The Stepmother’s Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era
Chapter 178: Reported by a Scoundrel, the Food Factory is Investigated

Chapter 178: Chapter 178: Reported by a Scoundrel, the Food Factory is Investigated

Pei Ziheng looked at the few people blocking his way, with Qi Gang from his class leading them.

Although the school year had just started half a month ago, Qi Gang had already become the undisputed bully of the class, especially fond of picking on female students.

Watching Qi Gang and his cronies walk away triumphantly, Pei Ziheng pursed his lips and slowly got up from the ground, dusted himself off, and continued towards the school with small, measured steps.

Zhao Yun was punished to stand again because he hadn’t completed his homework.

But he didn’t care at all. Not doing his homework was routine for him; it would be a surprise if he did.

Out of sheer boredom, a handsome and indifferent little boy came before him and said in a voice only the two of them could hear, "From now on, I’ll help you with your homework."

Zhao Yun, as if he heard a joke, spat out, "Where did this brat come from, scram!"

"I have a really awesome brother who knows how to do all the homework from first to sixth grade, I’ll ask him to help you, and in return, you look after me at school."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yun became interested.

He hated doing homework the most; anything that saved him from it was welcome.

The next day.

Just like the previous day, Pei Ziheng was stopped by Qi Gang and his group about 50 meters from the school gate.

They thought Pei Ziheng would give up his pocket money just like yesterday.

However, Pei Ziheng just gave them a slight smile.

Qi Gang was puzzled when someone suddenly grabbed him by the collar.

As he turned around, his legs went soft with fright.

Shit, it was school bully Zhao Yun!

"Brother Yun, I was wrong, I didn’t know he was your little brother."

Qi Gang and his lackeys kneeled before Zhao Yun in a line, apologizing and scraping together the stolen pocket money from yesterday to return to Pei Ziheng.

After some friendly exchange, Qi Gang and his buddies scrambled away.

Zhao Yun turned and took the homework book from Pei Ziheng’s hand, flipped through it casually, and seemed quite pleased.

Pei Ziheng was also satisfied, as he’d effortlessly gained a fifth-grade school bully as his bodyguard.

As for Zhao Yun graduating in two years?

No problem; when the time comes, he’d find a way to make him repeat a couple of years in elementary school. After all, it’s all just play; what’s the difference between playing in elementary school and playing in middle school?

...

Shen Mingzhu took the workers’ complaints about the hot workshop to heart and promptly came up with a solution.

That was to install ceiling fans.

Ceiling fans weren’t cheap in that era, costing over a hundred each; Shen Mingzhu visited several electrical supply stores and chose an old-brand ceiling fan.

With two ceiling fans installed, the workers’ complaints vanished with the cool breeze from the fan blades, turning into gratitude towards Shen Mingzhu.

"I heard these fans are really expensive, one costs a hundred and forty yuan!"

"The factory director didn’t even install one in her own office, but she got us two; if anyone badmouths the director behind her back, I will be furious!"

The female workers, who had been complaining about Shen Mingzhu, now looked embarrassed.

Shen Chaobei had reservations about installing the ceiling fans; he thought it was already autumn, and within half a month, the temperature would drop, making the expensive fans unnecessary.

Shen Mingzhu, however, disagreed. The ceiling fans would eventually be needed, and installing them now would let the workers enjoy a comfortable working environment sooner, boosting their work enthusiasm and motivation. Why not do it?

...

"Factory director, there’s trouble! Several people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce are outside, saying they want to inspect our factory’s production safety and hygiene,"

Shen Mingzhu was in the midst of preparing the sales performance report that had been promoted recently when Shen Hongmei hurried into the office.

Shen Hongmei had joined the food factory two days prior, serving as her assistant, and was also responsible for clerical and logistics work.

Shen Mingzhu didn’t dare to delay and immediately got up to deal with the situation.

To Shen Mingzhu’s surprise, Liu Yuehua was also among the inspection team.

Liu Yuehua was in charge of the supervision of food and drug safety, which also implied the focus and direction of this Bureau of Industry and Commerce inspection.

Perhaps to avoid any suspicion, Liu Yuehua didn’t greet her, but with a strictly business-like tone asked Shen Mingzhu to take them to the production workshop.

In the workshop, the workers ceased their tasks and looked bewildered and helpless as the inspectors from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce entered one by one.

Each one had a look of consternation, not understanding what was happening.

The inspectors gathered the workers to one side and began to individually inspect and seal samples of the production materials; it seemed they were going to take them back for testing.

Wearing white gloves, Liu Yuehua touched the worktables and then the windows, clicking her tongue in admiration, "Not bad at all, the hygiene is well maintained, keep it up."

Shen Mingzhu got the hint, "Yes, thank you, leader, for the praise."

Liu Yuehua responded with a word, then began looking around with her hands behind her back, full of officialdom.

After inspecting the workshop, the Bureau of Industry and Commerce’s team sequentially inspected the seasoning room, warehouse, kitchen, and office area.

Half an hour later, the people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce finally left, but Shen Mingzhu’s mood didn’t relax because of it.

Although she didn’t understand the purpose of the Bureau’s surprise inspection, she had a keen feeling that it was definitely not a routine check.

The workers, still frightened, gathered together to discuss, "What were those people doing here? Surely, it isn’t that there’s some issue with the factory?"

"Isn’t the factory going to close down?"

Shen Mingzhu gathered her thoughts and reassured the workers that this was just a routine inspection, and took the opportunity to re-emphasize the importance of production and food hygiene safety.

At this point, the workers finally realized that the factory director’s insistence on them wearing masks and hairnets during work was not overdoing it, but a necessary measure.

Moreover, the leader who had just inspected had even praised them for the good hygiene of their work.

...

"Hey, did you hear? The food factory opened by Pei Yang’s wife got inspected by the Bureau of Industry and Commerce."

"Ah? When did that happen? Did they find anything?"

"Not sure, I was just passing by on my way out and saw several people from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce coming out of there."

"That factory just started up not long ago, isn’t it going to stop again?"

"That depends on whether they found any problems;if there were problems, they would definitely have to halt operations."

Jiang Jing quietly listened to the mothers gossip while knitting a sweater, a faint sense of pleasure hidden in her eyes, not noticeable unless looked at closely.

...

Days passed in the blink of an eye.

There still was no response from the Bureau of Industry and Commerce, and Liu Yuehua hadn’t contacted her with a word, which for Shen Mingzhu was like a knife hanging over her head, constantly tormenting her.

Just as she hesitated about whether to seek Li Bing to inquire about the news, Li Bing took the initiative to seek her out.

Upon meeting, Li Bing teased her, "You really can wait it out, it’s been so many days, you must be suffocated, huh?"

Shen Mingzhu forced a smile, "Sister Bing, don’t make fun of me. It’s not that I can wait, but am too timid to bother Director Liu with my trouble."

Li Bing affectionately patted her, "Alright, let’s go, Director Liu is waiting for us in the Ginkgo Building."