Chapter 164: Got a Zero

Chapter 164: Got a Zero

Jiang Yu paid no attention to what they were saying, doubting Zhang Juxiang would dare to push the pregnant Aunt Lai.

Master Li and He Tingyue rushed out, their expressions serious.

"Jiang, how's my wife doing?" Master Li asked.

Jiang Yu shook her head and gave a brief update.

"She was taken to the People's Hospital. Fei Yan went with her. I don't have the full details yet."

Master Li saw the blood on her hands and broke down in tears, panicking.

"If anything happens to her, I don't know how I'll go on."

After losing two children, his hair had turned gray from the overwhelming grief.

He had initially decided against having more children, wanting a quiet life with his wife, but Aunt Lai was adamant about having another.

Master Li wiped away his tears, muttering, "It's all my fault."

He Tingyue spoke gravely, "Master Li, talking won't help now. We need to get to the hospital."

"Right, right! I have to get to the hospital!" Master Li started to run off but He Tingyue stopped him.

"Take my bike, it'll be quicker!"

Master Li smacked his forehead, "What am I thinking? Little He, Little Jiang, I'll make it up to you later."

Jiang Yu waved him off, "I didn't do anything. Don't waste time, go!"

Once Master Li was gone, He Tingyue focused on Jiang Yu, spotting the dried blood.

"Did it scare you?"

Jiang Yu looked up. Earlier, she had been too worried to feel fear.

"But now, seeing him, she was truly frightened."

"Aunt Lai was bleeding heavily, I'm not sure..."

If she and the baby would be okay.

He Tingyue, not caring about the mess, took her hand, offering silent reassurance.

With everyone focused on Aunt Lai, Zhang Juxiang was nearly forgotten.

Only when Factory Director Zheng showed up did everyone remember her.

Factory Director Zheng looked stern, clearly unhappy.

"When Wang Guozhong got hurt, the factory followed the rules and gave compensation. You said it wasn't enough and even brought your family here to make a scene."

Zhang Juxiang felt guilty, but thinking of Duan Yuzhen's words, she regained her confidence.

"Director, I'm looking out for myself, but also for everyone else! The factory's only got one job opening, and everyone's scrambling for it. Shouldn't we aim for fairness and justice?"

Jiang Yu couldn't help but sneer inwardly. What fairness and justice? It's all for herself.

When recruitment quotas were previously assigned internally, why didn’t she raise a fuss then?

To put it bluntly, she’s just targeting herself.

Zhang Juxiang was unconvinced, thinking that since she scored zero, Jiang Yu couldn’t possibly have done better than her.

Factory Director Zheng said sharply, "You suspect someone pulled strings to help Jiang Yu cheat, questioning not just Jiang Yu, but me and all the factory leaders! You think we’re biased, deliberately giving Jiang Yu an easy pass, don’t you?"

With such a heavy accusation thrown her way, Zhang Juxiang panicked.

"I didn’t mean that! I was talking about Jiang Yu..."

"Jiang Yu isn’t even from our factory; how could she possibly cheat? Section Chief He, to avoid suspicion, gave the recommendation to you instead of his own wife, proving his integrity. Why do you doubt him?" Factory Director Zheng spoke firmly, clearly fed up with her.

Enough is enough. If this happens again, he’ll deal with Wang Guozhong directly.

Zhang Juxiang stammered, "But Jiang Yu only finished junior high. How could she outdo a high school graduate?"

Factory Director Zheng scoffed, "You just want to know why Jiang Yu got first place in the recruitment exam, don’t you? I’ll post everyone’s exam papers for you all to see! Jiang Yu only finished junior high, but her articles have been published multiple times in the Beicheng Evening News. I had someone collect them, and they’ll be posted together."

"Beicheng Evening News? Section Chief He’s wife isn’t some country bumpkin—she’s actually this talented?"

"If her articles are published in the newspaper, with writing skills like that, why would she need to cheat?"

"I always said Section Chief He’s wife had to be something special."

"You’re just playing Monday morning quarterback—you were just siding with Zhang Juxiang!"

"Hey! That’s not the point. Zhang Juxiang’s family is really struggling."

"..."

Factory Director Zheng waved his hand. "Everyone, clear out. Go check the bulletin board, and don’t go accusing our leaders of favoritism again!"

The crowd scattered, rushing to the bulletin board in a frenzy.

Zhang Juxiang, still defiant, wanted to keep wailing, but was angrily scolded by Factory Director Zheng, "If you keep making a scene, I’ll have to ask Wang Guozhong how he manages his family. If he can’t even handle his own family, how can he manage the warehouse? He should just quit!"

Only then did Zhang Juxiang stop making a scene, taking her kids to the bulletin board.

She also wanted to see if Jiang Yu’s exam paper was really that good—good enough to take first place.

When she got there, her own exam paper was front and center, marked with a big red "0."

"Zhang Juxiang, you actually turned in a blank sheet? You wasted such a great opportunity!"

"Section Chief He’s just too honest. With your education level, if it weren’t for your family’s struggles, why would you even be recommended?"

"I only finished fifth grade, but if I took the exam, I wouldn’t have turned in a blank sheet."

"Zhang Juxiang, how can you still complain? The opportunity was given to you, and it’s clear you didn’t seize it!"

"Speaking of which, there are many families in the residential area with difficulties, but only Zhang Juxiang keeps talking about her family’s poor conditions."

The more people had defended her earlier, the angrier they were now.

These disparaging remarks made Zhang Juxiang feel ashamed, wishing she could tear her own exam paper down.

Otherwise, once the workers from the Second State Cotton Mill clock out, everyone will know she scored a zero.

Unable to stop Factory Director Zheng from sending people to keep an eye on her, they caught her in the act and quickly intervened.

"These exam papers need to be archived; the factory will retrieve them later."

Zhang Juxiang was seething with shame and anger: "Why keep the exam papers after the recruitment test is done!"

"It's to guard against people like you. If the papers go missing, someone might come back stirring up trouble, accusing our factory leaders of favoritism. Then what?"

This shut Zhang Juxiang up, leaving her bitter but wordless.

She had thought she could take Jiang Yu down today, but instead, Jiang Yu came out unscathed, and she ended up in hot water.

Too embarrassed to save face, she had no choice but to slink off.

Wang Guozhong had known from the get-go that Zhang Juxiang was stirring up trouble, but since it wasn't his embarrassment, he could sit back and reap the benefits. What's the harm in that?

When he married Zhang Juxiang years ago, he wasn't exactly thrilled with her.

But she was fertile and could pop out kids.

Plus, she had a fiery temper and could keep the family in line.

Last time he injured his leg, wasn't it thanks to Zhang Juxiang dragging the whole family to the factory to raise hell that they got more compensation?

Let her raise hell; he just needed to stay back and enjoy the quiet.

But he didn't expect the odd looks people started giving him.

After work, someone finally approached him and said,

"Guozhong, how did your wife snag that recommendation spot?"

"Section Chief He was willing to recommend her, but how did she end up with a zero, wasting a recommendation spot!"

"My nephew's a high school grad. I tried to find someone to recommend him but couldn't. If he went, he might not hit 90, but 80 would be a cinch."

"I get it now. If you want something, just drag the whole family to the factory and play the victim. You gotta do whatever it takes to get what you want."

Wang Guozhong was totally clueless. Only when someone pointed it out did he realize Zhang Juxiang's zero-score exam paper was plastered at the entrance for all to see.

Many people sniped at him, saying their family was useless, yet they still managed to score benefits and had the gall to stir up trouble.

Wang Guozhong covered his face and ran away. When he got home, he scolded Zhang Juxiang harshly and ordered her never to cause trouble again.