The golden age began in 1977

Chapter 124 Showing Favors to the Educated Youth Moving Team, Igniting the Second Fire (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
It was getting completely dark.

Unlike a cloudy day, this is nightfall.

It snowed lightly all day, and the snowflakes are still falling, but the hail has stopped.

Qian Jin blew the whistle to signal the end of the workday.

In one day of intensive work, three-quarters of the workload accumulated over four days was completed, all thanks to the strong support of the educated youth transport team.

The reason it was four days' worth of work accumulated instead of three days was that although the movers went to work yesterday, Yang Shengzhang brought the security department over in the morning to arrest people en masse.

With half the foreman and more than 30 workers taken away, the rest panicked and had no heart to work.
Everyone was trembling with fear and busy trying to find out more information.

This caused my work to be delayed again yesterday.

After get off work, Qian Jin instructed Qiu Dayong to take the workers to wash their hands and find a sheltered, empty warehouse to rest. He then prepared dinner.

"It will probably take an hour or so for the comrades to rest and recover their strength so they can work hard when the time comes!"

Qiu Dayong stayed behind to lead the team, while he took Shaobing and Yi Xiangjun to do the shopping.

Heading straight to the People's Market in Chengnan District!
This is currently the largest farmers' market in Haibin City, located on Huangshan Road. It has two floors and a dedicated meat section with pork, chicken, beef, mutton, fish, and seafood. It is an important place for citizens to buy meat.
Fine, salt-like snowflakes drifted by.

Qian Jin turned up the collar of his military overcoat to his ears and pedaled his old bicycle home at breakneck speed.

Yi Xiangjun, wrapped in a maroon scarf, sat on the back of the sesame seed cake bicycle. The road was slippery, so the two rode slowly. They agreed to meet at the main entrance of the People's Market.

Back home, Qian Jin took the collective purchasing certificate, along with a handful of "big unity" coupons and a stack of meat coupons, grain coupons, and vegetable coupons.

He went out and called to Zhu Tao, who had just returned to the neighborhood committee warehouse, saying, "Don't unload the truck. Leave the stoves on it and take them to warehouse 112 in Jiagang. Tell the brothers to help me gather ten stoves to use."

Zhu Tao was taken aback: "So many?"

Qian Jin said, "Yes, we have two stoves here, I have two at home, and Teacher Wei's family has one, so that makes five. Can you get me five more stoves?"

"Also, prepare enough smokeless coal for me, as well as knives, cutting boards, and the like. I'm treating people to dinner, so I need a full set of utensils."

Zhu Tao nodded: "Okay, no problem."

Qian Jin rode his bicycle to the People's Market, where Shaobing and Yi Xiangjun were stamping their feet and rubbing their hands under a streetlamp.
"Let's go in and get some beef and mutton!"

Shaobing asked excitedly, "Are we having beef and mutton tonight? How much should we buy? With so many of us, we'll need at least ten or twenty pounds!"

Yi Xiangjun nudged him with her elbow and winked, "Listen to Captain Qian, he knows what he's doing."

Shaobing chuckled, "I know, I'm just happy that I can eat meat again!"

Qian Jin said, "What's the use of ten or twenty catties? Tonight we're going to eat meat, sixty catties of beef and sixty catties of mutton!"

Yi Xiangjun and Shaobing exchanged a glance and laughed at the same time: "Captain Qian, are you joking?"

Qian Jin opened the iron box he had brought and showed it to them: "Look for yourselves, how many meat coupons did I bring?"

Yi Xiangjun's eyes widened at the sight.

Qian Jin handed her the tin box: "You're a woman, you're meticulous. Here, keep this for you."

The girl, who could carry a 100-pound bag of rice, felt the weight of this box, weighing less than half a pound, as if she could barely move it.

The three of them entered the People's Market, walked around, went up to the second floor to the west side, and were stopped by an old man wearing a blue cotton-padded jacket.

The old man, wearing a red armband on his sleeve, said, "Comrade, this direction leads to the special supply market!"

Qian Jin took out a laminated certificate from his inner pocket and showed it to him.

Under the white light, the red stamp gleamed: "From the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives, this is my work ID and collective procurement certificate."

The old man checked the work permit; the red seal of the Supply and Marketing Cooperative was clearly visible, and Qian Jin's one-inch passport photo showed him looking very energetic.

Upon closer inspection of the post, he instinctively gasped in surprise: "Wow, the squad leader! He's really young and promising."

Large quantities of beef and mutton are only available at special supply counters.

At this moment, seven or eight housewives were crowded in front of the counter, each holding a meat ration coupon.

But Qian Jin didn't think they looked like purchasing agents for the company cafeteria, so he guessed that their certificates, like his, were obtained illegally.

"Make way! Make way!" The big cotton shoes, soaked with snow water, thumped loudly on the terrazzo floor.

Yi Xiangjun jogged to catch up, clutching the aluminum lunchbox tightly in her arms.

The sales clerk was an older woman; she moved slowly but had a very good attitude.

He adjusted his broken glasses: "Comrade, you have to queue to buy meat..."

Qian Jin nodded, and Shaobing obediently joined the queue.

The women were very careful when buying meat, picking and choosing until they couldn't decide. Qian Jin said, "Why don't we buy first? We won't be picky, we'll just buy and leave. You can take a look at our meat and then make your choice."

Without waiting for the women's consent, the saleswoman agreed first: "Not picky? Looks like you're buying meat for the canteen. Then come on over, we'll give priority to group purchases."

"Sixty catties of Luxi yellow beef, and sixty catties of goat meat as well." Qian Jin's finger swept across the glass counter, leaving a white mark on the ice on the counter. "I want snowflake meat with a 3:7 fat-to-lean ratio, and the bones will be packed separately."

He has seen the price.

Beef and mutton are now cheaper than pork, and are sold at 90% of the price of pork, while pork is sold at a uniform price of 78 cents per pound including tax.

So just buying meat would cost eighty or ninety yuan.

Of course, this was nothing to Qian Jin.

The women in line were in an uproar.

The middle-aged woman in a Lenin-style suit pulled the child back two steps: "How many meat coupons and how much money would that cost? Which unit is so powerful..."

The boy in her arms stared at Qian Jin's bulging military satchel, his snot frozen on his lips.

The salesperson carefully checked the group purchase certificate, and after confirming that it was correct, inquired about the unit.

After showing his work ID, Qian Jin stopped talking nonsense and started diligently cutting the meat.

Shaobing and Yixiangjun watched as large chunks of dark red beef fell into the weighing pan, their eyes filled with longing.

The salesperson called out, and the curtain behind the meat counter was lifted, revealing a burly man in a white apron carrying two slabs of mutton.

The pungent smell of fresh meat mixed with the chill of ice shards hit her face. Yi Xiangjun saw frost-like fat lines between the dark red muscles, and the hind leg muscles were still twitching nervously.

"Freshly slaughtered?" Qian Jin pressed his index finger against the meat, and the indentation slowly bounced back.

"That's half a drop of blood just drained." The burly man slammed his cleaver down on the cutting board. "Your supply and marketing cooperative is really something else, and your porters have huge appetites."

While the women were looking at the meat, Qian Jin threw two packs of Daqianmen cigarettes out of his military satchel and placed them in front of the burly man.

The burly man caught the beef without batting an eye, and with a swift flick of his knife, he sliced ​​open the beef tendon: "Want 30% fat and 70% lean? Don't worry, comrade, I'll make sure you get a delicious bite!"

Qian Jin asked, "Could you make it into a full-fledged film? Our workers have had a long day and are planning to have hot pot."

The burly man accepted the cigarette and became more agreeable, but he still hesitated: "Slicing sixty pounds of meat is too much work, isn't it? I'll cut it into long strips for you to slice yourself when you get home. It's less troublesome with more people."

Qian Jin had no choice but to agree.

He had Yi Xiangjun pay the bill, and Shaobing kept an eye on things, while he took Yi Xiangjun, who had already paid, to buy other things.

Fifty catties of noodles and twenty catties of vermicelli—Qian Jin made his purchases without restraint.

Yi Xiangjun was frightened: "Captain Qian, where did you get this money and tickets?"

Qian Jin said, "Don't worry, it wasn't embezzled."

“My labor shock brigade set up a mobile canteen for the people. It’s our own small collective enterprise, and we can use advance money and coupons to entertain the workers.”

Tonight's main focus is on hot pot; noodles and vermicelli are just supplementary dishes, nothing else will be needed.

Qian Jin noticed that there were also non-staple foods for sale, such as sesame paste and fermented bean curd.

But after thinking about it, I didn't do it.

The hot pot broth he arranged was delicious enough on its own; these days you can't be too ostentatious, so just eat until you're satisfied.

Because they buy a lot of meat, the special supply counter even sent someone to deliver it to them in a small tricycle, which saved them a lot of money and trouble.

The meat was put into a basket and then into the truck bed, along with noodles and vermicelli. Qian Jin led the way on his bicycle.

The old man on the bicycle stammered, "Boss, if you're carrying extra goods, it'll cost an extra 50 cents for the fare."

Qian Jin said, "Don't worry about that. I'll give you a dollar, and you have to pack some more things for me."

He saw that there were scallions for sale, so he bought two bundles of scallions and then bought ten catties of soybean paste.

The porters have a heavy palate from their hard work, so a couple of bites of scallions dipped in soybean paste will whet their appetite and relieve their fatigue.

The tricycle pulled up to the warehouse entrance, and Shaobing shouted, "Come out, a few people, come out and move the meat!"

The young people, exhausted from a long day, sat on small stools to rest. Hearing his shout, one of them lazily looked up: "How much meat did you buy? Can't you carry your own pancakes?"

"Sixty catties of beef! Sixty catties of mutton!" Shaobing said proudly.

The nearby youths all stood up in a flash, and someone immediately said, "We're exhausted, don't make fun of us."

Shaobing curled his lip in disdain: "Look at you guys, do you think I'm the kind of person who can make fun of you?"

The young people had never seen so much meat before, and they all ran out to see it.

The weather was cold, and the cut pieces of meat had frozen into a lump. When a basket of meat was unloaded, the surrounding youths stared in astonishment.

Qian Jin asked Qiu Dayong, "Have the stove and seasonings been delivered? Is there enough smokeless coal?"

Qiu Dayong said, "That's enough, that's enough. The water is already boiling. I estimate we'll have hot water to drink in another five or eight minutes."

Qian Jin was preparing the broth when he said, "Go and lead the comrades to cut the meat. You've had hot pot before, right? Slice it all into thin slices, the thinner the better."

"Thicker is better, it'll be more satisfying to eat," Shaobing suggested.

Qian Jin said, "Thicker meat is always undercooked and doesn't absorb flavor easily..."

"Are you the captain or is Brother Qian the captain?" Qiu Dayong asked Shaobing, his brows furrowed.

Shaobing quickly shrank back to work.

The young people used boxes brought in from outside as benches, gathered around the stove to warm themselves, and then looked forward to the joy of eating meat to their hearts' content later.

All the purchased supplies were unloaded from the truck. Qian Jin waved his hand, and the warehouse iron gate slammed shut.

The lighting was dim, but the educated youth who were moving things were used to it and had no complaints.

After the water boiled, the kettle was taken down, and bright red flames rose from the stove, bringing both warmth and light to the warehouse.

The ten coal furnaces glowed red like miniature steelmaking furnaces.

Qian went in to check on the progress of slicing the meat and then gestured for Yi Xiangjun to take people to set up the iron pot.

People these days aren't picky, and those who do heavy work all have strong tastes, so all ten iron pots are filled with spicy broth.

The butter melts sizzling at the bottom of the pot, hot water is poured in, and amidst the sizzling sound, the aroma of sesame oil quickly rises with the heat.

Bundles of scallions were thrown on the ground, and the educated youth carried enamel mugs or aluminum lunch boxes to collect soybean paste.

Then each person would pick a scallion, no need to wash it, peel off the white outer skin, wipe the scallion leaves with their hands, smear some soybean paste on it, stuff it into their mouth with a crunch, and say "That's awesome!"

The hot pot boiled quickly.

Pliers brought it close and took a deep sniff, coughing violently as he choked: "This stuff's potent. Is it some kind of recipe from Sichuan? I was seconded there to build the railway in '70 and '71, and this was the dish we ate at the victory celebration banquet back then!"

His calloused hands weren't afraid of getting burned; he reached into the pot, grabbed a dried chili pepper that was bubbling on the surface of the oil, and stuffed it into his mouth.

His face immediately turned red, and he gasped, "That's it! That's exactly the taste!"

Seeing him gasping for breath with his mouth agape, Shaobing quickly opened the door, went out, and stuffed a ball of snow into his mouth.

Pliers got up to hit him, but Pancake said seriously, "I'm doing this for your own good. Is it not spicy anymore?"

"It's not spicy anymore, but I still want to enjoy the spiciness!" Pliers continued to punch him, which made everyone laugh.

Pour large handfuls of sliced ​​mutton into the pot.

They instantly curled up into a ball.

Qiu Dayong shouted, "Don't rush! There's plenty of meat. Don't eat undercooked meat, or you'll get an upset stomach!"

That being said, when the chili oil boiled again, some people had already started eating.

The moment the lamb leg meat tumbled in the hot broth and turned from bloody to pinkish-white, it was immediately scooped out.

The slices of meat coated in chili oil don't need any seasoning; the flavor of the broth alone is enough to conquer the taste buds of today's youth.

The shredded meat, coated with chili oil, is scalding hot at first bite, followed by a burst of sweet and numbing flavor in the mouth. The sensation of being both hot and numbing is magical, making it hard to put down your chopsticks.

Beef was also added to the pot, which gave it a different flavor.

The Daqianmen cigarettes that Qian Jin gave them worked; the beef they bought was quite fatty.

When the slices of meat with fat are put into the pot, the fat layer quickly shrinks as if it has melted.

The shouts of "Eat it while it's hot! Eat it while it's hot!" continued.

The sounds of people hissing and gasping for breath from the heat, yet simultaneously exclaiming how incredibly satisfying it was, were constant.

Finally, Qiu Dayong brought out the mutton tail fat that was meant to be the star of the show.

The snow-white fat trembled precariously.

Qian Jin felt nauseous looking at it, but many people were drooling with envy.

In an era of scarcity, this was a prized possession for young people.

They gave them two large pieces of sheep tail fat because they saw they bought a lot of meat.

Qiu Dayong explained, "Normally, ordinary people like us definitely can't buy these; they've all been kept by the owners themselves."

Lamb tail fat slices are rolled in hot soup and curl into white jade rolls. Everyone scrambles to eat them, saying that they melt in the mouth without any fishy or muttony smell, but instead have a faint milky aroma.

Qian Jin tried a bite after hearing about how miraculous it was.

It has no milky smell at all!

It's oily and greasy!

Some of the young people with big appetites were hungry, so they started grabbing noodles and vermicelli and throwing them into the pot.

The noodles and vermicelli, soaked in the boiling broth, slid glisteningly into the enamel mug, where the young people slurped up the soup and noodles with gusto.

The sweat on their foreheads reflected the steaming fire.

In addition to dried noodles, Qian Jin also bought a small amount of hand-pulled noodles.

He wanted to buy more, but unfortunately, he didn't have enough.

This is a hot commodity, made fresh to order, and is the first choice for many families' dinner in cold weather.

The hand-pulled noodles at the People's Market have egg whites kneaded into the dough, making them elastic when stretched and curling into a twisted shape when heated in the pan.

Qian Jin scooped up a mouthful of noodles with his chopsticks, blew on it, and stuffed it into his mouth. The noodles bounced softly on his cheeks. He chewed hard, and the aroma of wheat mixed with butter rushed straight to the top of his head.

Someone put some dried wild vegetables into the pot. The verdant veins of the leaves stretched out like willows in the red soup, and the bitter aroma had a unique flavor.

Qian Jin laughed when he saw it: "Who brought wild vegetables?"

Someone said shyly, "My mom asked me to deliver this to my second uncle's house today, but I haven't gone yet, so I won't deliver it. Let's try it in the hot pot and see if it tastes good."

Then, as if by magic, Shaobing produced a bag of roasted peanuts, with coarse salt grains coating the peanuts and their caramelized aroma, which were passed from hand to hand among the people.

Each person could only get four or five peanuts, but they ate them with great relish.

While enjoying the food and drinks, some young men jumped onto the cargo box and sang fast-paced storytelling while banging the edge of the pot with an iron ladle. When they sang the line "Wu Erlang drinks eighteen bowls of wine," someone shouted, "It's time to fight the tiger!"

Shaobing was pushed out to pretend to be a tiger, and everyone wanted Qiu Dayong to beat him up.

Shaobing then cursed, "I gave my peanuts to the dog."

Qiu Dayong laughed at Qian Jin: "These brothers haven't had this much fun in ages."

He lit a cigarette and gazed at the soup pot with a distant look in his mouth.
"Ever since we came together in this city, it seems like we're always frowning, and it's hard to even hear a laugh."

"If you can't even get enough to eat, you definitely won't be able to laugh out loud." Pliers sat down next to him. "I haven't eaten meat this heartily in years."

"Back when I was in the Production and Construction Corps, it was the last Lunar New Year's Eve I spent before I returned to the city the year before last. You have no idea how tough those days were. There were more than thirty people sharing one wild rabbit!"

Qiu Dayong sighed, "How could I not know? Life was tough for everyone back then."

"In December of 1972, we were carrying logs in the forest farm. That was really tiring and dangerous."

“A group of educated youth brothers couldn’t stand it and wanted to sneak back to the city, so I gave them all my food rations and ate frozen potatoes for seven days, roasting them over a fire and eating them dry. The smoky, smoky smell was amazing…”

At that moment, Yi Xiangjun was adding soup to his bowl, the steam blurring his vision.

It's as if the smoke from roasting potatoes in the Great Northern Wilderness forest farm has traveled through five years and finally found its home in this harbor warehouse.

Shaobing stopped joking and sat down, saying, "That's why our lives are so much better now. We can eat beef and mutton, and we even cook them in this oily hot pot broth."

“Last year we spent Chinese New Year together, but we didn’t even get to drink a drop of soup, let alone eat beef or mutton.”

“Yes, that’s why we have to go back to the city. Staying in the forest farm would be the same.” Qiu Dayong shook his head. “When we received the notice to return to the city on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month the year before last, all the hundred or so people in the company gathered around the phone and cried.”

But some people were staring blankly at their enamel mugs, which were printed with the red characters "The vast world offers great opportunities":
“What’s the point of coming back? The neighborhood committee won’t let us register our household registration these days. If it weren’t for Brother Qian pulling some strings to get us temporary accommodation, we would be being chased around by the housing management office like rabbits every day.”

Qian Jin said, "We won't have to be chased around by the housing management office anymore. Didn't I say I prepared something for you tonight? Actually, I prepared some news, some good news!"

"Minister Yang learned about your predicament from Lao Qiu and the others yesterday, and specially vacated three dormitories from our warehousing and transportation department. You can move into the regular employee dormitory tonight!"

A few young men who were scooping noodles in the corner suddenly stopped eating and looked over, their faces full of disbelief.

Qiu Dayong grabbed Qian Jin's arm: "Really?"

Qian Jin said, "How could that be fake? We haven't been drinking today, so we wouldn't be talking nonsense while drunk."

"My workplace sent me the accommodation notice this afternoon. There are three dorm rooms, one large and two small, which can accommodate twenty people. Is that enough for you?"

"That's enough!" Qiu Dayong exclaimed with delight. "One small room is more than enough for the sisters!"

Qian Jin said, "I don't think it's going to snow anymore. We've eaten enough, so why don't we head out and help our brothers and sisters move?"

"But let me warn you upfront, don't think you're going to stay in a guesthouse, it's a dormitory for porters, the conditions are..."

"As long as we don't get kicked out with cold water in the middle of the night, these are good conditions," a young man shouted.

Qiu Dayong's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and the scar on the back of his head gleamed dark red under the dim light.

He wiped his mouth hard, bumped Qian Jin with his shoulder, and said with a face full of gratitude, "Captain Qian, thank you."

Qian Jin said, "Minister Xie, please go ahead. I wouldn't dare to take credit for this." This was his honest opinion.

Actually, he originally planned to treat everyone to dinner tonight and then slip some money to Qiu Dayong so that Qiu Dayong could share it with the educated youth.

Since Yang Shengzhang had arranged benefits for him, he would not contribute any money for the time being.

One reason is that he is grateful for a generous gift but resentful of one that is not, and another is that he doesn't want to reveal his wealth too much.

This feast tonight is amazing enough!
The porters' dormitory was converted from an old warehouse from the Japanese occupation period, and some of the exposed steel bars in the wall cracks still have Japanese characters engraved on them.

The three converted dormitories are adjacent to each other and the conditions are acceptable. There is a public toilet nearby, which makes going to the toilet at night in winter much more comfortable.

Qian Jin held up a flashlight to lead the way, found the room, and opened the door. The creaking sound of the door hinges turning was jarring, but the young people moving in found it very pleasant.

This is no longer a temporary place to stay!
They finally had a stable place to stay.

The All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives had good conditions, and even the glass in its doors and windows was sparkling clean.

Turning on the lights, the room was brightly lit, filled with uniform bunk beds made of iron pipes. In addition, the room was equipped with cabinets according to the beds.

Each room has a stove, and honeycomb briquettes are neatly stacked against the walls.

Qiu Dayong beamed with joy upon seeing this: "I never imagined that one day we'd be burning government coal."

There is a dormitory manager, an old man.

He pointed to the military green bedding on the bed and said, "These beddings were cleared out of the labor protection department's warehouse. They don't belong to individuals. If you want to take them or do anything else, you have to return them to the unit."

"Each bed is equipped with a thermos, an enamel basin and an enamel mug, and a bar of soap per bed per month—I see you are mostly young men, so you must maintain good hygiene."

"I check the dorms every day, so don't let them get smelly."

Qiu Dayong said, "Absolutely not."

The old man explained the rules and then beckoned them to collect their work safety supplies.

This treatment exceeded Qian Jin's expectations.

He thought it was just about providing a dormitory and a bed, but he didn't expect that the company would provide protective equipment based on the number of beds.

No wonder Yang Shengzhang had to grit his teeth and make a tough decision when arranging these dormitories.

After collecting their washbasins, kettles, enamel mugs, and soap, a group of young men went up to choose beds and started tossing and turning like pancakes.

The young man nicknamed "Mouse" was grinning foolishly as he hugged his newly acquired enamel basin, the red double happiness symbol printed on the bottom of the basin looking especially festive under the light.

Qian Jin joked, "Put it down. This is a red double happiness basin, not your wife covered with a red wedding veil."

"I don't even care about my wife." Mouse rubbed the pillow vigorously, lay on it and sighed, "Buckwheat hulls, it's definitely buckwheat hulls, I can smell the wheat aroma."

Pliers suddenly jumped off the bed and pulled something out of the tattered travel bag—some dried shrimp wrapped in oil paper.

"I brought this back from helping someone move their catch the day before yesterday." He grabbed a handful and sprinkled it on the stove lid. "It's a bit damp and smells quite fishy. I'll dry it and eat it as a snack."

Qiu Dayong was also a cultured man.

He took out a calligraphy brush and ink from his briefcase, wrote the phrase "Home is where the heart is" on a newspaper, and pasted it on the door.

The light in the next dorm room came on, and someone yelled at the top of their lungs, "What the hell is that? What are you doing? Did someone die in your family?!"

"You're not sleeping in the middle of the night? I'm reporting you to the security department. Let's see if you're up to any illegal or criminal activities!"

The young people, who had been in high spirits, suddenly looked grim.

Unfortunately, they were in the wrong.

It was already 10 o'clock, and the movers were indeed resting at this time after a long day.

They were scolded but there was nothing they could do, especially since these dormitories were kindly allocated to them by Minister Yang.

Therefore, even if they are in the right, they cannot argue with others, let alone fight, otherwise they would be causing trouble for Minister Yang.

Qiu Dayong grunted and winked at his group of brothers: "Looks like our neighbor is a powder keg."

Qian Jin said, "Wait for me, I'll go and meet them."

It was indeed their fault for causing a scene during the move.

But to just open your mouth and start swearing like that is going too far.

Qiu Dayong tried to stop him, but Qian Jin bluntly said, "You joined the Jiagang Brigade to work hard, not to be bullied."

"We don't bully others, and we certainly won't let others bully us!"

He asked around and found out that the dormitories in this area were all occupied by porters.

Porters are rough men, and they deal with each other by fists.

Regardless of whether you are in the right or not, you cannot back down. Once you back down, you will be bullied even if you are in the right!

So he went directly to the next door and knocked on the door: "Which comrade was cursing just now? Come on, open the door and let's talk."

Most movers have short tempers.

The next room was also a large dormitory. Suddenly, the door was pulled open with a 'whoosh,' and a man came up, reached out his hand, and punched Qian Jin.

This was something Qian Jin hadn't anticipated.

He never expected that the other party would start fighting without any communication.

Fortunately, Zhang Aijun stayed by his side as soon as he saw him knocking on the door. The other party threw a punch quickly, but Brother Dajun reacted even faster and kicked him with his foot.

The burly man leaned forward and threw a punch, essentially offering himself up to be kicked. He screamed and was sent flying backward.

The light cord in the room snapped shut, the light flashed, and several burly men jumped off the bed.

Qiu Dayong, who was following behind, gave a shout, and the more than thirty young people who were moving suddenly blocked the door.

A burly man walked up with a gloomy face and said, "Wow, there are so many people. Which department are you in?"

Qian Jin said, "I am Qian Jin, the captain of the Jia Gang Brigade."

Another man laughed upon hearing this: "So it's the Jiagang Brigade, the one that Old Yang cut in half yesterday?"

Qian Jin said, "Yes, it's the Jia Gang Brigade, the one where half of the members committed crimes and I, as the brigade leader, took them down!"

"Comrades, you'd better keep your hands clean, otherwise, to be honest, I'm best at catching criminals. Once I catch you, I'll definitely send you to the security department!"

This is a weakness.

Some people immediately shivered.

How could any of the grassroots units of the All-China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives be completely clean?

Upon hearing that Qian Jin was the brigade leader, the men in the dormitory lost their nerve.

Those living in the company dormitories were all low-level porters, many of whom were farmers from a certain commune or production team who were lucky enough to be recruited to the city by the supply and marketing cooperative.

They live at home like urban migrant workers, not in dormitories.

Qian Jin recalled a saying Hu Shunzi once made: "The port is a place that eats people."

In fact, that's exactly what happened.

The porters are all about status and power. They are not of high quality, and being overly humble and tolerant will not make them think you are kind; they will only think you are weak.

So Qian Jin's face was gloomy and his tone was stern: "We disturbed you by moving, and we can apologize."

"But did you give us that chance? No, you didn't, did you? You came up here and started by accusing us of having a family member die, didn't you?"

"You guessed right, my father just passed away two months ago. You really know how to talk, deliberately stabbing me in the wound!"

A burly man put on his clothes and said in a low voice, "Captain Qian, he didn't mean it..."

Qian Jin waved his hand to interrupt him: "Let's not talk about who it is yet. Let me ask you all first, can you move, especially our team's move, without making a sound?"

"If you have any complaints, you can tell Minister Yang, because he was the one who approved the order to move today. The order is here, take a look for yourselves."

Qian Jin pressed the notice onto the man's chest.

The man sniffed and muttered, "It's none of my business."

After saying that, she went to bed, covered herself with the blanket, and prepared to sleep.

Qian Jin coldly surveyed the others and said, "Swearing as soon as you open the door, hitting people as soon as you open the door, what a show of power."

The man who hit the other person squatted on the ground without saying a word.

Qian Jin pointed at him and said, "I don't care which brigade you're from, let me tell you, I'm keeping a close eye on you. You'd better keep your hands clean, or you'll be heading to the security department!"

The man, somewhat flustered, stood up and said, "Captain Qian, I didn't know it was you..."

"So if it were someone else, they'd have to open the door and get a beating from you?" Qian Jin sneered.

The man grunted twice, wanting to apologize but too embarrassed to do so, and went back to his bed to sleep.

Another man pulled the light cord.

The room returned to darkness.

Zhang Aijun was unhappy. They could have talked things out properly, but instead, he simply turned off the lights and refused to negotiate.

Is it really that aggressive?

He's going to turn on the light.

Qian Jin stopped him.

He waved to Qiu Dayong and whispered, "Go and call the old man in charge of the dormitory over."

The old man was summoned for no apparent reason. He knew he was in trouble, and his face and expression showed his displeasure.

But when Qian Jin arrived, he said very kindly, "Uncle, we accidentally disturbed the neighbors while moving."

“Please bear witness for me, I apologize to my neighbors on behalf of our Jiagang brigade.”

"We are so sorry to have disturbed your rest, but we did not mean to. We hope you can understand."

The old man nodded in agreement.

This young man has a good temper. I thought that someone so young to become a brigade leader would be arrogant and domineering, but I didn't expect him to be so reasonable.

The burly men were completely bewildered.

They thought Qian Jin would take a hard line, but he suddenly softened his stance.

They breathed a sigh of relief and said, "It's alright."

Upon seeing this, Qian Jin closed the door and returned to his dormitory. He thanked the old man for helping to mediate the situation.

The old man didn't adjust anything at all.

Seeing that there was no conflict, he happily praised Qian Jin a few times and left.

Qiu Dayong and the others did not quite understand what Qian Jin meant.

Qian Jin explained, "We'll start with courtesy before resorting to force. As the captain, I've already apologized. Our Jiagang Brigade has been courteous enough."

"Then they'll have to apologize for their foul language and assault. If they don't come, we'll make them pay!"

The mouse asked, "What if they come to apologize?"

Qian Jin laughed and said, "We won't accept it."

"Don't worry, just give them a good beating and make a name for the Jiagang Brigade!"

After saying that, he looked at the new bicycle with the speed axle locked by the door and said, "Old Qiu, bring this bike to me tomorrow. We need to fix the tires so we can keep using it."

Qiu Dayong still feels upset when he talks about it. He said dejectedly, "The hole was so big. Both the inner and outer tires were ripped. It's definitely unusable now."

Qian Jin said, "Come see me tomorrow, and we'll talk about whether it's usable then."

The next day, he led his team of porters to continue their hard work.

Qiu Dayong rushed over to find him, but Qian Jin waved his hand, saying, "Don't bother the comrades with help this time."

This time, he absolutely refused to let the educated youth transport team help him. He explained to others that he didn't have enough money or enough meat and grain coupons to treat everyone to a meal.

Qiu Dayong said in a low voice, "No, it was those people next door who saw us in the washroom this morning and started swearing at us, so I beat them up."

Qian Jin clapped: "Well done!"

Qiu Dayong said in an even lower voice, "They said they needed to report to the captain, their North City Railway Station transport team."

Qian Jin said, "Then let their captain come find me, and I'll continue to deal with him!"

Qiu Dayong breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that he was not afraid of anything.

Although they acted on Qian Jin's orders from the previous night, they still caused trouble, and he was worried that fighting on the first day of work would bring trouble to himself and his superiors.

Qian Jin didn't even consider that.

The remaining backlog of goods is still quite large for their brigade, considering that the brigade is currently small in number but delivers a considerable amount of goods every day.

So he figured he should go to the commune's blacksmith shop to bring back the new car; that way, things would definitely be much easier.

This would require transportation by car, so he inquired about it and found out that Qiao Jinbu was in Jia Port that day.

He went to find people, and found five Jiefang brand trucks defrosting their water tanks, with the smell of diesel fuel floating in the rising white steam.

Qiao Jinbu huddled in the driver's seat, rubbing his hands. His suede gloves, covered in ice, were lying to the side. His frostbitten hands would crack and bleed whenever he exerted force.

Qian Jin greeted him, "Brother Qiao, what are you doing? Busy?"

Qiao Jinbu breathed warm air onto his hands as he came out and asked, "What wind blew Captain Qian over here?"

"It snowed all day yesterday, and the roads were icy and difficult to travel, so our transport team couldn't work."

"Everyone couldn't leave their posts, and not knowing where to go, they had no choice but to hide in the driver's cab to avoid the wind."

Qian Jin said, "If you need shelter from the storm, go to my office. I have some good tea there!"

Qiao Jinbu smiled broadly: "That's great, but didn't your brigade just have an accident? I didn't feel comfortable bringing anyone over."

Qian Jin waved his hand and said, "It's alright." Qiao Jinbu shouted, and immediately a crowd of people responded.

Six or seven drivers followed him to the office.

The heater in the brigade headquarters office was burning brightly.

Today, after the snow stopped, the sun shone brightly, and sunlight streamed through the windowpane, casting blurry patches of light on the concrete floor, which looked warm.

The drivers breathed a sigh of relief as soon as they entered: "It's so much more comfortable here."

Qian Jin noticed that their fingers were frostbitten and asked knowingly, "How did this happen? How come your hands are even more frostbitten than ours when we're just working the steering wheel?"

The drivers were on the verge of tears, and complained incessantly:
"Everyone says being a driver is good, it is good, but it's not that great..."

"It's cold in the cab. The doors and windows are drafty and not well sealed. When it snows heavily outside, it's just light snow falling inside..."

"Hey, the steering wheel and gearshift are just like ice. You guys can move your hands around and they get warm, but how can our hands not get cold when we're gripping ice?"

"Try this." Qian Jin pulled open the drawer, and ten pairs of leather gloves slammed onto the table with a dull thud.

The topmost hand is adorned with a dark red patch, the genuine leather texture reflecting the sunlight.

Qiao Jinbu took off his sheepskin gloves, and hissed as soon as his fingertips touched the sheepskin lining:
"This stuff is wonderful! It's warm and soft, like putting your fingers in a woman's bed!"

He turned his hand over, and the thickened wrist pads covered the frostbite perfectly. The leather buckle could be adjusted to the tightest setting, so he no longer had to worry about slipping when turning.

The experienced drivers immediately erupted in chaos.

They all picked up a pair of gloves to examine them. Nobody cared much; in this day and age, there was no concept of distance. If they liked something, they would put on the gloves and try it out.

Qian Jin noticed that these people unconsciously brought their noses close to smell the items when they tried them on—this is an occupational hazard from dealing with new goods all year round; the smell of new items often hits the heart more directly than sight.

He asked, "Logically speaking, your transport team consists of wealthy families, so why aren't you provided with leather gloves?"

Qiao Jinbu said helplessly, "The transportation team has a labor insurance quota, which has already been exceeded this year."

"Besides, leather gloves are in high demand now and are very easy to lose. We actually had some leather gloves, but we left them in the car and they were stolen by someone without us noticing."

"Those are not leather gloves, these are real leather gloves!" Old Liu exclaimed, holding up the gloves.

Qiao Jinbu immediately asked, "How much? What kind of tickets are needed?"

Qian Jin waved his hand: "Take it and wear it. We're all brothers, so let's not always talk about money. But don't involve me with these when you go out. Our unit is cracking down on discipline very strictly now."

Driver Lao Lin shook his head: "How can this be? These gloves look expensive."

Others chimed in, "Yeah, how could we feel comfortable taking your things for free?"

Qian Jin set out porcelain teacups for them, filled them with black tea, and poured in hot water, instantly filling the air with the aroma of tea.
"If you really feel bad about it, please do me a favor in a couple of days."

He unfolded the "Haibin Daily" and pointed to the news article about the college entrance examination schedule:
“We have a study room on Taishan Road with a lot of test takers. Now that the exam venues have been decided, some test takers are going to exam venues that are quite far away. I was wondering if we could use our vehicles to transport the test takers.”

Qiao Jinbu said, "We guys would definitely be happy to, but we can't just agree to this ourselves."

"You need to have your neighborhood committee write a letter of secondment to our unit. Don't worry, once the letter arrives, you don't need to worry about anything else. It's just a matter of driving a test taker around a couple of times, right? We can definitely handle it."

Old Lin nodded: "That's right. We used to drive educated youth to the countryside, and now we drive them to take the college entrance exam."

"Before, you could turn the steering wheel to the left; now you can turn it to the right!"

The drivers, having understood what he meant, burst into laughter.

Qian Jin also laughed.

With drivers providing transportation for students taking the college entrance exam, the last task for the study room can be considered complete.

He originally planned to use the resources of the warehousing and transportation department to do this, and then get it published in the newspapers, creating an event that would earn him a good reputation.

As a result, Yang Shengzhang is now cracking down on discipline and has launched a rectification campaign in all the brigades.

Qian Jin figured he wouldn't have time to deal with this, so he decided to find the driver himself.

However, the job of hauling carts to the commune had to be handled by the small trucks within their departments.

He submitted the application form, and Yang Shengzhang issued an approval slip that same day. Qian Jin then followed a small truck, which swayed and wobbled, to the Red Star Commune.

The work plan was somewhat unexpected; anti-corruption became his first priority upon taking office.

Reforming the means of production was the second step.

The first fire burned away the thorns inside him.

The second step is to establish his leadership authority!
(End of this chapter)