Wealthy Beauty in the 60s-Chapter 554 - 556: If a man isn’t up to par, replace him; no need to settle for less
Mingzhu Clothing Factory had dealt Mingzhu a blow like never before. If it had been only Lu Liang, it might have been bearable, but with her father’s pleads through threats of death and her husband’s betrayal, it was like a sharp dagger deeply plunged into Mingzhu’s heart, leaving her in agony wishing not to live.
This time, the clothing factory had pushed Mingzhu to the forefront. Mingzhu had to take full responsibility, bearing all the blame.
It could be said that Mingzhu had been abandoned by everyone, and she also owed Xiaozi a large sum of money. When Xia Xiao and Feiling learned about the outcome from the factory, they weren’t surprised.
"Aunt Lu is really pitiful." Even Feiling couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Mingzhu now, reflecting on how happy she was before, compared to her current misery.
Under such a heavy blow, Mingzhu fell ill. Even an iron physique couldn’t withstand such a blow, let alone a human being.
At that time, Mingzhu’s daughter and young son sought help, "Aunt Xia, Sister Feiling, we’re sorry."
"Xiao Feng, Xiao Yue, how is your mother doing?" Xia Xiao asked.
Xiao Feng’s eyes reddened, and Xiao Yue, wiping away tears, shook her head. "Not good. Mom has fallen ill and is now in the hospital."
Upon saying this, Xiao Yue said, "Aunt Lu, Sister Feiling, I beg you not to sue my mother. I will work hard with her to earn money to compensate both Aunt Lu and Sister Feiling."
Xia Xiao took Xiao Yue’s hand and sighed, "We won’t sue. Which hospital is your mother in? I will go and see her."
"She’s in People’s Hospital," Xiao Feng said.
At once, Xia Xiao and Feiling went to the hospital to see Mingzhu.
In just a few short days, Mingzhu had lost a lot of weight, and she looked very unwell.
Seeing Xia Xiao come over, Mingzhu’s eyes shimmered with tears, "Xia Xiao, I’m sorry, I’ve caused you trouble this time."
"It’s okay. After all, we’ve known each other for many years and helped each other out. Although I’m somewhat unhappy about this incident, I can’t really blame you," Xia Xiao sighed, not having the heart to blame her.
Mingzhu forced a bitter smile, "I’ve really taken a hard fall this time."
"Don’t lose heart. As long as you live on, there’s a chance. You owe me a lot of money; you can’t just plan to let it go like that."
As Xia Xiao finished speaking, Mingzhu said helplessly, "I feel like I can’t pay it back anymore, I’m willing but powerless. I’ve even thought about just dying to bring an end to it all, but deep down, I just can’t accept it."
"That’s the right attitude. Get well soon, and since you owe me so much money, come work for me to pay off your debt once you’re better."
Xia Xiao gently patted Mingzhu’s hand, "If the man doesn’t work out, change him. There’s no need to wrong yourself and live so tiredly. You’ve already done enough for the Jiang Family. Life is short; do you really want to waste it away like this? Don’t you want to try a different kind of life? It might not necessarily be worse than now. The clothing factory is now entirely in Lu Liang’s hands; are you willing to let him outdo you, not wanting to make something of yourself?"
"I do." Mingzhu clenched her teeth, her eyes filled with fighting spirit.
Xia Xiao nodded, "I expect you to recover quickly. Once you’re well, sort out your family affairs and then come find me."
"Xia Xiao, thank you." Mingzhu looked at Xia Xiao with gratitude; she had brought trouble to Xia Xiao this time, yet Xia Xiao was still willing to accept her, an old classmate; Mingzhu was deeply appreciative.
Thinking about her hospitalization, how her father had sent Lu Liang to care for her, Mingzhu could only laugh, tears welling up in her eyes. How could Lu Liang possibly care for her? Her father had indeed grown old and was no longer the father who once doted on her. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
The Jiang Family all came, crying poverty in front of her—there was Jiang Shicheng’s repentance and the silent resignation of the eldest son.
The first thing Lu Mingzhu did after recovering from her illness was to divorce her husband. The eldest son followed his father, while the daughter and younger son stayed with her.
The marital assets were also divided. As for the debts on Xiaoxiao’s side, Lu Mingzhu shouldered them alone. She neither cursed nor made a fuss, but to say she harbored no resentment or bitterness would be a lie.
After the divorce, Lu Liang kindly allocated two factories to the Jiang Family, one for Jiang Shicheng and one for the eldest son.
Once she learned of this, Lu Mingzhu’s heart turned utterly cold.
If Jiang Shicheng’s betrayal had broken Lu Mingzhu’s heart, then her son’s silence brought her grief. But with father and son behaving similarly, Lu Mingzhu’s heart truly froze.
At this moment, Lu Mingzhu was still grateful for having her daughter by her side; otherwise, she did not know if she could have endured, or if she could have stood up again after falling down.
After taking care of the leaving matters, an unexpected visitor came to Xia Xiao’s side—Mr. Lu, Xia Xiao’s former factory director.
"Old Factory Director," seeing Mr. Lu in the wheelchair, Xia Xiao didn’t call him Uncle Lu as she used to, but simply "Old Factory Director."
Mr. Lu’s intentions were clear: first, he hoped that Mingzhu Clothing Factory would continue cooperating with Xiaozi; second, he wanted to thank Xia Xiao for not suing Lu Mingzhu, and third, he asked Xia Xiao to take in Lu Mingzhu and her daughter.
Xia Xiao, looking at the elderly Mr. Lu, could only think that Mr. Lu must have truly aged to propose such a fanciful idea—how could she possibly cooperate with Mingzhu Clothing Factory again?
"Mingzhu is my old classmate; naturally, I will take care of her and her daughter. But there’s no need for the rest, I have other things to attend to, so I will not keep the Old Factory Director any longer," Xia Xiao said, unwilling to talk more with Mr. Lu. What could she say to a biased father?
After the Old Factory Director left, the recovered Lu Mingzhu, with her son and daughter, joined Xiaozi, signing the contract the very same day.
The Jiang Family thought that Xia Xiao’s side would no longer care about Lu Mingzhu, especially since the Mingzhu Clothing Factory incident, where Xiaozi only filed a lawsuit and had not intervened further. However, they did not expect Xia Xiao to withdraw the lawsuit. She did not pursue debts from Lu Mingzhu but instead took her under her wing.
As for that no-name clothing chain store, it lost the lawsuit and was ordered to pay a large sum in damages to Xiaozi; the sale of those clothes was forcibly halted.
Unable to continue operations, the owner took the last bit of money and absconded. Lu Liang acquired the no-name company, completely revamping Mingzhu Clothing Factory into Liangyue Clothing Company.
Regarding this, Lu Mingzhu genuinely let go, and from then on, there was no more Mingzhu Clothing Factory, and she completely put it behind her.
"We need to have our own clothing factory," Feiling said.
Xia Xiao nodded in agreement. She had always cooperated with Mingzhu Clothing Factory before, and now it was indeed time to run their own factory.
"Mingzhu, you be in charge of the clothing factory—I’ll call it Xiaozi Clothing Factory."
Xia Xiao’s main focus was on the brand, and she set Xiaozi’s positioning higher, taking an international route.
This time, after another communication with the design team following the leak of the design drafts, Xia Xiao and Feiling mother and daughter came up with a new plan.
Feiling took on another movie with Ge Lai and went off to shoot with the crew while Xiaozi’s affairs were all managed by Xia Xiao.
Gao Jiaxing and the Feiyang team did quite well in the Western Country and performed impressively. They were not outshone by the Western soldiers, instead, they achieved remarkable results and truly dazzled the Western Country.
