Chapter 652 - 682: Workers Come to Demand Wages

Because that was a lifetime commitment.

Once you made a choice, you had to be responsible for it. And once you chose a person, you had to be responsible for your entire life.

As the sisters were taking a walk, they suddenly noticed a commotion in the Rose District next door.

Ever since Qin Jiao and Shen Yi had moved, Shen Zhengfeng and his family had come by a few times, but they always found the place empty.

’They never expected Shen Yi and Qin Jiao to actually move away, did they?’

And now, a group of people holding banners had gathered at the Rose District, causing a racket.

Qin Jiao curiously asked an older woman standing nearby, "Excuse me, ma’am, what’s going on here?"

"I heard it’s about a factory. They couldn’t pay their workers, and then the boss disappeared. Word is his son lives here, so they all came to find him."

"...Is it Shen’s Paint Factory?"

"Oh, that’s right. I think the boss’s surname is Shen. How did you know?"

"Oh, I’d heard about it too."

Qin Jiao ended her chat with the woman and walked away with Xiao Shi, keeping her distance from the crowd.

You reap what you sow.

If Shen Zhengfeng had run it properly, the paint factory could have become large and successful. It was far more profitable than the old clothing factory and had much more potential for growth.

But he was only concerned with petty, short-term gains. Many of his subordinates cut corners and used shoddy materials. Because of the tangled web of nepotism, by the time he realized what was happening, the rot had already set in at the very core of the business.

Yet even then, instead of trying to solve the problems, he kept thinking of ways to make more money by exploiting workers, cutting back on materials, and neglecting quality control in production and management.

And in the end, a perfectly good factory was run into the ground just like that.

If the paint factory was really lost, and Shen Feng’s company lost more money on top of that... Shen Zhengfeng’s family would be in for a world of hurt.

Meanwhile, Shen Yi was in his office, having just finished reading the annual report, when his phone rang. Surprisingly, it was his mother, Du Liya, calling from abroad.

Du Liya had taken Mr. Du abroad for treatment and recuperation. They were expected to return around April or May.

They must have just gotten settled in, so Shen Yi wondered what the call was about.

Du Liya said, "Xiao Yi, can you believe Shen Zhengfeng actually called me? Isn’t that the strangest thing?"

"What did he say to you?"

"He had the gall to tell me that you should transfer some of your company’s technology to Shen Feng. Don’t you think he’s gone senile ahead of schedule?"

"..."

Shen Yi almost laughed. ’He’d been worried his mom would act foolishly like she used to, her principles flying out the window the moment Shen Zhengfeng was involved.’

’What a relief.’

He said, "Shen Feng also started an electronics company and wants to get into the same field. But he doesn’t want to invest in R&D, so he’s thinking of just taking a shortcut and grabbing the technology from me."

Du Liya was flabbergasted. "Are they out of their minds? What kind of pipe dream is that? They can kiss my ass!"

Beidou’s voice could be heard faintly on the other end of the line, saying something like, "Darling, calm down. No swearing."

Du Liya shot back, "I’m not swearing! They’re the ones who are filthy!"

Then Du Liya continued, speaking to her son, Shen Yi. "Xiao Yi, we’re not giving them a thing. In fact, not only will we not give them anything, we’re going to drive their company into the ground! What kind of garbage are they? Do they take us for fools? I’m calling to tell you, don’t you dare give them anything. You hear me?!"

Shen Yi suppressed a laugh and said, "Okay, Mom. I’ll listen to you."

In reality, Shen Zhengfeng wasn’t just behind on his workers’ wages; he also owed a lot of money to his business partners. What goes around truly comes around.

Back then, Shen Zhengfeng had schemed to put the clothing factory in debt, leading to it being besieged by creditors.

Now it was his turn to be besieged.