The yellow-haired man pointed at Lin Fan and He Chen: "Itās those two newcomers!"
Group Leader Maās face darkened: "You two have some nerve, causing trouble in my workshop. Do you not want to work here? If not, get out immediately!"
He Chen lowered his head, seemingly a bit fearful of Group Leader Ma. Indeed, Group Leader Ma looked quite fierce and had some authority, so the employees below didnāt dare provoke him.
Lin Fan, however, remained composed and said, "We werenāt causing trouble; it was this yellow-haired guy who started it. Group Leader Ma, as the leader, you should be fair and just. Itās right to hold him accountable."
Lin Fan put a flattering hat on Group Leader Maās head, and in front of everyone, Group Leader Ma couldnāt just ignore the facts.
"Cough, cough!"
Group Leader Ma cleared his throat, turned to the yellow-haired guy, and said, "Whatās really going on?"
The yellow-haired guy said, "This He Chen works too slowly. I only scolded him a few times, and he got defiant, even talking back to me!"
Group Leader Ma stared at He Chen, coldly laughing: "Is that so? Youāre working too slowly?"
Everyone was looking at him. He Chen, somewhat intimidated, nodded: "I am a bit slow, but..."
Group Leader Ma didnāt let him finish: "Slow in work, and you have the nerve to argue? I ordered him to take care of you; heās like your teacher. If a student doesnāt perform well, is there anything wrong with the teacher scolding a few words? You canāt take it, and youāre defiant?"
"I..." He Chen was at a loss for words, his mouth clumsy with fear, and his face turning red.
Lin Fan chuckled: "Thatās where youāre wrong. Although the uncle works slowly, heās been practicing very hard. The uncle doesnāt refuse guidance, but this yellow-haired guy went too far, verbally insulting and crossing the uncleās line. Thatās why the uncle talked back, and then this yellow-haired guy pushed the uncle to the ground. Group Leader Ma, donāt you think the yellow-haired guyās actions were wrong? That would make your company inhumane."
Group Leader Maās face darkened, sweeping a glance over everyone, saying: "Is what he said true? Did anyone see?"
The fierce glance swept past, and everyone lowered their heads.
No one spoke.
Even if Lin Fan was telling the truth, no one dared to stand up for him. It seemed they all cherished their jobs and didnāt want to risk losing them for someone unrelated, as offending Group Leader Ma could mean walking out the door at any moment.
Seeing this, a flash of disappointment crossed He Chenās eyes, yet he became increasingly grateful to Lin Fan. The only person willing to help him in the entire room was Lin Fan.
Lin Fan wasnāt afraid of offending Group Leader Ma, constantly defending him, which was truly remarkable. He Chen was very touched.
Group Leader Ma saw no one answering and coldly laughed: "You see, no one saw it. Are you falsely accusing people?"
Lin Fan smiled: "They are just afraid of offending you, but facts are facts. They wonāt change just because theyāre afraid to step forward."
Group Leader Ma snorted: "Without evidence, youāre slandering good people! Iāll deal with He Chen first, and then Iāll get to you!"
Group Leader Ma asked the yellow-haired guy: "How many can He Chen make in a minute?"
The yellow-haired guy said: "About seven or so."
Group Leader Ma shook his head: "Damn, thatās too slow, not even passing! Most people do ten or more! He Chen, with such slow work and a bad attitude, do you still want to work here?"
He Chen said: "Iām sorry, I was indeed a bit slow before..."
Group Leader Ma wasnāt listening, raising his voice and laughing: "Everyone might not know who He Chen is; I happened to know he graduated as a doctor from the best university in Huaxia. You heard right, heās a doctor..."
Everyone was surprised.
"Damn, heās a doctor?"
"A doctor from the best university?"
"How is it possible? Must be a mistake, what does a doctor need to do working on an assembly line with us?"
"Exactly, shouldnāt a doctor have a much more decent job?"
The crowd chattered, not believing Group Leader Maās words. After all, it was truly unbelievable for a doctor to work on an assembly line.
Listening to these words, He Chen lowered his head, feeling extremely embarrassed and uncomfortable, his face turning even redder, wishing he could find a hole to hide in.
Group Leader Ma laughed: "Yes, Dr. He, why did you come and mix with us? You as a doctor, arenāt you too much of a failure? So what happened to you? Would you like to tell everyone?"
He Chen: "..."
Kept his head down, not responding.
Group Leader Ma got bolder: "Is it hard to say? Then let me say it for you. This Dr. He used to work on rockets, and due to his mistake, the rocket launch failed. He even got into a fight, ruined his life, the company closed down, he got caught and jailed for a year for fighting, no job, no income, and no one dared to hire him, so he came to work as a factory hand. Dr. He, am I right?"
He Chen still kept his head down, but his fist was tightly clenched, seemingly enduring an unspeakable agony.
Suddenly, he seemed to muster up the courage, lifted his head abruptly, and said word by word: "I didnāt hit anyone!"
Group Leader Ma laughed: "Didnāt hit? The court already ruled, are you saying they wronged you? I saw the whole process of your case back then."
He Chen seemed unable to respond, lowering his head again.
Everyone looked at each other.
"So thatās what happened, no wonder!"
"So heās that kind of guy!"
"It seems he has a temper, no wonder he talked back today."
Group Leader Ma added: "Dr. He, donāt forget, you asked me to give you a chance. I gave you a chance, but you didnāt cherish it, so Iām sorry."
Lin Fan chuckled: "So, Group Leader Ma is planning to eliminate him on the grounds of his slow work, is that it? What if he passes the assessment?"
Group Leader Ma coldly laughed: "You have an issue again? Itās not that I donāt give chances; he can only do seven a minute. How can he pass the assessment?"
Lin Fan said: "He was slow before, maybe itās not his fault, and maybe itās because the yellow-haired guy canāt teach."
Hearing this, the yellow-haired guy got angry, shouting: "Heās stupid, can you blame me?"
If he didnāt know he couldnāt beat Lin Fan, he would have rushed to hit him.
Lin Fan said: "Group Leader Ma, why not give He Chen a chance to be assessed by you directly? If He Chen is still slow, then fire him, and no one will object."
Group Leader Ma said: "Iām not an unreasonable person, fine, Iāll convince you to accept it. He Chen, if you can do ten or more in a minute, Iāll keep you temporarily. If not, youāll leave yourself!"
Lin Fan nodded at He Chen, encouraging: "Uncle, give it a try."
He Chen responded and walked to the assembly line.
The timing started!
He Chenās hands moved skillfully.
After one minute.
The number on the counter was surprisingly 25!
The entire room went silent.
Everyone was dumbfounded.
Lin Fan looked at He Chen and smiled slightly: "How about that? I heard the previous record of 20 was held by Group Leader Ma, right?"