Influenced by the “Big Brother Soviet” model, most cities planned their urban construction with strict separation between industrial districts, residential districts, and other functional areas.
Aside from certain heavy industrial factories—such as machinery plants and steel mills—which were usually placed in the suburbs for special reasons, most factories like textile mills, flour mills, and distilleries were built closer to residential areas for the convenience of workers commuting to and from work.
Zhang Yunqing had no intention of heading to the suburbs.
Even if those heavy industrial factories were hiring, with her abilities, getting in would be harder than ascending to heaven.
The gap between theoretical knowledge and practical skills was not something she could bridge simply because she had transmigrated from the twenty-first century.
Besides, even if she truly knew how to do those things, she could not openly display such abilities.
How could a newly graduated high school girl possibly understand advanced mechanical engineering?
If she dared claim she learned it in school, she would probably be arrested as a spy in the next second.
After all, while those heavy industrial plants produced civilian machinery, they also handled military manufacturing. Their level of confidentiality was definitely not something a small fry like Zhang Yunqing could get involved with.
She had better obediently check around the textile factories instead.
It was three in the afternoon. Workers in all the factories had long finished their lunch breaks and were diligently back at work.
Around the factories, aside from children skipping naps to play outside, there was hardly a soul in sight.
Under the blazing sun, Zhang Yunqing wandered around while enduring suspicious looks from factory security guards, craning her neck to look everywhere.
Just as sweat soaked her entire body and she began wondering if she had remembered the plot incorrectly, she finally spotted four or five people standing ahead.
After secretly observing for a while and confirming this was indeed the recruitment registration site, delight immediately rose in her heart.
Her luck was actually pretty good. If she had lazed around at home just a little longer before remembering this matter, it would have been far too late.
“Hello, comrade. Is this the recruitment registration? I’d like to sign up.”
Her sudden arrival drew everyone’s attention.
From the line, a dissatisfied male voice sounded.
“Registration already closed. Coming now is useless. You don’t even have a sense of time.”
The others also looked at her with hostility.
There were limited spots available. One extra person meant one extra competitor.
After all, everyone wanted a job so they could escape being sent down to the countryside.
Zhang Yunqing merely glanced at him indifferently, unwilling to argue in public.
Instead, she looked seriously at the middle-aged man leading the group.
“Comrade, the workday isn’t over yet. That means registration time shouldn’t be over either, right?”
Liu Chengguo looked somewhat surprised.
Today’s recruitment had not been publicly announced on a large scale, and the requirements were rather strict.
Applicants had to be high school graduates, possess some drawing skills, and understand lead-type typesetting.
With those restrictions, almost everyone qualified was a child of factory workers.
Liu Chengguo more or less knew all of them.
He had not expected a young woman to appear at the very last moment.
Unsure of Zhang Yunqing’s background, Liu Chengguo did not dare offend her rashly. After checking her student ID and confirming she had just graduated from high school this year—perfectly meeting the requirements—he nodded.
“It’s true that no exact cutoff time was specified. Go ahead and join.”
“Alright, thank you, comrade.” Zhang Yunqing smiled gratefully.
The man who had tried to make trouble earlier, Ma Guangming, saw that Liu Chengguo had agreed to let her register and did not dare object further. He merely glared at her unhappily.
Zhang Yunqing glared right back.
He immediately lowered his head awkwardly.
So he was the type who bullied the weak and feared the strong.
After making that judgment, Zhang Yunqing curled her lips and followed behind the others while openly observing the surroundings.
She had rushed over too quickly earlier and had not looked carefully. Even now, she still did not know exactly which factory was hiring.
All she saw were rows of single-story factory buildings lined up neatly together, their walls covered in quotations from the Little Red Book.
The entire place carried a very distinct flavor of the era.
For the first time, she truly felt that this was 1972.
After taking a few more looks at the other applicants, she noticed that aside from a couple older individuals, most were young people. Apparently, the factory job did not require especially advanced technical skills.
Thinking this, Zhang Yunqing finally relaxed a little.
After turning into the factory compound’s only office building—a five-story structure—Liu Chengguo led everyone into an empty office.
The examination materials had already been prepared inside.
“Sit down. Each person take a set of paper and pencil and work slowly, no rush. We’ll have to wait for the master workers to get off work before grading.”
After giving instructions, Liu Chengguo casually distributed the papers and pencils, then poured himself a cup of tea and sat to the side sipping it leisurely.
In this scorching weather, he had nearly gotten heatstroke.
Next time, this kind of job should really be assigned to another department. A rough man like him felt far more comfortable working production in the workshop.
When Zhang Yunqing finally saw the so-called exam paper, her eyebrows instinctively rose.
At the top of the large sheet of paper were the words:
“Pingcheng Printing Factory.”
And there was only a single question.
“Detailed Implementation Plan for the Campaign to Grasp Production and Promote Revolution.”
At first glance, the topic seemed completely unrelated to recruitment assessment.
Yet aside from Zhang Yunqing, none of the other five people looked surprised.
Clearly, they already knew the exam content beforehand.
Looking at the factory name on the paper, Zhang Yunqing immediately understood.
Without revealing anything, she casually chose a seat like the others.
Still, because she had signed up at the last minute and already clashed with the others outside, a subtle divide had formed.
Out of the six people, the other five all sat close together, vaguely isolating her.
But Zhang Yunqing did not care.
She was here to participate in recruitment, not to make friends.
Everyone would rely on their own abilities.
Even if those people had family connections and knew the topic in advance, they still had to personally sit for the exam.
That meant their backers were not powerful enough to secure positions outright.
She still had a chance.
After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yunqing turned the paper sideways and lightly drew a guideline across it, dividing the page into two sections.
Then she began sketching the draft lines.
At first, the lines under her pencil were somewhat stiff.
But gradually, she rediscovered the feel and rhythm from her previous life’s work experience, and her strokes became smoother and smoother.
By the time Liu Chengguo reminded everyone to stop writing, she still felt unsatisfied, as though the work was not quite good enough.
Only when she looked up did she realize that three more people had entered the room at some point.
Two appeared somewhat younger, around forty or fifty years old.
The other had graying hair and wore copper-framed glasses. One bent temple of the glasses had been wrapped several times with black electrical tape.
He was presumably the master worker responsible for the assessment.
Liu Chengguo collected the exam papers one by one.
But when he reached Zhang Yunqing’s paper, he was visibly startled.
His previously indifferent eyes suddenly widened dramatically, and his whole demeanor became energized.
Still, mindful that this was an evaluation and that the final decision was not his to make as a team leader, he forcefully suppressed the urge to recruit her on the spot and quietly placed her paper at the very bottom of the stack.
“Master Zhang, the papers are all here. Please take a look.”
Zhang Xinmin flipped through the papers one by one.
The deeply lined face grew darker and darker.
Before even reaching the last paper, he slammed his palm onto the desk.
“Ridiculous! Where did you people find these useless fools? This counts as having a foundation? The factory is desperately short on manpower right now. If we have to teach them from scratch, how long will it take before they can actually work?”