The assistant in front of Secretary Pu wanted to gouge out their own eyes—they'd never seen anyone force a drink upon arrival, especially making their immediate superior drink. Such audacity!

Director Feng, within just a few short years, was transferred to the Provincial City, where Shen Meng had exerted significant effort, and now with Lu Zhenping as the Director of the provincial department, his whole family maintained a vague relationship with Li Chuan and those from Shangjing. He planned to stick with Shen Meng's big ship for the rest of his life.

"Secretary Pu's words, anyone who doesn't know better might think today is your commendation ceremony," tsk tsk tsk, "If you ask me, the leaders in your county are just too stingy. My sister-in-law has been looking after Ning County's economic development, and she's the one who started the Head Flower Factory from scratch. She worked so hard she became nothing but skin and bones. Now that she's retiring, they only set up thirteen tables—tsk tsk tsk. In my opinion, there definitely should have been a grand feast held at the Head Flower Factory, even a buffet, considering her significant achievements are laid out for all to see. The senior leaders wouldn't have said a thing."

"Hmph, easy for you to say, Director Feng. Ning County has developed well, but it's also under close scrutiny from all sides. If we really had a buffet today, it'd be in the newspapers tomorrow."

"Being in the newspapers would be a good thing, praising Ning County for having a good leader, Comrade Shen Meng, our Secretary General, who in just five short years transformed Ning County into one of the top ten counties nationwide—a reputation well-earned by a woman who toiled day and night. Now, people are indifferent when she is gone—no decency to even prepare properly, setting up only thirteen tables. Look around, I bet many factory leaders didn't show up!"

Director Feng, having made his way through many a drinking session, was quick-tongued and left Secretary Pu red-faced and thick-necked, as though someone was choking him, unsure of what to say.

When Shen Meng felt it was enough, she coughed dryly a couple of times, urging calm.

Everyone returned to their seats. Director Feng slammed his cup down on the table.

"Damn this bad luck, where does this person come from? I've never heard of such a character in Ning County before. Zhang Liang, you've been with my sister-in-law for so long, and she arranged everything neatly for you before her retirement, handing Ning County's finances over to you. With such a big favor, how could you not be vigilant in your heart and let someone bully my sister-in-law like this? Just look at this mess. Now in Ning County, not using the fine Fengtai Hotel, and instead we're here, ah!"

"Director Feng, please calm down. It was the Secretary General who agreed to this. She said that now that she's retired, she wants to keep as low profile as possible. The leaders of the Head Flower Factory, Brick Kiln Factory, Groceries Factory, Machinery Factory, Cotton Spinning Factory, and Coal Mining Factory would all like to prepare a grand banquet for the Secretary General to express their gratitude, not just the leaders, but also the people of Ning County. Everyone remembers the Secretary General's kindness, but she refused it, she has her own plans, so please don't worry."

Director Feng still felt unsatisfied. He raised his finger to point at Zhang Liang's nose, and then Li Chuan coughed, prompting Director Feng to immediately sit down obediently.

Seeing that he had calmed down, Zhang Liang hurried to find Shen Meng. Although there weren't many people today, those who came were leaders, and he needed to help the Secretary General to properly win them over, not to prove Director Feng's words true—that once one is gone, they are forgotten.

When Shen Meng went to the door to meet Lu Zhenping, she glanced over at the Lu Family's table from the corner of her eye. Wu Xianglan was sitting in front of Liu Sanjin, glaring viciously at Zhou Jiaojiao across from her, her gaze sharp enough to kill.

Lu Jiaxuan also showed nothing but impatience towards Zhou Jiaojiao. Having landed the position of Village Chief and been there for two years without a promotion, he was extraordinarily anxious. He hoped today would be the perfect opportunity to curry favor with a superior to secure a better role for himself. Yet, on such an important day, Zhou Jiaojiao's child was incessantly fussy, demanding her mother at one moment and her father at the next, quite the troublemaker.

Shen Meng glanced at the little girl in Zhou Jiaojiao's arms. This pesky child, stirring up drama as if she were a protagonist in a spin-off story, was bad enough, but trying to drag her rational and well-behaved Ming Fang into the fray was just too much.

After waiting for so long and finally stepping down from her position, Shen Meng thought, any trouble their family got into from here on out wouldn't be her fault anymore.

As she passed by their table, she could overhear Lu Jiaxuan gritting his teeth as he lowered his voice to warn Zhou Jiaojiao.

Wuxiang frowned while looking at Shen Meng's retreating figure, then turned his gaze to Lu Yaya.

"Can't you control your child? What kind of occasion is this for a little brat to cause such a ruckus? I've never seen a child like this. Whose three-year-old behaves so unmanageably? Jiaxuan, you're also hoping to seize the day and impress the higher-ups, but with your daughter clinging to you like this, how can you think about work? I think you being Village Chief isn't bad; after all, you're still a leader, aren't you?"

"What's wrong with my daughter? What's wrong with her wanting to be close to her father? Sister-in-law, you're kind of ridiculous, quibbling with a little girl. Besides, my Jiaxuan is at least the Village Chief; that's different from second brother who's still farming at home. If not for Jiaxuan finding him a job at a pig farm to help out a brother, he'd still be grubbing for food in the fields!"

"Ha, say whatever you like. I don't depend on the shameless things your second brother does for a living. I have three big houses, sons and daughters, and my life couldn't be better. In the end, you have to be self-reliant in whatever you do, not like my sister-in-law here. After all these years, you're still a line worker in the textile factory. Jiaxuan, you ought to find a way to get your wife a better position; she should at least be a workshop director and not be exerting herself in the workshop, or aren't you embarrassed?"

Upon hearing Wu Xianglan's words, Zhou Jiaojiao's face alternated between red and white. She turned to look at Lu Jiaxuan with newfound hope. Who would have thought that the wife of a Village Chief would still be working hard in a textile factory? Over the years, everyone around her had been growing and moving in a better direction. Only she seemed to be stuck in place, making no progress despite her excellent performance, and even seeking help from Director Hu's wife proved futile.

But she didn't want to resign. Over the years, Lu Jiaxuan had been earning more and more, and she had been living at the mercy of his mood swings. Her in-laws' treatment towards her had also grown increasingly harsh, as if she, being the Lu Family's daughter-in-law, was a burden to their son. If she were to lose her job now, what would happen if a real crisis emerged? Would she even have a way out?

Lu Yaya reached out to tug at Lu Jiaxuan's collar, wanting to crawl into his embrace, but he dodged slightly. If Zhou Jiaojiao hadn't held her tight, she would have smacked her chin right against the table.

"Is Lu Jiaxuan here? We're from the Disciplinary Committee."