Chapter 125: I Bet She Wants Me to Lose
"The first thing I need to do is to audit the accounts."
As soon as the word "audit" was mentioned, Zhou Zhennan immediately made a decision in his heart.
Jiang Cheng cannot win today’s election!
Jiang Cheng began her speech.
Compared to Zhou Zhennan’s empty promises, Jiang Cheng was more logical and provided practical solutions.
Factory Director Fang, who wasn’t initially paying much attention, started calling Secretary Feng over as he listened.
"Take notes."
Jiang Cheng spoke confidently on the podium, while Secretary Feng wrote briskly and recorded.
The worker representatives below listened more and more attentively, and no one interrupted Jiang Cheng during the speech.
Some even tried to canvass votes but were shushed away!
"Don’t speak!"
"Listen carefully!"
From her position, Zhou Zhennan could clearly see the workers being moved.
They were moved.
Zhou Zhennan felt a bad premonition.
She wanted to form an alliance.
Zhou Zhennan glanced to the right at Jian Chunsheng and saw him nodding in agreement, as if he would stand up the next moment and vote for Jiang Cheng himself.
Thus, persuading Jian Chunsheng to vote for her seemed impossible.
It might even backfire and push Jian Chunsheng towards Jiang Cheng.
Zhou Zhennan’s heart was anxious; from any angle, her chances of winning were slim.
Zhou Zhennan watched Jiang Cheng, whose face was glowing with confidence.
She really underestimated this young woman!
Young in age, yet with such excellent eloquence.
"My speech is over, but my heart for contributing to the factory has just set sail. I hope everyone votes for me so we can build a better, stronger textile factory together!"
Jiang Cheng finished speaking.
The thunderous applause made Zhou Zhennan quickly make a decision in her heart.
She excused herself to the restroom, leaving the podium under Factory Director Fang’s disapproving glare.
Five minutes later, Zhou Zhennan returned, giving Jiang Cheng a cold, derisive smile as she sat.
The smile contained what Zhou Zhennan knew but Jiang Cheng did not.
Jiang Cheng remained calm, even with a touch of triumph at hand.
With her decision made, Zhou Zhennan looked at the confident Jiang Cheng and suddenly looked forward to seeing Jiang Cheng’s expression upon learning of her defeat.
It must be quite interesting!
Factory Director Fang assigned Secretary Feng to oversee the voting.
After voting ended, several worker representatives began counting the votes together.
On the blackboard, the names of three people were written, and one person was responsible for drawing tally marks under the names.
"One vote for Jiang Cheng."
"One vote for Jiang Cheng."
"One vote for Zhou Zhennan."
"One vote for Jiang Cheng."
"One vote for Jian Chunsheng."
...
The vote counting continued, and Jiang Cheng’s advantage was apparent.
Unexpectedly, from the beginning until now, Zhou Zhennan had only four votes, not even completing one tally mark.
Even more surprising was that Jian Chunsheng’s votes were catching up, slowly leveling with Jiang Cheng’s.
Everyone thought Jian Chunsheng was just a participant without a chance, but no one anticipated he would be an unexpected contender.
Following this trend, it’s undeniable that Zhou Zhennan would be eliminated.
The deputy factory director would surely emerge between Jian Chunsheng and Jiang Cheng.
Their vote counts were neck and neck, chasing and surpassing each other.
Those counting votes were excited and thrilled.
"One vote for Jiang Cheng."
"One vote for Jian Chunsheng."
...
Finally, it came down to the last vote.
The votes were currently even; only one ballot remained.
Zhou Zhennan’s heart pounded like a drum as she stared hard at that ballot.
She expected the gap to be large, not this close.
Just when she went to the restroom, she instructed her supporters to vote entirely for Jian Chunsheng.
She could lose, but she couldn’t lose to Jiang Cheng!
Thinking her tactic would crush Jiang Cheng, she found herself barely on par.
If she hadn’t made this decision, wouldn’t Jiang Cheng have won the overwhelming victory?
Zhou Zhennan took a deep breath, watching intently as the ballot counter opened the final ballot.
"One vote for Jian Chunsheng."
Zhou Zhennan’s heart settled as she looked triumphantly at Jiang Cheng.
Jiang Cheng appeared devastated, unbelievingly stepping forward to glance at the ballot slip before retreating in despair.
Her defeated demeanor pleased Zhou Zhennan.
The victorious Jian Chunsheng was genuinely surprised.
Mixed with surprise was deep admiration for Jiang Cheng!
He vividly remembered the note Jiang Cheng had passed him yesterday, suggesting he run for deputy factory director.
He naturally considered this position, but with Zhou Zhengnan ahead, his chances were slim.
He just thought of joining the race without any special preparation.
Right before the speech, Jiang Cheng told him he would win.
Jian Chunsheng didn’t believe it.
Jiang Cheng firmly told him: "You will win."
"Why?"
Jian Chunsheng asked.
Jiang Cheng replied as she passed by, "Because I bet Zhou Zhennan would definitely want me to lose!"
The result proved Jiang Cheng was right.
Jian Chunsheng was surrounded by workers as he took the stage to deliver a sincere, unpretentious speech.
The disheartened Jiang Cheng walked towards the slightly smug Zhou Zhennan.
"Director Zhou..."
"Mr. Jiang must still keep his spirits up."
Jiang Cheng nodded regretfully, "Director Zhou is right. Although it’s a pity I didn’t become deputy director, I’m still willing to contribute to the textile factory."
"Oh, by the way, Director Zhou, could you please sign here?"
Zhou Zhennan, who was savoring Jiang Cheng’s defeated look, was confused.
"Sign what?"
Jiang Cheng took out a form for claiming a bonus from her backpack.
"This, the major leaders have already validated it, surely you wouldn’t hold off signing, right?"
Zhou Zhennan felt stuck, staring at the already prepared form and pen, her mind a tangled mess.
Somehow, something felt off!
"Does Director Zhou doubt my abilities?"
Interrupted from her thoughts, Zhou Zhennan gritted her teeth and picked up the pen.
"No!"
Could she dare?
Four factory directors vouched for her, praised by top leadership, with Director Leng from foreign trade personally calling...
Suddenly, Zhou Zhennan realized Jiang Cheng wasn’t who she thought.
She had support from many, none of whom Zhou Zhennan could afford to provoke.
With this realization, Zhou Zhennan begrudgingly signed her name.
Jiang Cheng cheerfully looked at Zhou Zhennan upon receiving the signature.
"I must trouble Director Zhou to get the money ready; I’m always available to collect it."
"Actually, I think now is a good time to collect, since both you and I have lost. There’s not much to do, right?"
Zhou Zhennan’s pupils shook.
"You!"
"What about me?"
Jiang Cheng smiled with pressure in her gaze, a look Zhou Zhennan had never seen.
The person before her was no naive rabbit; she was a powerful and brash wolf!
"You did it on purpose; you never wanted to be deputy director!"
Jiang Cheng blinked.
"You guessed right, actually being deputy director or not is fine by me."
"But Director Zhou seemed very adamant about me not being elected."
"If Director Zhou has no objections, we could go collect the bonus."
Zhou Zhennan remained silent for a minute or perhaps longer; what could she do?
Jiang Cheng’s backing left her powerless.
It was a foregone conclusion, one she had single-handedly propelled.
Zhou Zhennan, for the first time, truly acknowledged the girl in front of her, begrudgingly making an inviting gesture:
"Please!"