Courtyard House: Starting as a mediocre engineer

Inside the neighborhood office, several people were having a heated discussion.

"Master Zhang, is the bamboo woven anti-slip mat you mentioned really feasible?"

"That's simple. As you requested, in addition to being non-slip, it also needs to be easy to clean and replace. However, Director Wang and Leader Zhuang, I must say this first: these bamboo mats are not durable at all. They used to be placed under large bath tubs in wealthy households. Bathhouses used long, narrow floorboards, similar to those used by the Japanese. They could generally last for about ten years."

"So how long can a bamboo-woven item last?"

"We can guarantee at least six months. Wealthy families don't care about such a small waste."

"What about its anti-slip properties?"

"Absolutely. You know, wealthy men love to play tricks, they can frolic in the water with a house full of beautiful maids..."

"Cough cough cough."

You know what, Beijing is never short of skilled craftsmen. These are some of the veteran craftsmen that Director Wang specially found from this neighborhood.

Realizing the conversation was veerging off course, Director Wang quickly interrupted, "Chenzi, what do you think? Is a bamboo ware factory a possibility?"

"It should be possible. We can distribute safety recommendations to various organizations and recommend that they purchase your bamboo woven anti-slip mats. The process isn't complicated either. With these experienced craftsmen overseeing the process and training a group of apprentices, we'll definitely be able to produce qualified products. As for the lifespan? We'll just replace them when they break! It'll actually increase sales."

"That's good. I was worried about finding a market for it."

"Director Wang, you don't need to worry about that," one of the veteran craftsmen said with a smile. "We don't produce bamboo in the north, but the demand for bamboo baskets and crates has always been there. In Beijing, I don't think there are any specialized bamboo ware factories. In the past, woodworking factories would make some as a side business, and not in large quantities."

"Alright! Let's set up a production team first. If we can establish a sales channel, we'll set up a street bamboo ware factory."

As previously mentioned, although the streets of Beijing are small, they are fully equipped. Each street has its own finance office, industry and commerce office, tax office, economic department, and so on. If a new street factory were to be established, Director Wang could make the decision with a single word.

To reiterate: Streets in Beijing and Shanghai are county-level government agencies, with a very high rank and considerable power. They are completely different from streets in inland China. They can be considered equivalent to counties in inland China.

Is Zhongguancun in Beijing the same as a small mountain village in the mainland? The village head of Zhongguancun is equivalent to a township head in the mainland.

Aside from the fact that the terms "street" and "village" are exactly the same, their status is worlds apart.

In addition to the above-mentioned institutions, almost all institutions, such as grain and oil depots, housing management offices, and police stations, are subject to dual management by the street authorities.

Please don't get it wrong. The branch bureau chief is indeed the direct superior of the police station chief. The street director is also the direct superior of the police station chief. You should stand at attention and salute when you see them.

Therefore, in the original story, Director Wang seems to be a kind and approachable old lady. But in real work, she can be decisive and ruthless!

To be honest, this was just a sudden inspiration from Zhuang Zhongchen. It was all about improving the welfare of the local community and creating more job opportunities.

Of course, the system reward also arrived as expected.

[Task Settlement: Contributing to Construction]

……

Reward: 10 skill points

Within days, the street's bamboo ware production group was quickly established and produced products. With Zhuang Zhongchen's help and recommendation, they successfully entered the capital market. Therefore, half a month later, the production group was naturally upgraded to a street bamboo ware factory, recruiting a large number of unemployed youths from the street…

This shows that the employment situation is indeed becoming increasingly severe. Director Wang and his colleagues have long since resorted to any means necessary. On a whim, they established a street factory.

Fortunately, the result was not bad; at least the bamboo ware factory could support quite a few people. Anyway, it's a matter for the neighborhood now, and Zhuang Zhongchen isn't that concerned; he's still busy flirting with girls.

……

At the zoo, Wen Yumei stared curiously at a group of golden monkeys, making faces at them.

"Wow! Brother Chen, these monkeys are so much fun!"

"You really are cute. Just like you. Even your silly and clumsy sides are exactly the same," Zhuang Zhongchen said with a smile.

"Ugh! Monkeys are all very clever. Humph!"

"What's the use of being smart? Being cute is something you can do for a lifetime!"

"Hehehe! I'm ignoring you. My mom's right, you're just good at trying to sweet-talk me."

To be honest, there are quite a few entertainment options available these days, but not many places are suitable for couples. The zoo is one of the more popular choices.

Because of the many animals donated by foreign friends, including hippos, zebras, giraffes... well! and those rolling predecessors from Dongzhimen San Taizi, the Beijing Zoo has always been famous.

During this period, many people from other places came to the capital, and the zoo was a must-visit destination. They would rather eat cornbread and drink cold water than miss a few zoo tickets. Its popularity far exceeded people's imagination later on.

Skipping and hopping all the way, Wen Yumei was in a very good mood: "Brother Chen, I have a job! Hehe."

"Oh?"

"My older brother helped me. After I graduate, I'll be selling popsicles at the swimming pool. If I do well, I can become a full-fledged employee!"

"???"

It turns out that Wen Yumei is about to graduate from junior high school. As a poor student, she certainly won't get into any technical school or vocational school, and in the end, she can only return to the neighborhood and become a proud unemployed youth.

Fortunately, he had the help of his elder brother, Wen Anguo, who could use his connections in the Commerce Bureau.

That said, becoming a state-employed sales clerk in the Commerce Bureau? That's definitely impossible. So, they had to find other collaborating units.

Summer is almost here, isn't it? The swimming pool will be quite lively then. There will be temporary shops selling things like swimsuits, soft drinks, and popsicles.

These kinds of small shops are usually seasonal. They only do some business in the summer, and no one would go swimming in the dead of winter, right?

So this job is just odd jobs, at least a little more stable, and you can work for the whole summer.

As for becoming a full-time employee of the swimming pool? That's just talk; it's nowhere in the works. To put it bluntly, even if Wen Yumei gets incredibly lucky, at best she'll just be a regular employee in a large collective organization.

However, in this day and age, people don't usually change jobs easily. Since she was able to do odd jobs this summer, she can do them again next summer. Wen Yumei can keep doing odd jobs until the neighborhood assigns her a formal job.

It's a comfortable situation, not the worst off, but much better than other unemployed youths. At least they won't have to rely on their parents for years anymore, and they can earn a few months' salary, right?