"It's not a big problem in itself," Chen Ke said as he put the circuit board back in.

When Zhou Qi ran back, panting, Chen Ke was tightening the last screw.

Seeing this, Zhou Qi assumed Chen Ke couldn't fix it and had to put it back together, his tone subtly sarcastic, "I told you before not to be so arrogant. This isn't something a half-baked guy who's only read a few books a day could do—"

Zhou Qi's voice stopped abruptly after Chen Ke plugged in the power, because the indicator lights on the control panel, which had been unresponsive just moments before, suddenly lit up.

"Hey, it's working! Quick, try it and see if it's fixed!" Feng Liangchen urged, his eyes gleaming with delight.

Chen Ke handed the microphone to Feng Liangchen and then pressed the play button, indicating that Feng Liangchen should try it.

Feng Liangchen took the microphone and tentatively began, "...Hello... hello..."

Two announcements came over the loudspeaker outside: "Hello, hello..."

Feng Liangchen's face was full of surprise and excitement, "It's really fixed, Chen Ke, you fixed it!"

Zhou Qi, who was standing next to him, was also extremely shocked. He hadn't expected that this person would actually fix the thing.

"Haha, well done, Chen Ke! You really helped us a lot today, thank you." Feng Liangchen couldn't help but pat Chen Ke on the shoulder.

Chen Ke was much calmer than the two of them. He smiled faintly and said, "No need to thank me. I'm happy to be of help. Now that I'm done, I'll be going." Chen Ke picked up his lunchbox and prepared to leave.

But Feng Liangchen stopped him again, "Hey, Chen Ke, wait a minute, I have two spots for night school. You'll get a college diploma after you finish. Would you like to take a look?"

Zhou Qi's expression suddenly changed. "Director, that spot isn't—"

Feng Liangchen raised his hand to interrupt Zhou Qi, then looked at Chen Ke with encouraging eyes, "So? Do you want to go?"

Chen Ke was stunned by the news for a moment, then nodded emphatically, looking as if he was so happy he didn't know what to do.

"Good, good, good." Feng Liangchen said "good" three times in a row, his face showing excitement and joy. Finally, there was a spot for someone who really needed it. He immediately said to Chen Ke, "Then come to my office this afternoon to fill out the forms."

"Okay, thank you, Director. I'll be going now."

After Chen Ke left, Zhou Qi couldn't wait to say, "Director, wasn't that spot supposed to go to the deputy factory director's niece?"

Feng Liangchen adjusted his glasses and looked at Zhou Qi seriously, saying, "Zhou Qi, this spot has never been something anyone can decide beforehand. If there is someone who needs it more, then we will give it to them. This is to cultivate talent for the country, not to use it to gild the resumes of someone with connections!"

Zhou Qi was furious with his upright and incorruptible leader. He could ignore these relationships because he could be transferred when his term was up, and then he would be the one to suffer.

The deputy factory director had already told him to reserve a spot for his niece. Now that the spot is gone, the deputy factory director won't cause him any trouble because of Feng Liangchen, but he'll find a chance to make things difficult for him later.

"Xiao Zhou, don't take those crooked paths. As long as you are strong, you can stand firm anywhere. Alright, stop looking so gloomy. Hurry up and send out the notice. I still have to rush to report to the chairman."

The union at the No. 61 Textile Factory is somewhat special. The chairman of the union is concurrently the chairman of the garment factory's union. However, after Feng Liangchen was transferred here, he was in full charge of this position. In fact, being called the director is equivalent to being the chairman, but the formal appointment has not yet been made.

Reporting to the union chairman was just a formality; it didn't matter whether he went or not. But Feng Liangchen was a rigid and inflexible person who insisted on following the rules and regulations, so he had to go there to report on his work every Wednesday.

Zhou Qi was extremely upset, but he could only keep it to himself.

Before Chen Ke even reached the textile workshop, he heard the loudspeaker announce that there would be a social gathering at a sister company's garment factory that evening, and that single employees who weren't on the night shift should attend if possible.

In those years, social gatherings were an important way to solve the problem of single workers.

Since he had already taken the day off, Chen Ke simply found a shady spot under a tree to have breakfast.

When I opened the lunchbox, the porridge was so thin you could almost see your reflection in it. The cornbread wasn't just made of corn; it also contained other whole grains. I guess they didn't use much oil when they fried it. Even after chewing it and swallowing it, it still felt a bit rough on my throat.

It seems the situation is getting worse. This is only for the large factories that are keeping supplies tight. The smaller factories may be facing supply disruptions. I've heard that in some rural areas, people are even eating tree bark.

Although it was a bit hard to swallow, Chen Ke still ate everything clean.

In this day and age, wasting things is punishable by divine retribution.

After washing his lunchbox, Chen Ke returned to the workshop. The textile work was simple, and everyone's hands and mouths were constantly moving.

Especially with 70-80% of the workers being women, the textile workshop was filled with nothing but the roar of machines and the gossip of women.

So-and-so's wife is pregnant again; so-and-so is dating so-and-so again; so-and-so's daughter is lazy and can't be found as a wife; so-and-so's couple had a fight last night.

Chen Keguang overheard seven or eight pieces of news, some true and some false, right at the door. The speed of information exchange in this place was something even the Special Intelligence Center would have to admit was inferior to.

The moment I stepped inside, several pairs of eyes immediately fell upon me.

"Chen Ke is here? The propaganda department staff just came over to help you get leave. What do they need you for?"

"Should I specifically set you up with a partner?"

Before Chen Ke could say anything, an auntie next to him immediately retorted.

"What are you saying, Chunhua's wife? Our Chen Ke is one of the best-looking guys in our workshop, why would he need to go on blind dates? All the girls in our workshop are secretly scheming for him."

The women around him smiled on the surface, but they didn't really care. Chen was handsome and refined, which made him quite attractive to girls, but liking someone was one thing, but it was hard to tell which girl actually went up to him to date.

Being good-looking can't put food on the table. Chen Ke's younger brother and sister-in-law are a burden to everyone. People get married to live a good life with you, not to raise your younger siblings together.

Chen Ke nodded as a greeting and returned to his workstation.

No one cared. Chen Ke usually didn't have much contact with these women comrades, and he was very quiet and focused on his work.

"Hey Chen Ke, what did the people from the publicity department want with you?" Wang Jingjiang asked as soon as Chen Ke stood up.

Wang Jingjiang is three years older than Chen Ke and is the second young adult in the textile workshop besides Chen Ke. Chen Ke has been working here since he was sixteen and has not been able to find an opportunity to change jobs, so he has no choice but to work here.

Wang Jingjiang, on the other hand, had his family go to great lengths to get him into the job, claiming that the work was easy and there were many female colleagues, making it easy to solve his personal problems. However, when he arrived, he found that although there were indeed many female colleagues, almost all of them were married women.