Wang Lisheng: "?"

’Aren’t they going a bit too far?’

’Xie Changning is the treasure of our factory. Loan her out? No way!’

So, Wang Lisheng turned to look at Li Fuzeren, threatening him with his gaze: ’You’d better watch what you say and remember which factory Xie Changning belongs to!’

How could Li Fuzeren not know what Wang Lisheng was thinking?

He chuckled at the people around them. "My apologies, but Technician Xie is actually my special technical consultant. Her primary position is as the deputy director of the Chuncheng Screw Factory."

As he spoke, Li Fuzeren pointed to Wang Lisheng beside him.

Wang Lisheng instantly puffed out his chest and gave a polite smile to the crowd. "Hello, everyone."

Everyone: "..." For some reason, they found Wang Lisheng’s smile incredibly grating and felt the urge to punch him!

’This guy obviously doesn’t want to loan out Xie Changning!’

When Xie Changning returned, she saw a large crowd gathered around Wang Lisheng and Li Fuzeren. Hearing footsteps, everyone turned to look.

The moment they saw it was Xie Changning, their eyes lit up with eagerness.

Rather than asking that scoundrel Wang Lisheng, they figured they’d get a more accurate answer by asking Xie Changning herself.

’What if she says yes?’

"Mr. Xie, I’m the deputy director of the Shanghai Machinery Factory. My surname is Lu..."

"Me, me, me! I’m the director of the Su City Steelworks, my surname is Su..."

As soon as Xie Changning returned, she became the center of attention and was immediately surrounded. Everyone introduced themselves, hoping to poach her.

After managing to deal with everyone, Xie Changning spoke apologetically, "My current physical condition doesn’t allow for long business trips. I appreciate all of your kind offers. If you are still interested after I give birth, I would be happy to discuss things in detail then."

As her words fell, everyone finally understood.

Xie Changning was pregnant!

Now that she was carrying a child, they certainly couldn’t ask her to go on business trips. After all, her health came first.

The crowd was a little disappointed.

"My husband is in Chuncheng, and I plan to stay within the Chuncheng area for the next three years. So, if any of you wish to collaborate and improve together, you can send a team over to learn. You can discuss the details with our factory director."

Xie Changning’s addendum made everyone’s eyes light up instantly.

’That’s right!’

’If Xie Changning can’t come to us, we can go to her!’

With that, everyone’s spirits lifted. They all turned to Wang Lisheng with fawning smiles. "Old Wang... how about we discuss this ’learning team’ matter?"

Wang Lisheng snorted coldly.

Xie Changning finally sat back down in her own seat and let out a long sigh of relief. The team members following her were also chattering away happily.

Seeing their happy faces, Director Li waved his hand grandly. "A ten-yuan bonus for everyone this month! It’ll come out of the factory’s accounts!"

"Thank you, Director!"

They could also get a technical bonus for the competition in Beijing.

But who would ever complain about getting more money!

The day’s competitions had run long, so the organizers didn’t have everyone continue to the next event. Once the Chuncheng Machine Tool Factory’s assessment was finished, the leaders let everyone have some free time.

The next two days were filled with competitions for other factories.

On the third day, it was finally the screw factories’ turn.

The work involved at screw factories is quite different from the others, so the competition was held inside a large screw factory in Beijing.

The host factory had a full range of workshops and plenty of space. After the leaders divided everyone into groups, the competition began.

The Chuncheng Screw Factory was scheduled later in the day. So Xie Changning, who had woken up early and was prone to drowsiness, leaned back in her chair and fell asleep. She slept all the way until noon, and it still wasn’t their turn.

It wasn’t until three in the afternoon that Wang Lisheng gently nudged her.

"Changning, it’s our turn."

Hearing Wang Lisheng’s words, Xie Changning slowly opened her eyes and stood up. "Oh, okay."

After the machine tool factory competition two days prior, Xie Changning had become a figure of great interest. Now that she was leading another team, people were curious why she was participating in competitions for two different factories. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

When someone raised the question, someone else naturally had the answer.

"Xie Changning is the deputy director of the Chuncheng Screw Factory and a special technical consultant for the Chuncheng Machine Tool Factory. She can’t help it, she holds two positions."

The competition between screw factories was more straightforward. They were judged on hourly output, quality, efficiency, technique, technological innovation, and more. Even though it was just a tiny screw, the judges looked at many different aspects.

As the competition proceeded, Xie Changning still didn’t perform many of the operations herself.

However, for the two tasks she did perform, her technique was exquisite. It was clear at a glance that she was an expert.

Everyone nodded in agreement. ’No wonder the machine tool factory was so insistent on making Xie Changning a special technical consultant. If it were us, we’d fight for her too!’

’This woman is just too versatile!’

The screw factory’s performance in the competition was slightly less impressive; they only placed in the top three.

"That’s already fantastic! Our factory’s technology is limited. For you to get this ranking, our ancestors must be smiling down on us!" Wang Lisheng could see that aside from Xie Changning, the others were not too happy about placing third.

They weren’t comparing themselves to the other factories, but to the Chuncheng Machine Tool Factory.

’We’re all Xie Changning’s soldiers, so why didn’t our skills win first place?’

Wang Lisheng couldn’t say much more, so he could only look to Xie Changning for help, hoping she would say a few words.

And then—

"Don’t be discouraged. You’ve never used these machines before, so getting third place is already very good. If you have to blame something, blame our factory for being small and our machinery for being a bit outdated."

Wang Lisheng: "..."

’I asked her to console them, not to pin the blame on me!’

Wang Lisheng shot Xie Changning an exasperated look but wasn’t actually angry. "That’s right. This is our first time in a competition like this, and we’ve already achieved a good ranking. That’s excellent."

With both factory directors consoling them, they couldn’t very well remain dejected.

However, they secretly resolved to work even harder in the future and improve their skills!

After the competition ended, Xie Changning left with everyone else.

After the screw factory’s competition was over, Xie Changning and her team didn’t leave immediately. There were still other competitions, and they waited another two days until the entire event was completely finished.

Sitting on the train home, Xie Changning and the two factory directors listened to the team’s excited chattering and discussions.

Many people sitting nearby also watched the lively scene with interest.

Upon returning to Chuncheng, Director Zhao was there in person with a group to meet them at the station. "Have our heroes returned?"

Director Zhao’s boisterous voice attracted a lot of attention, but the onlookers didn’t understand why Xie Changning’s group was being praised, so they just glanced over and went on their way without paying much mind.

It wasn’t until the group returned to the factory that Director Zhao couldn’t help but lavish praise on them.

That evening, after the celebratory dinner, Xie Changning made a point of having Yue Yihan come pick her up. She was afraid that if she didn’t let him, he would give her that reproachful look again when she got home.

She couldn’t stand it.