Jiang Shan mocked her for a long time, yet Jiang Zao didn’t even spare her a glance.
A sense of frustration welled up in Jiang Shan’s heart—like throwing a punch into empty air. In the past, Jiang Zao had always revolved around her, giving her all the good things, believing everything she said.
She could ignore Jiang Zao—but Jiang Zao was not supposed to ignore her.
Hearing Jiang Shan’s words, Wang Meili felt even more emboldened. Her hands moved swiftly over the dough, pinching off two more portions.
The white dough pieces landed on the board, roughly similar in size.
Chang Sanxi glanced at the clock on the wall. “Jiang Zao, hurry up—it’s already been three minutes!”
Only two minutes left. Could Jiang Zao do it?
Chang Sanxi grew so nervous her mouth went dry, her fists clenching unconsciously.
Jiang Zao’s empty hand suddenly relaxed. She bent down, picked up the strip of dough beside her, and began.
One, two, five… ten…
Small white dough balls lined up neatly in a row. To the naked eye, they were identical in size—uniform and precise, like dumplings ready to be dropped into boiling water.
Wang Meili stopped first. Seeing Jiang Zao’s masterful technique, her mind went blank.
Her hands trembled slightly at her sides, her lips dry, her face drained of color.
“Jiang Zao is amazing—so fast, and they all look the same!” Chang Sanxi was stunned. Even before weighing them, she already knew Jiang Zao had won.
Sun Ligen nodded in satisfaction. “Time’s up!”
“Liu Gamei, Fang Yuxiang—you two will weigh the dough portions.”
Two young women stepped forward from the crowd. Liu Gamei handled the scale, while Fang Yuxiang, who had a middle school education, recorded the results.
Liu Gamei began weighing Wang Meili’s portions: “75, 73, 77, 85, 81, 73, 80, 82, 83, 85.”
Fang Yuxiang said, “Now recording Jiang Zao’s.”
Liu Gamei carefully cleared the scale and placed Jiang Zao’s dough on it.
“80… 80…”
Without exception, all ten pieces were exactly 80 grams.
Even though Chang Sanxi had expected it, she was still shocked by Jiang Zao’s precision.
She raised her hand and began clapping unconsciously. “Jiang Zao, you’re incredible! Ten perfectly measured pieces in two minutes—only Master Sun can do that!”
No wonder Master Sun wanted to personally train Jiang Zao—if she were him, she would too!
Scattered applause quickly grew into thunderous clapping.
“Amazing!”
“Master Sun has worked here for over twenty years and never gets close to female workers, yet Wang Meili smeared him like that!”
“Wang Meili, apologize!”
“Apologize to Master Sun, Section Chief Zhang, and Jiang Zao!”
“Apologize!”
The once orderly pastry workshop, usually filled only with the sounds of machines and kneading dough, had never been this noisy.
Curious supervisors from other sections came to watch. Soon, news of Jiang Zao and Wang Meili’s bet spread throughout the factory.
The story of a temporary worker pinching ten perfectly measured 80-gram portions in two minutes spread like wildfire.
Ten minutes later, the news reached Zhang Jisheng.
Holding an enamel mug labeled “Serve the Factory,” he blew at the foam on his tea and looked up in surprise.
“What? It’s over? Jiang Zao made ten identical portions in two minutes?”
The messenger nodded. “Yes! Everyone in the pastry section saw it—it’s incredible! Too bad I missed it.”
“They say the bet was that if Jiang Zao won, Wang Meili would apologize to you and Master Sun. If she lost, she’d leave the factory immediately.”
“And the 80-gram standard was set by Wang Meili’s aunt, Qin Xuehua, the section leader.”
“Jiang Zao won beautifully!”
Wang Meili’s baseless accusations had troubled Zhang Jisheng for days. He had even developed sores from stress and dreamed of his reputation being ruined.
That morning, he had brewed a large cup of chrysanthemum tea—it was bitter—but upon hearing the news, the weight in his chest vanished.
He set down his mug and hurried out.
“Haha! Jiang Zao did great! Wang Meili has always been arrogant because her father is a chef—she underestimated her opponent.”
“Come on, let’s go watch!”
After all, Wang Meili was about to apologize to him—he couldn’t miss that.
When Zhang Jisheng arrived, the crowd was still urging Wang Meili to apologize.
Wang Meili stared blankly at the dough pieces Jiang Zao had made, as if her soul had left her body.
“How is this possible… how…”
“Jiang Zao hasn’t even eaten much fine pastry—how could she be this precise?”
Jiang Zao had exceeded even Sun Ligen’s expectations.
He snorted. “Just because you’re not a genius doesn’t mean others aren’t. Jiang Zao is a natural when it comes to touch.”
Even he hadn’t been this skilled when he first started learning.
Jiang Zao’s gaze turned sharp. “Wang Meili, apologize to Master Sun and Section Chief Zhang.”
She had no sympathy for someone who casually ruined others’ reputations.
You reap what you sow—she had to take responsibility for her words.
Meeting Jiang Zao’s cold gaze, Wang Meili felt as if she had been burned.
“No… I’m Wang Meili, daughter of Wang Shuangquan. Why should I apologize to you in front of everyone?”
“You’ve already won—why do you have to trample my dignity to celebrate?”
Jiang Shan, still stunned by Jiang Zao’s performance, stepped forward to support Wang Meili.
“She already lost—why are you still pushing her?”
Jiang Zao’s expression turned icy, her eyes filled with ridicule.
“We competed openly in the same exam. Yet she decided, just because she learned earlier than me, that I must have slept my way in.”
“One careless sentence from her—if I didn’t defend myself, what would happen to my reputation?”
“And Section Chief Zhang and Master Sun—they are veteran workers who’ve contributed so much. Because of me, they were implicated. At worst, they could lose everything—their jobs, their families!”
“If this reached my fiancé’s family, would my marriage still stand?”
“She’s pitiful? Then who pities us?”
“Asking her to apologize is suddenly too much? When she was hurting others, did she ever consider their suffering?”
Jiang Zao’s voice was cold and clear, each word cutting like a blade.
“And you,” she continued, looking at Jiang Shan, “my own cousin, yet you’ve wanted to destroy me since the day we were born.”
“When others bully me, it’s my fault. But when I stand up for myself, I’m the bully.”
“What exactly did I ever do to make you hate me this much?”