Traveling back to 1966, starting by living in a cowshed.

Chapter 190 Wang Jianjun's Troubles

When work was mentioned, Wang Jianjun's smile instantly faded. He picked up his teacup, took a sip, frowned slightly, and sighed deeply: "Sigh, what else can I do? Just odd jobs in the technical department."

Su Guohua looked at him, her tone concerned: "Jianjun, how's work at the factory? Is it tiring? Are your colleagues easy to get along with?"

Wang Jianjun put down his teacup, his fingers unconsciously stroking the rim, and said with a hint of melancholy and helplessness in his eyes:

"Being tired is secondary; what's really bothering me is the feeling of tightness in my chest. Second Uncle, Brother-in-law, you've just returned from Hong Kong, so you might not know what the situation was like on the mainland a few years ago."

Back then, the wind picked up and the college entrance exams were suspended. Later, a policy of recommending people for university admission was introduced. Workers, farmers, and soldiers, as long as they met the requirements, could be recommended to university. Everyone called it the Workers-Peasants-Soldier University.

He paused, his tone tinged with self-deprecation: "I was recommended to go to university from my village, and I even graduated from a worker-peasant-soldier university, majoring in mechanical engineering."

I had hoped to make a good career in the factory after graduation, but after joining the technical department, I realized it wasn't like that at all.

Lin Zhou raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue. Wang Jianjun took a deep breath, as if he had finally found an outlet for his pent-up grievances.

"Most of my colleagues in the technical department are college graduates who were exonerated and reinstated to normal work. They are senior technicians in the factory, with extensive experience and solid skills."

Several others graduated after the resumption of the college entrance examination. They looked down on us, graduates of worker-peasant-soldier universities, thinking we got in through connections, lacked real skills, and just got a diploma without real knowledge.

His voice lowered, carrying an undisguised bitterness as he spoke:

"When I first joined the factory's technical department, I thought I would do my best, learn more, and do more work so that I could gain everyone's recognition."

"But to my surprise, no matter how hard I try, they treat me like an outsider. During meetings, they either deliberately don't call on me, or no one pays attention to me when I speak."

Sometimes when I proactively ask them questions, they either give vague answers or bluntly say, "You wouldn't understand even if I asked," and the contempt in their tone is obvious to everyone.

Su Guohua frowned, his tone tinged with anger: "How can you bully people like this? So what if you graduated from a worker-peasant-soldier university? Being able to go there proves you're capable. Besides, jobs are about ability, not diplomas!"

"Second Uncle, that's what they say, but that's not what they think," Wang Jianjun said with a wry smile.

"In their eyes, the Workers-Peasants-Soldiers University was a synonym for 'fake' university. They thought we got in through connections and backdoors and didn't learn anything real."

"Actually, I worked really hard when I was in school. I spent every day in the library and the laboratory, just thinking about learning more knowledge so that it could be useful in the future. But when I got to the factory, no one saw any of my efforts."

Lin Zhou held the teacup, tapping the inside of it lightly with his fingers. His face remained expressionless, but his eyes held a thoughtful look.

He certainly knew about this kind of thing; the situation Wang Jianjun described was not uncommon in China during this era.

After the resumption of the college entrance examination, graduates who entered university through the formal examination did indeed have prejudices against students from worker-peasant-soldier universities, feeling that their diplomas were not "valuable" enough. This prejudice often translated into exclusion and isolation in the workplace.

"It's not just me who's being isolated. Whenever there's a difficult job or a job that nobody else wants to do in the factory, I'm the first person they think of."

Wang Jianjun's voice carried a hint of suppressed anger!

"People always make excuses for those dirty, tiring, and thankless jobs, such as repairing old equipment or fixing machine malfunctions."

"The section chief would say, 'Wang Jianjun, go and handle this.' Every time, I had no choice but to bite the bullet and work overtime, sometimes not getting home until midnight. Like today, it was supposed to be my day off, but they insisted I go to the factory to work."

He paused, his tone full of grievance: "But no matter how well I do, I never get a word of praise, let alone any honors or awards."

The factory has quotas for performance evaluation and awards, but I never get a chance, even if I do more work or work harder than others. Those quotas are always reserved for senior technicians in the department or young people who have graduated from regular universities.

Sometimes, if I don't do my job perfectly or make a small mistake, my section chief will criticize me in front of everyone, saying very harsh things, as if I've committed a terrible error.

Su Guohua's face darkened as he listened: "This is outrageous! They think of you when it comes to work, but throw you aside when it comes to benefits. Isn't this blatant bullying? Haven't you reported this to the higher-ups?"

"What's the use of reporting it?" Wang Jianjun shook his head, his eyes filled with despair. "The section chief looks down on the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. Every time I tell him about my colleagues ostracizing me, he says I'm overthinking it."

"They also said I should look for the reasons within myself, whether my skills are not good enough, or whether there are problems with my interpersonal relationships."

"Over time, I got tired of talking about it. It was pointless to talk about it anyway, and they would just say I was petty and a tattletale."

He picked up the teacup and drank the tea in one gulp, as if to cheer himself up or to vent his frustration.

"They did this on purpose, hoping I would find it unbearable and leave the factory on my own."

"Sometimes they would chat in the office and deliberately say sarcastic things, such as, 'Some people are just occupying positions without doing anything, they have no ability but still hang around in the technical department,' or 'Some people's diplomas are just for show, they are nothing when it comes to actually doing the work.' They were talking about me, whether openly or indirectly."

Lin Zhou frowned, feeling indignant on Wang Jianjun's behalf.

Through his interactions with Wang Jianjun, Lin Zhou sensed that he wasn't the kind of person who was lazy and just coasted along. From his tone of voice and his eyes, it was clear that he was ambitious and wanted to work hard at the factory.

But to encounter such an environment, with colleagues ostracizing you and leaders not valuing you, you have a lot of skills but nowhere to use them. Anyone would feel frustrated in that situation.

"Have you ever thought about changing jobs?" Lin Zhou asked. "With your skills, you might have better opportunities if you moved to a different place."

Wang Jianjun gave a wry smile:

"Changing jobs isn't that easy. In today's society, getting into a big factory like the Sijiucheng Machinery Factory is something many people envy. It's stable, and the pay is better than in ordinary companies."

My family is not well-off. I have elderly parents to support and young children to raise. If I quit my job, I won't be able to find a suitable job for a while, and the livelihood of my whole family will be in trouble.

Besides, I was also resentful. Why should I leave just because they ostracized me? I wanted to prove to them that I, Wang Jianjun, wasn't a coward, and that I was capable of doing a good job!

By the end, his voice was choked with emotion, and his eyes were filled with resentment and grievance.

Over the years, he had suffered too many grievances at the factory, but he never told Su Wanrong about them, afraid that she would worry, so he could only bear it all by himself.

Today, in front of Lin Zhou and Su Guohua, he finally couldn't hold back and poured out all the bitterness in his heart.

Su Guohua patted him on the shoulder and said in a heavy tone, "Jianjun, I'm sorry you had to go through all this. You're a good man, able to endure for so long and still so ambitious, it's not easy."

Lin Zhou looked at Wang Jianjun and had an idea in mind.

Given Wang Jianjun's abilities, he has no chance of development in this environment that excludes him. Rather than letting him waste his time here, it would be better to point him out a better way out.

With increasingly open policies and government encouragement for individuals to start their own businesses, Wang Jianjun's skills could potentially lead to great success if he were to start his own business.

However, he couldn't say these things too clearly right now; he had to guide Wang Jianjun slowly so that he would realize it himself.

He picked up his teacup and smiled at Wang Jianjun:

"Brother-in-law, don't be too discouraged. Gold always shines. Everyone can see your abilities; you just haven't encountered the right opportunity yet."

Don't worry, I'm here for you from now on. I won't let you suffer anymore.

Looking into Lin Zhou's determined eyes, Wang Jianjun felt a surge of warmth in his heart.

If Lin Zhou genuinely wanted to help him, he felt much more at ease, since it was also a fallback plan.