Era: 1962, the rise of vocabulary and related terms

With half an hour left before the end of the workday, all staff from the three departments were present.

"Everyone's here, right? Okay, tell me what you did today, how much grain and coal you purchased." Sun Yongkai got straight to the point, first looking at Song Guangfu.

"Old Song, you go first."

Song Guangfu nodded: "I made an appointment with several section chiefs from the grain station and the Ministry of Coal today to have dinner and discuss these matters when they are free."

Sun Yongkai nodded. After gaining a certain status, it wasn't something that could be done quickly to arrange a meeting with someone, especially since they were the ones who needed their help.

He looked at the next deputy section chief: "Old Feng, what about you?"

Feng Shoucheng uttered only two words: "Same."

"Should the others give a hug too?"

He then looked at the other purchasing staff.

Zhu Fugui spoke first: "Me too, I've made an appointment to talk to two clerks from different departments."

The same applies to Zheng Shuangxi and several other intermediate purchasing staff.

Their minimum purchase amount is 100 yuan, and it is very difficult to reach that amount simply by purchasing from rural areas.

Their main battleground naturally shifted from rural villages and brigades to the clerks in various resource departments.

Although these clerks can provide fewer resources than the station chief and deputy station chief, they are still sufficient to fulfill their procurement quotas.

At the same time, compared to having to go to the countryside frequently, they are more relaxed and carefree, as a few meals are all they need to do.

"Everyone's doing their work, that's good." Sun Yongkai nodded with satisfaction, then looked at Zhang Fan and the other junior purchasing staff, "You guys tell me, how much have you purchased?"

The group looked at each other, hesitating for a long time before no one dared to speak first.

Seeing this, Sun Yongkai naturally understood, but he still insisted, "Just say what you have to say! What's the point of hiding things?"

Yan Xiao was told in advance not to speak, and besides, he had just arrived, so no one had high hopes that he could procure a lot of supplies.

At this moment, the two deputy section chiefs and several intermediate purchasing agents, including Zhu Fugui, looked at the group of junior purchasing agents with a hint of schadenfreude in their eyes.

Xu Chunwang gritted his teeth; being scolded was only a matter of time anyway.

"Sun Ke, I'm really sorry, I only managed to buy twenty or thirty catties of grain today."

With Xu Chunwang speaking up, the others eagerly reported their quantities.

"I bought 15 jin of grain, but also seven or eight jin of coal."

"I have 23 jin of grain."

......

After calculating, they only managed to purchase about 87 jin of grain and about 15 jin of coal today, which amounted to only 30 or 40 yuan, less than Sun Yongkai had expected.

At this moment, the schadenfreude in the eyes of the mid-to-senior level purchasing staff was even more pronounced.

The group exchanged glances, their eyes flashing with a kind of lightning-like tension.

"Luckily, we were shopping in the city."

Everyone expected Sun Yongkai to explode and give them a good scolding the next second, but unexpectedly he looked at Yan Xiao instead.

"Xiao Yan, tell us about your shopping today."

"Yes."

The group exchanged bewildered glances, their eyes filled with doubt. Yan Xiao had only been with the company for a short time; how much could he possibly have purchased? Could it be that he had none at all?

The more they thought about it, the more sense it made. Several junior purchasing agents couldn't help but look at Yan Xiao with a hint of schadenfreude.

"I purchased nearly 2000 jin (1,000 catties) of grain!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent for a few seconds. Everyone stared in disbelief at Yan Xiao's youthful face, unable to associate him with 2000 jin of grain.

"What!?"

"Really?!"

"Xiao Yan, this is no joke, you can't say things like that."

bang bang bang! ! !

Sun Yongkai banged on the table three times: "Of course it's true! Even the finance department has issued a receipt!"

As he spoke, he took out the list, and everyone eagerly looked at it.

"My goodness, it's actually true!"

"That's 2000 jin of grain! Compared to him, my 23 jin of grain is nothing, not even a fraction of what he has."

Even after seeing it with their own eyes, several mid-to-senior level purchasing agents, including Song Guangfu and Zhu Fugui, still found it hard to believe.

"We've already purchased so much food on the first day! This is enough to meet my purchase quota. How are we going to manage later?"

"2000 jin of grain is enough to meet the quota for two months."

For a moment, everyone was filled with curiosity, as if countless cats were scratching at their hearts.

"Xiao Yan, what did you do?"

"Yes, tell us about it."

Seeing the curious expressions on everyone's faces, Sun Yongkai nodded to Yan Xiao.

"Actually, it's nothing much. I just shifted my perspective slightly and linked scrap metal with marriage..."

A few words instantly enlightened everyone.

"Look, look! On his first day of purchasing, Xiao Yan managed to buy 2000 jin of grain by changing his approach. Some of you have been doing this for several months, and some for one or two years. You never expected this."

Immediately, the junior purchasing staff lowered their heads in shame.

"You should all learn more from Xiao Yan."

Seeing that the atmosphere was not right, Yan Xiao quickly replied, "No, no, Mr. Sun, you flatter me. Everyone can definitely come up with this idea. I'm just the first to try it out. As long as it can help everyone, that's fine."

"I've just arrived, and there's still a lot I need to learn from everyone."

Yan Xiao's words immediately made the junior purchasing staff feel much better.

Xu Chunwang chimed in, "Let's all make progress together! With Xiao Yan's idea, tomorrow's procurement... I dare not say how much, but we can at least buy 100 jin of grain!"

The topic was immediately shifted.

"I weigh 200 pounds!"

"I weigh 300 pounds!"

One or two junior purchasing agents were full of confidence and couldn't wait to go to the countryside to test this idea themselves.

On the contrary, several mid- to senior-level purchasing staff felt as if they had eaten shit.

With this idea in mind, needless to say, producing a thousand or two thousand catties of grain is no problem!

They were all filled with regret. Their main battleground was in the city, so they naturally neglected the affairs in the countryside.

Zhu Fugui, Zheng Shuangxi, and the others looked full of regret, wishing they hadn't given up on buying land in the countryside.

But there's no use in not giving up. The procurement territory is only so big, and it's impossible to occupy the position forever without doing anything.

"Phew~" Yan Xiao let out a small breath as the atmosphere gradually rose.

Regardless of whether Sun Yongkai's original intention was to reprimand, warn, or praise Yan Xiao, what he just did was nothing short of flattery that led to his downfall!

If he doesn't handle things well and creates discord with everyone, he can be kicked out of the purchasing department on the grounds of "disunity within the department".

Sun Yongkai is the section chief. He may not have had that intention, but that doesn't mean others didn't.

"Good! Very good!" Seeing the hesitant and confused looks on the faces of the junior purchasing staff, Sun Yongkai was very pleased: "I believe you can definitely do it. I'm waiting for your good news!"

"Alright, it's getting late. Everyone should go back and get some rest. We need to head to the countryside early tomorrow!"

After saying that, Sun Ke left first.

"Thanks! Xiao Yan, that's a great idea! How come I didn't think of that?" Xu Chunwang was the first to come over and express his gratitude.

"We're all in the same department, so I'm happy as long as I can help everyone," Yan Xiao said modestly.

"Alright, stop being modest. Sometimes, the right approach is much more important. Without your approach, if we followed today's procurement plan, we wouldn't even be able to meet the four-fold procurement target, let alone the monthly target."

"Is everyone right?" Xu Chunwang looked at the group of junior purchasing staff.

Zhang Fan chimed in, "Exactly! If we follow your approach, our purchasing tomorrow will be much easier."

The others expressed their gratitude.

2000 catties of grain, which translates to about 300 to 400 yuan, can be purchased in one go with a purchase quota of only 200 yuan!

They have to accept this favor.

"Let's go grab a bite!"

"Let's go!"

A group of junior purchasing staff left the department with smiles on their faces, leaving behind a group of mid- to senior-level purchasing staff looking at each other in bewilderment.

"How so?" Zheng Shuangxi asked.

"What else can we say? Let's hurry up and invite them out for drinks. We can't be outdone by them, can we?" Zhu Fugui spread his hands.

Everyone nodded. As mid- to senior-level purchasing agents, they were unwilling to be looked down upon by junior purchasing agents.

But can the situation really be resolved so easily?