Xie Changning had fired up the crowd.

They couldn’t find the words to describe how they felt, but they knew one thing: they wanted to stand on the world stage!

They wanted to show the world that China had incredible fitters! Welders! All kinds of skilled workers!

Their technology wasn’t that far behind!

The more they thought about it, the more fervent their gazes on Xie Changning became.

"Consultant Xiao Xie, we’ll listen to you! We want to stand on the world stage! We want to compete in that... Olym... something!" The workers, who had never heard of the competition, couldn’t pronounce "Olympics."

But they knew there was a competition that represented the world stage.

And their goal was to be world-class!

Xie Changning nodded, caught up in their enthusiasm. "Alright, then. First, let me get a sense of your skills. What are your specialties?"

In the factory, skill was what earned you respect.

In truth, Xie Changning had earned the right to be called Mr. Xie within the factory, but everyone was used to calling her "Consultant," so the director never corrected them.

Director Li and Wang Lisheng stood a short distance away, watching the group huddled together. He couldn’t help but remark, "Youths, full of energy. By the way, have you heard of that competition? The Olym... something-or-other?"

"The Olympics!"

Wang Lisheng announced proudly.

He hadn’t known either, in fact. He only knew because he had seen Xie Changning write the word down in the car earlier.

Since Director Li didn’t know, Wang Lisheng felt a peculiar sense of pride.

’He knew more than Director Li!’

’Heh heh!’

’The old codger can’t compare to me!’

Sensing Wang Lisheng’s smugness, Director Li retorted irritably, "Oh, so you know everything, do you? If I’d spent as much time in the same factory as Xiao Xie, I’d know just as much!"

’Hmph!’

The two men eyed each other with disdain, but their gazes invariably returned to Xie Changning.

After getting to know each person, Xie Changning gave them all individual assignments.

The fitter was to make a mold, the welder to weld a stepladder...

On the way back, Xie Changning opened her black leather notebook and, with a fountain pen, carefully wrote down the names of her team members.

Wang Lisheng sat beside her, watching as she noted each person’s name, personality, skills, and assignment.

She used an entire page for each person, which made Wang Lisheng wince. "Do you really need to use so much space for just a few people’s files?"

"Yes. I need to observe their skills first, then track their recent progress." The members of Xie Changning’s team were, on average, at the Third Level. She needed to improve their skills within a limited time.

If their fundamentals were solid, improvement would be easy.

If their fundamentals weren’t solid, she’d have to ask Director Li for replacements. She would only keep the best Third Level workers on her team.

Wang Lisheng grew pensive upon hearing this.

Back at the factory, spirits were high. Li Guodong informed Wang Lisheng that the first batch of titanium alloy screws was complete. By following Xie Changning’s instructions, the qualification rate had reached a staggering eighty percent!

This qualification rate meant they could shorten their delivery times!

"Changning, this factory really can’t do without you!" Wang Lisheng exclaimed. But he knew it was inevitable that she would keep moving up.

Whenever a factory faced closure, Director Zhao would send Xie Changning over to turn things around.

What he didn’t know was that this would happen in the not-too-distant future.

With the decision made to send a team to Beijing for the skills competition, Director Zhao paid close attention to each factory’s preparations. He visited a different factory every day to check on their training progress.

The Chuncheng Machine Tool Factory was on Director Zhao’s inspection list.

It was one of the major, high-priority factories under his purview, and Director Zhao regarded it with great importance. 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

As soon as Director Zhao arrived at the factory, he had Director Li introduce the competitors. "We have five people competing this time: team leader Xie Changning, and team members Li Minghe the fitter, Yang Yuguo the welder, Zhu Yuhong the operator, and Wang Yonghe the forger."

The entire team consisted of young people.

Their average age was under thirty.

When Director Zhao saw the team members, his brow furrowed slightly. "I heard Xie Changning is also representing the screw factory. How is it that you—"

"Mr. Xie said she could manage both," Director Li explained. "So she trains at the screw factory every morning and comes here to the machine tool factory in the afternoon. And as you can see, the team members are all working on the assignments she gave them."

Arriving at the special training workshop, Director Li pointed to the four busy figures inside.

Director Zhao observed the scene inside, his furrowed brow relaxing slightly. "Alright. I’m curious to see what this kid has up her sleeve."

Soon, it was afternoon.

Xie Changning arrived in the machine tool factory’s car and headed straight for the special training workshop after getting out.

A day was enough time for them to complete smaller projects, so their assignments were mostly finished by the time Xie Changning arrived.

Dressed in her work uniform and gloves, Xie Changning inspected their work one by one before giving a slight nod.

"Your fundamentals are solid. You can all stay."

Only then did everyone realize that what Xie Changning had called an "assignment" was actually a test of their skills.

Xie Changning picked up the stepladder and turned to Yang Yuguo, the welder. "Today, the focus is on you. Once I’ve reviewed everyone else’s flaws, we’ll begin your training."

"Alright!"

When Xie Changning worked, she exuded a powerful aura.

She didn’t seem like a young woman in her twenties, but rather like a seasoned expert who had led major projects and made significant achievements.

She was composed, and when she pointed out problems, she was always direct and to the point.

The workers accepted her criticisms with humility, feeling as if a veil had been lifted. Once she was done, they all eagerly went to start on new experiments.

"That’s how it is with skilled trades. There are no shortcuts..."

Xie Changning had a knack for inspiring people. Every time she finished speaking, everyone was fired up, buzzing with passion.

Even Director Zhao, standing off to the side, couldn’t help but be moved. "This girl really has a way with words... She even gets an old man like me fired up!"

The thought of their country standing on the international stage filled them with excitement.

No one could resist such an allure.

"Tell me, do you think we can really become number one in the world in the future?"

"We can!"

Director Li had an unshakeable faith in his country. "We started late, but we’re developing fast. Look at how far our technology has come in just twenty years!"

Director Zhao agreed with Director Li’s words.

"You’re right. That’s absolutely true. We will one day stand in the number one spot and look down upon the entire world!"

The two of them had been standing quietly in a corner, so Xie Changning hadn’t even noticed the leaders had arrived.

It was only when she heard Director Zhao’s impassioned declaration that Xie Changning turned and saw him standing nearby. She quickly put down her work. "Director Zhao, when did you get here?"