Siheyuan: Relieve stress and relieve worries

Chapter 1177 Helping Tie Da
There was a musty smell in Engineer Zhai's office, the smell of piled-up documents. It was a cool morning, and Engineer Zhai didn't open the windows to let in any fresh air.

Wang Zhan sat opposite Engineer Zhai, secretly watching him. Wang Zhan had been in the office for over an hour, and apart from Engineer Zhai saying "Sit down!" as soon as he entered, he hadn't said anything and had been busy with his own work.

Wang Zhan just sat there, feeling very uncomfortable. He didn't dare to look at the things on Zhai Gong's desk; who knew which ones he could look at and which ones he couldn't? Only the glass of water in front of him became something he could manipulate at will. After another twenty minutes or so, the glass of water was empty, and Wang Zhan really couldn't sit still anymore. His buttocks felt like they were on fire, and he was twisting and turning from side to side, his body swaying incessantly.

Foreman Zhai didn't even look up, and said, "Why can't you sit still? Do you know why I made you sit here?"

Wang Zhan said, "Is this some kind of punishment for being late this morning?"

"You were late this morning?" Engineer Zhai looked up and asked in confusion.

When Wang Zhan heard Zhai Gong ask this question, he knew that he had inadvertently confessed, so he obediently nodded.

Engineer Zhai said, "That's not good. Time is precious, especially when you're at work. You need to remind yourself constantly that every minute and every second is a contribution to the country. You can't cut corners. Being late is a bad habit. If this goes on for a long time and happens too often, how much do you think you owe the factory?"

Wang Zhan listened attentively, not daring to say anything, and nodded frequently. At this moment, Engineer Zhai took off his glasses and said, "I'm keeping you here for your own good. Several people are waiting for you in the personnel department. I asked Xiao Wang to inform them that you need to come and help me. Go to the personnel department this afternoon, and there shouldn't be anyone waiting for you then."

Wang Zhan was quite clever; he immediately realized that Zhai Gong was standing up for him, telling everyone that he was Zhai Gong's man, and making those who wanted to teach Wang Zhan a lesson back down.

Wang Zhan then understood why Engineer Zhai had kept him in the office that morning. He looked at Engineer Zhai gratefully and said, "Thank you, Uncle-Master. I'm sorry to have worried you, but I can do some translation work first."

Zhai looked up at him and said, "You don't even know the basic situation of the factory. What are you translating? Do you even know if what you translate is what our factory needs? Alright, you should stick with Xiao Wang. Get familiar with the factory first. We can talk about work after you're familiar with it. By the way, your desk is in Xiao Wang's room. Go find him in a bit."

After listening, Wang Zhan felt a sense of relief. He thanked Zhai Gong, his junior apprentice, once again, and then walked out of Zhai Gong's office and headed to Xiao Wang's place.

Xiao Wang had been waiting for him for a long time. When he arrived, Xiao Wang was very welcoming. He arranged a desk for him and took him to collect office supplies before showing Wang Zhan around the factory.

As luck would have it, the first workshop Xiao Wang took Wang Zhan to was the forging workshop. As soon as they entered the gate, Tie Da shouted loudly, "Hey, you little Zhan, you're in the workshop now. Come hang out with your brother Tie, and I'll make sure you can walk all over the place in the factory."

Xiao Wang heard Tie Da's shout from the side and was very surprised. He asked Wang Zhan in a low voice, and Wang Zhan said, "He is my childhood friend's brother, and also my brother. Master Tie is my uncle."

After Wang Zhan finished speaking, he headed towards Tie Da and Tie Er's workstations. On the way, he saw Liu Haizhong at the middle workstation in the workshop, explaining something to a few people who seemed to be his apprentices. He didn't go up to talk to them, but went straight to Master Tie.

Xiao Wang quickened his pace, following closely behind Wang Zhan. Wang Zhan thought Xiao Wang was afraid he would get lost. Later, after hearing what Xiao Wang said, he realized how high Tie Shifu's status was in the factory. He followed Wang Zhan to Tie Shifu purely to build a relationship so he could ask him some professional questions in the future.

After explaining his situation to Master Tie and his two sons, Master Tie glanced at his watch and said, "Stay here and look around. It's almost noon. I bet you haven't exchanged your meal tickets yet. Come eat with us in a bit."

Wang Zhan couldn't refuse Master Tie's offer. Master Tie even patted Wang Zhan on the shoulder and said casually, "Comrade Wang, I'm treating you to stir-fried pork today. I heard there's meat at the second canteen." It seemed that Wang Zhan had a good relationship with Master Tie and Master Tie. So, Wang Zhan didn't go anywhere else that morning and just followed Wang Zhan around the forging workshop.

As soon as the lunch break bell rang, Master Tie put down his work, called Wang Zhan over, and led him to the second canteen. A large group of people followed behind, most of them Master Tie's apprentices. When Wang Zhan saw this, he thought Liu Haizhong was quite capable with his few apprentices, but compared to Master Tie, he was nothing. Master Tie was followed by more than twenty apprentices, and then by some of their apprentices' apprentices. This large group of dozens of people walking together was quite intimidating.

Tie Da and Tie Er were both very easygoing. Before Wang Zhan even saw what dishes the cafeteria sold, the two of them had already made arrangements for everything, regardless of whether Wang Zhan liked them or not.

Master Tie sat on the east side of the canteen. He didn't need to get his own food. After a while, his eldest apprentice came over with several lunch boxes. Master Tie and his second apprentice came over quite a while later.

Xiao Wang originally wanted to pay for his own meal, but Tie Da pushed him back. Later, Tie Da told him to sit and wait patiently, so Xiao Wang stopped insisting and sat down next to Wang Zhan.

Wang Zhan and Master Tie were talking about their old friend, who had disappeared again, and this time it would probably be even longer. However, when talking to Master Tie, Wang Zhan always felt that he had something on his mind, but as a junior, he didn't dare to ask too much. After thinking for a moment, Wang Zhan decided to ask Master Tie Da and Master Tie Er. Those two simpletons couldn't keep anything to themselves, and they would definitely tell him once asked.

After finishing their meal, Wang Zhan ignored Xiao Wang and took Tie Da and Tie Er to the material storage yard outside. Wang Zhan took out a pack of Peony cigarettes and gave one to each of the two brothers. As expected, Tie Da pocketed the rest.

Wang Zhan lit a cigarette, took a puff, and asked directly, "Brother, Uncle seems to have something on his mind today. Is something wrong?"

“What could possibly happen to my dad? Isn’t this what’s causing the eldest brother’s worry?” The eldest brother didn’t speak, but the second brother spoke first.

Tie Lao Da glared at Lao Er and said, "That's what I wanted. Who told my dad to go? Oh well, the main thing is that I'm getting married, and it's all because I don't have a house."

Wang Zhan frowned instantly. He suddenly remembered the Tie family's house, which was an independent courtyard house with a main house and east and west wing rooms. There were quite a few rooms. Wang Zhan didn't believe for a second that the Tie family lacked a house, unless something unexpected happened.

Wang Zhan remembered what Boss Tie had only said halfway through, and began to wonder if Boss Tie was going to be transferred or if he had taken on some kind of mission. Boss Tie used to often take on special missions and would often disappear for ten days or half a month, something that Boss Tie often mentioned to him.

Wang Zhan lowered his voice and asked softly, "Is Uncle being transferred? Does he have to hand over the house?"

The Tie brothers both looked surprised and exchanged glances. The eldest brother then asked, "How did you know? Did you guess it?"

Wang Zhan nodded and said, "If Da Lao Tie were here, he could guess what you were saying in half."

Tie Laoda chuckled awkwardly, then said in a low voice, "Our whole family was originally going to leave, and I can't tell you where we're going, but my dad made me stay. After all, we need to make sure that when Xiao San comes back, she can find her way home. I'm also getting married soon, but if our family leaves, we have to hand over the house, and I don't have the right to be allocated a house, so my family is having a problem."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhan knew he was pretty much right. He thought for a moment and said, "I'll rent it to you. It happens to be in the factory's staff quarters, but it'll be my private property now. Is it really necessary for you to worry about something so simple?"

(End of this chapter)