The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 171 Visiting the Leader's Home
The whole family enjoyed lunch, especially Guo Chenghua.

He probably didn't get to eat anything good in the Northwest. Even if his family was frugal with him, he probably rarely ate meat.

On her first day back in Beijing, Guo Yuting took out the abundant New Year's goods from her home, including braised pork, stewed half a chicken, and cooked a fish.

At first, Mei Xiuxue's mother-in-law thought it was a bit too much, that it was a bit extravagant to eat so much for the first meal after returning home. However, after Guo Yuting showed her the cellar, Mei Xiuxue was so surprised that she fell silent.

Although there wasn't much meat, there were still several hundred kilograms of grain, as well as oil and sugar, which added up to several dozen kilograms.

Most of the food was given to An Jia before she left, out of gratitude to Zhou Zhiqiang. Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Yuting didn't eat to their hearts' content during the year, so they saved quite a bit.

Moreover, their family had a lot of New Year's goods this year. In addition to the rations for the couple, there were also New Year's goods from the factory and the neighborhood office, as well as some delivered by Director Ren from the Ministry of Machine Building.

Ren Licheng, the director of the Machine Tool Administration Bureau, lost a bet with Zhou Zhiqiang, so he sent a batch of New Year's goods before the end of the year.

There were five catties of pork, a frozen chicken, two sausages, and seven catties of refined grains.

With the New Year's goods they bought themselves, Zhou Zhiqiang's family was able to have a prosperous New Year.

After dinner, Guo Yuting and her mother-in-law cleaned up the dishes. Guo Chenghua and Zhou Bocai had eaten too much and were a little sleepy, so they went to bed.

Zhou Zhiqiang and his father-in-law continued their chat in the study.

"Zhiqiang, I'll be going back after the New Year, but Yuting's mother will stay in Beijing."

After putting down his teacup, Guo Linhua continued, "I'll send you some money every month then."

"Hey, Dad, aren't you slapping Yuting and me in the face? Mom can stay here whenever she comes back. There's no need for you to send money as living expenses."

"My salary and Yuting's salary are quite high now, almost two hundred yuan combined. Even if we use all the tickets, we still won't spend all the money, so please don't talk about money."

Zhou Zhiqiang quickly interrupted, saying, "Besides, you lent me and Yuting so much money before, and now you say you're sending it back? Yuting and I will be too ashamed to face you."

The couple is also saving money, planning to find a time to pay off their debt to Guo Linhua.

However, it will take some time; even if he saves 100 a month, it will take him more than two years.

"Okay, then I won't say anything more."

Guo Linhua said with a smile, "I'm going to visit some old friends tomorrow and ask about Chenghua's schooling. He's learning some things from me now, but I can't teach him for long."
What are your plans for tomorrow?

"Yuting and I plan to visit some acquaintances and also go back to the Yu family home to ask Aunt Fang if she wants to come and celebrate the New Year with us."

After thinking for a moment, Zhou Zhiqiang said that he definitely had to go to the Chen family's house, and Chen Junfeng had said last time that he would take him to Vice Leader Wu's house.

We also need to visit Deputy Director Liu of Dafeng Agricultural Machinery Equipment Factory, and Director Zhao and Secretary Yan will make a phone call to wish each other a Happy New Year.

He can't possibly visit everyone's homes; he doesn't have that many gifts. He can only prepare three or four gifts, which are things he's saved up over time.

After becoming the deputy factory director, Zhou Zhiqiang had to consider many more things. He had to bring gifts when visiting people and give various receipts when distributing things to his subordinates.

If Zhou Zhiqiang were even slightly selfish, his family would live a very comfortable life. If he were to let a little bit of money slip through his fingers, they could eat meat for at least half a month.

But it's impossible; the spirit of this era is too infectious.

After living here for a few years, Zhou Zhiqiang realized that material indulgence was not important at all; building socialism and making the country strong was the most important thing.

This idea may have only been 30-40% in Zhou Zhiqiang's mind at first, but now it has gradually risen to 70-80%, and the rest is about making a good life for his family.

However, if the country becomes strong, his family will naturally live a good life.

Therefore, Zhou Zhiqiang's material needs have been greatly reduced; now he can eat coarse grain buns and stewed radishes with relish, and he has gradually gotten used to drinking tea.

Holding a large teacup feels more comfortable than holding a mobile phone; this is all thanks to the changes brought about by the times.

When Zhou Zhiqiang was talking to his father-in-law Guo Linhua, he was hoping that his father-in-law could come back and help him. His father-in-law was as good as twenty college students in mechanical structure and mechanical design.

However, after learning that his father-in-law was participating in a classified project, Zhou Zhiqiang stopped mentioning it.

Such projects simply cannot emerge unless they are completed and dissolved.

Guo Linhua's request for leave surprised Zhou Zhiqiang. Perhaps he had applied to the organization, or perhaps the part his father-in-law was in charge of wasn't a core secret.

Early the next morning.

After having breakfast, Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Linhua went out. The father-in-law and son-in-law first went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy some things, and then each went to visit the people they needed to visit.

Before leaving home, Zhou Zhiqiang also took some small trinkets from home, all of which were gifts.

Originally, Zhou Zhiqiang was supposed to accompany his father-in-law, Guo Linhua, to visit his friends and, incidentally, inherit Guo Linhua's network of connections.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang now has strong connections, so the deputy leader has to visit two families, and with only two days left until the Chinese New Year, they can only visit them separately.

Guo Yuting and her daughter stayed home to prepare for the New Year, frying meatballs and cleaning the house.

In the past, Guo Yuting always spent time with Zhou Zhiqiang, but now that Mei Xiuxue has returned, Guo Yuting plans to spend more time with her mother.

The father-in-law and son-in-law spent half a day squeezing into the supply and marketing cooperative before finally buying enough things to take with them.

After walking out, Guo Linhua said with lingering fear, "Goodness, there were so many people. I've never seen so many people when I was buying things in the Northwest."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang laughed and said, "Haha, Dad, there are relatively few people today. Yesterday there were so many people. The number of people decreased as time went on."

"These are the best days to buy things; any later and all the good stuff will probably be sold out."

Guo Linhua shook his head and said, "In our area, the supply and marketing cooperatives all supply internally. The amount of goods needed by a few households is almost always predetermined."
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I need to go say hello to my old friend. Zhiqiang, you should go too."

"Okay, Dad, be home before dark that day. Be careful on the road."

Zhou Zhiqiang cautioned, "There are more street thugs around at the end of the year, and some of them are quite daring. If you run into one, remember to shout. Don't worry about such a small thing."

"Do not worry."

Guo Linhua felt a warmth in his heart and said that he had really chosen a good son-in-law.

Guo Linhua now recalls that initial flash of inspiration as a sign from heaven that he should choose Zhou Zhiqiang as his son-in-law.

He used to be able to brag about his son when he met old friends, but today, when he met his old friends, he wanted to brag about his son-in-law.

After parting ways with Guo Linhua, Zhou Zhiqiang also rode his bicycle straight to the cadre family compound.

After arriving at the gate, I spoke to the guard.

Fortunately, the soldier on duty today was someone I knew. When Zhou Zhiqiang came last time, the same guard who registered him was the same one today.

Knowing he was from the Yu family, the military attaché stationed abroad, they let him through after saying a word. Upon arriving at the Yu family's gate, Zhou Zhiqiang knocked a few times.

A moment later, Yu Jingyu opened the door, looked up and saw his older brother. He immediately turned around and shouted into the house, "Mom, my older brother is here!"

After calling out, Yu Jingyu excitedly opened the door, grabbed Zhou Zhiqiang's hand, and pulled him inside, asking as he did so, "Brother, did you bring me and my sister anything delicious?"

"You're always thinking about food, don't you want your toys anymore? Here, you can have some food. I'll give these two cars to Xunnan."

After Zhou Zhiqiang finished speaking, he took out two wooden toy cars from his bag; the wheels of the cars could even turn.

The carving is incredibly lifelike. He had a carpenter carve a rough, large-scale model, and then Zhou Zhiqiang refined it himself with tools. It even has windshield wipers on it.

Upon seeing the toy car, Yu Jingyu immediately jumped up with joy and exclaimed, "I want the car! Give the food to my little sister, big brother!"

"Take them and play with them, one for each of you."

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't tease them. After handing the car to Yu Jingyu and Yu Xunnan, he said to Fang Mengjie, who had just come out of the kitchen with tea and snacks, "Aunt Fang, you don't need to take these. I'm all alone today."

Fang Mengjie was taken aback upon hearing this. She glanced at the door and asked, "Zhiqiang, why are you alone? Didn't Yuting and Bocai come?"

"I was too busy at the factory before and didn't have time to tell you, but Yuting's parents came back from the Northwest this year."
After they found out about my situation, they asked me to ask you, Aunt Fang, if you wanted to spend the New Year with Jingyu and Xunnan in Nanluoguxiang.

Zhou Zhiqiang paused for a moment before continuing, "I'll talk to Uncle Chen. I'm going to pay him a visit later anyway, so I'll leave it to you, Aunt Fang."

“Then I’ll take Jingyu to Xunnan with me to your place.”

Fang Mengjie agreed to go to Nanluoguxiang without much hesitation; although her family had a good relationship with the Chen family, they were still outsiders.

Moreover, she had been keeping an eye on Zhou Zhiqiang during this time. Perhaps because of her stepmother, Fang Mengjie felt that she and Zhou Zhiqiang were always distant. They were polite, but not like family.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang took good care of her two children, and they got along very well.

Fang Mengjie now understands that if her two children want someone to rely on in the future, they will still have to rely on their older brother, Zhou Zhiqiang.

At such a young age, he has already risen to the position of factory director of a large factory directly under a ministry; his future achievements will certainly surpass those of Zhongguo.

"I'll tidy up the house today and bring some things to your house tomorrow."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "Then I'll ride my bike to pick up Jingyu Xunnan tomorrow, otherwise it will be quite troublesome for you to go alone."

Fang Mengjie said with a smile, "Okay, thank you for your trouble, Zhiqiang. Oh, by the way, I'll get you some things, take some extra with you when you go see Old Chen."

After saying that, Fang Mengjie went to the storage room at home and took out two bottles of wine. She said to Zhou Zhiqiang, "These are from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to comfort the families of those stationed abroad who can't come back. But we don't drink these wines, so you can take them."

"This wine is really good. Aunt Fang, I won't stand on ceremony with you. But it's too much, so I'll just take two bottles."

Zhou Zhiqiang glanced at them; two bottles of Fenjiu and two bottles of Moutai, both costing around three yuan each, making them among the most expensive liquors of that era.

Including the gifts he brought himself, the gifts he brought for his visit were quite generous.

After leaving the Yu family's house, Zhou Zhiqiang walked slowly towards the Chen family's house.

Both families lived in the same compound, and it took less than two minutes to reach the Chen family's house.

Shortly after knocking, Chen Weiguo opened the door: "Who is it? Zhiqiang is here, come in quickly."

"Let me wish Uncle Chen a Happy New Year in advance."

After entering the house, Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile, "I'll probably be very busy after the New Year and won't have time to visit people according to the appointed days, so I came to see you before the New Year."

"I understand! These days, work is the most important thing."

As Chen Weiguo accepted the gift from Zhou Zhiqiang, he said with empathy, "After the Lunar New Year, I will have to go to the factory to work, and then it will be Zhao Wenshan's turn to cover for me."

However, we can take turns resting for a few days. Once you start working, no one can replace you. You'll have to personally oversee everything, and you'll definitely be more tired than me.
"Dad! Zhiqiang is here to see you!"

In the end, Chen Weiguo turned around and shouted towards the study.

Just then, Chen's father came out and said to Chen Weiguo with a stern face, "What's all the commotion at home? Can't you knock on the door and come tell me?"

After scolding his son, Chen's father turned to Zhou Zhiqiang with a smile and said, "Zhiqiang, you're here."

"Yes, Uncle Chen, the factory will start work ahead of schedule after the New Year. I'm afraid I won't have time to visit you then, so I came here before the New Year."

As Zhou Zhiqiang was speaking, he noticed Chen Li coming downstairs, so he smiled and nodded in greeting. He then continued to Chen's father, "Uncle Chen, my wife's parents are back this year."

"Oh, I see. Then your family should definitely get together."

Upon hearing this, Mr. Chen nodded and said, "No need to make any absolute statements; just understand what I mean."

"I was planning to take you to visit Comrade Jianhong's home after the New Year, but you've arrived so early."

"Haha, now Deputy Leader Wu hides things whenever he sees me. It's probably because I 'borrowed' things from him too many times before."

After hearing what Zhou Zhiqiang said, Chen's father laughed and then asked Zhou Zhiqiang, "Let's set off now. It's not far, we can get there in a few steps."

"Okay, I'll listen to you, Uncle Chen."

After agreeing, Zhou Zhiqiang said goodbye to Chen Weiguo and Chen Li, then picked up the two bottles of wine he had brought and went out with Chen's father.

Seeing that Mr. Chen was fully dressed, even with his shoes on, it was clear that he had been planning to go out for some time.

After leaving the Chen family, Chen's father said as he walked, "Zhiqiang, it would be so good if you could come to the Ministry of Light Industry."

"It's completely unrelated to your major, Uncle Chen."

Zhou Zhiqiang directly offered the most suitable reason, saying, "Actually, I'm just average at managing production. Deputy Leader Wu has already promised to assign me a deputy after the New Year."

I specialize in mechanical structure design and research; I'm actually more of a technician, but my administrative position makes it easier for me to initiate research projects.

“Comrade Jianhong found it. I’ve heard about your achievements at the First Ministry of Machine Building. Several heavy industrial products that earn foreign exchange were developed under your leadership, right?”

Mr. Chen sighed and said, "In just one or two years, you've earned the country nearly 200 million yuan in foreign exchange. Now the Ministry of Machine Building treats you like a treasure."

He just asked Zhou Zhiqiang to come to the Ministry of Light Industry to say something.

If he really did that, Sheng Jianhui and Wu Jianhong, two heavyweight figures from the First Ministry of Machine Building, would definitely block his office door and argue with him for three days and three nights.

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(End of this chapter)