Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

Compared to the position of deputy factory director, the urgently needed materials and key equipment of the country carry far greater weight.

The two lingered in the office for a long time before finally agreeing that they would go to Li Huaide's father-in-law's house next week to cook and show off their skills. After saying this, He Yuzhu got up to leave.

Not long after, the Ministry of Industry acted swiftly—after repeated verification, it was confirmed that He Yuzhu's recycling and smelting plan was indeed feasible: scrap steel was returned to the furnace for remelting, and the resulting steel fully met the standards and could be directly used for the production of military parts.

The news caused an uproar throughout the Ministry of Industry. Since the beginning of the year, more than a million tons of substandard steel had accumulated nationwide, all piled up in warehouses and called "scrap steel."

To just throw it away? It's heartbreaking! But if we sever local enthusiasm for steelmaking and cause a precipitous drop in production, who will take responsibility?

Now, things are much better. With the technology implemented, the enthusiasm of the grassroots staff has been preserved, and the waste has been recovered. What's even more astonishing is that the performance of the recycled steel is approaching the threshold of special steel—it only needs one finishing process to be put into production.

The Ministry of Industry immediately approved the establishment of the "North China Scrap Steel Recycling and Smelting Plant".

Within a few days, the transfer order reached Li Huaide: he was to lead the construction of the factory, with an initial staff of 1,200, which must be expanded to 15,000 within five years, to become the largest recycling and smelting base in North China.

With such a large undertaking, Li Huaide readily agreed—if he hesitated even a moment longer, he might not even be able to secure the factory manager's chair.

Factory Director Yang only learned of this news when Li Huaide announced it at a leadership meeting.

I felt a mix of emotions: I was annoyed that I had been kept in the dark all along; I was happy that the deputy factory director was finally going to make way for me.

Li Huaide was too intimidating—he had truly capable subordinates, reliable connections above him, and he himself was hardworking and far-sighted. Director Yang felt like he was carrying a millstone on his head every day.

Fortunately, the person is finally leaving.

Before leaving, Li Huaide strongly recommended He Yuzhu to take over as the logistics director. The superiors also nodded on the spot and even added a special sentence: "Politically sound, capable, and with outstanding achievements."

Compared to the deputy factory director, the logistics director was only promoted by half a rank, but his salary was determined according to the deputy position; coupled with the accompanying commendations and resource allocation, it was already a clear recognition of his merits from the higher-ups' perspective.

Otherwise, it would be difficult to explain—fortunately, the logistics director's responsibilities are not too complicated. He has taken on two more tasks than before: the purchasing department and the warehouse, so overall things are relatively easy.

Director Yang wanted to stop him, but he swallowed his words: With such solid achievements, plus He Yuzhu's steady work, upright stance, and willingness to work hard for the country, it wouldn't be excessive to promote him to deputy director.

However, due to his frequent travel to Hong Kong Island, they settled for this powerful position as a second choice.

Furthermore, Li Huaide's father-in-law had also given his approval: once He Yuzhu was given the title of "Director of Logistics," he could legitimately run procurement and negotiate sources of goods for the country—we can't let the people of the Ministry of Industry work for the Ministry of Foreign Trade for so long, can we?

When the news reached the courtyard, it immediately caused an uproar.

Logistics Director? That's a prestigious high-ranking position in the steel rolling mill, the next step up being Deputy Factory Director. In the outside world, that's a legitimate cadre position.

Upon hearing this, Liu Haizhong's face turned deathly pale.

I used to be able to comfort myself by saying, "We're on the front line of the workshop, and he's in charge of the canteen. We have nothing to do with each other."

But what about now? The logistics director holds the lifeline of the entire factory's supplies in his hands. Procurement, warehousing, and scheduling are all under his control. If a level six forging worker really angers this man, not only the workshop director, but even the team leader probably won't bother to speak up for him.

After all, there are seven or eight Level 6 forging factories, but there is only one logistics director in the entire factory.

That night, Liu Haizhong tossed and turned, unable to sleep, his pillow soaked with sweat.

After much deliberation, Liu Haizhong finally made a decision late into the night: when he was on his day off, he would bring two bottles of fine wine and go to He Yuzhu's house to break the deadlock.

If He Yuzhu really holds a grudge against him, this level six blacksmith might not even be able to keep his job.

But Liu Haizhong's move was a complete waste of effort. Right now, He Yuzhu is constantly on the go, busy sorting out the logistics director's responsibilities while also frequently going to the countryside to take care of Chen Xueru, who is eight months pregnant.

He originally planned to go to Hong Kong Island after the baby was born, but they were pressing him hard, and he was worried that he would miss the due date. So he had to send Chen Xueru back to Beijing early to stay near the hospital so that she could give birth with peace of mind and receive timely care.

The newly transferred deputy director of the steel rolling mill is named Jiang Shouqin. He was parachuted in from the south. He has a refined appearance and wears thin-rimmed glasses. At first glance, he looks like a schoolteacher.

But he had absolutely no scholarly air about him. As soon as he reported for duty, Director Yang immediately convened a meeting of the team, gave him a grand introduction, and also finalized the division of labor.

Logically speaking, the deputy factory director and the factory director have similar powers and responsibilities, only differing in their primary and secondary roles; however, Director Yang took advantage of the situation to directly transfer the "hot water heater" workshop to his own name, thus tightly controlling the lifeline of the entire factory's production.

As for the tasks assigned to Jiang Shouqin, they were simply the old version that Li Huaide had cut before leaving office—even the power to make personnel recommendations was reduced by more than half.

That's understandable. When someone first arrives, their background and temperament are unknown. If they turn out to be a difficult person, it's best to keep the power of production in your own hands to avoid being sidelined.

The current head chef in the cafeteria is Zhang Deliang, He Yuzhu's senior apprentice. He's doing so-so at Fengzeyuan, where customers have been scarce lately, and there's hardly any leftover food left in the kitchen.

A level four chef is considered above average at Fengzeyuan; however, the canteen manager's salary is actually higher than that of a level two chef, only three to five yuan less than that of a level one chef.

This job was secretly arranged by Li Huaide before he left—to help He Yuzhu stabilize the kitchen, he insisted on transferring Zhang Deliang over.

Li Yuanguo didn't move; he was enjoying a life of luxury at Fengzeyuan Restaurant, where he was the restaurant's star chef.

With Zhang Deliang's arrival, He Yuzhu's burden was greatly reduced: he no longer needed to supervise the kitchen and could manage the private kitchens; he was still stuck at level four, not because he lacked ability, but because the general manager of Fengzeyuan was preventing him from taking the exam.

With customers dwindling, paying an extra level of salary wasn't worthwhile, and the manager was being shrewd with the restaurant's finances; however, this approach wasn't fair to Zhang Deliang. So when He Yuzhu invited him to work at the steel mill, Zhang Deliang nodded almost without hesitation.

Nowadays, the electric kettle factory is left unattended, the greenhouses are managed by specialists, and warehouse entry and exit are all handled according to procedures. The only area he really needs to keep a close eye on is the purchasing department.

After serving as the logistics director for a month, He Yuzhu's departure date for Hong Kong Island was set, and he had already told Lou Xiao'e and Chen Xueru about it.

Chen Xueru's belly was swollen high, and her due date was fast approaching, but things in Hong Kong couldn't be delayed—he had been away for too long, and things had piled up. Fortunately, Chen's mother took good care of her, and he rented a quiet courtyard house for Chen Xueru near the hospital in Beijing, signing a six-month lease.

Once the baby is born, the house can be returned; the landlord was unwilling to rent it out for a short period, so He Yuzhu simply paid a whole year's rent to take over the house.

Chen Xueru also encountered trouble: due to her long-term absence, Fan Jinyou directly reported to the street office and had her private manager title revoked.

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu intended to use his connections to put pressure on Fan Jinyou, or have Li Wangcai secretly teach him a lesson. However, before he could speak, Chen Xueru stopped him.

She said with certainty, "Without me, the silk shop can't even get any fabric. Fan Jinyou will only be able to collect coarse cloth and scraps of silk from the outskirts of Beijing. Without my old connections and sources of goods, the silk shop will only be able to make low-end ready-made clothes—but who will buy them? There are more middle-aged women in the city who know how to use sewing machines than tailor shops."

"If business collapses and high-end goods become scarce, no one will come to make clothes just from cotton fabric. It's better to go to the supply and marketing cooperative, buy a piece of fabric, and sew it yourself at home."

She didn't need to lift a finger; she just needed to wait for the silk shop's customer traffic to plummet and for Fan Jinyou to be criticized and held accountable. As for that little bit of profit, she had long since stopped caring about it—the medicinal wine that He Yuzhu prepared alone, sold to Elena, earned her a net profit of 40,000, which was equivalent to ten years' worth of revenue for Xue Ru Silk Shop.

After settling Chen Xueru in, He Yuzhu booked a train ticket south through the Foreign Affairs Bureau and prepared to depart for Hong Kong Island.

Unexpectedly, when he asked for leave from the steel rolling mill, he got stuck with Deputy Director Jiang.

Neither Director Yang nor Secretary Wang said a word—this wasn't the first time He Yuzhu had asked for leave; last time, he even had a certificate stamped by both the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and the two approved it without hesitation.

But when he got to Jiang Shouqin, the leave slip was immediately rejected.

"Director He, you haven't said where you're going or what the reason is, and you've asked for such a long leave? If there's a logistical problem, who will be held responsible?"

Jiang Shouqin pushed up his glasses, his tone resolute, and immediately took the burden off his shoulders.

Even without his signature, He Yuzhu could have left anyway, but it would have sounded bad if word got out—it would have been like slapping the leadership in the face. After all, it was written in black and white at the meeting that Jiang Shouqin was in charge of logistics.

"Deputy Factory Director Jiang, logistics operations have always been smooth. This leave request was assigned by higher-ups, so you should at least see the necessary documentation, right?"

He Yuzhu remained calm and composed: "Besides, since I, the director, am not at my post, shouldn't you, the supervisor in charge, step in? If something really happens, wouldn't it be more appropriate for you to report to your superiors and let the factory director make the final decision?"

"If I have to handle everything, what's the point of having you as the director?"

Jiang Shouqin's face was cold, his eyes sharp behind his glasses: "I won't approve this fake. If you really want to leave, go find the factory manager."

"Alright, Deputy Factory Director Jiang really follows the rules." He Yuzhu smiled, didn't argue any further, turned around and left, still clutching the leave slip in his hand.

As soon as He Yuzhu left, Deputy Factory Director Jiang's face darkened, and he let out a cold snort. He had only been at the steel rolling mill for a few days, but he had already figured out the inside story—there was a logistics director in the factory who had connections everywhere and was more involved than him, the deputy factory director: the warehouse keys were in the director's hands, the canteen's purchasing ledgers were approved by the director, and even the cooks' job transfers had to go through the director's approval.

In other words, if Jiang Shouqin wanted to move a single grain of rice or adjust a pound of oil, he had to knock on He Yuzhu's office door first and politely discuss it; to bypass him and give the order directly would be overstepping his authority, undermining him, and causing trouble.

What kind of behavior is this? He, the deputy factory director, is like an enamel spittoon placed at the door of the factory director's office—it looks glamorous, but no one actually spits into it.

What frowned on him even more was the record in the archives: just two or three days before he reported for duty, the new director of the canteen had been appointed in a rush, and his resume clearly stated that he came from Fengzeyuan. He and He Yuzhu had wielded ladles in the same stove and scooped rice balls from the same pot. This was no normal personnel transfer; it was clearly a group forming cliques and paving the way for each other.