A screw on the valve in front of the young man who had been leading the race came loose and fell off. It rolled off the stage and stopped in front of the first row of the audience seats.
Su Wan picked up the screw at her feet and placed it on the table.
Although the problem was minor, it prevented the young man from proceeding further.
If he wanted to continue the competition, he had to find out which screw had fallen while blindfolded, and then find a screw of the same type from the toolbox and install it.
Even though his face was mostly hidden by the blindfold, the audience could still sense his nervousness.
A miss is as good as a mile.
With a “click,” the timer was paused.
Master Zhou on the side had already completed the task.
The sudden reversal and overtaking took everyone by surprise, and the audience was still in a daze. Li Chuchu quickly recovered and announced loudly, “Master Zhou is the first to complete the task!”
Master Zhou stood there with his hands behind his back, his blindfold still on. He looked proud and composed.
The professionals went up to check the valve installation and found it to be flawless. “There's no problem at all. Master Zhou is definitely the number one!”
Even the leaders were shocked by this dramatic turn of events. They never expected such a reversal in a competition program.
It had to be said that this competition was truly exciting.
Su Wan led the applause, and the venue was filled with clapping.
The members of Master Zhou's team cheered and hugged each other.
Factory Director Chen was extremely proud. He was happy no matter which employee won the first place. This was a great opportunity to gain face in front of several high - ranking leaders during the program. It might even have a better publicity effect than organizing a factory tour of Lotus Steel Factory. Being able to complete all these tasks blindfolded in less than five minutes demonstrated the technology and strength of the Lotus Steel Factory!
Master Zhou calmly stepped off the stage. When others came to congratulate him, he smiled and said, “I've been doing this job for decades. I'm just used to it. It's nothing special.”
However, the pride in his eyes was obvious.
He had started learning steel - making from his master at the age of fifteen, so he had every right to say so.
The following competitions were equally thrilling.
Judging from the expressions of the leaders, Li Chuchu guessed that the performance in this program should be satisfactory.
When the competition ended and the first, second, and third - place winners were announced, everyone held their certificates and their faces were beaming with joy.
The foreign journalist was quick - witted and immediately took a photo of this scene.
The next program was a choreographed dance “Tea - Picking Dancers” in which Zhu Yuxi participated.
When Zhu Yuxi took the stage, she was full of confidence.
As the music started, the tall and beautiful girls in identical costumes spread out on both sides of the stage.
The dance was lively and full of spirit. With some innovative parts, it attracted quite a few people's attention.
However, what Zhu Yuxi wanted at this moment was not just people's attention. She was eager for the foreign journalist to point his “cameras” at her.
She kept an eye on the foreign journalist out of the corner of her eye, and her anxiety grew.
As the first climax of the dance was about to end, why was he still standing there motionless?
Take the photo quickly!
She was extremely eager, and her movements became a bit more exaggerated.
She flung her arm out, and due to inertia, she fell forward. Losing her balance, she knelt on one knee on the stage.
This caused the whole audience to burst into laughter.
“She's quite strong!”
This was hardly a compliment.
Zhu Yuxi was both angry and embarrassed. Making a fool of herself in front of so many people was like a direct blow to her pride, which made her feel as if she was being killed. Finally, she left the stage with a sulky face.
Although there was a small mishap, Li Chuchu made a joke during the inter - program remarks, and everyone's attention was quickly diverted.
A good host knows how to divert the audience's attention and can smooth things over with just a few words.
Zhu Yuxi heard Li Chuchu's interaction with the audience backstage and gritted her teeth in anger.
This Li Chuchu was just taking the opportunity to mock her!
She'd teach Li Chuchu a lesson later!
...
When it came to the question - and - answer session with the foreign journalist, Li Chuchu invited him to come forward to show the respect of the Lotus Steel Factory. The foreign journalist, with blond hair and blue eyes, walked over with a camera on his shoulder. The lens was pointed straight at Li Chuchu, almost touching her face.
Li Chuchu frowned slightly. This kind of behavior was a bit impolite. But she still kept smiling.
“May I ask what the annual output of this steel plant is? What is the ranking of all steel mills in the nation?”
The foreign journalist rattled off a series of English questions, asking about the output of the Lotus Steel Factory and its ranking among all steel mills in the country.
Li Chuchu answered these questions fluently.
Everything was going smoothly. Just as Li Chuchu was about to end the conversation with the foreign journalist, he suddenly asked another question, which caught everyone off guard.
Even Liang Qiushi sat up straight immediately, his brows furrowed. Although he didn't understand what the journalist was saying, he remembered that there were originally only five questions. Any additional question might cause problems.
Factory Director Chen could only understand a little. The head of the foreign - affairs department sitting next to him quickly explained to him, “This foreigner said that he noticed that many processes in our factory still rely on a large amount of manual labor, and the degree of automation is very low. The energy consumption per ton of steel produced in our factory is more than twice that of steel mills in other countries, and the per - capita efficiency is less than one - tenth. Does this mean that our country's industrial system is very backward and inefficient?”
These words were extremely sharp and clearly a provocation.
The camera was pointed directly at Li Chuchu. As long as there was the slightest hint of hesitation in her answer, this interview video would immediately be spread abroad, and they might be criticized severely for their factory, their country, and their people.
Factory Director Chen realized the seriousness of the situation almost instantly, and his brows were knitted tightly.
This was not just a matter of whether Li Chuchu could understand the question. It was also related to the political situation.
Those who didn't understand were still watching the fun, while those who did understand had fallen into silence and anger.
How could this foreign journalist be so rude?
Everyone was worried about Li Chuchu.
Facing the foreign journalist's provocation, Li Chuchu still smiled and said, “First of all, thank you for your research. The phenomena you observed and the data you cited do, to some extent, reflect our current level of development. Our new industrial construction started late and with a weak foundation. We are not afraid to admit the objective gap between us and the world's advanced level.”
The foreign journalist showed a satisfied and smug look on his face.
The audience below looked indignant.
Wasn't this just exposing their own weaknesses?
This answer was so unconvincing. They had been laughed at by a foreigner, and it was really embarrassing today.
Factory Director Chen was lost in thought.