This matter wasn’t entirely without risk on Zhang Yunqing’s part.
If Xu Jinming had been brainless enough not to care about handing the sample designs to someone else, there would’ve been no way to salvage the situation today.
Zhang Xinmin felt that Zhang Yunqing had still acted too impulsively and hadn’t considered what would happen if things went wrong.
Besides, signing contracts had nothing to do with the plate-making workshop in the first place.
The girl had rashly stepped forward. It was fortunate the negotiation succeeded. If it hadn’t, the business department would definitely have found someone to take the blame.
“Alright, I’ll be more careful next time.”
Knowing he meant well, Zhang Yunqing answered with an apologetic smile.
“Master Zhang, now that’s unfair of you. How can you talk to a hero like that?”
With the contract secured, Ying Quan finally relaxed a little. He took out clean teacups and greeted the two of them.
“Have some tea and cool down. We really owe it to Little Zhang for all her quick thinking today.”
“Don’t praise her too much,” Zhang Xinmin grumbled irritably. “She’s already reckless enough as it is. If you encourage her any more, she’ll be even bolder next time.”
“Young people are like that.” Ying Quan suddenly changed the topic. “Little Zhang, are you interested in developing your career in the business department? Your mind works very fast.”
She was perfectly suited for negotiating cooperation deals with other factories.
Before Zhang Yunqing could answer, Zhang Xinmin was already protesting.
“Go, go! You’re poaching people right in front of me now?”
“Don’t forget this recruitment drive was for the plate-making workshop. It’s only been two days and you’re already trying to steal my people. Do you have any sense of collectivism?”
“What if Little Zhang actually likes handling business negotiations?” Ying Quan sipped his tea leisurely. “We should respect the young comrade’s own wishes.”
He looked toward Zhang Yunqing. “What do you think, Little Zhang? The business department is far more interesting than the workshop. You even get to travel around frequently.”
Rather than feeling smug about being recruited, Zhang Yunqing simply smiled and declined, treating the matter as a joke.
“Chief Ying, stop teasing me. Master Zhang is about to take you seriously.”
“Besides, all I know is how to draw. I still want to stay in the plate-making workshop and help guard our factory’s production line.”
Her attitude was tactful, yet firm.
Ying Quan laughed and shook his head, lightly tapping the air with his finger.
“In that case, forget it. Your plate-making workshop people really are just like Master Zhang—straightforward to the core.”
After work, Zhang Yunqing walked out together with Liu Suqin.
Liu Suqin pointed outside the gate. “Yunqing, who’s that? Why has he been staring at you the whole time?”
Even without her saying it, Zhang Yunqing had long sensed the gaze from afar.
The smile on her face faded slightly. She patted Liu Suqin’s hand.
“A neighbor. He probably wants something from me. You head home first.”
“Do you want me to stay with you?”
“No need. See you tomorrow.” Zhang Yunqing waved with a smile.
Everyone had their own private matters, so Liu Suqin didn’t think much of it.
“Alright then, I’ll head back first.”
Once Liu Suqin had gone farther away, Shen Changlin walked toward Zhang Yunqing from the distance, forcing an ugly smile onto his face.
“Yunqing… you really became a worker?”
“Isn’t that obvious? Didn’t you see it yourself?” Zhang Yunqing rolled her eyes.
How could random outsiders just enter someone else’s factory?
Her attitude made Shen Changlin realize that Zhang Yunqing truly had changed. She was no longer the girl whose entire world revolved around him.
For some reason, panic and anger surged inside him.
Only after clenching his fists tightly did he manage to force out a sentence.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to go build the countryside together with me?”
“Who heard me say that?” Zhang Yunqing spread her hands, openly refusing to admit it.
After all, it was the original owner of the body who had said those words, not her.
Besides, back then Shen Changlin had been terrified people might misunderstand his relationship with the original Zhang Yunqing. When he persuaded her to go to the countryside with him, he had deliberately picked a deserted spot with no third person around.
Which worked perfectly for Zhang Yunqing now. There were no witnesses and no surveillance cameras. She couldn’t even be bothered making excuses, shamelessly denying everything without the slightest guilt.
If she didn’t deny it, was she supposed to imitate the original owner and become some self-sacrificing cannon fodder?
What, did she have water in her brain?
“You…” Shen Changlin choked, clearly angered by her shameless behavior. It took him a long while to regain his ability to speak.
But the moment he opened his mouth again, the thick scent of green tea tactics practically hit her in the face.
“Yunqing, I thought what we had was different. I don’t care if everyone else only looks out for themselves. But you—we grew up together. I don’t want to be separated from you.”
There were plenty of children who had grown up together in the alley, yet he spoke as though it had only ever been the two of them.
Vague and ambiguous, emphasizing emotional closeness while never clearly defining their relationship.
That way, if things ever blew up, he could always blame the original Zhang Yunqing for “misunderstanding.”
Zhang Yunqing sighed deeply in admiration.
So this was the art of speaking. She still had a lot to learn.
Then she raised an eyebrow.
“Don’t make it sound so nice. This has nothing to do with feelings. You just don’t want to lose a convenient little maid to boss around.”
“No, I truly treat you like a younger sister.”
Shen Changlin hurried forward a step.
Seeing that he still wanted to argue, Zhang Yunqing raised her hand to stop him.
“Go ask around—what kind of brother would willingly send his own little sister to the countryside?”
Of course, Zhang Hongwei was an exception. Zhang Yunqing refused to acknowledge him as her brother.
“Shen Changlin, don’t assume everyone else is stupid. Back then, you volunteered for the Great Northwest because you wanted to make yourself look good. You accepted the praise, so naturally you also have to bear the consequences.”
Places like the northeastern state farms, Xinjiang, Tibet, and the Great Northwest had extremely harsh living conditions, and many educated youths sent down to the countryside wanted desperately to avoid going there.
Back then, Shen Changlin had voluntarily requested assignment to the Great Northwest. The educated youth office had even awarded him an enamel mug in recognition, and his relocation subsidy had been paid to him in advance.
Later, when the original Zhang Yunqing requested assignment to the Great Northwest as well, the office credited the influence entirely to Shen Changlin, praising him as a model example.
In other words, he had taken all the benefits.
Thinking of something, Zhang Yunqing curled her lips mockingly.
“Unless, of course, you become a worker too. Then naturally you wouldn’t have to go to the countryside.”
Shen Changlin clenched his fists tighter, jaw rigid.
“You clearly know…”
If he could become a factory worker, who would willingly go to the countryside?
Zhang Yunqing knew perfectly well. She was doing it on purpose.
The Shen family’s circumstances were poor. Shen Changlin going to the countryside had been unavoidable. Technically speaking, with only two children in the family, they shouldn’t have been under much financial pressure.
But both Shen Huaicai and Li Huaihua were unemployed.
Shen Huaicai was arrogantly pretentious and refused to work outside the home, while Li Huaihua lacked both education and social tact, offending neighbors everywhere she went.
Eventually, seeing how difficult the family’s situation was, the neighborhood committee arranged a sanitation job for Li Huaihua. But it was only temporary work, earning just over twenty yuan a month.
The Shen family neither had a permanent work position for Shen Changlin to inherit nor money to buy one.
Shen Changlin was clever. Since the outcome was inevitable, he figured he might as well volunteer proactively, earn himself a good reputation, and perhaps make use of it in the future.
Unfortunately, the original Zhang Yunqing had been blinded, truly believing Shen Changlin was some admirable progressive young man.
On the other hand, Zhang Yunqing actually somewhat admired Shen Changlin’s older sister, Shen Daniu.
Back then, in order to avoid being sent to the countryside, Shen Daniu had directly married a widower who already had a stable job.