Liu Lu's heart sank. Oh no, she'd been found out!
She quickly dodged behind the wall, her heart pounding.
The conversation inside the room stopped abruptly, followed by a series of hurried footsteps.
Liu Lu held her breath and dared not move.
The footsteps grew closer and closer, seemingly stopping right beside her.
Have they discovered us?
Liu Lu clenched her fists nervously, ready to run away at any moment.
"Who's there?" a gruff voice rang out.
Liu Lu remained silent, knowing that going out now would only put her in a more passive position.
"It seems... there's no movement..." another voice said hesitantly.
"It's probably the wind..." Li Dazui's voice also carried a hint of uncertainty. "Let's go, hurry back, and don't let anyone see us."
As the footsteps faded into the distance, Liu Lu finally breathed a sigh of relief. She cautiously peeked out to make sure they were far away before emerging from behind the wall.
Although she could only hear bits and pieces of the conversation, she had a vague feeling that these people seemed to be plotting something, and it was very likely related to the rumors targeting her.
In the following days, Liu Lu paid closer attention to her surroundings and discovered that the rumors were still spreading and even getting worse.
Her coworkers began to look at her with increasingly strange, suspicious, and hostile eyes.
Liu Lu felt like she was isolated on a deserted island, surrounded by indifference and ridicule.
This feeling made her very uncomfortable, but she did not give up, believing that the truth would eventually come out.
By chance, Liu Lu overheard two coworkers whispering, and one of them mentioned the name "Ma Er".
Liu Lu's heart skipped a beat. Ma Er?
She remembered this person; he was a worker in the same workshop as her, usually quiet and unassuming.
However, Liu Lu remembers that Ma Er had shown obvious hostility towards her ever since she was promoted.
Could he be the one spreading rumors?
Liu Lu decided to test Ma Er.
The next day, she deliberately brought up the rumors in front of Ma Er to observe his reaction.
Sure enough, Ma Er's eyes flickered and his expression became somewhat unnatural after hearing this.
"These rumors are outrageous!" Liu Lu feigned righteous indignation. "I must find the mastermind behind this and clear my name!"
Upon hearing this, Ma Er's face turned even uglier. He chuckled dryly twice and said, "Yes, it's truly despicable..."
“Ma Er,” Liu Lu suddenly approached him, her gaze sharp as she stared into his eyes, “Do you know who spread these rumors?”
Ma Er was startled by Liu Lu's imposing manner, and he quickly shook his head: "I...I don't know..."
"You really don't know?" Liu Lu pressed on, "You'd better tell the truth, otherwise..."
"I really don't know!" Ma Er's voice trembled slightly. "Don't wrong an innocent person!"
Liu Lu stared at Ma Er for a long time, but in the end she didn't say anything more and turned to leave.
Although Ma Er vehemently denied it, she was almost certain that he was the mastermind behind spreading the rumors.
Just as she was about to report to the workshop director, Technician Sun quietly tugged at her sleeve and whispered in her ear, "Liu Lu, about this matter..."
Technician Sun lowered his voice, his tone tinged with caution: "Liu Lu, you have to use strategy in this, not brute force. Ma Er is petty and loves his pride. If you confront him directly, he'll definitely deny it. It's better to... start with his friends."
Liu Lu frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and felt that what Technician Sun said made sense.
Ma Er usually gets along well with Li Dazui in the workshop. Li Dazui is timid, cowardly, and greedy for small gains. Perhaps he can be the key to getting through to Li Dazui.
So Liu Lu began to intentionally or unintentionally get close to Li Dazui, occasionally giving him small favors.
As expected, Li Dazui took the bait and gradually became more enthusiastic towards Liu Lu.
After several attempts, Liu Lu finally found an opportunity to subtly inquire about the rumors.
At first, Li Dazui hesitated and refused to tell the truth.
But he couldn't resist Liu Lu's sweet talk and eventually revealed the truth.
It turns out that Ma Er was jealous of Liu Lu's promotion and raise, so he harbored resentment and fabricated rumors to spread everywhere in an attempt to ruin Liu Lu's reputation.
In order to curry favor with Ma Er, Li Dazui also added fuel to the fire and fueled the flames.
More importantly, Li Dazui also revealed a crucial piece of information: Ma Er wrote down the process of spreading rumors in his diary and hid it in a compartment of his toolbox.
Upon receiving this news, Liu Lu was overjoyed.
The next day, while Ma Er was away, Liu Lu secretly sneaked into the workshop and found Ma Er's toolbox.
Sure enough, a diary was found in the hidden compartment.
The diary details the entire process of Ma Er spreading rumors, as well as his various dark thoughts.
With the evidence in hand, Liu Lu immediately found the workshop director and handed him the diary.
After reading the diary, the workshop foreman turned ashen-faced and immediately convened a meeting with all the workers.
At the meeting, the workshop director read Ma Er's diary aloud and revealed the whole story to the public.
Ma Er's conspiracy was exposed, and he immediately became the target of everyone's criticism. His coworkers accused him one after another. He was ashamed and lowered his head, unable to say a word.
Looking at the disheveled Ma Er, Liu Lu felt no pleasure, but rather a sense of sorrow.
She slowly walked up to Ma Er and calmly said, "Ma Er, you are blinded by jealousy."
"You're a senior technician, yet you did something like this. I hope you learn from this experience, work diligently in the future, and don't do things that harm others and yourself again."
Ma Er was so ashamed that he couldn't lift his head. He choked out, "Liu Lu, I...I was wrong, I shouldn't have..."
The workshop foreman said sternly to Ma Er, "Considering this is your first offense, I'll give you a chance to reform this time. But if there's a next time, I will not tolerate it!"
After the truth came out, some of Liu Lu's coworkers apologized to her.
"Liu Lu, I'm sorry, we misunderstood you."
"We shouldn't believe the rumors and develop prejudices against you."
The previous misunderstandings about Liu Lu melted away like ice and snow.
Liu Lu smiled and accepted everyone's apologies, saying, "It's okay."
She was well aware of the principle of the superior yielding, and that once she had gained the moral advantage, there was no need to pursue the matter relentlessly, lest she suffer unnecessary losses.
After this incident, Liu Lu's prestige in the factory increased even more.
Liu Lu has gained more coworkers, and everyone admires her skills and character.
The project progressed more smoothly, and Liu Lu began to share her experience and skills with everyone without reservation.
One day, Liu Lu was instructing the new employee, Xiao Wang, on how to operate the machine when suddenly the factory's loudspeaker blared: "Comrade Liu Lu, please come to the factory manager's office immediately..." Liu Lu and Xiao Wang exchanged a puzzled look.
Liu Lu walked quickly toward the factory director's office, constantly guessing why the director wanted to see her.
Could there be a problem with the project?
still……
She pushed open the door to the factory director's office and saw Director Wang and several leaders sitting around a table with a model of the latest motor developed by their team on it.
"Liu Lu is here, please have a seat." Factory Director Wang warmly invited her to sit down, his face beaming with smiles. "I called you here today because I have some good news to tell you."
Liu Lu felt a little more at ease; it seemed like it wasn't a bad thing.
"After this period of hard work, our project has achieved phased results."
Factory Director Wang pointed to the motor model on the table, his tone full of pride, "This morning, city leaders came to inspect our project and gave it high praise, believing that our motor technology has reached the leading level in China."
Upon hearing this news, Liu Lu felt incredibly excited and thrilled.
During this period, she and her team members worked day and night and made tremendous efforts, and now they have finally gained recognition.
"This is all thanks to everyone," Liu Lu said modestly.
"As the project leader, you have made invaluable contributions." Director Wang looked at her appreciatively. "The city leaders also speak highly of you, saying that you are a backbone of our factory."
The other leaders also nodded in approval, and Liu Lu smiled with satisfaction.
“However…” Director Wang’s tone changed, and Liu Lu’s heart jumped again.
"Although the project has achieved some progress, it is still some distance from completion. The work ahead is even more important and challenging. I hope you can continue your efforts and strive to complete the project as soon as possible."
Liu Lu nodded solemnly: "Please rest assured, Factory Director, we will definitely live up to your expectations."
After the meeting, Liu Lu returned to the workshop and immediately convened a meeting with the team members to convey the factory manager's instructions.
Everyone was inspired and expressed their determination to continue their efforts and strive to complete the project as soon as possible.
In the following days, everyone worked overtime and devoted themselves to their work.
Thanks to everyone's joint efforts, the project is progressing very smoothly and is nearing completion.
However, at this moment, Liu Lu discovered a potential problem.
While inspecting the motor, she noticed that one of the parts seemed to be loose at a connection point.
Although this part is small, it is related to the stability and safety of the entire motor.
If this problem is not resolved, it could affect the quality of the entire project and even lead to serious consequences.
Liu Lu's heart sank. She immediately called a meeting with her team members and raised the issue.
"The connection of this part is indeed a bit loose, but I checked the drawings and process flow and found no problems," Technician Sun said with a frown.
"Could it be a problem with the materials?" another team member asked.
“We’ve checked the materials repeatedly, and there’s no problem.” Liu Lu shook her head, her mind filled with doubt.
"What could be the reason?" Everyone looked at each other, lost in thought.
Liu Lu looked at the motor model on the table, her brows furrowed, pondering a solution repeatedly.
Suddenly, her gaze fell on an inconspicuous corner of the motor...
"Wait a minute," Liu Lu suddenly stood up, pointing to that corner, "Let's take this place apart and see!"
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