A charming widow in her 70s married a factory manager and raised his children.

Zhuang Qingxiang picked out a pretty piece of red scrap fabric and used the hair tie Sun Yongxian used to tie her hair to make a pair of small hair ties.

With two red hair ties added to the ends of the two braids hanging down her chest, Sun Yongxian, who was usually plain-looking, became a bit more radiant.

Sun Yongxian kept looking at herself in the mirror, not wanting to leave for even a second.

"It looks so good." Sun Yongxian stroked the hair tie, her face full of admiration. "Sister Zhuang, how did you come up with that?"

"I suddenly remembered it when I saw the hair tie you used to tie your hair," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile. "It's very simple, you can do it after seeing it, right? You can take some scraps of fabric home and make it yourself."

Sun Yongxian shook her head: "These are for you. I'll find some more when I have the chance. This one is very nice."

"I'm glad you like it," Zhuang Qingxiang said with a smile.

Sun Yongxian saw Zhuang Qingxiang's gentle smile in the mirror, her heart softened, and she went to her side and took her arm: "Sister Zhuang, how can you be so good to me? I think I like you more and more."

Zhuang Qingxiang's cheeks flushed slightly.

She wasn't quite used to this direct and enthusiastic way of expressing her feelings.

Sun Yongxian felt sorry for her: How could such a good woman have such a tragic fate? She became a widow less than a year after getting married and was even kicked out by her in-laws. It's so pitiful. I really hope she can marry a good man again.

"Sister Zhuang, Lin Wei is a bit petty, so be careful in the future. If anything happens and Director Lu isn't around, come find me or my husband at the infirmary. We'll help you."

Zhuang Qingxiang thanked Sun Yongxian, saw her to the door, and then touched the two pieces of fabric that could be used to make handkerchiefs.

It's soft and feels great. It's a dark blue plaid fabric, quite nice-looking, and very suitable for Director Lu.

Zhuang Qingxiang then made two more handkerchiefs, embroidered with pine branches, washed them clean, and hung them to dry, so she could give them to the person who came back.

As for Sun Yongxian's comment about Lin Wei being petty, she took it to heart. However, since there were groceries at home, she decided not to go out for the next couple of days to avoid running into Lin Wei and causing any more trouble.

Unexpectedly, even though she stopped going out and avoiding Lin Wei, Lin Wei still came to cause trouble just one day later.

That evening, Zhuang Qingxiang had just put her two babies to sleep and was about to wash the sheets she hadn't had time to wash during the day when someone suddenly banged on the courtyard gate, accompanied by the sound of people talking.

"Who is it?" she called out.

Shouts immediately came from outside: "Open the door! Open the door now!"

Zhuang Qingxiang recognized Lin Wei's voice.

Zhuang Qingxiang frowned, wondering what she was up to now, and walked to the door to ask, "Is there something you need?"

"Of course something's wrong, open the door right now!" Lin Wei ordered.

"Comrade Lin Wei, the children at home are all asleep. If you have something to do, could you come back tomorrow morning? Or you can come over when Director Lu returns," Zhuang Qingxiang said patiently.

"What? You're too scared to open the door? Zhuang Qingxiang, if you don't open the door soon, I'm going to ask the security guards to jump in and open it!"

Others advised, "Comrade Zhuang, please open the door. Otherwise, it will make things awkward for everyone."

It sounds like there's more than one person involved.

Zhuang Qingxiang thought for a moment. She had nothing to be afraid of, so she opened the courtyard gate.

As soon as she opened the door, she was pushed away by a strong force. She staggered back two steps and watched helplessly as several people rushed in, some even heading straight into the house.

"What are you going to do?" she couldn't help but shout.

"Hold her down!" Lin Wei commanded.

Immediately, people blocked Zhuang Qingxiang's path, and others twisted her arm, preventing her from moving.

Zhuang Qingxiang struggled to break free and questioned, "This is Factory Director Lu's house! What are you doing barging in like this? Are you trying to steal things since Factory Director Lu isn't here? I'm warning you, even if you lose a single needle from Factory Director Lu's house, it'll be your fault. When Factory Director Lu comes back, he won't let you off the hook!"

Lin Wei scoffed: "Do you think we're the kind of people as short-sighted as you? You're worried about Factory Director Lu's house being short of things? I think you should be worried about something else that's been added, like... a man."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than someone ran over with a piece of clothing: "Found it! Found it! We found it by the wall. It probably fell off when it heard us coming and climbed over the wall to run away."

Some of the people who came had flashlights, and some had torches, illuminating the courtyard brightly. Everyone could see that the man was holding a pair of men's trousers.

Lin Wei burst out laughing: "You threw away your pants, did you run out naked? Hurry up and chase after her!"

Zhuang Qingxiang's face paled slightly as she stared in disbelief at the pair of pants, then at Lin Wei: "You...you're blatantly framing me!"

"Is this a frame-up or are you just feeling guilty?" Lin Wei said arrogantly, chin held high. "Zhuang Qingxiang, I told you long ago, I would definitely find out what you're up to! Let's see how you can deny it now! Tell me, whose pants are these? Who is the man who ran away?!"

"There's no man involved, it's all your nonsense!" Zhuang Qingxiang shouted back. "Lin Wei, can you swear you deliberately threw this in and brought people here to frame me?"

She can't stand people throwing dirty water on her; she'd rather die than admit something didn't happen.

Lin Wei's eyes flashed. She hadn't expected this country woman to be so clever, guessing it so quickly.

But so what?

As long as she doesn't admit it, this despicable woman will never be able to clear her name, no matter how hard she tries.

"Section Chief Niu!" Lin Wei shouted at Niu Jianzhong at the gate, "Didn't your security personnel see someone run out? You're all so irresponsible! Hurry up and search! That person couldn't have gone far!"

"What happened?"

Before Niu Jianzhong could answer, a figure walked up to him, his voice cold and stern.

"Director Lu," Niu Jianzhong said, his forehead covered in cold sweat, "you're finally back."

Lu Congyue frowned and glanced at him. Niu Jianzhong felt a tightness in his chest and felt sweat pouring down his back.

Lu Congyue carried his luggage and walked steadily into the courtyard. He looked at the people in the courtyard expressionlessly, his gaze lingering on Zhuang Qingxiang for a moment before he asked again, "Someone tell me what happened, what are you doing in my house?"

Before anyone could speak, Lin Wei rushed to him and said urgently, "Director Lu, you've come back just in time! Do you know? While you were away for the past two days, Zhuang Qingxiang has been bringing men over every day! We're here tonight to catch her red-handed!"

As if afraid Lu Congyue wouldn't believe her, she hurriedly called for someone to bring over the pants she had found.

"Director Lu, look, these are the men's pants we just found. The man ran away so fast that he threw them away."

As she spoke, she turned her head and snorted at Zhuang Qingxiang, as if to say, "The evidence is conclusive, what else do you have to say?"

Lu Congyue followed her movements and looked at Zhuang Qingxiang again.

Zhuang Qingxiang met his gaze, and for some reason, a surge of grievance welled up in her heart, and tears welled up uncontrollably in her eyes.

"I didn't!" she tried to explain, but choked up with grievance.

Lin Wei is Lu Congyue's girlfriend, so he will definitely side with Lin Wei. Then they will both say that she is immoral and fire her.

Could it be that she will end up like in her previous life, with nowhere to go and two children, and eventually be assigned to a cowshed by the village chief?

What could she possibly do to fight back against those scoundrels and save her and her child's lives?!