Courtyard House: The Chef's Intelligence System

At the Jia family home, Tong Jie lay on the kang (a heated brick bed) to rest. She was in a bad mood, feeling that her family had too many problems, one after another, which was unlucky and tragic.

This food poisoning incident was really funny, and even Tong Jie found it a bit inexplicable. How could dried plum vegetables cause food poisoning?

This was the first time she had ever encountered such a situation in all the years she had lived in the countryside. In the past, nothing had happened when she ate there, but this time, not only was her family almost sent away, but she also had to take a group of people down with her.

Fortunately, Tong Jie was in good health; otherwise, both she and her unborn child would have died. The whole family was terrified after this incident.

"Sigh...this is fate." After sighing, Tong Jie fell into a deep sleep.

Yang Guangming has been working at the steel rolling mill for more than three months now. I don't know if it's because the food at the mill is good or what, but he has actually grown taller.

The safety shoes issued by the factory were so tight that they squeezed his toes, making Yang Guangming very uncomfortable.

Yang Guangming didn't want to suffer the injustice of not receiving his social security benefits for another six months, so he went to his uncle, the deputy factory director, hoping he could make an exception for him.

Let him write a note to collect two sets of work safety supplies.

Yang Ligong did not refuse such a request and readily approved it.

Firstly, the matter is really too trivial, so trivial that no one will take it to heart, and it wouldn't matter even if a leader of the same level found out.

Because everyone has a relative working in the factory, approving labor insurance is a trivial matter, and it's also within the scope of the leaders' authority.

Secondly, my nephew Yang Guangming is indeed growing, he's only 19 years old. To make sure he's comfortable, I got two more sets of clothes, for a total of four sets for him.

Yang Guangming happily took the slip of paper and went to the logistics department to collect his labor insurance.

The two security guards in charge of the labor protection supplies were Lao Zhou and Lao Ma. They were also newly recruited to the factory, having joined more than ten days earlier than Yang Guangming. They were both in their thirties.

Because the warehouse contains not only work safety equipment but also firearms, ordinary workers are not allowed to enter or leave at will.

The two were drinking tea and reminiscing about the old days when Yang Guangming suddenly appeared, looking rather smug.

The two exchanged a glance and simultaneously revealed disdainful smiles. One of them whispered:

"Young people these days are too weak. They even stagger when they walk. If they went to the battlefield, they wouldn't survive a day."

"That's right," another chimed in.

Yang Guangming walked up to the two men and handed them the note:

"Hello comrade, I'm here to collect my social security benefits."

One of them took the note and glanced at it, then quickly frowned.

Seeing this, another person asked, "What's wrong, Lao Ma?"

Upon hearing this, Old Ma handed him the note: "Old Zhou, you can see for yourself."

Old Zhou took the note and frowned. The note itself was fine, but the quantity was wrong. He then questioned Yang Guangming:

"Young man, the note says it's all for you alone?"

"Yes, it was approved by Director Yang, and it was all given to me. What's wrong with that?" Yang Guangming answered truthfully.

At this point, the warehouse keeper, Old Ma, spoke up: "This is a big problem. The factory stipulates that each worker can only have two sets of labor protection insurance per year."

"I remember you've only been working here for a few months, right? What's wrong? Two sets of work clothes aren't enough, and now you've got four? Damn it, I hate people like you who fleece the country the most."

"Take the note, I can't give it to you."

Upon hearing this, Yang Guangming became anxious: "No, it's not a comrade. This note has Director Yang's signature on it."

"I need it urgently, can you help me?"

Old Ma chuckled:

"What's your hurry? Do you think you're the factory manager, taking as much as you want?"

"Cough cough cough." After Old Ma finished speaking, Li Huaide walked out from the other side.

Old Ma was completely numb: "Commander, uh, no, Factory Director Li, I... I didn't mean that..."

Li Huaide waved his hand, picked up the note on the table and looked at it, then glanced at Yang Guangming standing to the side: "Alright, get this young comrade his work insurance."

"Yes!" Old Ma replied and went to ask Yang Guangming what size he needed. He finished making it in no time.

"Thank you, Director Li. I'll be going now," Yang Guangming said, expressing his gratitude.

"Okay, go ahead." Li Huaide waved his hand.

After Yang Guangming left, Li Huaide looked at Lao Ma and Lao Zhou and smiled:

"You two, how's the security department doing?"

Both of them grinned: "Commander, this is much better than fighting. We're used to it."

"Was that kid taking a bit too much welfare?"

Li Huaide laughed and said, "Didn't you two cry and beg me for more bullets and guns back when we were fighting?"

"The same principle applies here; a factory is not a battlefield, and I am not the only one who makes the decisions here."

"From now on, anyone who comes to collect their social security benefits with a leader's note like that young comrade just now, as long as it's not excessive, we'll give it to them. We'll let the brothers know about it later."

"Yes!" the two replied loudly.

Li Huaide then changed the subject: "However, this only applies to labor protection. You cannot touch any firearms or anything like that without my and your section chief's permission."

"clear!"

Li Huaide patted the two men on the shoulders: "Alright, keep up the good work, I have other things to do."

"Please take care, Commander..."

That's right, they were all Li Huaide's soldiers. The security department of the steel mill was almost entirely composed of Li Huaide's soldiers, or they were arranged by Li Huaide's other comrades.

Such an important place as the Security Department must naturally be firmly in our hands.

Li Huaide paid close attention to the soldiers under his command.

He can arrange a good place for any soldier who wants to be demobilized. He's not bragging; there's no soldier he can't arrange.

Such an operation is reasonable and legal. It's our own soldiers; why shouldn't we properly settle them down and let them suffer?

If we are doing well, we must make sure our brothers are doing well too.

This time, Li Huaide recruited many of his former soldiers or their families during the steel rolling mill's expansion. They were reliable and he knew them well.

They were all his comrades who risked their lives on the battlefield back then, so there's no reason not to lend a helping hand.

Li Huaide wasn't the only one doing this; many others did it, and anyone with the ability had to make arrangements.

Moreover, it's so easy to arrange jobs for retired military personnel; those are exactly the kind of comrades we need most, they're practically hot commodities.

Even Li Huaide, whose family was relatively poor, was able to be arranged to work in the factory as a proud worker.

Because the opportunity for the steel mill to expand its workforce is too good to pass up now, it would be really stupid for Li Huaide not to take action.

Li Huaide was worried that recruiting people from outside the community might result in some slipping through the net and becoming spies, but he had no such concerns about his own soldiers.

During this period, he contacted many people, especially his subordinates who were in financial difficulty. Li Huaide did everything he could, and the rest was up to them to choose.

After all, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, a great opportunity not only for the people of Beiping, but also for everyone at the steel rolling mill.

At this point, any smart person would seize the opportunity.