MTLNOVEL Chapter 29: Is Lu Yuan Serious About His Work?
Chapter 29: Is Lu Yuan Serious About His Work?
Lu Yuan had reached a conclusion while translating for the officials earlier. Simply screwing in screws day after day was no path forward. He needed to advance his career.
If he could pass the civil service exam and become a reserve cadre, wouldn’t that be better than working as a screwdriver operator? Though cadres earned less and lacked the glorious status of workers, Lu Yuan didn’t care about prestige or salary. He just wanted a comfortable position—sitting in an office, drinking tea, reading newspapers, watching the day pass leisurely.
His confrontation with the workshop director had merely been a side job. Lu Yuan’s main purpose was to play the victim. Why? Because he wanted to secure a good position for his wife.
That’s right—Lu Yuan wanted Su Liyan to join him at the factory.
A worker’s job was invaluable, a glorious occupation benefiting one’s entire family. In the future, Lu Yuan would pass the exam to become a cadre, while his wife would work in the factory. This would make them the most enviable family in the country—a legendary dual-income household where both husband and wife held stable government positions!
How could he arrange for Su Liyan to join the Ministry of Industry? Actually, it was quite simple. Lu Yuan could retire internally and let Su Liyan take over his position. This required no one’s approval—it was simply the rules.
This regulation originated from a period of war and chaos more than ten years ago. Back then, with daily warfare in the Imperial City, people panicked and tried to flee south. The Ministry of Industry wasn’t the coveted workplace it was now—everyone wanted to escape. Workers invented ailments to quit their jobs.
But if nobody worked in the Ministry’s factories, who would produce weapons, equipment, and daily necessities? So the imperial court decreed that if you couldn’t work, you had to send a family member—father, mother, or even child, as long as they could stand and help. Each position required a body to fill it. If you left, you had to provide a replacement.
Those days were over. After more than a decade of development, the Imperial City had transformed. A worker’s identity was highly sought after, with outsiders desperately trying to gain entry. However, the decade-old regulation remained in effect, whether through oversight or intention.
Lu Yuan could use this to transfer his craftsman status to his wife while he left to take the civil service exam. True, she would start as an apprentice earning only thirteen yuan monthly, but Lu Yuan’s family wasn’t short on money.
If this transfer required no special assistance, why was Lu Yuan playing the victim? Who was he trying to manipulate? He aimed to gain sympathy from Director Liu, who would soon arrive with the award certificate!
His purpose was to ensure his wife wouldn’t be assigned to his workshop after joining the factory. The workshop was noisy and physically demanding. Though Su Liyan’s demon blood would help her endure, Lu Yuan still worried for her delicate nature. Besides, seven out of ten workers there were men, and Lu Yuan didn’t want his wife in that environment.
He needed to find her a better position, and after years at the factory, Lu Yuan knew exactly which departments offered the easiest work.
Soon, Lu Yuan spotted Director Liu approaching with a bright yellow certificate. He immediately walked toward him.
“Eh? Lu Yuan, why are you waiting out here?” Director Liu asked curiously.
Lu Yuan’s performance began. His face fell as he sighed dramatically. “Our workshop director wouldn’t let me in. He said I was absent today and told me to go home.”
Director Liu looked confused. “Didn’t you tell him what you were doing?”
Lu Yuan feigned helplessness. “I tried to explain, but he wouldn’t let me speak at all. He just locked me outside and told me to go home.”
Before Director Liu could respond, Lu Yuan sighed again. “It’s partly my fault. I’ve been rushing home to study at night recently, so I haven’t worked overtime. That’s why our director has been unhappy with me. So this time…”
Inside Workshop No. 9, the noisy machinery had stopped. Hundreds of workers watched cautiously as Director Liu pointed at the workshop director’s nose.
“What gives you the right to prevent workers from entering the workshop?” Director Liu berated him righteously.
The workshop director lowered his head, stammering incoherently.
“I’m asking you,” Director Liu continued, glaring, “has Lu Yuan made any mistakes at work?”
Of course not. Though Lu Yuan often slacked off, he had never made a proper mistake—which was why the workshop director couldn’t discipline him before.
“No,” the workshop director admitted weakly.
“He’s serious about his work, so why are you targeting him?” Director Liu shouted. “Just because he doesn’t obey your every command, you make things difficult for him? You think you have unlimited authority?”
The workshop director could have argued that Lu Yuan was lazy and unserious—common complaints that wouldn’t have been unreasonable. But he wasn’t foolish. It was obvious that Director Liu had come specifically to support Lu Yuan. The workshop director wouldn’t dare challenge this.
What perplexed him was Lu Yuan’s connection to Director Liu. How could this usually quiet worker know someone so influential? Was he a relative? He’d never heard of such a connection!
After criticizing the workshop director for over ten minutes, Director Liu frowned. “Let’s have a meeting with everyone in the workshop!”
Though Director Liu spared the workshop director further public humiliation, the meeting focused entirely on praising Lu Yuan. Without specifics, he commended Lu Yuan’s excellent performance and studiousness. Everyone should emulate Lu Yuan’s dedication to working hard and studying diligently after hours. Standard official rhetoric.
The workers were stunned. What exactly had Lu Yuan done to deserve this praise?
The most confused person was Wang Xiaofei.
Lu Yuan… serious about his work? Studying after hours?
He’d seen Lu Yuan ask for a hammer and slack off! As soon as his shift ended, all he did was rush home to pull his wife into bed!