Su Lijuan hurried forward and helped the technician up. “Are you alright?”
As she stepped forward, she accidentally kicked the gear to Lu Hongmei’s feet.
Lu Hongmei looked down at the gear by her foot, jealousy flashing across her face.
If Xia Wan really fixed the machine, she would steal the spotlight today.
There was no way she could let Xia Wan have her way!
Lu Hongmei glanced at the spare parts nearby and secretly swapped the gear in her hand with another one on the table that didn’t match the model.
With a satisfied smile, she handed the gear to the technician.
The technician, already embarrassed from falling in front of everyone, hurriedly took the gear without checking it carefully and walked over to Xia Wan.
Lu Hongmei and Su Lijuan exchanged a knowing smile.
Everyone’s attention had just been on the technician no one noticed her switching the gear.
If the machine couldn’t be fixed now, Xia Wan would lose face completely.
Lu Hongmei folded her arms contentedly and stood in the corner, waiting to see Xia Wan make a fool of herself.
“Comrade Xiao Xia, here you go.”
The moment Xia Wan took the gear, she sensed something was wrong.
The technician wouldn’t have made a mistake.
Thinking back to what had just happened, she immediately understood what was going on.
She didn’t panic nor did she bother to expose the problem.
Since they wanted to see her embarrassed, she’d let them keep watching.
Her system storage was full of all kinds of parts, including plenty that matched this exact model.
When no one was paying attention, she quietly swapped the gear.
She installed the correct gear and adjusted the meshing clearance. Then she removed the roller bearing housing, cleaned out the large amount of accumulated lint inside, and reinstalled it.
Watching her movements, she looked even more skilled than the factory’s own technicians.
Those who had doubted her earlier all fell silent.
Xia Wan didn’t just replace the damaged part she actually reassembled the entire machine properly.
The technician stood to the side frantically taking notes in his booklet, looking every bit like an obedient student.
At this moment, he didn’t care at all that he was older than Xia Wan he completely treated this younger woman as his teacher.
Whenever he asked questions, Xia Wan patiently explained everything in detail.
Seeing this, it was clear she truly had real knowledge and ability.
Thinking of this, the technician couldn’t help but blush with embarrassment.
When Xia Wan had said earlier that she wasn’t as capable as him, she was clearly being modest.
She had long surpassed him.
Seeing the machine fully assembled, the director couldn’t wait. “So… can we test it now?”
Everyone grew tense.
When someone went to start the machine, it didn’t move at all.
The people who had been nervous were immediately puzzled.
Someone nearby muttered, “Why isn’t it moving? Logically, it should be fixed already!”
Even the technician looked surprised. “We only changed a gear. Even if that wasn’t the real problem, the machine should at least run like before. It shouldn’t be completely unresponsive.”
Lu Hongmei’s face lit up with delight. “Xia Wan, you’ve really messed up this time.”
Seeing her gloating expression, the other anxious employees nearby showed their displeasure.
This machine being down meant everyone’s work was delayed!
Still, since the problem did come from Xia Wan’s repair attempt, no one felt comfortable saying much.
Lu Hongmei, however, completely ignored everyone’s unhappy looks and said loudly, “Everyone should know by now our Lu family has cut ties with Xia Wan. She’s no longer our daughter-in-law! She broke this machine, so all the losses are her responsibility alone!”
Xia Wan smiled faintly and looked at Lu Hongmei. “What if I say the machine has already been fixed?”
Lu Hongmei snorted. “Xia Wan, earlier the machine had issues but could still produce goods. Now it won’t move at all. Do you think everyone here is stupid? If you really fixed it, I, Lu Hongmei, will wash my hair standing on my head!”
Xia Wan nodded with satisfaction. “Deal. You’ll wash your hair upside down. And if I didn’t fix it, I’ll compensate for the machine’s losses.”
Lu Hongmei rolled her eyes at her. “Just keep bragging. Do you even have that kind of money?”
Xia Wan blinked. “Because I won’t lose.”
Her confidence only made Lu Hongmei angrier.
“What a shame you broke the machine! Eighty thousand yuan. Let’s see how you’re going to pay that!”
Su Lijuan sighed. “Yes, Xia Wan. This isn’t just the cost of the machine. Everyone’s work has been delayed, production has stopped the losses are huge. You’ve really caused serious trouble this time.”
She turned to the director with a worried expression. “Director, Xia Wan was just too eager to prove herself, which is why she caused losses for the factory. Please, for her father’s sake, go easy on her this time. Xia Wan will definitely compensate you for the machine and the factory’s losses.”
The director frowned deeply when he heard Su Lijuan’s words.
Having reached the position of factory director, how could he not see through her little scheme?
Xia Wan’s father had been a veteran technician at the factory. Not only did he have skills, but many of the older workers here could be considered Xia Wan’s connections.
By bringing up Xia Wan’s father, Su Lijuan was trying to disgrace Old Xia and make Xia Wan feel isolated in front of these veteran employees.
That seemingly gentle and delicate young woman was far more scheming than she looked.
No wonder she dared to target that cushy office job without even finishing elementary school.
The director snorted coldly and said in an unfriendly tone, “Xia Wan, check it carefully again!”
After seeing the technician’s reaction today, he firmly believed this niece had real ability.
He wouldn’t let petty people look down on her!
When he raised his eyes and met Xia Wan’s confident expression, he froze for a moment.
Could it be… that Xia Wan already knew where the problem was?
Lu Hongmei and Su Lijuan didn’t understand the director’s thoughts. Hearing his harsh tone, they could barely suppress the smiles at the corners of their mouths.
Now even the director was angry, and the workers were dissatisfied too.
They were eager to see how Xia Wan would clean up this mess!
Seeing their reactions, Xia Wan felt the timing was right and exclaimed in feigned surprise, “Oh! Look at our memory didn’t we turn off the power switch when we were repairing the machine?”
At her words, everyone suddenly realized what had happened.
Someone hurried to turn the power back on, and the machine switch was flipped at the same time.
Immediately, the machine emitted its usual steady, rhythmic sound.
One product after another rolled out along the conveyor belt.
As everyone watched the evenly produced coarse yarn being delivered, someone in the crowd cried out excitedly, “It’s fixed! That girl from the Xia family really fixed the machine!”
The director’s face flushed red with excitement. “Comrade Xiao Xia, I knew you could do it!”
Xia Wan gave the director a shy smile, then turned and looked provocatively at the other two women.
The smiles on their faces slowly disappeared, replaced entirely by the smile now on Xia Wan’s face.
She raised an eyebrow at them and called out, “Hongmei are you going to perform your upside-down hair washing here at the factory for everyone to see?”