60s: I have a store

Chapter 460: A Bustling Job Fair
On the day the job fair began, the sun had just risen and the golden sunlight shone on the gate of the steel plant, casting a sacred glow on this powerful factory.

The queue in front of the factory gate was so winding that there was no end in sight.

Everyone in the crowd was discussing enthusiastically, and the topics all revolved around work in the steel plant and future life.

"I heard that although the work in this steel mill is hard, the salary is high and there are various subsidies," said a young man excitedly.

"Yes, and we can get a dormitory. It would be great if we could become regular employees." Another person echoed.

Since Zhou Yimin also wanted to come and help, although he didn't quite understand why he had to come and help, but since the leader had asked him to, he couldn't refuse and could only agree. So he arrived at the scene early today. He stood aside, quietly observing the people in line.

I saw the desire in the eyes of young people and felt their expectations for the future.

However, Zhou Yimin knew that most of the people here would not be selected. After all, the number of people being recruited this time was not large, only about two hundred to three hundred.

Another part of the quota is in the hands of other leaders in the factory. For example, Zhou Yimin can get two places, but he has given these two places to Uncle Li and Brother Wang.

He knew that every choice he made could change a person's destiny.

As time went by, the recruitment work officially began.

The workers set up a simple registration office at the factory gate. Several leaders and staff sat at the table, carrying out registration and preliminary screening work in an orderly manner.

"Next!" a staff member shouted.

A young man walked up quickly and handed over his resume with both hands. It was called a resume, but it was actually just a piece of paper with basic personal information written on it.

With a trembling voice, he said: "Leader, my name is Li Ming, I am 20 years old, healthy, able to endure hardships, and I really want to work in a steel plant."

The leader in charge of registration took the paper, looked at it carefully, and then asked, "What job did you do before?"

"I...I used to help with farm work in the village, and also did odd jobs in a small workshop in town." Li Ming replied nervously.

There was no way. Although he was told not to be nervous, he couldn't help but move forward when he saw the leader in charge of recruitment. However, he also understood that with his performance, he would have no chance.

I immediately felt disappointed.

"Well, okay, you register first, and we will conduct an assessment later." The leader nodded and recorded the relevant information on the form.

There's no way. There are so many people waiting to register, and there's not much time left for each person.

Otherwise, with so many people around, I don’t know how long I’ll have to stay busy.

In this way, one young person after another came forward with great anticipation, and accepted the leaders' questioning and screening.

Some young people stuttered when answering questions because of nervousness, but their eyes still revealed firm determination.

Some of them were more calm and answered questions fluently, showing good communication skills and mental outlook.

Zhou Yimin also started his own screening work. He sat aside and immediately attracted the attention of many young people. Everyone hoped to be the lucky one selected by Zhou Yimin.

"Leader, my name is Wang Qiang. I am particularly interested in mechanical maintenance and have also taught myself some relevant knowledge. Can you tell me if I can do it?"

A burly young man walked up to Zhou Yimin and said sincerely.

Zhou Yimin took the note he handed over with a smile, which detailed his experience of self-studying mechanical maintenance and some simple insights.

Zhou Yimin looked at it carefully and asked, "Why are you interested in mechanical maintenance?"

"Boss, I think mechanical maintenance is a technical job. It's very rewarding to be able to fix broken things and make them work again. And I heard that the steel plant has a lot of equipment and must need talents in this field. I want to learn a skill here."

Wang Qiang answered passionately with a gleam in his eyes.

"Also, the motherland needs talents in this field, so I will go and learn knowledge in this field."

Zhou Yimin didn't expect that the young man in front of him could have such awareness.

"Wang Qiang, why do you think so?"

Wang Qiang exuded confidence, and then said seriously: "I have a good talent. No matter what I learn, I can quickly get the hang of it."

Zhou Yimin was a little speechless. He didn't expect Wang Qiang to be so confident, so he said, "Since you are so talented, why didn't you get into university?"

Wang Qiang didn't expect Zhou Yimin to ask such an unconventional question. At this time, shouldn't he ask how he studied mechanical maintenance so hard?

"This is me."

When the people around saw this scene, they couldn't help but burst into laughter.

Wang Qiang's face turned red instantly. He instinctively wanted to refute, but he couldn't find any reason to refute.

After seeing this, Zhou Yimin realized that he had asked the wrong question and immediately came to the rescue: "Okay, you register first, and we will conduct the assessment later."

Wang Qiang was very grateful to Zhou Yimin. Although it was Zhou Yimin who made him lose face, he could not blame others, and quickly said, "Thank you, leader!"

After saying that, he left without looking back, but he still felt a little regretful. If he hadn't been so confident, would he have had a chance to work in the steel factory?
But there is probably no chance now.

Thinking of this, I couldn't help but slap myself twice. Such a good opportunity was missed.

After this little episode, Zhou Yimin didn't care about it. Instead, he continued to screen. At this time, a slightly thin young man walked over, with a hint of inferiority and hesitation in his eyes.

"Leader, I... my name is Zhao Gang. I don't have any special skills, but I can really endure hardships. Can you give me a chance?" Zhao Gang lowered his head and said in a low voice.

Zhou Yimin looked at him and felt something in his heart. It was the first time he heard such an opening remark. All the people he had just interviewed had left the deepest impression on him in the shortest time.

He saw the helplessness of life and the desire for change in Zhao Gang's eyes. He thought for a moment and asked, "What is the hardest job you have ever done?"

"I... I used to move bricks in a brick factory, from morning to night every day. Although it was very tiring, I never complained." Zhao Gang raised his head, a hint of determination flashed in his eyes.

Zhou Yimin nodded. Although he was optimistic about this young man, the rules were the rules and the requirement was that he must have a junior high school education or above.

He just looked at Zhao Gang's ID card and it was obvious that he did not meet the standards. He immediately said, "Okay, then go back and wait for news!"

Zhao Gang's expression did not change. He knew that the possibility of him getting into the steel plant was almost zero, but he thought of giving it a try. If it worked, that would be great, but if not, there would be no loss.

"Okay, thank you, leader!"

Then leave after saying that.

Zhou Yimin didn't pay much attention to it, but just quietly wrote down Zhao Gang's home address to see if there was any chance he could help.

As the recruitment process progressed, the atmosphere on site became increasingly heated.

The leaders and staff of the steel plant are very busy. They carefully review each application and ask every question carefully, striving to select the best talents. However, the recruitment process is not smooth sailing. With so many people gathered here, troubles are bound to occur.

As there were too many applicants, the scene was in chaos. Some young people became impatient because of the long waiting time and even quarreled.

"Why is it so slow! We've been waiting for several hours!" a young man couldn't help but complain.

"That's right, how long do we have to wait?" others echoed.

When Zhou Yimin saw this situation, he immediately stood up and shouted, "Everyone, be quiet! Let's be patient. The leaders are carefully reviewing everyone's applications. This is responsible for everyone. We are here to find a job, not to quarrel. Calm down!"

However, some people were already too excited and ignored it.

Zhou Yimin was also a little angry when he saw this, and then he shouted: "You are here to find a job, we didn't ask you to come here!"

"Is this the attitude when asking for help now?"

As soon as Zhou Yimin finished speaking, the people in the upper position immediately calmed down.

The head of the personnel department originally wanted to step forward to stop it, but he didn't expect Zhou Yimin to calm it down.

Zhou Yimin said again: "If you can wait, wait. If you can't wait, leave. Others came to line up so early and no one said anything. What qualifications do you have to say that the line is too long?"

After all, those who arrived early had already been queuing for several hours, but no one else had said a word of complaint.

Zhou Yimin's words were like a magic needle that gradually calmed the atmosphere at the scene.

The person who had just joined in the commotion realized his mistake and quickly lowered his head, fearing that Zhou Yimin would remember him. If that happened, it would undoubtedly be a pipe dream for him to want to work in the steel plant.

And everyone realized that arguing would not solve the problem, and only by waiting patiently would they have a chance to get the job.

Order was soon restored and everyone started queuing up again. However, after this incident, no one dared to speak carelessly, for fear of missing this hard-earned opportunity.

However, on the other side of the recruitment site, Director Hu was discussing some special situations with several leaders.

"Director Hu, although several young people have good qualifications, their family backgrounds are somewhat complicated, this..." the head of the personnel section said with difficulty.

Director Hu pondered for a moment and said, "Family background is important, but we should pay more attention to their personal performance and ability. As long as they really want to contribute to the factory, we should give them a chance."

Other leaders expressed their agreement. Director Hu's decision gave hope to some young people who were originally worried about their family background.

As time went by, the recruitment work gradually came to an end.

After a day of intense screening, the steel plant preliminarily finalized a list of temporary workers.

These young people will receive further training and assessment in the coming days, and only those with outstanding performance will eventually become formal employees of the steel plant.

However, Zhao Gang's name was not on the list. After seeing it, Zhou Yimin went to the head of the personnel section.

As far as he knew, the head of the personnel section should still have a few vacancies, and he wanted to buy one from him.

He felt that it was a pity that Zhao Gang was eliminated like this. He just wanted to see how Zhao Gang would perform after entering the steel plant.

Soon we arrived at the Personnel Department.

When Officer Wu saw Zhou Yimin, he quickly stood up and greeted him: "Section Chief Zhou, what's up with you in the Personnel Department?"

You have to know that Zhou Yimin is a very popular person in the factory. Even if you can't get closer to him, at least you can't offend him.

Zhou Yimin smiled and replied, "Secretary Wu, is your section chief here?"

Secretary Wu quickly said, "Yes, Chief Zhou, I'll take you there!"

As he said that, he brought Zhou Yimin to the office and helped knock on the door.

"Come in!"

Zhou Yimin pushed open the office door and walked straight in.

Secretary Wu was very tactful and did not follow in. Instead, he left and returned to his job.

When the head of the personnel department saw that it was Zhou Yimin, he immediately stood up to greet him: "Yimin, how come you have time to come and sit in the personnel department!"

Zhou Yimin got straight to the point: "Today, I saw an interesting young man, but I have given away two places, so I want to buy one from you, Chief."

The head of the personnel section did not expect that Zhou Yimin came to him because of this matter. He originally had several vacancies in his hand, which had all been allocated, but since Zhou Yimin had asked for it, he had to give him one.

"What's the point of buying or not buying? Yimin, you want a spot, right?"

After saying that, he took out a letter of introduction from the drawer and handed it to Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Yimin didn't hesitate to take the money but was refused by the head of the personnel department when he was about to take the money out of his pocket.

"Yimin, do you look down on me? It's just a quota, it doesn't matter."

After all, being able to get closer to Zhou Yimin is something many factory leaders want to do.

It is a rare opportunity to have such an opportunity in front of me, so of course I can't miss it.

Moreover, it is a tacit knowledge among the factory leaders that Zhou Yimin can obtain supplies. Who knows when the head of the personnel department may need Zhou Yimin's help.

Moreover, one spot costs a few hundred yuan, which is in exchange for a favor from Zhou Yimin. No matter how you calculate it, it is a profit.

When Zhou Yimin heard this, he also knew what the HR chief was planning, so he said, "Thank you, Chief."

The two chatted for a while and then Zhou Yimin left.

When the news of the end of recruitment came, cheers broke out at the scene.

The young people who were preliminarily selected had smiles of joy and pride on their faces, as if they saw a bright future beckoning to them.

It is no exaggeration to say that being able to work in a steel mill can change one's destiny. If one has a rural hukou, once one enters the steel mill, one can obtain a city hukou and eat commercial grain.

All I can say is that some are happy and some are sad. Those who were not hired are extremely upset.

When Zhao Gang saw that his name was not on the list, he just sighed softly and left.

I took a day off just to apply for a job today. Now that I didn't get the job, I still have to continue working for the sake of living.

(End of this chapter)