mijobooks Chapter 34 Jia Dongxu Becomes an Apprentice
Chapter 34 Jia Dongxu Becomes an Apprentice
Today is the day of the grading examination at the steel rolling mill. In order to improve the grading of skilled workers, the state specially sent several level-eight workers from the Northeast, along with experts from the ministry, to supervise and score the work.
Their involvement ensures that there will be no favoritism and that everyone will be ranked fairly and impartially.
This is also the seriousness brought about by the first grading exam; it certainly won't benefit those who want to take advantage of the situation.
First, the examinations were held for the former master craftsmen and senior technicians of the steel rolling mill. Secretary Zhang and Director Yang of the steel rolling mill were also watching with great interest.
I really wanted more workers in the workshop to pass the Level 8 exam, but unfortunately, only two of the originally confident workers were promoted from senior to Level 8.
Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong usually boasted about their skills, but in the end, they only managed to pass the Level 6 worker exam.
The two men were now somewhat embarrassed. Yi Zhonghai had been keeping a low profile recently, waiting for an opportunity to rule the world.
I never expected that I would fail the exam with such confidence, let alone pass the eighth-level worker exam, I couldn't even pass the seventh-level worker exam.
Yi Zhonghai didn't think there was anything wrong with his skills; instead, he suspected that the outsiders, who were at the eighth level, were retaliating against him.
If he hadn't still had some reason left in his mind, Yi Zhonghai would have gone up and argued with the other party.
Although Liu Haizhong was also disappointed, he felt instantly better when he heard that Yi Zhonghai was also a Level 6 worker, just like him.
That's right, Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai have always been comparing themselves. In the courtyard house, Liu Haizhong is now the liaison officer, while Yi Zhonghai is just an ordinary resident.
In the steel rolling mill, both Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai were level six workers, which means that I am a little more capable than Yi Zhonghai.
With this thought in mind, Liu Haizhong stopped being sad about failing the exam.
In the afternoon, Liu Haizhong heard from his apprentice that Yi Zhonghai's only apprentice, Jia Dongxu, had failed the Level 1 worker exam that day.
Upon learning that Jia Dongxu had gone from a junior worker to an apprentice, Liu Haizhong almost burst into laughter, hands on his hips and looking up at the sky.
Old Yi! Old Yi, what can I say about you? I've been telling you to take on more apprentices, but you always say it's about quality, not quantity.
Well, so the "elite" you were talking about is someone who hasn't even reached the first-level worker rank in over three years.
Today, the master craftsmen and their apprentices at the steel rolling mill are all taking their certification exams. The master craftsmen didn't specify whether they were passing the sixth, seventh, or eighth grade level.
Their apprentices are at least first-level workers, second-level workers, and some even have broken through to third-level workers.
In this world, Jia Dongxu shines like a firefly glittering in the sunlight.
He was just an apprentice, yet he was more famous than two of today's level eight workers.
Yi Zhonghai had a dark expression the whole time, and Jia Dongxu secretly hid behind Yi Zhonghai, not daring to be seen.
It was so embarrassing. Jia Dongxu didn't know why, but when he arrived at the exam site, his mind went completely blank.
Then, the parts that used to be easy to make became a mess.
It shouldn't have been like this; Jia Dongxu thought he knew everything!
No one explained to Jia Dongxu that this was caused by excessive stress from the exam.
Yi Zhonghai himself couldn't understand it, and it's certain that he suppressed and controlled Jia Dongxu.
We can't let Jia Dongxu become too capable, otherwise we'll have to figure out how to control him and take care of him in his old age.
But Yi Zhonghai wasn't so ruthless as to prevent the other party from even passing the Level 1 worker exam.
Yi Zhonghai's plan was to control Jia Dongxu, keeping him hovering around the level of a third-grade worker.
He will only pass on all his skills when he is about to retire, and Jia Dongxu will be able to break through to the sixth level of worker after he turns fifty.
Only in this way could Yi Zhonghai be confident that Jia Dongxu would willingly support him in his old age.
However, Yi Zhonghai didn't understand that people are not machines.
It's impossible for the program to proceed step by step according to the design. Just when you feel that everything is going smoothly, the unexpected happens.
When Yi Zhonghai got off work and walked home, he felt like everyone was pointing and whispering about him.
Jia Dongxu followed behind him, shrinking his neck like a quail, without uttering a word.
This morning he was in high spirits. If he wasn't afraid of being taught a lesson by Yi Zhonghai, Jia Dongxu would have announced his victory in advance.
The fourth-level worker appointment was today, but it was a blow that left Jia Dongxu completely bewildered.
Even Jia Dongxu himself was confused about what he had done after the exam.
He had clearly practiced all that knowledge and those skills before. They might not have been perfect, but passing the first-level worker exam would have been no problem at all.
Today, after finishing his exams, looking back at the parts he had made, Jia Dongxu felt like digging a hole and taking a nap.
They were already embarrassed enough on the way, but they felt even more ashamed when they returned to the courtyard house.
Everyone in the courtyard knows that the men in the family are taking a certification exam. The women of more than a dozen families who work at the steel mill went to the market this morning to buy meat and vegetables to celebrate with their husbands.
Early in the morning, for the first time ever, Jia Zhangshi went to the market to buy meat with an air of superiority.
She was as proud as a mother hen along the way, showing off everywhere that her son was now a level three worker, earning nearly 500,000 yuan a month.
Although Qin Huairu no longer had any expectations of the Jia family, she thought that Jia Dongxu's promotion would make their lives better, so she was naturally very active in cleaning the house.
Around five o'clock in the afternoon, the courtyard was filled with the sounds of stir-frying. The smiles on everyone's faces were particularly genuine; at least today, no one would bring up the sordid things from the past.
Luo Qiaoyun and her second aunt happily went out and bought a pound of meat today.
Since only those two men in the courtyard had the best chance of becoming level eight workers.
An eighth-grade worker earns 990,000 yuan a month, and with other overtime pay, it easily exceeds one million yuan, or even reaches one million two hundred thousand yuan.
He Yuzhu used to earn a million a month, which everyone envied. Now, her two families are much richer than He Yuzhu.
Those who weren't as skilled as Yi Zhonghai or Liu Haizhong felt they could improve their level today. Even if they weren't aiming for level eight, reaching level four or five shouldn't be a problem.
A monthly salary of 500,000 to nearly 600,000 is indeed quite substantial.
It can be said that today is the most harmonious day in the courtyard. Even if two families who had grudges in the past see each other, they will hide their past hatred today.
Luo Qiaoyun hugged her daughter and told her, "Daddy will become an eighth-grade worker today, and good days are coming."
Yi Zhonghai had told Luo Qiaoyun firmly that morning that he would be a level eight worker when he returned that afternoon. Let's see how Siheyuan Shazhu will dare to oppose him then.
With so many people working in the steel rolling mill, an eighth-grade worker is someone even the factory manager has to respect.
Yi Zhonghai was confident he could easily dominate Sha Zhu when the time came. "He's just a guesthouse manager," he thought, "I'm a level eight worker."
Let's see if Sha Zhu still dares to go against him then.
When Liu Haizhong returned, he had a very happy expression on his face. Anyone who didn't know better would think he had passed the eighth-level worker certification today.
It wasn't until someone asked if he had passed the Level 8 exam that Liu Haizhong walked back to the backyard with a dark face.
Now everyone knows that Liu Haizhong definitely didn't pass level eight. If it weren't for Liu Haizhong's smiling face, no one would have asked that question.
That's really strange. You haven't even passed the eighth-level worker exam, so why are you all smiles when you just walked in?
Liu Haizhong wouldn't tell anyone that he was so busy mocking his old rival Yi Zhonghai that he completely forgot he hadn't passed the Level 8 worker exam either.
When Yi Zhonghai and Jia Dongxu returned, everyone went up to congratulate them, but quickly shut up.
The two men's dark faces seemed to have already given everyone the answer.
As the workers returned to the steel rolling mill, news spread that Liu Haizhong and Yi Zhonghai had passed the Level 6 worker exam.
Although a level 6 worker is not as good as a level 8 worker, a monthly salary of 725,000 is still quite high.
Putting aside saving face, Yi Zhonghai doesn't need to embarrass himself too much.
The Jia family, however, went from beaming with joy to feeling icy cold. Even the nursing toddler felt the room was unusually cold today.
Qin Huairu had been hiding in a corner with a stick in her arms since early morning, afraid that Jia Zhangshi would vent her anger on her.
Anyway, she never gets to have any good things happen at home, but she's always the one who gets beaten and scolded when things go wrong.
As for Jia Dongxu, he also looked bitter, sitting there like a wooden statue. Seeing his mother, wife, and son, Jia Dongxu had a feeling of wanting to escape to another planet and disappear from everyone.
"Dongxu, tell me the truth, did that old bastard Yi Zhonghai not genuinely teach you the skills? Otherwise, why are so many people in the workshop passing the certification exams, while you're still stuck as an apprentice instead of a junior worker?"
Madam Jia couldn't believe it either. Her son was so smart, how come everyone else advanced?
His own son went from being a full-time employee to an apprentice, and more importantly, his salary dropped from 300,000 to 180,000.
This concerns her retirement savings, so naturally Jia Zhangshi wouldn't be satisfied. The fact that she's managed to restrain herself from crying out to Old Jia is already a testament to her immense patience.
"Mom, I don't know. Anyway, I can't understand a lot of what Master taught me."
Jia Dongxu instinctively started to shift the blame; he didn't know how to face his mother, wife, and children who had placed high hopes on him.
Jia Dongxu also wondered if Yi Zhonghai had helped him out, otherwise why couldn't he pass the Level 1 Technician exam?
Jia Dongxu is that kind of person; after making a mistake, his first instinct is to shift the blame. Compared to the example of Jia Zhangshi, who insists on arguing even when she's wrong, Jia Dongxu's approach of shifting blame and pinning the blame on others is particularly peculiar.
Now he has mastered this technique and applied it to Yi Zhonghai. In short, it's not that he didn't work hard; it's his master Yi Zhonghai's fault.
Qin Huairu hid nearby, not daring to make a sound. After learning today that Jia Dongxu had failed the exam and even been demoted, she guessed that something big would happen to the Jia family that night.
Now she doesn't want to rely on Jia Dongxu anymore. As long as she doesn't get beaten up, she'll let the Jia family mother and son do whatever they want.
It's clearly Jia Dongxu's fault for being incompetent, and now he's shifting the blame. Jia Zhangshi is still going to cause trouble for Yi Zhonghai, and Qin Huairu won't warn her.
"I'm going to find that old man who has no descendants. Why should that bastard keep secrets from you? He's afraid that our family will become independent and stop taking care of him."