Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

In those days, there was no distinction between corresponding author, first author, and second author when publishing papers in China. Collectivism was the prevailing attitude.

Therefore, giving up a paper doesn't really matter. It won't affect anything at all; in fact, it saves a lot of work.

Even if we assume the worst, Zhuang Zhongchen is only receiving an administrative-level salary and benefits. Even if he were to advance to a higher technical title, it wouldn't make much difference; his income wouldn't increase.

However, such "noble character" will surely win praise. Everyone will then feel happy and harmonious.

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Zhongchen suddenly noticed that the system was active.

[Task Settlement: Contributing to National Development]

about……

Reward: 18 skill points

Zhuang Zhongchen exclaimed in disbelief. He hadn't expected the reward to be so generous! This was the most he'd ever received since transmigrating!

Therefore, it seems that digging dog holes, though seemingly insignificant, can indeed save many lives. Thus, the system tends to approve of it.

On the contrary, the last time we did voluntary labor to dig the riverbed, we didn't trigger any missions at all.

That proves that there are no rewards for the regular job. Only this kind of extra work can trigger new tasks and new rewards.

After the meeting ended, Director Jin kept Zhuang Zhongchen behind alone.

"Xiao Zhuang, let me give you a heads-up, you should be prepared: before the end of the year, the bureau plans to refine the responsibilities of each department. Our General Affairs Division is very likely to be abolished and replaced by a separate division or department."

Zhuang Zhongchen was taken aback, then a thought struck him: "Director Jin, so from now on I'll address you as Director Jin?"

Director Jin chuckled: "The higher-ups haven't officially appointed you yet, so don't you dare go around spouting nonsense."

"I understand, congratulations!"

As expected, Director Jin will continue to oversee the work of the original General Affairs Division. However, with the advancement of his position, he will become a full-time deputy director.

"Also, your vocational skills section will be upgraded to a vocational skills department. Your superiors have been watching your hard work these past few months and they care about you a lot. So they're going to give you some more responsibility. But for now, you'll be acting."

"Haha." Zhuang Zhongchen understood immediately. "Thank you, Director Jin. I will definitely serve the people better under the leadership of Director Jin and other bureau leaders in the future."

Director Jin smiled: "Very good. Also, pay attention to teamwork. From now on, you'll also be responsible for fire safety. After all, there are only three of you engineers right now."

"Thank you for your trust, Director Jin. I plan to put Xiao Gu in charge of the examinations and have Comrade Huang Ya as his deputy."

Director Jin nodded in satisfaction: "You can arrange that yourself. Go back and get back to work."

"Yes, thank you! Thank you, Director Jin."

"hehe."

Because Zhuang Zhongchen had performed his duties well over the past few months, and given his dazzling background as a college graduate and engineer, his superiors decided to leave him in charge of the work rather than take any action.

And taking advantage of this promotion of the section to a department, Zhuang Zhongchen naturally became the acting head of the Vocational and Technical Department.

In the end, Director Jin was very satisfied and approved of Zhuang Zhongchen's approach...

To be honest, if Zhuang Zhongchen hadn't been a seasoned sleuth before his transmigration, he wouldn't have understood these slang terms at all.

That said, becoming a section chief so unexpectedly was quite a pleasant surprise. Therefore, the efforts of the past few months have indeed been very effective. In particular, paying off debts owed to colleagues has gradually improved his reputation.

Therefore, the saying "a rabbit doesn't eat the grass near its burrow" makes a lot of sense. At the very least, no one will deliberately cause trouble.

Regardless of whether I'm a section chief or not, at least I've established myself in the company. From now on, I can finally relax and enjoy my work.

Back in his office, it wasn't long before a lot of rumors started circulating.

After the General Affairs Department was split up, many more departments and offices were created, and several other organizations, such as the Boiler Monitoring Station and the Crane Monitoring Station, were also established separately.

This would make the other two engineers even busier. So, the fire-related work was handed over entirely to Zhuang Zhongchen.

As everyone probably knows, the main work related to fires falls under the jurisdiction of the fire department, while the labor department mainly handles auxiliary and post-disaster management tasks. Therefore, their workload isn't particularly heavy, making it a suitable option for a certain high-ranking official.

Only after a few years, when the assistant engineers in the unit have grown up and been certified as engineers, will this busy situation gradually ease.

In other words, in addition to his work in the vocational and technical department, Zhuang Zhongchen also had to deal with all sorts of trivial matters related to fire safety.

Just to clarify: This is a special case for the General Affairs Department. They lack technically skilled personnel. If they were to draw personnel from other departments, they simply wouldn't have the necessary expertise. Therefore, they couldn't be assigned to any specific roles.

So they continued to rely heavily on Zhuang Zhongchen, a complete fraud, preferring to let him act as an interim agent rather than transferring him from elsewhere. He was lucky to have caught a good wave of opportunity again.

In short, today was a day of double happiness, and Zhuang Zhongchen was in a very good mood. So as soon as he got off work, he walked home excitedly.

As Zhuang Zhongchen passed by an alleyway, he glanced around and spotted a few oxen looking around.

There are several black markets in the capital, including the Pigeon Market and the Ghost Market.

The pigeon market was originally a flower and bird market, where people bought and sold pigeons, hence the name. Over time, many stalls selling secondhand goods appeared here, and sometimes some shady businesses were also conducted.

However, with the complete ban on free markets, the pigeon market, which was originally open, has long been closed.

A "ghost market" is a black market that starts at midnight and disappears automatically at dawn. It's usually located along the foot of city walls, facilitating the transport of agricultural products by farmers from the suburbs. Because the transactions take place in the dark, it's like a ghostly marketplace, hence the name.

Of course, there were also other black markets of all kinds. According to incomplete statistics, there were as many as a hundred black markets in the capital during this period.

Scalpers are people who do business on the streets and alleys; they go to the black market to make a profit. If you're afraid to go to the black market, you can find these scalpers.

After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Zhongchen quietly approached the group of scalpers, exchanged glances with one of them, and the two entered the alley in perfect unison.

"Excuse me, do you accept grain coupons? Local grain coupons."

"Brother, 98 cents. The current selling price is only 1.01 yuan, just making a little money from my hard work."

Sensing the price was about right, Zhuang Zhongchen took out his grain coupons, and the two silently made the transaction. They received over 50 yuan.

I've been using shopping vouchers for the past few months, so I've accumulated a lot of food coupons. I might as well take this opportunity to recoup some of that!

Anyway, by next year, the most difficult three years will finally be over, and the black market price of grain coupons will return to normal, soon falling to around 1 cents.

After settling the money and tickets, the two nodded to each other, and Zhuang Zhongchen quickly left.

However, just as he stepped out of the alley, Zhuang Zhongchen suddenly sensed something. It was as if someone was following him...