Reborn in 1977, I will no longer be my brother's blood bag.

When Zhou Zhiyuan returned to his original workplace, it was already completely dark.

The security guard looked through the glass for a long time before finally opening the small window.

"Oh, so you finally decided to come back?"

Zhou Zhiyuan handed in the letter of introduction, his shoulders covered in dust from the journey.

"Come back and complete the handover."

After the security guard finished stamping the document, he gestured towards the office building with his lip.

"The director has been waiting for you all day. He's changed the tea three times, and his face has gotten darker each time."

The lights were still on in the office on the second floor.

The old director sat behind the table, wearing reading glasses, with several transfer documents spread out in front of him.

As soon as Zhou Zhiyuan entered, he took off his glasses and looked the man up and down.

"Is Beijing's environment conducive to health?"

"good."

"Why do I look thinner?"

I didn't sleep well on the train.

"Stop playing the victim."

The old director pushed a stack of handover forms over, the corners of the papers hitting the edge of the table.

"If you leave, who will receive you in the warehouse? Who will run errands in the field? The new guy, Xiao Chen, can't even write the requisition form backwards. You want me to sign it and let him go now?"

Zhou Zhiyuan did not go to get the watch.

"Where is he?"

"storehouse."

"I'll go take a look first."

The old director's eyebrows immediately stood up.

"I want to talk to you about a transfer!"

"We haven't brought out a successor yet, so we can't sign a contract even if we talk to them by tomorrow morning."

After he finished speaking, he draped his coat over the back of the chair, turned around, and went downstairs.

Xiao Chen was squatting in the warehouse, flipping through the account books.

The young man, barely in his early twenties, was sweating profusely, and several requisition slips were spread all over the floor.

Upon seeing Zhou Zhiyuan, he rushed forward carrying the account book, as if he had finally found someone who could save his life.

"Master Zhou, the instruments from March just don't match up."

Zhou Zhiyuan took the ledger, flipped through two pages, and pulled out a receipt.

"The date is reversed."

Xiao Chen leaned closer, and his ears immediately turned red.

"I write?"

"I can't blame anyone else for your writing."

"The more I investigated, the more confused I became."

Zhou Zhiyuan closed the ledger and stuffed it back into his arms.

"Starting today, you sign for things when they go out and check them when they come back. If there are any mistakes, find them yourself; don't wait for someone else to clean up your mess."

Xiao Chen was still clutching the account book, his face showing lingering panic.

"I'm afraid I won't do a good job."

Zhou Zhiyuan had already walked towards the door.

"Let's do it first and talk about it later."

The old director stood at the entrance of the building and saw the whole scene clearly.

When Zhou Zhiyuan came up, he put his hands behind his back and snorted.

"You've arranged everything so smoothly."

"If Xiao Chen can take over, you won't be short of manpower."

Zhou Zhiyuan sat down again and opened the handover form.

"Give me ten days. I'll show him how to manage the warehouse, how to handle fieldwork, and how to hand over materials twice. On the last day, let him do it himself, and I'll watch from the side."

The old director stared at him.

"Not even willing to stay for six months?"

"There's still six months left after six months."

"You think you're all grown up now."

"What you taught me back then, things have to come to an end."

Zhou Zhiyuan picked up a pen, wrote the date after the handover deadline, and pushed it in front of him.

The old director stared at the line of words for a long time before picking up his cold tea and taking a sip.

"Ten days, not a single day less."

"OK."

"What if something goes wrong on the last trip—"

"I'll take care of cleaning up."

The old director put the form in the drawer, still grumbling.

"Don't think of yourself as an official when you go to Beijing. When you're on someone else's turf, you still have to do your job."

Zhou Zhiyuan smiled.

"Don't worry, I can't stay still anywhere."

The next morning, the research institute held a project preparation meeting.

The application was submitted by a cannery.

Year-end orders piled up at the factory, the packing workshop was working overtime every day, and finished canned goods were piled up in the aisles. The factory determined that the equipment was holding them back and demanded that the research institute carry out a complete overhaul.

The application was three pages long.

Urgent, difficult, and affecting delivery.

There are only a few lines of actual data.

Engineer Zheng placed the materials on the table.

Who wants to speak first?

A young technician flipped through the appendix.

"The factory is pressing us hard, so it's best to come up with a renovation plan first."

Lin Xiuhe asked, "How many classes are there per day?"

The other person's finger stopped on the page.

The application was not completed.

How many times a day does the packing workshop stop?

It wasn't written either.

"Is it because the loading is slow, or is the previous shipments unstable, causing a complete backlog when things get busy?"

The people inside the room lowered their heads again to rummage through the materials.

Still nothing.

Zhao Wenbo tapped the appendix twice with a pencil, a hint of mockery on his lips.

"I wrote three pages, but besides being in a hurry, I didn't write anything clearly."

The young technician was embarrassed.

"The factory is waiting for delivery; we can't just return the materials."

"Return it for replacement."

Lin Xiuhe took a piece of white paper and listed several items.

Number of students per class.

Completed quantity for each process.

Work stoppage time.

Material shortages, personnel changes, and rework frequency.

She pushed the paper to the middle of the table.

"Remember this for the first three days. The slow packing might be due to inconsistent quantities, causing people and boxes to be stuck together. Even after the whole renovation is done and money is spent, the canned goods are still piled up in the aisle."

Engineer Zheng held the enamel mug, a smile appearing on his face.

"Did you hear that?"

The young technician picked up the list and looked at it again.

"Do you have to record the shortage of materials?"

"There's more than one reason why the workshop has stopped."

Zhao Wenbo took the list and added a line at the end.

Shift handover time.

He returned the paper to Lin Xiuhe.

"That should be included too. Unclear handover between shifts can take up half an hour."

Lin Xiuhe nodded after reading it.

"Add it."

Engineer Zheng took the lists from the two men.

"That's more like doing your job. We'll send the application back, and discuss it again once the records are complete in three days."

He turned to look at Lin Xiuhe.

"You work on compiling the problem list. Once the data comes back, we'll decide who will go to the site."

After the meeting, the deputy director called her into his office.

On the table were the official assignment documents that the school had just delivered.

The stamps on the top have all been affixed.

"The school's documents have been delivered. Once your graduation procedures are completed, come and report directly to the school."

The deputy director then pushed the accommodation list towards her.

"The beds have been arranged, four people per room, the bed by the window."

Lin Xiuhe took it.

"So fast?"

"If you're any slower, someone else will take the bed."

The deputy director pointed to the cannery application from earlier.

"If the data from over there arrives in the next few days, your first trip after joining the institute will probably be there with Engineer Zheng."

Lin Xiuhe put the materials into a file folder, unable to hide the smile on her face.

"It's good to have something to do."

The deputy director looked at her for a while, then smiled.

"Young people speak with such confidence. Let's see how it goes after six months."

As I approached the control room door, I could hear the sounds of something being rummaged through a cabinet inside.

Li Mingyuan leaned half his body into the old filing cabinet, his cuffs covered in a layer of dust.

Zhao Wenbo sat at the table, fiddling with the abacus, not even looking up when he heard the noise.

"The second floor from the left."

Li Mingyuan pulled out the competition certificate from a pile of old materials, flipped to the last page, and frowned.

"Is it still missing the school's stamp?"

Zhao Wenbo finished moving the last abacus bead.

"It's written on the form."

Why didn't you finish your sentence yesterday?

"I thought you would check your watch."

Li Mingyuan chuckled, then walked out with the certificate in his hand.

Upon seeing Lin Xiuhe, he first flicked the dust off his cuffs.

"Have the materials been distributed?"

"We've arrived. Dormitories have been assigned."

"Good."

As he spoke, he rolled up the certificate, then unfolded it again and flattened it.

"Once I finish stamping this document, I can submit the materials for the joint training program."

Lin Xiuhe asked, "Are you confident?"

Li Mingyuan's brows relaxed, and his face regained that indomitable spirit.

"The materials are all ready; the rest depends on your skills."

In the control room, Zhao Wenbo slowly added:

"Stamp it first."

Li Mingyuan turned around.

"Zhao Wenbo, you can't stand it if you don't say something to me every day?"

"good."

"Then you'll have to bear with it."

Zhao Wenbo finally raised his head, a smile in his eyes.

"We'll talk about it after your application is approved."

In the evening, someone from the training center brought over the phone records.

Lin Xiuhe was organizing files in her dormitory when the visitor entered and first poured half a tank of water into the room.

"The deal has been reached with Zhou Zhiyuan."

She put down the materials in her hand.

"When are you coming back?"

"Ten days later, the original unit agreed to sign, on the condition that the successor be brought out."

The person took out a phone record from their pocket.

He even added a sentence.

Lin Xiuhe took it.

The paper listed the handover deadline and the return date to Beijing.

When you return on the tenth day, don't give the key to anyone else.

She stared at that sentence, and the corners of her lips slowly curved into a smile.

The person peeked out.

"What key? He won't tell me even if I ask."

"Dormitory key".

"He'll come back and get it himself?"

"Um."

"Why bother making a special phone call?"

Lin Xiuhe opened the drawer.

The key lay at the very back, next to her assignment notice.

She put the key inside the cloth bag and then covered it with the assignment notice.

"Ten days it is."

The person who came hadn't understood yet.

Lin Xiuhe had already fastened the cloth bag.

"You're back too late, I can't keep it for you anymore."