Siheyuan: I eat melons while doing scientific research

Chapter 1303 Qin Family's New Relative (5k)

Just as they were having a lively discussion, Jia Zhangshi came over carrying Sha Zhu's child.

“Silly Zhu, you’re here. Huai Ru has brought her relatives back. They said they’re from her hometown. Go and take a look.”

Gao Zhendong and his wife stood up and greeted Jia Zhangshi. We always start by being polite to older people.

"Oh my, these two children are so adorable." Madam Jia Zhang held He Fangyuan in her arms and didn't forget to praise Gao Zhendong's two children.

Sha Zhu stood up: "Come on, come on, Zhen Dong, I've troubled you two for half a day, and you didn't even have time to cook. It just so happens that Huai Ru said that relatives are coming to visit, so I prepared a few extra dishes. Come on, let's go to my house to eat."

Generally speaking, Gao Zhendong wouldn't be interested in joining in the fun when relatives come to visit other people's homes. However, Sha Zhu doesn't have such formalities. The two of them went from being single and freeloading off each other to having a son and a daughter, so they've long since stopped caring about these things. Although Sha Zhu's two children aren't entirely due to his own efforts, legally speaking, they are still his daughters.

Besides, maybe Sha Zhu is a relative visiting and wants him to keep him company. That's quite normal. Gao Zhendong stood up: "Let's go!"

Perfect, this saves Xiao'e some trouble.

Lou Xiao'e turned around and took two bottles of wine from the cupboard. Together with Gao Zhendong, she led the child towards Sha Zhu's house.

Sha Zhu's family is quite large; a person with high emotional intelligence will have a lively and bustling household, while a person with low emotional intelligence will experience chaos and disorder.

Four children of all ages, four adults, that makes eight people. Add two relatives, and Gao Zhendong's family of four—the commotion was incredible.

Qin Huairu's two relatives were completely dumbfounded when they saw this scene.

"Chief Engineer Gao, come, come, take a seat. These are my relatives from my hometown, my uncle, and my cousin." Qin Huairu usually addressed Gao Zhendong by his title, so she made sure to use it even more so now. She knew the nuances of this.

Gao Zhendong took a look and realized that he didn't recognize the middle-aged man among the two relatives, but he did recognize the young woman; she just didn't recognize him.

Qin Huairu's cousin, Qin Jinru, was also a supporting character with some weight in the drama that I watched with my senior back then.

“Uncle, Jinru, this is Chief Engineer Gao from our factory, and a friend of my son Yuzhu.” Qin Huairu’s voice rose noticeably when she said “Chief Engineer.” When she mentioned “Yuzhu’s friend,” her smile blossomed and her voice rang like silver bells.

However, her introduction was actually correct. Gao Zhendong works at the Third Rolling Mill and currently holds the position of Deputy Chief Engineer. It wouldn't be wrong to say he's the Chief Engineer of the Third Branch Plant or the Chief Engineer of the Third Rolling Mill.

This introduction startled the two relatives of Lao Qin.

The factory's chief engineer? Young Jin Ru might not have felt much of a sense of it yet, but her father was filled with respect.

I heard that Huai Ru's factory is a huge factory with thousands or even tens of thousands of employees. The chief engineer in this factory should be at a much higher level than the village party secretary, right? And he's so young?
It seems Huairu really married well that her husband has such a friend.

"Oh, Chief Engineer, hello Chief Engineer." Qin Huairu's uncle stood up, wanting to reach out and shake hands, but then felt a little embarrassed and wiped his hands on his clothes several times.

Gao Zhendong took the initiative to extend his hand and shake hands with Uncle Qin: "Old comrade, please sit down."

Hey, judging by this, he's definitely a leader.

Seeing that the two were a little reserved, Gao Zhendong smiled even more kindly. He had to be kind, or he might scare them: "Uncle Qin, Miss Jinru, we're just here to freeload today. There's no such thing as chief engineer or anything like that."

"Okay, okay, sit down, sit down." Uncle Qin finally sat down, but his bottom didn't sit properly.

Gao Zhendong didn't interfere. He figured they'd get used to it soon. Forcing them to get used to it now would only make them more uncomfortable.

In the 60s, the fastest way to get to know someone was through meals and drinks. As Gao Zhendong expected, after a few drinks, Uncle Qin Huairu and Qin Jinru saw that Gao Zhendong and his wife were really approachable, so they gradually started to relax.

Qin Jinru is practically invisible, needless to say, but at least her father is much more at ease than before.

"Uncle Qin, it should be the busy farming season now, so why did you come to Beijing?" Gao Zhendong was genuinely curious. To be honest, he had a lot of contact with people in the industrial sector, but very little contact with people in the agricultural sector, especially those at the grassroots level, including those from Guizhou.

It's almost June now, and if he remembers correctly, that's the busiest time of year in the north.

"Yes, yes, our team is harvesting winter wheat and preparing to plant summer corn." A leader is a leader; even though he works in a factory, he's no stranger to things in the fields.

May and June are the perfect time for winter wheat to ripen and be harvested. After the harvest, summer corn should be planted immediately to make the most of the farming season.

Uncle Qin felt as if he were reporting to leaders from the township and county who had come to inspect the area, so he spoke in detail: "I was sent by the brigade to the city to buy agricultural machinery parts. Jinru has never been to the city before, so I brought her here to broaden her horizons and help me out. She is very meticulous, has more education than me, and is better at accounting than me."

As if to explain that bringing his daughter along wasn't about taking advantage of the public, but rather that she was genuinely useful, Uncle Qin even gave a special explanation.

"Oh? The parts break easily?" Gao Zhendong asked, following up on the conversation.

Uncle Qin laughed and said, "Chief Engineer Gao, you've misunderstood. It's precisely because they don't break down easily that we have to come to the city to buy them. Since they break down so rarely, we don't have many spare parts, and we haven't even prepared some of them. We've mainly focused on things like seeds and fertilizers that take up more space. That's why we couldn't find any spare parts for our agricultural machinery in the township or county, so we had to come to the city to buy them."

Gao Zhendong nodded knowingly; so that's how it is.

"So, the team has quite a few farm machines?" Since they don't break down easily, the fact that they still need to buy more means there must be a large number of them. With such a large number, even the least likely machines to break down will eventually have some.

"There weren't many before, but they've started to increase in the last few years. It's not just in our team, but in other brigades as well. The number of farm machines has increased in the last few years, which has saved a lot of trouble. At least tractors are not as delicate to take care of as oxen."

For a considerable period throughout history, even into the late 20th century, cattle have been a vital means of production. If horses were the ancient equivalent of carriages, then cattle were the ancient equivalent of tractors.

Unexpectedly, they've started to look down on cows now. Good riddance! Gao Zhendong was very pleased.

He knew that this was because the comrades of the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building had put in a lot of effort.

"How's the harvest?" Since he was already there, Gao Zhendong was curious to ask more questions, as he was also very curious about how much change he had brought about.

Uncle Qin felt more like he was reporting to a leader. Looking at the young man's expression and the questions he asked, it was just like the leaders who had visited the team before.

"The harvest is good, much better than before. After paying the grain tax, we not only have enough food left, but we also have some left over."

Speaking of this, Comrade Qin was no longer sleepy, after all, this was the thing that made them happiest in recent years, and it was a change that was clearly visible.

"Now that you've said that, I'm not sleepy anymore!" Gao Zhendong was even happier than him.

"Oh? What is the main source of the increased production?" He went all out and asked, getting to the bottom of it. For him, this was also a kind of alternative self-fulfillment.

Lou Xiao'e wasn't surprised by his inquiries about agriculture; she knew her husband was always very interested in these things because of his work.

Sha Zhu and Qin Huairu weren't surprised at all. He was a leader, even one in the industrial sector, so it was normal for him to care about agricultural work; it would be abnormal if he didn't. Didn't you hear them talking about agricultural machinery just now?

"The widespread use of agricultural machinery goes without saying. It works faster, allowing us to dedicate more energy to carefully tending to the crops without missing the planting season. That's one reason," Old Qin said, counting on his fingers.

"Mmm, come on, have some food." Gao Zhendong nodded and beckoned.

"Secondly, some crop seeds are also being improved, either for disease resistance, lodging resistance, or direct yield increases. In short, in the end, they all result in some degree of yield increase compared to before." It's rare for extremely excellent seeds to appear all at once, but gradual improvement is equally effective, and this is the norm in breeding. Gao Zhendong nodded repeatedly; continuous improvement is always a good thing.

"Of course, the most important things are fertilizers and pesticides. Leader, you may not know this, but we have much more fertilizers now than before! In addition to that urea, there are all kinds of compound fertilizers. A handful can last for a very long time, and they are also crop-specific. The ones for wheat can't be used for corn. They are all special."

Uncle Qin has now fully entered the state of reporting his work, and he calls out "leader" very fluently.

Gao Zhendong didn't pay any attention to this matter at all; he was completely captivated by what the other person was saying.

Compound fertilizer? It seems that what I mentioned to General Manager Xiang and the others in the Applied Chemistry Department did back then, the urea production line project, was done very well!

Gao Zhendong didn't think it was his achievement. He had only shared the idea in advance, but it was the colleagues in the Applied Chemicals Department who actually developed the compound fertilizer. They had already gone so far as to produce targeted compound fertilizers for different crops, which was much more advanced than his initial idea.

Although it wasn't his own achievement, it didn't stop Gao Zhendong from being happy. At least he had opened the door ahead of time, hadn't he?

"Then you must be working even harder when you're farming, with so many more things to consider. You've worked so hard, come on, have a drink!"

His statement wasn't entirely an excuse to get the other person to drink. Agriculture itself is a technology, and with the development of technology, relying on weather and experience is certainly important. However, treating agricultural planting techniques with the same attitude one would use for technology is the future direction of development.

Those who made big money in planting and breeding later on, besides relying on market supply and demand, all relied on technology. Without technology, even in a seller's market, this kind of money still couldn't be earned.

Sha Zhu could tell that Gao Zhendong was in high spirits after listening to Uncle Huairu's words. It seems that being a leader is not easy. Even though he is from the 17th Ministry of Machinery Industry, he still has to pay attention to the affairs of other industries at all times.

Lou Xiao'e tugged at Gao Zhendong: "Alright, alright, let's eat first. Look, Uncle Qin can't even eat properly because you're keeping him from eating."

Gao Zhendong chuckled and said, "Yes, let's eat! Let's eat!" He emphasized the word "eat" especially.
-
June 1st, which happens to be a Monday, is a joyful holiday for children.

Gao Zhendong sat in the car, which was driving towards the factory, and he was still thinking about what gifts to get for the children.

Just as the car arrived at the factory gate, we saw several comrades from the security department standing outside the gate, gathered in front of a wall, shouting about what they were doing, and they sounded a bit angry.

Gao Zhendong stopped the car, stuck his head out, and asked with a smile, "Director Zhang, what are you busy with here?" His words were eager to try, implying that he wanted to test the gun's effectiveness.

Upon hearing his voice, Director Zhang quickly walked over and said with a smile, "Chief Engineer Gao, these comrades from the Eleventh Ministry of Machinery Industry are really bullying us. They're blatantly stealing our people; they've even put up notices at our factory gate."

This former deputy head of the training department is now undoubtedly his superior.

Huh? Gao Zhendong was greatly surprised. There really was such a thing? These days, this kind of thing is never allowed. After all, if the original unit doesn't let you go, the new unit won't take you at all. Even if the new unit wants to take you in, it's very troublesome.

It's often said that one of the most basic forms of business warfare is poaching talent from each other, but that doesn't exist these days.

"Is that so? They can't do it either, the personnel records don't go through." As the de facto head of the Third Factory, he had some understanding of personnel work. Zheng Liangshu was doing the work, but Gao Zhendong had to sign many of the final documents.

Speaking of this, Director Zhang became even angrier.

"Their notice said that they would handle personnel matters for anyone who wanted to go there. Isn't that bullying?" The old unit wouldn't let go, and they wanted to handle personnel matters, which was using the name of the ministry or the importance of the work to coerce people. It was indeed a bit unfair.

Gao Zhendong smiled and held out his hand: "Come on, give me a copy of the notice so I can take a look when I get back."

He was quite curious about which department of the Eleventh Ministry of Machine Building needed talent, that they were so desperate.

Holding the notice that had been taken down from the wall and still smelled of paste, Gao Zhendong walked into his office.

After glancing at it a few times while sitting in his office, Gao Zhendong chuckled. "Hey, an old acquaintance."

He grabbed the phone and dialed, and soon the other end answered.

"Is this the Beijing Automobile Factory? This is Gao Zhendong." Although it's unlikely that programmable telephones would get mixed up, people still retain the habit of asking who the other party is before making a call, a habit that has persisted into the 21st century.

The person who answered the phone was the director of the Beijing Automobile Factory. Upon hearing that it was Gao Zhendong, his face lit up with joy: "Yes, it's me, Committee Member Gao. Hello, hello. Is there anything you'd like to do for us that you'd like to take care of?"

Gao Zhendong was both amused and exasperated on the phone: "There's nothing special to do today, but I just wanted to ask, why did you suddenly decide to take care of our factory?"

Huh? The director of Beijing Automobile Factory was completely dumbfounded. There's no such thing. How could I possibly be qualified to take care of you?

"Committee Member Gao, where do you even begin? My mind is a bit muddled."

Gao Zhendong laughed and said, "Your factory's recruitment notices have even been posted at our factory gate. You even said it's okay if we don't hire, you'll take care of the personnel matters. Isn't that taking care of us?"

Oh no! This is terrible!!! The factory manager of Beijing Automobile Factory felt a wave of dizziness wash over him.

But we don't need to worry about where the problem lies for now; that's not important. What's important is to appease the person on the other end of the phone.

"Ah... this is a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. It's probably because our comrades got the address wrong, the address is wrong," the Beijing Automobile Factory Director laughed.

I can tell, they are indeed poaching people everywhere. As for whether the address is correct or not, I'll just listen to what you say.

"What exactly happened?" Gao Zhendong was curious. Moreover, as long as the other party wasn't like Liu Bei borrowing Jingzhou—borrowing without ever returning—it wasn't out of the question to lend someone for a short period of time if they really needed it.

"Here's the thing, our factory's production capacity was already a bit stretched thin, and we've been barely managing to keep up. But since that trade fair not long ago, things have really improved, with both buying and selling booming. The only problem is that our already limited production capacity has been further exacerbated. So, we had no choice but to turn to our brother companies in Beijing. We need all the senior technicians! We need them all! I guess the person in charge of publicity got the address wrong, I'm really sorry."

Are you kidding me? I don't think so.

However, Gao Zhendong found it a bit strange: "Didn't you already recruit a batch of workers? And you also have a technical school, isn't that enough?"

"That's not enough. Vocational school training takes time. There's no time, absolutely no time."

Well, so your own radishes are growing slowly, so you're thinking of just pulling up the perfectly growing radishes from someone else's field? That's incredibly unethical.

"Oh, is that so? Then I'm afraid I can't help you with this. I suggest you ask the ministry to step in and coordinate properly. Otherwise, you might have a good time grabbing people now, but it might be difficult to carry out your work in the future. Borrowing them for a few days is something we can consider, but stealing them is out of the question."

Listening to Gao Zhendong's words, the director of Beijing Automobile Factory was too embarrassed to say that the idea came from the Eleventh Ministry of Machinery Industry, otherwise he would not have had the confidence to promise to "resolve personnel issues".

"Could we borrow it for a while? Thank you so much! Chief Engineer Gao, we made a mistake with the address, we apologize. But you should be careful, the other factories that received production assignments from us..."

The automotive industry is a large industrial chain. In addition to final assembly, Beijing Automotive Plant has many tasks that are produced by upstream factories, all of which are under the 11th Ministry of Machinery Industry. This means that they all have the same bad idea.

Gao Zhendong chuckled and said, "It's alright, it's alright. We're just acquaintances. I'll make a call first, hehehe..."

He didn't say anything else, but the factory manager of Beijing Automotive Group felt a chill down his spine.

(End of this chapter)