Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

"Are the broiler chickens ready for market?"

Zhou Feng paused for a second, then roughly calculated the time in his mind, and it seemed that the first batch was indeed due.

I didn't expect that more than a month would have passed so quickly.

Although Qin Jingru didn't know what Zhou Feng and the others were talking about, she did know about raising chickens, which didn't stop her from looking at Zhou Feng with eyes full of admiration.

So... is Brother Zhou Feng also the manager of a chicken farm?

No wonder he has no shortage of chicken!

Although Qin Jingru had already followed him, he had not yet arranged a job for her, nor was it convenient to take her to the hatchery and chicken farm. So after giving her a few instructions, Zhou Feng followed Ma Yingjie to the hatchery and chicken farm.

Qin Jingru was left at home, chuckling foolishly as she tidied up the room. Then she took a can of Sprite from the refrigerator and, imitating Zhou Feng, opened the tab.

I took a nice sip, leaned back in my chair, and let out a burp.

She's so lucky!

The two drove to the hatchery and breeding farm. Zhou Feng walked into the factory and looked at Ma Yingjie with some curiosity: "How many chickens will be ready for the first batch?"

"There are now a total of 12.4 healthy chickens ready for market!"

Ma Yingjie's face showed a hint of excitement.

A few days ago, he successfully joined the company, but Zhou Feng was never around, making his position as assistant in the factory very awkward.

Even though he worked in Zhou Feng's office and no one bothered him on weekdays, he still didn't feel very confident.

This time, with the first batch of broiler chickens ready for market, he finally managed to bring Zhou Feng over.

After all, he only dared to stand up straight when he was behind the leader.

"My office is in this factory, right?"

As Zhou Feng walked forward, he casually asked a question, and Ma Yingjie quickly replied, "Yes, there is a telephone installed in your office. If there are any problems at the fertilizer plant or the textile factory, someone will contact us here."

"That's good. Didn't you say Brother Li was training you? When did you arrive?"

"Director Li has been promoted to factory director and has a lot of things to do, so he asked me to come over first. I came three days ago."

Ma Yingjie smacked his lips, which surprised Zhou Feng.

Has Brother Li been promoted to a full-fledged position?

hiss--

He seems to have forgotten something extremely important!

It is 1966!

Li Ge's promotion to the position of factory director also signifies that a major storm is about to begin!

Surprisingly, he was not affected at all!

Perhaps because he is still very important to his superiors, someone is deliberately protecting him during this major storm!

With a sigh, Zhou Feng walked towards his office.

Since we're already here, let's go check on those broiler chickens that are ready for market, and then go back to the real world to get some hatching eggs.

For current hatcheries, it is still very difficult to hatch independently, mainly because it is difficult to establish a complete breeding system for breeding chickens.

After all, this is not simply a matter of putting roosters and hens together; rather, there are no specially bred white-feathered chicken breeds in this area.

Zhou Feng couldn't bring any living creatures with him.

The broiler chickens they currently raise are commercial broiler chickens, bred solely for the purpose of rapid weight gain. Therefore, although they are capable of reproduction, their reproductive performance indicators, such as egg production rate, fertilization rate, and hatchability, are far inferior to those of specialized breeding chickens.

To put it bluntly, the chickens they raise are all broiler chickens, and the eggs they lay are of poor quality.

It is certainly possible to cultivate them on one's own, but given the current level of technology and cultivation environment in the world of courtyard houses, it is still extremely difficult.

Zhou Feng had mentioned this to the leaders in the organization before, but whether they would stubbornly send people to study and cultivate it was not something Zhou Feng could control.

Anyway, he should just do what he agreed on before.

After only a few minutes in the office, Zhou Feng became restless.

It's not that the farm smells bad, it's just that it's too noisy!

A total of 10 chickens!

The soundproofing technology of that era wasn't very good, and the noise made Zhou Feng feel completely numb!

"Go back and tell the factory manager that the hatching eggs I'm in charge of will be delivered tomorrow. Just remember to let me know the day before the broilers are ready for market."

With a hint of annoyance, Zhou Feng waved his hand and walked outside.

"Oh! Okay, take care, boss!"

Ma Yingjie was somewhat stunned. It wasn't that he hadn't seen the deputy factory director before, but what kind of deputy factory director had only come to the factory once in such a long time?

And you only sat for a few minutes before leaving?

This is just too...lazy!

But what can you do when it's your own boss?

The fact that someone could arrange for him to be in this position with just a word, working as an assistant in three factories and receiving salaries from three factories, is enough to prove that their boss is no ordinary person!

So no matter how outrageous Zhou Feng's actions are, Ma Yingjie's job is to rationalize them.

How could the leaders have any problems? Even if they do, it's because the subordinates misunderstood.

My boss must have important things to do. As his assistant, I can just handle the miscellaneous tasks at the factory.

Just as Zhou Feng was leading Ma Yingjie out of the factory, a familiar exclamation suddenly came from beside him: "Comrade Zhou Feng?"

Turning my head, I saw that the person who came was Yu Li!

"Comrade Yu Li? You've already started working at the factory?"

Zhou Feng raised an eyebrow at her. No wonder he hadn't seen Yu Li these past few days; it turned out she had already started working!

Only a lazy bum like him would stay in bed all day and refuse to get up.

"Yes, yes! I've been working for several days now, and I really want to thank you for arranging such a great job for me!"

A shy smile appeared on Yu Li's face.

"It's nothing, it's all minor. I'll be going now."

Zhou Feng waved his hand and walked out of the factory.

If they were in the courtyard, he might have been able to talk and chat with Yu Li.

There are too many people in this farm, and most of them are women.

If they see this, who knows how many versions they might spread together!

Although he had previously considered Yu Li's magnanimity, Zhou Feng had just resolved the issues with Qin Jingru and Bai Ling these past few days, and he didn't want any further complications.

Yu Li naturally noticed Zhou Feng's obvious distancing attitude, and a slightly embarrassed smile appeared on her face. She also consciously walked towards the factory.

This is definitely not the place to talk. If there's anything you want to say, you can wait until she gets back to the hospital.

"Wait, are you Zhou Feng? The deputy factory director who's always so elusive?"

A voice came from the side, neither warm nor cold, but it was unpleasant to listen to.

Zhou Feng paused, then turned to look.

The speaker was a middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in a neat Zhongshan suit, with gray hair that was combed meticulously.

He doesn't have much flesh on his face, his cheekbones are high, and his chin is slightly raised. When he looks at people, his gaze goes down from top to bottom, giving off an air of "I am the leader".

Zhou Feng didn't recognize the man and didn't say anything, just stared at him.

Ma Yingjie's expression changed slightly. He leaned close to Zhou Feng's ear and whispered, "Boss, this is our factory's deputy political commissar, Comrade Niu Aiguo. He used to be the chairman of the trade union at the state-owned No. 2 factory. He was just transferred here."

Deputy Political Commissar?

Zhou Feng casually replied with an "oh," not taking it too seriously.

But Niu Aiguo clearly had no intention of letting him off the hook so easily.

Seeing that Zhou Feng didn't speak, he took two steps forward and looked Zhou Feng up and down, as if he were inspecting his work.

"Comrade Zhou Feng, I'm asking you a question." Niu Aiguo's voice was neither loud nor soft, but each word was emphasized. "You're the deputy factory director?"

Zhou Feng nodded: "It's me. Is there something you need, Political Commissar Niu?"

Niu Aiguo frowned, seemingly dissatisfied with the title "Political Commissar Niu," but didn't correct him, getting straight to the point: "Comrade Zhou Feng, I've been at this factory for half a month now, and this is the first time I've met you in person. I just want to ask, what have you been busy with, as the deputy factory director?"

The question was very direct, and the dissatisfaction in the tone was almost overflowing.

Hearing this from the side, Ma Yingjie's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

Niu Aiguo was just transferred here and doesn't know the details of his superiors!

He opened his mouth as if to say something on Zhou Feng's behalf, but swallowed the words back down.

What could he say?

They said that their leaders not coming to the factory was tacitly approved by the factory manager and others.

Zhou Feng remained expressionless, even managing a slight smile: "Political Commissar Niu, what I'm busy with doesn't seem to require reporting to you, does it?"

Niu Aiguo's face darkened.

He hadn't expected the young deputy factory director to speak so bluntly.

In his mind, he was, after all, a deputy political commissar in charge of ideological and political work, and a deputy factory director like him should at least be polite to him.

To my surprise, they simply replied, "There's no need to report."

It seems like some rich kid from who-knows-where has been sent to this factory to "gild his resume"!

But they were wrong!

With me here, these backward ideas and behaviors, which even have some bureaucratic tendencies, must be absolutely eliminated!

"Comrade Zhou Feng, you're wrong about that."

Niu Aiguo's voice immediately turned serious. "This is a state-owned enterprise, not someone's private property. You're the deputy factory director, and I'm the deputy political commissar. We're both working. As a factory leader, from the factory's establishment until the first batch of broiler chickens went to market, how many times have you shown your face? How many days have you worked? Everyone else is working hard on the front lines, but you're nowhere to be seen. What kind of problem is this? This is a problem of ideological awareness!"

Niu Aiguo got more and more excited as he spoke, and his voice grew louder, attracting several passing workers to stop and peek in his direction.

"I, Niu Aiguo, have spent most of my life in political work. What kind of cadres haven't I seen? I've never seen anyone like you, a mere figurehead. Now that we've run into each other, I have to have a good talk with you, correct your erroneous thinking, and raise your awareness!"

Niu Aiguo's words were righteous and stern, and he himself was quite satisfied with them.

He put his hands behind his back, raised his chin even higher, and waited to see Zhou Feng's reaction.

Ma Yingjie, standing nearby, broke out in a cold sweat.

This scene... why does it look so familiar?

It seems he did this before when he was at the steel rolling mill, and then…

If he hadn't knelt down so quickly, he probably wouldn't have even had the chance to kneel!

Ma Yingjie opened his mouth, wanting to remind Niu Aiguo, but seeing Niu Aiguo's "I'm in the right" attitude, he shut his mouth again.

Forget it, he's the deputy political commissar, and I'm just an assistant. What's the point of reminding him? Let's wait and see.

Sure enough, Zhou Feng spoke up.

His tone was unhurried, even with a hint of a smile: "Political Commissar Niu, are you finished?"

Niu Aiguo was taken aback: "You're done talking? What's next?"

"Now that you've finished, let me say a few words." Zhou Feng put his hands in his pockets, tilted his head to look at Niu Aiguo, and said, "You said I haven't worked a single day since the factory was built. Yes, I admit it, I haven't come very often. But do you know why I haven't come?"

Niu Aiguo sneered: "Why? Busy? Busy with what? Tell me."

Zhou Feng shook his head: "Even if I told you, you might not listen."

"What a joke!" Niu Aiguo's voice rose a notch. "I, Niu Aiguo, have been doing political work for so many years, what can't I hear? Tell me!"

Zhou Feng looked at him and said slowly, "I've been busy with national affairs lately."

"National affairs?" Niu Aiguo paused for a second, then burst out laughing, his laughter laced with blatant sarcasm. "You? Busy with national affairs? Comrade Zhou Feng, are you a national leader or something? National affairs, my foot!"

Zhou Feng wasn't annoyed, and said in a very calm tone: "Political Commissar Niu, you're not qualified to know the specifics of what big thing it is."

Upon hearing this, the workers watching the commotion all gasped in shock.

Not qualified to know?

This is the deputy political commissar! The third-in-command in the factory! You're saying he's not qualified?

Niu Aiguo's face flushed red instantly, from the base of his neck all the way to his forehead.

He pointed at Zhou Feng, his anger turning into a mocking laugh: "You...you're saying I'm not qualified? You, a deputy factory director, are talking to me about qualifications?"

"Yes, you're not qualified." Zhou Feng nodded, his expression serious, not at all like he was joking. "The things I'm busy with involve direct communication with higher-ups. As for the specifics, even our factory director might not know everything, let alone someone like you who's a deputy political commissar. If you have any questions, you can report it to higher-ups and ask someone who knows."

Niu Aiguo was speechless, his lips trembling several times before he finally managed to stammer, "Stop spouting nonsense! What national affairs? I think you're just being lazy and making excuses!"

"Slacking off and being lazy?" Zhou Feng chuckled. "Political Commissar Niu, that's a rather irresponsible statement. If I were slacking off and being lazy, would the higher-ups have appointed me as the deputy factory director? Would they have let me hold leadership positions in three factories simultaneously? Do you think the higher-ups are blind?"

That makes sense.

Niu Aiguo opened his mouth; he had just thought of this.

Everyone says that Zhou Feng has a powerful background, as he holds positions in several factories at a young age.

But today, seeing that he was just a young man, he thought he would go up and teach him a lesson.

But he didn't expect that the other party would speak so forcefully, so forcefully that they didn't take him, the deputy political commissar, seriously at all!

Niu Aiguo's face was ashen, his chest heaving violently. He took a deep breath, suppressed his anger, and gritted his teeth, saying, "Fine, you say you're busy with national affairs, then you'd better explain yourself clearly today. What exactly are you busy with? If you can't tell me, I'll go find the factory director, I'll go find the higher-ups, and I want to see who's unqualified!"

With so many people watching, if he lets Zhou Feng pass so easily, how will he carry out political work in the future?

"Damn, why do I run into this idiot again? Can't he just go to work? Why does he have to do this pretentious, face-slapping thing? Is it really that interesting?"

Listening to Zhou Feng's mutterings, Ma Yingjie, who was standing next to him, suddenly clicked his tongue. Why did he feel like he had been scolded?