CHAPTER 421: CHAPTER 414: THE CHICKEN HUSHES, THE MONKEY BEHAVES

Lou Jinfeng listened to Zhong Cuixu’s account of the matter and felt a bit uneasy. Of course, she did this on purpose. Who told Zhong Cuixu to pay no respect to her as the group leader? She certainly didn’t want to assign Zhong Cuixu any easy tasks!

"Zhong Cuixu, stop talking nonsense. I assigned you to label large bottles for half a month, but you haven’t done it for a single day. Even when labeling small bottles you’re sluggish. All you do is boast and fart around, never getting the work done." Lou Jinfeng defended herself.

Zhong Cuixu wanted to make more trouble, but Sisi said with a stern face, "Enough, Zhong Cuixu, Group Leader Lou, Director Zhong, the three of you, come to the office. The rest of you, continue working. Also, I want to re-emphasize something: the factory hires you to work, not to play. Director Zhong, if there is anyone else chatting during work hours, fine them five yuan for the first three times. The fourth time, they can go straight home and need not return to work."

Zhong Meiying quickly complied, promising to enforce the rules.

Sisi’s words frightened the middle-aged women into bowing their heads and quickening their pace. Working at He Family Winery was both easy and well-paying, where else could they earn so much if they were sent away?

Sisi curled her lips in satisfaction and signaled the other three to go to the office.

Inside the office, Zhong Cuixu tried to use her son’s merits to her advantage, but Sisi cut her off with a single remark.

"Aunt Zhong, three-legged toads are hard to find, but two-legged people are everywhere. If you feel unhappy working at our winery, you and your son are welcome to leave and find work elsewhere. I won’t insist you stay."

Sisi sneered to herself. Jin Duofu might be an excellent salesperson, but the earth will still spin without anyone!

Some people just think too highly of themselves!

Zhong Cuixu was stunned and couldn’t believe what she heard, "Isn’t my son Duofu your good friend? How can you be so dismissive?"

"I think Aunt Zhong, you still don’t understand. My family opened the winery to make money, not to deal with favors. In the factory, it’s only the work performance that counts, and if it’s not up to standard, anyone should be penalized, Director Zhong included."

Sisi paused, then continued, "Moreover, I’m not that close to your son – we’re just former elementary school classmates. And it just happens that your son married my good friend Zhong Juying."

Sisi gave Zhong Cuixu a severe blow and made the punishment decision:

Zhong Meiying, as the workshop director, for indulgence and fostering misconduct, a fine of twenty yuan;

Lou Jinfeng, as the group leader, for poor management, a fine of ten yuan;

Zhong Cuixu, for insubordination and poor attitude, causing an extremely bad influence on the factory, a fine of thirty yuan, with immediate dismissal for further offenses.

Sisi personally wrote this penalty notice in graceful, flowing script. It was very pretty to look at, even if the message wasn’t so nice.

Sisi instructed Zhong Meiying to post this notice at the factory gate for everyone to see as they clocked in and out. When the workers saw that even Zhong Meiying, the good friend, was fined twenty yuan, they truly believed that the young boss was utterly unsentimental.

The intimidated workers dared not have any small-minded thoughts anymore, for fear that a slip-up could lead to a fine, and just like that tens of yuan would vanish. Oh, how heart-wrenching!

Zhong Meiying, however, was quite reasonable. She acknowledged her own shortcomings and paid the 20-yuan penalty willingly. Lou Jinfeng, on the other hand, couldn’t quite accept it. She felt she had done nothing wrong, so why should her money be fined?

Sisi didn’t want to argue with her either, she simply asked Zhong Meiying to tell her—since she, as the group leader, couldn’t manage her subordinates properly, that was her fault. If she didn’t want to pay the fine, that was fine too—she could just stop being a group leader and let someone else take the role.

Once Lou Jinfeng heard that she might lose her position as group leader, she panicked immediately and promptly paid the 10 yuan. Being a group leader meant earning an extra five yuan each month. She certainly wouldn’t give up this lucrative role over ten yuan.

However, it meant that Lou Jinfeng now had a grudge against Zhong Cuixu, and she didn’t dare to play favorites when assigning tasks anymore, fearing that any more trouble could result in another fine.

Zhong Cuixu certainly wasn’t going to pay up so obediently, she made a scene in the workshop, throwing a tantrum at the factory gate. Sisi didn’t bother with her and directly asked Zhong Boqiang to come and discipline his daughter. If he couldn’t handle it, Sisi wouldn’t be giving him any leeway anymore.

Seeing his daughter wailing on the ground, Zhong Boqiang was utterly embarrassed. He had certainly heard about his daughter’s arrogance in the factory, but since He Xuewen and Tian Manmu hadn’t mentioned it, he hadn’t interfered.

Of course, he felt a bit proud. After all, his son had become a regimental commander in the army, both grandsons were university students, and he himself was the village head. Aside from the Tian Family, they were regarded as one of the elite families in the village.

So when people mentioned that Cuixu looked down on them and always acted as if she was so great, Zhong Boqiang didn’t take it seriously, thinking it somewhat appropriate given their family’s current status.

However, he never expected Sisi to call him to the factory. Upon arriving, he saw Cuixu creating a scene at the factory gate, with villagers around pointing and talking. Oh, how utterly embarrassing!

Zhong Boqiang did feel some resentment towards Sisi for not explaining the situation beforehand, making him lose face by rushing over like this.

Sisi sneered: "Your daughter is causing a ruckus in our factory, who else should I call if not you?"

No matter how unruly Zhong Cuixu was, she instantly became docile at the sight of her father and obediently got up to follow Zhong Boqiang home. As for how Zhong Boqiang educated his daughter once they got home, Sisi couldn’t care less.

The next day, however, Zhong Cuixu dutifully paid the 30 yuan fine and became much more subdued, not daring to act as arrogantly as before.

Zhong Cuixu’s incident left a bad taste in Zhong Boqiang’s mouth. He always felt that the He Family didn’t show enough respect to his position as secretary and wanted to teach them a lesson, but his son Zhong Fugao talked him out of it.

Zhong Fugao had a good relationship with He Xuewen and also worked in the winery, driving the delivery truck with nice benefits.

He obviously understood his sister’s behavior at the factory and had advised her in private a few times, but Zhong Cuixu never listened. He could only think about when He Xuewen would discipline her. He knew He Xuewen was not as mild-tempered as he appeared to be.

But he hadn’t expected that the one to take action would be Sisi, the little girl, who was even tougher than her father in dealing with the situation, docking her Sister a month’s salary in an instant. This was probably going to pain his sister for a good few days?

Yet, in his opinion, this was the right approach. If the punishment wasn’t severe, how could his sister ever learn her lesson?

That’s why Zhong Fugao had been advising Zhong Boqiang at home not to harbor grievances against the He Family. The He Family had given the Zhong Family enough face already, holding back for so long before reacting. After all, it was Zhong Cuixu who had brought this upon herself; she had no one else to blame.