Deputy Factory Director Yang knew that the woman in front of him was not very bright, but there was nothing he could do. Since she had brought it up, he had to convince her and the others below her. He suggested, "Since that's the case, why don't you have a competition? Designing and selling clothes is too time-consuming. Let's compete in disassembling sewing machines. The ones we're using now are too precious to disassemble. Bring two old sewing machines from the warehouse for you to compete with." As he spoke, he told a few people to bring two baskets and the tools needed for disassembly. The people called upon went to bring over the sewing machines that hadn't been processed yet. Zhu Xiuling panicked when she heard this. A competition to disassemble sewing machines? Wasn't the consultant supposed to just drink tea and read the newspaper?
But it was too late to back out. The colleagues who carried the sewing machine had already returned. Deputy Factory Director Yang directed the four of them to place the sewing machine on the platform. Xia Liang also went up on stage, after all, the other person wanted to challenge her. Seeing that the two of them were on stage, Deputy Factory Director Yang said, "You two take the machine apart and put it in this basket. I will mix the parts together, and then you two will reassemble it. Whoever finishes first wins, and the consultant position can be renegotiated." Deputy Factory Director Yang didn't directly say that the winner would become the consultant, because if someone more familiar with the machine came to challenge them, it would cause a lot of trouble later.
Deputy Factory Director Yang told the two of them to each choose a machine. Xia Liang stood on the left-hand machine, but Zhu Xiuling shamelessly stood there too. Speechless, Xia Liang walked to the machine next to her. Zhu Xiuling tried to follow, but Deputy Factory Director Yang stopped her. Xia Liang thought to herself, "Is this person crazy?" Zhu Xiuling thought that Xia Liang's choice was probably right. She would choose whichever Xia Liang chose. She was sure Xia Liang knew what she was thinking, so she chose one first to confuse her, and the one she really wanted was the one later. But Deputy Factory Director Yang stopped her. Humph, he's just a deputy factory director. When she got back, she would definitely complain to her uncle.
After the two stood in position, Deputy Factory Director Yang asked, "Ready?" Xia Liang replied, "Ready." Zhu Xiuling, not to be outdone, echoed, "Ready!" She kept encouraging herself. Xia Liang knew nothing, spending her days drinking tea and reading newspapers, while she herself had at least worked in the workshop for a while. Before she could think further, Deputy Factory Director Yang shouted, "Start!" Zhu Xiuling was completely bewildered, unsure of what to grab or how to disassemble anything. Seeing her frantic attempts at handling things, everyone burst into laughter, saying, "She dares to challenge others with this? It's laughable!" Those around her echoed, "Exactly, exactly!" The mocking laughter reached Zhu Xiuling's ears, making her even more panicked. Distracted, she wanted to see Xia Liang make a fool of herself, but what she saw surprised her. Xia Liang turned the machine head around, loosened the two screws at the bottom with a screwdriver, and lifted the machine head off completely. Then, she quickly disassembled the machine, put all the parts into a basket, and Vice Factory Director Yang stepped forward, shook the basket a few times to scatter the parts, and asked Xia Liang to find them and put them back together. Xia Liang didn't even frown and quickly put them back together. Xia Liang also found a sewing kit and a small piece of experimental fabric, and sewed it right in front of everyone. There were no problems. Vice Factory Director Yang looked at Xia Liang with admiration, thinking that she was indeed the talent he had chosen. He then turned to look at Zhu Xiuling, who was standing there dumbfounded. Deputy Factory Director Yang said smugly, "Have you all seen this clearly? Comrade Xia is no ordinary person. She came to our factory for a competition when she was still working at her county's garment factory, and she won first place in the province. That's why Director Li and I decided to hire Comrade Xia Liang as our consultant. If anyone has any questions, just come to my office." With that, he turned and left the stage. Some of the audience recognized Xia Liang, having seen her during the competition. Others, who hadn't participated or hadn't ranked well, didn't know her and weren't as well-known. But today, everyone knew that their factory's consultant, Xia, was a very capable young woman. Not only was she highly skilled, but she was also personally promoted by the factory director and deputy director. In this way, Xia Liang became a celebrity. Meanwhile, Zhu Xiuling felt that everyone in the audience was talking about her and mocking her. Tears welled up in her eyes, and unable to hold back any longer, she covered her face and ran out of the factory gate. At first, no one paid much attention to her, but when they saw her run in the opposite direction from everyone else, they noticed the comrade who had just performed on stage. It was absolutely hilarious, and everyone started mocking her again. It's likely that Zhu Xiuling will spend the next month amidst everyone's ridicule and gossip.
After this competition, Xia Liang gained fame. Those who were jealous of her before, after witnessing her abilities and hearing about her previous achievements, all let go of their resentment. Xia Liang found that no one looked at her with envy, jealousy, or hatred anymore. This unexpected gain diluted her dissatisfaction with Zhu Xiuling's provocation. Zhu Xiuling was in a much worse situation. That day, she ran from the factory to her aunt's house, sobbing uncontrollably. Seeing her niece crying so pitifully, Huang Huiying quickly asked, "What's wrong? Who bullied you? Tell your aunt, and I'll get justice for you." Zhu Xiuling stammered for a long time, unable to speak, which worried Huang Huiying greatly. After a long while, Zhu Xiuling finally managed to say, "Aunt, that consultant at my uncle's factory bullied me." She didn't dare mention Deputy Factory Director Yang; after all, he was a deputy factory director, and she didn't dare offend him easily. As for Xia Liang, she was just a girl with no background. What good was a little ability? There were plenty of capable people in the world; one more wouldn't make a difference. And so, the trouble she had started turned into someone else bullying her, even stirring things up in front of Huang Huiying. Seeing that her aunt's expression wasn't good, but she showed no intention of standing up for her, she started adding fuel to the fire: "I heard that Xia Liang has a good relationship with Deputy Factory Director Yang. I wonder if that's why she still doesn't respect me even though she knows I'm her uncle's niece." This touched a nerve with Huang Huiying. She wondered if Deputy Factory Director Yang had designs on the factory director's position and was planning to deal with her husband, Old Li, by planting his own people in the factory. Thinking of this, a chill ran down her spine. Luckily, Xiuling discovered it in time; she had to tell Old Li immediately.
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