60s: I have a store

Chapter 605 Starting Work on the First Day of the New Year

Zhou Yimin had just fallen asleep when his biological alarm clock woke him up. He looked at his watch and realized it was already four in the morning, so he quickly got up.

The sky outside the window was pitch black, with only a few stars hanging in the sky. It was nothing like the world of later generations. Although there weren't as many streetlights as in later times, the light from the moon alone was quite bright.

He quietly got dressed, washed up, grabbed a steamed bun from the table, stuffed it into his pocket, and then pushed open the door to go out.

The tractor at the gate of the courtyard was parked quietly, with traces of yesterday's hauling of New Year's goods still remaining in its bed.

Zhou Yimin opened the car door and got in. He inserted the key into the lock and turned it with a "click." The engine started up with a "putt-putt-putt" sound, which was particularly loud in the quiet early morning.

He leaned out and looked back, and breathed a sigh of relief when he made sure no one had been woken up.

As soon as the gear was engaged and the accelerator was pressed, the tractor slowly drove out of the alley and headed towards Zhoujiazhuang outside the city.

The streets were deserted in the early morning; I didn't see anyone. People were still asleep in bed; why would they get up so early?

The tractor's headlights cleaved a path in the darkness, and the wheels crunched over the pebbles on the road.

Zhou Yimin gripped the steering wheel, a steamed bun dangling from his mouth, taking a few bites now and then. The cold wind seeped in through the cracks in the car window, making his cheeks numb, but also making him more alert.

The scenery along the way gradually changed from courtyard houses to mud-brick houses, and as Zhou Yimin continued driving the tractor, fields slowly appeared.

The distant villages were still asleep, with only a few houses emitting wisps of smoke from their chimneys, presumably as people got up early to cook.

More than an hour later, the outline of Zhoujiazhuang came into view.

The old locust tree at the village entrance stands there quietly like a sentry on guard. Seeing this landmark means you're almost at Zhoujiazhuang.

In less than ten minutes, when Zhou Yimin drove the tractor to the village entrance, he saw how hard the security team was working, so he gave each of them a cigarette.

Everyone quickly expressed their gratitude: "Thank you, Uncle Sixteen, Yimin!"

Zhou Yimin was in a hurry, so he nodded and drove the tractor into the village, quickly arriving at the designated tractor parking area.

After turning off the engine, Zhou Yimin immediately ran towards home.

He pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate. His grandparents had already been woken up and came out of the house with their canes. There were still some fluffy feathers stuck to the brim of his grandmother's cotton hat.

"Why are you back so early? It's not even fully light yet," Grandma asked, squinting. Her voice was hoarse from just waking up, but it couldn't hide her concern.

"I'll ride my motorcycle back; I have to go to work today," Zhou Yimin replied with a smile.

"I'm not going inside. I need to get to the factory as soon as I change vehicles."

Grandpa coughed twice and stuffed a hot boiled egg into his hand: "There's some porridge warming on the stove. Have a sip before you go, to tide you over."

"No, sir, I have some steamed buns in my pocket." Zhou Yimin stuffed the eggs into the inside pocket of his cotton-padded jacket, patted the pocket, and started the motorcycle. The "putt-putt-putt" sound was much lighter than that of a tractor.

He waved to his grandparents, "I'm leaving!"

"Slow down on the road! Don't drive too fast!" Grandma shouted, leaning against the door frame, her wrinkles filled with worry.

The old man and Zhou Yimin's grandmother watched Zhou Yimin's departing figure until he was out of sight, before reluctantly returning to their room.

Zhou Yimin rode his motorcycle out of the village and headed towards the city.

It was already dawn, and early-rising farmers were starting to work in the fields along the roadside.

Motorcycles are much faster than tractors. The wind blowing in his face froze Zhou Yimin's face, which had just recovered.

He twisted the throttle, and the motorcycle accelerated forward, with the roadside trees rushing past.

We soon returned to Beijing, where breakfast stalls had already set up, and people were sitting in twos and threes eating breakfast.

He glanced at his watch; it was still early, and he should be able to arrive at the factory on time.

As we got closer to the steel plant, the number of pedestrians on the road increased, mostly workers in work clothes riding bicycles towards the plant.

Zhou Yimin slowed down and followed behind the crowd. As the familiar factory gate drew closer, he felt much more at ease. It seemed he wouldn't be late on the first day of work.

When he arrived at the factory gate, he parked his motorcycle in the shed, removed the key, dusted himself off, and strode towards his office.

The morning breeze ruffled his hair, and his face showed a hint of fatigue, yet was also full of energy.

Zhou Yimin strode into the steel plant's office area. Footsteps could already be heard in the corridor, mixed with the clinking of kettles coming from the water boiler room.

He arrived at the office of the head of the fourth procurement section, which was ajar. He pushed it open gently.

As soon as I stepped inside, a musty smell hit me.

Zhou Yimin frowned, looked around, and saw a thin layer of dust on his desk. Sunlight streamed in through the window, and he could see countless dust particles dancing in the light.

There were some unidentified stains on the radiator in the corner, and even some cobwebs had formed in the corner. Even the procurement process chart hanging on the wall was covered with dust at the edges and looked a bit old.

It's only been a few days of holiday, and the house is already so dusty. It looks like I won't be able to go to work today without a thorough cleaning.

It can only be said that the sandstorms in Beijing were still quite severe, but compared to later generations, where smog is common, it's much better.

Without thinking much, he turned around, found a bucket, filled it to the brim with water, and then rummaged through the storage room for two mops and a rag. He returned to his office and got busy.

First, he moved the documents and abacus on the table to the side, then picked up a damp cloth and wiped the table back and forth. The gray water marks left streaks on the table, quickly revealing the original wood grain.

After wiping the table, I went to wipe the windowsill. The dust on the window frame was even thicker, and it became incredibly dirty immediately after being wiped with the cloth.

"Splash—" He put the mop into the bucket of water to rinse it, and a few drops of water splashed onto his trouser leg, but he didn't bother to wipe them off.

He dragged the wet mop back and forth on the floor, gradually revealing the clean base color of the originally gray cement floor. However, fine beads of sweat had already seeped out of his forehead and slid down his cheeks.

Just then, footsteps came from the doorway, and Zhou Dazhong poked his head in.

Seeing Zhou Yimin bending over mopping the floor, the room filled with a mixture of moisture and dust, he said nothing and turned to walk towards the storage room.

A moment later, he came in carrying a rag, went straight to the radiator, dipped it in water, and started wiping it.

There was a lot of dust hidden in the gaps of the radiator. He picked at it with his fingers and then wiped it repeatedly with a rag, quickly making that area shiny.

Zhou Yimin glanced at him, a slight smile playing on his lips, and didn't stand on ceremony.

With one more person lending a hand, this job will definitely be much faster.

He moved aside to make room for Zhou Dazhong to mop the floor, while he picked up a rag to wipe the procurement process chart on the wall.

The two worked together, one wiping the high places and the other mopping the floor. Their division of labor was clear, and their efficiency increased considerably. The water in the bucket quickly turned from clear to murky. Zhou Yimin picked up the bucket and walked outside, saying, "I'll go change the water."

"Sixteenth Uncle, while you're at it, rinse this rag too." Zhou Dazhong handed over the rag without any hesitation.

Zhou Yimin didn't say anything. After all, it was good enough that others came to help, and he couldn't ask for too much. He took the rag and turned to leave.

Zhou Dazhong wasn't idle either; he picked up a broom and swept up the spider webs in the corner.

When Zhou Yimin returned with fresh water, Zhou Dazhong had already swept away the cobwebs in the corner.

The two continued their work, one mopping the floor and the other wiping the cabinets. The dusty smell in the room was gradually diluted by the moisture, and the air became fresher.

Sunlight streamed through the cleaned window, falling on the gleaming tabletop, so bright it was almost dazzling.

Zhou Yimin straightened up, rubbed his aching back, and looked at the newly renovated office, feeling much more at ease.

"That's more like it!"

Zhou Dazhong put down the rag in his hand and wiped his sweat: "Isn't that right? It's much more pleasing to the eye when it's clean."

The two looked at each other and laughed. The work bell rang in the hallway, and a new day of work began in the fresh air of the room.

Zhou Yimin picked up the enamel mug on the table, poured in some hot water to rinse it, and then looked at Zhou Dazhong, who was tidying up the rags, and asked, "Dazhong, what brings you here this time? You can't just be here to help me clean, can you?"

Zhou Dazhong folded the rag neatly, scratched his head when he heard this, and smiled a little embarrassedly: "It's nothing, I just finished my work in my office and passed by here and saw that your office wasn't cleaned up yet. I thought that having an extra hand would make things faster, so I came in to lend a hand."

Zhou Yimin has helped me so much; I can only offer this small assistance.

"Now that I'm done with my work, I'm almost done here too. I have other things to do, so I'll head back first." Zhou Dazhong dusted off his hands, stood up, and started to leave.

Seeing his hurried manner, Zhou Yimin shook his head helplessly, but said, "Okay, then you can go back and get busy. Thanks for today!"

"No need to thank me, it's all my pleasure." Zhou Dazhong waved his hand and walked out of the office without looking back, the curtain at the door swaying slightly as he did so.

Zhou Yimin picked up his enamel mug and took a sip of hot water. Just as he was about to sit down and sort out the work he needed to do that day, the office door was pushed open again with a creak before he could even pick up the phone on the table.

He looked up and saw Director Ding walk in, his dark blue Zhongshan suit pressed perfectly, a black briefcase in his hand, and a serious expression on his face.

"Director Ding." Zhou Yimin quickly stood up to greet him, secretly pondering to himself.

Director Ding would never come to the department unless there was a reason, so his appearance today must mean something important.

He stepped aside to make room for me: "Is there something you need from me? Please have a seat."

Director Ding waved his hand, didn't sit down, and went straight to the point: "Yimin, I'm afraid I'll have to trouble you again this time."

He walked to the desk and tapped his fingers lightly on the surface: "Could you get some pork for the factory?"

There was no other way. Although Zhou Yimin had purchased a lot of chickens for the factory, the chickens weren't oily enough, causing many employees to become physically exhausted while working.

Moreover, eating the same type of meat for a long time can get boring, so the workers started to complain.

As the head of the logistics department, Director Ding could not ignore the workers' requests.

After much thought, only Zhou Yimin had the ability, so they went directly to him.

"Director Ding, you mean... the cafeteria wants to switch to some pork?" Zhou Yimin confirmed.

"That's right." Director Ding sighed, his tone tinged with helplessness.

He paused, then added, "It's not that the chicken you brought is bad, it's just that the workers do all the hard labor, so they need some extra money to make ends meet."

Zhou Yimin nodded, understanding Director Ding's predicament.

Steelworkers rely on physical strength for their livelihood, and if the food in the canteen is inadequate, it will definitely affect their work enthusiasm.

He recalled the pork he had discussed at Zhao Jianguo's house yesterday and had a better idea of ​​what to do: "Director Ding, how much do you want?"

"The more the better!" Director Ding's eyes lit up, and his tone became urgent.

"We need at least 100 or 200 kilograms to start with for the canteen, and we'll add more later depending on the situation. The price is negotiable; as long as we can get fresh pork, the factory won't be short of money."

Zhou Yimin thought that 180 jin wasn't too much, and even if it were more, he could afford it, so he couldn't agree to it so easily.

After all, supplies are very difficult to obtain now, otherwise they wouldn't have turned to Zhou Yimin for help.

Zhou Yimin looked at Director Ding and said earnestly, "Director Ding, don't worry, I'll contact them about this as soon as possible. I'll give you a definite answer before I leave work today."

"That's wonderful!" Director Ding's serious expression finally dissipated, and he patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder.

"Yimin, I'm entrusting this matter to you. Whether the factory workers can have hot pork depends entirely on you."

"You're too kind, it's what I should do," Zhou Yimin said with a smile.

Director Ding had other matters to attend to and did not linger in Zhou Yimin's office.

Zhou Yimin sat back down in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table unconsciously, a sense of emotion washing over him.

On his first day back at work after the New Year, before he'd even settled in, he received this assignment, even though it was nothing to him.

Even if I agree directly, there's no problem, since there's a shortage of supplies everywhere. But it's not good to agree so easily. It would give others the impression that I need a lot of meat, and even they can't easily get a large quantity of meat.

Zhou Yimin picked up the enamel mug and took another sip of hot water. The warm water flowing down his throat calmed his chaotic thoughts a little.

He then began to deal with the accumulated issues, and just then, Zhou Yimin's office door was pushed open again.

However, this time it wasn't a leader from the steel plant, but a purchasing agent from the fourth purchasing department.

Zhou Yimin saw him and asked, "Xiao Li, what brings you here?"

Xiao Li took out a purchase order: "Section Chief Zhou, could you please sign this?"

Zhou Yimin took it and examined it carefully, and found that Xiao Li was quite capable, having actually purchased more than twenty eggs.

You should know that eggs aren't something you can just buy whenever you want.

Once there are no problems, sign your name directly.

(End of this chapter)