Team Leader Wang was a balding man in his forties, with pale eyes and high cheekbones—he looked like someone difficult to get along with. The way he crossed his arms and sized people up was enough to irritate anyone.

Suppressing her discomfort, Dai Qing nodded slightly and greeted him politely.

“It’s better to offend a noble person than a petty one.”

Wang merely grunted in acknowledgment and called over Wei Hong.

“Here, I’m assigning you an apprentice. Train her well and get her up to speed quickly.”

Wei Hong, wearing a face mask, nodded and laughed loudly, “An apprentice to help me with the work? That’s a good thing.”

The machines in the workshop were so noisy that everyone spoke louder than usual to be heard.

“Master Wei, I’m Dai Qing. Please guide me.”

“No big deal. As long as you work hard and learn, you’ll pick it up quickly,” Wei Hong waved it off, her carefree attitude unchanged from the past.

“The combing machine in our workshop is divided into three groups,” explained Accountant Cui. “Group one focuses on pure cotton, group two on acrylic and rayon, and group three on long-staple cotton. The machines are the same. First, learn from Master Wei—she was last year’s top worker. Once you’re trained, we’ll assign you a position.”

“Thank you, Accountant Cui. I’ll do my best.”

Although Dai Qing had already mastered the machines in her past life, she knew she’d need time to get back into it after all these years.

As an apprentice, her salary was halved. She understood that her pay would only increase once she could work independently, so she didn’t ask further.

Their shifts were divided into three rotations: two days on day shift, two on evening shift, two on night shift, followed by two days off.

When she reached the workstation with Master Wei, they started with an introduction to the combing machine. The buttons were color-coded: red for the power switch, yellow for pause and slow down, and green for the fast speed.

Once Dai Qing was familiar with the buttons, her next task was cleaning the machine.

The cotton mill was filled with airborne cotton fibers and impurities. Every 30 minutes, the machines had to be cleaned. If it got too dirty and a technician noticed, there would be fines.

Armed with a brush and a rag, her apprenticeship officially began.

Seeing Dai Qing working methodically, Wei Hong smiled and went back to minding the machines, occasionally checking on her.

At lunchtime, they shut down the machines. Wei Hong wiped the cotton fibers off herself with a sponge and asked, “Did you bring lunch?”

“No, it’s my first day. I didn’t prepare anything. I was thinking of checking out the cafeteria.”

“Then hurry up. If you go late, the crowd’s going to be too much for a young girl like you to push through.”

Dai Qing nodded and quickly headed to the cafeteria. With thousands of workers in the factory but only two dining halls—one halal and one general—the lines could get long.

Even though many brought their own food from home, the cafeteria was still busy.

To get there, Dai Qing had to pass through the corridor on the first floor of the office building. As she walked, she noticed a group of security guards in dark blue uniforms rushing by.

“Hurry, get to the north gate! Those jerks from the Textile World dared to provoke us at our own factory gate, holding up our shipments. They even attacked Brother Hao! Let’s see if I don’t beat them to death!”

“Is it true that Brother Hao was injured?”

“Yeah, the other guy had a weapon. Brother Hao got slashed in the arm and has already been taken to the hospital…”

Watching the group disappear into the distance, Dai Qing pressed her lips together. This was a classic case of not listening to the advice of the experienced. Well, it seems fate has its way of teaching lessons.