"Director Li, you must help my Haiguo this ti," Feng Ying implored, imdiately kneeling upon seeing Li Shengi.
"Get up first," Li Shengi said. "Explain the situation clearly."
Dong ihua stood by, feeling sympathetic towards Feng Ying, helping her up and saying, "Just speak your mind, don’t kneel."
Feng Ying, crying, recounted the incident involving Liu Haiguo, and then added, "Haiguo is at fault, yes, but it’s not fair to bla him alone."
"What’s the situation over there now?" Li Shengi asked.
Dong ihua passed a handkerchief over, and Feng Ying wiped away her tears: "Now, those people oppose Haiguo continuing as team leader. So families even ca knocking on our door, and it almost ca to blows. If it weren’t for the militian and clan mbers holding them back, there would have been real trouble."
Li Shengi frowned and said, "The affairs of your Red Star Production Team really aren’t for us to manage."
Upon hearing this, Feng Ying realized Li Shengi was refusing to intervene and hurriedly said, "Even if Director Li would agree to put in a word, that would help. The team mbers oppose Haiguo mainly because of production issues. If we can improve that, there will be no problems."
"The problem is, it’s not just about production but also the lives of five people."
As Li Shengi finished speaking, Feng Ying shook her head and argued, "They weren’t killed by Haiguo. It’s not like Haiguo forced them into the water; they jumped in themselves at the sight of big fish, and although they were tied with ropes, the ropes were cut. They must have cut them themselves; how can you bla Haiguo?"
"But they were led there by Liu Haiguo, and as the team leader, he can’t escape responsibility," Li Shengi said, spreading her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
"Director Li, you were the matchmaker for and Haiguo. We’ve always regarded you as part of my family. Please speak up for us," Feng Ying pleaded once more, kneeling down again and looking pitifully at Li Shengi, "I’m kowtowing to you."
Feng Ying was out of options. Uncertain if Liu Haihua could persuade Wang Xueyong, she was willing to do anything if only Li Shengi would help.
Now they had incurred the wrath of the whole Red Star Production Team. Losing the position of team leader would make life even more difficult, and with a son, Feng Ying was more concerned about their future.
Feng Ying had little affection for Liu Haiguo, but as her husband and the pillar of their ho, he must not fall.
The sound of kowtowing was sharp and sudden as Feng Ying rushed out and kowtowed before Li Shengi without hesitation.
This was unexpected for both Li Shengi and Dong ihua, who failed to react in ti to stop Feng Ying. By the ti they went to help her up, Feng Ying had already kowtowed until her forehead bled.
Dong ihua exclaid in shock, "Sister Feng Ying, you’re bleeding from your head."
"Oh my," Li Shengi couldn’t help but cry out, "Your head is bleeding. How can you be so harsh on yourself?"
Feng Ying had kowtowed too forcefully and too hastily, and now she felt dizzy. She touched her forehead, saw blood on her hand, and swayed for a mont.
Li Shengi, holding Feng Ying, instructed Dong ihua, "Go outside quickly and pick so Hemostatic Herb."
Dong ihua hurried off and soon returned with the Hemostatic Herb, applying it to Feng Ying’s wound. Seeing how pitiful Feng Ying looked, Dong ihua turned to Li Shengi and said, "Mom, Sister Feng Ying is so miserable. Can’t we help her?"
Li Shengi nearly glared at Dong ihua, but holding it back in the presence of Feng Ying, she replied, "We need to discuss this with your dad."
Seeing this, Feng Ying felt even colder inside as all her kneeling and pleading seed in vain. She tried to kneel again, but Li Shengi couldn’t let her continue like this.
"ihua, see where your dad has gone visiting; ask him to co back for a while," Li Shengi said.
Dong ihua nodded and left.
Alone in the room, to gain Li Shengi’s agreent, Feng Ying began to offer benefits, but Li Shengi remained indifferent.
Feng Ying racked her brain for sothing that would sway Li Shengi, then ntioned, "Director Li, I got pregnant and gave birth to my son so quickly because I had a special redy. My mother-in-law, Mrs. Liu, had a traditional recipe that she started giving to right after I married."
Sure enough, Li Shengi’s eyes lit up, "What kind of recipe?"
Although Sun Yuhua had a daughter rather than a son, Zheng Xianghong had a granddaughter she was taking care of, which made Li Shengi sowhat envious.
Not to ntion, now that Gao Jiaxing had married Xia Xiao, Zheng Xianghong might be holding a grandson soon, while Li Shengi still had none.
"It’s with my mother-in-law," Feng Ying said.
Li Shengi’s expression turned cold, and Feng Ying, pressing a hand to her forehead, asked, "Director Li, when is Comrade Xuegang coming back? ihua has always been healthy, and if Gangzi could return, you might be able to hold a grandchild this year."
"He said after the New Year, but didn’t specify when," Li Shengi replied, her mood not very cheery. Both her sons were soldiers, and while Gao Jiaxing could co ho for the New Year and stay a month, there was no sign of hers.
Ever since being shown up by Zheng Xianghong when boasting about her son’s promotion to platoon leader, Li Shengi had stopped bragging. She was noticeably more despondent.
Now Gao Jiaxing had beco a soldier for just two years and already risen to the rank of platoon leader; the disparity was huge for Li Shengi, and she felt she had no advantage over Zheng Xianghong.
Li Shengi wished her eldest son would return soon, and for Dong ihua to bear her a grandchild, preferably before Zheng Xianghong’s daughter-in-law. That would satisfy Li Shengi.
"It will be soon. Why don’t you co with to the Red Star Production Team?" Feng Ying suggested. "I’ll have my mother-in-law give you the recipe. Plus, you can chat with her. Look, even my sister-in-law, Liu Haihua, just had a son."
Feng Ying felt lucky that both she and Liu Haihua had sons; otherwise, she would have nothing to attract Li Shengi with. She indeed had used Mrs. Liu’s traditional redy but was unsure of its effectiveness.
So Feng Ying used this pretext to lure Li Shengi, hoping that if she could get past this crisis, it wouldn’t matter if Dong ihua got pregnant later or what the sex of the child would be.
"Fine, I’ll go with you," Li Shengi agreed readily, thinking that a trip to Red Star Production Team was no big deal and primarily wanting to obtain that traditional redy. Once her son returned, the redy could be used without delay for an early arrival of a healthy grandson.
Consequently, Li Shengi agreed to accompany Feng Ying, and as they left the house, Li Shengi ran into her younger son, He Xuewu, right outside the door.
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