"Changning, we really showed them up today. Do you think they’ll try to make things difficult for us during the competition in a couple of days?"

Those types were known to hold a grudge. What if they tried to sabotage all the factories from China?

If that happened, wouldn’t everyone blame her?

Xie Changning shook her head fearlessly. "I believe everyone is reasonable. They won’t just listen to one side of the story and assume it’s my fault just because we’re being targeted."

"Don’t worry. If the sky falls, Director Zhao will be there to hold it up!"

Compared to Director Li’s worries, Wang Lisheng was much more optimistic.

He had it all planned out. As soon as he got back, he would call Director Zhao, add some extra spice to the story, and tell him everything. He’d have him report to the higher-ups that these judges had character issues.

Bullying the family of a soldier and picking on a translator!

Judges like that weren’t qualified to judge a major competition. It would be best to persuade them to withdraw!

Director Li looked at Wang Lisheng, understanding his intention. He frowned. "Will that really work?"

"Don’t worry, Director Zhao will handle it."

Wang Lisheng was very confident.

Xie Changning wasn’t just Director Zhao’s prized possession now; she was Mr. Wang’s precious treasure, too. All the research she did in Chuncheng was published under Chuncheng’s name.

The provincial Industrial Bureau naturally wouldn’t take this lightly.

Even if they couldn’t get justice, they had to at least let the leaders know what happened.

Wang Lisheng was a man of action. He went back to the guest house, borrowed the phone, and started complaining to Director Zhao. "Director Zhao! You have no idea! Our Changning was wronged so terribly today!"

Director Zhao said something on the other end, and Wang Lisheng quickly explained what Xie Changning had done that day.

"Those foreign jerks, they bullied a soldier’s family member! And poor Changning, she’s more than four months pregnant! Are they even human?"

Wang Lisheng had a loud voice to begin with, and as he raised it, everyone staying at the guest house heard about the disgraceful things those foreigners had done.

People started coming out of their rooms one by one to look at Wang Lisheng on the phone.

After glancing at Wang Lisheng, they turned to look at Xie Changning and Director Li, a flash of disgust in their eyes—disgust for the foreigners.

"They cause some kind of trouble every time they come over!"

"We’re still too lenient with them!"

"Right! This female comrade did the right thing today. We can’t let this set a precedent. Otherwise, if other military families are bullied like this in the future, how disheartened would our soldiers feel, defending the country out there?"

"We have to tell the leadership that the people they picked are no good!"

"It was wrong to pick a bunch of foreigners as judges in the first place. I don’t even know who suggested it. Are foreigners really that great?"

Someone complained in a low voice.

Because their voice was so quiet, no one noticed who had said it, but it was what everyone was thinking.

So, by tacit agreement, everyone pretended not to have heard it.

Xie Changning looked at the people speaking up for her and gave them a kind smile. Seeing her face, everyone felt like they had seen her somewhere before.

"Is she... that genius scientist from Chuncheng who’s been in the news lately?"

HISS... "Now that you mention it, she really does look a bit like her!"

Xie Changning turned her head away, a little embarrassed.

’I’m no genius scientist. I’m a living fossil who’s lived two lifetimes!’

’In my past life, I was the chief engineer for the J-series fighter jets, in charge of all J-series projects. Now... I wonder how long it will take to reach those heights again.’

Wang Lisheng finished his complaint and wiped his face.

"Sigh, putting on a show like that is hard work." He had poured his entire life’s acting skills into that complaint, hoping Director Zhao would come through for them.

’Let those bastards suffer a setback!’

Although, Xie Changning had already made them suffer one.

"Director Wang, you’ve got some lungs on you! I could hear you chattering away all the way up on the fourth floor." Someone who knew Wang Lisheng well teased him with a laugh.

Wang Lisheng snorted coldly.

"I did it on purpose! I wanted everyone to hear about the awful things those foreign jerks did!"

"Sigh, I wonder how that female translator is doing."

Xie Changning didn’t come out on the losing end because she could defend herself. The translator couldn’t. What if they bullied her again behind the scenes?

Xie Changning frowned as well.

’I just hope the translator can protect herself and turn down this job.’

Amidst the chaotic hubbub, the matter was temporarily put to rest. The next day, all the factory heads and contestants gathered at the main venue.

The venue could hold over ten thousand people. Back at the guest house, Xie Changning had thought there were a lot of people.

But after arriving at the venue, she realized it wasn’t that many after all.

The seats for the Chuncheng Screw Factory and the Chuncheng Machine Tool Factory were adjacent, so Xie Changning didn’t have to keep switching between one spot and another.

She just sat right in the middle, between the two factories’ sections.

"Changning, your sister-in-law asked me to bring this cushion for you. She was worried the hard stool would be uncomfortable."

When they were leaving, Xie Changning had seen Wang Lisheng carrying a bunch of bags, big and small, and had assumed he had prepared water and fruit for everyone.

But as it turned out, after rummaging around for a while at the venue, he produced a cushion.

"Please thank your sister-in-law for me!" Wang Lisheng’s wife meant well, so of course, Xie Changning wouldn’t refuse her kindness.

HEHE. "My wife—your sister-in-law—is just that thoughtful."

Wang Lisheng was like a one-man cheering squad for his wife; every time she was mentioned, he couldn’t help but shower her with praise.

A teasing expression appeared on Xie Changning’s face, but before she could speak, the leaders began to file out from a small door at the side of the venue. Xie Changning and Wang Lisheng’s expressions instantly vanished, replaced by serious ones.

At the leaders’ sides were the same foreigners Xie Changning had confronted the day before.

Seeing the foreigners, everyone in the venue frowned, resentful that they were serving as judges.

"Why does everyone seem to be in a bad mood?" The competition was organized by the director of the Beijing Industrial Bureau, but the one speaking now was the deputy director.

He looked around, as if puzzled by the unenthusiastic attitude of the crowd.

"These men have poor character. It seems your information is a bit out of date, Deputy Director." The person standing next to the deputy director spoke with a light laugh.

This female leader was the chairperson from the Industry and Communications Office.

She didn’t even spare the foreigners a glance as she spoke. "I’ve already heard about what happened yesterday. They bullied a pregnant military family member and picked on one of our country’s translators."

"Deputy Director, the people you found... they’re not up to snuff, are they?"

With the leaders clashing head-on, the factory directors below all turned into quails and fell silent.

The deputy director had clearly just heard about this. He looked at the foreigners in disbelief. "They... How could they?"

’Back in his own country, Professor Fortes is a highly respected man. How could he do something like this?’

"Many people witnessed it firsthand. Deputy Director, I think we should reconsider the matter of the judges." The chairman of the Construction Committee on the other side also spoke up.

Using judges that nobody respected would only provoke a rebellious attitude from the competing workers.

At the end of the day, their own workers were more important.