60s: I have a store

Chapter 609 Delivery
Today, just as dawn was breaking and the sun had not yet risen, Zhou Yimin had already woken up.

He quickly washed up, changed into a set of durable work clothes, and rode his motorcycle to a remote corner on the outskirts of the city.

After observing his surroundings and finding no one else, Zhou Yimin bought 600 jin of pork from the store and carefully placed it on the back seat of his motorcycle.

And they also bought all the items that were on sale today.

There are 100 jin of beef, 100 pig trotters, 100 barrels of gasoline, and 100 jin of mangoes.

Seeing the pork was a bit too "eye-catching," Zhou Yimin had no choice but to cover it up later.

Otherwise, if others see it, it could cause a lot of trouble. To avoid unnecessary trouble, it's best to be careful.

Once everything was ready, Zhou Yimin mounted his motorcycle, started the engine, and the "putt-putt-putt" sound was particularly clear in the quiet morning.

Instead of driving towards the steel plant, he turned the car around and headed towards the instant noodle factory.

More than half an hour later, the gate of the instant noodle factory came into view.

Just as Zhou Yimin was about to ride his motorcycle inside, he was stopped by the security guard at the gate.

The security guard, dressed in a dark blue uniform, stood with his hands on his lower back and a serious expression. He was ready to draw his weapon at the slightest movement from Zhou Yimin: "Comrade, you can't just walk in here. What do you want?"

Zhou Yimin immediately stopped his motorcycle and put on a polite smile: "Comrade, could you please inform Director Zhao at the factory that Zhou Yimin is here to see him?"

The gatekeeper looked Zhou Yimin up and down, his gaze finally settling on his motorcycle.

Back then, motorcycles were a rarity; most people couldn't afford them, and those who could drive one were definitely not ordinary people.

Looking at the back seat of the motorcycle, which was completely covered by a tarpaulin, one could vaguely see that there were quite a few things underneath. The gatekeeper immediately understood what was going on, nodded, and said, "Please wait a moment."

After saying that, the security guard turned around and went into the guard room next door, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed Zhao Jianguo's office number.

"Hello, Director Zhao? There's a guy named Zhou Yimin on a motorcycle looking for you at the gate. There's something covered on the back of his motorcycle."

Zhao Jianguo was organizing documents in his office when he didn't expect Zhou Yimin to arrive so early.

He originally wanted to ask the security guard to let him in directly over the phone so that Zhou Yimin could come in and take a look, but then he thought about how much Zhou Yimin had helped him.

Having solved many problems for the factory, they must have brought something important this time. I should go out and personally receive them to show my gratitude and respect.

So Zhao Jianguo said to the security guard on the phone, "Okay, I'll be right there. Please have him wait at the gate for a moment."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Jianguo put down the documents in his hand, strode out of the office, and headed towards the factory gate.

From a distance, Zhao Jianguo spotted Zhou Yimin and his motorcycle, which was loaded with goods.

He quickened his pace to greet him, a warm smile plastered on his face: "Yimin, we've been waiting for you!"

When Zhou Yimin saw Zhao Jianguo come out in person, he smiled and got off his motorcycle: "Brother Jianguo, sorry to bother you."

"Don't say it's bothering me. I'm overjoyed that you could come," Zhao Jianguo patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's talk inside."

With that, he gestured to the gatekeeper to let them through and led Zhou Yimin into the factory.

The two walked and talked, and soon arrived at the instant noodle factory's warehouse.

There was no one at the warehouse entrance. Zhao Jianguo called out, "Xiao Wang, Xiao Li, come out and lend a hand!"

As soon as he finished speaking, two young men ran out of the warehouse and stood respectfully to the side when they saw Zhao Jianguo and Zhou Yimin.

Seeing this, Zhou Yimin walked over to the motorcycle and yanked off the tarpaulin covering it.

Suddenly, a pile of bulging burlap sacks was revealed, and bright red pork could be vaguely seen through the openings of the sacks, emitting a faint aroma of meat.

Zhao Jianguo's eyes lit up instantly. He quickly walked to the motorcycle, took a closer look, and then weighed one of the sacks in his hand. His smile grew brighter and brighter.

He soon discovered that the amount of pork on the back of the motorcycle was quite substantial, far exceeding the previously stated 300 jin (150 kg).

So he turned to Zhou Yimin and asked with a mixture of uncertainty and excitement, "Yimin, this pork...it's more than three hundred jin, isn't it?"

Zhou Yimin nodded and replied with a smile, "Brother Jianguo has a good eye; there are a total of six hundred catties of pork here."

"Six hundred jin?!" Zhao Jianguo exclaimed in surprise, his eyes wide with delight.

He originally thought that getting a couple hundred pounds of pork this time would be quite good.

Given the current shortage of pork, it was a huge surprise that Zhou Yimin managed to get 600 jin (300 kg) of it.

Zhao Jianguo was already thinking that 600 jin of pork would be enough to feed the factory's employees for a while, and then they would figure out another way.

Seeing Zhao Jianguo's overjoyed expression, Zhou Yimin knew he had misunderstood and quickly explained, "Brother Jianguo, don't be too happy yet. These 600 jin of pork are not all for the instant noodle factory. 300 jin of them are for our steel factory."

Zhao Jianguo's smile froze instantly, and he felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over him, his hopes dashed.

But he quickly adjusted his mood. Getting 300 catties of pork was already quite an achievement, and he was satisfied.

"Hey, 300 jin is quite a lot. It'll be enough for our factory to eat for a while. I still have to thank you, Yimin."

"Don't mention it, it's all my duty," Zhou Yimin waved his hand.

Zhao Jianguo waved his hand, signaling to Xiao Wang and Xiao Li that they could get started.

Upon seeing Zhao Jianguo's instructions, Xiao Wang and Xiao Li immediately began to act.

The two of them worked together, lifting the pork, which belonged to the instant noodle factory, into the warehouse in no time.

After Zhou Yimin saw that all the pork had been moved, he dusted off his hands and thought to himself that he had to hurry back to the steel plant to report back, as Director Ding was still waiting for this batch of pork.
He turned to Zhao Jianguo and said, "Brother Jianguo, the pork has been delivered. I have to go back to the steel plant now. Director Ding is waiting for me."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jianguo knew that Zhou Yimin had other things to do, so he didn't insist that he stay. He showed a hint of regret on his face: "You're leaving so soon? I was planning to have you stay for lunch, let you try our instant noodle factory's lunch, and compare it with your steel factory's to see which one suits your taste better."

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "Next time, I'll come and try it when I have time."

"Okay, then drive carefully." Zhao Jianguo patted him on the shoulder and watched Zhou Yimin ride away on his motorcycle. Only after the motorcycle disappeared from the instant noodle factory did he turn around and walk back into the factory.

Zhao Jianguo didn't return to his office but went straight to the cafeteria. Inside, the cooks were busy preparing lunch ingredients. The cafeteria manager looked worried; he had exhausted all his connections trying to find some meat, but to no avail.

Just thinking about the workers' grievances gives me a real headache.

"Director Wang, I have good news for you!" Zhao Jianguo shouted as soon as he entered the door.

The cafeteria manager looked up, saw it was Zhao Jianguo, and asked in confusion, "Director Zhao, what's the matter?"

"Our factory's pork has arrived, 300 jin!" Zhao Jianguo said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, the cafeteria manager's eyes widened instantly, and the list in his hand fell to the ground with a "thud".

He was so excited he almost jumped up. He strode over to Zhao Jianguo and grabbed his arm. "Really? Director Zhao, you're not kidding me, are you?"

During this period, the canteen had no pork, so every meal consisted of vegetarian dishes or a small amount of chicken. The workers were very unhappy and complained every day, and the management couldn't do anything about it.

He had no choice but to be used as a shield, and he was scolded a lot, which put him under so much pressure that he couldn't sleep well for several nights.

Now that I've heard there are 300 jin of pork, the weight on my heart has finally been lifted, how can I not be happy?

"Why would I lie to you? It was just moved into the warehouse, it's still very new," Zhao Jianguo said with a smile.

"Great! Great!" The cafeteria manager rubbed his hands excitedly and shouted to the kitchen.

"Masters, come with me to the warehouse to get the pork. We'll cook a nice lunch for the workers so they can have a good treat!"

Upon hearing that there was pork, the cooks became excited and put down their work, following the canteen manager to the warehouse.

Soon after, the sounds of them moving pork could be heard from inside the warehouse.

The atmosphere in the cafeteria suddenly became cheerful, and everyone's face was beaming with smiles, as if they could already smell the aroma of pork.

Zhou Yimin rode his motorcycle, carrying the remaining 300 jin of pork, and sped back to the steel plant.

As soon as he arrived at the factory gate, he drove his motorcycle directly into the warehouse area.

Warehouse manager Lao Li was sitting on a small stool by the door, checking accounts with an abacus. When he saw Zhou Yimin riding over on his motorcycle with bulging sacks piled on the back, he quickly stood up to greet him.

"Section Chief Zhou, this is..." Old Li squinted at the sack, and as he got closer, he smelled the familiar meaty odor.

"Here are 300 jin of pork. Please register and put it into storage." Zhou Yimin said as he untied the ropes securing the canvas.

Once the canvas was lifted, the red and white pork inside was revealed, with distinct layers of fat and lean meat, looking fresh and tempting.

Old Li's eyes widened instantly, and he unconsciously swallowed. The factory canteen had been short of meat lately, and he hadn't tasted pork for a long time.

"Okay, okay!" he replied quickly, turning around and going into the warehouse to push a small cart.

"Such good pork should be put into cold storage as soon as possible."

The two men worked together to move the pork onto the cart. As they moved it, Old Li couldn't help but exclaim, "This pork is really good. It's thick and tender. You can tell it's from a good pig."

He pushed the cart into the warehouse, with Zhou Yimin following closely behind.

The warehouse was cool and dry. Old Li quickly took out a register and pen, carefully recorded the number of sacks and their estimated weight, weighed them one by one to confirm that they weighed exactly 300 jin, and then signed the register and stamped it with the warehouse seal.

"Everything's done, Section Chief Zhou." Old Li handed the registration book to Zhou Yimin with a smile on his face.

Zhou Yimin took the registration book, glanced at it, and after confirming that it was correct, put it in his pocket. He didn't go back to his own office but went straight to Director Ding's office.

Just as he reached the door, he heard Director Ding making a phone call inside, so he gently knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Zhou Yimin pushed open the door and walked in. Director Ding had just hung up the phone. When he saw him, he immediately stood up warmly and said, "Yimin is back? Please have a seat."

She poured hot water into his teacup and handed it to him, asking, "Was the journey smooth? Did you get the pork?"

"Successfully, it's been registered and put into storage at the warehouse. Three hundred jin, not a jin off." Zhou Yimin sat down in his chair and took out the registration book, placing it on the table.

Director Ding picked up the register and flipped through it, his smile growing wider and wider. He put the register down, patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder, and said, "Good lad, you've got real talent!"

He stood up and paced around the office, his voice brimming with excitement: "With this batch of pork, the canteen can add a hearty dish for the workers at lunchtime, which will surely boost everyone's morale."

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "It's good that it was delivered smoothly. It's a relief."

"This is no small matter; it solves a major problem for the factory." Director Ding was in a great mood. He chatted with Zhou Yimin for a few more minutes about the canteen arrangements before letting him go back to his office to rest.

Meanwhile, the kitchen of the instant noodle factory's canteen was already bustling with activity.

The chefs retrieved 300 jin of pork from the warehouse and immediately divided the work and got to work.

Chef Liu, who was in charge of cooking, picked out a piece of pork belly with skin on, cut it into cubes with a "thump thump thump", blanched it in boiling water, skimmed off the foam, and then put it into a basin of cold water. The clean white pieces of meat had a pinkish tinge and looked very fresh.

Another chef sliced ​​the pork tenderloin into thin slices, marinated it with soy sauce and cooking wine, and planned to make a stir-fried pork dish.

The pork belly sizzled as it rendered its fat in the pot. Chef Liu threw in a few star anise and a handful of ginger slices, then poured in some soy sauce. Instantly, the aroma wafted out through the cracks in the window and drifted far away.

He stirred the meat a few times with a long-handled spoon, added hot water to cover the pieces, covered the pot, and simmered it over low heat. Before long, the rich aroma of meat filled the entire canteen, and even passersby couldn't help but sniff and look into the kitchen.

The marinated pork tenderloin is coated with starch and then sizzled in hot oil until golden brown. Then, green and red peppers are added and stir-fried. With a "sizzle," the fresh and spicy aroma hits your nostrils.

At noon, the news that pork was available spread like wildfire throughout the instant noodle factory workshop.

The workers, who had been engrossed in their work, suddenly erupted in excitement. Their hands slowed down a beat, and their eyes shone with anticipation: "Really? We haven't eaten pork for months!"

Xiao Zhang, working in the packaging workshop, was holding a bag of instant noodles in his hand, but his eyes were glancing towards the canteen, and he couldn't help but smile.

The woman next to me kept working, but said with a smile, "I heard from the warehouse staff this morning that they brought in several sacks of pork. That's definitely right! Now we can finally change things up. I'm so tired of eating pickled vegetables every day."

The workers at the instant noodle factory are increasingly looking forward to lunch, but they still need to do their jobs well.

Only by working hard can we repay the leaders for the pork they worked so hard to obtain.

(End of this chapter)