In 1992, a small village owner became the richest man in the village by owning a car.

Chapter 283 Methods for Recruiting Road Roller Drivers After the New Year
After returning from his grandfather's house, Yu Dawei talked to the old man and Han Jingfan about teaching.

Han Jingfan agreed with this, but the old man thought about it more deeply.

If you're going to teach, you need a place. Yu Dawei's house is too small, but the backyard is spacious enough to set up a blackboard and some chalk in the inner room.

Yu Dawei listened carefully to the old man's advice, and then went to Principal Zhang's house. As for the blackboard, Yu Dawei had seen a broken blackboard at school last year, which could be repaired with a saw and used.

As for chalk, we can just ask Principal Zhang to help us get a few boxes. Although the chalk is distributed from above, it can also be purchased separately. After all, the allocated amount is sometimes not enough, so the school will use a portion of the tuition fees to buy some chalk.

Principal Zhang had no objection to this. Instead, he reminded Yu Dawei that learning to read and write cannot be rushed, and that he should not let his young apprentice be too impatient when he is learning.

And so, when Fanfan's repair shop opened, Xiao Agui stayed at Yu Laonian's house, learning to read and write while helping with household chores.

It's like feeding the pigs, chickens, ducks, geese and dogs in the front yard, and helping the elders in the back yard with chores within your ability.

On the sixth day of the lunar new year, Yu Dawei went to Xinglongtun to pick up Yao Jinfu and also to see the baby girl in Yao's second sister-in-law's arms, who was the same age as his son.

It's quite a coincidence that the two children are not only the same age, but also only one day apart in their birthdays: one is on March 26th, and the other is on March 25th.

The Yao family's little girl was born one day earlier than their son.

Before leaving, Yu Dawei gave the little guy a five-yuan red envelope, and his second sister-in-law's eldest daughter also gave him five yuan before leaving with Yao Jinfu.

This year was the happiest year for Yao Jinfu. When he came to Yao Jinfu's house to pick up the little yellow van, he could tell from the smile on Yao Jinfu's face that he was extremely grateful for Yu Dawei's help in the village. He was almost kneeling down to Yu Dawei.

Only he himself probably knows what it feels like to be in the eye of the storm of public opinion every day.

After the incident, when Yao Jinfu returned home at the end of the year, several families from other villages came to propose marriage to him. Not only that, but some were so eager that they directly brought girls to Old Yao's house.

This made Yao's second sister-in-law extremely happy; she never expected her brother-in-law to be so popular.

However, after a series of meetings, perhaps overwhelmed by the choices, Yao Jinfu couldn't find a suitable match no matter how many times he looked. In the end, perhaps wanting to wait until this lively period was over, he turned down all the marriage proposals.

In his view, the reputation he has in the village is mostly false now. He thinks he can settle down and find a wife when people pay less attention to him.

Yu Dawei agreed, saying that they had to resort to this tactic to promote Yao Jinfu. If some girls were to get together with Yao Jinfu because of some empty fame, their lives might not be so easy in the future.

When the two arrived at the factory, Lao Ji was already there; returning home this year was a joyous occasion for him.

Old Ji's mother has been bedridden for many years and relies on medication every day. In addition, there are various household expenses. In fact, after resigning, Old Ji's whole family has been spending his wife's savings. Now, after following Yu Dawei for a while, they finally have money to have a good New Year. Otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to celebrate the New Year at all.

The first thing the three of them did after the New Year was to clean the house. Throughout the New Year period, it snowed again and again in Northeast China. Sometimes, they would finish cleaning the yard during the day and it would start to snow again soon after.

The yard of Fanfan's repair shop was in an even worse state. From a distance, the entire yard, including the buildings, the surrounding walls, and all the machinery inside, was covered with a thick layer of snow.

Yu Dawei's small excavator, road roller, and old Hitachi construction machinery were all stored together under the east wall. When the door was opened, all three vehicles were covered with thick white snow.

Because it's located at a triangular opening in a wall, whirlwinds blow when it snows, making the cars look as if they're wrapped in a white veil.

Therefore, dealing with the snow in the yard becomes of paramount importance.

Two brooms and three shovels were enough for the three of them.

Old Ji and Fu Zi were responsible for cleaning the snow off the factory floor, while Yu Dawei climbed up to the various machines and cars in the factory to sweep the snow off them.

In a short time, about two hours, the snow in the yard was swept to the front gate, forming a snowdrift as tall as a person.

Looking into the courtyard, the dirt road on the black soil was now fully visible. The group then went inside to prepare lunch.

There was a piece of pork locked in an iron cabinet outside, which Yu Dawei had just brought over and was already thawing inside. There were also potatoes and sticky rice cakes brought from the old man's house in the village.

Not only his family, but when Lao Ji came, his father also asked him to bring some sticky rice cakes and three catties of donkey meat, which was slaughtered by the tofu seller next door.

It was an old donkey that was too old to work anymore, and then the family followed the old saying—"kill the donkey after it has done its work."

Grandpa Ji naturally knew that donkey meat was delicious, and he got along well with his neighbors. He bought five catties at a low price, kept two catties for himself, and insisted that his eldest son bring the remaining three catties to Yu Dawei.

This can be considered a way of thanking Yu Dawei for helping his family. Yu Dawei couldn't help but drool when he saw the donkey meat.

This is pure donkey meat, unlike those places in the city that pass off horse meat as donkey meat. Whether you're making donkey meat dumplings, braised donkey meat, or stewed donkey meat, it's all delicious!
Besides Lao Ji's side, Fu Zi's family also brought some things. Of course, they brought a big plastic bag of steamed buns, enough to last until spring.

In addition, there were insoles and cotton shoes that Yu Dawei's second sister-in-law made for him and his younger brother-in-law (Yao Jinfu), as well as a jar of hot and sour sauce.

This hot and sour sauce is amazing! Second Sister-in-law's hot and sour sauce recipe comes from Axe's mother. It's really sour and spicy, and the more you eat, the more addictive it becomes.

Before the Lunar New Year, when my second sister-in-law was making hot and sour sauce, Yu Dawei brought over a jar, which was finished by several people in less than a week.

When I left this time, my second sister-in-law packed me a whole can of food, a full two kilograms.

The hot and sour sauce is made from ripe chilies and tomatoes harvested in the garden in autumn. Once made, it can be stored for a long time even in freezing weather.

In short, its main selling point is that it's delicious! You'll want to eat it again and again.

The three of them enjoyed their lunch very much. There was donkey meat, steamed buns, and hot and sour sauce. Yu Dawei also stir-fried a plate of peanuts and a plate of shredded potatoes.

Paired with the nearly empty Dragon Soul Wine, it was truly a blissful experience.

Because it was the first day of business, there wasn't much work in the factory. Only one or two people came to pay the final payment, pick up their cars, and leave.

In the afternoon, the three of them sat on the kang (a heated brick bed), enjoying the warmth emanating from the stove and chatting about the interesting things that happened during the New Year.

However, Yu Dawei did not forget the important matter. After all, he was nominally at work, so naturally he still had to hold a meeting.

In his past life, Yu Dawei disliked meetings the most, especially when he heard a friend say that the other person had to attend meetings every day at their company. He felt that his company could function without meetings and didn't need them.

As a result, many things were not communicated clearly. Some people knew about Yu Dawei's arrangements, while others did not. Even after the information was conveyed, some people misunderstood it.

Later, after the failure, Yu Dawei repeatedly pondered why people, whether they were Fortune 500 companies or small teams of just a few people, held meetings every week or even every day.

That must make sense. Even if Yu Dawei doesn't hold meetings every day, he should at least hold them occasionally to summarize the work done over a period of time and to make some plans for the near future.

Therefore, Yu Dawei now attaches great importance to meetings, but he still believes that the significance of meetings lies in unifying thinking, putting forward opinions, enhancing core combat capabilities, and planning for future development.

In summary, we need time to discuss this so that Fanfan Repair Shop can do better.

As for whether he had been drinking or eating, Yu Dawei didn't seem to care much.

After that, Yu Dawei quickly got into meeting mode and talked about the recent personnel arrangements in the factory.

Xiao Agui is currently studying and learning to read, so there are only the three of them at the factory recently. Agui might come over to help out on weekends when he's off work.

Before March, Lao Ji and Fu Zi were the main workers at the factory, while Yu Dawei was in charge of field rescue.

Then the second thing, which is also a headache that Yu Dawei has to think about.

Where can I find a road roller operator?

Yu Dawei didn't have any good connections, and he usually didn't like to contact his peers in town, mainly because they didn't get along well and many of them asked him for advice.

He's too busy to teach them.

“I do know a friend who specializes in driving single-drum road rollers, but firstly, he’s never driven a double-drum road roller before, and secondly, he’s been with his boss for several years, so it’s usually hard for him to switch jobs.” Old Ji took a sip of his drink and frowned as he recalled, “There are very few drivers in the road roller industry to begin with, and this is the only one I know and can really talk to.”

"What should we do then?" Yu Dawei put down his chopsticks, picked up his glass and took a sip of wine with a worried expression. "I asked Lao Liang before, but there are very few people in our town who can operate road rollers, let alone double-drum ones. Do we have to go to the county town to look for one?"

Yu Dawei had considered it, but he was really worried about a stranger driver he didn't know at all. What if the driver was a seasoned veteran? His car and his job would be ruined.

"Brother, I've got an idea!" Yao Jinfu took a sip of the hot and sour sauce in his small bowl, smacked his lips twice, and suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Our technical school has a class that specializes in learning how to operate road rollers, and they'll definitely teach double-drum ones too. If all else fails, why don't we go to the county technical school and see? What if we find a student with good skills?"

(End of this chapter)