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

Chapter 1067 Deputy Factory Director Li's Plan is About to Begin

Deputy Factory Director Li sat in his swivel chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table. A cold smile curled at the corner of his mouth, a smile icy in its intensity: "The gossip in the factory is spreading like wildfire right now, like it's grown wings, from the workshop to the canteen, even Old Zhang, the gatekeeper, is gossiping. Everyone knows Gu Nan is capable, becoming a senior engineer at such a young age, but the more capable he is, the more people want to see him succeed."

He picked up his enamel mug and took a sip of tea, the tea leaves swirling in the water: "Those who joined in the clamor saying he cheated may not really believe it—who doesn't know that the assessment was overseen by the city bureau's expert team? They're just jealous and don't want a young upstart like him to climb too high. That's human nature; people just can't stand seeing others better than themselves."

Deputy Factory Director Li paused, leaned forward, and his tone suddenly became more forceful, each word sounding like it was hitting the ground: "Tomorrow, the city's top leaders will be coming to inspect the factory and listen to our work report. That will be the perfect opportunity to deal with him. Remember, make sure to create a big scene, get those veteran workers to block the office building entrance and cry foul, saying that Gu Nan abused his power to suppress dissent and cheat on performance evaluations. Make a big fuss and get it to the leaders' ears."

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes: "We must make the top leaders think that Gu Nan has character flaws, and no matter how good his skills are, it's useless. He's not fit to be the deputy factory director, much less to manage the factory's technological innovation!"

The subordinates nodded frantically, beads of sweat forming on their foreheads—they knew perfectly well that this was a crucial step for Deputy Director Li in his bid for the factory director's position. If he succeeded, Deputy Director Li would secure his position, and those of them who had followed him closely would at least be promoted to workshop director or section chief, with their influence rising accordingly. But if he failed, Gu Nan would not let it go easily; they might even lose their current positions as group leaders or staff members, and could be relegated to the most arduous and demanding waste processing workshop.

As night deepened, the office building of the steel rolling mill was pitch black, except for the light in Deputy Director Li's office. The glow of the old-fashioned incandescent bulb shone through the window, casting a rectangular patch of light on the floor, like an eye lurking in the shadows, watching the movements in the factory area intently, waiting for the coming storm.

Deputy Factory Director Li is really going all out now. He's even using his most trusted connections to secure the factory director position, and he even had someone deliver a gift to his old classmate at the Municipal Bureau. After all, this opportunity is too important—the old factory director is about to retire, and the higher-ups intend to choose between him and Gu Nan as his successor. If he misses this chance, he might never have such a good opportunity again.

He knew in his heart that he was inferior to Gu Nan in terms of technology and lacked the support of young people. He could only take a gamble with this method. If he failed, he would lose not only his position as factory director, but also his current position as deputy factory director. Gu Nan looked gentle, but he was very ruthless. He would definitely crush him and make him unable to hold his head up in the factory.

The wind outside the window swirled fallen leaves against the glass, making a rustling sound, but Deputy Factory Director Li was completely oblivious. He was staring at the factory map on the wall, his fingertips repeatedly stroking the area where the factory director's office was, his eyes almost overflowing with longing.

The night slipped away quietly in silence. As dawn broke outside the window, with a faint bluish-gray light, Gu Nan got up. He quietly dressed and went to the outer room, where he saw Ran Qiuye wearing an apron, busy at the stove. The iron pot sizzled, and the aroma of millet porridge wafted out.

"Several higher-ups from the steel mill will be coming to inspect our work today. I expect we'll be busy until very late, so you don't need to wait for me for dinner," he said softly, not wanting to wake the children who were still sleeping in the inner room.

Ran Qiuye paused in her hand holding the spatula, turned to look at him, her bangs damp from the steam, her eyes filled with barely concealed worry: "Could it be... because of your senior engineer job? There are so many rumors circulating outside, all sorts of things being said. Should we explain this to the boss beforehand, or ask a few of the older workers to put in a good word for us?"

Gu Nan walked over, patted her shoulder, and said frankly, "It's alright. Everyone in the factory has seen my abilities. The last time I repaired the production line and improved the rolling mill process—weren't those all real jobs? True gold fears no fire; there's nothing to be afraid of." He paused, then smiled. "Besides, the leaders have their own judgment; they won't just listen to gossip. I'm going to work now."

Ran Qiuye nodded, picked up a rag next to her, and carefully wiped the wrinkles that had accidentally gotten on his clothes. She then picked up a cloth bag from the stove, which contained two white steamed buns and a small bottle of pickled vegetables: "Be careful on the road, don't overwork yourself."

Gu Nan took the cloth bag, put it in his pocket, and turned to leave. The courtyard was quiet in the early morning, with only a few birds chirping. He knew that today he not only had to deal with the leaders' inspection, but also had several technical improvement plans to be finalized, and the debugging of the new equipment in the workshop was at a critical stage. It was destined to be a day that kept him constantly on the go.

Meanwhile, on Yi Zhonghai's side, before dawn, just as the rooster in the yard crowed its first crow, he got up an hour earlier than usual. He paced back and forth in the yard twice, his cotton shoes crunching softly on the frost-covered ground, but his heart was burning with unease—he had to take advantage of this inspection by the leaders to completely bring down Gu Nan, otherwise, once Gu Nan established himself with the title of senior engineer, all his hopes would be dashed.

He was about to take the Level 4 fitter exam, and he knew perfectly well that his skills were barely adequate. If Gu Nan interfered even slightly, he might not even be able to keep his current Level 5, let alone Level 4. If things really came to that, he wouldn't be able to hold his head up high at the steel mill, and even in the courtyard, those who used to fawn over him and call him "Grandpa" would probably change their attitude and laugh at him behind his back.

He walked out with a belly full of plans in his heart. Just as he reached the gate of the courtyard, he bumped into Qin Huairu, who was squatting by the stove adding firewood. The firelight reflected on her profile, making her look somewhat tired.

"Uncle Yi, why are you going so early today?" Qin Huairu peeked out and looked behind him, her eyes filled with a hint of doubt. "It's barely dawn, is there something urgent at the factory?"

Yi Zhonghai had something to hide, and his eyes darted away unconsciously. He waved his hand vaguely and said, "What's wrong? I just... I just wanted to go a little earlier to finish up the work I didn't complete yesterday, so that the boss wouldn't find fault with it during the inspection."

Qin Huairu felt that something was wrong with his expression. His eyes were wandering when he spoke, unlike his usual confident demeanor. But then she thought that Uncle Yi was a veteran in the factory, and it was never her place to interfere in his affairs. So she didn't ask any more questions, lowered her head and added more firewood to the stove, then turned and went back to the kitchen.