Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

It should be said that, having established himself, Zhuang Zhongchen was living a fairly comfortable life. But he couldn't escape the mundane realities of daily life.

Before winter arrives, every household prepares for winter storage of coal and vegetables. Thus, cartloads of coal briquettes and cabbages are successively hauled into the courtyard houses…

After helping the deaf old lady, Zhuang Zhongchen also helped the Jia family load a whole cart full of goods.

"Rainwater, do you need any help? If you go too late, you'll only get what others have left over."

"Okay! Thanks!"

An older woman nearby asked curiously, "Why isn't Zhu Zi home again?"

"When someone else is having a funeral, my brother is asked to cook."

As the wedding date approached, He Yuzhu became increasingly busy, and he wanted to earn some extra money.

After a busy morning, Zhuang Zhongchen returned home. Taking advantage of the free time, he summarized his recent experiences.

I currently have a little over 30 yuan and various ration coupons. However, I'll be receiving my ration coupons and salary soon, so I'm not exactly short of cash.

In addition, there's the home. Although we haven't bought any big-ticket items, we have enough rice and flour to last for more than two months, and other food items and seasonings are also plentiful. At least we don't have to worry about food and drink.

There's also the issue of our own external debt.

The large shovel has been fully repaid, specifically the 190-plus yuan borrowed from outsiders. The next target is the debt in the courtyard house, which should be over 300 yuan; the goal is to pay it all off by the first half of next year.

Once these potential problems are eliminated, you can basically rest easy.

The letter about the hydraulic oil was finally mailed a few days ago. It was just that the letter was so long and took up so much of my free time that I've only managed to finish one translation recently.

Fortunately, through gradual accumulation, I've managed to get 13 shopping vouchers and 7 skill points. That's barely acceptable!

As for his job, Zhuang Zhongchen had already carefully studied his payslip.

He has been promoted to level 20 cadre (deputy section chief), and his basic salary has increased to 72 yuan. After his one-year probationary period ends, which is by the end of next year, he should be able to be officially promoted to level 19 cadre (section chief), with a basic salary of 80 yuan.

This shows that the original owner was incredibly lucky, as he was only one step away from becoming a high-ranking cadre (deputy director level).

In this era, the biggest difference between ordinary cadres and senior cadres is that ordinary cadres retire at a certain age, while senior cadres have lifetime tenure. The emphasis is on contributing to the country throughout one's life.

So, never underestimate Director Wang of the neighborhood committee. She's a senior official at the division level. Theoretically, she could remain as the neighborhood committee director indefinitely until she dies!

Of course, the drawbacks of gerontocracy will not be discussed here. In the 8s and 90s, a retirement system for senior officials was also introduced.

Regardless, I already have everything I need in my career, and I can't possibly want more. After all, I'm too young. If I became a senior manager, a deputy section chief at 20? Wouldn't that just be asking for trouble?

Therefore, for a long time to come, my goal is simple—not to achieve great things, but to avoid making mistakes!

At this moment, Zhuang Zhongchen was quite satisfied with the current situation. He lit a cigarette and leisurely exhaled several smoke rings...

Just then, a commotion erupted across the street. Amidst Liu Haizhong's shouts of pursuit, the two brothers, Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu, fled in panic, running wildly through the entire courtyard.

Together with a group of neighbors, Zhuang Zhongchen and his friends went out to watch the excitement. Suddenly, they noticed Lou Xiao'e secretly giving them meaningful glances.

"Chenzi, come to my house tonight. I've already invited Sister Qin."

"Hmm. Da Mao isn't home again?"

"That heartless bastard has gone to the countryside again."

"Alright. I have two cans of food here, let's have a treat tonight."

"Yeah, I'm so hungry for it!"

Unbeknownst to them, Zhuang Zhongchen, Qin Huairu, and Lou Xiao'e had formed an underground group—the "Eating and Drinking Trio." They would often sneak away from others to secretly enjoy some good food.

Lou Xiao'e, in particular, hit it off with Zhuang Zhongchen, and the two of them were inseparable from meat.

There's nothing that can be done about it. One is a wealthy young lady from a noble family, and the other is a time-traveling genius with cheat-like abilities. Their daily standards of life far exceed those of ordinary people at this time. Besides, in this era, being able to eat meat regularly? That's an extremely dangerous act.

Therefore, once they finally find a partner to share their evil deeds with, their relationship becomes increasingly intimate.

As for Qin Huairu? It was mainly to avoid suspicion. It was simply about adding an extra pair of chopsticks and leaving some leftovers for the Jia family.

In some ways, Qin Huairu and her daughter-in-law, Jia Zhangshi, were quite reliable. As long as they could get something out of them, they would keep their mouths shut.

Actually, when it comes to Jia Zhangshi, she worries about two things: her beloved grandson Banggeng and herself, and who will take care of her in her old age. As long as these two bottom lines aren't crossed, she's just an ordinary, ordinary old woman.

Having been a widow for many years, Jia Zhangshi understood the treacherous nature of the world. Sometimes, this actually made her easier to communicate with, as long as the benefits were right! To put it more bluntly: as long as the money was there, everything else was negotiable!

For example, in the original story, Jia Zhangshi made Qin Huairu get an IUD. Wasn't that a kind of concession? It was actually an implicit acceptance of Qin Huairu's... well, you know.

As long as her widowed daughter-in-law doesn't cause a death, doesn't remarry, and doesn't abandon them, including Qin Huairu using her body to gain some benefits, Jia Zhangshi wouldn't care about any of that.

……

After establishing the Vocational and Technical Section, Zhuang Zhongchen also streamlined all the work within the section. Internally, it was temporarily divided into two departments: an internal affairs section, headed by Tao Ping, a military spouse.

The other is the Examination Section, headed by Gu Qiming and with Huang Ya as the deputy head.

Actually, this is a case of rising tide lifts all boats. Riding this wave, many people have been promoted one or two levels. This also includes newly assigned employees; quite a few people have arrived one after another, and the number of employees in the vocational and technical department has now exceeded 20.

In fact, as the organization continues to expand, it becomes clear that the employment situation has become increasingly severe.

However, this way, Zhuang Zhongchen wouldn't need to do any specific work anymore; he could just focus on his daily duties. Anyway, this peripheral department wouldn't have any major issues. The bureau's requirements were even simpler—don't bother me!

On the other hand, regarding the fire incident, two subordinates were also assigned to Zhuang Zhongchen. This was a form of "mentoring the new," to cultivate a few key personnel as soon as possible!

And so, time flew by and it was New Year's Day. The courtyard house became lively as it was time for He Yuzhu's wedding.

As the firecrackers went off, He Yuzhu, beaming with joy and wearing a big red flower, rode his newly bought bicycle to pick up his bride, Wu Xiaoya.

Amidst cheers and applause, the courtyard was filled with joy as the wedding ceremony finally began...