Era: 1962, the rise of vocabulary and related terms

Small restaurant.

I came here to eat again.

I feel much better right now than during the dinner party a while ago.

The procurement task was successfully completed, and everyone was in a state of "debt-free and carefree", with a relaxed expression on their faces.

The food, dishes, and wine were all served.

This time, everyone seemed to have reached a tacit understanding, abandoning the almost unrestrained drinking of the last time, and instead setting out small, delicate wine cups.

"Come on! Let's drink to the successful completion of our mission!" Sun Dazhu raised his glass first, "To our smooth and brilliant completion of this mission! Cheers to this!"

"Dry!"

"Dry!"

bang bang bang! ! !

A series of crisp collision sounds rang out.

Several shouts, filled with the same sense of joy and relief.

"Eat vegetables, eat vegetables."

After several rounds of drinks...

Xu Chunwang, with his arm around Yan Xiao's shoulder and a hint of alcohol in his voice, said, "Xiao Yan, do you know why we argue so fiercely with them in the department?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the previously noisy dining table fell silent.

Sun Dazhu's chopsticks, which were about to pick up food, stopped in mid-air. Wu Xu and Zhang Fan exchanged a glance, and even Ma Bing, who had been eating in silence, looked up.

All eyes, whether intentionally or unintentionally, were focused on Yan Xiao.

Yan Xiao still didn't quite understand why, but he could guess some of the meaning from the conversation: "Is it because of Section Chief Sun's promise, the different division of labor, and the previous grudges?"

His tone was tentative and speculative, and his gaze swept across the faces of several senior colleagues.

"Um?!"

The group, who had been slightly tipsy, were now three-tenths sober.

Sun Dazhu exclaimed in surprise, "Hey! You're something else! How did you figure out all that going around in circles?"

"Xiao Xu, did you tell him?" Wu Xu looked at Xu Chunwang, but he shook his head repeatedly.

"No, no, I haven't told him at all."

Yan Xiao explained, "Isn't it obvious? You can tell from the way you talk to them that I'm not deaf."

He shrugged, his expression somewhat helpless.

Zhang Fan nodded: "That's true. You're a high school student, after all. You're quick-witted, so it's only natural that you could figure it out. Let me explain the ins and outs to you."

Zhang Fan cleared his throat, tapped the table with his chopsticks, and began his "science popularization".

"Firstly, Sun Ke personally promised at the beginning of the month that we would get a holiday once we completed our procurement target. That's only fair, right?"

Yan Xiao nodded; there was nothing to say about it.

Sun Dazhu continued, "The second thing is about coal. You've heard that there are different responsibilities for purchasing. We're in charge of purchasing from the countryside. Whatever the countryside has, we'll purchase it."

"What's most abundant in the countryside? Agricultural and sideline products, of course—that's our duty! But coal? There is some in the countryside, but only a few here and there. We barely have enough to use for heating our own stoves and cooking, let alone any extra for us to buy in bulk."

"This isn't just asking the impossible; it's forcing a rooster to lay an egg—pure nonsense!"

He became increasingly angry as he spoke, pounding his fingers on the table.

Xu Chunwang nodded in agreement, his tone full of grievance and indignation: "That's right, coal is something that we lowly purchasing agents can't touch from the very beginning."

Wu Xu joined in, putting down his wine cup. "Xiao Yan, think about it. At first, Section Chief Sun pretended to let everyone 'come up with ideas,' as if it were quite democratic."

"But if this idea is really good, who will do it? We can't just come up with ideas and not do anything, can we? In the end, who will pull the strings and who will make it happen? Hmm?"

He gave Yan Xiao a meaningful look. "He talks about brainstorming, but in reality, if this idea even remotely comes up, the thankless task will most likely fall to us low-level purchasing agents who have already 'completed our tasks' and are 'idling around anyway'!"

Yan Xiao nodded thoughtfully, anticipating that if things continued this way, mid-to-senior level purchasing staff would be busy maintaining their important and lucrative relationships, overwhelmed and unable to spare any time.

At this point, if they "contribute" a solution to the coal problem, Section Chief Sun would naturally say, "Since it was you who suggested it, then you should follow up and implement it"—it would be a perfectly logical thing to do!

Those in charge of the mining areas all hold some status. When junior purchasing agents go there, they're practically begging for favors. They have to drink with them, smile at them, say nice things, and might even have to act subservient and be mindful of their moods.

In the end, it's only yourself who suffers.

Sun Dazhu took a big gulp of wine, the pungent liquid seemingly igniting his burning anger.

"That's the crux of the matter, Xiao Yan! This is the most frustrating part! What if we work so hard, humble ourselves, and even shamelessly try to build new connections and relationships, and in the end? All the benefits end up in someone else's pocket!"

"They get all the connections and the benefits, and what about us? We don't get a single penny! Tell me, what the hell is this? Are we just doing all the work for them? Are we just being taken advantage of? Isn't this just making a fool of us?!"

These words were like a bucket of ice water, extinguishing any naive thought in Yan Xiao's mind that he might "maybe give it a try".

Wu Xu patted Yan Xiao on the shoulder and offered an explanation.

"There are two types of relationships: those inherent within the department and those that develop on their own. Regardless of the type, you have to maintain the relationship yourself. If you lose touch with someone, you have to find a way to rebuild it yourself. That's the rule!"

"We have different roles, we didn't benefit from their work, so why should they take advantage of us? And why should Section Chief Sun force us to keep working endlessly to clean up their messes?"

"Why should I?! Who the hell would feel good about this? Who wants to be this wronged fool?!"

Ma Bing followed up: "Speaking of this grudge, you must have felt the famine of a few years ago, right? A few years ago, they held the power over the grain stations. Even a tiny bit of money slipping through their fingers was enough for us to meet our procurement quota."

"But they're not willing at all. If we were in their shoes, they didn't do anything wrong, but we didn't do anything wrong either. Why should we clean up their messes?"

Sun Dazhu's face flushed with anger: "That's right! They never invite us to the good things, but make us clean up the mess when things go wrong. If we don't stop, they say we're not united! They get all the benefits, but leave us with all the trivial stuff!"

"Exactly!"

After listening to everyone's explanations, Yan Xiao nodded, understanding a bit more.

"But aren't we afraid they'll retaliate against us for doing this?"

"Making things difficult for us?" Wu Xu chuckled. "We weren't afraid of him before, so why should we be now! One of us is in the city, and the other is in the countryside. As long as we meet our purchase quota, even if Sun Yongkai pushes us too far, we'll still deal with him!"

"That's right, kill Sun Yongkai!"

"Screw them! We're not even afraid of Sun Yongkai, why would we be afraid of them?!"

Whether it was the alcohol or they were truly unafraid of Sun Yongkai, everyone raised their glasses and shouted, displaying an invincible and heroic attitude!

Xu Chunwang patted Yan Xiao on the shoulder and said, "Xiao Yan, you haven't been in our department long enough to understand the ins and outs. You'll get to know it in time. On the surface, we all seem to get along very well."

"If you don't believe me, you'll find out tomorrow morning."

"Oh? Why?"

"Haha~" Everyone smiled slightly and said nothing.

......

the next day.

Yan Xiao finally woke up after his roommates had all gone to work.

"We're just one step away from the finish line, let's upgrade as soon as possible."

He took out an English textbook from the ring and began reading.

The entry for "English Scholar" is a bit more difficult to improve than "Abundant Achievements," requiring an hour of dedicated study to make any progress.

Although there is no limit to the number of times a day, a person's energy is limited. He has been busy with work lately and can't spare much time, but he can at least manage to dedicate an hour to studying.

One hour later.

Ding--

[English Scholar (Green): Able to understand articles on common topics, possess basic grammatical structures and vocabulary, and capable of general social, business, and travel activities.]

Yan Xiao suddenly felt a clearing of his mind and immediately looked at the entry.

"Great! Before, we could only have simple daily conversations, but now we can socialize. Finally, it can come in handy!"

"I've got another card in my hand, I need to find a chance to show it off, otherwise it'll be a waste."

Yan Xiao was overjoyed at that moment. He hadn't forgotten his original purpose for learning English: to keep his job.

I'll find an opportunity to show it off to Sun Yongkai. Putting aside everything else, just the fact that I can speak fluent English will naturally make him hesitate.

After all, the steel rolling mill is a large factory, and it also receives foreign guests and conducts foreign trade.

We can't always call on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help whenever something happens.

"We still need to keep working hard."

With a wonderful feeling in his heart, Yan Xiao went to work.

Purchasing Department.

Sun Dazhu, Xu Chunwang, and others, who were indignant and shouting "Kill Sun Yongkai!" in the small restaurant yesterday, are now chatting and laughing with Zhu Fugui and others, their faces full of familiar and polite smiles.

"Hey Zhang, good morning! This awful weather, it's so stuffy first thing in the morning!"

"Good morning! You bet it is. Looking at the sky, it looks like it's going to rain again. Brother Sun, you did a great job on that mission, can you finally take a break now?"

"Well, it's alright, it's all thanks to everyone's hard work. You guys in the city have a lot of work to do, thank you for your efforts."

His tone was calm, and his smile was warm.

It was as if yesterday's events had never happened.

In the adult world, is it really a simple matter of black and white?

"Hey, Xiao Yan!" Zhu Fugui suddenly approached Yan Xiao, who seemed to be deep in thought.

"Brother Zhu, is something the matter?"

"I need to trouble you with something. Let's talk somewhere else."