60s: I have a store

Chapter 648 Night School Quotas
Zhou Yimin drove his motorcycle to the steel plant. He hadn't been there for a while. When he arrived at the office, he found a lot of documents on the desk that required his personal attention.

They immediately began to deal with it, but just as Zhou Yimin was working diligently...

The door to Zhou Yimin's office was pushed open.

Zhou Yimin put down his pen, looked up and saw it was Director Ding. He quickly stood up and said, "Director Ding, what brings you here?"

My heart skipped a beat. Was I going to be assigned another tough task?
After all, Director Ding always had tasks to assign whenever he came over.

Director Ding chuckled and joked, "Yimin, don't look at me so warily. I've come here to tell you some good news."

Although Director Ding said that, Zhou Yimin was still a little skeptical: "Director Ding, what good news?"

Director Ding asked with a serious expression, "The factory has two spots for night school. One of them is for you. Do you have anyone to recommend for the other?"

Some workers and peasants in our country have low levels of education. Less than 30% have a college or higher vocational education, and more than half have not even graduated from junior high school.

This situation leads to a lack of awareness among leaders about the importance and complexity of technology, and insufficient utilization of the role of technical personnel.

Therefore, in order to improve the cultural level of cadres and employees, Beijing began to establish night schools.

The classrooms, which used to be pitch black at night, are now brightly lit, and many students travel long distances after get off work, eating cornbread to study.

This wave of enthusiasm for learning swept through the entire city of Beijing.

Zhou Yimin never expected that he would be among the lucky ones to get a spot at the night school, and there was even another spot available. Was this a recognition of his hard work during this period?

I was pondering whether to recommend Chow Tai Fook or Chow Tai Chung.
These two are the most suitable candidates that Zhou Yimin can think of at the moment.

Zhou Dazhong might be more eager than Zhou Dafu, because even without a night school diploma, Zhou Dafu's value wouldn't be affected.

But Zhou Dazhong is different. If he didn't have any diploma, only a primary school diploma, then this section chief position would probably be his limit.

If you have a junior high school diploma or higher, the situation is completely different; being a section chief is just the beginning.

After some thought, Zhou Yimin said, "For the other spot, I recommend Zhou Dazhong."

Director Ding nodded, thinking it was quite suitable, and didn't say anything more. He simply took out two forms from his pocket and handed them over.

Zhou Yimin took it and, upon seeing it was a registration form for night school, quickly thanked him, "Director Ding, thank you!"

Director Ding waved his hand: "No need to thank me! If you really want to thank me, you'd be better off buying more meat for the steel mill!"

The steel mill's meat shortage has been a long-standing issue, and if it weren't for Zhou Yimin, the situation would have been even worse.

Zhou Yimin nodded: "Director Ding, I'll go see if I can buy more meat for the factory."

Director Ding was very pleased to hear Zhou Yimin's assurance, knowing that Zhou Yimin's words would surely help the factory purchase a lot of meat.

Director Ding then left Zhou Yimin's office.

After watching Director Ding leave, Zhou Yimin, carrying two neatly folded night school registration forms, walked straight to Zhou Dazhong's office.

It wasn't far; it took less than five minutes to walk there.

Arriving at Zhou Dazhong's office door, Zhou Yimin knocked, and a familiar voice came from inside: "Come in!"

Pushing open the door, I saw Zhou Dazhong engrossed in handling some matters.

Zhou Dazhong looked up and saw Zhou Yimin. He quickly put down what he was holding and said, "Sixteenth Uncle, what brings you here?!"

Zhou Yimin waved his hand, sat down in the chair opposite the desk, and glanced around the familiar office.

Wanting to whet Zhou Dazhong's appetite, she said, "I've come here this time because I have some good news to tell you."

Upon hearing "good news," Zhou Dazhong's eyes lit up instantly, and his tone was full of eagerness: "Sixteenth Uncle, stop keeping me in suspense! What good news is it?"

Zhou Yimin smiled, but instead of answering directly, he asked an unrelated question: "Dazhong, do you remember what your educational background is?"

These words made Zhou Dazhong's face turn red instantly. He scratched the back of his head, his eyes darting around, and he scratched his head embarrassedly: "Sixteenth Uncle, aren't you just exposing my shortcomings? I only attended primary school for two years and dropped out before graduating."

As he spoke, his voice grew softer and softer, and his fingers unconsciously dug at the corner of the table, clearly showing how concerned he was about his educational background.

Among all the leaders in the steel plant, his educational background was the lowest. Even some of the younger purchasing staff only had high school or junior high school education.

Zhou Yimin nodded, his smile fading, and his tone became serious: "It's a good thing, you have the opportunity to improve your education."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Dazhong immediately became anxious: "Sixteenth Uncle, you're not joking with me, are you!"

He knew that there was such a thing as night school. There were so many leaders in the whole city of Beijing, so the spots were quite precious and ordinary people simply couldn't get them.

Zhou Yimin spoke up: "Dazhong, I wouldn't joke about something like this."

After saying that, he took out a light yellow night school registration form from his pocket, placed it in front of Zhou Dazhong, and pushed it towards him: "Fill this out!"

Zhou Dazhong picked up the registration form and looked at it carefully. He was soon shocked by the words on the form. He hadn't expected that Zhou Yimin had actually managed to get his hands on a night school registration form.

He quickly pushed the registration form back: "Sixteenth Uncle, this spot is too precious! I can't accept it."

Zhou Dazhong knew that if it weren't for Zhou Yimin's help, he would just be an ordinary purchasing agent, and would never have been able to sit in the position of section chief.

Although Zhou Yimin has a high school diploma, if he could further improve his education, it would make his future path much easier.

Looking at his sincere expression, Zhou Yimin couldn't help but smile. He then took out an identical registration form from his pocket and placed it on the table: "Look, I have one too."

Zhou Dazhong picked up the two registration forms and looked at them repeatedly. He ran his fingertips over the official seals on the forms to confirm that they were genuine. Only then did he finally relax and his eyes welled up with tears.

He truly didn't know how to repay Zhou Yimin for all the kindness he had shown.

Zhou Dazhong said with a serious face: "Sixteenth Uncle, if there's anything you need in the future, just say the word. I'll go through fire and water for you, no problem."

Zhou Yimin smiled and said, "No need to make it sound so serious, let's start filling it out!"

"I'm still waiting to hand it over to Director Ding."

Zhou Dazhong quickly took out his Hero brand fountain pen and began to carefully fill in the information on the registration form, including his name and occupation.
Seeing his serious expression, Zhou Yimin couldn't help but tease him, "Dazhong, I don't think you were this serious when you got married!"

When Zhou Dazhong heard Zhou Yimin's teasing, he almost made a spelling mistake. Instead of replying, he filled in the information on the form even more carefully.

Zhou Yimin stopped joking and simply sat quietly to the side, waiting. After more than ten minutes, Zhou Dazhong finally finished filling out the registration form and could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He carefully checked the information on the form to make sure there were no mistakes.

After carefully checking it three times and finding no errors, he handed the registration form over with both hands: "Uncle Sixteen, I've filled out the form and checked it three times. There are no spelling mistakes."

"Could you please check it for me again?"

Zhou Yimin took the application form and glanced at it carefully—name, age, job position, home address, each item was filled in well, except for the handwriting which was not very neat, there were no other problems.

He smiled and patted Zhou Dazhong on the shoulder: "You filled it out well. Don't worry, I'll send it to Director Ding right away."

Holding his own and Zhou Dazhong's registration forms, Zhou Yimin walked straight to Director Ding's office at the factory.

"Director Ding, the registration forms have been filled out. Please check if there are any problems." Zhou Yimin placed the two registration forms in front of Director Ding and gently pushed them towards him.

Director Ding picked up the registration form, looked it over carefully, and after finding no problems, said, "No problems!"

He tucked the registration form into a special folder, took out a notebook from the drawer, scribbled a couple of notes in it, and then looked up at Zhou Yimin and said, "Yimin, the night school will be starting soon. I will notify you in advance once the specific class times and locations are finalized."

Zhou Yimin said gratefully, "Thank you, Director Ding!"

Director Ding continued to remind them: "The night school is at the nearby workers' school. Classes start at 7 p.m. and end at 9 p.m., so don't be late."

He knew that Zhou Yimin was often not at the steel plant, but he could still procure meat and was quite inventive, which is why he didn't say much.

However, night school is not as free as it is at the steel factory, although the teachers won't say anything whether you go or not.

But if they fail the exam, the steel factory will lose face.

Zhou Yimin assured, "Director Ding, don't worry, Da Zhong and I will study hard at night school and not bring shame to the steel plant."

Director Ding continued, "Also, you need to arrange your work reasonably. If there is a conflict between work and study, tell me in advance and I will help you resolve it."

Zhou Yimin hurriedly said, "Thank you, Director Ding."

Zhou Yimin stood up, said goodbye to Director Ding, and then turned and left the office.

After returning to his office, Zhou Yimin began to deal with the remaining matters, determined to get them resolved by today.

Before he knew it, it was already afternoon. As he was about to leave work, Zhou Yimin remembered that he hadn't asked Master Gu for help with the house he bought from Grandpa Li.

I wonder how well Master Gu did with the house renovation for Section Chief Li?
Judging by the time frame, it should be soon. There won't be any major repairs, just a fresh coat of paint.

I put down my work and headed to the research lab.

Pushing open the door to the research lab, Li Chongguang was discussing with others, exploring directions suitable for developing new products.

Everyone was drawn by the sudden sound, and when they looked up, they found it was Zhou Yimin.

Li Chongguang immediately put down what he was doing and stepped forward: "Yimin, what brings you here?"

As he spoke, he pulled Zhou Yimin into the office.

Everyone else who witnessed this could only continue working.

Li Chongguang asked, "Yimin, is there something you need?"

Zhou Yimin got straight to the point: "I just wanted to ask how your home renovation is going?"

When the topic of renovation came up, Li Chongguang's tone was filled with satisfaction: "Master Gu is really efficient! I originally thought it would take half a month to finish, but he's already wrapping things up. I estimate it will be completed in less than two days, and then we can move in."

Zhou Yimin then said, "That's really fast! Section Chief Li, I wonder if I could go home with you after get off work?"

"I have something I'd like to discuss with Master Gu in person, regarding the renovation."

He didn't want to make a wasted trip, which is why he came to find Li Chongguang.

Li Chongguang was taken aback for a moment, then understood and quickly nodded: "Of course! Master Gu is busy until quite late, so even if you go back after get off work, he should still be there."

Before he knew it, it was time to leave work. Zhou Yimin pushed his motorcycle and waited for Li Chongguang at the factory gate.

After the two met up, Li Chongguang sat on the back of the motorcycle, and soon they arrived at the alley where Li Chongguang's home was located.

Zhou Yimin parked his motorcycle at the gate of the courtyard and followed Li Chongguang into the courtyard. He saw Master Gu standing on a ladder, holding a brush and painting the door frame.

Zhou Yimin quickly stepped forward to greet him: "Master Gu, are you still busy?"

Hearing the sound, Master Gu came down the ladder, looked up and saw Zhou Yimin. He quickly put down the brush in his hand, wiped his hands on his apron, and said with a smile, "Yimin, what brings you here? Did you come to see the renovation of Section Chief Li's house?"

Zhou Yimin nodded, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard. The walls had been repainted white, the newly replaced doors and windows shone brightly, and the ground was paved with new blue bricks, all kept clean and tidy.

He asked, "Master Gu, you've done such a meticulous job. I think you're almost finished here. I wonder how much longer it will take to complete the work?"

Master Gu pointed into the house: "There's not much left to do, it should be finished in about two or three days."

“If it were Yimin, you could finish it in a day if you were in a hurry.”

"No rush, no need to rush. Take your time, ensuring quality is the most important thing," Zhou Yimin quickly said.

"Actually, I came here today to ask you for a favor. I bought the house next to mine and want to renovate it. I also want to tear down the wall between the two rooms. I was wondering if you have any other clients you need help with?"

If possible, Zhou Yimin is thinking of finding another master craftsman, but he doesn't know how long he'll be busy at the next place.

Upon hearing this, Master Gu's eyes lit up instantly, and his smile became even more genuine. He had been worried that after finishing the work at Li Chongguang's house, he would have to wait a while before he could get new work, but he didn't expect that the next job would come knocking on his door on its own initiative.

He nodded quickly: "Of course! Don't worry, Yimin, I'll come find you as soon as the work is finished."

Seeing that Master Gu agreed so readily, Zhou Yimin breathed a sigh of relief: "That's great! I'm relieved to hear that. We can discuss the specific details when you get there."

He thanked Li Chongguang a couple more times and then prepared to leave.

Li Chongguang quickly urged, "Yimin, it's almost lunchtime. Why don't you stay and have a meal before you leave? It'll also give Master Gu a rest, and we can have a couple of drinks together."

Zhou Yimin quickly declined: "Section Chief Li, you're too kind. I have other things to do at home, so I won't bother you any longer. Maybe next time."

"I hope Section Chief Li won't find me unpleasant."

(End of this chapter)