Siheyuan: Security Office of Wude

"Okay, that's good. Also prepare portions for the brothers who have to be on duty during the New Year. Don't let them drink as much as they want, but don't miss out on other things. Prepare five pounds of meat, two pounds of flour, and three packs of cigarettes per person per day. Don't treat the brothers unfairly."

Bai Wanli has always been very generous to his subordinates. Although the security guards are not allowed to drink alcohol casually, they are definitely not short of meat and cigarettes.

Nowadays, Chinese people still eat too little meat. Even though the welfare of units like the Security Department is already good, the amount of meat they eat is not as much as those in developed countries.

But soldiers holding guns, if they can't supplement enough calories and protein, how can they fight with others, so Bai Wanli has always been generous to his brothers' needs for meat.

When he had nothing to do, he would put some things in the small warehouse of the Security Department. It wasn't much at a time, maybe only 10 or 20 kilograms of meat, but little by little, over the past six months, there have been thousands of kilograms of meat. Add to that the rewards he received for his meritorious service and what he got from raiding Pigeon City, and it would be no problem for the brothers in the Security Department to have a good year together.

Bai Wanli's current ability can only benefit the people around him, but after Hong Kong Island develops for a while, he will be able to gradually let everyone in the country eat meat.

With the generous New Year's gifts, the internal meeting of the Security Department in the afternoon was naturally joyful. Some brothers even began to envy those brothers who were on duty during the New Year.

Five pounds of meat and two pounds of noodles a day, won't you eat so much dumplings that you vomit?

It is true that Chinese people attach great importance to the Chinese New Year, but apart from cultural factors, there is a very practical reason that during the Chinese New Year, they can eat delicious food that they cannot eat at other times, such as meat, candy, etc.

If there is no minced meat, no candy, and the food is still the same as usual, such as steamed bread and cabbage, then the importance of the "New Year" will be greatly reduced.

Bai Wanli smiled and said, "Alright, alright, stop howling. We haven't had our holiday yet. We still have to work for a few more days. The day after tomorrow the steel mill will be closed. Cheer up. Don't be fine for a whole year and then embarrass me in the last few days. Do you understand?!"

"understood!"

Bai Wanli, who had just received a generous amount of New Year's gifts, was closer to the security guards than their own father. Their uniform answers almost blew up the ceiling of the security department. Those who didn't know would have thought that the security department was mobilizing for the war when they heard such a loud noise.

Two days later, the steel mill closed for the day, which was also the day to pay wages.

The workers don't have to work today. They wait in the workshop for the outside to shout. They line up in the workshop one by one to go to the finance department to collect their wages. After receiving their wages, there is a factory-wide meeting in the afternoon to commend advanced workers, distribute New Year's goods and advanced rewards. After the meeting, the steel mill will be closed for the holiday, so that they can have a good rest for a few days before the start of work next year.

Workers gathered in groups of three or five or in large groups in the workshop, excitedly discussing how much salary and New Year's goods they would get this year, whether they could get advanced certificates, etc.

In fact, everyone knows the list of advanced workers. Those who are rated as advanced workers are proud, while those who are not rated are full of envy.

The Security Department also had to stand guard at the Finance Department with live ammunition.

After all, there are tens of thousands of people in the steel mill, and the wages paid out are hundreds of thousands of yuan in cash. If someone robs them, it will be no joke.

Chapter 279: Year-end Meeting, Lao Li’s Lover

It's the end of the year, and the workers are looking forward to receiving their wages and New Year's goods, and going home to have a peaceful New Year. If something goes wrong with the wages and New Year's goods of tens of thousands of workers, no one can take the responsibility.

For the Security Department, the year-end is only as long as all workers get their wages. Once this task is completed, the year-end is over.

Fortunately, no one came to cause trouble for the workers and security guards during the Chinese New Year this year. All the workers received their wages smoothly and peacefully in the morning, and the burden of the security department was also relieved by half.

After lunch, Bai Wanli pulled Zhu Qingan to his chair.

"There's not much work to do this afternoon, so just wait for me in my office. Don't go out and get cold. We'll go home together after the meeting this afternoon."

There will be a general meeting of the steel mill in the afternoon. Normally, all the leaders of the factory should be present, but Zhu Qingan is late in the month, and Bai Wanli doesn't want her to go out and feel the cold wind.

Anyway, Zhu Qingan, the deputy director of the medical office, doesn't have much real power. Even if she goes, it won't be her turn to speak. She'll just be a background board. If that's the case, don't bother the pregnant woman. Bai Wanli feels distressed.

Zhu Qingan knew that it didn't matter whether she went or not, so she didn't hesitate. She took out a scarf and put it on Bai Wanli: "I will stay here well. You should also be careful not to catch a cold. If you get sick, you will not be comfortable this New Year."

"I'll remember this. Have a good rest. I'll ask the Yongdan sisters to come and take care of you later."

"Um"

Bai Wanli stayed with Zhu Qingan in the office for a while, then put on his coat and went out.

In the afternoon, the steel mill held a factory-wide meeting, which actually brought together the workers and the leadership team. The leaders spoke one by one, summarizing the progress of the year with the workers, saying some inspiring words, and then gave awards to the advanced individuals and workshops of the year, and then gave each worker this year's New Year's goods.

It's not complicated to say what needs to be done, but there are too many people. If tens of thousands of people can't control themselves and there is a stampede, it will become an extremely tragic accident. Therefore, the security department dare not relax and bring people out to maintain order.

The speeches of Lao Yang and Lao Li were still long and boring. Bai Wanli leaned against the wall and yawned in boredom, occasionally taking out some peanuts to kill time.

"Director, what are you eating? Can you give me some too?"

The one who came was the fat man Fang Wei. He had a good sense of propriety. After getting to know Bai Wanli, he was not polite to Bai Wanli when it came to snacks. He would ask for them as soon as he opened his mouth.

Bai Wanli reached into his pocket in a pretentious manner and took out a handful of peanut candies for him. Fang Wei took them and leaned against the wall.

After waiting for Lao Yang and Lao Li to finish their speeches and return to their seats, the announcer walked onto the podium again, full of energy.

"In the past year, under the leadership of all leaders, our factory workers have fully demonstrated the hard-working and diligent spirit of Huaxia, and have perfectly completed the production tasks assigned by the state time and time again, contributing to the construction of the motherland."

"During this year, many workers have contributed their enthusiasm and efforts to the construction of the motherland. They are also heroes who have contributed to the country. Next, I will announce..."

This is the time to announce the list of advanced individuals. Bai Wanli doesn't know many workers, so he just eats snacks to kill time.

At that time, the fat man Fang Wei suddenly came over and said in a mean tone:

"Chief, this Ji Changqing on the stage is having an affair with Li Huaide"

Bai Wanli's eyes lit up, and he asked in a low voice: "How did you know?"

"I just happened to see them when I was arranging people to stand guard. They were hiding behind the table eating in broad daylight. They are so brave."

Fang Wei made a sound of "tsk tsk tsk". Bai Wanli could see that the fat man was envious.

Judging from the values ​​of this era, a man and a woman kissing outdoors in broad daylight is already outrageous enough, not to mention that Li Huaide was kissing someone other than his wife.

Bai Wanli didn't have any idea about kissing in broad daylight. After all, he came from the modern era and had seen many exciting scenes. The key point was how did Li Huaide get together with a broadcaster?

Bai Wanli pinched his chin and looked at the broadcaster named Ji Changqing. He had no impression of this person. Now looking at him, he had two ponytails, his whole face was painted white, and there were two big red spots on his cheeks. He looked like a fat-headed doll in the New Year pictures.

In Bai Wanli's opinion, this makeup is not only beautiful, but even a little creepy. After looking at it for a long time, the uncanny valley effect will appear in your heart. You can't tell what this person looked like before. However, since she was "outshined" by Yu Haitang before, it's hard to imagine how stunning she is.

'Li Huaide has a mistress named Liu Lan, and in the original novel, he also has some affair with Qin Huairu. Could it be that he also likes married women? Or maybe he has played with married women too much and wants to switch to a younger one? But how did Li Huaide get together with the broadcaster?'

Even without Yu Haitang, the Propaganda Department has more than one announcer. This year-end conference in the factory is a big event. Whichever announcer can host this conference can add a glorious chapter to his resume, which will make it easier for him to get promoted in the future.

With such a good opportunity, Bai Wanli doesn't believe there will be no competition within the Propaganda Department.

If Ji Changqing could get this opportunity, then she must have some outstanding business ability or connections. Bai Wanli felt that the former was unlikely.

After all, it is no secret that Li Huaide is married. Whether Ji Changqing is married or unmarried, being with such a married man is like being an adulterer. She takes such a big risk. If she is not after Lao Li's money and power, is she after the fat on his belly?

But logically speaking, the person who made the final decision on the conference was the head of the Propaganda Department, Li Weidong. Li Weidong was Old Yang's man. Previously, Yu Haitang and Yang Weimin, this pair of infatuated man and woman, had caused a lot of trouble for the Propaganda Department. If Li Weidong was Li Huaide's subordinate, they would have made a big fuss long ago. How did Li Huaide get him to work for his mistress?

"Has Old Li already bribed Section Chief Li Weidong to defect, or have they just met and this is an opportunity?"

Before Bai Wanli could figure out the problem, he was interrupted by a round of enthusiastic applause.

When I looked closely, I found that all the advanced individuals were standing in a row on the podium, each holding their own reward, an enamel washbasin, a towel and a piece of pork. The pork was not big, and it looked like it was less than a pound, but this was only the reward for the advanced individuals. There was also New Year's goods.

No matter whether the workers get the advanced workshop or the advanced individual, the New Year's goods will be much richer than those who don't get it. Adding them all together is still very enviable.

The workers below clapped their hands till they were red. Whether it was the honor of being advanced or the reward of materials, they were really envious at this moment.

Chapter 280: The Differences in New Year’s Goods

In the courtyard of No. 95, Wang Baoshan, the man of the Wang family in the middle courtyard, came back with a lot of New Year's goods in his hands. He shouted as soon as he entered the courtyard.

"Mom! Wife! I'm back!"

Aunt Wang and her wife ran out of the house and smiled happily when they saw Wang Baoshan carrying a lot of things.

"Hey, Baoshan is back. The steel mill must have distributed a lot of New Year's goods today, including meat!" Aunt Wang said as she took the New Year's goods from her son. Seeing that her son was holding a small piece of bright red meat, her eyes lit up immediately.

Although the meat is not big, only about half a pound, it is meat!

Wang Baoshan said happily and proudly:

"Mom, this year our workshop has won the advanced award, and the new year's goods and rewards added up to a lot more than in previous years. Look, there are even new tea mugs here."

Wang Baoshan was able to get the honor of being an advanced workshop, and he couldn't help but want to show off. In front of the neighbors in the yard, he took out the brand new teacup with the word "advanced" printed on it.

Compared with the award for the advanced individual, the award for the advanced workshop was reduced. The washbasin was changed to a teacup, the towel was the same, but the amount of meat was reduced. Other awards included two catties of flour, five catties of flour, half a catty of oil and two taels of sugar.

This amount of New Year's goods can be considered rich. You have to know that during the famine in the past two years, having enough to eat was already a luxury, not to mention any good New Year's goods. At that time, the steel mill could only prepare seven pounds of corn flour and one ounce of oil for each worker, which was considered good in the country.

This year's New Year's goods are much better than last year's.

Aunt Wang's face was full of smiles, and she kept saying, "Good son! Good son! My Baoshan is really capable!" As she spoke, she couldn't help but shed tears. She was crying with joy.

Wang's wife quickly pulled her mother-in-law and said, "Mom, Baoshan is so capable, we should be happy, why are you crying? It's unlucky to wipe tears on New Year's Day."

"Yes, yes, yes, my son is capable. I shouldn't cry. I'm old and my eyes can't stand the wind." Aunt Wang wiped her tears carelessly.

"Baoshan, please go inside and have some rest. Your wife and I will go out to buy some New Year's goods tomorrow morning. This year, we will have a meal of pork and cabbage dumplings together."

"Okay, Mom, I love whatever you cook."

The Wang family lives in harmony and their life is really enviable.

The neighbors in the courtyard looked at the Wang family and said, "The Wang family is getting better and better. I wonder how much New Year's goods my husband can bring back. If I can get half of what the Wang family brings, I'll be satisfied."

"Even if we don't have it, we don't have to worry. After all, there are no annoying guys in the yard this year. We can go buy a piece of meat ourselves, and then we can come back and have dumplings together as a family."

The annoying people are naturally the Jia family. They are not good at anything and never get enough of eating. Especially Jia Zhang. In the past, during festivals, if any family in the courtyard made something good, she would come up like a wild dog and ask for it with a big face. If she was not given it, she would throw a tantrum. When Yi Zhonghai came, she could even use moral blackmail.

In the end, not only did the good things that the family worked so hard to make get snatched away by the Jia family, but they also had to be scolded by Yi Zhonghai. It was really annoying and infuriating.

Now these annoying guys have all received their retribution, and the stable life has made the neighbors more open-minded. Even if they don't have as much New Year's goods, without the Jia family, they can always have a stable meal of dumplings this year.

A group of middle-aged women are waiting in the yard for their husbands or sons to come back with New Year's goods. The amount of New Year's goods each family brings can make them discuss it. The amount of New Year's goods can also show how the people in each family have performed at work this year.

For example, Yan Bugui was one of those people who was doing very poorly. Yang Ruihua had only been sweeping toilets for a short time and was not a formal employee. The street office took pity on her and gave her three pounds of corn flour as New Year's goods. Yan Bugui was not much better off, with only five pounds of corn flour and one or two ounces of sugar. They were too embarrassed to give out such little New Year's goods.

The situation of the Liu family is not very good. Liu Haizhong committed a crime this year and was demoted. He can forget about becoming an advanced worker. However, considering his subsequent work and his seriousness in teaching his apprentices, the steel mill still gave him a pound of flour, three pounds and two ounces of flour, three ounces of oil and two ounces of sugar as New Year's gifts, but no meat. It is considered the average level of an ordinary worker.

But for Liu Haizhong, who used to be a manager and a senior blacksmith, this New Year's gift was too shabby. He lowered his head and went straight into the house.

Liu Haizhong is afraid of being talked about by his neighbors and losing face. In fact, no one cares about him at all.

People in the courtyard came back one after another, but Bai Wanli, the most senior official in the courtyard, had not come back yet.

Someone asked curiously, "Why hasn't Director Bai come back yet? Doesn't he ride a motorcycle?"

"Hi, the factory held an end-of-year meeting this afternoon. We went home right after the meeting, but Director Bai and his team had to wait until everyone on the scene had left before they could leave. Of course, they were later than us."

"Besides, we will be on holiday after the meeting today, but there will be someone guarding the security department. Director Bai is probably arranging work for them."

Everyone thought it made sense, but one woman asked, "How much New Year's goods do you think Director Bai will have?"

Curiosity and gossip are human nature, and they are quickly magnified when it comes to things related to Bai Wanli. When this aunt said this, everyone started talking about it.

"I heard that the security department is getting very good treatment this year. Security guards on duty during the New Year can get five kilograms of meat a day. Director Bai's New Year gifts must be no less than this, right?"