Fang Qiaoqiao and Yu Yao went to the changing room to change into their work clothes.

As they were talking, Fang Qiaoqiao suddenly patted Yu Yao on the shoulder and said, "Do you think she found a battalion commander's girlfriend, or maybe she's from the Third Regiment? Otherwise, why would she say you have to call her 'Battalion Commander's Wife'?"

"It can't be such a coincidence, can it?" Yu Yao hesitated for a moment after hearing Fang Qiaoqiao's suggestion.

As far as she knew, Song Yiming seemed to be the only battalion commander in the Third Regiment without a girlfriend. Just thinking about Wan Xiaozhen and Song Yiming dating and accompanying each other to the army gave her a headache.

Fang Qiaoqiao felt she was probably right, and then, as if struck by a sudden thought, she chuckled.

"Does Wan Xiaozhen still not know that your husband is the commander of the Third Regiment? She still dares to act like a sister-in-law in front of you. I find it hilarious whenever I think about Wan Xiaozhen showing off in front of you, only to find out who your husband is. A regimental commander is much more powerful than a battalion commander."

After changing into her work clothes, Fang Qiaoqiao and Yu Yao agreed to have lunch together at noon. After learning how to braid hair, they went to check the thermometer.

Not long after Yu Yao arrived at the workshop, she was called to the office by Director Li.

I ran into Zhao Shengli when I went in.

"Hello, Brother Zhao," Yu Yao greeted him, then casually asked, "Do you know why Director Li wanted to see me?"

Zhao Shengli smiled and said, "Don't be nervous, it's a good thing. You'll see when you go in."

Wan Xiaozhen, who had just come out from Wang Chuntao's place, saw this scene and cursed in her heart as a sycophant and a crony.

Yu Yao knocked on the office door, and Director Li's voice rang out, "Come in, the door is open."

Once inside, Director Li was looking down at something in his hand.

Yu Yao recognized the paper immediately upon seeing it.

I didn't expect the results of the dessert mix preparer's assessment to come out so quickly.

Sure enough, the next second they heard Director Li say, "Yu Yao, I knew I hadn't misjudged you. Your performance in the dessert mix preparer exam was outstanding."

"Director Li, when can I report for duty?"

"After this week's classes, report to the saccharin preparation workshop. Starting next week, you will be a full-time employee of the saccharin preparation workshop. Go to the archives in a bit to complete your work registration."

Although she was confident that she would pass the assessment, Yu Yao was still very happy to hear the news that she would be officially hired.

"Thank you, Director Li and Brother Zhao. I will work hard."

"We've all seen your recent performance. We hope that when you get to the syrup preparation workshop, you'll stay humble and keep up the good work."

Director Li has always had a good impression of smart and capable comrades like Yu Yao. When he learned that Yu Yao had signed up for the canned food research and development competition, he gave her special encouragement.

"Young people are full of ideas. Work hard. If you become a class monitor in the future, making sweet soup will be a must-do for your performance evaluation."

"Thank you for the reminder, Director Li. I will remember it."

After Yu Yao left, Director Li admired her exam paper with satisfaction on his face.

This answer is good, and the handwriting is also nice. This is a promising talent worth nurturing.

I'll have Zhao Shengli mentor her properly later. With her learning ability, I reckon she'll be able to graduate in less than a month.

The older women in the pre-processing workshop were peeling pineapples and peeking out. When they saw Yu Yao return, they all gathered around her.

"Is there a result regarding the assessment?"

Yu Yao smiled and nodded, "I passed the assessment. The director told me to report to the sugar water workshop next week."

"That's great, I knew Xiao Yu would be fine."

"That's right, you're so capable, you'll definitely do a great job."

"This dessert mix maker is a potential team leader. If Wang Jimao wants to cause you trouble in the future, she'll have to think twice before messing with Brother Zhao."

The older women were all happy for her. Yu Yao is a sensible, intelligent, and polite child; she deserves a brighter future.

When Wan Xiaozhen returned from outside and heard that Yu Yao had passed the exam for dessert mix preparer, she looked somewhat embarrassed.

There must be a mistake. The exam questions were so difficult, how could she possibly pass on her first try?

There must be something wrong here.

Thinking back to what she had just witnessed, she wondered if Yu Yao had used some trick to get Brother Zhao to approve it for her.

Aunt Liu had always disliked Wan Xiaozhen because of her complaint about using a pot and stove to heat food. Seeing Wan Xiaozhen's unpleasant expression, she snorted coldly.

"You can't compare people. Some people are born stupid and can't do anything well, while others are clever and can do everything."

Wan Xiaozhen looked at Yu Yao and said sarcastically, "The test for making sweet soup is so difficult that even the full-time employees have been apprentices for at least half a year before they can pass it."

"Yu Yao, how could you possibly pass the exam on your first try? Who knows if you used some underhanded methods?"

As soon as these words were spoken, without Yu Yao having to say anything, the workshop aunties spoke up for her, deliberately poking at Wan Xiaozhen's sore spots.

Aunt Liu was the first to speak up: "Xiao Yu is different from you. You were kicked out of the sugar water preparation workshop, but Xiao Yu is a promising talent personally approved by Director Li."

"You think everyone in the factory is as stupid as you?"

"Grandma Liu is right. Take cutting pineapple for example. You've been here for so long, and you still manage to cut the pineapple into a terrible shape. How can you compare to Xiao Yu?"

The old lady complained constantly, saying that every time Wan Xiaozhen processed a pineapple, she had to redo it, adding extra work for her.

Wan Xiaozhen's eyes reddened when she saw everyone siding with Yu Yao and criticizing and belittling her.

"Yu Yao, did you instigate them to say that? Don't be so smug. You passed the exam so easily, I don't believe I'm the only one with objections."

As soon as she finished speaking, she heard people outside running around saying, "The results for the saccharin mix preparers are out. I heard that someone in the pretreatment workshop was reported for cheating. This time, Director Li specially posted everyone's test papers. Everyone, hurry over and take a look."

Upon hearing this, Wan Xiaozhen immediately trembled.

"Yu Yao, you thought you could be carefree just because you curried favor with Brother Zhao and got things done for you? Look at you now, you've shown your true colors."

After saying that, Wan Xiaozhen turned around and left the workshop to go to the bulletin board to chat.

The older women were somewhat taken aback by what they heard outside.

They all believed that Yu Yao wouldn't do that, but Yu Yao was the only one in the entire pretreatment workshop who participated in the assessment for the sugar water preparation workshop.

Someone whispered, "The results of the dessert mix preparer exam are never released before, but they've been suddenly announced this time. What if..."

Aunt Liu spoke first: "No, I trust Xiao Yu's character. There must be some misunderstanding. Let's go take a look."

Aunt Liu chimed in, "Yes, yes, Xiao Yu, don't worry, let's go check the situation first."

Two groups of people went to the bulletin board one after the other. Passersby encountered other workers and secretly pointed and whispered about them.

"See that? The one at the front is Wan Xiaozhen, and the one surrounded by people in the middle is Yu Yao."

"So she's Yu Yao. I never would have guessed she was this kind of person. You really can't judge a book by its cover."

Wan Xiaozhen paused upon hearing these sounds, and her pace slowed considerably.

Seeing her like this, Yu Yao felt that she wasn't as confident as before, but rather as if she had done something wrong and was about to be exposed, and was very guilty.