Chapter 39 What a daring person!

Wu Peng was gone for two or three months without a word. If it weren't for his dog and a box of belongings that were with her, Yao Fanghua would have seriously suspected he'd run away. Several times, Yao Fanghua almost opened the box, suspecting Wu Peng had filled it with rotten wood to fool her—the small lock wouldn't have stopped her. But in the end, she held back. The guy had glued the box shut, clearly to keep her out. It would be quite awkward returning the box if he really came back.

As the year draws to a close, the fan factory is shrouded in gloom.

Money was poured in, but the development of the washing machine made no progress.

Zhao Aiguo finally couldn't withstand the pressure and had exhausted all his tricks. He could no longer cover it up and had no other way out.

Director Zhao fell seriously ill and was hospitalized.

Zhao Aiguo escaped, abandoning his post, and Yu Junqi cursed him angrily! He took turns cursing the cowardly, worthless, and useless.

"You'll never get ahead of me in this lifetime!" Yu Jun sneered repeatedly. "You think being sick means everything's fine? I have plenty of ways to deal with you. You dare play this game with me? You'll never get ahead in this life."

Zhao Aiguo confidently stated that he would return to the factory immediately after recovering from his illness to continue developing washing machines. "I've been working so hard lately, and I was just about to achieve results when my body betrayed me."

Zhao Aiguo sighed, "I don't know when I'll get better."

"Results?" Yu Jun knew that it would be a long time before Zhao Aiguo recovered, and the factory couldn't afford to wait. He didn't give him any face and questioned him in front of everyone in the ward, "Where are your results? Show them to everyone, even half-finished products will do."

Zhao Aiguo stammered without speaking, his face flushed red despite his age. He harbored deep resentment towards Yu Jun. How dare he show him such disrespect?

The ward was extremely quiet, except for the occasional, deliberate laughter of a few colleagues.

We've known each other for so many years, everyone knows each other. Many people have long been fed up with Zhao Aiguo's incompetent yet pretentious attitude, and seeing him publicly humiliated is incredibly satisfying. Zhang Hua, in particular, is secretly delighted.

Zhao Aiguo enjoys putting others down, always seizing on minor mistakes to criticize them and elevate himself. He also looks down on women, naturally harboring contempt for female colleagues. Being ridiculed now is entirely deserved.

Yao Fanghua scoffed coldly. She had heard that the reason she wasn't assigned to the technical department was because this Director Zhao disagreed, saying that the technical department didn't need women, that they would cause trouble. What kind of bullshit reason was that?

In the nearly one year since she joined the factory, Yao Fanghua has come to realize that even if you let out an untimely fart, it will spread from one end of the factory to the other in the idle fan factory. She has even heard the gossip about the fan factory ten years ago, let alone what happened a year ago. Countless people have described Zhao Aiguo's exact words to her, both openly and secretly.

After slapping Zhao Aiguo once, Yu Jun, still angry, slapped him again. "Director Yao should take over directly. Director Zhao is ill, and the technical department can't be without a leader."

I'll submit an application to make you a permanent employee.

What a pleasant surprise! She'd always seen Zhao Aiguo's empty, laborious reports, and how he seemed to be struggling, so she knew he was a good-for-nothing. She'd even thought that if he really needed her help, she'd have to be coy and negotiate some conditions before he'd lend a hand. She hadn't expected Lao Yu to be so agreeable.

Yao Fanghua immediately replied, "I will do my best to live up to the trust the leaders have placed in me."

This time, it was Zhao Aiguo who was sneering.

Is she the only woman?

A woman who can't even understand blueprints?

Is he still a young man?

That's some serious bragging; they're even more of a show-off than him. Do they think washing machines are as easy to fool as fans? This is a new invention! The factory has no precedent to follow! He'd like to see how they handle this.

As soon as Yu Jun left, everyone else followed suit, without even a polite word of advice to take good care of themselves.

In the end, Yao Fanghua climbed up the ranks, not by stepping on him, but by stepping on Zhao Aiguo. Zhang Hua was indignant. He thought about how many years he had struggled, from the workshop to the office, from worker to employee, and now, relying on both hard work and connections, how much effort he had put in, and how many gifts he had given, to get to where he was today. This Yao Fanghua, on the other hand, entered the factory as a deputy director and was promoted to director so quickly. She's really lucky; she really caught a lucky break. It's truly unsettling.

Zhang Hua wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable; watching others rise to power is bound to breed resentment. Anyone who doesn't harbor malicious intent to sabotage them and can remain calmly observing is a good person. However, this is just the beginning. As time goes on and everyone's mindset adjusts, things will get much better.

Yu Jun returned to the factory, and the head of the labor and personnel department immediately followed him to the factory director's office.

"Isn't this too fast? Isn't it against regulations? Director Yao is still too young and lacks experience."

Yu Jun was still radiating cold air, "Why don't you take over the technology?"

"Boss, you must be joking. I don't know anything about technology. If you really want Xiao Yao to do it, just let her do it. What's the rush to make her a permanent employee?" Even if she's not made a permanent employee, what else can she do? She's young, headstrong, and easy to manipulate. A few words of praise and she's already working with enthusiasm. Why is it necessary to make her a permanent employee? Does Old Yu have some ulterior motive?

Yu Jun: "I remember you were very supportive of producing washing machines back then, right? What if it turns out badly?"

"Why don't you take over as factory manager? You can teach me how to do it."

"Boss, please stop teasing me." The head of the labor relations department quickly left. Tsk, it seems the factory manager has been under a lot of pressure lately; why is he so irritable?

When Zhang Hua went there, Yu Jun said directly, "If you dare to take over the technology and achieve results, I will directly apply to make you the vice president of technology."

Zhang Hua, who had originally intended to get the fan back, left dejectedly without saying a word.

Yao Fanghua went to the technical office on the second floor and, after speaking with the workshop director, learned that there really had been no progress for the past few months. They were incredibly audacious; what had they been doing all this time? Just thinking about how to report their work?

Aside from a dozen or so half-finished blueprints and a pile of disassembled washing machine parts, the technical department hadn't produced anything. After figuring out the situation, Yao Fanghua dragged the production director to report to Factory Director Yu. She needed to let the factory director know what the situation was like when she took over, and she wanted to explain it clearly at the production meeting next Monday. She didn't want to work for someone else's benefit, especially considering Zhao Aiguo's shameless boast that he would have results. Everyone knew Factory Director Yu had embarrassed him back then, but she still wanted to officially prove it to him to prevent him from going back on his word.

Yu Jun felt even more disheartened after hearing Yao Fanghua's and the workshop director's reports. He hadn't expected Zhao Aiguo to be so deceitful. How could he have uttered all those sweet words?