"That Li Chuchu is the daughter of our former factory belle. How could she be ugly?"
"Ah, no wonder!"
As the show started, all the leaders took their seats in the auditorium.
The front row was filled to capacity. Factory Director Chen shook hands and greeted the leaders one by one.
To Li Chuchu's surprise, she saw an acquaintance here.
Su Wan.
He was sitting in front of the nameplate of the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee. When he saw Li Chuchu, his refined and reserved face suddenly froze for a moment, then he nodded slightly at her.
This year, the output of the steel factory had increased, and it had also reached a cooperation with a foreign company.
The higher - level leaders attached great importance to the Lotus Steel Factory. Even the Secretary of the Municipal Party Committee had come in person to attend the Mid - Autumn Festival party. This was a great honor for the Lotus Factory.
Li Chuchu suppressed her excitement.
She began her speech.
"The autumn breeze is refreshing, and the osmanthus is fragrant. It's another year of good flowers and a full moon! The steel flowers are shining brightly, and the blast furnaces are towering. Our Lotus Steel Factory has also received frequent good news and welcomed one harvest after another on the production line! Tonight, we temporarily bid farewell to the roaring machine tools and the scalding steel water, and gather in this staff auditorium to celebrate this reunion festival!"
Her voice was as pleasant as the one heard on the radio on ordinary days.
Her enunciation was clear, her speech speed was moderate, and her key points were well - defined.
Even the most boring clichés sounded extremely pleasant when spoken from her mouth.
First, the factory director took the stage to give a speech, and then several leaders spoke in turn.
Immediately afterwards, the shows of the night began.
The first few chorus and solo performances were the same old stuff, and everyone was already bored with them. The most attractive one must be the newly - added competition show this year.
As soon as the show started,
the audience in the seats were at odds with each other. Many people were holding screws and valves in their hands, nervously rubbing them to feel their texture. Seeing this, some people joked with them, "Are you sharpening your guns just before the battle? How can you compete like this?"
A few young men blushed at the words and retorted defiantly, "So what? Sharpening the gun before the battle, even if it's not sharp, it'll at least be shiny. Maybe we'll win a prize for our group!"
"Hey, isn't that a bit too early to say? With Master Zhou in this competition, it won't be that easy for you to win." It was good for young people to be ambitious, but they should also take a look at their own strength.
Master Zhou, sitting beside them, remained motionless, as steady as a mountain.
While everyone else was busy in a frenzy, he was closing his eyes to rest.
Seeing this, the young people beside him showed dissatisfaction in their eyes. No matter how good Master Zhou was, he was old. The competition was about to start, and he was still dozing off.
When it came to quick reactions, it was still the young people who had the upper hand.
However, they didn't dare to say this directly in front of Master Zhou,
otherwise, they would seem too arrogant.
They were determined to show their prowess later and teach everyone a lesson.
The eager minds of the young people were written all over their faces. Even before the competition started, the open and covert struggles had already begun.
Zhu Yuxi was hiding backstage, secretly observing the reactions of the audience.
Sure enough, as she had expected, before this show, everyone was waiting for this competition, and no one was paying attention to the dance on the stage.
So she had arranged her dance performance later.
By then, the competition would be over, and everyone could focus on watching the dance. Moreover, that foreign journalist should have already arrived. She scanned the back of the audience and finally saw the foreign journalist carrying a camera.
Her eyes lit up.
He had really come!
She stepped backstage and proudly announced to her dance partners, "Perform well later. Maybe our show will be on a foreign newspaper."
"What?!"
Her dance partner was overjoyed. "Sister Yuxi, you're amazing! You can even deal with foreign journalists. Is he really going to film us later?"
Zhu Yuxi raised her head proudly and said, "Of course! These foreigners come to our factory to collect materials and want to see the appearance of our factory. I told him that the dance team of our factory's art and publicity team has won the first prize every year. As long as we perform at our usual level, we will definitely make it onto the newspaper."
The people who were going to perform with Zhu Yuxi were all overjoyed. This was a great opportunity to be in the newspaper!
For a moment,
compliments were pouring towards Zhu Yuxi as if they were free.
Zhu Yuxi was so proud that she was already carried away.
...
Li Chuchu was looking at the host's manuscript in her hand.
There was also a sheet given to her by Liang Qiushi about the questions for the foreign interview. And the standard answers had already been edited and written below the questions.
Li Chuchu glanced at them. Most of them were formulaic questions.
The main requirement was to answer in English. For most people who had never learned English, it would be very difficult to copy the answers even if they were right in front of them. But for Li Chuchu, it was nothing.
She had already memorized these answers by heart.
Looking up again,
she smiled brightly. "The next show is the long - awaited 'Labor Skill Competition' - 'Blind - folded Valve Installation'! Let's see which workshop's fitter has the fastest hands! Welcome all the contestants to the stage!"
The scene shifted,
and there were more than thirty people standing on the stage.
An identical set of equipment was placed in front of each of them. Everyone put on their blindfolds and waited in full readiness, as if facing a great enemy.
Li Chuchu held a timer in her hand.
"Three, two, one... Start!"
The actions on the stage suddenly began.
Everyone was in a hurry but also in an orderly manner.
It was clearly the rough work they usually did, but when it was formally put on the stage, it seemed to have become a unique skill.
Especially after the contestants put on the blindfolds,
it added a sense of tension and excitement to the show.
The audience below was extremely nervous. When they saw a contestant occasionally pick up the wrong part or couldn't find the tool right beside them, they even wanted to run onto the stage and tell them.
One minute on the stage requires ten years of practice off the stage.
The audience below felt that they couldn't keep their eyes on everything. They felt that one contestant's hands were fast, and another's were more steady.
Several big leaders were also attracted. They had been lazily leaning on the back of their chairs, but suddenly they sat up straight.
The young man with relatively fast hands had already taken the lead over the others. It seemed that he was about to finish soon, and the people in his group let out loud cheers.
On the contrary, Master Zhou,
his movements were as smooth as flowing clouds. Even with his eyes blindfolded, he seemed to be able to see. He made no mistakes at all, and every screw was fixed meticulously.
His movements were simply a pleasure to watch.
However,
he was just one step slower than the young man.
Many people let out a sigh of regret. It seemed that Master Zhou could only get the second place today.
The people in the same workshop as Master Zhou were all holding their breath. They couldn't help but urge Master Zhou in their hearts to go a little faster!
If he could just be a few seconds faster, he could get the first place!
If that young man really took the first place, no one knew how many days he would brag about it.
But Master Zhou just worked at his usual speed, as if he was doing his normal work...
The competition on the stage reached a fever - pitch stage. The audience below didn't even dare to breathe, and their eyes were fixed on the scene on the stage.
However,
just when the result was about to be decided,
something unexpected happened...