Sun Ying was instantly rendered speechless, her face flushing crimson with shame.
Being reprimanded by the boss in front of so many people was an embarrassment she, who always valued her reputation, could hardly bear.
"You can check whether what I'm saying is true. My husband works at the newspaper office, would their information be inaccurate?"
Sun Ying muttered softly and returned to her work group.
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuqing's heart grew even more flustered.
Song Qiao must have been hiding something from her on the phone earlier, otherwise, he wouldn't have hung up so abruptly.
"Xia, don't listen to that woman's nonsense. Who knows if she's just making up lies to grab attention?"
Factory Director Wang seemed to have noticed Xia Yuqing's inner turmoil.
"Director, I'd like to request leave to go home and take a look," Xia Yuqing said after a moment's hesitation.
Seeing Xia Yuqing's disturbed state, Factory Director Wang could only agree.
"Thank you, Director."
Xia Yuqing expressed her gratitude and rushed out of the workshop, cycling towards Song Qiao's factory.
Song Qiao had been at the hospital comforting the injured workers' families. After ensuring the two workers were out of danger, he was preparing to leave with Lin Jing.
As he was about to leave, he noticed he had several missed calls on his phone, all from his wife, Xia Yuqing.
Alarmed, he quickly called her back.
"What's wrong, honey? I was just busy with factory matters," Song Qiao began to explain as soon as the call connected.
"I'm fine. Did something happen at the factory today?" Xia Yuqing's voice was filled with deep concern.
Song Qiao's heart skipped a beat. He wondered if Xia Yuqing had found out something.
He hadn't wanted to tell his wife about the accident at the factory, precisely to spare her worry.
Since her mother's injury, Xia Yuqing had been in a state of constant anxiety. If anything else were to happen to him, she might just break down completely.
He forcefully suppressed his inner tension and pretended nothing was amiss. "No, the factory is bustling with activity every day. How could there be an accident?"
"You're still lying to me. I went to the processing plant this afternoon, why would you stop work for half a day for no reason?"
Seeing that Song Qiao was still deceiving her, Xia Yuqing couldn't help but reprimand him angrily.
"Uh..."
Just as Song Qiao was about to explain, Xia Yuqing continued, "Did an accident happen at your factory today? My colleague might be sharp-tongued, but she wouldn't just make things up."
Song Qiao frowned. Indeed, good news never travels far, while bad news spreads like wildfire.
From the moment the accident occurred, he had been taking the most proactive measures to minimize its impact.
Fortunately, while the accident had resulted in injuries, it was a common occurrence in production.
He hadn't expected the news to leak out, which would likely bring significant damage to his company's future reputation.
He took a deep breath, about to explain the day's events to his wife.
A busy tone came from the other end of the line.
Xia Yuqing had hung up in anger, frustrated by her husband's continued deception.
Song Qiao shook his head helplessly. He decided not to call his wife back to explain; there was still a mountain of work waiting for him at the factory.
Once this accident was fully resolved, his wife would naturally understand his difficult decision to conceal it.
"Lin Jing, please keep an eye on the shop. I need to head to the processing plant immediately."
Song Qiao instructed Lin Jing and drove straight from the hospital.
The processing plant's gates were shut tight, and the workers had all gone home.
Only Ah Wei and a few electricians from town were there, working on repairing the circuits.
"Boss, how are the injured?"
As soon as Ah Wei saw Song Qiao, he hurried to meet him.
"They've all been settled, and the injured workers' families have expressed their understanding," Song Qiao said with a slight smile, reassuring Ah Wei.
"That's good."
"The circuits here are being repaired. If we work overtime tonight, production should be restored by tomorrow morning."
Ah Wei breathed a sigh of relief and reported the factory's situation to Song Qiao.
Song Qiao nodded slightly. "While rushing to meet the deadline, ensure that the work is done meticulously. We must not have a repeat of today's situation."
"Don't worry, boss. I'm personally overseeing everything here," Ah Wei assured him.
"By the way, where is Old Zhang?" Song Qiao asked, looking around the workshop and not seeing Old Zhang.
"He went to the machinery factory. Although only one machine exploded, several others nearby had faults due to circuit linkage. Old Zhang has gone to the machinery factory to have them repair the machines."
"Alright. Thank you both for your hard work today."
"I'll go buy some supper. We'll make do here at the factory tonight."
Song Qiao patted Ah Wei's shoulder, preparing to leave.
"No need, boss. We have some instant noodles in the office. We'll just have a simple meal," Ah Wei quickly waved his hand, stopping Song Qiao.
"That won't do. We can make do, but we still have those skilled workers here," Song Qiao said with a light laugh and drove away from the workshop.
...
That night, with Song Qiao's triple pay incentive, the electricians worked overtime through the night, finally completing the replacement of the factory's circuits.
Old Zhang had also returned all the repaired machines to the factory. It seemed that production could resume for the workers by early morning tomorrow.
Song Qiao was still concerned about safety. He personally tested each machine one by one, ensuring there were no faults before he could finally relax.
It was already three in the morning. Going home was out of the question, so they all ended up resting their heads in the factory office for the night.
The next morning, before Song Qiao had even woken up, Li Lili burst in holding a newspaper.
Without regard for whether Song Qiao had rested well, she immediately woke him.
"Boss, this is bad."
"The explosion accident we had yesterday has been leaked, and it's now published in our city's newspaper."
Li Lili spoke breathlessly, clearly shaken by the news.
Many factories had closed down due to severe impacts on construction safety, leading to government orders for suspension and rectification.
Now, with such a serious issue occurring less than a month after the processing plant opened, overcoming this hurdle would be incredibly difficult.
Song Qiao was also surprised. Although he had learned from Xia Yuqing yesterday that the news had spread, he never expected it to be published in the newspaper before he could even react.
Despite his nervousness, Song Qiao maintained a calm demeanor to stabilize morale and took the newspaper from Li Lili.