Courtyard House: Starting with a 28-inch motorcycle

After all, He Yuzhu is that kind of person: while others close their eyes, he is drawing diagrams; while others eat, he is checking waveforms. Even the young technicians working in shifts can't keep up, but he is like an iron man wound up. Even the chief commander, Leader Wang, was alarmed and brought wild pheasants and deer antler slices to express his appreciation.

As a result, he stewed all these good things into several large pots and distributed them to everyone in the room to drink soup. After taking a spoonful of the hot soup, everyone suddenly realized that this Director He was the head chef of logistics at the Third Steel Rolling Mill in Beijing, a veteran cook who came from the cooking team!

"The calculation operation test has also passed!"

The entire process ran flawlessly, without any errors, crashes, or anomalies. A burst of cheers erupted in the room.

In just over eleven months, this nationally significant project was successfully launched.

Leader Wang's face lit up, and he immediately made the decision: "Comrades, you've worked hard all year, the Party Committee and I will remember it! Enough said—we'll have an extra meal tomorrow!"

"Tell the team leader what you want to eat, and if it's available within this area, I'll personally run the errand!"

This is absolutely true, no exaggeration. The savings from one machine go far beyond a few meals. Compressing the two-year construction period saves tons of steel, tens of thousands of meters of wiring, countless man-hours, and, more importantly, precious time that the country desperately needs!

Just then, someone shouted, "I want to eat Teacher He's hand-pulled noodles!"

Leader Wang was taken aback for a moment, then burst into laughter: "Then you'd better beg Xiao He properly! To be honest—I'm also craving it. Whoever manages to persuade him will benefit from it!"

Before he finished speaking, dozens of eyes turned to He Yuzhu, and even several white-haired professors next to him waited with smiles.

They had been longing for that pot of stewed wild game soup, which was so tender and flavorful.

He Yuzhu waved his hand and readily agreed: "Sure! Boss, make sure everything's ready, I guarantee everyone will have a satisfying meal!"

Feeding hundreds of people? For him, it was just a matter of a big pot and a few long chopsticks. Back in the steel rolling mill, he single-handedly led two cooks, serving more than three thousand mouths three meals a day, with every bowl emptied and everyone praising the food.

Upon hearing this, everyone cheered again—some for the machine's success, and others for the fire that would rise in the stove tomorrow.

Leader Wang also laughed heartily. As soon as the noise subsided, he immediately arranged for people to purchase ingredients; while He Yuzhu and his team did not rest either, turning around and rushing back into the computer room to prepare to run several more rounds of extreme tests, to thoroughly understand the temperament of this precious machine and squeeze out all the data.

This transistor machine cost several hundred thousand yuan to manufacture. Given the current situation in China, it would be a luxury for several provinces to share one machine. Now that it has been manufactured two years ahead of schedule, two more will definitely be replicated and distributed to research institutes in the southwest and northwest.

However, these matters were no longer under He Yuzhu's jurisdiction. He was on temporary assignment, and once his mission was over, he would have to return to the steel rolling mill to continue serving as his logistics director.

Most people will return to their jobs, leaving only a few young people who don't have families to support or have few family ties to stay and participate in the upgrade and research and development—they are after the platform and their future.

People like Director He, who have elderly parents to care for, young children to raise, and wives waiting for them to reunite at the neighborhood office, are definitely going to return to their original units.

He Yuzhu had already made his plans: it was the end of June 1st, and 1962 was fast approaching. Lou Xiao'e had promised to come and spend the New Year with him, but her mother suddenly returned to Beijing, so he had to call and politely decline.

At this moment, He Yuzhu was burning with longing to go home. He wished he could sprout wings and fly back to Beijing to hug his two children and see the three people he cherished most.

Fortunately, most of the projects at hand have been completed, and I can pack my bags and head home in another half month at most.

As soon as Deputy Director Ma entered the office of the Nanluoguxiang Subdistrict Office, he went straight to Lou Xiao'e's desk and spoke in a harsh tone:

"Comrade Lou Xiao'e, after careful consideration by the organization, your application for formal membership is not approved due to procedural irregularities; furthermore, given your complicated family background, your application to join the Party is also temporarily rejected."

Lou Xiao'e frowned slightly, not too surprised—she hadn't held out much hope for these two matters anyway. But as soon as she finished speaking, she felt a pang in her heart: sure enough, Deputy Director Ma and Director Qian were definitely keeping a close eye on her.

In the neighborhood office, who can compare to her in terms of seniority, performance, and drive? She's the only temporary worker who has worked for three years; the others have either only been there for six months or are just apprentices coasting along. If we were to really rank them, it would have been her turn long ago.

As for "family background"—it's more of an empty phrase. Her parents' files were already centrally filed by the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and the local street office didn't even have the authority to access them. As for her husband's family, the He family, they were spotless: He Yuzhu was a prominent level 16 deputy director-level cadre, and there was even a piece of calligraphy personally written by the leader hanging on the wall of their house!

"Furthermore, Comrade Lou Xiao'e, you are currently still a temporary worker. Starting tomorrow, you will work with Comrade Wang Lijuan to go door-to-door to investigate public sentiment and explain policies..."

Before Deputy Director Ma finished speaking, several pairs of eyes in the office swept over, all filled with astonishment.

Isn't this deliberately trying to trip someone up?

According to the rules, it is true that temporary workers run errands and deliver documents, but Lou Xiao'e is no ordinary temporary worker. With her promotion to a permanent position just around the corner and raising her child alone, how could she carry her child around the alleys every day?

Even if the official appointment isn't approved, isn't this whole ordeal just pushing someone to the brink of despair?

Lou Xiao'e saw through Deputy Director Ma's scheme at a glance—when Director Wang was around, this man huddled in a corner and didn't utter a sound; only a year after Director Wang was transferred, he suddenly became energetic and jumped around more excitedly than a monkey.

"Deputy Director Ma, I have to take care of my child, I really can't complete this task..."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it was steady, like a ballast stone.

"Lou Xiao'e, you—"

"Of course, I understand that I cannot neglect official business. Therefore, I am formally submitting my resignation. I would appreciate it if Deputy Director Ma could select a suitable candidate to take over, as I truly cannot manage on my own."

As soon as she finished speaking, she gently placed He Xiao, who was fast asleep in her arms, on the chair, took out a piece of paper from her bag, and began to write her resignation.

"Lou Xiao'e, what are you doing? You can't just abandon the tasks assigned by the organization like this!"

Deputy Director Ma was so angry his face turned pale. An elderly woman named Liu couldn't help but slam her hand on the table: "Deputy Director Ma, open your eyes! Xiao'e is holding a baby in one arm, and her husband is far away working on a project. Aren't you afraid Director He will come back and hold you accountable for this pressure?"

Back then, He Yuzhu was notorious in Nanluoguxiang for his ruthlessness in protecting Lou Xiao'e—just because a vagrant cursed at her in the street, He Yuzhu grabbed a carrying pole and rushed to her door, beating the man so badly he ended up in the hospital, and several of his accomplices were also injured. In the end, it was only after the police and Director Wang joined forces to suppress the incident that it came to an end.

From then on, who dared to give Lou Xiao'e a hard time?

Not to mention that He Yuzhu would send hundreds of kilograms of fresh meat in exchange for meat coupons to the street office every few days. Lou Xiao'e herself was also generous. Whenever someone was struggling to make ends meet or their child was sick and needed medicine, she would readily provide money or goods.

There are so many people in this office who have received favors from her family that you can't even count them on your fingers.

Deputy Director Ma said with a stern face, "This is a normal work assignment. What am I afraid of? Am I supposed to complain if I fail to complete the task?"

"I won't complain, but Deputy Director Ma, you can't expect me to just shove the child in a corner and go knocking on doors myself, can you? Are you really capable of doing something like that?"

Lou Xiao'e quickly wrote out her application, handed it to Deputy Director Ma, and said, "Then I'll trouble you to arrange for someone with an easier job to fill my vacancy as soon as possible."

She never cared about this job in the first place—He Yuzhu had only found it for her because he was worried she'd get sick from boredom. Now that the guy surnamed Ma was clearly trying to kick her while she was down, she wasn't stupid enough to stay here and be tormented. Her family really didn't need the salary.

Just take the trip Lou's mother took back from the Ministry of Foreign Trade before the New Year: she was given several thousand yuan in cash, plus a stack of grain coupons, cloth coupons, and oil coupons, all of which were surplus quotas allocated by her work unit; Lou's mother didn't need them, so she gave them all to her. Add to that Director He's hefty salary, and even if she went to operas and temple fairs every day and lay around for a hundred years, she still wouldn't be able to spend all the savings her family had accumulated.

"Okay, I hope you won't regret it in the future!"

Deputy Director Ma grabbed the application, turned and left with a livid face—he had only intended to give him a warning, but Lou Xiao'e had decisively overturned the table, making him lose face on the spot.

"Xiao'e is really regretting staying here! She must have run into some bad luck star that had to target her!"

Aunt Liu, hands on her hips, started yelling. She was a long-time permanent employee, having worked there for over ten years, and wasn't afraid of Deputy Director Ma making things difficult for her; if he really angered her, she dared to point her finger at him and berate him until he was speechless.

"Aunt Liu, sisters, thank you all for taking care of me these past few years."

After Lou Xiao'e submitted her application, she ignored Deputy Director Ma and simply smiled and nodded to her colleagues around her.

Over the past three years, she has gotten along well with everyone, and He Yuzhu often brings gifts to "pay his respects" and ask for their help in taking care of Lou Xiao'e. Compared to Deputy Director Ma, who always has a stern face and points fingers, who doesn't have a sense of right and wrong?

Deputy Director Ma snorted coldly and turned away – he understood in his heart that if he stayed any longer, he would only be ridiculed to his face and gossiped about behind his back by these people, so he might as well hurry back and find Director Qian to discuss countermeasures.

As soon as he left, Lou Xiao'e bent down and pulled a cloth bag from under the stroller. It was full of roasted melon seeds, candied fruit, and walnuts. She poured the contents onto a tray and distributed them to the office clerks and older women.

Then they quietly waited for the approval—these days, getting a job is incredibly difficult, but leaving is surprisingly easy.

The number of permanent positions is strictly controlled, and the same goes for temporary workers: their monthly salaries must be reported, and expenses must be accounted for. If there's one less person, the leaders have another opening to fill, and they can easily stuff their own people into the position.

Before Lou Xiao'e could even exchange a few words with the older women in the office, Director Qian stormed in with a dark expression, immediately berating her: "Lou Xiao'e! The boss assigned you a task, and you just turn around and shirk it? What kind of attitude is that?"

"What kind of attitude is that?" Lou Xiao'e straightened up, her tone cold and hard. "Deputy Director Ma made me run around the streets and alleys giving speeches—I was carrying He Xiao in one arm and a megaphone in the other. You'd better teach me how to walk from house to house with a child strapped to my waist! I really didn't expect that Director Qian would personally come to my door to interrogate me..."