This surprised Chen Ke, but he wasn't educating Chen Yu about washing his own clothes, so he said, "You can wash your own. I can just scrub my clothes after I take a shower."

After Chen Ke finished speaking, he picked up his things and went out to take a shower. Chen Zhi, who hadn't said a word until now, grinned at Chen Yu and said, "If your eldest brother won't let you shower, then you can shower your second brother. They're both brothers, so you, as his sister, can't show favoritism."

Chen Yu blinked: "Second brother, did you find a job today?"

Chen Zhi was momentarily speechless, his eyes darting around. "Well, well, I haven't looked yet, no rush, no rush."

"Then I'll wash it for you after you find a job."

"Hey, you little brat, you've learned to be so petty now?"

Chen Yu buried her head in her food and ignored Chen Zhi completely. Chen Zhi was so angry that he drank a big mouthful of gruel and secretly vowed that he must find a job tomorrow.

But imagination is beautiful, reality is cruel, and Chen Zhi will soon understand the true meaning of this sentence.

The next day, Chen Ke was stopped by Wang Jingjiang as soon as he entered the textile factory gate.

Chen Ke was completely bewildered. Why did he see a smile on Wang Jingjiang's face that resembled a husky trying to please someone?

A hint of mystery lingered beneath the smugness...

"What, what are you doing?" Chen Ke stammered, a rare occurrence for him.

Wang Jingjiang: "Are we going to have breakfast?"

Chen Ke nodded, "That's a rhetorical question."

"Let's go together, I'll also go to the cafeteria for breakfast."

Chen Ke: ·······

Why make it sound like a secret rendezvous between spies when you're just having breakfast?

When Chen Ke got his food and was pulled by Wang Jingjiang to sit down in the far corner of the cafeteria, he finally understood why Wang Jingjiang had that expression.

Because he filled a lunchbox with braised pork, and when he opened the box, the bright red color and the fragrant smell would definitely cause a sensation in the cafeteria if anyone saw it.

"I was planning to save it for lunch, but I was afraid it would go bad in the heat, so I had to eat it this morning. Eat it quickly, or the smell will attract attention." When you're struggling to afford food, if you casually take out a box of meat to eat, isn't that obviously trying to get special treatment from the workers?

In this era, special treatment is not allowed. Whether you are a cadre or a leader, you must integrate with the masses.

Wang Jingjiang understood this point.

Chen Ke wanted to refuse, as he couldn't accept something for nothing, but the power of this braised pork was too great. Just as he was testing whether he could resist the sugar-coated bullet, Wang Jingjiang directly picked up a piece of meat and fed it to him.

Chen Ke was about to refuse when his mouth answered him faster than his mind could process it.

Chen Ke: ""

It seems that a harsh and simple environment can indeed bring about tremendous changes in people.

Is it delicious?

Chen Ke: "...Delicious."

"Then eat quickly. I almost got a beating from my dad because of this braised pork, so I have to enjoy it." As he spoke, Wang Jingjiang picked up a piece and put it in his mouth to savor it slowly, while gesturing for Chen Ke to eat quickly.

Perhaps because he had already eaten one piece, Chen Ke was able to naturally reach for a second piece with his chopsticks.

The two of them ate one piece after another, and the lunchbox was soon empty. Even the soup inside was wiped clean by Wang Jingjiang with cornbread.

Chen Ke only realized he had taken advantage of someone else when he finished eating and was wiping his mouth.

Just as Chen Ke was thinking this, he saw Wang Jingjiang looking at him with calculating eyes and said, "If you eat my flesh and become successful in the future, don't forget me."

Chen Ke was both amused and exasperated. Was this guy really convinced he would make it big?

"Hey bro, give me a heads up, we've already finished all the meat."

Chen Ke: ""

"OK!"

"Then let's agree on that!"

Wang Jingjiang always felt that his intuition was quite accurate, so when he sensed that Chen Ke was completely different from before and had great potential for success, he immediately "invested" in him.

What he didn't know was that this investment in braised pork would become a topic of endless conversation at dinner tables many years later.

······

Chen Zhi couldn't find a job for several days. At first, he thought his requirements were too high. Later, he lowered his requirements. He didn't care how tiring the work was, as long as the salary was decent, but still no one wanted him.

By now, Chen Zhi has no more demands, but finding a job is still incredibly difficult.

On this day, when Chen Yu returned home dejectedly, she found Chen Yu cooking. After some time, Chen Yu had become quite adept at housework, and the room was tidy and organized. For this, she even received a special commendation from Chen Ke.

For the first time, Chen Yu felt so happy to receive praise from his elder brother.

Upon seeing Chen Zhi enter, Chen Yu asked, "How was it today? Did you find it?" Chen Zhi's energy and spirit had visibly declined over the past two days. Although Chen Yu initially approached it with a sense of schadenfreude, she later began to worry about her second brother.

He had sworn back then that he would support himself. In the past, the eldest brother might not have abandoned the second brother, but now the eldest brother would definitely abandon him.

Chen Zhi shook his head; his once bright and spirited eyes were now dull and filled with confusion.

He leaned against the door and said weakly, "It's so damn hard to find a job these days. The regular employees in the factory are all one person per position. If the father leaves, the son takes his place. There's no chance for outsiders. Even the temporary workers are either people with connections or they need a certain level of education. I didn't even graduate from junior high school, so they don't even give me a second glance."

Chen Yu was unsure how to comfort Chen Zhi. She stirred the coarse grain porridge in the pot and finally spoke after a long while, "Why don't you ask your older brother? After all, he has worked in the textile factory for so long, he must know some people. See if they have any connections."

Chen Zhi remained expressionless, his eyes lowered, and he didn't speak. He rolled up a foxtail grass again and again before replying, "We'll see... He might not even help me."

The last sentence was spoken very softly, and Chen Yu didn't hear it clearly. She frowned and asked a question, but Chen Zhi went into the house, picked up his dirty clothes, and turned to leave.

Chen Ke hasn't had time to pay attention to Chen Zhi lately, but he knows without even thinking what he might encounter. The original owner was able to get a job in a factory as soon as he dropped out of school because he took over his father's job. Otherwise, what kind of job could a sixteen-year-old who didn't graduate from junior high school and had no connections find?

Chen Zhi and Chen Yu were both too well protected by the original owner, making them a bit naive. Chen Yu was alright; at least he knew what he wanted. As soon as the environment changed, he changed too.

Only Chen Zhi is still unable to recognize reality; he will probably only grow through more setbacks.

"Chen Ke? Chen Ke?" His deskmate's voice interrupted Chen Ke's thoughts. He turned around. "What's wrong?"

"If the largest dimension of this casting is 700, and the machined surface and the reference surface are between 120 and 260, what are the appropriate values ​​for those three surfaces?"

"6.5-7.0, 4.5-5.5"

"Oh, thank you."

"You're welcome."