Courtyard House: In this life, I have a new home!

A mechanical female voice sounded precisely on time: "Check-in successful. Host has obtained the following items."

"Ten thousand catties of corn!"

Li Weidong was already numb to it, but he still couldn't help but complain: "Ten thousand catties of corn, how long would it take me to eat it all?"

He arrived at the factory at 7:30. He went into the infirmary, where Professor Ding and Ding Qiunan were already there, cleaning up with everyone else.

Li Weidong's office was kept spotless.

He had just sat down and made himself a cup of tea when Ding Qiunan's fair face came close to his.

"Section Chief Li, my dad needs to go to the personnel department..."

Ding Qiunan's cool eyes held a hint of tenderness, but as soon as Li Weidong looked up, she quickly lowered her gaze.

"Sure, let's go."

Li Weidong casually replied, "I'll take him to see Director Wang later. But you should know that Professor Ding is an advisor we hired, and his organizational affiliation is still with his original unit."

Ding Qiunan hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "I understand. Section Chief Li, could you transfer his connections as well?"

"This is a bit tricky... but don't worry, it'll be fine here. I'll take care of Professor Ding's matter when you go to university next year."

Li Weidong responded.

Ding Qiunan's face was full of joy: "Thank you, Section Chief Li!"

She thought to herself about Li Weidong's use of the word "solution."

It's certain that Professor Ding has been officially transferred from the medical university.

"Don't mention it, go ahead and get busy. Have Professor Ding come see me at eight o'clock."

Li Weidong smiled.

Before leaving, Ding Qiunan said softly, "The canned food you gave me was quite delicious."

At 8:00 AM sharp, Li Weidong took Professor Ding to the office building. At the personnel department, the paperwork was quickly completed. This ensured that Professor Ding would receive his salary when it was paid out.

"Professor Ding, you should go back to the infirmary first. I still have things to do."

Li Weidong gave a brief explanation.

Professor Ding repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Section Chief Li! Thank you so much!"

After saying that, he left in a hurry.

Li Weidong walked to the door of Li Huaide's office and knocked. A voice from inside said, "Come in."

.

Pushing open the door, Li Weidong saw Li Huaide sitting behind his desk. Standing in front of the desk was Xu Fugui!

As soon as Li Huaide saw Li Weidong, he immediately stood up.

"Chief Engineer Li, please have a seat! I'll make you some tea."

As Li Huaide spoke, he gestured for him to sit down on the sofa.

"I'm not going to sit here anymore. I need to go to the workshop for a bit, say a few words, and then leave."

As Li Weidong spoke, he glanced at Xu Fugui, who was staring at him.

Li Huaide immediately realized what was going on: "Master Xu, please step out for a moment, we have something to discuss."

"Oh, okay, okay. I'll come in later."

Xu Fugui bowed and scraped as he left.

"What's this old man doing here?"

Li Weidong asked directly.

Li Huaide laughed: "It seems you don't like him either. He's just filling in for Xu Damao for a month, afraid that Xu Damao will lose his position as projectionist."

"Xu Damao's leg is lame, and he still wants to be a projectionist?"

Li Weidong was a little surprised. "He has to go to the countryside. Having a bicycle won't help much."

"Isn't it because of your engine?"

Li Huaide laughed and said, "That's no problem. Of course, he gave me a bribe, otherwise I wouldn't bother."

Li Huaide did not hide anything from Li Weidong.

"So, can he get his hands on gasoline?"

Li Weidong was quite puzzled.

"I can't get it. They're just trying to get the factory to produce oil."

Li Huaide shook his head. "The gasoline supply is a bit tight."

"Don't give him oil. Send more missions to remote areas."

Li Weidong's eyes darted around. "I bet this old bastard can hold on, but Xu Damao definitely can't."

"Okay, we'll do it your way."

Li Huaide readily agreed.

Li Weidong took a glass bottle out of his pocket and handed it over.

"I've adjusted the formula for this batch of herbs, and the efficacy has been significantly increased. One pill a week should be enough."

Li Huaide took the bottle and chuckled, "Hey, isn't this bottle for soda? Hmm... this smell is familiar, hawthorn pills? Chief Engineer Li, are you sure you're not mistaken?"

Li Weidong rolled his eyes at him: "I'm a doctor, after all. If I can't even get the medicine right, what kind of doctor am I?"

"This stuff works within fifteen minutes to half an hour after you take it. It only works when you're thinking about that kind of thing. You'll understand once you use it."

"There are a hundred in total. If you want more later... we'll talk about that later. Remember, don't leak any more, otherwise—you won't get anything yourself."

Li Huaide quickly nodded: "Okay, I understand, I understand."

Li Weidong spoke again: "There's something else. I need to buy a bicycle at noon, so I'll ask for half a day off this afternoon."

He figured that since he was already out, he might as well not come back.

Li Huaide waved his hand: "No problem, hehe, why would I need to say that to you?"

"The rules still need to be followed."

Li Weidong said, "Alright, you're busy. I'll go take a look around the publicity department."

Li Huaide smiled and shook his head, knowing in his heart that Li Weidong was going to see the head of the propaganda department to give Xu Fugui a nice meal.

Xu Fugui was still waiting in the corridor; he dared not leave until the matter was settled. Just then, he saw Li Huaide politely seeing Li Weidong to the door, and only turned back to his office after Li Weidong had gone some distance.

Xu Fugui quickly followed him inside: "Director Li, about my matter..."

"Xu Fugui, it's fine if you cover Xu Damao's work. But if you want gasoline, no way! If I'm going to give it to you, you'll have to bring something with you first."

Li Huaide said with a stern face.

Xu Fugui panicked: "No, the motor pool has plenty of gas. I don't need more..."

"That's specifically for the motor transport team. You want me to misappropriate it?"

Li Huaide's voice turned serious: "I'm just moving a liter of gasoline, and I'll get punished for it!"

"Alright, forget about the gasoline. Go to the publicity department now and see what kind of work they have for you."

"If you don't go to work soon, there are countless people eyeing this projectionist position."

What could Xu Fugui say? He could only sigh and walk towards the propaganda department. He silently prayed that he wouldn't be sent to a distant place to show movies, otherwise his old bones would surely fall apart.

Xu Fugui was a long-time employee of the steel rolling mill, so he knew the way well and found the publicity department, knocking on the department head's door.

"Old Xu, you've come at the perfect time."

Tang, the head of the publicity department, said with a smile, "Director Li just called and specifically asked you about this."

"Ah... thank you very much, Director Li, and please take good care of me, Section Chief Tang as well."

Xu Fugui bowed and scraped as he asked, "What kind of work is there...?"

Section Chief Tang smiled and said, "Of course there's a task. Both the Red Lantern Commune and Xiangyang Commune need to show movies. You'll go to the Red Lantern Commune tonight to show one, and then go to Xiangyang tomorrow."

Hongdeng Commune was about 60 li away from here, and Xiangyang Commune was more than 30 li away from Hongdeng. The roads in those days were full of potholes and very difficult to travel.

Xu Fugui felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing this. He had been to those two places before and knew how far they were.

He said with a pained expression, "Section Chief Tang, look at my age, I can't possibly ride my bike there."

Section Chief Tang said in a nonchalant tone, "Can't handle it? Then quit. I'll find someone more capable. You should go home and rest."

Xu Fugui immediately panicked and quickly changed his tune: "I can go, I can go! I'll pack up and ride over right away. Section Chief, if you're hiring a new person, their skills might not be up to par, and they might not know the way."

Section Chief Tang sneered, "Fine, then hurry up and finish this mission. Come back and rest for a day."

Xu Fugui said gratefully, "Thank you, Section Chief Tang."

He thought the job had fallen to him because no one else was doing it, and he was quite grateful.

Section Chief Tang smiled and said, "Work hard. When you come back, Xinglong Commune and Hongxing Commune will be waiting for you. They are both under the responsibility of our factory."

Xu Fugui shuddered: "What?"

Hongxing and Xinglong Commune were about the same distance from Hongdeng and Xiangyang.

Section Chief Tang waved his hand: "This is all your son's fault. All the easy places have been taken, leaving only these four tough nuts to crack. Hurry up and get them sorted out."

Xu Fugui walked out of the office listlessly, as if he were going to the execution ground.

Li Weidong went to the research lab, rummaged through some materials, and quickly tinkered with an engine. He was just waiting for the bicycle to be bought so he could install it.

When he finished and checked his watch, it was around nine o'clock. He was just about to dismantle the 177 engine when Secretary Zhang rushed over.

"Chief Engineer Li, we've been looking everywhere for you. The Level 1 Fitter assessment is about to begin, you need to go there."

Li Weidong was taken aback: "Why are you calling me for the Level 1 Fitter assessment? Two technicians are enough; the engineers don't even need to go."

Secretary Zhang said with a smile, "Just go and say a few words to cheer everyone up. There's also the Level 8 worker exam this afternoon, and you really need to be there."

Li Weidong slapped his forehead: "Oh right, I almost forgot about the Level 8 worker exam this afternoon. I was planning to buy a bicycle this afternoon."

He thought for a moment and then said, "How about this, find someone to buy the bicycle for me. I can install the engine then."

Secretary Zhang nodded: "Okay, no problem. Do you have a ticket? If not, I have one here."

Secretary Zhang took the banknotes and receipts, nodded, and said, "Yes, I have them all. The money and receipts are here; just buy a Forever brand 28-inch motorcycle. I'll go to the workshop for the assessment now."

"Workshop 1, I'll have someone pick up the car for you."

Secretary Zhang instructed, "Have two people from the security department go with them."

Li Weidong walked into Workshop 1, where fifty fitter's workbenches were already set up. More than three hundred people were participating in the assessment, all of whom were registered fitter apprentices in the factory.

At this moment, the apprentices are all waiting outside the workshop, entering in batches according to their assigned numbers.

Two technicians were preparing their work with notebooks in hand. Factory Director Yang and Li Huaide were also standing to the side.

"Chief Engineer Li, it's about to start. Would you like to say a few words?"

Factory Director Yang asked with a smile.

Li Weidong waved his hand: "No need, I almost forgot about it."

"It's okay if you forget about this, but you can't miss the Level 8 worker assessment this afternoon."

Factory Director Yang reminded him.

"I'll start at three o'clock, and I'll go there after I finish lunch."

Li Weidong responded.

The assessment for Level 8 workers wasn't conducted at the factory; it had to be done at a location designated by the higher-level unit. Li Weidong knew the way.

Instead of having Li Weidong as the chief examiner, two technicians and five workers of grade seven or eight were selected by drawing lots.

Yi Zhonghai wasn't among them. Those who were scheduled to take the assessment in the afternoon didn't bother with the commotion. But Yi Zhonghai still stood to the side watching, his eyes darting around, seemingly lost in thought.

The results for the first batch of fifty people came out quickly. Making nuts and bolts could be done in ten minutes for the fastest, and half an hour for the slowest.

Liu Guangtian and Yan Jiefang were the fastest among the first batch. All ten apprentices in the engine workshop passed the test.