After passing her assessment, she was assigned to the second group of the South Workshop, first row, handling seven machines—four cotton, three synthetic fiber. This was different from her previous life. Could it be that her quick learning this time had changed the technician’s mind?

Luckily, her new post was just separated by a wall from the cotton cleaning workshop.

This suited her perfectly. To exact revenge, she needed to be close—within reach.

“Master, I was trained on pure cotton, and now you want me to handle synthetic fiber? I don’t know how!” Dai Qing admitted humbly. Synthetic fiber was tricky, with fibers sticking together. If not handled properly and the technician saw, it would mean deductions—both in points and pay.

“All carding machines are the same. Aside from cotton, you’ve got acrylic and synthetic fibers. Once you get started, it’ll come naturally. It’s not complicated,” the technician laughed, patting her on the shoulder as he led her to the new post.

The group leader of the second group was named Zhang, a chubby middle-aged man who also doubled as a mechanic. He looked like he had a good temper.

Since it was her first time handling the machines, and fearing something might go wrong, Group Leader Zhang stayed by her side, occasionally helping her when things got busy. It was clear that he was a kind-hearted person.

At the end of the shift, Zhang smiled and gave her a thumbs-up.

“Good job.”

“Thank you for your help, Group Leader.” Dai Qing replied modestly, but as she turned her head, she noticed Liu Ming walking over in a freshly changed white shirt.

“Group Leader Zhang, looks like you’ve got a new member in your group,” Liu said with a smirk.

“What’s a mechanic from the cotton cleaning workshop doing in the South Workshop?” Zhang gave him a sideways glance, clearly not fond of him.

“Come on, I’m just passing by after work. It’s the quickest way out,” Liu replied with a carefree grin. Then he turned to Dai Qing and said, “Hey, you look familiar. Have we met before?”

Hearing this, Dai Qing barely suppressed the urge to punch him in the face. She despised her former self for being so blind, thinking that this smooth-talking creep was someone worth caring about in her past life.

Before she could respond, Zhang snorted and cut him off.

“Liu Ming, you’re already twenty-five or twenty-six. Stop messing with the young girls. If anything happens, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Liu exaggeratedly patted his chest, “Don’t worry, Uncle Zhang, I never bully anyone, especially little sisters.”

His flippant attitude made everyone uncomfortable.

In her previous life, Dai Qing hadn’t stayed in the factory long, but she had heard plenty of gossip. There were always guys like him—smooth talkers who would hang out during breaks, making lewd jokes without a care in the world.

Dai Qing lowered her gaze, suppressing her emotions. Without saying a word, she turned and left. Even staying near this kind of person for a second disgusted her.

Even as she walked away, she could still feel that uncomfortable gaze on her back.

Liu Ming watched her, rubbing his chin and narrowing his eyes. “The new girl seems interesting.”

Now that she had her own post, the factory gave her two storage lockers—one for her clothes and water cup, and another for tools like brushes and scrapers.

Fortunately, the textile factory was close to her home, so she wore her work uniform to the factory and changed when she got home.

As she walked out the factory gate, she bumped into a group of uniformed men, led by none other than the tall guy who had collided with her earlier. Dai Qing deliberately glanced at his arm—she had heard it was injured, but now it seemed fully healed.

“Hao, what are you staring at?” someone asked.

Cheng Hao immediately recognized Dai Qing. Remembering her warning from that day, he couldn’t help but glance at his recently healed arm.

“Nothing. Just saw a little fortune teller,” he said with a smirk.