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

Yi Zhonghai stroked the stubble on his chin and pondered, "You have to go along with his temperament. He Yuzhu is like a mule that's easily swayed. If you praise his skills and abilities, he might actually take it to heart."

Qin Huairu's eyes darted around, and she grabbed Yi Zhonghai's arm, refusing to let go: "Uncle Yi, it's not enough for just me to speak up. You're an elder in the compound, so your words carry weight. You should also chime in and mention to him that Banggeng is sensible and capable, so that we can persuade him, right?"

Yi Zhonghai's mind raced—he couldn't afford to offend He Yuzhu now; the kid was close to Deputy Factory Director Li, and who knew when he might come in handy. He could use this opportunity to curry favor, making it easier to ask for favors later. So he nodded: "Alright, I'll keep an eye on it. You should go to work now; the factory's been cracking down lately, and I heard quite a few people have been called out for not meeting technical standards. Don't mess things up."

Qin Huairu's heart skipped a beat, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over her head. Yes, if Banggeng really went to the countryside, and she lost her job, what would become of her family, the old and the young? She dared not think any further and could only lower her head and walk towards the workshop, her steps becoming heavier.

On the other side, as soon as Gu Nan arrived at the steel rolling mill, he immediately instructed the communications officer to notify everyone: "Have all engineers assemble in the conference room. The meeting will begin in five minutes."

Once everyone had arrived, he stood at the front of the stage, his gaze sweeping over the twenty-odd people sitting below, his voice clear as a bell: "Today we won't be doing machine maintenance; instead, we'll have a cultural exam."

A murmur of discussion immediately arose from below, and some people nearly dropped their pens. Gu Nan ignored them and continued, "I know you are all truly capable, so this competition isn't about difficulty, but speed. The first few to hand in their papers will qualify for tomorrow's advancement assessment. Everyone will have the same questions; it's a fair competition."

"Let's begin. One hour." He gestured to his assistant to distribute the tickets, then found a chair in a corner and sat down, flipping through a technical manual in his hand while keeping an eye on the activity in the room.

The rustling sound of papers turning instantly filled the conference room. Some people were so nervous that their palms were sweating and their hands were trembling as they held their pens; others, on the other hand, confidently and quickly wrote, the nib gliding across the exam paper with a steady, rapid sound. In the corner, the veteran engineer, Master Wang, pushed up his reading glasses, looked at the questions on the exam paper, and a smile appeared on his lips—these questions looked basic, but they were all based on the principles most commonly used when repairing machines, testing real skills.

Gu Nan closed the book, watching the silent competition unfold before him, his eyes calm. If the steel mill wanted to keep up with the pace, it had to weed out those who were just coasting and promote the truly capable. This exam was just the beginning.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the blinds, casting neat streaks of light on the floor, like gold bars of varying lengths scattered across the ground. As the sun slowly slanted westward, the light spots moved like the hands of a clock, tracing subtle paths in the corners of the walls, as if silently counting down to the crucial technical assessment that would determine whether someone stayed or left. A tense atmosphere permeated the air.

Zhang Zhi gripped the exam paper tightly, his fingertips crumpling the edges, his palms slightly sweaty. He had originally thought that Gu Nan would deliberately make things difficult for him because he had previously sided with Liu Wen and caused him trouble at every turn. Unexpectedly, Gu Nan merely glanced at him indifferently and told him to place the exam paper on the corner of the table in the order of submission. His face showed no favoritism or harassment, and his eyes were as calm as a deep pool of water.

Gu Nan took a stack of test papers, neatly arranged them on the table, looked up at the seven or eight engineers in the room, and said in a clear and strong voice: "I will grade the papers here on the spot, and announce the scores in the order of submission. Let me make this clear from the beginning: there are only a few promotion spots this time, and only those who get full marks will be selected; if there is more than one full mark, they will be ranked according to the order of submission, and those who submitted earlier will have priority for promotion."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over everyone, and added, "If you feel that I might be biased in grading the papers, you can come and check the papers anytime after the results are out—the grading criteria for each question are written very clearly, including step points, formula points, and result points. Not a single point will be wrongly given or under-given."

Zhang Zhi didn't speak, just stood silently to the side, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing his cuffs. He knew that Gu Nan was known for his fairness in the factory, never ambiguous about technical matters; right was right, and wrong was wrong. Compared to Liu Wen, who always resorted to underhanded tactics and used technology as a bargaining chip, Gu Nan was indeed much more trustworthy. However, past grudges were like a thorn, always keeping him on edge.

Gu Nan picked up a red pen and began grading each paper. The scratching sound of the pen on the paper was particularly clear in the quiet room, each stroke striking a chord in everyone's heart. He read with extreme care, even checking the units after the formulas one by one. When he encountered a complex calculation problem, he would pick up a piece of scratch paper and recalculate it. Occasionally, he would pause, frown slightly, and ponder the question for a moment before solemnly writing the score at the beginning of the paper and then gently pushing it aside.

The papers of the previous engineers were graded one after another, with scores ranging from eighty to ninety-nine. The highest score was ninety-nine—a point was deducted because a crucial detail of "power off and test" was missing from the description of the steps in a practical question, preventing him from getting a perfect score. Zhang Zhi's heart jumped into his throat, and his back tightened slightly—he knew he had performed well, answering the written questions fluently and writing out the practical steps thoroughly, but he was really unsure whether he could actually get a perfect score.

Finally, it was his turn to take the test. Gu Nan opened it and started reading from the first question, his brow relaxed the entire time, occasionally making a checkmark next to the steps, clearly approving of the answer approach. When he saw the most difficult equipment modification question on the last page, he paused, his fingertip touching Zhang Zhi's modification plan, and the corners of his mouth seemed to turn up slightly. After a moment, he neatly wrote "100" at the beginning of the paper, put down his pen, looked up and smiled: "Alright, our Engineer Zhang Zhi also got a perfect score. According to the rules, since the first few didn't get a perfect score, this promotion spot is yours. Sorry to the rest of you, we'll have to wait for the next assessment."

Zhang Zhi was stunned, almost unable to believe his ears. His eyes widened slightly, and he subconsciously took a half-step forward to confirm that the bright red "100" at the beginning of the exam paper was real. He hadn't expected Gu Nan to actually put aside past grievances and decide the outcome based solely on the exam paper, giving him this genuine opportunity. At this moment, his previous hesitation about following Liu Wen completely vanished. He made up his mind to sever ties with Liu Wen from now on and work diligently under Gu Nan—only with such a leader who clearly distinguished between public and private matters could he truly focus on the technical aspects and not spend all his time worrying about those intricate details.