Free Web NovelChapter 209: Chapter 209: Killing with Praise
Director Hu quickly took a step, partially blocking An Ning.
"Finished with your tour, gentlemen?"
"Director Hu, what are you doing here?"
The man leading the group opposite them was young, about thirty years old.
He wore a form-fitting, deep blue woolen overcoat, a pair of black trousers, and lace-up leather shoes.
"I’m showing our factory’s consultant around."
An Ning, standing to the side, was once again given the title of consultant.
The man in the woolen overcoat’s gaze drifted past Director Hu, landing on Li Chengze.
"It seems Director Hu doesn’t trust us very much."
The man’s words made Director Hu’s expression darken.
’Give them an inch and they take a mile. So you’re hot stuff just because you came back from abroad, huh?’
’Passing off rudeness as being blunt? Bullshit!’
’When it comes to being blunt, An Ning is the master.’
After this internal tirade, Director Hu reined in his smile and said, "I’m a factory director, showing my own consultant around the workshop. What’s the problem?"
"Of course there’s no problem. In fact, I’d also like to have a discussion with your consultant."
The man in the woolen overcoat’s words were a naked provocation.
Caught in the middle, Director Hu was in a difficult position.
An Ning, who had been listening from behind, had heard enough. She sidestepped past them and walked straight into the workshop.
"Stop dilly-dallying."
Her undisguised complaint was heard clearly by everyone.
As An Ning went in, Li Chengze was the quickest to react, following right behind her.
Director Hu suppressed a laugh and said to the man in the overcoat, "She’s just a kid, just a kid. Always blurting out the truth."
He went inside too.
The man in the woolen overcoat and the two men behind him were left standing at the entrance, their faces looking awkward.
"Brother Jun, we—"
The man called Brother Jun’s eyes flickered.
"She’s the great consultant, so she must be incredible. At the meeting in three days, she’s sure to make a stunning debut, understand?"
Brother Jun’s words made the other two understand instantly. freeweɓnøvel.com
’Praise her!’
’Praise her to the high heavens!’
’In three days, the higher she stands, the harder she’ll fall.’
"A brilliant plan, Brother Jun."
"Brother Jun, what if that consultant actually has some skills?"
One of the men was a little worried.
"Do I really need to explain the technological gap between our country and those abroad?"
The two lackeys thought about it and realized he was right.
"Brother Jun is right. That won’t happen."
"Exactly!"
The three of them reached an agreement, turned, and walked into the workshop. Before long, they caught up with An Ning’s group.
It was only then that they realized the young woman was the consultant, not Li Chengze.
’Interesting.’
’But that bit of interest still wasn’t enough to make them take her seriously.’
The three men followed behind An Ning. They didn’t ask any questions; instead, they just started showering her with praise based on whatever she said.
An Ning pointed to an engine and said, "The connections here are overly complex. They can be streamlined to achieve better performance."
"Exactly! A consultant’s perspective is truly different. You hit the nail right on the head."
"Indeed, indeed. For the consultant to say that, she must already have a solution in mind."
"Of course. I bet the consultant will present a whole new engine at the meeting in three days."
The three men took turns, each adding a line of praise, building An Ning up as if she were a goddess.
Yet An Ning didn’t seem to think there was anything wrong with it. Her only question was, ’What’s this meeting in three days?’
However, she didn’t ask for the time being. Instead, she looked at the three men with the air of a seasoned veteran.
"It’s good that you can recognize your mistakes and are willing to change. You’re not so bad."
"At the very least, your judgment is decent."
"But you could use some work on your flattery. There’s a lot of good literature in our country; you should read more of it."
After delivering her earnest critique, An Ning went back to inspecting the workshop.
She pointed to a part and said, "The standard for this part is too low. If you want to improve the vehicle as a whole, its components are indispensable."
Following behind, Director Hu could only nod, not knowing what else to say.
An Ning continued on, and the three men behind her finally snapped out of their stupor from her "critique."
The three exchanged a look. ’We’ve met our match.’
’Who knew a young girl like her could have such a sharp tongue.’
’But this just played right into their hands. Keep praising her.’
The three men caught up and continued with their "perfect" plan.
"The consultant is absolutely right! This part definitely needs improvement. Could it be that you already have a new design, consultant?"
"Do you even need to ask? Of course she does."
With all the flattery and praise, all eyes were on An Ning, even Director Hu’s.
He wanted An Ning to be brilliant, he really did.
But he wasn’t sure, so for now he just treated her with the best attitude he could muster.
Without even turning around, An Ning replied in a steady voice, "I will."
Her "I will" made the three men snicker to themselves.
’Such shameless boasting. That’s her, all right.’
Li Chengze, who had been following quietly, saw through their little game, but he didn’t say anything.
He had been studying under An Ning for a while, and if he had to describe her abilities, he had only one word: bottomless.
An Ning’s knowledge was like a bottomless pit.
Every time you thought she couldn’t do something, she would perform at the highest level and leave you utterly stunned.
The tour continued. Every time An Ning pointed out a problem, the three men would heap praise on her.
A normal person would have probably gotten carried away by such flattery.
But An Ning wasn’t affected at all. She was even wondering, ’How did these people know I was so capable?’
’Has my reputation already spread this far?’
’Are these guys like those obsessive fans back in the interstellar age?’
Amidst a chorus of praise, An Ning finished touring the first workshop.
When the group came out of the workshop, they prepared to head to the second one.
An Ning took a couple of steps and noticed the three men hadn’t followed.
She turned around and called out to them, "Keep up."
An Ning’s shout made the three men freeze.
’What’s going on?’
Regardless, the three men walked over and stood behind An Ning.
An Ning looked at them with satisfaction. "Good boys. It’s okay to be obsessive fans. I’m very magnanimous."
"Let’s go. I’ll give you more opportunities to speak the truth."
An Ning took the lead and walked into the next workshop.
Li Chengze struggled to hold back his laughter as he followed An Ning. As he passed the three men, he deliberately said, "So you guys really admire my teacher, huh?"
The three men, with awkward and strained expressions, played along. "Yes, yes, we admire her greatly."
"Extremely."
After their guilt-ridden replies, they saw that Li Chengze and the others had already gone inside.
"Brother Jun, are we still going?"
The man in the woolen overcoat looked like his eyes were spitting fire.
"Go!"
"Why wouldn’t we? Go in there and praise her to death. Build her up as high as you can."
The three men took a deep breath in unison and followed them again.
By the time the tour of the second workshop was over, the three men felt parched, their mouths completely dry.
Their throats were raw from all the talking.
