Travel through famine years and awaken a post-apocalyptic survival system.

After Zhao Qingsong entered, he quickly found a small grove of trees and went inside to deactivate his stealth mode.

If someone sees this on the street, it will be troublesome.

After the status was lifted, he finally walked out of the grove.

Only then did he have the mind to examine the steel plant.

The steel plant is very large.

In the distance, there were many huge blast furnaces, belching thick black smoke.

The air was filled with the smell of steel and coal.

The factory area is dotted with "workers' villages" built of red bricks, with clotheslines strung in the open spaces between the buildings. The factory has a canteen, cooperative, bathhouse, hospital, school for employees' children, and club, forming a fully functional enclosed community.

The factory had a crisscrossing railway network, with steam locomotives belching white smoke as they pulled ore wagons and steel trains. Liberation brand trucks from the transport team shuttled back and forth.

In addition to mechanical vehicles, there were also horse-drawn carriages and handcarts.

These people, with their sweat, have built the steel backbone of the Republic.

I snapped out of my reverie and focused my attention on the work certificate in my hand.

Zhao Tiezhu will eventually find out that he did it, but that doesn't matter anymore. Anyone who wants to take his things can only hope they have the life to do so!

Although he had a system, he did not become arrogant.

Moreover, he wanted to be a decent human being and hoped to have some moral bottom line.

After making a few inquiries, I went directly to the personnel and labor department of the steel plant. Other units had sections, but the steel plant had a department.

This certificate was given by Section Chief Wang of the steel plant; it was just for a job opening, and he wasn't even present. Clearly, he wanted to use the job opening to end the previous matter.

Zhao Qingsong was happy to accept this.

Upon arriving at the location, I found the clerk, asked a few questions, and then began processing the paperwork.

Shougang is a large company. This is the main factory, and there are many independent branch factories around it. Ultimately, where you are assigned to a factory is not up to him.

He wasn't the only one here to complete the formalities.

Following that, the formalities were completed.

……

"Zhao Qingsong, from now on you are a member of the steel plant. It's Thursday now, so come to work next Monday."

I've issued you a certificate of acceptance. You need a certificate of household registration transfer from the commune before the factory can accept you.

Do you want to stay in the steel mill's dormitory? If not, you'll receive a housing allowance of 3 yuan per month. If you do, go to the logistics department; they'll assign dorm rooms, four people per room.

After the clerk completed the formalities, she gave him instructions.

Zhao Qingsong definitely won't live here.

However, he doesn't have a house yet, and he will need to look for one later.

Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the area had already become a cluster of steel mills, with many self-built houses that could be bought and sold.

All we need now is money!

He needs to exchange money!

After thinking for a moment, he asked, "I won't be staying in the dormitory. Um... comrade, where have I been assigned? Which department?"

He didn't want to go to the blast furnace workshop.

The wages and quotas there are high, but it's also quite dangerous, and the work is very monotonous, so it's not suitable for him.

If you're going there, you might as well go back to the countryside!

Ideally, it should be a relatively flexible job.

"The personnel department will assign you to a vacant position depending on the situation, but... there's not much work in the factory right now, and there are enough people for all positions, so we really don't know exactly where you'll be assigned. You might even be assigned to the land reclamation team..."

Let me explain the general situation.

Zhao Qingsong raised an eyebrow.

Pioneer team!

He had heard of this.

Currently, many factories are operating at low capacity due to a lack of raw materials.

I've even heard that some factories have stopped production altogether.

Food shortages are not just a problem of hunger; they can trigger many chain reactions.

Take coal mines as an example. If miners don't have enough to eat and they don't mine enough, various industries will run out of coal, power plants won't be able to generate enough electricity, and machines won't be able to operate, among other problems.

To put it bluntly, the authorities are no longer able to attend to the major companies.

I sent out a notice that basically said there were too many people for me to manage, so you'd better take care of your own food and drink!

I'll turn a blind eye.

As a result, major enterprises have partnered with rural areas to set up farms, grow vegetables and grains, and solve their own food and non-staple food shortage problems.

He recalled that people from large factories had previously gone to the countryside to collect eggs and grain, and had even argued with people from the supply and marketing cooperative system.

The matter was eventually dropped.

The factory's purchasing staff continued to make purchases as usual.

Zhao Qingsong could not contain his excitement.

He has meat on him!

The steel plant was considered one of the best-paying factories in Beijing, and even in the whole country. Ordinary residents of the city hadn't eaten meat for nearly two years.

However, steel mills can only eat once every three months.

In other people's eyes, this is already the best possible treatment.

But for Zhao Qingsong, it really wasn't a big deal.

Eating meat once every three months is barely enough to fill a tooth gap.

Thinking of this, he coughed lightly and asked, "Um...brother, could you tell me where our section chief is? I need to talk to him about something."

He took out a quarter of a loaf of bread wrapped in newspaper and handed it over.

The clerk swallowed hard as he looked at the items.

I couldn't resist taking it and stuffing it directly into my pocket.

He whispered, "Hey, you'd better not go! Our Section Chief Yao is in a bad mood right now! If you don't go, you might get a better position, but if you go and upset him, he'll assign you another job, and you'll have no one to complain to. Understand?"

Zhao Qingsong never expected that a small piece of bread could have such a good effect.

She smiled nonchalantly: "It's alright! Just tell me."

He had no money or food coupons, so he could only bribe them with bread.

"Alright, it's not exactly a secret anyway. Just turn left after you go out, there's a sign. Go ahead, don't blame me if I don't warn you!"

The other party offered a friendly reminder.

"Hi, don't worry, thanks!"

He said hello and then left.

……

After the person left, the clerk quietly took out the bread and smelled it.

I swallowed hard, but still didn't eat.

"Take this back for the boy at home! He's like a bottomless pit; he can never get enough to eat."

……

Zhao Qingsong searched in the direction the clerk pointed.

They soon found out their destination.

I looked up and saw a sign that read: "Office of the Head of the Personnel Department".

He looked around, then quietly left and went to the restroom. After a while, he came out carrying his things.

"Knock knock knock!"

There was a knock on the door, and an annoyed voice came from inside.

"Who is it? Come in!"

Seeing this, Zhao Qingsong went inside.

……

Inside the room, a middle-aged man in a cotton-padded coat was hunched over his desk, reviewing documents.

Hearing the noise, he looked up.

Who are you looking for?

Zhao Qingsong did not answer and closed the door.

That's when they came over.

"Section Chief Yao, I'm Zhao Qingsong, a new employee who just started working here. I was thinking, Section Chief Yao, could you perhaps assign me a suitable position?"

He placed the two newspapers directly on the table.

Two cans of pork weighing one pound each, and two loaves of bread weighing one pound each.

This is a rare resource.

If that doesn't work, then forget it.

Section Chief Yao was puzzled for a moment, then opened the old newspaper. When he saw the bread, his eyes lit up.

Especially that tin can, it made my mouth water.

However, he still looked up, puzzled for a moment.

"This is……?"

"Oh, this is canned pork, one can weighs one pound."

He had already removed the plastic seal from the outer casing, but fortunately, this thing didn't have a production date, so he didn't need to scratch it off.

Section Chief Yao swallowed hard.

Two pounds of pork.

Even with the best conditions at the steel mill, they haven't eaten meat in six months.

Although he was a section chief, he didn't earn much more than a worker.

Go to the black market?

He does have money, but he doesn't dare to; if he gets caught, he'll lose his job.

Cough softly.

He asked, "Um... you just started working here, right? What's your name? I'll show you later, and if there are any suitable candidates, I can arrange something for you. Or is there a department you'd like to join?"

Zhao Qingsong rubbed his hands together: "Um... could I go into the purchasing department?"

"Purchasing Department?"

Section Chief Yao hesitated for a moment, then shook his head: "The purchasing department won't do. We don't know how many people we've already bribed there. We can't bribe them anymore."

In order to purchase supplies, almost all of the idle employees were sent there.

Those who have connections, find those connections.

There's really no more room to stuff it in.

Hearing this, Zhao Qingsong was somewhat disappointed.

However, he still politely said, "If the purchasing department isn't suitable, then I'll try the security department. Is that alright with you?"

The security personnel are used to training with guns, so their job is relatively easy.

What matters is status.

Nowadays, the security department of a large factory has the right to handle cases. If the security personnel do a good job, they will often be transferred to the police station.

This is even more so a secure job for future generations.

However, that was after the 1980s.

To put it bluntly...

These days, police officers at local police stations are really not as good as security officers at large factories.

The security department has the authority to handle cases within the factory.

Section Chief Yao thought for a moment, glanced at the documents, and nodded: "Okay, the security department is under a lot of pressure lately and is short-staffed, so you can go there! I'll make a note of it for you. Oh, by the way, his name is Zhao Qingsong, right?"

"Yes, that's right!"

Zhao Qingsong quickly agreed.

Section Chief Yao took notes with his pen and said with a smile, "Alright, you can go back now. You can go whenever we tell you when to start your shift."

"Okay, then you go ahead with your work, I'll head back now."

"Go! Take your things."

The other party was polite.

Zhao Qingsong naturally wouldn't actually take it. He greeted them with a smile, left the office, and closed the door behind him.