"I have one!" Wang Guofu stood ramrod straight and raised his hand at Xie Changning like an eager student, as if to say, ’Teacher, pick me! Teacher, pick me!’

Xie Changning was amused by everyone’s enthusiasm. She nodded.

"Then I’ll have to trouble Uncle Wang to go get the tricycle."

Wang Guofu happily went to get the tricycle (a three-wheeled bicycle). When it arrived, everyone worked together to lift the printer onto the back platform and had Xie Changning sit up there as well.

The tricycle’s platform could fit one more person, and everyone instinctively looked out for Xie Changning, who was pregnant.

Xie Changning didn’t stand on ceremony. She sat beside the printer while the others followed behind Wang Guofu. Some held onto the printer to steady it, while others were quick to give the tricycle a push whenever he struggled.

The procession attracted the attention of many workers along the way.

After asking what the item on the tricycle was, they all spontaneously fell in line behind it. Originally, only five or six people had been with Xie Changning, but!

As they made their way through the factory grounds, the group swelled to twenty or thirty people.

Anyone who didn’t know better would have thought the crowd was heading for a brawl!

Once they were inside the main factory building, everyone finally understood. On her second day in office, their factory director had paid for a huge piece of equipment for the printer research team!

A foreign-made printer!

Instantly, everyone was determined to make a good impression, hoping to be chosen by the director and become one of the lucky few.

"Director, I’m great with my hands! You have to pick me!" someone volunteered.

"You might be good with your hands, but you’re careless. You’re not suited for this kind of delicate work! I am. I may be slow, but I’m meticulous! Director, pick me!"

The selection hadn’t even started, but the factory employees were already fighting amongst themselves.

The appearance of this rare object prompted all the workers who had been lazing around to immediately gather at the workshop entrance, all of them staring expectantly at Xie Changning, waiting for her to say something.

Xie Changning could feel their enthusiasm. She clapped her hands to signal for quiet.

"I feel your enthusiasm, everyone. We haven’t started recruiting for the printer project’s R&D group yet. My preliminary idea is to hold a small selection competition within the factory. The top three highest-scoring individuals from each technical team will be able to join the R&D group."

"In short, the positions will go to the most capable!"

For those in technical roles, there were no objections to Xie Changning’s decision.

It was only natural that superior skills led to better opportunities.

"And don’t worry, this is just for the R&D team. Once we’ve developed the product, we will train everyone so that each of you learns the fundamentals. This will prepare us for expanding production in the future!"

These words from Xie Changning put the minds of many less-skilled workers at ease.

Before, even with Xie Changning taking over, everyone had still felt uncertain as long as the factory wasn’t operational.

Just when they were all feeling apprehensive, Xie Changning had suddenly whipped out such a massive printer. The impact on them was like upgrading from studying muskets to studying cannons!

’Our factory director is the real deal!’

Xie Changning’s machine instantly soothed the workers’ restless minds.

Xie Changning had the machine unloaded into an empty workshop. "At nine o’clock, all workshop supervisors and all factory technicians are to assemble here! I’m going to disassemble the machine for you so you can understand the basic procedures. Don’t be late!"

’Running a factory on my own means there’s so much more to worry about.’

The moment Xie Changning’s words were out, everyone couldn’t hide their excitement.

The empty workshop was massive, large enough to hold all the factory’s workers, basically serving as the plant’s main meeting hall.

Xie Changning stood off to the side, had the workers position the machine, and then began inspecting it to ensure it would work properly once plugged in.

It had to be said, the Xie Family was quite influential. High-speed printers like this were only just now being imported into China.

China would only be able to purchase them in the 1980s.

Xie Changning planned to make a breakthrough right now, successfully crack the foreign market, and reap the benefits of this era.

*

Xie Changning’s notice was sent out, and the supervisors of each department returned to their workshops to tell the workers to assemble in Workshop 5.

Originally, everyone had thought a meeting in Workshop 5 meant they were going to be laying off workers.

So, they were all planning to drag their feet or just secretly not show up.

Until they heard—

"The Director brought back an Eagle-model high-speed printer! She said to assemble at nine o’clock, and she’s going to disassemble it for a lecture. We can’t be late."

The eavesdroppers were stunned.

’Supervisor, what were the director’s *exact* words? How could you give us such a bare-bones summary!’

In an instant, everyone started jogging to Workshop 5. The space was empty of machinery and very open, but it quickly became crowded when all the factory’s workers arrived.

Xie Changning had thought it would be good enough if everyone managed to assemble by nine o’clock.

But upon hearing that Xie Changning had brought back a high-speed printer, the workers couldn’t wait to gather in Workshop 5. By half-past eight, everyone was already there.

There was no need for the workshop supervisors to go around calling for people one by one.

However, Xie Changning didn’t start early just because they had gathered ahead of time. Instead, she continued her thorough inspection and only began the demonstration at precisely nine o’clock.

The disassembly and explanation process was slow, as she had to emphasize certain internal details.

The single lesson lasted until two in the afternoon.

When it ended, everyone still seemed to want more, eagerly discussing the key points from the lesson with one another.

After the workers had all left, Xie Changning turned to Wang Guofu. "Uncle Wang, help me rent a car. Starting tomorrow afternoon, I’m going to pay a visit to some new friends."

Wang Guofu knew she was going out to find business orders.

"The factory can take on some contract manufacturing jobs. We’ll have lessons in the morning and do contract work in the afternoon." The factory’s finances were tight at the moment, and Xie Changning couldn’t let it continue on like this.

That afternoon, Xie Changning held another meeting with the factory’s leadership team.

She adjusted the class schedules, the competition date, and the assessment time for the children of the factory employees—all were scheduled one by one.

When the meeting ended, Xie Changning had someone keep an eye on the workshop, then she began to compile the factory’s resume from over the years—how many contract jobs it had done, what machinery it had, how many people, their skill levels, their specializations, etc.

Since she was going to ask people for business, she naturally had to prepare a good resume.

By the time she finished compiling all this, it was already very late. All the factory workers had gone home, and only a few workshop supervisors and the two deputy directors were left waiting for Xie Changning.

The new director was their future now; they couldn’t let anything happen to her.

Xie Changning looked at them gratefully, then got onto Wang Guofu’s tricycle, chatting with everyone all the way home.

"Director, we heard you’re a student at Beijing University?"

"You’re so capable, why did you come here to Chuncheng?"

"Yeah, based on your major, shouldn’t you be on a research track?"