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"Wait . You want me to be the director of the tap water factory?" I asked .

"Yes, because no one else knows it better than you do," the a.s.sistant replied .

"No, I don"t know anything about that stuff! I"m not suitable for that . "

"You"ve been working for about 12 years and the children who used to listen to you are all grown up now . They believe in your ability . Our nation needs you . "

"Let me consider . "

"There"s no time . You"ll start work tomorrow," he stated .

The water factory was a sacred place . I often fantasized about visiting the world"s most beautiful underground mineral spring and connecting it to the households in Blue Wave . It was a common dream scene of mine .

When I was young, before the establishment of the museum, my teacher would always repeat the story of the five-colored koi fishes who lived in the underground mineral spring .

Each koi was more than a hundred years old, and they swam leisurely in the water .

The mining worker who found the spring had tried the water and was refreshed by its sweetness .

He pushed it to the whole of Blue Wave and everyone started having access to the incredible water .

Blue Wave"s water then became the world"s greatest wonder .

And right now, if the a.s.sistant wasn"t playing with me, I would have the power to do that .

I took my phone out and did some research .

News of the yellow mud and the factory suicide incident were all entangled .

There were all kinds of interpretations and rumors .

Some believed that the sewage and water tubes had cracked, and that news about the spring being contaminated was found everywhere .

That led to the denial on the government"s side .

I also saw what my a.s.sistant was talking about . The people were recommending me to a.s.sume the role of the factory director . They were saying that they knew that I was the key to Blue Wave"s future .

I stayed up and continued to browse through the comments .

The next morning, I washed up and headed down to the factory .

When I arrived at the door, I noticed a crowd surrounding it . They were all smiling at me and holding up big banners .

A lady bounded over to me with a wide smile . "You"re Mr . Lu Qiao, right?"

I nodded .

"I"ll be your secretary . I"ll be the one arranging your schedule from here on out," she said warmly .

I nodded again and followed her inside, all the way to the office on the highest floor .

The sign on the door read, "Factory Director, Pang Dahai . "

The secretary gave me an apologetic look . "Our director left suddenly and we haven"t had the chance to change it . "

"Don"t worry about it, I understand . "

I walked into the office and took in the panoramic view of the factory that the room was decked out with .

I sat down and saw a doc.u.ment with my name on it .

"Is this for me?" I asked the secretary .

"Yes . A reporter will be here in half an hour . It"s a live broadcast so I"ll need you to read the content in this folder . We prepared it a while ago . You can try familiarizing yourself with it," 

I opened the folder and took out a long script . It contained explanations regarding the yellow mud water in the Western region, an apology from the former director, and my determination to run the place well . I could say anything I please, but it was highly suggested that I talk about my time in the museum and comment on Blue Wave water .

"Director Lu? Are you alright?" the secretary called out .

"What is it?"

"Nothing . It just looked like you were in a daze? Is there a problem?"

"Yes, I have one . "

"Is the content wrong? Or something else?"

"Can you take me to the underground mineral spring?" 

"Um… you only have half an hour before the interview . I can take you there after everything"s done," she said .

I nodded and returned to the script .

The media arrived as planned and a giant camera was quickly pointed at me .

The reporter said his piece and handed the microphone to me .

"h.e.l.lo, everyone, I"m the new director, Lu Qiao . I believe that many of you already know me… the water here is from Blue Wave . Blue Wave is great," I cheered .

The reporter took over the mic and supplemented the interview with a few more lines before the cameraman put the camera down .

The secretary started clapping . "You were great, Director Lu . "

After a quick exchange, the cameraman and the reporter left .

The secretary sent them off while I stayed in the office .

I wondered if she was deliberately avoiding me .

I went downstairs and met only a few workers along the way, which was odd to me .

I put on the coat, gloves, mask, cap, and got disinfected before entering the air shower room .

I saw a large machine and figured that it was the water extraction machine .

The strange part was that both tubes were facing upward .

Shouldn"t one be facing downward in order to bring the water up?

An old man walked over in regular clothes . "Are you new here?"

I nodded .

"You don"t have to wear all the gear, you know . The leaders won"t run checks . "

"Won"t the water and the equipment be contaminated if we don"t dress properly?"

"Wow, you"re really new . Come see this pointer," he said, shifting a table and placing it in front of a stool .

I walked over to it and he sat me down .

I saw a pointer in the middle of the gauge . On its left was green and its right red .

The old man pointed at the needle . "Your job is to look at this . If it goes toward the red, press this b.u.t.ton and call me over to replace the filter tube . We will take turns once you learn how to change it . "

"What if it turns to the green?"

"If it turns green, do you expect the yellow mud water to filter itself without changing the filter?"

"What?" I shuddered, my back turning cold .

"Don"t skive and remember to press the b.u.t.ton when it turns to the red . The previous fool fell asleep and the filter overloaded . The yellow mud water flowed out without being filtered and half the unfiltered water reached half the region so the fool got fired . "

"The… water… isn"t from the underground spring?"

"See those foreign words on the machine? Ocean King Wave"s stuff . Just the minimum to keep humans alive . We extract it from the ocean before filtering away the salt and mud . Did you really believe the guy from the museum? That the water will extend your life by 10%?" he mocked .

The door opened and a fat man walked in .

"You haven"t been fired, silly fellow?" the old man asked, puzzled .

"Nah, just given a severe warning . I"m here for my shift . I won"t fall asleep anymore, promise . Wait . Have you heard that our new director is here? Pang Dahai owed debts and committed suicide . The new director is the museum guy, the 10% guy," Fatty said with a laugh .

Wait . You want me to be the director of the tap water factory I asked . Yes, because no one else knows it better than you do, the a.s.sistant replied . No, I don 39 t know anything about that stuff I 39 m not suitable for that . You 39 ve been working for about 12 years and the children who used to listen to you are all grown up now . They believe in your ability . Our nation needs you . Let me consider . There 39 s no time . You 39 ll start work tomorrow, he stated . The water factory was a sacred place . I often fantasized about visiting the world 39 s most beautiful underground mineral spring and connecting it to the households in Blue Wave . It was a common dream scene of mine . When I was young, before the establishment of the museum, my teacher would always repeat the story of the five colored koi fishes who lived in the underground mineral spring . Each koi was more than a hundred years old, and they swam leisurely in the water . The mining worker who found the spring had tried the water and was refreshed by its sweetness . He pushed it to the whole of Blue Wave and everyone started having access to the incredible water . Blue Wave 39 s water then became the world 39 s greatest wonder . And right now, if the a.s.sistant wasn 39 t playing with me, I would have the power to do that . I took my phone out and did some research . News of the yellow mud and the factory suicide incident were all entangled . There were all kinds of interpretations and rumors . Some believed that the sewage and water tubes had cracked, and that news about the spring being contaminated was found everywhere . That led to the denial on the government 39 s side . I also saw what my a.s.sistant was talking about . The people were recommending me to a.s.sume the role of the factory director . They were saying that they knew that I was the key to Blue Wave 39 s future . I stayed up and continued to browse through the comments . The next morning, I washed up and headed down to the factory . When I arrived at the door, I noticed a crowd surrounding it . They were all smiling at me and holding up big banners . A lady bounded over to me with a wide smile . You 39 re Mr . Lu Qiao, right I nodded . I 39 ll be your secretary . I 39 ll be the one arranging your schedule from here on out, she said warmly . I nodded again and followed her inside, all the way to the office on the highest floor . The sign on the door read, Factory Director, Pang Dahai . The secretary gave me an apologetic look . Our director left suddenly and we haven 39 t had the chance to change it . Don 39 t worry about it, I understand . I walked into the office and took in the panoramic view of the factory that the room was decked out with . I sat down and saw a doc.u.ment with my name on it . Is this for me I asked the secretary . Yes . A reporter will be here in half an hour . It 39 s a live broadcast so I 39 ll need you to read the content in this folder . We prepared it a while ago . You can try familiarizing yourself with it, I opened the folder and took out a long script . It contained explanations regarding the yellow mud water in the Western region, an apology from the former director, and my determination to run the place well . I could say anything I please, but it was highly suggested that I talk about my time in the museum and comment on Blue Wave water . Director Lu Are you alright the secretary called out . What is it Nothing . It just looked like you were in a daze Is there a problem Yes, I have one . Is the content wrong Or something else Can you take me to the underground mineral spring Um you only have half an hour before the interview . I can take you there after everything 39 s done, she said . I nodded and returned to the script . The media arrived as planned and a giant camera was quickly pointed at me . The reporter said his piece and handed the microphone to me . h.e.l.lo, everyone, I 39 m the new director, Lu Qiao . I believe that many of you already know me the water here is from Blue Wave . Blue Wave is great, I cheered . The reporter took over the mic and supplemented the interview with a few more lines before the cameraman put the camera down . The secretary started clapping . You were great, Director Lu . After a quick exchange, the cameraman and the reporter left . The secretary sent them off while I stayed in the office . I wondered if she was deliberately avoiding me . I went downstairs and met only a few workers along the way, which was odd to me . I put on the coat, gloves, mask, cap, and got disinfected before entering the air shower room . I saw a large machine and figured that it was the water extraction machine . The strange part was that both tubes were facing upward . Shouldn 39 t one be facing downward in order to bring the water up An old man walked over in regular clothes . Are you new here I nodded . You don 39 t have to wear all the gear, you know . The leaders won 39 t run checks . Won 39 t the water and the equipment be contaminated if we don 39 t dress properly Wow, you 39 re really new . Come see this pointer, he said, shifting a table and placing it in front of a stool . I walked over to it and he sat me down . I saw a pointer in the middle of the gauge . On its left was green and its right red . The old man pointed at the needle . Your job is to look at this . If it goes toward the red, press this b.u.t.ton and call me over to replace the filter tube . We will take turns once you learn how to change it . What if it turns to the green If it turns green, do you expect the yellow mud water to filter itself without changing the filter What I shuddered, my back turning cold . Don 39 t skive and remember to press the b.u.t.ton when it turns to the red . The previous fool fell asleep and the filter overloaded . The yellow mud water flowed out without being filtered and half the unfiltered water reached half the region so the fool got fired . The water isn 39 t from the underground spring See those foreign words on the machine Ocean King Wave 39 s stuff . Just the minimum to keep humans alive . We extract it from the ocean before filtering away the salt and mud . Did you really believe the guy from the museum That the water will extend your life by 10 he mocked . The door opened and a fat man walked in . You haven 39 t been fired, silly fellow the old man asked, puzzled . Nah, just given a severe warning . I 39 m here for my shift . I won 39 t fall asleep anymore, promise . Wait . Have you heard that our new director is here Pang Dahai owed debts and committed suicide . The new director is the museum guy, the 10 guy, Fatty said with a laugh .