Era: Starting with the struggle to refuse being taken advantage of

Chapter 204 A Mouthful Blame
Although the annoying flies are gone, hiring still needs to continue.

With that in mind, Wang Chengpeng began to quickly wash the radishes and potatoes with clean water.

The cleaning step seems a bit redundant, since we'll be using the knife anyway.

If you don't clean the dirt off the surface properly, it's easy to transfer the dirt to the flesh when peeling the fruit.

After rinsing the radishes and potatoes with clean water until the water was mostly clear, Wang Chengpeng began to cut them.

There are no shortcuts in this step; the knife must be steady, precise, and ruthless to completely remove the skin while preserving more of the fruit flesh.

Thanks to Wang Chengpeng's superb knife skills acquired through cooking, peeling a radish and a potato was a piece of cake, and soon he had two smooth radishes and potatoes in his hands.

After the radishes and potatoes have been cleaned and peeled, they are weighed and their cleanliness is evaluated. Wang Chengpeng's recruitment test is then considered complete.

89%.

The fruit pulp retention rate may seem low, but it's actually quite good.

Furthermore, Wang Chengpeng's peeled radishes and potatoes were spotless, so if there were no shady dealings, he would definitely be among the top performers.

After completing the recruitment test, Wang Chengpeng had some time to check on the performance of others.

In particular, Wang Chengpeng paid close attention to his parents and Wang Zidong.

Among them, Liu Chunhua was probably the one Wang Chengpeng was most at ease with, since she often cooked and washing and peeling was just a piece of cake for her.

Her only concern was how to preserve as much of the fruit as possible, which is why she seemed somewhat hesitant when she picked it up.

Wang Tieshan was not bad; he was an honest and upright person who did not take shortcuts and handled things step by step.

Although it may seem a bit reckless, the results may not be much worse than those of others.

However, what Wang Zidong did next surprised Wang Chengpeng greatly.
Perhaps he was simply not suited for this job, especially when it came to removing the eyes from the potatoes, where he went overboard with his movements, acting extremely boldly and recklessly.

This does remove the potato eyes, but it also results in a significant loss of flesh. Surrounded by top competitors, it will likely be difficult to stand out.

However, the upcoming college entrance examination was the best way out for the two of them, so Wang Chengpeng didn't remind him and just let Wang Zidong do it.

After all, if he were to give a hint, it would essentially be considered cheating.

This recruitment test seemed simple, involving only basic cleaning and peeling.

However, because it is so important, it makes many people feel anxious and insecure.

What they didn't realize was that the more they hesitated and agonized, the more time they wasted, and the more easily the radishes and potatoes would absorb water and soften their skin, making them even harder to peel.

Unless they possess exceptional knife skills, those still struggling have effectively lost their eligibility to become sugar factory workers.

86.5%, 85.9%, very clean.

After glancing at his parents' grades, Wang Chengpeng breathed a slight sigh of relief.

While this level may not be considered top-tier, it is certainly excellent among all test takers, more than enough to qualify one as a general worker in a sugar factory.

Because of Wang Chengpeng's withdrawal, there will even be an extra job opening.

However, it was too early to give up at this point, especially since Wang Chengpeng still wanted to see who was the top-ranked student who failed the exam, and he didn't want to let his enemy benefit from it.

Although they had all achieved good results, Wang Tieshan still looked worried and said:

"Son, do you think you can do it this time?"

"I see you finished the test a long time ago, I don't know if it's good or bad."

"If things don't go well, is this job at the sugar factory acceptable or not?"

"After all, this job posting looks perfectly legitimate to me, and it doesn't seem like there's anything fishy going on."

Seeing the worried look in his father's eyes, Wang Chengpeng smiled and said:

"The assessment ended a long time ago, so thinking about these things now is pointless."

"Instead of thinking about my affairs, I should think about you."

“I think Dad and Mom’s assessment results are quite good. Maybe you can both be recruited as workers at the sugar factory.”

At this point, the two only knew the weight of the radishes and potatoes before and after processing, but unlike Wang Chengpeng, they did not instantly convert it into the meat yield.

Therefore, they had no confidence in their performance, and Liu Chunhua said anxiously:
"Us? We're just there to make up the numbers."

"To keep you from waiting too long, I've deliberately sped up the pace. Compared to those who persevere until the very end of the test, I'm definitely not as good as them."

Wang Tieshan echoed in a low voice, "That's right, how could we possibly become workers in a sugar factory?"

"As long as our son can succeed, we'll work hard in the fields for the rest of our lives without any problem."

However, this was originally a family discussion, but at this moment a very discordant voice was inserted, saying:
"It seems you two have some self-awareness, knowing that this kind of thing is definitely not for you few farmers who only know how to farm."

The voice was incredibly familiar; it was none other than his long-lost uncle, Wang Jinshan, accompanied by Liu Xiumei, Wang Chun'an, and Wang Xia'an.

A little further away, Wang Yinshan and his family of four followed closely behind.

Wang Chengpeng nodded kindly to Wang Yinshan, and the Wang family of four slowed down their pace, increasing the distance between themselves and the Wang family of four.

He was subtly telling Wang Chengpeng that he had little to do with Wang Jinshan and that he shouldn't drag the conflict into his own life.

Faced with Wang Jinshan's sudden accusation, Wang Tieshan felt completely bewildered and utterly confused.

After all, this was supposed to be a private conversation between the three of them. Although Wang Jinshan was the elder brother, it was really inappropriate for him to forcefully intervene and make unwarranted accusations.

Moreover, the accusations used by Wang Jinshan were actually excerpts taken from their previous discussions.

These words, used to shut someone up, left Wang Tieshan's mind blank.

Wang Tieshan opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but even after racking his brains, he couldn't find a single word to respond.

For a moment, Wang Tieshan was stunned by Wang Jinshan and couldn't move.

Even though the other party was his elder, Wang Chengpeng couldn't stand by and watch his father be bullied, so he immediately stood up and said:

"Judging from what my uncle said, he must have done well on the job recruitment test, so he must be very confident in getting the job."

"It's really great to have such a capable uncle. In the future, I will definitely need to rely on him for help in the village. I will naturally tell everyone about this good thing."

"How about this, Uncle, please don't mind. I'll go to town right now and order a banner that says 'Congratulations to Uncle Wang Jinshan on successfully recruiting a worker.' What do you think?"

Even though Wang Jinshan was a toad with an extremely arrogant tone, he didn't dare to respond to Wang Chengpeng.

Just kidding, even if he's confident in his test scores, what if he doesn't?
If he fails to be recruited, and Wang Chengpeng makes such a scene, he'll probably lose face in front of the whole village.

However, he had just criticized Wang Tieshan and Liu Chunhua for their lack of strength. If he were to admit defeat now and say that he was not confident either, wouldn't that be a slap in his own face?
Since I can't answer this question myself, I can only ask someone else for help.

Thinking this, Wang Jinshan tugged at Liu Xiumei's hand, signaling her to quickly help him out of this predicament.

Liu Xiumei, being Wang Jinshan's wife, knew all about his little schemes and immediately rebuked Wang Chengpeng, saying:
"Nephew, what do you mean by that? Is that how you talk to your elders?"

"Third brother and sister, I'm not trying to criticize you, but you can't neglect educating your son, especially when it comes to respecting his elders." Some people, when they can't win an argument, like to use seniority to pressure others.

After all, seniority is a fixed thing, making it really difficult to turn the tide.

However, Wang Chengpeng clearly wasn't buying it, and immediately feigned confusion, asking:

"Aunt, what do you mean by that?"

"I heard that my uncle performed well in this recruitment, ranking among the top, and he is 100% sure he will be recruited."

"As a junior, I sincerely want to congratulate my uncle. Is there anything wrong with doing so?"

Although Wang Jinshan wanted to refute that he had never said anything like that, he knew that if he opened his mouth, he would definitely be rebuked by Wang Chengpeng.

Since you don't think you're that great, what right do you have to criticize your parents?

The familiar embarrassing scene instantly reminded Wang Jinshan of the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of Wang Chengpeng, and a wave of regret washed over him.

Why did I have to be so rude?

After racking his brains, Wang Jinshan finally came up with a plausible excuse, saying:

“Cheng Peng, I’m not trying to be mean, but your uncle isn’t one to be so high-profile.”

"So please don't bother with banners or anything like that. It's a waste of money, and it doesn't suit my low-key personality."

"Oh, right, I suddenly remembered that my family and I have some things to do, so we won't chat with you here any longer."

"We're leaving now. Let's catch up again when we have time."

After saying this, Wang Jinshan didn't even dare to wait for Wang Chengpeng's reply before leading his family away in a sorry state.

Intentionally picking a fight? As it turns out, Wang Jinshan was simply humiliating himself.

After Wang Jinshan's family left, Wang Yinshan's family came up to greet them with smiles.

After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the two families finally parted ways and went home.

Only then did Wang Chengpeng have time to comfort his parents, saying:

"Father, Mother, I think you two really don't need to worry."

"When it comes to doing things, it's not that the longer you do them, the better you do them."

"The more time it takes to do the same thing, the less efficient it is."

After being comforted by Wang Chengpeng, and since neither of them had any expectations of being able to recruit workers, they quickly felt relieved.

I wonder what their expressions will be like when they see the recruitment results tomorrow.

……

Tonight is destined to be a sleepless night for many.

In this era without computers as an aid, everything had to be calculated manually, which was extremely troublesome and complicated.

Especially when the scores are very close, one in ten thousand might be the key to deciding the outcome.

Looking at the massive amount of data in front of him, village secretary Long Yongde felt utterly overwhelmed.

He needs to calculate everyone's data first before he can sort them according to the calculation results, which is a huge undertaking.

For this major project, not only the accountant was involved, but even Wang Fucheng personally took charge, all in order to get results as soon as possible.

73%, 80%, ...

Clean, clean, a little dirty, dirty...

As various data were compiled, scores carrying hopes were rapidly awarded, and soon a list of data was compiled.

Just as Long Yongde was getting dizzy from calculating, an exceptionally impressive set of data appeared before him, prompting him to exclaim in surprise:
"Huh, some people actually have a meat yield of over 90%."

"Not only that, this person cleaned himself very thoroughly, and it took very little time."

When data becomes the main focus and names become secondary, most people will only pay attention to the data and not prioritize the owner of the data.

That's why Long Yongde had to look around to find out who owned the data.

Wang Chengpeng?
Unexpectedly, Long Yongde saw Wang Chengpeng's name.

He had assumed the owner of the data would be a skilled, mature, and steady worker, but he never expected it to be a young man named Wang Chengpeng.

Upon hearing Long Yongde's exclamation, Wang Fucheng instinctively looked in Long Yongde's direction.

Upon seeing Wang Chengpeng's name, Wang Fucheng showed no surprise whatsoever; instead, he displayed an expression of "I see."

After all, Wang Chengpeng was the first to propose the beet sugar-making method, and since he was also Wang Yong's mentor and responsible for teaching the process, it was only natural that he possessed this skill.

Therefore, Wang Fucheng was not at all surprised by Wang Chengpeng's excellent results.

However, it was precisely Wang Fucheng's extremely calm demeanor that caused Long Yongde to misunderstand, leading him to believe that Wang Fucheng already knew the outcome.

Was the exam question leaked? Did Wang Chengpeng secretly practice at home for a long time?

Several possible ideas flashed through his mind, and the more Long Yongde thought about it, the more he felt that this was indeed the case.

Given the ambiguous relationship between Wang Fucheng and Wang Chengpeng, it's only natural that he would leak the exam questions to the other party.

Shaking his head slightly, Long Yongde decided to keep this matter to himself and not tell anyone.

He had absolutely no need to say things that would bring him no benefit whatsoever, but rather great harm.

Often, pretending not to understand is the best choice.

Cheating is fine, but if you do too well on the test, it's very easy to arouse suspicion.

Thinking this through, Long Yongde decided to remind Wang Fucheng, saying:

"Captain Wang, Wang Chengpeng's recruitment results seem a bit too good."

"Others can only reach around 87% at most. Such a precipitous lead is bound to attract criticism."

Looking at Long Yongde with a puzzled expression, Wang Fucheng said, seemingly confused:
"Does having good grades also have a problem?"

"These are the most authentic results. How could we possibly arbitrarily alter them?"

"Don't overthink it. It's a good thing that such an outstanding young man has emerged from the village. There's no need to hide it."

Long Yongde: ...? ? ?
He suddenly felt that Wang Fucheng was incredibly shameless, able to make cheating grades sound so natural. No wonder he was the production team leader while he himself was just a village secretary.

Thinking this, Long Yongde sighed, realizing that he had already said what he needed to say. If Wang Fucheng insisted on this, it wouldn't be his problem if it caused a huge uproar tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)