Chapter 20 Enemy

Chapter 20: An Old Foe

The book offered scant details about the big shot's sister. Xie Xinyi couldn't quite grasp the fleeting thought that crossed her mind, dismissing it as mere overthinking.

After parking her bike in the shed, she was heading to her workshop when she spotted the girl from yesterday, engaged in a heated discussion with a man in his fifties.

The girl clasped her hands, her eyes pleading, while the man opposite, his face grim, said something and pointed to the toolbox in his hand. He then brushed past the girl's attempts to stop him and strode towards the Sauce and Rice Workshop.

Seeing the girl standing there, looking utterly bewildered, Xie Xinyi walked over.

"Master Ma still refuses to come?"

Perhaps startled by Xie Xinyi's sudden appearance and her accurate guess, the girl turned to her, her eyes rimmed with red. Her lips moved, but no words came out. Seeing Xie Xinyi waiting patiently, she took a deep breath and gave a slight nod.

Xie Xinyi had harbored suspicions when Sister Mantou made that sarcastic remark yesterday. However, with so many people rushing to comfort the girl, and being a newcomer on her first day, it felt inappropriate to jump to conclusions. Had she not witnessed this morning's scene, which confirmed her suspicions, she wouldn't have approached so rashly.

"Actually, even if Master Ma doesn't come, you needn't worry," she offered, trying a different angle. "He's the factory's maintenance master. It's his responsibility to fix any broken equipment. If he doesn't come, it's dereliction of duty. You won't even need to find him; the factory will naturally hold him accountable."

"But..." the girl hesitated. She understood the logic, but, "When the machine broke that day, I went to check it."

"Was the machine already broken when you went to check?" Xie Xinyi asked again.

"Yes. When Aunt Cui went to find Master Ma, I was curious and went to check. Then... then Wu Guifen said I broke it."

The girl recounted everything that happened that day to Xie Xinyi. The two walked side by side towards the Ice Pop Team. Along the way, the girl also briefly explained the team's situation.

The Ice Pop Team comprised five members, including Team Leader Cui. Except for Sister Mantou, who joined two years ago, everyone else had been assigned to the Ice Pop Team upon entering the factory.

The girl's name was Jiang Tiantian. She had taken over her mother's position at the food factory three years ago and was the youngest in the Ice Pop Team.

Their team was the least favored in the factory—few tasks, few people, and hardly any recognition. They were like background characters, as evidenced by Master Ma's repeated reluctance to help.

The person who went to fetch Master Ma that day was the most senior member of their team—Big Chen. Everyone called him Big Chen. He was known for his terrible temper but exceptional skills. Over the years, he had single-handedly tackled every difficult technical challenge in the Ice Pop Team, making him the backbone of their team.

Then there was Sister Liu, who was responsible for guiding Xie Xinyi that day. She was warm-hearted and got along well with members of other teams. However, she was straightforward in her words and actions, which had offended many, including the factory's maintenance master, Master Ma.

The last one was Sister Mantou, who had been targeting Xie Xinyi from the start. Rumor had it that she was a distant relative of Fang Xueying, the office director.

Her husband was the head of the procurement department. A few years ago, when the factory was hiring family members of employees, she used connections to get assigned to the Sauce and Rice Workshop. She was very capable and even became the team leader of the pickled vegetable team at one point. Later, for some unknown reason, she was not only demoted but also ostracized and transferred to their Ice Pop Team.

The girl also told Xie Xinyi why Wu Guifen had taken an instant dislike to her. "...Her son recently got engaged. Their family promised to secure a formal job at the food factory for the fiancée. The two families had even held an engagement ceremony, but..."

But then Xie Xinyi showed up and took the job. The job was gone, the almost-wife ran away, and they lost the engagement gifts. That's why Wu Guifen saw Xie Xinyi as a thorn in her side and couldn't stand the sight of her.

Xie Xinyi couldn't understand. The job didn't belong to the Wu family. Besides, if the fiancée was gone, they could always find another one. Was it necessary to make such a big deal out of it?

"...Of course it's necessary. Her son went through dozens of matchmaking attempts before finally settling on this one. You came and took his fiancée's job—you think she'd be happy with you?"

Xie Xinyi was even more puzzled, but this time it was about the fact that his son had gone through dozens of matchmaking attempts without success.

Jiang Tiantian briefly explained the situation in Wu Guifen's family. In summary: an overbearing mother, a gambling father, a broken sister, and a hopeless son.

With a useless son and an unreliable husband, she carried all the burdens of the family alone. It was no wonder she was going crazy.

But even if you're going crazy, there's no need to bring your negative emotions to the team and pick fights with everyone, making the whole team feel like your chaotic home—low morale and a toxic atmosphere.

Xie Xinyi had always disliked people who couldn't control their emotions. In her previous life, her mentor was like that. Unhappy in her marriage, she took it out on Xie Xinyi and brainwashed her daily, saying all men were trash and that crows were black everywhere. It made going to work feel like surviving a disaster. Xie Xinyi had to manage her mentor's emotions while trying to maintain her own sanity and sexual orientation under constant brainwashing. In the end, she ended up single her whole life and died from overwork.

Having suffered from the wrath of discontented middle-aged women, she wasn't about to repeat history. After deciding to keep her distance from Sister Mantou in the future, she asked the girl why she had wanted to tinker with the machine.

"...My dad is a maintenance worker at a fertilizer factory. Since I was little, I loved following him around and fiddling with machines. That day, I just couldn't resist trying out what my dad taught me. Who knew..."

The girl lowered her head and sighed quietly. "...Sister Liu said I was reckless, asking how I could compare the cooler to the machines at the fertilizer factory. But I’ve read the manual—the principles are the same."

The girl blushed, trying to defend herself, as if afraid Xie Xinyi would also think she had been messing around like everyone else.

But Xie Xinyi seemed to focus on something else. After carefully listening to the girl's explanation, her first reaction wasn't doubt but surprise. "You can read the manual?"

It was worth noting that, in this era, production technology and machinery in factories largely relied on imports, and the food factory was no exception.

The machines were imported from the U.S., so the manuals were naturally in English.

An English manual might not be a big deal for someone like Xie Xinyi from the future, but for many people in this era who couldn't even write their own Chinese names properly, English was like squiggly lines—it knew you, but you didn't know it.

Xie Xinyi was surprised the girl could understand the English-filled manual. She was about to say that they might not need Master Ma's help after all when the girl suddenly admitted sheepishly, "I can only understand the diagrams. Those squiggly words... I don’t recognize them."

Well, so she was a practical-minded tech girl.

Xie Xinyi sighed inwardly, but being able to read diagrams was still better than knowing nothing.

After reassuring the girl that she was already doing great, the two arrived at the Frozen Products Workshop.

They quickly changed into their work clothes as the factory bell rang.

It was the monthly inventory day. After changing, everyone headed to the warehouse.

Sister Liu hurried over to the girl and quietly asked about the outcome of her plea to Master Ma that morning.

Seeing Xiao Jiang shake her head, Sister Liu comforted her, "If he really won’t come, forget it. I think once production starts, he’ll be the one panicking, not us."

This echoed what Xie Xinyi had said, so Jiang Tiantian didn’t say anything more.

They went to the warehouse to tidy up the remaining items, and Big Chen reported the needed purchases to Aunt Cui.

Cui Jun glanced at the list briefly, then took the procurement form to the office. Xie Xinyi wondered why such a small matter required the team leader to handle it personally.

Jiang Tiantian explained, "The team leader says if you do something, you have to let others know. Do things out in the open, not just clean up others' messes. Our Ice Pop Team is already invisible enough. If we don’t make ourselves seen by the leaders, we might get disbanded one day."

It sounded exaggerated, but it made sense. Xie Xinyi hadn’t expected Aunt Cui, who seemed unassuming, to have such foresight and self-awareness.

Jiang Tiantian added that Aunt Cui was actually a good person. Despite his unassuming appearance, he was very protective of his "chicks."

Take the incident with Xiao Jiang breaking the cooler, for example. Aunt Cui never blamed her from the start. Instead, he brought food and drinks to Master Ma every few days, taking full responsibility as the team leader.

Whenever someone in the team made a mistake, he always took the blame, saying it was his poor management.

As Cui Jun put it, only he could bully his own chicks. If anyone else dared to criticize them, no matter how high-ranking, he wouldn’t back down.

However, his "chicks" didn’t include the gossipy and troublesome Sister Mantou.

Jiang Tiantian emphasized this point, and Xie Xinyi thought it sounded exactly like something Cui Jun would do.

After their sincere conversation that morning, Jiang Tiantian had no reason to hide anything from Xie Xinyi. After telling her where Team Leader Cui had gone, she took Xie Xinyi on a deeper tour of the team's machinery.

"...This is the raw material mixer. It’s the first machine that mixes the ingredients for our ice pops."

Jiang Tiantian pointed to the machine at the front of the production line. Moving further ahead, they arrived at the broken cooler. "This cooler is the most critical part of the production line. Without it, we can’t make ice pops."

The girl lowered her head, seeming to think of something again, her voice catching a little. Xie Xinyi didn't try to comfort her but instead pointed curiously at the big machine in front of the cooling unit and asked, "What's this?"

"Oh, this is the molding tank, specifically used to shape the popsicles."

Jiang Tiantian's attention was diverted. When it came to machinery, she became as energetic as if she'd had a shot of adrenaline, even her eyes lighting up. "The rest is the packaging station, which is Sister Liu's responsibility. It looks like an easy job, but it actually tests one's patience the most."

Xie Xinyi understood this well. After all, every popsicle produced had to be inspected one by one to ensure the packaging was intact. It required not only quick eyes and hands but also meticulousness and patience.

Since Sister Liu could patiently knit, this probably wasn’t a difficult task for her.

"Which part do you usually handle?"

After listening to the introduction, Xie Xinyi curiously asked Jiang Tiantian about her work.

"I'm responsible for overseeing the cooling unit."

Unexpectedly, the topic circled back. Seeing the girl's downcast look again, Xie Xinyi took this opportunity to share her thoughts with her.

"...Repair it myself?"

Jiang Tiantian looked at Xie Xinyi in disbelief. After confirming she wasn’t joking, she felt uncertain. "Is that really possible? What if..."

What if she ended up making the cooling unit worse? Then Master Ma would be even less willing to help.

Seeing the girl hesitate, Xie Xinyi analyzed the situation for her: "Anyway, the cooling unit is already broken. If you can’t fix it, it won’t make things worse. At most, we can just have Aunt Cui take some more treats to Master Ma."

Xie Xinyi cocked an eyebrow at the girl. Seeing she was still hesitant, she tried persuading her from another angle: "Didn’t you say you really enjoy tinkering with these machines? Don’t... you even believe in yourself to fix it?"

These two questions hit Jiang Tiantian’s weakest point—her self-esteem. Thinking about how Big Brother Chen had swallowed his pride to beg for her, how Aunt Cui had even given away the White Rabbit candy meant for her own child, and the harsh words Master Ma had said to her that morning...

The girl balled her fists and gradually began to hesitate. "But... I can only understand the diagrams in the manual. Those words..."

"I can help you." Xie Xinyi tried to sound as unsuspicious as possible. "Although I don’t understand either, two heads are better than one, right?"

She didn’t dare mention her English major certification and could only compare herself to others. "Master Ma is much older than you, right? He probably can’t understand those words either. He became a master through years of trial and error. You’ve been around machinery since you were young, so you should have an advantage over him."

"But... I’ve never repaired a cooling unit before."

"Then this will be your first time." Xie Xinyi continued to encourage the girl.

"But... but..."

"Hey, enough with the 'buts'."

At this point, Sister Liu, who had been listening in all along, also spoke up: "I say, Xiao Jiang, whether you repair it or not, the cooling unit is already broken. Since it’s broken anyway, you might as well give it a try. Like this young lady said, if you can’t fix it, it’s no big deal. At most, we can just have Aunt Cui bring more treats to Master Ma."

"What scheme are you cooking up now?"

Sister Liu put away her knitting and was about to have a proper talk with Jiang Tiantian when, before she could say anything, Cui Jun’s high-pitched voice came from behind: "Sister Liu, instead of focusing on your knitting, you’re scheming against me, huh?"

Cui Jun placed his hands on his hips and raised a pinky finger. Sister Liu immediately put on a smile and denied it: "Team Leader, let me explain..."

"Team Leader, don’t listen to them."

Before Sister Liu could explain, Sister Mantou quickly jumped in: "Team Leader, they want Jiang Tiantian to repair the cooling unit. They even said that if she messes it up, they’ll have you send more goodies to Master Ma."

Wu Guifen repeated Xie Xinyi and the others' plans word for word to Cui Jun. To make sure he believed her, she even claimed she had been nearby the whole time without leaving.

No wonder Wu Guifen had been following Xie Xinyi and Jiang Tiantian everywhere. Xie Xinyi had thought she was working, but it turned out she was just eavesdropping, waiting for this moment.

Xie Xinyi wanted to laugh. She wanted to refute, but everything Wu Guifen said was true. Helpless, she could only hang their heads with Jiang Tiantian and remain silent, waiting for Team Leader Cui’s judgment.

"Is what Wu Guifen said true?"

Cui Jun stared at the three silent figures before him, his expression blank.

Sister Liu knew he was really mad and didn’t dare answer. Jiang Tiantian, feeling unsure, also stayed quiet. Only Xie Xinyi, not intimidated, stepped forward and admitted: "Yes, it was my idea for Xiao Jiang."

Not only did she admit it, but she also answered the questions Cui Jun was about to ask.

The young girl was candid, offering no explanation or attempt to hide the truth, openly admitting everything and dragging herself into it.

Seeing this, Jiang Tiantian quickly stepped up to back her up: "It’s not Xie Xinyi’s fault. I couldn’t get Master Ma to help, so I wanted to try fixing it myself."

One admission wasn’t enough—the other had to volunteer a confession.

Wu Guifen stood to the side, watching the foolish pair, unable to suppress a smirk.

She already resented Xie Xinyi for taking her daughter-in-law’s job. On top of that, this newcomer had quickly befriended Xiao Jiang and Sister Liu and was now encouraging Xiao Jiang to repair the cooling unit herself. Wu Guifen was green with envy.

She had been closely monitoring Xie Xinyi’s every move, afraid of missing anything. Fortunately, heaven didn’t let her down—she had finally caught them red-handed.

When she saw Xie Xinyi and Jiang Tiantian arrive together that morning, she knew they were up to no good. She had quietly followed them, determined to find out what they were planning.

Hearing Xie Xinyi persuade Jiang Tiantian to repair the cooling unit herself and suggest that Cui Jun clean up the mess if she failed, Wu Guifen couldn’t wait to tell on them to Cui Jun.

But before she could make a move, Cui Jun overheard them himself. She seized the opportunity to report Xie Xinyi’s actions.

If Xie Xinyi loved stealing others' jobs and showing off, then this time, she would learn the consequences of her arrogance.

Wu Guifen prepared to enjoy the show, while Sister Liu watched the two young girls with concern.

Just as everyone expected Cui Jun to fly into a rage, the man who had been scowling moments ago did a complete 180.

He first shot the two girls a disapproving look, then waved his pinky finger threateningly and said: "I'm telling you now: if you can’t fix it this time, I don’t have any extra candy to give Master Ma."

He raised the issue high only to let it drop lightly. Wu Guifen trembled with anger at Cui Jun’s favoritism.

"That damn effeminate man," she cursed silently. "You protect them now, but if they really can’t fix it, let’s see how you explain it."

Clenching her jaw, she shot a venomous glare at Xie Xinyi before stomping off to gossip with the Sweet Rice Ball Team.

Jiang Tiantian finally processed what Team Leader Cui’s words meant. "You’re really letting me repair it?"

She glanced at Xie Xinyi in disbelief and, after receiving an encouraging look, suppressed her excitement and confirmed with Cui Jun again.

"What else can we do?" Cui Jun said with a shrug. "I can’t just give away all the White Rabbit candy I bought for my daughter."

He stared at the two girls barely containing their excitement and emphasized again: "You made this promise yourselves. If you can’t fix it, don’t come crying to me."

"Never, absolutely not."

Jiang Tiantian excitedly grabbed Xie Xinyi’s hand. After assuring Cui Jun, she immediately went to the second-floor observation room to get the cooling unit’s manual. "We’ll start studying it now. I promise we won’t let the team down."

The girl’s face was beaming, all trace of yesterday's sadness gone, her eyes no longer red and tearful.

Sister Liu gave Cui Jun a grateful look, then turned back to the now-smiling girl with relief. Satisfied, she took out her knitting from her bag and slowly, contentedly continued her work.

Xie Xinyi felt happy for Jiang Tiantian too, but that didn't mean she could reveal everything. For instance, at that moment, Jiang Tiantian pointed at a string of English words in the manual, scratching her head, and asked her in confusion, "Do you know what these mean?"

Playing dumb, looking confused, and shaking her head—after a series of actions, Xie Xinyi thought she had almost fooled the other person. But to her surprise, the next moment, the girl called her out directly: "Then why did you say you could help me?"

Whether she could help Xiao Jiang, Xie Xinyi knew very well in her heart, but whether she could help others, she was less certain.

After work in the evening, she had expected Gu Ying to have finished her interview long ago and be waiting at home to complain to her. Yet, as soon as she reached the entrance, she spotted a bespectacled man standing side by side with Gu Ying outside the courtyard.

The man appeared slightly shorter than Gu Yu, with a neat, close-cropped haircut. He wasn’t wearing a military uniform, but his ramrod-straight posture made it clear he had undergone training.

He maintained a normal social distance from Gu Ying and was polite and courteous. At first glance, he gave off the vibe of a sunny, cheerful young man.

Just then, the man said something that made Gu Ying cover her mouth and laugh. The man then responded with a polite smile, leaning slightly toward Gu Ying as he chuckled, raising an eyebrow as if asking a question.

His expression remained smiling throughout, never crossing any boundaries or breaking any rules. Yet, to Xie Xinyi, there was an indescribable sense of smarminess about him.

She didn’t know why she felt this way—perhaps she had been influenced by too many online dramas in her past life, making her wary of men who seemed unconventional.

But wasn’t he unconventional?

When Gu Yu returned from training and saw this scene, he also frowned, staring at the two for a long time.

Husband and wife stood on opposite sides of the road—one frowning on the left, the other hesitating on the right. It took a while before they noticed each other.

Seeing the man’s dark expression and tightly furrowed brows, Xie Xinyi guessed that the man at the entrance must be the technician the siblings had discussed that morning.

Moreover, Gu Yu seemed to hold many prejudices against that man. Not only had he refused to talk about him when Gu Ying asked earlier, but now he was staring intently at the two of them.

He looked like a leopard sensing danger—alert, guarded, and with a faint trace of unease.

Xie Xinyi felt she was overlooking something, but Gu Yu had already started walking toward the two.

"Why aren’t you going inside?"

He didn’t ask who the man was, nor did he even glance at him. Instead, he fixed his gaze on his sister, his meaning unmistakably clear.

Gu Ying was startled by his sudden appearance and was still processing her brother’s harsh words and intense glare.

Gu Ying was not one to follow rules obediently—the more someone tried to control her, the more she resisted. If there hadn’t been an outsider present, she would have retorted immediately after Gu Yu’s question. But now...

She glanced at the man opposite her, who remained unfazed and wore a polite smile. Just as she was about to organize her words to bid him farewell politely, before she could speak, her wrist was grabbed from behind.

"I said, Gu—"

"Ying'er, why are you standing outside instead of going in?"

Seeing that the siblings were about to clash, Xie Xinyi quickly stepped in with her bicycle, placing herself between them. "How did the interview go today?" she asked Gu Ying with a smile, deftly steering the conversation and diffusing the tension between the two.

"Sis-in-law's back."

Gu Ying had no reason to be angry with her sister-in-law. She smiled awkwardly and, when Xie Xinyi asked about the man standing with her and why she hadn’t invited him in, introduced him generously.

"This is the subject of my interview today, the technical director of the military factory, Regimental Commander Gao He."

"Regimental Commander Gao, this is my sister-in-law."

"Hello."

"Hello, Regimental Commander Gao."

The man greeted her politely, and Xie Xinyi responded with equal courtesy.

In theory, this was standard procedure for a first meeting between strangers, but Xie Xinyi couldn’t shake the feeling that the man’s glance at her carried an indescribable meaning.

It wasn’t narcissism—just a strange sixth sense she had felt from the moment she first laid eyes on him.

However, she didn’t react as strongly as Gu Yu. She couldn’t just scowl at the man outright. But not scowling didn't mean she welcomed him either. After a brief exchange of greetings, she didn’t invite him inside, instead heading into the courtyard with her bicycle and softly calling Gu Yu to help her lock it up.

She maintained basic courtesy, but her attitude was clear.

If Gao He couldn’t read the situation, he must be foolish.

Seeing that the Gu family wasn’t welcoming him, he excused himself by saying he had other matters to attend to and bid farewell to Gu Ying with a smile.

Throughout the interaction, he maintained a polite smile, never showing anger despite the slight.

Watching the man’s retreating figure, Xie Xinyi was about to remark on his perceptiveness when she turned and saw Gu Yu staring at the departing man with hawk-like eyes.

His brows were furrowed, his gaze deep and alert...

Did he have some history with him?