60s: I have a store

Chapter 525 Back to the Factory

Zhou Yimin, who was busy with various affairs in Zhoujiazhuang, suddenly realized that he had not returned to the steel plant for a long time.

He knew very well that he was still receiving a salary from the steel mill, and if he did not show up for a long time, some jealous people would inevitably find a handle on him and report him.

Although it can be explained by the reason of going out to collect supplies, it is not appropriate to not show up all the time.

Zhou Yimin knew very well that he could not return to the steel plant empty-handed. He had to bring back something tangible to prove that he had not been fooling around during this period, but was really working for the factory.

He wondered what to bring. After much deliberation, he finally decided to bring pork, which was a rare commodity that the workers were longing for.

Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle and left Zhoujiazhuang. He first came to an empty and deserted corner. It was quiet and secluded, making it convenient for him to place the fat pigs.

He directly bought two big fat pigs, and soon two big fat pigs appeared on the ground.

Zhou Yimin took a lot of effort to move the two big fat pigs onto the back seat of the motorcycle.

He tied the pigs securely with ropes to ensure they would not fall off during the ride.

Looking at the two big fat pigs firmly placed on the motorcycle, Zhou Yimin clapped his hands contentedly, took a neat step, and got on the motorcycle.

He started the motorcycle, the engine made a buzzing sound, and then sped towards the steel plant.

That day, the sky was blue and cloudless, and the scorching sun shone unhindered onto the earth, burning every inch of the countryside.

Zhou Yimin rode a motorcycle with a fat pig on it on a rugged country road.

On both sides of the road are patches of slightly yellowed farmland, and the crops are drooping slightly under the scorching sun.

Occasionally, a few tenacious wild flowers bloom alone at the edge of the field, adding a touch of different color to this monotonous picture.

The motorcycle sped along, raising dust that spread like clouds of smoke in the sunlight.

Zhou Yimin squinted his eyes, trying to see the road ahead through the flying dust.

His hair was blown wildly by the wind, and it was messy. Sweat kept sliding down his cheeks, soaking his clothes.

But he was unaware of this, his mind was full of the mission of returning to the steel plant.

Not long after, Zhou Yimin met a group of villagers who were working on the roadside.

Holding hoes, they plowed the land with great effort, trying to plant some crops that could grow tenaciously in this difficult season.

Hearing the roar of the motorcycle, the villagers straightened up, stopped what they were doing and looked in the direction where the sound came from.

When they saw the two fat pigs on the back seat of Zhou Yimin's motorcycle, their originally tired eyes instantly brightened up.

One of the elderly men wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his rough hand and couldn't help saying, "Oh, whose young man is this? How could he have such ability to get such a fat pig?"

A young man nearby swallowed his saliva and said enviously: "If I could eat a bite of pork, it would be a blessing in this life."

Zhou Yimin couldn't help but feel a complicated emotion in his heart as he listened to their words.

He knew that life was not easy for everyone during those years of material scarcity, but he was powerless to change everyone's plight.

He could only speed up, hoping to deliver the fat pig to the steel plant as soon as possible so that the workers there could taste this rare delicacy as soon as possible.

Along the way, Zhou Yimin also saw several skinny stray dogs wandering on the roadside with hungry eyes.

When they smelled the fat pig, they followed the motorcycle for a distance, making "woooo" sounds, as if they also wanted to get a piece of the pie.

Zhou Yimin felt a little reluctant, but he could only speed up and leave them behind.

You can't just beat them to death! And being able to survive until now in this period is considered to be something.

Not only do they have to catch prey, but they also have to prevent themselves from being caught by humans. At this point in time, it doesn't matter whether the animals are stray or domestic, as they will be made into dog meat stew if they are not careful.

Soon, Zhou Yimin arrived at the gate of the steel plant.

The guard saw Zhou Yimin and the two big fat pigs in his car from a distance. His eyes suddenly widened and his mouth opened unconsciously.

When Zhou Yimin parked the car, the guard came forward and asked in surprise, "Section Chief Zhou, did you purchase these two big fat pigs for the factory?"

Zhou Yimin smiled and nodded, saying, "Yes, it took some effort to get it. I wanted to improve the food for everyone."

The guard was full of admiration and said, "Section Chief Zhou, you are really amazing. Now the workers in the factory will have a good meal."

Zhou Yimin chatted with the guard for a few words and then rode his motorcycle towards the warehouse.

On the way to the warehouse, Zhou Yimin and the fat pigs in his car attracted the attention of many workers.

The workers had just come out of the workshop, preparing to take a rest or eat something.

Suddenly, they saw Zhou Yimin coming in with two big fat pigs, and they were immediately shocked. "Look, isn't that Section Chief Zhou? He brought back two big fat pigs!"

A sharp-eyed worker shouted.

The other workers gathered around and started talking to each other.

"Now we can have meat to eat. That's great!"

"Section Chief Zhou has a way to get pork that is so hard to get."

The workers' faces were filled with excited smiles, as if they had already smelled the aroma of pork.

The news spread quickly throughout the steel mill.

Everyone was talking about these two big fat pigs, and the whole factory was filled with an atmosphere of excitement.

The canteen staff were even more excited when they heard the news.

The canteen manager immediately called all the employees together and said, "Listen everyone, Section Chief Zhou has brought in two big fat pigs. This is a good opportunity for everyone to improve their lives. We must act quickly and try to get the workers some pork for lunch."

The chefs in the canteen were all eager to try.

Zhou Yimin rode a motorcycle with two big fat pigs on it and slowly drove towards the steel plant warehouse.

Old Li, the warehouse manager, was waiting at the door early, staring at the intersection without blinking.

When he saw Zhou Yimin, his face was full of smiles and he hurried forward to greet him. His enthusiasm was as if Zhou Yimin was a close relative he met after a long separation.

"Section Chief Zhou, we've been waiting for you to come back!"

Old Li shouted at the top of his voice, his voice full of joy.

As he spoke, he quickly walked to the motorcycle, his eyes fell on the two fat pigs, and instantly brightened like stars twinkling in the night sky.

"Oh my, look at these two pigs. Their fat and fur are so beautiful! You can tell at a glance that they are carefully selected good stuff."

Old Li praised the pigs and touched them gently, as if he was admiring a rare treasure. Zhou Yimin parked the car and smiled, "Old Li, I have been running around outside for a while and finally found these two treasures. I thought I would send them back to the factory as soon as possible so that everyone can have a better meal."

As he spoke, he and Lao Li began to untie the ropes that tied the pigs. The fat pigs were really heavy, and it took them a lot of effort to move them from the back seat of the motorcycle to the ground.

"Section Chief Zhou, this trip has not been easy for you."

Old Li panted and said, "Pork is very rare nowadays. How did you get it?"

Zhou Yimin wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "I went to several villages and talked to people until I picked these two strongest ones."

After hearing this, Old Li nodded his head with admiration on his face: "Section Chief Zhou, you really work hard for the factory. The workers are lucky to have a leader like you."

After placing the fat pigs, the two men came to the registration desk in the warehouse.

Old Li took out the registration book, spread it out on the table, and picked up a pen to prepare to record.

"Section Chief Zhou, please tell us the specific situation of this pig." Old Li looked at Zhou Yimin seriously, with the pen in his hand ready at any time.

Zhou Yimin cleared his throat and said, "These two pigs, each weighing about 300 kilograms, were bought from Zhoujiazhuang."

He said this on purpose. Even if the steel plant sent people to investigate, they wouldn't find anything and it would be the same as what he said.

After all, Zhoujiazhuang is his hometown, and he has helped Zhoujiazhuang so much, just to build Zhoujiazhuang into a place where he can purchase supplies without worrying about being exposed.

In addition, Zhou Yimin has such a deep connection with Zhoujiazhuang that unless the villagers of Zhoujiazhuang are fools, they will not tell anyone about Zhou Yimin.

Only as long as Zhou Yimin was still around, Zhoujiazhuang didn't have to worry about food problems, and they could eat meat every now and then. This treatment was better than that of many workers in the city.

As Old Li listened, he quickly recorded it in the register, repeating the key information Zhou Yimin said from time to time: "Three hundred kilograms, Zhoujiazhuang grain feed..."

After recording the basic information, Lao Li took a closer look at the fat pig and added: "The pig's fur is shiny and smooth, and its skin has no blemishes. It looks healthy."

Zhou Yimin nodded in agreement: "Yes, I took all these into consideration when I chose."

After completing the registration, Lao Li closed the registration book and said to Zhou Yimin with a smile: "Don't worry, Chief Zhou, I will take good care of these two pigs. I will also keep an eye on the canteen to ensure that the workers eat fresh and delicious pork."

Zhou Yimin patted Lao Li on the shoulder and said, "Thank you for your hard work, Lao Li. Everyone is looking forward to this pork meal, so you have to arrange it well."

Old Li puffed out his chest, full of confidence.

After registration was completed, the canteen director also rushed to the warehouse.

He said to Zhou Yimin with a big smile on his face: "Section Chief Zhou, please give this pork to our canteen. We will process it as soon as possible and ensure that the workers can eat fresh pork."

Zhou Yimin nodded and said, "Okay, but it's hot now and pork won't last long, so hurry up."

After saying that, he returned to the purchasing department.

When Zhou Dazhong saw Zhou Yimin coming back, he hurried forward to report what had happened recently.

The others were used to this scene, so they didn't feel anything strange.

After Zhou Yimin entered his office, he sat down and asked, "Dazhong, has anything happened in the factory recently?"

Zhou Dazhong closed the door and said, "Uncle Sixteen, a big thing has happened in the factory recently. The factory has established its own research laboratory."

"I heard that they wanted to study the existing products in the factory to see if they could be optimized."

After hearing this, Zhou Yimin found it quite interesting. It seemed that the leaders of the factory were not completely without foresight.

If there is no iterative update, it will be easy for foreign countries to imitate it, and it may even be better than the original.

After all, the industrial capacity of foreign countries is many times higher than that of China today.

The chefs in the canteen acted quickly. They found a flatbed truck, carefully moved the two fat pigs onto the truck, and then pulled them back to the canteen.

As soon as they returned to the canteen, the chefs began to divide the work and cooperate with each other.

Several young and strong masters were responsible for slaughtering the pigs. They first unloaded the fat pigs from the truck, and then tied the pigs' four legs tightly with ropes to prevent them from moving around.

Then, they picked up the sharp butcher knife, found the right position, and quickly stabbed the knife into the pig's throat. The pig's blood immediately gushed out and flowed into the basin prepared in advance.

If the pig blood is not removed cleanly, the pork will easily have a bad smell, so the chefs have to be extremely careful in handling it.

The other chefs were busy boiling water and scalding the pig bristles.

They filled the big pot with water and lit a fire to heat it. After a while, the water boiled and steamed.

The masters put the slaughtered pigs into hot water and started to scald the pig hair.

They used special tools to shave the pig hair one by one, with skillful and quick movements.

After shaving off the pig's hair, the masters rinse the pig clean, and the whole body becomes white and clean.

The next step is to cut the pork.

The chefs took out sharp cleavers and cut the pig into different parts, including ribs, pork belly, tenderloin, etc. Each piece of pork was cut into even sizes and placed neatly.

At the same time, other staff members in the canteen were also busy preparing side dishes, including cabbage, potatoes, vermicelli, etc. They cleaned these side dishes, cut them into appropriate sizes, and prepared to cook them with pork.

In order to ensure that the workers can eat pork at noon, the entire canteen was busy.

The chefs were busy in the kitchen, some were cooking, some were stewing soup, and some were steaming buns.

The kitchen was filled with a rich aroma of meat, which made people drool.

The workers in the workshop had no intention of working. They were all looking forward to noon so that they could go to the canteen to taste the delicious pork.

Finally, it was time for lunch.

The workers came to the canteen door early and lined up in a long queue. When the canteen door opened, the workers entered one after another.

They saw pots of delicious pork dishes on the dining table, including braised pork, pork ribs stewed with potatoes, cabbage and pork stewed with vermicelli, etc., and their eyes were shining with excitement.

The workers couldn't wait to pick up their bowls and chopsticks and start to devour the food.

While eating pork, they praised Zhou Yimin highly.

"Section Chief Zhou is really our lucky star. This pork is so delicious."

"Yeah, I haven't eaten such delicious meat in a long time. I have to eat more today."

The workers' faces were filled with happy smiles and the whole canteen was filled with laughter.

(End of this chapter)