The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 14 Rewards After Deduction
It's really hard to say who the original owner's parents were. It felt like one fool married another fool, and then two negatives made a positive, resulting in a smart person.

As a result, the fool disliked the smart person and then targeted him in everything. Fortunately, the original owner of this body was a smart person who was lucky.

First, the village chief persuaded the original owner's family to let him go to school, and then the teachers of the township middle school provided him with food rations.

And so, when the original owner was admitted to university and received the student stipend, her family cut off her food supply and turned around to ask her for the university poverty assistance stipend.

It cost seven yuan and fifty cents in total, and three yuan and fifty cents was due to my family. Luckily, I ran into Guo Linhua.

After seeing these memories, one can't expect Zhou Zhiqiang to have any goodwill towards the original owner's family.

Five yuan a month is Zhou Zhiqiang's bottom line; not a penny more. If his parents are not satisfied, they will make him lose his job.

Zhou Zhiqiang would rather carry heavy loads than get paid. Anyway, he's good-looking and has plenty of ways to make money. If all else fails, he can go to Hong Kong Island in the south.

He has the guts to take the risk, but it's unclear whether the Zhou couple in Hongqi Village have the guts to give up five yuan.

Zhou Zhiqiang told Guo Yuting about his family's past. Originally, the original owner of this body had kept these things very well hidden, and he felt very ashamed, so he didn't tell outsiders much.

Only Guo Linhua knew some of the details. After all, the original owner of this body often went hungry at school after receiving the student subsidy, and Guo Linhua helped the original owner a lot when he saw that.

"How could you do this? We have a student in the family, and it's one thing not to help them, but how could you take so much of their university stipend!"

Guo Yuting was furious after hearing this. After sharing a room with Zhou Zhiqiang for half a month, her heart was now completely with him.

Guo Yuting used to be quite resistant to her father's arranged marriage, but after spending a few days with Zhou Zhiqiang, she gradually grew to like him. The biggest reason for this was probably their nightlife.

So when Guo Yuting heard that her husband had such a miserable life in college, sometimes not even having enough to eat, she was very angry.

Guo Yuting used to find Zhou Zhiqiang annoying when he came to her house for meals, but now she only feels sorry for her husband.

“It’s all in the past. Anyway, we’re doing better and better now. It’s not appropriate to completely fall out with them. I’ll give them some money every month from now on, as long as they don’t bother us.”

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "That's why I don't really want you to go, Yuting. Once they know your situation, they won't treat you like a daughter-in-law; they'll just ask you for money."

After imagining the scene in her mind, Guo Yuting quickly shook her head and said, "Then forget it, I won't go."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "I'll leave you some food and meat coupons. Go to the state-run restaurant for lunch tomorrow. I'll definitely be back before dinner."

"Okay, I'll do as you say."

Guo Yuting suddenly remembered something and looked up, saying, "Zhiqiang, my colleague said she can attend a social gathering next month and asked if I want to go."

"A matchmaking event? Isn't this supposed to be a way to set up single men and women? Doesn't she know you're married?"

"It wasn't all blind dates; it was organized by the Foreign Affairs Bureau. My colleague has connections, and I heard it was mainly to win over the Russians."

Guo Yuting explained, and Zhou Zhiqiang understood after listening.

Their relationship with the Russians is still okay now. Although there were some unpleasantries during the war a few years ago, they still rely on the Russians to help them build their industry.

There are quite a few Russian technicians in Beijing now, and their daily lives are better than those of Chinese technicians. But there's nothing we can do about it, since we're relying on the Russians.

The joint venture was probably proposed by the Russians. They probably wanted to relax with a cocktail party or something after working for so long. His wife's colleague also happened to have some connections in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

After thinking it through, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "It's hard to say right now, Yuting. Let's talk about it next month. I'll probably be busy with the factory's production tasks recently."

But if I have time, I'll definitely go with you.

Although Guo Yuting was a little unwilling, she had no choice but to nod and say, "Okay, that's the only way."

—————— The next morning, Zhou Zhiqiang prepared breakfast at home, ate with Guo Yuting, and then rode his bicycle away from home.

He first went to the supply and marketing cooperative and bought two bottles of wine, four packs of cigarettes, and two packs of candy. He was getting married, so he always had to bring some wedding candy.

There is no shortage of grain in the township and villages, but there is a shortage of non-staple foods. However, Zhou Zhiqiang cannot buy much meat with his ration coupons.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang remembered that in Changping County or Sanhe Township, it seemed that the three types of meat did not require meat coupons.

Offal or pig's trotters were not as valuable as fatty meat and pork belly, and could be bought without meat coupons.

Zhou Zhiqiang planned to take a look around when he got to the village. He had brought a lot of money with him, so he could buy some meat that didn't require coupons.

Hongqi Village in Sanhe Township is not far from Sijiu City; you can definitely get there by bicycle in three hours if you ride fast enough.

"Oh, right, after the simulation was completed and the results were collected, there was also a reward."

Zhou Zhiqiang suddenly remembered this matter. He didn't know why the data collection and deduction assistant system would give rewards after the deduction, but since it did, he accepted it.

After clicking to claim the reward on the simulation assistant panel, Zhou Zhiqiang immediately felt his mind clear, like a cool drink going down on a hot summer day, sending a rush of coolness straight to his brain.

It instantly made him feel refreshed, and the slight fatigue from not sleeping well last night vanished in an instant.

Moreover, Zhou Zhiqiang felt that his brain was calculating much faster, and he could clearly recall the original owner's somewhat hazy memories.

"Brain enhancement? There was no notification for this reward, but it feels really good."

After sensing the changes in his mind, Zhou Zhiqiang continued riding his bicycle.

This reward seems to have enhanced his mind. I wonder if the next reward will be the same. If it is, that would be great.

I was riding my bike while my mind was wandering.

As morning approached, Zhou Zhiqiang returned to Sanhe Township.

Before visiting his middle school teachers, Zhou Zhiqiang went to the butcher shop in the rural market. Fortunately, he wasn't too late; there were still two pig trotters and a pig heart left, and these two were free.

If you come in the afternoon, there probably won't even be any pig's trotters or pig's heart left.

Zhou Zhiqiang bought both pig's trotters and pig's heart. He also asked the butcher to divide the pig's heart into two portions, one for each person.

This gift wasn't exactly cheap; it included a bottle of wine, two packs of cigarettes, a pig's trotter, and half a pig's heart.

It cost a total of seven yuan and six jiao. After all, he had helped the original owner of this body, so Zhou Zhiqiang didn't care about the money.

After buying the items, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly found the home of the head teacher of the rural middle school.

It was noon, not the usual time for a visit, but Zhou Zhiqiang was in a hurry to get home before dark, so he didn't have to wait long. After arriving at Teacher Wu Ming's house, he knocked on the door.

"Who?"

Hearing the voice coming from inside the room, Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Teacher, it's me, Zhou Zhiqiang."

"Zhiqiang?"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Wu Ming, who was inside the house, quickly went to open the door. Seeing Zhou Zhiqiang, he smiled and said, "It really is you. Why did you suddenly come back?"

(End of this chapter)