The appearance of a capable young deputy director at the Chuncheng Screw Factory immediately caught the attention of many other factory directors.

Many of them even started making fun of Wang Lisheng.

But while they were laughing at Wang Lisheng, Xie Changning was already discussing the issue of upgrading the existing equipment with him and the others.

As the factory’s funds were currently tight, Xie Changning focused her attention on the coal-fired furnace.

"Once this batch of screws is shipped, I suggest we modify our coal-fired furnace, sell it, and replace it with a salt bath furnace..." Xie Changning explained the difference between a salt bath furnace and a coal-fired one to Wang Lisheng and Li Guodong.

As she spoke, Xie Changning also laid out a vision for the future.

She mentioned that they would also replace the cold heading machines, thread rolling equipment, and more in the future.

Hearing this got Wang Lisheng and Li Guodong’s blood pumping. Both of them voiced their strong support for Xie Changning’s proposals, saying she just needed to tell them what to do.

They would do their best to make it happen.

Xie Changning’s suggestions were also aimed at increasing their factory’s core competitiveness.

Only with orders could the workers survive.

Xie Changning worked and ran experiments at the factory every day. At night, she would return home and enter her space to replenish her material stock. Meanwhile, her rice paddies had also ripened.

Xie Changning pressed the harvest button, and her space automatically began collecting the crops.

Then, the harvest was neatly stacked to one side of the laboratory.

[Build Warehouse: Wood x50 units, Iron x5 units]

[Warehouse: A place to store items. Can keep food fresh for long periods. Can grant food a random attribute +1. People who eat it will gain that attribute.]

Xie Changning: "!" ’A warehouse can also raise attribute points?’

’Is this really a space?’

Though curious, Xie Changning still placed 50 units of wood and 5 units of iron on the warehouse’s designated spot.

A white light flashed. Five seconds later, a dilapidated wooden warehouse with a leaky roof and covered in cobwebs appeared before Xie Changning.

"..." ’It didn’t require many materials, but what it gave me is way too crude.’

She silently looked at the upgrade option.

[Upgrade Warehouse: Wood x200 units, Iron x50 units, Stone x100 units]

This time, the material cost was more than just double.

Xie Changning looked at the warehouse. ’I’d better upgrade it,’ she thought. ’Otherwise, I have a feeling this place will be full of rats!’

However, now that she had rice, Xie Changning’s thoughts turned to a machine for milling it.

The unhusked rice needed to be milled, and the resulting rice bran could be used to feed animals.

[Do you want to build a rice mill? If so, go upgrade your workbench! The upgraded workbench comes with a free rice mill!]

The space really knew how to advertise.

Seeing that Xie Changning needed a rice mill, a notification immediately appeared, prompting her to upgrade her workbench.

The requirement for the workbench had now become [Upgrade Workbench: Diesel Engine x1].

She hadn’t yet managed to collect the materials for a whole diesel engine. As soon as she did, she would immediately assemble it and upgrade the workbench.

As she was pondering this, she noticed the drive belt to the side.

Only then did she remember that she hadn’t tested the drive belt yet.

The next morning, Xie Changning took the drive belt to the factory to test it. The machine roared to life, the belt started to roll, and Xie Changning observed it carefully.

Before long, Wang Lisheng and Li Guodong came over.

When the two saw the brand-new drive belt on the diesel engine, they couldn’t help but ask curiously, "Which factory produced this?" ’It looks high-spec and very sturdy!’

’It looks so durable!’

"I bought it from out of town. I was thinking of seeing if I could figure out its formula and then submit it to the Industrial Bureau for a bonus."

Xie Changning told a bald-faced lie.

Her words earned the approval of Wang Lisheng and Li Guodong, who both thought this was a viable path.

"You know, this belt is really excellent in every way. It might just work." After the machine stopped, Li Guodong inspected the belt for wear and tear and nodded at Xie Changning.

Xie Changning also felt that she had discovered a new material.

’Come to think of it,’ she thought, ’I could write out the formulas for everything on my workbench and take them to Director Zhao to negotiate for bonuses!’

After they finished talking about work, Wang Lisheng looked at Xie Changning. "Sister Changning, I heard your partner’s military unit didn’t approve you for family housing?" He often went to meetings, so he’d heard bits and pieces about it.

Xie Changning was surprised that word of this had already reached Wang Lisheng’s ears.

"Don’t overthink it. The people in the family housing complex are a mixed bag, so it’s normal for gossip to spread." Wang Lisheng explained to Xie Changning that the news hadn’t come from people in the military.

It was spread by people within the family housing complex itself.

Li Guodong frowned. "I remember that our factory has never filled all its deputy director positions, so the little villa where the previous old director lived is still vacant. Why don’t we have Sister Changning move there?"

All the cadres from the screw factory live there, and it’s right next to the workers’ dormitory building.

With so many people around, they could look out for her.

Xie Changning knew that deputy directors got better housing, but she never expected a little villa would be an option!

"It’s a house left over from the Cultural Revolution era. All the factory cadres live there, so you won’t have to worry about any unsavory characters. You should just move over." Wang Lisheng felt that Li Guodong had a point.

He nodded, preparing to file the application.

"I’ll approve it for you first, then have someone help clean it up tomorrow. You can move in after that."

"Right, and it’s close to the factory."

Xie Changning thought that saving on rent wasn’t a bad idea, so she planned to terminate her current rental agreement that evening.

When she got home, Xie Changning told Yue Yihan that she was going to move into the factory’s staff housing. Yue Yihan’s expression froze instantly. "Doesn’t that mean we’ll be farther apart?"

"No, isn’t our factory pretty close to your military base?" ’If anything, this place is the one that’s far, right?’

It took him an hour to get here and back by bicycle. 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

Getting to the screw factory would only take about thirty minutes, which was much closer.

Only then did it dawn on Yue Yihan.

"Okay, then. I’ll come back when you’re ready to move." A wave of guilt washed over Yue Yihan. ’If it weren’t for my incompetence, my wife wouldn’t have to move into factory housing.’

’She’d be living in my military family housing!’

(Xie Changning: ’Thanks for the thought! I want to live in the little villa!’)

The move happened as quickly as it was decided. The very next day, Xie Changning was notified that she could move, and Yue Yihan took a day off specifically to help.

This time, two soldiers that Yue Yihan had brought along were also there to help.

Upon seeing Xie Changning, they snapped into a military salute. "Sister-in-law!"

Their voices were so resonant they could probably be heard from three miles away.

Xie Changning thanked them and planned to have them stay for a meal at her new home after the move.

"Whoa! Sister-in-law, does the deputy director get treated this well?!"

The soldiers Yue Yihan brought couldn’t help but exclaim in amazement as soon as they entered the courtyard.

Even Yue Yihan hadn’t expected the housing assigned to Xie Changning by her factory to be so excellent. If it were him, he would choose this place too...

It was a three-story, Soviet-style villa with a small courtyard and a complete heating system for the winter.

Most importantly, it was spacious! Incredibly spacious!