The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 830 - 829 Dismissal

Back in the office, Shen Mingzhu called Pei Yang, "Did you buy those twenty microcomputers?"

"My brilliant wife guessed it all at once," he said.

Hearing the man’s admission, Shen Mingzhu felt an expected sense of relief, "Why didn’t you discuss it with me beforehand?"

"This is supposed to be a surprise for you! Just like with our son, I wanted to give you an early birthday present. Do you like it?"

"I like it. Hanging up now."

After finishing the call with Shen Mingzhu, Pei Yang took out a small notebook from the locked bottom drawer of his desk.

He opened it and neatly wrote down: April 6, 1995, owe son two hundred and sixty thousand yuan.

After writing, he gazed at the notebook’s few but astonishing debt records, sighing deeply.

In other families, it’s the son who owes the father money, but in their family, it’s the other way around—the father owes the son, which is unheard of.

However, thinking of his wife’s happiness upon receiving the "gift," his mood lifted again.

After locking the notebook back in the drawer, he picked up the phone to call Pei Ziheng.

"Your mom called just now about the microcomputers. I said they were an early birthday present for her. You’d better not let it slip."

"Remember to repay the debt."

Pei Yang: "..."

"I know, I’m keeping the accounts. I’ll pay you back when I have it."

"Okay."

"But how did you find out about what’s happening in your mom’s factory?"

"You don’t need to know that."

"Is there anything that I can’t know about? Have you planted a spy by your mom’s side? You’re pretty daring, not afraid of your mom finding out..."

"Beep beep beep..."

Pei Ziheng had already hung up before he could finish his sentence.

Not giving up, Pei Yang called again, and after some bargaining, he managed to exchange a debt offset of one hundred thousand yuan to keep Pei Ziheng’s secret.

Indeed, Pei Ziheng had placed a spy by Shen Mingzhu’s side.

More accurately, he had bought off Xia Wushuang, who was close to Shen Mingzhu.

Pei Ziheng’s request was simple: report in a timely manner any difficulties that Shen Mingzhu encountered at work.

In return, Xia Wushuang could use all electronic products from Future Technology for free.

It couldn’t really be considered betrayal, and Xia Wushuang agreed without any hesitation.

When Shen Mingzhu went to find Du Juan with the purchase order, the call she made was to Pei Ziheng.

With Pei Ziheng’s clever mind and understanding of the internal operations at the food factory, he perfectly anticipated that Shen Mingzhu’s proposal would be rejected. So, he directly donated twenty microcomputers.

To prevent the buying off of Xia Wushuang from being exposed, he had to bring Pei Yang out to "take the blame."

...

The mysterious donation of microcomputers made everyone in the factory realize that no matter how downhill the food factory might go, the snacks produced were still liked by people who silently supported them.

It was like a shot in the arm, making the workers feel a sense of achievement while also increasing their expectations for the food factory’s future.

...

Three days later, the twenty microcomputers arrived.

As the supplier, Lihua also sent installation engineers and software engineers to assist the food factory in setting up and using the microcomputers.

Originally, Shen Mingzhu planned to buy ten units—three for the HR department, one for each of the larger departments, with the rest in the finance room.

Now that the quantity had doubled, she generously decided each major department would have two units, with three each for the HR department and finance room.

The remaining four units were installed in a spare room set up as a computer room for the workers to learn.

Despite initial opposition to Shen Mingzhu’s proposal to purchase microcomputers, with claims it was a waste of money, everyone was delighted once the twenty microcomputers were installed as though they had found treasure.

In those days, microcomputers were a rarity, typically found only in foreign-funded enterprises and foreign companies. Their food factory, lacking foreign investment, still managed to install the microcomputers, all twenty of them, which was a matter of pride to speak of.

After the installation and setup of the twenty microcomputers were complete, the hardware engineer returned to Quancheng, while the software engineer stayed on to provide subsequent usage guidance.

For the workers who had never touched a computer before, facing a microcomputer was as baffling as confronting something from outer space.

On the day the microcomputers were installed, Shen Mingzhu issued a training notice to the entire HR department.

The training would last half a month, covering Wubi typing, various office software, and some simple microcomputer troubleshooting methods.

The training times were set from 6 PM to 9 PM, three hours, with dinner provided by the factory.

At the end of the training, there would be an assessment and those who didn’t meet the standards would have to continue training until they passed.

Most employees were eager about the training and willing to learn new things.

However, a small group of employees were not pleased, voicing their grievances.

"It’s tiring enough working all day, and now we have to stay back to learn. After learning, we have to take a test, and if we don’t pass, continue learning. Why should we? When she bought those microcomputers, she didn’t ask if we were willing to use that thing!"

"I’m definitely not participating in the training. After work, I have to pick up my kids. If I stay in the factory to study and let them go home alone, is she going to take responsibility if something happens?"

"If you guys aren’t attending the training, I won’t either. My mom just had surgery and is still in the hospital. I have to take care of her after work."

In the blink of an eye, it was six o’clock.

When Shen Mingzhu led the software engineer Meng Xiaoyang into the computer room, the female workers’ faces flushed, and their eyes sparkled.

Undoubtedly, Meng Xiaoyang was a super handsome guy.

With deep features, broad shoulders, a slim waist, long legs, and fair skin, he sported the popular middle-parted hairstyle of the times, exuding an indescribable dashing charm.

Shen Mingzhu was also taken aback when she first saw Meng Xiaoyang.

Having such an attractive man sent by Lihua, she hoped he wouldn’t entice away her female staff.

Later, through another engineer from Lihua, she learned that Meng Xiaoyang was the young son of Lihua’s boss. His visit was a business trip to experience life, and Lihua’s staff repeatedly requested that she take good care of Meng Xiaoyang.

"Is everyone here?"

Hearing Shen Mingzhu’s inquiry, Wen Xiaoqin replied, "Five didn’t come."

"Did they ask for leave?"

Wen Xiaoqin shook her head, hesitant to speak on behalf of the absent staff, when she heard Shen Mingzhu say, "Note down the names of those absent. Tomorrow we’ll proceed to terminate them in line with the normal process, offering an N+1 severance package."

As her words fell, the room instantly went silent, even Wen Xiaoqin was stunned.

Wasn’t it too harsh to terminate people just because they didn’t attend the training?

Shen Mingzhu quickly rationalized her strict action: "The factory went to great lengths to acquire these twenty microcomputers, not for show. The automation of office work is imperative. If they don’t attend the training and learn to use the microcomputers, to me, it means they have given up on their job."