I painted an aircraft carrier on the courtyard house for Dongda University.

Zhou Weiguo was a little embarrassed and quickly explained, "Brother, it was a misunderstanding. The things have already been delivered. I thought it was you who arranged it. You can keep these cigarettes; I'll leave now."

Filled with doubt, Zhou Weiguo left the logistics building. When he returned to the workshop, he happened to see Erniu pouring water into his cup.

"Erniu!" Zhou Weiguo hurriedly called out to him, "Tell me quickly, who sent you to help me with the work? And where did this table and jar come from?"

Erniu was startled by the sudden question and stammered, "Um... Engineer Zhou... I just do whatever my brother tells me to do, I don't know why."

Zhou Weiguo was even more confused: "You mean, Dashan asked you to help me clean up?"

Erniu nodded blankly: "That's right, Engineer Zhou, my brother told me to do it."

"Then who instructed your brother to come and help?"

Erniu was taken aback and quickly explained, "Nobody told us! After you finished making the parts that day, my brother saw that you had all left, so he pulled me along to clean up here. We usually clean up our workshop too, and since it's close by, we cleaned it together."

Zhou Weiguo pressed on, "Erniu, what exactly did you and your brother do in the workshop? I've never asked."

Erniu smiled and said, "Engineer Zhou, my brother and I are both temporary loading and unloading workers. We're not usually busy, only a bit tired during loading and unloading. It's nothing for us to come and help you occasionally! My brother said your skills are absolutely the best in the factory, even Chief Engineer Song praised you as 'amazing'! And besides working, you're very polite to us manual laborers, you're clearly a good person."

Zhou Weiguo never expected that he would be given a "good guy card" so inexplicably.

Just then, Da Shan walked in from outside, sweating profusely. Seeing Zhou Weiguo and Er Niu chatting, he smiled and came over: "Engineer Zhou, you're not busy today, so please take a rest. Don't hesitate to let us know if you need anything."

Zhou Weiguo turned around and asked gently, "Dashan, tell me the truth, who sent you two to help?"

Da Shan looked puzzled: "Nobody said anything?"

"Then why are you helping me with this and that? And where did all these tables, kettles, and cups come from?"

Da Shan laughed heartily: "Oh, Engineer Zhou, I thought it was something serious! These are all for our loading and unloading team, just Er Niu and I use them. Don't worry, they're definitely not stolen! My dad taught us from a young age that 'industry is the foundation of the nation,' so I brought my younger brother from our hometown to Beijing and got a job as a temporary worker at the steel rolling mill."

Chief Engineer Song said, "No one in the factory can match your skills. Even the most skilled engineers and fitters can't operate those machine tools, but you do it like it's your own hand and foot! The more we do, the more energy you can devote to building our country. This isn't that...that...different division of labor in the revolution, this is it!"

These simple words warmed Zhou Weiguo's heart. He didn't ask any more questions, only said "thank you," and then turned to go to the next workshop.

After making several inquiries, Zhou Weiguo finally found the person in charge, Team Leader Guo. This man had a face full of fat and was truly ugly beyond belief.

"Engineer Zhou! Please feel free to ask me anything. As long as it's within my power, I'll do my best to get it done for you!" Team Leader Guo said respectfully.

Zhou Weiguo waved his hand and politely asked, "Team Leader Guo, I'd like to ask you about Dashan and Erniu."

Team Leader Guo was taken aback at first, then frowned and said, "Li Dashan and Li Erniu? Did they cause you trouble? I wasn't too keen on them offering to help out; those two are clumsy in the workshop..."

"Team Leader Guo has misunderstood," Zhou Weiguo quickly interrupted. "They're both fine; they didn't cause any trouble. I just wanted to get to know them a little better."

Team Leader Guo's anger turned to a smile: "So that's how it is! These two lads joined the factory at the beginning of the year. They're not highly educated, so they were assigned to the loading and unloading group. But their work ethic is impeccable. They're always the first to arrive and the last to leave, and they have good tempers. Even when they're bullied, they don't say a word. I actually quite like them. They're honest, enthusiastic, and never play tricks on each other. They're clearly simple, honest country kids."

Having learned all this, Zhou Weiguo thanked Team Leader Guo and turned to leave. Team Leader Guo watched his retreating figure, then glanced at the two brothers, Da Shan and Da Shan, who were helping people move things, and muttered to himself, "You two lads, you've finally made it. Sometimes fools are lucky. If you really become capable, don't forget about me, Guo Da Piezi!"

Zhou Weiguo came to Uncle Song's office again. Uncle Song, seeing him, was both amused and annoyed: "Why are you here again? Aren't you annoying? So, what do you want this time?"

Zhou Weiguo blushed and said with an embarrassed smile, "Uncle Song, I'd like to ask you for two people."

"Need people? Sure! Engineers or technicians?"

"Neither," Zhou Weiguo shook his head, "I want two loaders." Then, he explained in detail about Dashan and Erniu.

Uncle Song was somewhat surprised after hearing this: "I didn't expect there to still be such an honest young man these days. But are you sure about serving the country?"

"I just asked their group leader, and it should be fine. Besides, I'm just a student; there's nothing about me that anyone would want to take advantage of."

Uncle Song pondered for a moment, then said, "Wait a moment." He then called over a man and whispered a few words in his ear. The man returned more than half an hour later and quietly reported back to Uncle Song.

"There shouldn't be any problem. These two lads are known for their helpfulness in the factory. Erniu is especially honest and straightforward, and Dashan, though he looks simple and kind, is actually quite shrewd. So, what do you plan to do?"

Zhou Weiguo laughed and said, "Anyway, I'm just killing time. I thought I'd teach them something these next couple of days, as a way of repaying the kindness they showed me over the past two weeks."

Uncle Song was secretly delighted, but deliberately kept a straight face and scolded, "I thought you were going to take on an apprentice, making such a big fuss! Turns out it's nothing. By the way, Old Yang is back from his training at Shougang. I was planning to tell him I'd like you to be our Hongxing Steel Rolling Mill's technical consultant. You'll be specifically responsible for teaching our workers how to use the new machine tools."

Zhou Weiguo initially wanted to refuse, but considering the friendship between Uncle Zhang and Uncle Song, as well as Zhu Zi, he hesitated for a moment.

Uncle Song continued, "You know the factory is having a tough time right now. Just come and keep me company and have a chat. Besides, this consultant position comes with a subsidy, no onboarding required, no record kept, and it'll even help support your nephew. Isn't that a great deal?"

Zhou Weiguo pondered for a moment, then feigned reluctance: "Alright."

Seeing that he agreed, Uncle Song's face immediately lit up with a smile, and he continued, "If, and I mean if, you really like those two lads, why not take them on as apprentices? It would be only natural for them to help you in the future, and as you know, our factory really needs people who can operate the new machine tools."

Zhou Weiguo lowered his head and pondered for a moment: "Then I'll think about it."

Ps:

Dear readers, please lend a hand and click the "urging update" button or add it to your bookshelf.

This book is now in its verification phase, so those who enjoy reading it are kindly requested to take a look.

If it's convenient and troublesome, please give a five-star review without any words.

The results during the verification period will determine how far this book can go. Thank you.