At this point, anyone with eyes could tell that Liu Lanying was lying.
“Auntie, I support calling the police!”
“Yeah, call the police!”
“We can all be witnesses!”
No matter the era, there were always people who loved a good spectacle. Some immediately began clamoring for the police and eagerly volunteered themselves as witnesses.
Panic rose in Liu Lanying’s heart.
“Fine, maybe I made a mistake! Who told her stupid handkerchief to look so much like mine?”
As she spoke, she yanked the handkerchief bundle from her sleeve and threw it onto the ground.
“Take it back! Like I care about it.”
After taking two steps backward, she turned and ran, her movements startlingly nimble for someone her age.
This time, Zhou Beichuan didn’t stop her.
The blue-and-white handkerchief landed in the dirt, gathering a layer of dust. Dai Yuzhen hurriedly picked it up and patted it clean with obvious distress.
Embarrassed, she said, “Young man, I misunderstood you.”
Then she turned to Zhang Yunqing and thanked her as well.
“Girl, it’s all thanks to you. Otherwise that old hag never would’ve returned it so easily.”
“Serving the people,” Zhang Yunqing replied with a smile. “Auntie, weren’t you still planning to buy something? If you don’t hurry, you might miss out.”
“Ah!” Dai Yuzhen slapped her thigh. “I nearly forgot!”
She looked at Zhou Beichuan and Zhang Yunqing with a conflicted expression.
Part of her wanted to rush off and grab the fabric before it sold out, but another part wanted to properly thank these two young people.
Zhang Yunqing saw through her hesitation and reassured her kindly.
“Auntie, we all live around here. It’s not like we won’t meet again. You should go take care of your business first.”
Then she turned to Zhou Beichuan and asked, “Comrade Zhou, you don’t mind, do you?”
Being suddenly addressed, Zhou Beichuan paused for a moment before nodding.
Coupon-free defective fabric was incredibly hard to come by.
Dai Yuzhen gritted her teeth and said, “Alright then. Auntie thanks you both first.”
Seeing there was no more excitement to watch, the crowd gradually dispersed.
The smile on Zhang Yunqing’s face faded slightly as she walked over to the group of young men.
“Comrades, gossiping about people behind their backs isn’t exactly a fine virtue.”
“This time, Comrade Zhou acted bravely to help someone. I hope you’ll apologize to him.”
The young men were still thin-skinned with youth. Being called out like that immediately made their faces flush red.
Stammering awkwardly, they said, “Comrade Zhou Beichuan, s-sorry. We misunderstood you. Please forgive us.”
Zhou Beichuan’s expression remained cold and indifferent.
He hadn’t cared about their misunderstanding before, and naturally didn’t care about their apology now.
He merely nodded with near-complete detachment.
The young men fled as if granted amnesty.
With the matter settled, Zhang Yunqing nodded once toward Zhou Beichuan and quickly left.
Zhou Beichuan’s lips moved slightly. Before he could say his thanks, Zhang Yunqing’s figure had already disappeared.
He stood there blankly for a moment before once again returning to his unapproachable demeanor and walking off in the opposite direction.
At present, the only work Zhang Yunqing had on hand was the packaging design project for the food factory.
Recalling the packaging designs she had seen in her previous life from this era, the ideas in her mind became increasingly clear.
The pencil in her hand sketched simple lines across the paper. Before long, a unique design gradually took shape beneath her strokes.
After finishing, Zhang Yunqing studied the layout and noticed the upper-left corner still looked a little empty.
After thinking for two seconds, she prepared to add the final crucial touch—
Just then, Ge Yanqing called her name from the doorway.
“Little Zhang, are you there?”
When she saw her, Ge Yanqing visibly relaxed.
“Master Zhang is looking for you. The section chief from the food factory’s procurement department came over and insists we hand in the sample draft today. He’s refusing to leave the business office.”
Remembering what Ge Yanqing had previously said about the food factory constantly making trouble, Zhang Yunqing replied calmly, “Let him wait a little longer.”
But her hand moved faster.
The logo design for Pingcheng Food Factory landed precisely in the position she had envisioned, perfectly filling the blank space in the upper-left corner.
After giving the whole design one final inspection, Zhang Yunqing picked it up with satisfaction.
“Let’s go submit the assignment.”
“You finished already?” Ge Yanqing asked in surprise.
Originally, Master Zhang had told her to fetch Little Zhang’s rough draft just to temporarily deal with Xu Jinming’s nitpicking.
Who would’ve thought she’d say it was finished?
Only two days had passed. Could this really work?
Ge Yanqing felt nervous.
“Mm.” Zhang Yunqing waved the draft in her hand. “After ruining several versions yesterday, this is the one I’m most satisfied with.”
“And this draft will definitely be approved,” she added with a sly smile.
Looking at her confident profile, Ge Yanqing opened her mouth, unsure how to comfort her.
In her opinion, Little Zhang was good in every way except one—she was too young and inexperienced.
She had already explained Xu Jinming’s connections with the provincial printing factory, yet Zhang Yunqing still thought skill alone could solve things.
Too naïve.
The business office door stood open.
Inside sat an unfamiliar man wearing a neatly pressed Zhongshan suit and glasses. Unfortunately, a mole the size of a fingernail on his right cheek ruined what would otherwise have been a refined appearance.
Xu Jinming held a teacup in his hands, taking small sips and smacking his lips noisily.
“Chief Ying, Master Zhang, it’s not that I’m deliberately making things difficult for you. If your abilities aren’t up to standard, just say so. We’re brother units after all—I’m not going to force work onto you.”
Chief Ying Quan’s face darkened.
“Chief Xu, the food factory and the printing factory have cooperated for more than ten years. When the previous section chief was here, the requirements were never this harsh.”
Their cooperation had always gone smoothly, and the packaging hadn’t changed in over a decade.
Thinking about how his brother-in-law had promised to help connect him with the provincial printing factory, Xu Jinming chuckled lightly.
“One mustn’t lack a spirit of innovation at work.”
What was a mere Pingcheng Printing Factory worth? Offending them meant nothing.
Once he established good relations with the provincial printing factory, would he still have to worry about finding someone to print packaging for the food factory?
Zhang Xinmin’s expression wasn’t pleasant either.
He had already submitted several drafts before, only for Xu Jinming to reject them with all sorts of excuses.
“Enough. If you can’t produce a sample draft, then our cooperation this year will be temporarily suspended.”
Xu Jinming waved his hand, about to make the final decision—
Only to be stopped by Zhang Yunqing, who had just arrived at the doorway.
“Chief Xu, you haven’t looked at my draft yet.”
Seeing her, Xu Jinming gave her a once-over, his expression full of disdain—to the point that he couldn’t even be bothered addressing her directly.
Instead, he turned to Ying Quan.
“Chief Ying, has your printing factory run out of people? What can someone this young possibly accomplish?”
“Master Zhang? This…” Ying Quan looked toward Zhang Xinmin in confusion.
He had never seen this girl in the factory before. If they handed the task over to her, wouldn’t Xu Jinming just humiliate them again?
For a moment, Ying Quan regretted listening to Zhang Xinmin.
As though he hadn’t noticed Ying Quan’s hesitation, Zhang Xinmin’s expression softened the moment he saw Zhang Yunqing.
He waved her over, signaling for her to come inside.
“Since Chief Xu isn’t satisfied with my drafts, why not take a look at a newcomer’s? Little Zhang entered the printing factory through recruitment thanks to her excellent drawing skills.”
The implication was clear: if even Zhang Yunqing’s draft failed to satisfy him, then no one would meet his standards.
Zhang Xinmin looked toward Zhang Yunqing.
“You brought it?”
“Mm.”
Zhang Yunqing obediently handed over the sample draft and stood quietly to the side, waiting for further instructions.