The golden sponge cake, wrapped in oiled paper, emitted a faint, enticing aroma. Its mere appearance was enough to whet one’s appetite.

What made the sponge cake even more precious was that it could only be obtained with either non-staple food coupons or pastry tickets. For ordinary families, even getting a taste of it was a rare treat.

Chen Qing took a slight step back, raised her eyes to look at Yang Xiujin, and said, “I’m full today and don’t feel like eating. You have it.”

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?” Yang Xiujin’s brow furrowed slightly as he observed her with concern.

The girl’s black hair was braided into two pigtails that hung in front of her. Loose strands brushed against her jade-like cheeks, highlighting her bright eyes, pearly teeth, and snow-white skin.

She was the undisputed factory beauty!

“I’m full.”

Chen Qing repeated, her tone flat.

Thanks to the original host’s unpredictable temperament, her cold demeanor toward Yang Xiujin didn’t seem out of place.

Yang Xiujin adjusted his glasses with his fingers and said gently, “If you don’t feel like eating it now, I’ll set it aside for later. Just let me know whenever you’d like to have it.”

His voice was soft, and his attitude was impeccable.

Chen Qing didn’t even bother to give him a glance.

Behind her, Yang Xiujin sighed softly, rewrapped the sponge cake, and looked somewhat dejected.

Chen Qing had always been a hot topic of discussion in the factory. Seeing her boss Yang Xiujin around so imperiously, some initially felt that a man with children, already 27 years old—practically ancient—was no match for the 19-year-old Chen Qing. But as time went on, more and more people began to feel sorry for Yang Xiujin.

He was so devoted, yet Chen Qing treated him like this!

It was just too much!

“That Chen Qing has nothing going for her except her looks. Director Yang, on the other hand, is the head of the logistics department at such a young age, with a bright future ahead. How can she treat him so poorly?”

“They call her the factory beauty, but besides Director Yang, who else would pursue her? She mistreats her nephew and niece, dresses flamboyantly every day, and is so restless—no decent family would want a girl like that.”

“Exactly! I don’t know what she has to be so proud about!”

…

Amid the hushed discussions, Yang Xiujin’s eyes flickered with emotion. He followed behind Chen Qing, looking sorrowful as they entered the factory gate.

The gate of Linhai Machinery Factory was made of heavy iron railings, with a large iron plaque hanging on it. The plaque was painted with red letters that read: “Linhai Machinery Factory.”

The factory committee office was located on the left side of the gate, a three-story office building.

The third floor belonged to senior leadership.

The second floor was for the labor union.

The first floor housed the Women’s Federation and the offices of various department heads.

On the second floor, there were six offices in total. Chen Qing’s office was the innermost one.

As soon as she stepped inside, Factory Committee Director Liu snorted coldly.

Chen Qing was mentally prepared and calmly took her seat at her desk. She even picked up her enamel water cup, poured herself a cup of hot water, and placed it on the desk.

“Ahem!”

Director Liu coughed heavily.

All eight people in the office turned to look at him.

“Morning meeting starts now. Pay attention.”

He rapped the table loudly with his enamel cup.

The office was sparsely furnished, without even a blackboard. Director Liu’s desk was the largest, positioned at the front of the eight desks like a teacher’s podium, giving him a commanding view of everyone.

Director Liu glanced pointedly at Chen Qing. Seeing her clear, calm eyes fixed on him, he finally felt slightly appeased. “Leadership has assigned three tasks to our factory committee. First, collect the seniority records of veteran employees. Make sure to prevent any false reporting of work years.

Second: Army Day is approaching. We need to organize a martial arts competition. Who among you will notify the workshops, collect registration forms, set up the competition stage, arrange for a host, and coordinate with the logistics department for prizes…”

Hearing the long list of tasks, Chen Qing couldn’t help but grumble inwardly: Bosses are all the same, no matter where you go!

When others say “by the way,” it usually means a minor, convenient task.

But when they say “by the way,” they’re actually sending you on a winding, mountainous path with eighteen bends.

“Everyone, pay attention!”

Director Liu knocked on the table discontentedly.

As he shook with force, a few strands of hair on his head trembled slightly.

Seeing that Director Liu was already balding, Chen Qing decided not to argue further. She propped her chin in her hand and listened attentively to his task assignments.

“Third, our machinery factory will host a small welcome party for scientific research talents in five days. We also need to win over these technical experts, to let them know that Linhai Machinery Factory is absolutely their best choice.”

Nowadays, there was competition between factories.

The focus was usually on the top few, because those at the bottom tended to slack off. Linhai Machinery Factory was ranked fourth nationwide—a middling position that was neither here nor there. The factory director was eager to break into the top three, as even just being in the top three sounded better.

To achieve that, they needed results.

Where would those results come from?

Naturally, from the R&D personnel developing products better suited to the market, enabling them to outsell other machinery factories.

Therefore, recruiting these scientific talents was absolutely crucial!

It was standard practice for such tasks to fall to the factory committee. Chen Qing had no experience organizing parties and had no intention of getting involved. However, Director Liu had other plans.

“Comrade Chen Qing.”

Director Liu called out.

Chen Qing stood up: “Director, please go ahead.”

“Leadership has appointed you as the person in charge of the welcome party. We hope you’ll perform well.”

“Me?”

Chen Qing found this rather amusing.

The original host was famously incompetent. No matter how you looked at it, such a major responsibility shouldn’t have fallen on her.

After all, the labor union had six teams, and there were plenty of people eager to prove themselves. How could this task possibly end up with her?

Everyone in the office also looked at Chen Qing strangely—some with schadenfreude, others with dissatisfaction.

But for the moment, no one spoke, waiting for Director Liu’s explanation.

As the leader overseeing all six teams, he surely knew who was more suitable for the task.

Director Liu nodded solemnly: “Yes.”

Rumor had it that one of the researchers had a fondness for attractive female comrades. The factory director had specifically requested that the “factory beauty” take charge so that Chen Qing could be introduced during mealtimes.

Ideally, she’d even perform—regardless of what happened afterward, the priority was to lure the talent in. Otherwise, such an important task would never have been assigned to someone so unreliable!

Chen Qing smiled: “I won’t do it.”

Her smile was radiant, so beautiful that it seemed to brighten the entire room.

Yet, those very same lovely lips had uttered such words.

“Chen Qing!” Director Liu roared.

Through the window’s light, Chen Qing clearly saw two strands of black hair drift slowly from Director Liu’s head.

She mourned his hair for two seconds.

“Chen Qing!” Director Liu felt he would sooner or later be driven to an early grave by her. “The factory leadership thinks so highly of you. Don’t you know how to be grateful?”

“But I don’t know how to organize a party.”

Chen Qing was speechless.

Seeing her slightly relenting attitude, Director Liu softened his tone: “I’ll assign you helpers. They’ll assist you. Organizing a party isn’t that difficult—just arrange five performances and prepare a good meal for them.”

“Only if you let me choose who I work with will I agree to take on this task.”

“Who do you want?”

“Tian Mengya.”

The only daughter of Deputy Director Tian of the machinery factory.