Siheyuan: I just came across and wanted to chase me away

Chapter 828 Preparing for the Competition

Gu Nan smiled and said nonchalantly, "Master, I don't care about these. Reputation and other things are trivial matters. You are one of the few relatives I have. No matter where I am in the future, I will never forget your kindness to me. The friendship between us as master and disciple is much more important than those false reputations." Gu Nan's eyes were full of determination and sincerity, which made Ma Jiefang feel his sincerity.

Ma Jiefang was deeply moved by Gu Nan's sincere words. He looked at Gu Nan with a look of relief and a hint of worry. "But Yi Zhonghai..." he said. "He's a long-time employee at the factory and has a wide network of contacts. I'm worried something might go wrong."

Gu Nan nodded slightly, a confident smile on his face, and said, "Master, don't worry. Don't I know what Yi Zhonghai is thinking? Even if he has some thoughts in his mind, he will definitely not show them. Not only that, I will find a suitable excuse to give him a good beating and let him know that he can't do whatever he wants in the factory. In order not to affect the normal production of other workshops, I plan to start the rectification from your workshop tomorrow. What do you think?"

Ma Jiefang has always been very confident in Gu Nan's ability and decisiveness. He nodded and said, "Okay, since you have thought it through, I will go down and make arrangements. Don't worry, the first workshop will cooperate with you."

Gu Nan smiled and nodded, thinking that tomorrow would be the time to deal with Yi Zhonghai. He wanted to see what he could say to defend himself then.

Ma Jiefang returned to the workshop and saw Qin Huairu slacking off with a very lax attitude towards work. However, he didn't get angry immediately. After all, he would deal with her tomorrow, and getting angry now might even alert her.

The machines in the workshop roared, and the workers were busy at their respective posts. Ma Jiefang knew that production couldn't be interrupted rashly at this moment. If the machines were to stop suddenly, who knows how much production progress would be delayed and how much loss would be caused. So, he decided to wait until around noon when the workers were resting and the machines had stopped running before announcing the matter.

Finally, it was almost noon. With a sharp whistle, the workers stopped their work and the machines gradually stopped roaring. Ma Jiefang saw that the time had come, walked out of the office, stood in the middle of the workshop, and said in a loud voice: "Okay, now I have an announcement."

When the workers in a workshop heard the voice, they gathered around and looked at Ma Jiefang curiously, wondering what important announcement he was going to make.

Ma Jiefang cleared his throat, coughed, and then relayed Deputy Director Gu's orders in detail: "Starting tomorrow, the factory will conduct a comprehensive skills assessment. This not only affects your work performance, but also your salary, benefits, and job level. Remember, whether you can perform well at that time will depend on you. Everyone should take it seriously and show your true abilities."

After saying this, Ma Jiefang deliberately cast his gaze towards Qin Huairu and said meaningfully, "If some people don't perform as well as their nominal level, they will be beaten back. The factory doesn't support idlers. Everything depends on strength."

When Qin Huairu heard this, she immediately understood that this matter was directed at her. She wanted to open her mouth to refute a few words, but before she could say anything, she was blocked by Ma Jiefang's next words.

Ma Jiefang looked at everyone present and said seriously, "Also, everyone, listen carefully. If anyone asks for leave tomorrow, they will be demoted to apprentice status. No objections will be accepted. This assessment is crucial, and no one is allowed to make exceptions."

Qin Huairu had never imagined they'd guessed her intention to take leave. She knew that while she might be a first-class fitter, she was only an apprentice. Once the assessment began, she'd be exposed, but she couldn't take leave right now. What was she supposed to do? She was like an ant on a hot pan, pacing in circles, at a loss for what to do.

However, for every worry, there were others who were happy. Yi Zhonghai was undoubtedly the happiest. He secretly rejoiced. Although he didn't have the true skills of an eighth-level fitter, with years of accumulated experience, it would be easy for him to handle the seventh-level fitter assessment. He could already see himself standing out in the assessment and being recognized by his superiors, and a proud smile appeared on his face.

Yi Zhonghai's face was filled with irrepressible joy. Humming a little tune, he happily walked towards the cafeteria, ready to enjoy a good meal. Just as he was happily imagining the future, Qin Huairu hurried over, stopped him with an anxious look on her face, and said, "Uncle Yi, what do you think we should do about this skill assessment at our factory?"

Yi Zhonghai stopped, still smiling, he patted Qin Huairu on the shoulder and said, "This is a great thing, Qin Huairu. Think about it, if I perform well in this assessment, I can become a seventh-level fitter, and it is possible that I can be directly promoted to an eighth-level fitter. If that is really possible, jumping three levels at once, then the bicycle ticket for the steel rolling mill may belong to me." Yi Zhonghai's eyes flashed with excitement, as if the bicycle ticket was already in his hands.

Qin Huairu was naturally aware of Yi Zhonghai's abilities. He was indeed quite skilled in benchwork. But she still shook her head helplessly and said with a bitter face, "Uncle Yi, I'm different from you. You have excellent skills, so you're sure to get a promotion. But even though I'm a first-class benchworker now, I really don't have the ability to get a good score in the assessment."

Yi Zhonghai smiled and comforted him, "As long as you are careful and don't make any mistakes, everything will be fine. After all, the work of a first-level fitter is relatively simple. As long as you do it carefully, there shouldn't be any big problems."

Qin Huairu still had little confidence in herself after hearing what Yi Zhonghai said. She thought to herself that it seemed she could only hope that Yi Zhonghai could find a way to keep her job after he became an eighth-level fitter.

Yi Zhonghai was filled with joy and excitement, fidgeting with anxiety, eager for the competition to begin immediately. He was thinking to himself that when the time came, he would definitely use all his skills as a level 8 fitter to show everyone in the factory how good he was and see who would still criticize him.

At noon, the cafeteria was bustling with activity, with the skills review the main topic of discussion. Many workers were excited. After all, it had been a long time since their last performance review, and with the ongoing work experience, everyone had made some progress. They all hoped to prove themselves in this review and secure a promotion.