Courtyard House: Drunk and tipsy, the whole courtyard exposed at the start.

Moreover, Zhang Dabiao's patent for that lighter can sell for 20 yuan!

Now that we've appeased Zhang Dabiao, any new inventions he comes up with, even just a little bit leaking out from under his fingernails, will be enough to keep the factory busy for years.

It's safe to say that whatever Zhang Dabiao says in the factory now carries more weight than the factory director or the party secretary!

He personally brought his nephew to look for work, but was only given a temporary purchasing permit?

If that were to happen, Tian Baocheng reckoned the factory director and the party secretary would be furious with him. Wouldn't that be a slap in the face to Zhang Dabiao?

Zhang Dabiao thought for a moment, then looked at Qin Mancang, who was still in a daze, and nodded: "Alright, let's make it a permanent position, but don't give it too many tasks. I'll send you the money tomorrow."

"Don't talk about money, it hurts feelings. If you, Zhang Dabiao, want a workstation, that's just a matter of saying the word."

"You wait here, I'll go ask the factory director and the party secretary for the quota."

What is Lian Qinmancang's name? What does he do? Where does he live?

I didn't ask anything.

Tian Baocheng dashed out of the office to find the factory director and the party secretary.

Qin Mancang didn't know what to say: "Uncle Da Biao, I... this..."

Am I here to be a laborer, or to be a scapegoat and pay for someone's death?

"You didn't come to the city to look for work, did you?"

Besides, are permanent factory jobs in the city really that easy to get?

Zhang Dabiao casually found a chair and sat down. He understood that Tian Baocheng was trying to curry favor with him and give Qin Mancang a chance to save face, all so that Qin Mancang would owe him more favors.

"Full warehouse? No problem. Having a purchasing agent identity makes things easier."

"Did you bring your ID? And the letter of introduction from the village?"

When Qin Mancang came to the city, the village chief gave him a letter of introduction. He carried a bag with him, along with some clothes, shoes, and bedding. He always carried that satchel with him.

Qin Mancang nodded: "Uncle Dabiao, I've brought it. I understand. I'll do whatever you say."

Before long, Tian Baocheng came over with an employment notice that was stamped and signed, and took Qin Mancang to complete the formalities.

I'll be a full-time employee right away, with a salary of 31 yuan. Forget about getting a house; Hongxing Daily Necessities Manufacturing Factory doesn't even have a dedicated family housing area. Even the factory manager hasn't been allocated a house.

However, Qin Mancang's household registration was resolved directly, and he was also given a note that allowed him to apply for a rental house at the subdistrict office. This was different from residents applying for rental housing eligibility because it was a priority issue due to work needs—simply put, he could cut in line.

Applying for housing when you have no room is different from having a job and needing to start work immediately but having nowhere to live.

Then they approved two tricycles, which Qin Mancang and Zhang Dabiao took and used directly.

In addition, the procurement was mainly unplanned grain and supplies. Because Qin Mancang was from Qinjiatun in Changping, a suburb of Yanshan, the factory set a quota for him of 300 catties of meat and 200 catties of grain per month. This was mainly to ensure subsidies for heavy manual laborers and special welfare for leaders and their cronies. This kind of thing happened in every factory, and Zhang Dabiao was used to it.

This may seem difficult, but the risk is not high; the problem can be solved by spending a little more money.

Those who handle the buying and selling of thousands of kilograms of grain for the entire factory are the high-risk procurement personnel. To solve the widespread hunger among the factory's employees (a crazy gamble for a large factory), it is necessary to purchase thousands of kilograms or even more every month. This is no longer procurement, but "large-scale illegal grain transportation." Once started, it is almost certain to be exposed and collapse.

Therefore, these purchasing agents are all the factory director's and party secretary's confidants, the most trusted confidants among confidants.

Zhang Dabiao naturally wouldn't join in such a commotion; wouldn't that be tantamount to courting death?

I have 20 yuan; I can just sit back and collect the interest. Why bother with all this fuss?

Tian Baocheng's arrangement was thoughtful; firstly, it made the task easier to complete, and secondly, it gave Zhang Dabiao face.

He deliberately pointed at Qin Mancang: "Mancang, I won't even go into how difficult it is to find a job in a factory in the city these days."

"You have to remember, this is only because of your uncle Da Biao that our factory made an exception for you."

"Work hard, don't embarrass your uncle."

This was a warning to Qin Mancang, telling him not to be ungrateful, or the factory would have its own ways of dealing with him. It was also meant to make Qin Mancang owe Zhang Dabiao even more.

Even if Qin Mancang was stupid, he would know what it meant.

"Uncle Da Biao, don't worry, I'll do whatever you say."

He was speaking to Zhang Dabiao, not Tian Baocheng, which made his attitude more direct.

Tian Baocheng nodded. If he were to immediately become his patron, then there would be something wrong with the kid's intentions, and his favor would be wasted.

It seems that this kid is quite sensible.

Zhang Dabiao and Qin Mancang rode two tricycles out of the factory. After returning, Zhang Dabiao asked Qin Mancang to take care of the rental arrangements.

In the evening, people from the neighborhood committee came and helped Qin Mancang arrange a room in the outer courtyard so that the four temporary workers there could be relocated to other places. This was a temporary accommodation arrangement, and it would need to be adjusted again if the neighborhood committee or the factory's housing situation changed in the future.

The house was right next to Yan Jiecheng and Yu Li's. When Yan Jiecheng first heard that he was Qin Huairu's younger brother, his expression of disgust was obvious.

But upon hearing that Qin Mancang called Zhang Dabiao "uncle" and that Zhang Dabiao had arranged his house, job, and tricycle, his attitude immediately changed.

"Mancang! Da Biao's nephew, that makes him my nephew too!"

"From now on, when you come back, just park your tricycle in my little courtyard. There are a lot of dishonest people in our courtyard, so it's safer to park it here with a fence around it."

"If you need anything, just come to your Uncle Jiecheng..."

Yu Li couldn't stand it anymore and slapped Yan Jiecheng, almost making him stumble.

"Da Biao and he are related through Da Biao's master, why are you meddling in this?"

"Mancang, you can just tell him to get out of trouble. I think you two are about the same age."

"Don't bother with him. He's always talking without thinking. Let's just stick to our own opinions."

"Okay, Jie Cheng, Sister Yu Li, I'll be troubling you a lot from now on."

They were chatting happily, and Zhang Dabiao gave him some blankets, a stove, and coal briquettes to make do with for now. The people in the courtyard had also finished get off work and gathered at the door to see what was going on. The street office clerk was still telling Qin Mancang that if there were any problems with the house, he should tell the street office and they could arrange for someone to come and repair it.

In addition, Qin Mancang needs to go back to Qinjiatun in the next few days to settle the household registration transfer and transfer the grain ration.

While they were chatting, they noticed that someone from the outer courtyard was renting a house, and it was related to Zhang Dabiao. Jia Dongxu and Yi Zhonghai, who had just returned, became unhappy.

"Officer Chen, why are you cutting in line again?!"

"Wasn't our Jia family second on the rental list?! How did someone else cut in front of us?"

"Zhang Dabiao, you're already worth 20 yuan, is it really necessary for you to compete with us poor folks for houses?"

"Good heavens, you arrange a room for one relative who comes today, and a few more will come tomorrow. Are you trying to buy up the entire courtyard house?"

"Are you even leaving any way for ordinary people like us to survive?!"