now, and you've opened a small shop. The kids won't starve. Besides, they're all grown up now and can earn money to support their families."