60s: I have a store

Chapter 574 Good News

After the two leaders left, the atmosphere in the office quietly changed.

Huang Wei let out a long sigh, and his tense shoulders instantly relaxed.

He leaned back in his chair, picked up the enamel pot on the table, and took a gulp of the tea that had already cooled. "Section Chief Zhou said he would take care of all the tasks this month, so why should we bother?"

His voice was filled with a hint of pride and luck, "Now I can take a breath."

As he spoke, he casually crossed his legs on the desk and swung them rhythmically.

Xiao Li on the side frowned and drew a heavy line on the paper with the pencil in his hand.

"Brother Huang, are you so confident? Section Chief Zhou only said he would take care of it for this month. What about next month? We can't always rely on him, right? If everyone is going to lie down like this, then we should just keep him in the department and let everyone else go to the workshop!"

Xiao Li's words were like a stone thrown into a calm lake, causing ripples in the office.

Lao Zhang pushed up his glasses that had slipped to the tip of his nose, looked at Xiao Wang who was still busy sorting out documents, and said meaningfully: "Huang Wei, it's right to listen to Xiao Li. When we do our work, we can't just focus on the present."

However, Huang Wei ignored him and continued to sit on the chair, drinking tea and looking outside leisurely.

Zhou Yimin saw all of this and returned to his desk calmly.

He opened the drawer, took out a yellowed notebook, and began to record everyone's performance.

For those who were still working hard and actively preparing to go out for procurement, he specially marked them, but for those employees who were slack like Huang Wei, his writing became heavy.

"I will not mistreat those who should work hard, and those who just want to get by will not be able to get away with it." He made a secret decision in his heart.

Zhou Yimin also knew what Huang Wei’s abilities were, and he wanted to know what expression he would have when he failed to complete the mission.

Just as Zhou Yimin was concentrating on recording, the office door was pushed open with a bang, and cold wind blew in, carrying a few fallen leaves.

Zhou Yimin frowned, raised his head, and a hint of displeasure flashed in his eyes. However, when he saw that the person coming was Director Ding, his expression instantly became gentle.

"Director Ding, what do you want to talk to me about?" Zhou Yimin stood up quickly with a smile on his face.

Director Ding walked in at a leisurely pace, glanced around the office, and finally his eyes fell on Zhou Yimin.

"Yimin, congratulations on your promotion to section chief!" His tone was somewhat intimate, with a meaningful smile on his face.

Zhou Yimin quickly bowed and said respectfully: "This is all thanks to the guidance of the leaders. I still have a lot to learn."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries before Director Ding finally got to the point.

He moved closer to Zhou Yimin and lowered his voice and said, "Yimin, I heard that you can get ginseng? Is this true?"

Zhou Yimin's heart tightened and he immediately understood what was going on.

In the entire steel plant, he had only purchased two ginsengs for Section Chief Yang, so the news must have spread from there.

Zhou Yimin did not say too much and answered cautiously: "You can try, but it may not be successful. After all, ginseng is a rare medicinal material and it is really hard to find."

Although one can get ginseng as long as he has money, this kind of thing must not be told to others, and one must pretend that it is very difficult so that others will remember one's efforts.

A hint of disappointment flashed across Director Ding's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by expectation.

"Yi Min, I'll leave it to you! This matter is very important to me." There was a hint of pleading in his tone.

If there was a way out, Director Ding would not have come to find Zhou Yimin. In this way, he would owe someone a favor for no reason, and he would have to repay it when the time comes.

Zhou Yimin nodded, "Okay, I'll try my best."

Director Ding patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder with satisfaction, then turned and left.

After Director Ding left, Zhou Yimin sat at his desk and fell into deep thought.

After I was promoted to section chief, the position of section chief became vacant, and I had to find a suitable candidate as soon as possible.

In his mind, Zhou Dazhong was undoubtedly the best candidate. Zhou Dazhong not only had outstanding work ability, but also ranked among the best in the entire purchasing department, and he was ranked first almost every month.

Such achievements are enough to silence those who may question nepotism.

Thinking of this, Zhou Yimin no longer hesitated.

He got up and left the office, got on his motorcycle, and drove through the streets and alleys of the city.

More than an hour later, he had two exquisite brocade boxes in his hands, which contained two high-quality ginsengs.

When he came to Director Ding's office again, Zhou Yimin knocked on the door gently and pushed it open after getting permission.

Director Ding was reviewing documents at his desk. When he saw Zhou Yimin come in, he was stunned at first, then his eyes lit up.

He originally thought that Zhou Yimin came over so quickly to tell him that the matter could not be done, but he did not expect to see the two brocade boxes.

"Yimin, what are you doing..." Director Ding walked forward quickly, unable to hide the joy on his face.

Zhou Yimin smiled slightly and handed over the box. "Director Ding, we only got two plants. There are no more. This thing is too hard to find. I went to many places to get it."

Director Ding took the brocade box with trembling hands and opened it carefully.

Two ginseng plants lay on the soft brocade. The ginseng bodies were full and the patterns were clear. They were obviously rare and fine products.

"Yimin, thank you so much! This problem has troubled me for a long time, and you have helped me a lot!" Director Ding was so excited that his voice trembled.

As he spoke, Director Ding enthusiastically pulled Zhou Yimin to sit on the sofa, personally picked up the purple clay teapot on the table, and made tea for him.

The tea leaves expanded in the hot water, and a rich tea fragrance filled the air: "Come, try this tea! This is good tea, I usually don't want to take it out."

Zhou Yimin took the teacup and took a sip.

Although he didn't know much about tea, he could still feel the mellowness of the tea.

"Good tea!" he exclaimed sincerely.

Putting down the teacup, Zhou Yimin decided to strike while the iron was hot: "Director Ding, after I was promoted to section chief, the position of section chief became vacant. I wonder if the leaders have any recommendations for candidates?"

When Director Ding heard this, he immediately understood Zhou Yimin's intention.

He had originally planned to let one of his relatives take up this position, but now that Zhou Yimin had spoken, he was a little hesitant.

After all, Zhou Yimin's purchasing ability is obvious to all in the factory, and he has even made great achievements in research and development. Such talents should be given face.

"There is no candidate yet, but Yimin, do you have any good candidates to recommend?" Director Ding asked calmly.

Zhou Yimin said without hesitation, "I think Zhou Dazhong is good! He has outstanding abilities, his performance has always been among the best in the purchasing department, and he is also down-to-earth and hardworking."

The corner of Director Ding's mouth twitched slightly. He didn't expect Zhou Yimin to be so direct without even any preparation.

He pondered for a moment, weighed the pros and cons and said, "Dazhong is indeed good. How about this! Let him take over the position of section chief temporarily for a period of time, and if there is no problem, he can be made a full-time employee. What do you think?"

Zhou Yimin was delighted and quickly thanked him: "I would like to thank Director Ding for the promotion on behalf of Dazhong! Your arrangement is really suitable." Seeing that his goal had been achieved, Zhou Yimin stood up and said goodbye. "Director Ding, you are busy, I will not disturb you. If you need anything else, please let me know."

Director Ding smiled and nodded, "Yimin, work hard, there will be a lot of things relying on you in the future!"

After walking out of Director Ding’s office, Zhou Yimin breathed a sigh of relief.

The sunlight shone on him, warm and bright.

Helping Zhou Dazhong to get promoted was just an unexpected thing, but Zhou Dazhong was brought up by himself, and Zhou Dazhong's character is also trustworthy.

There is no need to worry about bringing out an ungrateful person!

After returning to the department, Zhou Yimin looked at his busy colleagues, but without paying much attention to them, he went straight back to his office.

When the dusk casts an orange hue on the chimneys of the steel plant, it's time to get off work.

After hearing the bell, everyone started packing up and left the steel plant to go home.

Zhou Yimin did not stop Zhou Dazhong at this time, but he wanted to give Zhou Dazhong a surprise.

Then, Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle over the bluestone slabs in front of the courtyard gate. The crisp sound of the bike bell startled the sparrows under the eaves. The blue cloth shirt on the clothesline swayed in the wind, and a faint scent of soapberry wafted in the air.

The moment I opened the door, the yard was bustling with activity.

Chen Shumin was squatting by the well washing vegetables, the spinach in the bamboo basket was dripping with water, and Li Xiulan was washing clothes nearby.

Chow Tai Fook and Chow Tai Chung were tinkering around the coal stove, the flames licking the bottom of the pot, and the aroma of fried peppercorns wafting from the iron pot.

"Brother Yimin!" Xiaomei was the first to notice the visitor. She rushed out from the main room holding half a corn tortilla, with stove ash still on her pigtails.

Zhou Yimin smiled and took out two fruit candies from his pocket, but when he saw Zhou Dazhong turning around, he calmly put his hands behind his back.

"What were you frying just now? It smells so good." Zhou Yimin pretended to walk into the kitchen casually, but his eyes were watching Zhou Dazhong's reaction.

His neck was covered in coal dust, his overalls were worn white at the knees, and he was flipping the potato cubes in the pot with tongs, not even noticing the oil splashing on his arms.

"Let me cook some appetizers!" Zhou Dafu came over, wiping the sweat off his forehead. "Uncle Sixteen, you're here just in time. Let's have a couple of drinks tonight!"

Before he finished speaking, Chen Shumin had already brought in the washed vegetables, with water stains on her blue apron: "I knew you were thinking about the wine, the food is not ready yet!"

Zhou Yimin leaned against the door frame, watching the two brothers busying around.

Zhou Dazhong sprinkled salt into the pot with quick movements, and he was still wearing the watch he bought when he joined the factory.

"Dazhong, stop being busy." He suddenly spoke, his tone so serious that the air froze, "Come with me to the main room, I have something to talk about."

Zhou Dazhong paused for a moment as he was holding the pliers, and immediately put down everything in his hand.

"Xiu Lan, come over here and give me some support!"

After hearing this, Li Xiulan took Zhou Dazhong's place!

In the dim glow of the kerosene lamp in the main room, Zhou Yimin said in a serious tone, "Dazhong, you will temporarily serve as the head of the purchasing department starting tomorrow. You will be notified tomorrow."

He looked at Zhou Dazhong's wide eyes and softened his voice unconsciously: "Your performance is visible to the whole factory. You are worthy of this position."

Suddenly, footsteps were heard in the yard. Zhou Dafu leaned on the door frame and poked his head in: "What are you doing so mysterious?"

Zhou Yimin did not hide it: "Dazhong will be promoted to section chief immediately!"

Zhou Dafu immediately shouted at the top of his voice: "Dazhong got promoted?!"

He was very envious. Zhou Yimin must have contributed to this, otherwise the achievement would not have fallen on the shoulders of the newcomer Zhou Dazhong.

These words startled Chen Shumin so much that the vegetable basket in her hand almost fell to the ground. Li Xiulan also ran out of the kitchen, her cloth shoes making a hurried sound on the bluestone slabs.

"Is this true?" Li Xiulan squeezed into the room with a red face, her fingers unconsciously twisting the corner of her apron.

Zhou Dazhong stood there in a daze, his Adam's apple rolling up and down but he couldn't speak, and his rough palms rubbed his trouser legs again and again.

"You brat!" Zhou Dafu slapped him on the back, shaking the flame of the kerosene lamp. "Don't be so ungrateful! So many people are trying their best to climb up, but you are still hesitating!"

"Let's do it first! With Uncle Sixteen backing us up, what's there to be afraid of?"

Zhou Yimin said at this time: "Dazhong, Dafu is right this time!"

Zhou Dazhong thought to himself that he must not disappoint Zhou Yimin's expectations: "Uncle Sixteen, don't worry, I will definitely work hard!"

Zhou Dafu said at this time: "Dazhong, we have to celebrate this!"

Zhou Dazhong immediately said: "No problem! Let's go to Quanjude!"

After saying this, he instantly regretted it because he had used up all the bills in his hand. Although he had money, he had no bills.

Zhou Dazhong was a little embarrassed: "Uncle Sixteen, I have run out of tickets, can you lend me some?"

Zhou Yimin did not refuse. He took out a stack of bills from his pocket and picked out two and stuffed them over.

Zhou Dazhong didn't hesitate and took it directly.

At this moment, the sound of a metal door knocker suddenly rang out. It turned out that Zhao Gang had just returned from work, and half a popsicle was still hanging on the bell of his bicycle.

"Oh, what's going on? What's going on?" He leaned over to look around!

Zhou Dafu said it again.
Li Xiulan bit her lip and finally nodded slightly. After all, Zhou Dazhong was the head of the family and she couldn't lose face.

Looking at her husband's hand holding the bill at this moment, she suddenly felt that perhaps occasional luxury was worth it.

The glass window of Quanjude is as bright as day in the night, and the flames in the oven make the roast duck shine brightly.

Chow Tai Fook stretched his neck to watch the chef slicing the duck. The knife blade flew across the duck skin, golden fat dripped, and tiny sparks splashed on the iron plate.

Li Xiulan sat in the corner holding Xiaomei, looking at the prices on the menu and quietly clenching her palms.

"Give me two roast ducks!" Zhou Dazhong suddenly spoke, his voice much louder than usual.

He turned and smiled at Li Xiulan, revealing two rows of white teeth: "Listen to me today."

When Xiaomei put the piping hot duck pancake wrapped with shiny duck skin, green onions and sweet noodle sauce into her mouth, she clapped her hands with joy and the sauce covered her face.

Zhou Yimin looked at the people toasting each other, this is Lotus White, which is considered a pretty good wine!

Zhou Dafu was vividly describing the embarrassing incident when Zhou Dazhong first joined the factory and poured diesel into the lamp instead of kerosene.

Zhao Gang held the duck leg and ate with his mouth full of oil, and did not forget to wipe the corner of Xiaomei's mouth. Li Xiulan secretly cut off the duck breast meat and put it in a small plate to pack and take home.

(End of this chapter)