RNP Chapter 1031 Liu Wen Didn't Expect This
Chapter 1031 Liu Wen Didn't Expect This
"Of course." Liu Wen stroked his neatly trimmed goatee, a confident smile plastered on his face, his tone unwavering. "This factory director position, in terms of seniority and methods, should rightfully be yours. Once you've secured this position, it won't be too late to deal with Gu Nan—he's just a greenhorn, what does he know about the intricacies of the factory? There will be plenty of opportunities to make him back down, and then he won't dare disobey you."
Upon hearing this, Deputy Factory Director Li's face crinkled into a wide smile. He raised his teacup and clinked it against Liu Wen's. The two exchanged a knowing smile, their eyes gleaming with shrewd calculation. They could almost picture Gu Nan's chaotic state: the machines in the workshop were ground to a halt, production targets were unmet, and the head office was calling incessantly, leaving him with no choice but to sheepishly send someone to beg them. They planned to leave the messenger waiting for half a day, then leisurely put on airs, point their finger at him, and give him a taste of his power, seeing if Gu Nan would dare to run rampant in the factory again, disregarding them, the old-timers!
Just as the two were happily calculating what to say when Gu Nan bowed his head to apologize, the office door was suddenly pushed open with a loud bang, almost hitting the wall. A young man in blue overalls rushed in, a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing forearms stained black with machine oil. The man was Zhou Fei, Liu Wen's apprentice and also his spy in the workshop, responsible for keeping an eye on Gu Nan's movements.
Seeing his anxious expression, Liu Wen's smile deepened. He thought to himself, "Gu Nan must have been tinkering with the machine for ages, and now he's had no choice but to send Zhou Fei for backup." He slowly put down his teacup, leaned back on the sofa, and deliberately dragged out his words, adopting the air of a master: "Zhou Fei, what's wrong? Gu Nan couldn't handle it anymore, and after all that trouble, he's sent you to ask me to come and show off my skills?"
Zhou Fei shook his head vigorously, his expression complex, half surprise and half disbelief, even his words stammering: "Master, you...you don't know yet, do you? Gu Nan...he's fixed the machine! I just went to check, and that precision punch press that's been stuck for three days is now humming and rumbling, the workshop is starting to produce something, the workers are clapping and cheering around the machine, saying...saying that Deputy Factory Director Gu is really capable!"
"What?" Deputy Factory Director Li was standing up with his teacup in hand when he heard this and suddenly stopped. Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he slammed the teacup on the coffee table with a "clatter," not even noticing the tea splashing onto his trouser leg.
He looked at Liu Wen in disbelief, his voice cracking and trembling: "Impossible! Old Liu, didn't you say this machine has some really tricky problems, and that you're the only one in the whole factory who can fix it? Even the core assembly drawings, only you have a backup. How could Gu Nan, who studied heat treatment, possibly fix it? This is absolutely impossible!" His previous smugness vanished instantly, replaced by a speechless astonishment, as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world—but Zhou Fei never dared to lie to him!
Liu Wen's smile froze, and his hand, which was stroking his beard, suddenly stopped, not even noticing two hairs being plucked from his goatee. His brows furrowed, his mind churning: the core component of that machine was one he had personally modified years ago, even tampering with the blueprints; how could Gu Nan possibly understand it? Did this kid have some hidden trick up his sleeve?
Liu Wen's smile froze, and he slammed his teacup down on the table with a thud, splashing hot tea that made his hand tremble, though he didn't seem to notice. He frowned, his eyes filled with astonishment and confusion, muttering, "This...how is this possible? Only I know the parameters of that machine's core components; I modified them myself. Even if Gu Nan knows a little about mechanics, he couldn't possibly have figured it out so quickly..."
The atmosphere in the office froze instantly, like a lake surface frozen by a sudden chill. The ease and smugness that had just been floating in the air vanished in an instant, leaving only the astonishment and a hint of unspeakable panic swirling in Liu Wen and Deputy Factory Director Li's eyes. Sunlight streamed obliquely through the window, falling on their tense faces, illuminating the stiffness at the corners of their mouths and the wrinkles in their brows—they had calculated everything, but they never expected Gu Nan to possess such skill, even able to repair the precision machine tool that Liu Wen had deemed "beyond saving." Their plan to embarrass Gu Nan and seize power had completely failed.
Liu Wen frantically tapped his fingers on the table, his knuckles turning white, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He suddenly turned to Zhou Fei beside him, his voice trembling with disbelief and urgency: "Tell me, is this really true? The core components of that machine are almost unusable, the parameters are completely messed up, how could Gu Nan possibly fix it? Are you seeing things? Or is the machine only temporarily running and not meeting production standards at all?"
Zhou Fei shrank back at his question, quickly waving his hand with a confident expression: "Teacher, how could I dare to lie to you! It was really Gu Nan who fixed it himself! I spent a long time in the workshop just now, watching him disassemble and reassemble it, and adjust it three times. The machine runs even more steadily than before. I tested several parts, and the precision all met the standards. Now we are working at full speed. The workers are all talking about it, saying that Deputy Factory Director Gu is really capable."
Liu Wen opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but found his throat was blocked, and he couldn't utter a single word. He turned to look at Deputy Factory Director Li, his eyes full of pleading—this was something they had planned all along, and he was the one who tampered with the machine when it malfunctioned. Now that the plan had fallen through, he could only wait and see how Deputy Factory Director Li would handle it.
Deputy Factory Director Li's face was ashen, like a block of ice-cold iron. His fingers gripped the pen on the table so tightly that the cap was almost deformed. Just as he was about to say something firm to calm things down, there was a sudden, rapid, heavy knocking on the office door, as if someone was pounding on it.
Deputy Factory Director Li's heart skipped a beat. He thought it was someone he had arranged in the workshop coming to report that something had gone wrong with the machine and there might be a chance for a turnaround. So he gestured to Zhou Fei with his chin and said, "Go open the door."
Zhou Fei quickly got up, but froze the moment he opened the door—standing in the doorway was none other than Gu Nan. He was wearing clean work clothes, the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, revealing his muscular arms. His face was expressionless, but his eyes seemed to have hooks, shooting straight in as if they could see right through people's hearts.