Starting from 1950

Su Yang scratched his head: "I'm just... good at it."

Zhou Zheng laughed heartily: "What a fine 'skill'! This isn't just ordinary skill. Section Chief Zhang highly recommended you, saying you're a natural-born sharpshooter, and the factory office also says you're responsible and well-liked in the factory. I heard your Forever truck is practically becoming the official wedding bus for our flour factory?"

Su Yang smiled but didn't reply.

Zhou Zheng, seeing that he had said enough, smiled and said, "You're from the security department, so in principle, I, as the factory manager, have no jurisdiction over you. But if you encounter any difficulties in the future, feel free to come to me. As long as it doesn't violate any principles, I won't say a word."

Su Yang couldn't help but feel a jolt when he met Zhou Zheng's determined gaze.

He knew that Zhou Zheng's words were not just polite talk, but a promise from an old soldier.

"Then thank you." Knowing it was time for Su Yang to leave, he stood up and said, "You've just taken over the job, you must have a lot to do, so I won't bother you any longer."

After saying that, he turned and left the office.

"Hey! This kid's acting like an adult." Zhou Zheng shook his head with a smile and continued looking down at the documents.

After Zhou Zheng took office, Limin Flour Factory, like a machine that had been wound up again, began to operate at high speed and in an orderly manner.

This factory director, a former soldier, brought military discipline to factory management.

The first thing to be rectified was labor discipline.

The phenomenon of people gathering to chat and dawdle during work hours has almost disappeared. In its place, the workshop is filled with the roar of machines at a faster pace and the focused figures of workers.

The factory area has also been completely cleaned up, with years of accumulated garbage in every nook and cranny thoroughly removed.

Zhou Zheng personally led the heads of various departments to inspect the workshops, acting swiftly and decisively, without going through the motions. His sharp eyes swept over them, and even the most slick veteran workers subconsciously straightened their backs.

Secondly, it is about strictly implementing the call to "increase production and save resources, and oppose waste".

The practice of cooking in the canteen was strictly prohibited, which made even the cadres who ate at the main canteen more cautious about getting a few extra slices of meat.

Warehouse management has become more refined, and raw material losses are strictly recorded and tracked.

Zhou Zheng even used Su Yang's rat-killing deeds as an analogy at a factory-wide meeting: "Comrade Su Yang's elimination of a single rat is a way to save the country from a loss! Every inch of cloth and every screw that each of us saves adds up to a great contribution to national construction!"

However, although Zhou Zheng praised Su Yang, his actions were somewhat "ungrateful."

Perhaps seeing that Su Yang was idle all day, he used the excuse of "promoting advanced pest control experience" to set up a "rat extermination training class" at Limin Flour Factory.

Su Yang was forced to take up a teaching position, while the students were workers sent by various brother units.

On this day, "Teacher Su," who was forced to take up her post, started teaching as usual at the shooting range of the flour factory's security department.

"There are no shortcuts to mastering a slingshot, only hard work! You need sharp eyes, steady hands, and a calm mind! Can you do that?" Su Yang looked listlessly at the row of young people in front of him, who were generally a head taller than him.

"Yes!" Ten young men holding slingshots shouted in unison, their loud voices echoing across the open field.

"Alright!" Su Yang nodded, picked up his traditional slingshot, which he had modified many times, and held it high. "Let's get acquainted with our 'gun' first!"

Training has begun.

Su Yang started with the basics: the construction principle of a slingshot, the advantages and disadvantages of different materials for the slingshot pouch, and how to choose a slingshot of the appropriate size and elasticity.

He explained in great detail, combining the theories he had studied during his last-minute research with his own practice over the past few months, speaking eloquently.

Next came the bullets.

He displayed the dried clay balls, emphasizing the importance of roundness and hardness, and even demonstrated how to knead them quickly and evenly. He specifically reminded everyone, "Don't underestimate these clay balls. If you aim accurately, they're just as good as pebbles. The key is that they're easy to use and inexpensive!"

Then comes the core shooting technique.

Su Yang didn't rush them to get started, but instead explained the posture first.

He broke down the movements: how to stand with both feet to maintain balance, how to fix the bow with the hand position, how to pluck, pinch, and exert force when drawing the string, and how to draw the bow when encountering a mouse hiding in a corner.

He demonstrated repeatedly, requiring everyone to adopt the correct posture, and he corrected each one individually.

"You have to flip your wrist like this! See? The magazine needs to be slightly twisted so that the bullets won't hit your body or the back of your hand when you release them!" Su Yang pinched a student's wrist and forcefully adjusted the angle.

The student grimaced, but his eyes were serious.

"Drawing a bow isn't about brute force! It's about the coordination of your waist, back, and shoulders! It's about feeling the transfer of power! Like shooting an arrow!"

"That's it, shoot!"

"Snapped!"

A mud pellet hit the red dot on the forehead of the human-shaped target precisely.

"Alright, I've taught you everything I needed to. You can practice on your own now."

Su Yang, who had only fired one shot, waved his hand and walked toward Zhou Zheng and Zhang Zhenguo by the shooting range.

"Our teacher, Ms. Su, teaches very well!" Zhou Zheng said to Zhang Zhenguo with a smile.

"That's right, our rat extermination training course is also very well organized."

Zhang Zhenguo subtly flattered Zhou Zheng.

Zhou Zheng has been the director of the flour factory for half a month, and his background has been known to many factory cadres through their own channels.

The new factory director was a former regimental political commissar who had transferred to civilian work; the unit he belonged to was the same one that was once very famous.

This year, Zhou Zheng's unit fought all the way to Qiongzhou.

After a brief respite following the capture of Qiongzhou, Zhou Zheng believed that the battles that needed to be fought had been fought.

Just then, his old injury flared up again, so he took the initiative to request a transfer to a local job, which led to his unexpected assignment to the Limin State-owned Flour Factory.

All the factory workers held such combat heroes in high esteem, which is why Zhou Zheng was able to build Limin Flour Factory into a cohesive and united entity in just half a month.

However, the party secretary and deputy director of the flour factory have not yet taken office, and it is no exaggeration to say that the entire factory is a one-man show run by Zhou Zheng.

"I'm going home now, I haven't made the mud balls for tomorrow yet." Su Yang said and then slipped away.

"Hey! This kid." Zhou Zheng chuckled as he watched Su Yang's retreating figure.

......

Su Yang rode his bicycle home to his family compound. As soon as he arrived at the gate, he saw a group of people gathered there.

As the weather warms up, this place has become an "intelligence station".

The women from the family gather here every day to chat about things at the factory, the residential compound, and even the entire Tiexi District.

Su Yang wanted to pass quickly, but was stopped by the sharp-eyed old man Xie.

"Uncle Xie, what can I do for you?"

He was somewhat helpless. This old man had recently been spending too much time with women and had even developed a fondness for gossiping about family matters.

"Xiao Su, have you heard about our factory implementing an 'eight-level wage system'?" Old Xie asked mysteriously.

"I heard about it, what happened?" Su Yang looked at him.

"So, Xiao Su, don't you have any inside information?" the impatient Aunt Ma asked eagerly.

Su Yang rolled his eyes. "What inside information do I have? I'm just an unofficial employee doing rat-catching. You'll have to ask the factory manager!"