Chapter 115: The Tofu Shop's Business Was Stolen

  Qiu's father frowned even more tightly as he listened to Fang Haibo's question while puffing on his cigarette.

  "From now on, Fengqin won't have to make tofu anymore," said Qiu Dad with a somewhat downcast tone.

  "What's wrong?" Fang Haibo asked in surprise.

  Qiu Ye was also shocked, and didn't even notice the things in her hand, staring straight at Qiu Dad, waiting for his answer. Their family had just improved their living conditions a bit by selling tofu, so why were they stopping now?

  "Family members informed Fengqin to change her job, from now on Fengqin doesn't have to make tofu anymore." Qiu's father said in a low voice.

  From Qiu's father's expression, it can be seen that he is not satisfied with the decision of Shifu Dage, but he has no way to do anything about it. The other party is a thigh, and his own family is just a small arm, how can the small arm twist the thigh?

  "Tell me exactly what's going on." Fang Haibo knew that there must be more to the story, it couldn't be this simple. Otherwise, his sister wouldn't have been making tofu for three or four years, and no one would have let her change jobs. She had just earned a year and a half's worth of money, and now this had happened.

  Qiu Dad smoked and told Fang Haibo about the origin of things. The thing started from when Fang Haibo and others had just left.

  One afternoon, the leader of the logistics department at Shida suddenly asked Qiu's mother to go to the office for a talk. Qiu's mother was quite confused and had lived in Shida for so long without any leader ever asking her to have a conversation, she went with an uneasy heart.

  Arrived at the leader's office, the leader was also very enthusiastic, and asked her to sit down, and poured water for her, making her feel a bit overwhelmed. But when the leader finished saying why he had called her, Qiu Ma was stunned.

  "Comrade Qiao Fengqin, you've worked so hard all these years. Getting up early and working late every day to make tofu for the teachers and students is really not easy." The leader came over and showed a flurry of concern.

  Qiu's mother had never seen such a scene before, and she hastily said with humility: "It's not hard work, it's not hard work." In fact, she also thought that even if it was harder, she wouldn't be afraid, as long as her family benefited from it.

  "Haha, Comrade Qiao is indeed a good comrade! Don't worry, your hard work has been noticed by the leaders and they can empathize with you. For so many years, you've been working tirelessly for our university, even neglecting your own family's children. It's truly exhausting. As a comrade who has made such sacrifices for our university, we will definitely take care of you."

  "Oh... Yesterday, the leadership team of our university held a special meeting to discuss this issue. In the end, they decided that family member worker positions cannot be fixed for one person to do forever, it's too tiring, and it's also unfair to hardworking employees like you. So, such positions will be rotated. At the meeting, the leadership specifically mentioned your situation, saying that you've been making tofu for four or five years now, and it's time for you to take a break. Therefore, the leadership has decided that starting from tomorrow, you won't have to do the hard work of making tofu anymore."

  Qiu's mother was stunned after hearing the news, she never thought that her leader would talk to her about this matter. She didn't even have time to think before she went home in a daze. When Qiu's father came back from work and saw that the house was still empty and cold, he found Qiu's mother sitting stupidly in the dark room. He quickly asked her what had happened.

  He initially thought it was his mother who came to make trouble at home while he was at work, but later on, he realized that even if it were his mother, his wife would only be angry and couldn't have this expression. Her appearance was as if the sky had fallen.

  Qiu's mother heard her husband's voice and finally came back to her senses, as if she had found her backbone, and burst into tears.

  Qiu's father was also anxious beside her, but this old woman just knew how to cry and didn't say what was wrong. He couldn't bear to yell at her either, so he could only hold back his anxiety and coax his wife. Finally, Qiu's mother vented for a while, and her emotions improved a bit. Qiu's father quickly asked Qiu's mother what had happened.

  Qiu's mom had just stopped crying, but as soon as she heard Qiu's dad ask the question, tears started flowing again, and it seemed like she was going to continue crying. Qiu's dad quickly said: "Don't just cry, this won't solve anything. Whatever happened, just say it, and we'll figure out a solution together."

  Qiu's mother wiped away her tears and told Qiu's father about the conversation with their leader that afternoon. The more Qiu's father listened, the tighter his brow furrowed. He thought about how his family's tofu business couldn't last long, and although they had been careful, the fact that they were making money from selling tofu couldn't be hidden. But he hadn't expected it to happen so soon - just as their family was starting to taste a bit of sweetness, they were forced to stop abruptly. He wasn't willing to give up either.

  "How did you say that?" Qiu Dad wanted to see if there was still any room for reversal, although the hope was extremely slim, but he couldn't help it without trying.

  "I didn't say anything, I just listened to what others said and they wouldn't let me make tofu anymore. My head was all mushy, how could I think of anything else? All I thought about was that we're done for, our family had finally made some money and gotten ahead a bit, and now it's all being taken away from us. This life is unbearable." Qiu Ma said, starting to cry again.

  "Alright, stop crying. I'll go ask Principal Zhang again tomorrow to see what's going on and if there's still a chance to salvage the situation." Actually, when Father Qiu said this, he was also clear in his mind that it was pointless to continue making tofu, since the leader had already made up their mind after talking to him. Going to find them again would just be for his own peace of mind, and it's hard to say whether it would have any effect.

  Qiu's husband and wife didn't sleep all night, they were on fire. The next morning, Qiu's father got up early and didn't go to class, he went straight to find the logistics leader.

  "Old Qiu, how can I put this?" Principal Zhang of the logistics department looked at the man in front of him and was also quite embarrassed. However, this matter had already been decided at the meeting, and he couldn't help him even if he wanted to.

  "Principal Zhang, we've been colleagues for so long, you also understand me. If there's something on your mind, just say it directly. I didn't come today with any other intention, I just want to ask what's really going on."

  Don't tell me about being tired or not, we've all been doing this for so many years. Being tired isn't just now, why did the leader notice our hard work at this particular time? Besides, we're just ordinary people, as long as life at home is good, even if it's tiring, we're happy to do it.

  "If the leader only considers this point, then our intention is still to continue working. It doesn't make sense that we've worked for so many years and finally made some progress this year, earned some money, and just when our family's children can eat their fill, you're going to fire us without reason. Principal Zhang, isn't that right?" Old Qiu said firmly. Since the situation has already come to this, he no longer had any reservations. Even if he couldn't do this job of making tofu anymore, he had to get to the bottom of what was going on and couldn't just be fooled into being fired. That would be too humiliating.

  "Old Qiu, this matter was decided by the leadership team in a meeting. You can't find me to solve it."

  Principal Zhang first explained that he himself couldn't help with this matter, but he also couldn't bear to see honest people being taken advantage of like this. So after some thought, he said: "You know your family has been through a lot this year, and there are many eyes in the school watching you. It's impossible for no one to be jealous. A year ago, leaders raised this issue, but I vetoed it. I'm not unaware of your family's difficulties or hardships, but my power is also limited. There are some things that I have a mind to do but am powerless to achieve." Principal Zhang spoke sincerely, and the meaning behind his words was already very clear.

  Principal Zhang's words are believed by Qiu Baba, who used to work under Principal Zhang as a procurement officer in the cafeteria. Their relationship is not bad, and it was also Principal Zhang who helped them get the third-generation household when they were assigned housing. So, Principal Zhang is someone that Qiu Baba understands, he won't stab people in the back, he's a straightforward person.

  "So can I know who raised this question?" Qiu Dad really wanted to know who was stabbing him in the back.

  Principal Zhang thought for a moment and said: "I can't say that. I can only tell you that it's Zhang Qian from the grain store who wants to take over your tofu workshop."

  Zhang Qian is a family member of the grain store owner. She is the younger sister-in-law of Vice President Zhao of the Normal University Affiliated School.

  Principal Zhang said that if Old Qiu still didn't understand, then it must be Vice Principal Zhao causing trouble for them behind the scenes.

  "Don't be angry, it's not just their problem. If you didn't have any issues yourself, they might not even be able to find fault with you." Principal Zhang said to an indignant Mr. Qiu, he was also worried that Mr. Qiu would get so angry that he would go and bother Vice Principal Zhao again, the leaders had already made up their minds about this matter, it's not something that can be changed now, if Mr. Qiu were to make a fuss at this time, it wouldn't be good for anyone.

  Qiu's father furrowed his brow and asked, "What's going on with our family?" Qiu's father really didn't know what was going on with his family. They were a law-abiding family who never quarreled with anyone or broke any rules, so why would someone be looking for trouble with them?

  "Has your elderly mother from your hometown arrived? I heard she's now living with your younger brother and his family. Old Qiu, it's not me saying this, but you're a straightforward person, I know that. However, you must handle these family matters properly. Your mom and younger brother specifically went to the leader's place to report on you, as for what they said exactly, I don't know. What I do know is that they said you're unfilial to your elderly mother, unloving towards your brothers, and a person who lacks filial piety and righteousness."

  "When the leader held a meeting, the first thing he mentioned was that such an unfilial person couldn't be used by our school. I knew about your family situation and had to explain it to the leader several times before he believed me, but his impression of you wasn't good either. So in the end, they still decided to let Qiu Fengqin go." Principal Zhang and Old Man Qiu exchanged a knowing glance.

  Qiu's dad really didn't expect that the tofu business at his home was taken over by others, and it was even his own mother and younger brother who contributed to this. His mom and younger brother actually went to report him to their leader. Qiu's dad couldn't understand where he had wronged his mom and younger brother.