Chapter 26: The Opportunity Has Already Been Given to You

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“Master, Master, that man has appeared again!”

It was midafternoon. Shen Zhiyu was following an older woman toward the workshop when Yuanbao issued another warning.

“Where is he?”

“Over there—the one sweeping!”

Even with Yuanbao’s reminder, Shen Zhiyu could not see how the old man sweeping the floor could possibly be a murderous maniac.

But it did prove one thing: appearances could be deceiving.

“Woof, woof!”

(Master, you looked in the wrong direction. I meant over there!)

“Woof, woof!”

(Well, you missed him. He’s turned away now!)

Hearing Yuanbao’s useless, after-the-fact warning, Shen Zhiyu rolled her eyes.

She knew it. The old man sweeping the floor did not look like a maniac at all.

Still, the fact that the man had managed to infiltrate the cotton textile mill was no small matter.

Shen Zhiyu suddenly realized that she needed to raise her level of vigilance against him yet again.

How many heroes and champions had fallen because they had grown careless?

She, Shen Zhiyu, was only a young woman. She could not afford to lack the fate of a hero while suffering from a hero’s recklessness.

“Yuanbao, keep a close watch on him!”

“Woof, woof!”

(Master, don’t worry. Nothing will go wrong.)

Shen Zhiyu followed Sister Chen from the office around the workshop. After copying down some figures, Sister Chen brought her back to the office.

That was how easy their usual work was.

The workshop’s various figures were recorded by specially assigned clerks. Their main responsibility was to periodically copy down the figures the clerks had recorded, compile them, and submit the reports.

Yet their work could not be dispensed with. The workshop’s figures had to be reviewed by the leaders. They could not possibly have the workshop clerks report directly to the leaders every time.

Each clerk was responsible for recording an entire workshop: incoming materials, materials consumed, waste, qualified products, defective products, flawed products, and more. The figures certainly were not limited to a few simple numbers.

Office work was not tiring. It was merely tedious.

Of course, when things became busy, they also had to handle some administrative duties.

Overall, however, the work was fairly easy.

At least Shen Zhiyu did not feel particularly tired for the time being.

The only drawback was the lack of a computer. If they had one, compiling and comparing all those figures would be effortless.

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Instead, everything had to be done by hand.

The older women manipulated their abacuses with astonishing speed. Their fingers flew in a dazzling blur, and the figures were soon compiled. Shen Zhiyu watched, utterly bewildered.

“Take your time and learn. After you’ve been at it long enough, you’ll be able to do it too!”

The older woman comforted Shen Zhiyu kindly.

Shen Zhiyu smiled and said that she would start practicing as soon as she got home from work.

The abacus calculation formulas were quite simple, and Shen Zhiyu had a good memory, so memorizing them was not difficult. The difficult part was making her hands move quickly enough while keeping her mind in step with them.

In other words, her hands and brain had to work in perfect unison.

That clearly required a great deal of practice.

Fortunately, the older women did not expect her to shoulder the main burden right away. They gave her ample time to learn.

After work, Shen Zhiyu took an abacus home.

If she said she was going to practice, then practice she would.

It would be many years before anything like a calculator appeared. For the time being, while working at the factory, an abacus was indispensable.

A person had to keep up with the times!

As soon as Shen Zhiyu left the cotton textile mill, Yuanbao informed her that the man had appeared again.

He was wearing the cotton textile mill’s work clothes and following behind her.

But at that moment, the road behind Shen Zhiyu was packed with people, all of them wearing the same work clothes. Since she had no idea what the man looked like, she did not turn around even after Yuanbao alerted her.

“Yuanbao, keep a close eye on him!”

“Woof, woof!”

(Understood!)

However, now that she knew the man was following her, Shen Zhiyu pedaled a little faster and successfully shook him off.

“Master, the man already knows where you live. What good will shaking him off do?”

“Who says it’s useless?”

Shen Zhiyu snorted. “I’ll stop by the supply and marketing cooperative to buy something first and give him a chance to make his appearance!”

Since the man had followed her several times and learned where she worked and where she lived, his next step would either be to engineer an encounter with her and create an opportunity to get acquainted, or find a chance to sneak into her residence.

If Shen Zhiyu simply went straight home, how would he get the chance?

In that regard, Shen Zhiyu was exceptionally considerate.

After taking a detour to the supply and marketing cooperative, Shen Zhiyu returned to the shared courtyard compound. Sure enough, she came face-to-face with the man at the entrance to the alley leading into the compound.

Thanks to Yuanbao’s warning, Shen Zhiyu successfully avoided the collision that would otherwise have followed.

Still, in dodging him, she nearly overturned her bicycle.

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“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

“Are you all right? It was my fault for suddenly stepping out!”

When the man saw that Shen Zhiyu had nearly fallen, he hurriedly apologized.

“I’m fine. I was riding too fast!”

Shen Zhiyu smiled as she replied, then prepared to wheel her bicycle back into the shared courtyard compound.

“Comrade, are you from the cotton textile mill? The No. 7 Cotton Textile Mill?”

“That’s right. Are you?”

Shen Zhiyu glanced at his work clothes and followed his lead.

The man looked utterly ordinary. His features were unremarkable, and there was no trace of viciousness on his face. He had a completely average face and spoke in a mild, amiable manner. There was nothing unusual about him.

For a moment, Shen Zhiyu even wondered whether she had suspected the wrong person.

“Let me introduce myself. My name is Wang Qiang. I’m a worker at the No. 7 Cotton Textile Mill. I’m an electrician!”

“Master Wang, how do you do? I just joined the No. 7 Cotton Textile Mill and work in the office!”

After hearing his introduction, Shen Zhiyu also told him about her job, though she did not give him her name. This was not a matchmaking meeting; she had merely responded instinctively to his words.

Once she realized something was amiss, her wariness toward the man deepened.

“Master Wang, I have to get home and make dinner, so I’ll be going. See you around!”

Shen Zhiyu ended the conversation herself and began wheeling her bicycle away.

“Comrade, I still don’t know your name.”

Shen Zhiyu did not refuse Wang Qiang’s question. She answered him frankly.

Why reveal her name?

Naturally, it was to lower the man’s guard and give him an opportunity to make his next move!

After all, if he wanted to enter the shared courtyard compound openly, he needed an excuse—perhaps claiming that he had come to visit a fellow worker.

Shen Zhiyu’s name would serve as the key to the door.

Besides, Shen Zhiyu suspected that he might act very soon.

He had already met her face-to-face and even given her a false identity. If Shen Zhiyu went to the factory and asked whether there was an electrician named Wang Qiang, his disguise would be exposed.

“Master, shouldn’t we report him to the police?”

“Not yet. We’ll wait until we’ve caught him first.”