60s: I have a store

Chapter 606 Department Dinner
Zhou Yimin quickly finished processing the several food purchase reports that had piled up on the table. He checked the time and it was almost 10 a.m.

He stood up, straightened his clothes, and decided to take advantage of the fact that it was the first day of work and everyone was in the factory, with no one going out to procure supplies, to gather the people from the fourth purchasing department for a short meeting.

Although the procurement department was responsible for procuring supplies outside of the planned schedule, the difficulty involved was considerable.

Zhou Yimin quickly sent someone to inform them.

Upon hearing the announcement, everyone put down what they were doing; some were checking purchase orders, while others were busy with other things.

Zhou Dazhong was the first to arrive. When he saw Zhou Yimin come in, he smiled and asked, "Uncle Sixteen, you're having a meeting right after starting work? Is there something wrong with the food in the cafeteria?"

"Let's not talk about that now, let's talk about it when everyone's here." Zhou Yimin waved his hand, walked to the head of the conference table and sat down, his gaze sweeping over the colleagues who were coming in one after another.

Soon, everyone arrived and found their seats. Their faces showed some weariness from just starting work, but more than anything, they were curious. The previous section chief didn't have this habit; as long as he could procure enough supplies, he didn't care about anything else.

Once everyone was seated, Zhou Yimin cleared his throat and said, "I've gathered everyone here today for no other important reason. We just finished our New Year's holiday, and we need to make sure the canteen's supplies don't run out."

“We are in charge of food supplies, from rice, flour, oil to meat, eggs and vegetables. If any of these are lacking, the entire factory will be missing something on their tables, which will affect everyone’s work enthusiasm.”

At this moment, Xiao Wang spoke up: "Section Chief Zhou, due to the previous years of famine, the price of grain has skyrocketed. I went to the place where we purchased the grain before, and they all want to raise the price by 10 cents per kilogram."

There was no other way. After experiencing three years of famine, people had become much more aware of the importance of food and were afraid of repeating the same mistakes.

Moreover, it's uncertain what will happen this year. Even with significant price increases, the amount of grain being acquired is still decreasing.

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yimin fell into thought. Even if it was a bit more expensive, there was nothing he could do: "Just go with their price, and leave the rest to me. I'll talk to the factory."

Xiao Wang was very happy to hear this, but he hesitated at first because the price exceeded the agreed price, so they couldn't reach an agreement.

But now that Zhou Yimin is backing us up, we're sure we can get it done, and we won't have to worry about the tasks for the next month or two.

Everyone chatted amongst themselves, from simple questions to suggestions, and Zhou Yimin took notes, occasionally chiming in with a comment.

Seeing such a good leader, everyone gradually began to speak freely.

The once somewhat dull meeting room gradually became lively, and the weariness on everyone's faces disappeared, replaced by a sense of steadiness.

They were all eager to make a name for themselves and complete the task. They didn't want to be relegated to the workshop, even though the salary might be higher.

However, doing purchasing work offers flexible hours, some extra income, and most importantly, it allows you to help with household errands.

Many purchasing agents survived these three years by doing things this way.

After everyone had finished speaking, Zhou Yimin closed his notebook, looked at everyone, and said, "I have written down all the questions you have raised, and I will definitely give you an answer within three days."

"Thank you, Section Chief Zhou!" everyone responded, their faces showing relaxed smiles.

Zhou Yimin stood up: "Alright, that's enough for the meeting. Everyone, go back to work."

Watching his colleagues walk out of the meeting room in high spirits, Zhou Yimin rubbed his slightly sore wrists, but felt at ease.

Zhou Yimin looked down at the densely written words on his notebook and was about to turn around and walk towards the warehouse when he suddenly remembered the earnest yet tired spirit of everyone when they asked questions earlier.

He then called out to the section chiefs who hadn't gone far, "Pass the word: after get off work, don't rush off. Gather at the canteen!"

Upon hearing this, all the section chiefs stopped and turned to look at him in confusion.

Zhou Dazhong, who was in charge of the fifth section, couldn't help but ask, "Uncle Sixteen, why are you sending all fifty people in the department to the canteen?"

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "Everyone has been working so hard since we just started. I'll treat everyone to a meal to celebrate and give our department a boost."

"Really? That's great!" The young section chief, Xiao Li, brightened up, his shyness vanishing instantly.

The other section chiefs also smiled with delight, thanked them repeatedly, and turned to relay the message to their respective sections.

After everyone left, Zhou Dazhong stayed behind: "Sixteenth Uncle, with so many people in the entire Fourth Division, it would take quite a bit of money to treat them all to a meal."

As he spoke, he took out all the food coupons and money he had on him. Although it wasn't much, there was about ten yuan and more than two kilograms of food coupons.

Zhou Yimin was quite touched; it seemed that the people he had trained were capable.

"No need, you should save this stuff to buy something for your wife to nourish her body!"

Zhou Dazhong understood Zhou Yimin's abilities, so he didn't say anything more and left the meeting room.

After everyone dispersed, Zhou Yimin began to ponder in his mind that although he could get enough food for forty or fifty people, he couldn't let the canteen staff work for him for free.

If we give these leftovers to the cafeteria staff, they would definitely be willing to work overtime to cook them, since it would also give them some extra income.

With that thought in mind, Zhou Yimin no longer hesitated and turned to walk towards the cafeteria.

The cafeteria had just passed its lunch rush; the cooks were cleaning up the stoves, and the air was still filled with the aroma of food. He went straight to the cafeteria manager's office and knocked on the door.

"Please come in," came the loud voice of the cafeteria manager from inside.

Zhou Yimin pushed open the door and walked in. The cafeteria manager was looking down at the ledger. When he saw him, he looked up and asked with a smile, "It's Yimin! What's up?"

He knew very well that Zhou Yimin was now a "big shot" in the factory, and that the factory's current success was inseparable from Zhou Yimin's help.

Most importantly, Zhou Yimin was able to procure meat, which the canteen director took very seriously.

"Director, I'd like to discuss something with you." Zhou Yimin sat down in the chair opposite him and explained in detail his idea of ​​inviting fifty colleagues from the department to a start-of-work meal and asking the cafeteria staff for help by using some leftover food from the cafeteria.

"Don't worry, the chefs will not work for nothing. I will pay them their due wages. Moreover, these leftovers will be put to good use and will not be wasted."

After hearing this, the cafeteria manager laughed heartily: "It's no big deal, why bother with a tip? Your purchasing department of fifty people has put so much effort into the cafeteria's ingredients, we have to help out with this little thing!"

He patted the table and said, “I’ll have the chefs stay a few more people tonight to put away any leftovers that we can use. But as for the meat, Yimin, you’ll have to bring it over yourself.”

"You don't need much meat, just ten or so pounds, and I guarantee that all fifty of you will be well-fed."

Director Wang was also at a loss; using meat from the factory was definitely not an option.

However, he also knew that with Zhou Yimin's abilities, he could definitely get ten or so pounds of meat.

"Thank you so much, Director!" Zhou Yimin felt relieved and quickly stood up to express his gratitude.

"It's a lot of trouble for you. I'll go and have each department report the number of people so that the workers have a better idea of ​​the numbers."

"Don't mention it, we're just doing this for the factory." The canteen manager waved his hand. "Just have your fifty colleagues come over at six o'clock tonight, and they'll have hot food waiting for them."

Zhou Yimin said a few more words of thanks before turning and leaving the cafeteria, feeling much more relaxed.

He checked the time and decided to go to the warehouse to check the inventory first. After finishing his work, he could relax and have a good time with his colleagues that evening.

After finishing the warehouse work, there was still some time before I got off work. I remembered the dinner party that night, and I hadn't taken the meat to the cafeteria yet. How could we have a dinner party without meat?

Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle away from the steel factory, found a secluded corner, and bought a lot of meat from a store.

Then, a large bag of things appeared on Zhou Yimin's motorcycle.

The sack was filled with good stuff, including more than ten kilograms of marbled pork belly that looked glistening with oil.

There was also a whole, cleaned chicken, as well as some potatoes and radishes that we grew ourselves.

With these things, we can afford to have dinner tonight to start the workday.

Zhou Yimin straddled the motorcycle, carefully controlling the handlebars, and headed towards the steel plant.

Back at the factory, he rode his motorcycle directly to the canteen entrance, turned off the engine, took off the sack from the back seat, and carried it to the canteen manager's office.

"Director, I brought some things with me. This is the food for tonight. Please take a look." Zhou Yimin pushed open the office door and put the sack on the ground.

Hearing the sound, the canteen manager looked up from the ledger, his eyes lit up when he saw the burlap sack, and he quickly got up and came over to untie the sack: "Oh my, this pork belly looks really good, with a good balance of fat and lean meat, it will definitely taste delicious stewed."

"And this chicken, it's quite big, enough to stew a whole pot."

He rummaged through the vegetables inside: "These potatoes and radishes are fresh too, perfect for stewing with the meat."

"Do you think this is enough? If not, I'll think of something else," Zhou Yimin asked.

"That's enough, that's enough. With these, plus the leftovers from the cafeteria and the fresh vegetables we add, your department will definitely be able to eat and drink well." The cafeteria manager couldn't stop smiling.

"I'll tell the chefs to get ready right away, so we can have dinner on time at six o'clock tonight."

"Then I'll have to trouble the director and the mentors," Zhou Yimin said with a smile.

"It's not hard work, it's not hard work," the cafeteria manager waved his hand.

"I'll arrange it right away, don't worry."

Zhou Yimin exchanged a few more words with the canteen director before turning around and leaving the canteen to walk towards his office.

Just as Zhou Yimin reached the office door, he paused, suddenly remembering that he hadn't given a clear answer yet regarding the pork issue that Director Ding had asked him to address that morning.

He slapped his forehead, cursing himself for almost forgetting about it. If he had, and Director Ding was still waiting after get off work hours, things would have been troublesome.

He then turned around and quickly walked towards Director Ding's office.

Director Ding's office was at the end of the corridor. Zhou Yimin walked to the door and knocked. A familiar voice responded from inside: "Come in."

Pushing open the door, Director Ding was sitting behind his desk reviewing documents. Upon seeing Zhou Yimin enter, he immediately put down his pen, a warm smile spreading across his face, and stood up to greet him, "Yimin! Come in and sit down."

As he spoke, he turned around, poured a cup of hot tea from the thermos next to him, and handed it to Zhou Yimin.

"I was just looking for you, and here you are."

Zhou Yimin took the teacup, his fingertips touching the warm cup wall, and the temperature of his hands rose considerably, as his hands were very cold from riding the motorcycle.

He sat down in the chair opposite Director Ding, and seeing the expectation in Director Ding's eyes, he knew that the other party was waiting for his reply about the pork. So he didn't delay any longer and said directly, "Director Ding, I've contacted the farmers in the countryside. I will transport 300 catties of pork back tomorrow. I guarantee it will be fresh and made from plump and healthy pigs."

Even though it was purchased from a store, it still needs to have some provenance!

"Three hundred jin?" Director Ding's eyes lit up, and his smile instantly brightened. He leaned forward, his voice filled with barely concealed excitement.

"That's great, Yimin! I feel relieved to hear you say that."

Director Ding thought to himself, "If I have any problems, I should just ask Zhou Yimin; he'll surely be able to solve them."

It seems that if I encounter this kind of trouble in the future, I should first go to Zhou Yimin, and if that doesn't solve the problem, I'll think of another way.

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and continued, "With these three hundred catties of pork, the canteen can improve the workers' meals."

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "This is what I should do. I will make sure the workers have a satisfactory pork meal. I will bring the pork back tomorrow."

"Okay, okay, thank you for your hard work, Yimin." Director Ding nodded repeatedly, the wrinkles on his face smoothing out.

"Yimin, even if the price is a little higher, it doesn't matter."

Director Ding is aware of the difficulties in procuring supplies, so the price can be increased appropriately.

Zhou Yimin replied, "The price has been agreed upon. It's slightly cheaper than the market price, but still a bit cheaper than the black market price."

If it's more expensive than the black market, then they wouldn't need to go through all that trouble to procure supplies.

An entire department would go directly to the black market and stake out any meat they saw, buying it immediately.

Director Ding nodded in satisfaction and then chatted with Zhou Yimin about the supply of other ingredients in the purchasing department. Zhou Yimin was able to give immediate answers and even suggestions for improvement.

To Director Ding's surprise, Zhou Yimin had so many insights into handling logistics; he was truly a talented individual.

After chatting for about ten minutes, Zhou Yimin checked the time and decided it was time to go back and prepare for the evening's start-of-work dinner. He then got up to say goodbye: "Director Ding, if there's nothing else, I'll head back now. There's a small gathering in the department tonight."

"Director Ding, would you be interested in joining us?"

"Alright, you go ahead and get busy! I won't go." Director Ding didn't try to stop him, and saw Zhou Yimin to the door, giving him some final words of advice.

If you go alone, some people will definitely feel awkward, so there's no need to spoil the fun.

No employee wants to have dinner with their boss. Even if they're too reserved, they'll think before they speak if they want to chat.

They were afraid of offending the leaders. Although they couldn't just fire workers now, they could still make things difficult for them.

(End of this chapter)