Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire
Chapter 428 - Chapter 428 Chapter 417 Spill It All Out

Chapter 428: Chapter 417: Spill It All Out Chapter 428: Chapter 417: Spill It All Out Since the Ding Family’s two grandsons had secured jobs, the threshold of their home was nearly worn down by matchmakers. Because the eldest grandson, Ding Chengdong, was a permanent worker, Old Lady Ding wanted her grandson to marry a girl from the city.

Old Lady Ding was a very cunning person; otherwise, she wouldn’t have been able to mistreat Ding Xiaoxia without facing blame from her husband, his family, or the villagers. She knew she couldn’t speak her thoughts directly, as it would lead to gossip, so she openly declared that Ding Chengdong wouldn’t discuss marriage until after turning twenty. As for the second grandson, Ding Chengliang, he was a temporary worker, and knowing that the family lacked connections and he wasn’t a clever talker, she found him a good-looking and capable girl from the neighboring village.

After Ding Chengliang’s marriage was settled, the matchmakers stopped coming. The clever ones saw the clues and realized that the Ding Family was looking to climb the social ladder; those less astute, after being turned away two or three times, also got the hint.

One day, Old Lady Ding calculated the time and instructed her daughter-in-law to prepare two special dishes: “Today is Sunday, Chengliang will come home.”

The daughter-in-law, Mrs. Zhang, smiled and agreed cheerfully.

But unexpectedly, while Mrs. Zhang was still cooking, the second grandson returned. He didn’t come back empty-handed this time, but brought all his bedding with him.

Seeing her grandson’s dejected face and the many items he was carrying, Old Lady Ding felt a pang in her heart: “Chengliang, why have you brought back all your bedding…”

Before she could finish her sentence, Ding Chengliang burst into tears: “Granny, I’ve been fired, the bureau has fired me.”

Old Lady Ding almost couldn’t stand steady: “What did you say? How could you be fired?”

Upon inquiry, she learned that Ding Chengliang had lost an important piece of evidence. With such a grave mistake, the bureau couldn’t possibly keep him on, and being a temporary worker, his superiors had directly told him to get lost.

Old Lady Ding clutched his hand and asked, “You were just running errands, how could you lose that… that evidence?”

Ding Chengliang was doing a favor for a colleague at the bureau. He was supposed to keep the evidence safe and then submit it the next day. But the colleague suddenly got a stomachache at night and asked him to watch it. With a sorrowful face, he said, “Granny, I don’t know how it happened. I clearly put it in the drawer, but when I woke up, it was gone.”

Upon hearing this, Old Lady Ding immediately questioned, “Didn’t you lock your room?”

When Ding Chengliang said he hadn’t, and that he slept so soundly he didn’t even notice someone entering the room, Old Lady Ding felt it was a setup. Because he was a temporary worker, he was staying in a rented room with noisy surroundings, making it impossible to find out who might have entered.

Old Lady Ding, convinced that someone had framed her family, angrily declared, “Tomorrow, Granny will take you to them; we can’t let them bully people like this.”

Ding Chengliang didn’t want to lose his job. Working at the Public Security Bureau, although as a menial worker enduring some grievances, he didn’t have to do farm work, and he could still earn more than twenty yuan a month. Most importantly, ever since he got back, everyone treated him with respect.

The next day, Old Lady Ding took him to seek justice, only to receive a severe reprimand. They told her that Ding Chengliang was lucky not to be held accountable or arrested for his mistake; if he caused any more trouble, he would be detained. Frightened, Old Lady Ding returned home, humiliated.

On the way back, she cursed under her breath.

To her surprise, upon returning to the village, she heard that the village party secretary had made a mistake and was dismissed by the township government, and they had appointed the team leader, who was his adversary, to take over.

Old Lady Ding was completely dumbfounded, and it took her a long while to say, “Secretary Ruan had been doing a fine job; why was he suddenly dismissed?”

Fearing the worst, Ding Tangping said with some concern, “Do you think it could be that damned girl causing trouble?”

Old Lady Ding’s heart sank, but she still said, “Impossible, it’s true that she has some dirty money, but it’s impossible for her to have the county town and the townships listen to her. It must be that Secretary Ruan offended someone and was pulled down.”

However, Ding Tangping wasn’t as optimistic as she was, saying, “You haven’t seen that girl; she’s ruthlessly hearted. Secretary Ruan has been doing his job for more than ten years, everything has always been fine, it’s not possible that he suddenly made a mistake and was dismissed. Old lady, if it really was her doing, then Chengdong’s job might not be safe either.”

Old Lady Ding’s face turned pale, but she disagreed aloud, “Impossible, Chengdong is a regular employee. No factory would dismiss a regular employee for no reason.”

They might not dismiss a regular employee, but they could make him do the toughest and most tiring work. Ding Chengdong came back saying he wouldn’t go anymore, it was too exhausting for him. Not only that, but there were also many people causing trouble for him.

Old Lady Ding saw that something was wrong and pulled Ding Tangping to Secretary Ruan’s house. But they were directly kicked out by Secretary Ruan’s wife, who called them troublemakers.

What else could Old Lady Ding not understand? Secretary Ruan’s dismissal truly had something to do with that damnable girl.

Secretary Ruan heard the commotion and came out, inviting the two into the house. Before they could open their mouths, Secretary Ruan said, “It’s not just me who’s been dismissed; Captain Du has also been relieved of his position and transferred to the countryside.”

Captain Du was a regular employee, otherwise, he probably would have been fired as well.

Old Lady Ding was somewhat bewildered, “That damnable girl, she, she has that much power?”

Secretary Ruan said, “Originally, Lu Jiaxin wanted to invest forty million in Peng City to build a garment factory, but because we were inefficient in our work, she lost faith in the Mainland and decided not to invest.”

Old Lady Ding’s eyes almost popped out, forty million, how much money is that? Wouldn’t it fill an entire room? But soon, Old Lady Ding said, “How could she possibly have that much money. It’s fake, it must be a lie.”

Secretary Ruan looked at them with distaste and said, “She can donate one million to the government for road construction, so what’s so surprising about using forty million to build a factory? If you hadn’t been so harsh back then, treated Xiaoxia well, now that she has earned so much money, even a casual trickle from her would have been enough for you to live lavishly. Instead, you were so ruthless, and Lu Jiaxin blames her mother’s early death on you, so she’s not willing to let you benefit from her.”

His dismissal seemed to be because of the Ding Family, but in reality, he had oversimplified the situation. That girl had earned so much money before even reaching twenty years old–how could she be of a soft and kind-hearted nature? She didn’t act out at that time because Gu Lanlan’s grave was still in Ding Family Village, and she feared causing too much of a scene to leave smoothly. Once the grave was moved away and she had no worries, of course she wouldn’t let them off the hook.

Old Lady Ding was trembling all over, if this was true then Chengdong’s job wouldn’t be safe either.

Secretary Ruan said, “Lu Jiaxin won’t let you benefit from her, Chengdong definitely won’t last long at the construction company. If you’re willing, I can use my own money to buy off his job, and with the money you could even find him a wife. If you’re not willing, in a few days he might as well pack up and come back.”

How could Old Lady Ding possibly agree.

Seeing she didn’t agree, Secretary Ruan didn’t insist, letting his wife escort them out.

Back at home, Zhang’s was crying and wailing, saying Ding Chengdong’s body was covered in injuries. Those injuries weren’t from being beaten by someone, but caused by accidents while working.

Thinking about Secretary Ruan’s words, Ding Tangping said, “Old lady, let’s sell the job! Otherwise, what if something happens to Chengdong?”

Old Lady Ding held a tough attitude, “Sell the job? Only over my dead body.”