The Stepmother's Counterattack: Raising a Child in a Bygone Era-Chapter 832 - 831: Solving Trouble

When Du Juan heard that Shen Mingzhu had suddenly dismissed five employees from her department, she was also somewhat shocked.

Since the establishment of the food factory, Shen Mingzhu had always practiced humanized management. Unless absolutely necessary, she rarely dismissed employees.

"What was the reason for the dismissal?"

During the training session last night, Mai Qiu was also present and immediately spilled everything to Du Juan, saying that Shen Mingzhu dismissed the five workers on the spot for missing the training.

"Understood, let’s prepare for the morning meeting."

Seeing Du Juan’s indifferent expression, Mai Qiu couldn’t help but be astonished, "Director Du, you’re not going to handle this matter?"

"What can I do?"

"Although it’s wrong to miss the training, isn’t it overreacting to dismiss them directly?"

"It’s no longer just a matter of improper handling. Mingzhu is the head of HR. She has already made a decision, and I certainly can’t undermine her dignity nor should I muddy the waters."

Mai Qiu suddenly realized, "That’s true, whoever causes the trouble should solve it, those people made quite a fuss."

His tone conveyed a bit of schadenfreude.

...

In the HR office.

"If you don’t give us an explanation today, we will report to the labor inspection department. Even if we can’t file a complaint in Fengcheng, we will take it higher up, all the way to the central government if necessary!"

"That’s right, the rights of the working people are protected by the government and the state, don’t think you can bully people just because you have some money!"

The term "some money" was clearly aimed at Shen Mingzhu.

Even though Wen Xiaoqin had mentally prepared herself, facing the clamor of five people was overwhelming.

"You missed an important training session without any reason. Although Deputy Director Shen made a decision to dismiss you, she was also willing to offer an N+1 compensation, which is more than generous."

"You make it sound better than singing, who’s interested in your little handout!"

"That’s right, we have hands and feet, we can earn money through our labor, we don’t need anyone’s charity."

For married women with children, a stable job is far more important than a modest severance package.

Wen Xiaoqin somewhat irritably said, "If you care so much about this job, why didn’t you attend the training? Don’t tell me you had difficulties at home—the others have issues too but managed to overcome them and attend on time. What excuse or special privilege allows you to be absent?"

Several staff members responded resolutely:

"When you notified us about the training yesterday, you didn’t say that being absent would lead to dismissal! It’s your fault for not setting clear rules, not ours!"

"That’s right, if we had known that missing the training would lead to dismissal, we definitely would have stayed to attend."

...

"Deputy Director Shen, you’re finally here!"

As soon as Shen Mingzhu parked her car and got out, she saw the anxious Xia Wushuang, who made a casual comment, "I’m not late, am I?"

"Those who missed the training last night are causing trouble in Manager Wen’s office right now."

Seeing Shen Mingzhu unfazed and even taking time to adjust her collar and makeup, Xia Wushuang couldn’t help but worry, "If they really take it to the labor inspection department, won’t our factory be in trouble? They might force you to revoke your decision. How will you assert your authority in the factory then?"

Shen Mingzhu glanced amusedly at her assistant, "Why panic? If I can’t handle such a small matter, what have I been doing all these years?"

Watching Shen Mingzhu calmly apply lipstick in the small mirror, Xia Wushuang’s anxiety slowly subsided.

"How does it look, okay?"

Seeing the bolder red lipstick on Shen Mingzhu’s lips, Xia Wushuang hurriedly nodded, "It looks good, the color is perfect."

With a slight smile on her red lips, Shen Mingzhu said, "Let’s go, let’s resolve this trouble."

"Okay."

Watching Shen Mingzhu walking ahead, Xia Wushuang inexplicably felt the blood rushing to her head as if she were heading into battle.

...

In the hallway of the floor where the HR department office was located, quite a few onlookers had gathered.

"Deputy Director Shen is here."

Someone reminded, and everyone turned around.

The moment they saw Shen Mingzhu, the people in the hallway voluntarily moved aside, making way for her.

"Deputy Director Shen, good morning."

"Morning."

Shen Mingzhu, keeping her pace neither too fast nor too slow, headed towards the HR office, nodding to the employees who greeted her.

As she passed by, the parted crowd quickly gathered again and whispered amongst themselves.

"This is going to be interesting."

"Let’s go watch."

While still some distance away from the HR office, loud arguing could be heard coming from inside.

As the distance grew closer, the volume of the argument increased.

The employees of the HR department, upon seeing Shen Mingzhu, immediately reported to Wen Xiaoqin.

"Manager Wen, Deputy Director Shen is here!"

Wen Xiaoqin felt relieved but also a bit depressed.

Didn’t Shen Mingzhu’s personal intervention imply that she, as her subordinate, was incompetent?

...

"Deputy Director Shen, it’s true we shouldn’t have missed the training, but is training really part of our job? We have diligently completed our actual job responsibilities. You have no reason to dismiss us!"

As soon as Shen Mingzhu appeared, several employees who had been surrounding Wen became quickly redirected and encircled Shen Mingzhu instead.

Shen Mingzhu was not intimidated; in fact, she wanted to see if she could handle all five of them using the combat skills she had recently learned.

The very thought was quite thrilling.

Shen Mingzhu looked at them, "If you want to talk about work, let’s talk about work."

From her handbag, Shen Mingzhu pulled out a black floppy disk, "This contains a training schedule I created. Use a computer to open it now; I need to edit it again."

The five of them looked at each other, none of them taking the floppy disk from Shen Mingzhu’s hand.

It wasn’t just about opening the file on the disk; they couldn’t even manage to turn on the computer.

"Can’t do it?"

Exposed by Shen Mingzhu, embarrassment and discomfort were clearly evident on their faces.

"Deputy Director Shen, you are deliberately making things difficult for us. Isn’t it normal for us not to use a computer because we didn’t attend the training?"

"There are only some people who attended the training, and many did not. They can’t use computers either. According to your logic, are you planning to dismiss them all?"

"Right now, the problem is about the five of you. Don’t drag others into this! Are you or are you not employees of the HR department? In the training notice I issued yesterday, did it not state that all HR personnel were required to attend? Did it not?!"

Everyone was taken aback by Shen Mingzhu’s sudden stern rhetoric, and they went silent for a moment.

And those five were so questioned they became speechless, their faces flushing with embarrassment.

At that moment, everyone had the same thought:

A new official begins their office by setting three fires; it’s just that Shen Mingzhu’s fire was a little delayed, but it ultimately flared up.

"You skipped important training without any reason and failed to complete the tasks I assigned. Manager Wen, what is the procedure for dealing with employees who cannot perform their duties?"