Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1142 Successful Onboarding
The weather was still a bit chilly in March, but Zhai Gong put down his work, stood up, walked to the window, and opened it. Fortunately, the sun had already risen outside, and a gentle breeze was blowing in. Although Wang Zhan shivered at first, he later found the breeze quite comfortable.

Engineer Zhai pulled over a chair and placed it opposite his enormous desk, which was a drafting table. The desk was a mess, covered with reference materials, books, drawings, drafting tools, notebooks, and stationery. Probably only he himself would know which was which.

Wang Zhan sat down calmly. Zhai Gong said, "Go and make two cups of tea. I don't have any water or tea in my room. Go next door and find Xiao Chen, my assistant. He has some in his room. We'll talk again when you come back."

Wang Zhan, who had just sat down, stood up, took his schoolbag off his body, put it on the stool, and then went out to find Xiao Chen. He made two cups of tea, but Xiao Chen brought them over. He followed behind Xiao Chen the whole time.

After Xiao Chen backed out of the room and closed the door, Zhai Gong picked up his teacup, blew on the tea leaves, and took a sip. Wang Zhan sat there upright, holding the teacup in both hands, warming his hands as he still felt a little cold.

After two minutes of silence, Engineer Zhai turned his attention back to Wang Zhan and said, "Wang Zhan, do you know how hard it was to get this opportunity to intern at the factory?"

Wang Zhan also raised his head and looked at Engineer Zhai, saying, "I know. I am deeply grateful for my mentor's kindness. He has gone to great lengths for me, and I remember it all."

Engineer Zhai shook his head and said, "What you don't know is that the higher-ups have repeatedly ordered that no more positions be added. Even temporary workers in the factory are being investigated and then dismissed. So now the only way to get into the factory is to fill in for others. Not only employees, but even the factory manager doesn't dare to open that door. But you've gotten in. Tell me, is this a simple matter?"

Wang Zhan was stunned. He knew the rules and regulations; Grandpa Sun had already explained them to him at the gate. But he didn't expect the matter to be so serious. According to Engineer Zhai, this involved a problem at another level. Even the factory director didn't dare to agree. So how did he get in?
Seeing Wang Zhan frowning, Engineer Zhai said, "Don't overthink it. Your mentor contacted me, and we went to the department together to get this internship spot for you, but..."

Wang Zhan was stunned. He had received too much information today and couldn't process it all at once. Then, Zhai Gong's "However," made his heart leap into his throat.

When Engineer Zhai saw that he had become nervous, he chuckled and said, "Wang Zhan, you don't need to be so nervous. By the way, your teacher told me that although you are majoring in mechanical design, you are quite good at foreign languages. By the way, how many foreign languages ​​are you good at?"

Wang Zhan said, "Yes, Engineer Zhai, I have a professional translation certificate, which I obtained in my spare time, on the advice of my mentor. I am proficient in Russian and German, and of course, I also know some French and Japanese. Listening and reading are not a problem for me."

"Oh?" Engineer Zhai was pleasantly surprised. He then had a brief conversation with Wang Zhan in Russian and German, respectively. The topic was related to the history of mechanical development. Engineer Zhai was very satisfied with Wang Zhan's fluent answers, especially his accurate use of technical terms.

After a brief exchange, Engineer Zhai took a sip of tea and said, "Since you have this advantage, I'm not worried. There's a saying, 'The tallest tree in the forest is the first to be felled by the wind!' Because of my and your teacher's recommendations, the ministry directly issued a document to the factory, which is why you have this internship opportunity. However, some of the senior engineers and technicians in the factory, especially the factory leaders, have a lot of opinions. You've become the target of everyone's criticism as soon as you enter the factory. Do you understand?" Wang Zhan then realized how difficult it was for him to get into the factory. Normally, if the ministry arranged for someone to be hired, it would be fine. But at this time, the ministry was urging the dismissal of employees while also specially recruiting someone to the factory. This made the people in the factory feel unbalanced. Not to mention the amount of gossip, the senior technicians and engineers, many of whom had family members working as temporary workers in the factory, as well as the leaders at all levels in the factory, all voiced their opposition.

Fortunately, the factory leadership suppressed the opposition, saying that the new employee was just an intern who wouldn't be working there long-term and was only there to learn, etc. This gradually reduced the opposition within the factory.

In fact, both Engineer Zhai and Old Master Xie knew that after the internship period, Engineer Zhai would take Wang Zhan as his apprentice, which would naturally allow him to stay at the steel rolling mill. This was something the two old guys had discussed beforehand. Engineer Zhai was just worried that Wang Zhan's skills weren't up to par, but after meeting him today, regardless of his technical skills, this foreign language talent was still a talent.

After listening, Wang Zhan was very grateful to his teacher and thanked Engineer Zhai for his strong support. Wang Zhan was so excited that he didn't know what to say. Engineer Zhai waved his hand and said, "Alright, you don't need to thank me. I owe your teacher a favor, and your teacher used it on you. However, now that you're under my tutelage, you have to be fully focused and study diligently. If you can't pass the engineer exam, I will give up on you."

Wang Zhan nodded in agreement. Zhai gave him a few more instructions and then sent him to find Xiao Li from HR. There were still procedures to go through with the finance department and the labor department, so the procedures for entering the factory were not yet completed.

Wang Zhan said goodbye to Engineer Zhai and found Xiao Li. Then they started going through the procedures one by one. As expected of a major company, everything was very strict.

When Wang Zhan pushed his cart, carrying his daily necessities and work protective equipment, to the main gate, it was almost noon. This was before he had to go to the housing management department. Xiao Li was a vocational school graduate who had just graduated a year ago, so he was very enthusiastic towards Wang Zhan. Although the two were not from the same school, they were of similar age and had a lot in common. They quickly became acquainted.

Xiao Li asked Wang Zhan if he had any housing difficulties. People like Wang Zhan could apply for factory dormitories, but he shouldn't even think about getting a house allocated to him, as he wasn't eligible. However, he would have to pay rent for the dormitory himself, which would be deducted directly from his salary each month. Wang Zhan said that his home was in Nanluoguxiang and he didn't need a dormitory, so Xiao Li didn't take him to the housing management office.

Once everything is done, today's business is over. He doesn't need to go to work today; he just needs to complete the onboarding procedures. Engineer Zhai knows this and tells him to go back and arrange his own affairs. Most importantly, he needs to inform Teacher Xie Yun. Engineer Zhai directly tells him to officially start work next Monday.

As Wang Zhan pushed his bike to the main entrance, his mind was preoccupied with the various issues surrounding his onboarding, so he was somewhat distracted. Suddenly, a loud shout rang out from his right, "Hey kid, where are you going? Hurry up and come to your grandpa Sun. You think you can run away so easily?"

Wang Zhan looked to his right and laughed. There stood Grandpa Sun, holding a stove hook in one hand and a kettle in the other, calling out to him from the gatehouse entrance.

(End of this chapter)