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Of course, Cheng Yuanyue had her own plan.
Right now, selling these drafts for money wasn’t the best choice.
If she sold them cheap, she’d be at a loss. If she priced them too high, they wouldn’t buy.
Before securing an actual order, any negotiation was meaningless.
If a client really took a liking to her work, and she was present when that happened, she’d instantly gain leverage. Whether she chose to sell the designs or officially join the factory, she’d have far better bargaining chips.
“Director, I think her idea makes sense. If her drafts satisfy the clients, we can hire her as our designer. Even if the clients don’t like them, since we’ve already used her work, we shouldn’t let her walk away empty-handed. We should at least pay her a fee.”
“Alright, we’ll do as she suggests,” Director Ge immediately decided. “Miss Cheng, leave your drafts here for now. Come back in three days. Regardless of the result, we’ll give you some compensation—we won’t use your work for nothing.”
Cheng Yuanyue nodded. “Go ahead and use them, I’m in no rush.”
“Xiao Zheng, escort Miss Cheng out, and make sure to get her contact information so we can reach her when there’s news.”
Unwillingly, Xiao Zheng stood up. In her mind, A woman with no education, who only knows how to draw sketches, and the director treats her like a treasure? The factory really must be going downhill.
But outwardly, she forced a polite smile. “This way please, Miss Cheng. Please leave us your address.”
Cheng Yuanyue gave her village address and the village office’s phone number.
“Miss Cheng, you’ve certainly stolen the spotlight today,” Xiao Zheng said with a faint smile, her permed waves bouncing as she walked. “But no matter how well you draw, without education it’s useless to think about joining our factory. Your styles are worse than mine. Even my drafts were rejected by the clients—yours will surely meet the same end.
Still, don’t lose heart. The director promised you some compensation in three days, so at least your trip won’t be wasted.”
Some people, she thought with disdain, just want shortcuts. They think a few sketches can get them into the factory.
Cheng Yuanyue wasn’t naïve—she heard the scorn in Xiao Zheng’s tone. Calmly, she replied, “Whether the clients approve or not, that depends on them. Sister Zheng, your drafts must have had issues the clients didn’t like. Even if you graduated from a top school, if the clients aren’t satisfied, it doesn’t matter.”
She only wanted to test her luck, to see if she could get into the factory as a designer. If successful, she could leave the village and live independently. But this so-called designer trying to put her down? That, she wouldn’t accept.
In her past life, she had already endured plenty of snide, backhanded colleagues. Now that she had transmigrated, there was no way she’d put up with it again.
Xiao Zheng’s face instantly darkened.
This newcomer really didn’t know her place—daring to talk back to her?
“Miss Cheng, you certainly have confidence in your work. Well then, I’ll wish you great success in advance. Who knows, perhaps we’ll be colleagues in the future.” She sneered inwardly. A country bumpkin with no sense of propriety. I’ll see if your so-called designs can really pass muster.
“Thank you, Sister Zheng,” Cheng Yuanyue said sweetly, calling her “sister” with a demure smile. So polite and well-mannered that Xiao Zheng couldn’t even find an excuse to lash out.
“It’s getting late. I’ll see you out now,” Xiao Zheng said stiffly. Where do all these bumpkins get the nerve to compete for a designer’s job? She should just hurry back to her countryside home.
After leaving the factory, Cheng Yuanyue went straight to the bus station.
The bus was crowded and smelly, but she endured the discomfort for nearly two hours before arriving at the town. Then she walked another hour before finally reaching her village.
By the time she got home, the sky was already dark.
Seeing her return, Afang limped happily toward her. As a child, her foot had been injured, so she always ran slower than others.
Shen Xiuying hurried over as well, asking about what had happened in the city.
When she heard that someone had been injured, yet the Wu family wasn’t angry—in fact, they seemed happy—Shen Xiuying was baffled. “If the match fell through, why wouldn’t they be upset?”
“Ma, are you really that dense?” Cheng Jiafu said lazily from his lounge chair, fanning himself. “The man they introduced our sister to today was Wu Tianyou’s uncle’s dead rival. Now that he’s injured, his uncle has one less enemy. Of course he’s happy.”
Cheng Yuanyue stared straight at him, stepping closer. Word by word, she asked coldly, “So you knew exactly what would happen when the Wu family dragged me to the city today, didn’t you?”
Shen Xiuying quickly cut in, “Wasn’t it just a meeting?”
“What’s the big deal? Just sleeping together,” Cheng Jiafu replied carelessly. “You’re going to marry him anyway, so doing it early makes no difference…”
Of course, Cheng Jiafu understood what was really going on. At twenty-two, he wasn’t clueless about such things.
The words had barely left his mouth when—
Slap!
Cheng Yuanyue struck him across the face. “Cheng Jiafu, are you even human? You knew they had bad intentions, and as my brother, you feel no shame?”
Seeing her hit her eldest son, Shen Xiuying rushed forward to shield him, hand raised to strike her back. But Cheng Yuanyue caught her wrist, stopping her cold.
“For his sake, you were willing to marry me off to an old man—I swallowed that. For Wu Tianyou, I endured again. When Wu Shufang dragged me to the city to sleep with another man, you all knew full well, and no one stopped it.
In your eyes, sons are treasures, and daughters are nothing. Cheng Jiafu gets into trouble, and my marriage gets brought up three times as a solution. From now on, none of you dare use my marriage as leverage again. If you try, I’ll destroy Cheng Jiafu’s manhood and see if you still treasure him then!”
“You wretched girl! You went to the city once and now you’ve lost your mind!” Grandma Cheng stormed in, hearing the commotion. Seeing her dare to fight back, she snatched up a wooden stick to strike her.
But this time, Cheng Yuanyue didn’t play along. She wrested the stick from her and dashed into the kitchen.
When she emerged, a kitchen knife gleamed in her hand.
“I wasn’t joking. If anyone dares use my marriage to benefit Cheng Jiafu again, ask this knife if it agrees first.”
Cheng Jiafu froze, terrified. The sister who had always been obedient, never talking back—suddenly, she was threatening him with a knife.
He shrank behind Shen Xiuying, covering himself instinctively, his voice trembling. “Good sister, don’t be possessed by demons! The marriage talks were arranged by the family, not me. If you don’t agree, just refuse.
Please, put the knife down. If you hurt someone, it won’t be worth it. From now on, your marriage—our family won’t interfere, alright?”
But the whole time, his hands clutched his crotch in terror—afraid she really would cut off his “lifeline.”