Siheyuan, Shazhu: I have both parents in this life

Chapter 149 Going to the Russian Bear: A Show of Force?
He Yuzhu waited at home for a few days, and finally the Military Control Commission sent a letter asking him to come for an interview. It was a bit far away, in Xidan.

He Yuzhu left early, took the bus, and went there. When he arrived, the staff were efficient and decisive. After confirming his identity, they started the interview without any pleasantries.

The interviewers asked He Yuzhu questions in both Russian and English, and the questions were generally everyday things.

Occasionally, some technical details were mixed in; He Yuzhu knew a little about mechanics, but not much else.

However, the interviewers' eyes lit up more and more. This wasn't just a hard-earned score; it was a treasure delivered to them.

The group exchanged glances until the interviewer in the middle switched to Mandarin.

"Comrade He Yuzhu, we have finished asking our questions. Let me introduce myself first. I am Zhang Weimin, Director of the Steel Import and Export Division. This is Xu Zhongguo, Director of the Nonferrous Metals Import and Export Division, and this is Huang Zhibang, Director of the Electrical and Telecommunication Equipment Division."

"Good morning, leaders!" He Yuzhu stood up.

"Please sit down, Comrade He Yuzhu. We didn't expect you to be so young. The Military Control Commission called us before to tell us about your situation, but we didn't believe it. Now we do. We admire your performance on the battlefield. However, the nature of our work is different, so please don't mind having this interview. We are very optimistic about your abilities. I would like to confirm whether you would like to work for our company?"

"Did I pass?" He Yuzhu asked.

"You've passed."

"Where exactly will I be assigned?"

"Come work with our electrical and telecommunications department. You have a mechanical background, so you should be fine here."

“Then coming to us is no problem at all; we are metal raw materials,” Xu Zhongguo said.

"My situation is similar to Director Xu's; it's relatively simple. We mainly import various finished special steel products."

"I don't know where to choose either," He Yuzhu said honestly. He wasn't familiar with any of them anyway, so it didn't really matter where he learned them.

"Then go outside and wait for a moment. We'll tell you the result later."

"it is good."

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "You guys can argue about it yourselves."

After waiting outside for about 10 minutes, Zhang Weimin came out and shook He Yuzhu's hand directly, saying, "Welcome to the Steel Import and Export Department of the Hardware and Electrical Import Company, Comrade He Yuzhu."

“It’s an honor, Director Zhang.” He Yuzhu shook hands with him.

"Old Zhang, if it weren't for your urgent task, we definitely wouldn't have given this talent to you. In the future, we'll have to choose the best candidates first."

"Yes."

“No problem, come on, Xiao He, I’ll take you to meet the general manager and deputy general manager. Once the specific positions are confirmed, I’ll take you to the personnel department,” Zhang Weimin said.

"it is good."

After Zhang Weimin took He Yuzhu to see the general manager and deputy general manager, the position was decided: acting head of the fourth purchasing section of the steel import and export department.

After they came out, Zhang Weimin told He Yuzhu that this department was newly established and was mainly responsible for purchasing carbon structural steel, low alloy high-strength structural steel, bridge-specific steel, weathering steel, and high-strength steel wire.

He Yuzhu didn't understand, so Zhang Weimin gave him a simple explanation, and He Yuzhu roughly understood that they were bridge builders, bridge builders.

As for why he was assigned to this subject, there is another reason: He Yuzhu had studied civil engineering.

Section 1 and Section 2 are mainly responsible for military and factory equipment. There is another section, but Zhang Weimin did not specify which one, only saying that there are confidentiality regulations.

After completing the formalities at the personnel department, everyone in the department was quite surprised, thinking that the new department head was too young.

The assigned level is 18, with a salary of 89 yuan, which is already the treatment of a battalion commander. The main reason is that He Yuzhu knows a lot of things; otherwise, it would be good to give him level 20, after all, he is the acting section chief.

After receiving meal tickets, I also received tea mugs, lunchboxes, notebooks, pens, and the like. As for work clothes, there weren't any; this isn't a factory.

Upon arriving at the office, Zhang Weimin called everyone in the office over. He Yuzhu saw only a few people there. Zhang Weimin explained in a low voice, "They've all gone on official business."

The applause was loudest when he was introduced as a combat hero, to which He Yuzhu simply smiled.

When Zhang Weimin introduced the people in his department, He Yuzhu pointed to an older man and a younger man and asked, "Director, are there only two people?"

"Giving you two is already quite good. Old Wei is practically a bridge expert, and Xiao Zheng studied materials science."

How are their foreign language skills?

“You tell me yourselves,” Zhang Weimin said.

"I know a little Japanese and English," Old Wei said modestly.

“I know a little German and English,” Xiao Zheng said.

He Yuzhu thought he should say something too, so he said, "I know a little Russian, English, Korean, and Japanese."

"You also speak Korean and Japanese?" Zhang Weimin asked, somewhat surprised.

"Ah."

"That would be very effective on the peninsula, wouldn't it?"

“They’ve fooled South Korean soldiers quite a bit. They’ve even fooled American soldiers,” He Yuzhu said.

"Hahahaha!" Everyone burst into laughter, and the atmosphere immediately became much more harmonious.

"Alright, you guys take your time getting to know each other. I'm leaving now, I have other things to do," Zhang Weimin said, seeing that He Yuzhu had started to integrate a bit.

"Okay, Director, you go ahead with your work," the group said at the same time.

The fourth department has a separate small office. Back in the office, the innermost seat is He Yuzhu's.

Zheng Weiguo helped He Yuzhu tidy up the table, while Wei Hongcai began to introduce the department's situation. The department had just been established, and they hadn't started purchasing yet.

With a war raging, we can't count on the west. The only option is Russia, but Russia is currently supplying arms to China, so it doesn't have any production capacity.

Another issue is that Corey has been lacking someone who understands the Russian language. They've suggested it many times but haven't found a suitable person. They can't borrow anyone from other places either. The mission isn't urgent, so they've just been waiting.

Lao Wei is considered a technician assistant engineer, grade 9 (80 yuan), while Xiao Zheng, a graduate of Tsinghua University, is also considered a technician, grade 13 (52 yuan).

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu exclaimed, "He's the only one in the emotional affairs department who's in a management position; everyone else is in a technical position."

After Lao Wei finished his introduction, Xiao Zheng had basically finished packing up. Then, instead of talking about work, the two asked about the Korean Peninsula battlefield, since people in this unit tend to know a little more about it than those in other units.

He Yuzhu gave a very brief explanation, and the two of them were already shocked.

"Section Chief, isn't it a bit of a waste of your talents for you to come here?" Xiao Zheng said.

"Then where do you think I should go?"

"The military, who knows, you might become a division commander or army commander someday, or maybe the public security system would work too."

"I'm injured."

"Don't listen to him. Young people yearn for passionate places, which I think is great. Section Chief, you've learned a lot, and you can definitely put your skills to use here."

“I think so too,” He Yuzhu said with a mysterious smile.

Wei and Zheng didn't notice anything amiss and continued chatting. After a while, it was lunchtime, but neither of them seemed interested.

"What's wrong with you guys? Are you out of your mind if you're not eating enthusiastically?!"

"The food in the cafeteria, well, you'll know once you've eaten it," Xiao Zheng said.

"Ugh, how bad can it be? Worse than our fried noodles with snow?"

"No, no, that's not what Xiao Zheng meant," Old Wei said.

"Let's go, I want to see just how bad you mean it is."

The three of them arrived at the cafeteria together. He Yuzhu's first impression of the cafeteria's hygiene was that it was alright, which was just a professional habit.

After the three of them got their food, He Yuzhu took a bite and said, "It's alright, not bad."

“You’ve only just started eating it. You won’t say that anymore once you’ve been eating it for a while,” Xiao Zheng said.

“Indeed.” Old Wei ate slowly and carefully.

After quickly finishing their meal, He Yuzhu asked Lao Wei and Xiao Zheng for a few books related to their majors in the afternoon, saying that he needed to study them, otherwise he wouldn't be able to do anything without understanding anything.

The two of them thought it was just a passing fancy and gave it to him. He Yuzhu actually wanted to learn, because he didn't know how to talk to people at all. Was he, as the section chief, always the one to translate for his subordinates?
That's not like him at all; he even took the book home after get off work.

When they arrived home, He Daqing was cooking.

Chen Lanxiang asked He Yuzhu why he had been gone all day. He Yuzhu took out his work ID and said he had been hired, which made Chen Lanxiang very happy.

When asked how much money he could earn, Chen Lanxiang said after He Yuzhu finished answering, "Isn't this almost twice what your father earns?"

"Don't tell my dad that."

“He heard it all, do I need to say it again?”

He Yuzhu could only say, "Do whatever makes you happy."

During dinner that evening, Chen Lanxiang announced that He Yuzhu had joined the company as a section chief, and the whole family raised their glasses.

The old lady praised, "My eldest grandson is really promising. You're just like that girl from the Wang family now."

"We're about the same level. I have two people under me, while my Aunt Ping has dozens."

"As long as the money is the same, it's fine. Managing people is too tiring, and her job is dangerous."

After finishing his meal, He Yuzhu went to find Xu Damao. He had a uncomfortable bus ride that day and wanted to ask about the trust.

Xu Damao told him that the deal was already made, and he would get five yuan per vehicle. He was still negotiating, as he thought it was too much.

He Yuzhu told him directly that he had taken care of it, and Xu Damao said, "Brother Zhu is so generous, when will the car arrive?"

"Anytime. Let me know when you've made the appointment with them. Okay, just wait for my message."

He Daqing, the main wife of the He family, was talking to Chen Lanxiang about having He Yuzhu pay money to the family. He thought that the two younger children would take a long time to grow up.

Chen Lanxiang said, "You can tell Zhuzi about this yourself. I can't tell him. Our family has been eating so well these past few years, and you've been getting all that stuff your son brought back. Don't think I don't know."

He Daqing remained silent for a long time before saying, "Then let's wait until I can't work anymore. He won't abandon us, will he?"

"Is your son that kind of person? Don't say that again, or you'll become estranged from him."

"I know."

He Yushui overheard the couple's conversation and was chased away. Then she ran to He Yuzhu to tell him the truth.

After listening, He Yuzhu said, "You little rascal."

"Hehe, our dad isn't as generous with money as you." He Yuzhu was speechless; it turned out Dad's hands were too big.

He didn't mind giving money to his family; he had plenty to eat and drink, and there was nowhere else to spend money in those days.

He decided to talk to his mother about it. After all, she had raised him for so many years, and he thought it would make her happy. Whether she wanted it or not, he would decide later.

The next day he told her that Chen Lanxiang said no, and told him to save it himself.

The He family hosted a dinner party over the weekend, which included Zhao Fengnian's family. After all, they had helped a lot when He Yuzhu had his accident, but hadn't offered any thanks since returning. Now that their son was at work, they felt they should at least show their appreciation.

All five members of the family came, and of course they didn't come empty-handed. Chen Lanxiang complained to Wang Hongxia about it, but Wang Hongxia just smiled.

She felt it was worthwhile since He Yuzhu, her eldest nephew, had recognized her.

Life went on like this. He Yuzhu got two bicycles, one for himself and one for Xu Damao. He asked other people if they wanted one, but they all said no, because it was too conspicuous.

As for the He family, no one can really say anything. They bought one right after liberation, and now their son is working and they've bought another one. The thing is, they can afford it.

They didn't know He Yuzhu's salary, but the steel rolling mill would find out how much someone of that level earned with just a few inquiries. They were just envious and jealous of the people from the previous institute.

Qin Huairu felt that Jia Dongxu was useless. After working for so many years, he only earned 32 yuan, while others earned more than 80 yuan when they started working. It was like heaven and earth.

But Jia Dongxu treated her quite well, and with the arrival of their son, she thought she would just continue living like this.

In July 1953, while negotiations were underway on the Korean Peninsula, He Yuzhu's side also got busy. After being idle for so long, He Yuzhu felt like he was growing hair. While other departments were all extremely busy, he was doing well, reading books every day and discussing technical issues with his subordinates.

Now, Lao Wei and Xiao Zheng no longer believe that He Yuzhu was just talking; they think he's truly convinced. They have many questions that they need to look up information on, or they'll have to ask others for help.

He Yuzhu's task was to send his department to Russia to purchase a batch of steel, as they planned to re-maintain the Yalu River Bridge.

After the list was given, He Yuzhu and the others frowned after looking at it. Why? Because the quantity was quite large.

They were given time to apply for passports, so the three of them started taking photos and running to the local street office. They figured it would be simpler to get them back to their work unit, without even considering who their superiors were.

The company also gave me some Russian currency, and then they sent me a bunch of letters of introduction and other things.

In August, the three set off, their destination being the Ukrainian industrial region (on the Black Sea coast), Mariupol, and the Azov steel plant.

They didn't get the treatment of flying; they had to take the train, which rattled along the way.

The journey was quite tiring for the three of them.

BJ → Harbin → Manzhouli (China exit) → Trans-Siberian Railway (via Irkutsk and Novosibirsk) → Moscow → Kyiv (Ukraine).

After 18 days, He Yuzhu's legs were swollen after getting off the bus.

After resting for one night in Kyiv, the three of them rushed to Mariupol without stopping. Why not take a look around? People back then were so practical, but they were also broke.

He Yuzhu glanced around but didn't see anything interesting to do.

Upon arriving in Mariupol, we went directly to the Azov steel plant.

Upon seeing such a magnificent steel and concrete behemoth for the first time, the three of them were somewhat stunned. He Yuzhu vaguely remembered that a battle had taken place here decades later, as if this steel plant was not just a steel plant, but more like a fortress.

When they arrived at the steel mill gate, they showed their letter of introduction, but they weren't allowed in. They were told to wait at the gate.

However, someone soon came out from inside, a typical big, burly Russian man, Mikhailovich, the third sales manager of the Azov steel plant. He looked very enthusiastic, but the group could all sense that he was just being polite.

They didn't get into the factory. Mikhailovich first arranged accommodations for them. From the outside, it looked nice, but the accommodations were quite basic. It was a triple room. He Yuzhu secretly went to check out the other rooms. They were the worst kind. The others had single rooms, standard rooms, or even suites. It was clear that they weren't taken seriously at all.

After arranging accommodations, Mikhailovic came again that evening, saying he would give him a normal welcome. He Yuzhu could tell that the guy had ulterior motives, so he politely declined, saying that it was their turn to treat.

Mikhailovich waved his hand: "Well, this is our territory. How can we let you treat us? You've come from so far away. As the hosts, we should treat you well. Our people are very hospitable."

“Mikhail, since you’re so enthusiastic, let’s go.”

"That's more like it, that's more like it, hahahaha." Mikhailovich slapped He Yuzhu's shoulder twice. This guy was about the same height as He Yuzhu, but he was quite burly. He thought that after two slaps, He Yuzhu would at least show some reaction. He was waiting to see.

"Hahahaha." He Yuzhu laughed along, then slapped him twice in return, almost knocking him to his knees. He Yuzhu smiled and looked at the grimacing Mikhailovich, saying, "Let's go, Comrade Mikhailovich."

As Mihajlovic left, he quietly rubbed his shoulder and glanced at it. Good heavens, there were two clear, large handprints, both a bit swollen.

But he couldn't cause trouble, since he was the one who took the picture first.

After leaving our lodgings, we arrived at the factory gate. Mihajlovic led us there, and the registration process at the gate was still very strict.

Once inside the factory, Mikhailovich led them to what appeared to be a private kitchen, a fairly large private room. Upon entering, they found over a dozen burly men waiting inside.

After exchanging pleasantries, Mihajlovic said, "Let's eat."

Before anything else was served, a dozen vodkas were brought out first, and then each glass in front of them was filled to the brim.

Old Wei and Xiao Zheng were both a little dumbfounded. He Yuzhu whispered, "You guys drink as much as you want, then pretend to be drunk, and eat later."

"Section Chief, are the Russians trying to make a fool of us?" Xiao Zheng asked.

"It's not certain who will make a fool of themselves yet. You guys just have a couple of drinks and pretend to be drunk."

"I'll listen to the section chief," Old Wei said.

"Welcome to the Azov Steel Plant, Cheers to friendship!" Mikhailovich raised his glass, and the dozen or so men followed suit.

"Cheers." He Yuzhu and the others also raised their glasses. These weren't small wine cups, but small glasses, each holding about three ounces.

The bear-men all drank it down in one gulp, then looked at the three of them. Old Wei had a small capacity for alcohol, but he had never drunk like this before. He forced himself to drink it down and plopped back down on the stool.

Xiao Zheng fared even worse; he didn't even finish his drink before sitting down on the ground.

Seeing that the kid's expression hadn't changed, He Yuzhu thought to himself, "This kid's pretty good at pretending!"

He downed it in one gulp, but didn't actually drink it; it went straight into his spatial dimension.

Seeing that this kid had some guts, Mikhailovich laughed and toasted again.

After raising our glasses three times, the dishes still hadn't arrived, not even a single pickled cucumber.

He Yuzhu also checked on the condition of these Russians; they were all fine and clearly had a good capacity for alcohol.

"Come on, everyone, let's toast Comrade He. He's come from so far away, we must treat him well."

Mihajlovic was the first to offer a toast. He could tell that this young man was not easy to deal with; those three drinks would have knocked out most people.

He specially gathered a large group of drinkers from the factory today, hoping to get He Yuzhu and his friends drunk and make them back down.

"cheers"

"cheers"

"cheers"

After finishing the first round of drinking, Mihajlovic was a little dumbfounded. This kid can drink so much, no wonder they sent him.

He was wrong. No one in the company knew how much He Yuzhu could drink. Of course, Zhang Weimin asked before leaving, and He Yuzhu said that drinking one and a half jin was no problem. Zhang Weimin just nodded.

You see, most of the people in other departments had studied in Russia or were transferred from other places and had dealt with them before, so the Russians were quite restrained when those people went to Russia. Zhang Weimin guessed that Yi Jin and Yi Ban could handle things, so he didn't say anything else.

If he had known the situation was like this, Gao Di would have provided He Yuzhu with two three-jin (1.5 kg) servings, and Lao Wei and Xiao Zheng wouldn't have needed to come; they could have just drunk it all.

After two more rounds, He Yuzhu couldn't take it anymore. Was this never going to end? He grabbed Mikhailovich and said, "Mikhailovich, thank you for your hospitality. You have to have a drink with me alone."

He wasn't holding a cup, but two full bottles of vodka. Mikhail looked a little awkward, but the man had been toasted three times without saying anything, so how could he not drink?

So he drank it, downing the whole bottle in one go, and then he went under the table.

The remaining Russians, seeing that the main character had been knocked out and they had lost face today, couldn't stand it, so they, in descending order of their drinking capacity, came to offer toasts.

There were still two people left who dared not drink anymore. They must have drunk about ten catties of liquor, and their faces didn't even turn red.

"Hey, you're amazing, we can't outdrink you." The two said this awkwardly, even though their drinking capacity was among the best in the factory.

He Yuzhu didn't try to persuade them to drink any more, but instead said, "Shall we serve the food now?"

“Yes, yes.” One of them ran out.

Soon the dishes arrived: meat, sausage, borscht, rye bread, and some side dishes.

"Alright, get up." Seeing Xiao Zheng sitting on the ground leaning against the chair, sniffling, she gently kicked him.

"Hehe." Xiao Zheng stood up, pressed down on the chair, and then sat down to start eating.

Old Wei is a little absent-minded, but that didn't stop him from eating. It's hard to eat meat like this in China.

The two Russians didn't know what to say. The leader had already drunk what was supposed to be drunk, so they decided to eat.

These two must be workers, He Yuzhu could tell from their rough, large hands and the way they ate; it seemed they rarely ate meat like this.

After finishing their meal, He Yuzhu asked the two Russians, "What should we do with these people?"

"You don't need to worry about it, we'll find someone to take them back."

"Then what about our factory shipment? Comrade Mikhailovich can't deliver it to us, can he?"

"I'll take him. The security guard knows what happened today; he recognizes us," one of them said.

"it is good."

He Yuzhu and his two companions followed the bear-faced worker out of the factory. As expected, the gatekeeper only asked a few simple questions before letting them through.

Back at his lodgings, Xiao Zheng couldn't hold back any longer.

"Section Chief, you're amazing! You're not just drinking, you're guzzling it down! You must have drunk at least ten jin (5 kg)! I saw Mao Xiong bring in another dozen bottles, and that's almost gone too."

"Go away, go away, is that a nice thing to say? It's a good thing that the section chief has a high alcohol tolerance. If it were just the two of us, we would have been carried back by now."

"I can only drink a little more than the average person," He Yuzhu said modestly. He could tell them, "I have plenty of room to drink. I could drink a whole winery dry."

"Alright, get some rest. Those guys will have some tricks up their sleeves when they wake up tomorrow. This procurement won't be easy."

"Yeah, they've only just arrived and they're already trying to give us a hard time. Who knows what we'll encounter later?" Old Wei said.

"With the section chief here, what's there to be afraid of?"

"Hey kid, alright, hurry up and wash up and get some rest. After all this commotion for days, you guys can finally get some sleep with this little bit of alcohol," He Yuzhu said with a laugh.

"it is good!"

(End of this chapter)