Siheyuan (courtyard house): My father, Li Yunlong!

Yi Zhonghai's heart was instantly filled with thoughts of revenge, and even the pain in his body lessened a bit.

Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui exchanged a glance, their expressions a mixture of surprise and schadenfreude.

Sha Zhu and Jia Dongxu struggled to raise their heads, their eyes flashing with resentment and glee.

However, Li Zhenhua's next words were like a bucket of ice water, mixed with ice, which completely extinguished their newly ignited flame of hope, freezing them in place!

"Director Yang valued me and transferred me to the logistics department to serve as deputy director."

Li Zhenhua's tone remained relatively flat, yet it carried a sense of effortless power.

"Mainly responsible for...unplanned procurement."

He then slowly turned around, his gaze calmly sweeping over the faces that were instantly petrified, their expressions incredibly varied. He lingered for a moment on Yi Zhonghai's distorted face, which looked as if he had swallowed a fly and been hit on the head with a blunt object, and the corner of his mouth seemed to curl up almost imperceptibly.

"We're all old neighbors. If you ever encounter any real difficulties in the future, like food or oil shortages, you can come to me if conditions allow."

After saying that, he didn't linger. He turned around and his figure completely disappeared into the darkness behind the moon gate.

No sooner had he left than the deathly silence of the courtyard erupted like a pot of boiling oil being scalded with cold water, causing it to explode with a deafening roar!

"Later...Deputy Director of the Logistics Department?!"

"In charge of procurement?! Unplanned procurement?!"

"Good heavens! This...this is way more capable than the head of security!"

"In this day and age, this is a living Bodhisattva!"

"Grain! Pork! Soybean oil! Even a little bit leaking from between his fingers is enough for us to eat and use forever!"

All fear, contempt, and schadenfreude were replaced by a more powerful emotion at this moment.

Extreme shock, fervent desire, and the urge to cling!

food!

In an era of widespread famine, what did it mean to be a deputy director in charge of unplanned procurement?

This means that he has access to supply channels that are unimaginable to ordinary people!

This means he can get hard currency to keep his family alive, or even better!

Yi Zhonghai stood frozen in place, the muscles in his face twitching wildly. The thought of revenge that had just arisen was shattered by this heavy blow, leaving only boundless panic and a sense of absurdity, as if he had been mocked by fate.

Deputy Director of the Logistics Department?

Director Yang's confidant?

I was just thinking of getting revenge on him? With what means? Like an egg hitting a rock?

His chubby bangs jiggled, his small eyes widened, and his mind was already racing, trying to figure out how to curry favor with this newly promoted "Director Li." If he could get himself a position of some authority, that would be even better!

Yan Bugui adjusted his glasses, which had slipped down to the tip of his nose, and his mind raced with calculations: What a loss! Why didn't I take the opportunity to say a few more nice words earlier! I'll have to find a way to ease the tension later, even if it's just to get a discount on some cornmeal!

The woman, Jia Zhangshi, who had been slumped on the ground, forgot to cry out. A terrifying glint flashed in her triangular eyes as she stared intently at the backyard, muttering unconsciously to herself.

"Purchasing manager... meat... flour..."

Even Qin Huairu, who had been keeping her head down, suddenly raised her head.

The redness and swelling on her cheeks had not yet subsided, but her eyes, which had originally been filled with humiliation and numbness, now shone with an extremely complex light, showing shock, disbelief, and even a trace of... indescribable, as if grasping at a lifeline.

She instinctively brought her legs together, her fingers tightly gripping the hem of her clothes, her heart inexplicably racing.

The deputy director of the logistics department, in charge of procurement... If he were willing to let a little bit slip through his fingers, then the Jia family, that Bang Geng... and his own family... the "price" of those ten minutes before seemed... seemed to become less unbearable, and even... faintly became a glimmer of hope?

At this moment, everyone in the courtyard was abuzz with activity, their calculations, hopes, and ambitions revolving around the words "deputy director of the logistics department" and "unplanned procurement." Li Zhenhua's two seemingly casual words had a more profound impact on the power structure and the flow of people's hearts in the courtyard than his previous thunderous actions.

Time flies, and a week has passed.

The atmosphere at No. 95 Nanluoguxiang courtyard underwent a subtle yet profound change this week.

The storm that erupted at the Intermediate People's Court that night, and the subsequent personnel changes, were like a boulder thrown into a stagnant pond, the ripples of which have yet to subside.

Li Zhenhua still looks like the young cadre who pushes his bicycle to work early in the morning and leaves work on time in the evening, but his status in the eyes of his neighbors has changed drastically.

Previously, it was driven by a mix of curiosity, scrutiny, and even a hint of disdain for the "naive youngster." Now, it has transformed into a mixture of awe, ingratiation, and cautious probing.

"Director Li, off to work?"

"Zhenhua...no, Director Li, are you off work? Have you eaten?"

Whether it was Yan Bugui in the front yard or a resident they happened to meet in the middle yard, their greetings were always tinged with obvious obsequiousness.

Even the usually arrogant Sha Zhu would subconsciously turn his face away or quicken his pace when he saw Li Zhenhua from afar. The experience of being easily defeated that night and the title of "Deputy Director of Logistics" weighed on his heart like two small mountains.

The Jia family quieted down considerably. Although Jia Zhangshi still cursed behind his back, she dared not make a scene to his face anymore. Even Bang Geng was sternly warned not to go to the backyard to provoke "Uncle Li".

This week, Li Zhenhua established himself in the logistics department of the steel rolling mill at an astonishing speed, and could even be said to have gained considerable power.

Just as he predicted, in this era of extreme scarcity, whoever could obtain resources outside the plan held absolute power.

Backed by the incredible Pinduoduo system, Li Zhenhua subtly manipulated the system's warehouse to inject scarce resources, obtained through "special channels" and "after much effort," into the operations of the third and fourth procurement departments in batches, immediately resolving several of the factory's urgent difficulties.

The protective equipment in the high-temperature workshop, the small amount of fine food urgently needed by the guesthouse, and even the candies and snacks that kindergarten children rarely see... the effect is immediate.

Not only did the procurement sections three and four under his supervision admire him greatly and obey his every command, but even the heads of procurement sections one and two, who were originally in charge of the planned materials and had considerable experience, completely yielded to him, took the initiative to report their work to him, and sought his guidance.

There was nothing they could do; the things Director Li managed to get in such a short time were things they couldn't obtain even if they ran themselves ragged and talked themselves hoarse.

Before the new director took office, Li Zhenhua was the de facto ruler of the entire logistics department.

What pleased Li Zhenhua even more was that this week's secret operations, through buying low and selling high of system resources, allowed him to quickly accumulate a huge fortune of over 10,000 yuan.

In an era when ordinary workers earned only a few dozen yuan a month, this was undoubtedly an astronomical figure, laying a solid economic foundation for his subsequent plans.