The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 50 I am now in an administrative position

"What exactly did you write? How did you manage to protect yourself so thoroughly?"

After leaving the post office, Zhou Zhiqiang asked curiously, "Can't even married couples watch?"

Guo Yuting said with a grin, "Even husband and wife don't tell each other everything, you know. You didn't tell me about your project either."

"How can that be the same? Project confidentiality is stipulated by higher authorities."

Zhou Zhiqiang didn't ask any more questions after that, but Guo Yuting's secretive attitude really made him curious, but he didn't ask any more questions since he couldn't get the answer.

The couple then rode their bicycles to the supply and marketing cooperative, bought some melon seeds and other snacks as New Year's gifts, and then rode to Zhang Deli's house.

The place is a bit far away. Zhang Deli usually lives in the dormitory arranged for him by the school, but now the school is on holiday, so there is definitely no one there.

However, Zhou Zhiqiang and Zhang Deli had chatted casually while working on the project and knew his home address.

After riding for quite a while, Zhou Zhiqiang finally arrived at Zhang Deli's house.

After stopping the car, Guo Yuting looked around a few times, then asked in a low voice, "Zhiqiang, does Professor Zhang live here?"

"It should be correct, this is the address, but I don't know why he lives here. Let's ask him first."

Zhou Zhiqiang pushed his cart into the courtyard. The place was really dilapidated, with garbage piled up at the street corner.

Professors should have a decent income, around 200 yuan a month, and the university should be able to help arrange accommodation. However, the situation regarding Professor Zhang Deli's accommodation is a bit uncertain.

This place is already quite remote. Zhou Zhiqiang was afraid that someone would push the bicycles away if they were parked outside, so he and Guo Yuting pushed the bicycles inside.

While walking through the alley, Zhou Zhiqiang encountered an elderly woman who was about to go out. He greeted her and asked, "Auntie, does Professor Zhang Deli live here?"

"Brother Zhang Deli, I'm here."

The old woman saw that Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Yuting were well-dressed and each had a bicycle, so she felt they didn't seem like bad people. She pointed into the alley and said...
"Go to the end, then turn right and go to the front. The house on the east side is Brother Zhang's house."

"Thank you, ma'am."

After thanking her and saying goodbye, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly found the door, following the advice of the old lady.

He knocked on the door, and soon a child's voice came from inside. Before Zhou Zhiqiang could answer, the door opened.

Zhou Zhiqiang asked with a smile, "Hello, is this Professor Zhang Deli's home? I am his student."

He was also a mechanical engineering major at the Beijing Institute of Technology, and had even taken Professor Zhang Deli's class before, so it's fair to say he was a student.

The child who opened the door glanced at Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Yuting, then turned and ran inside, shouting as he ran, "Grandpa, someone's looking for you!"

A short while later, Zhang Deli arrived at the door and saw Zhou Zhiqiang standing outside. He immediately smiled and said, "Zhiqiang! What brings you here today? Come on in and let's talk."

"I thought I'd come to wish you a Happy New Year in advance, and also to discuss something with you: Professor Zhang, this is my wife, Guo Yuting."

"Hey, Yuting, I remember seeing you when I was little. You were so young then. Now you've grown into a beautiful young woman."

Zhiqiang, you've married a wonderful wife.

"I think so too, Professor Zhang."

Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile, and their banter made Guo Yuting blush with embarrassment.

However, the pleasantries didn't last long before Zhou Zhiqiang and Guo Yuting quickly pushed their cart into the courtyard. The courtyard felt cramped; the rooms inside were narrow and small, and many people in the courtyard stared at them after they entered.

Even in the windows of the houses, you can see several faces.

"Oh, it's so great that you could come. I just brewed a pot of good tea."

As Zhang Deli led the way, he noticed the commotion on the houses on either side, so he turned and explained with a smile.

"The children in my family are curious about everything."

Zhou Zhiqiang asked with some surprise, "Professor Zhang, are all of these your family members?"

"Yes, are you curious why I live here?"

Zhang Deli smiled and continued, "About ten years ago, I was wanted by the Japanese for a period of time. They wanted to arrest me to repair machinery, but I didn't want to, so I went into hiding."
My whole family hid here at the time. Thanks to the help of our neighbors, we were able to stay indoors for two years and still survive. I only dared to go out to work after the Japanese devils left.

“Since then, our whole family has gotten used to living here. Although it’s a bit crowded, the neighbors are all nice people, and we feel like one big family.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhiqiang said with admiration, "So that's how it is, Professor. You and your neighbors are all heroes."

Zhang Deli waved his hand and said, "We wouldn't call ourselves heroes. We're just ordinary people. Only those who drive away the enemy can be considered heroes. Right, Zhiqiang, what brings you here today?"

"We were supposed to come to pay our respects a few days later, but our factory might have to start earlier, so my wife and I decided to come earlier. I apologize for bothering you today, Professor Zhang."

Zhou Zhiqiang said with a smile, "We didn't bring any sweets today, you can definitely eat a lot."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Deli laughed and said, "Alright, put it there. But Zhiqiang, you said you wanted to discuss something with me. What is it?"

The old professor was decisive and didn't like beating around the bush, so Zhou Zhiqiang stopped being polite, took out the blueprints for a small hand tractor from his bag, and placed them on the table.

"Professor Zhang, I have some thoughts on agricultural machinery in China recently. Our farming methods are completely different from those of the Russians."

Therefore, I improved the tractor's tillage mode, transforming it from a high-power, concentrated farming method to a low-cost, flexible farming method.

Zhou Zhiqiang briefly introduced his ideas to Zhang Deli, and then explained them on the blueprints of the small hand tractor.

He has almost finished the improved blueprints. Now there are only some less important parts that he hasn't designed yet, but those are not important.

An old man and a young man chatted for a long time inside the house about the small hand tractor. Guo Yuting couldn't wait any longer, so she went out to play with the children when she saw them playing in the yard.

After the tea on the table cooled down and was reheated five or six times, Zhou Zhiqiang and Zhang Deli finally finished their preliminary discussion about the diesel engine.

"That's great! Your design idea is excellent. It seems you're already better than many engineers in the machine factory. Old Guo has a good eye; he found such a wonderful son-in-law!"

After a sigh, Zhang Deli said that he didn't know that Guo Linhua had only valued the original owner's diligence and honesty.

However, the original owner of this body wasn't very good at improving, so Guo Linhua thought of using his connections to transfer the original owner to Dafeng Machinery Factory, where he had acquaintances.

Having acquaintances to help you is a good way to get promoted.

Guo Linhua never expected that the son-in-law he had carefully chosen would be replaced on the day he left.

Zhou Zhiqiang smiled and said, "Professor Zhang, I am now the deputy head of the technical department. I have been transferred to an administrative position and am no longer in a technical position."

(End of this chapter)