The Fiery Era: Becoming an Industrial Giant

Chapter 69 Job Assignment [Seeking Monthly Tickets]

Zhou Zhiqiang was a little puzzled. He looked at the original owner's memories and found that Wu Xiaojun was two years older than him, but he was a good person.

Teacher Wu's wife had previously been quite critical of the original owner of this body, who was a freeloader, but Wu Xiaojun never targeted the original owner.

Sometimes he would even leave a steamed bun for the original owner, but he was a bit of a taciturn person and never said a word to the original owner.

This person doesn't seem like they're swearing.

Zhou Zhiqiang asked curiously, "Teacher Wu, would Brother Xiaojun, with his personality, initiate an argument? Is there some misunderstanding?"

"What misunderstanding? If it weren't for the matchmaker protecting him, he would have beaten that girl up."

Wu Ming gets so angry when he talks about this that he wants to slam his fist on the table. His son, Wu Xiaojun, is almost twenty-five years old and has no job or girlfriend.

He's just a teacher at a rural middle school, earning a little over twenty yuan a month. If Wu Xiaojun doesn't get married, how many more years can he work?
We can't let Wu Xiaojun take over his job; he's not cut out to be a teacher.

This time, I finally managed to find a girl for me. Although she was from the village, at that time, towns and villages were almost inseparable.

Many people in rural towns didn't need grain coupons; only public officials were allocated grain coupons, and most people still used grain certificates.

Therefore, when the communes are established next year, townships will be abolished and all will be incorporated into the communes, which will then be closely linked to villages.

Therefore, most people in rural towns don't care much about marrying rural girls, but people in county towns and cities care more about it, because they only have a fixed amount of grain to eat there.

"Brother Xiaojun never scolded or laid a hand on me, who used to 'freeload,' so how could he possibly lay a hand on the matchmaker and the blind date now?"

"Teacher Wu, even I, an outsider, don't believe Brother Xiaojun would do such a thing. There must be some misunderstanding. You should ask him properly."

After a pause, Zhou Zhiqiang continued to Wu Ming, "Speaking of which, it's time for Brother Xiaojun to settle down. Teacher Wu, are you planning to have Brother Xiaojun marry a girl from the countryside?"

"I did want to tell him about people from the countryside, but most of them have high standards. They either want a job or their parents to have good jobs. I'm just a teacher at a middle school in the countryside, sigh."

Zhou Zhiqiang said, "I came back this time for this matter, Teacher Wu. I have two permanent positions in the factory. Why don't you let Brother Xiaojun come with me to Dafeng Machinery Factory to work as a worker?"

Although I started as an apprentice, I still earned 18.5 yuan a month, and if I learned the skills, I could help me become a full-time employee a year earlier.

“A regular employee in the city can still attract good girls even at twenty-five or twenty-six years old. What do you think, Teacher Wu?”

"Go to the city"

"Of course you can!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Ming looked surprised. He was about to ask something, but before he could speak, Mr. Wu's wife rushed out of the kitchen in a panic and shouted...

"Zhiqiang, can you really let my Xiaojun go to the city to work as a laborer? Then I really need to thank you properly. I... I'll kowtow to you."

"Hey, hey, Auntie, please don't do that!"

Upon seeing this, Zhou Zhiqiang quickly stepped forward to help Mr. Wu's wife up. Then, Wu Ming, feeling somewhat embarrassed, scolded her, "What are you doing?! Don't embarrass yourself here, go back and cook!"

Mr. Wu's wife cried out anxiously, "Isn't Xiaojun your son? What's wrong with me doing this for my son?"

"Auntie, Teacher Wu, please don't argue. I said I came back this time for this matter, and I won't lie to you. Besides, there's no point in joking about something like this. Please don't worry."

Zhou Zhiqiang's words quickly calmed the couple down, and they were too embarrassed to argue and hurl insults at each other in front of him.

However, Wu Ming still frowned and said to his wife, "Hurry up and go to the kitchen to cook. Do you want us to be hungry at noon?"

Teacher Wu's wife was somewhat unwilling. She wanted to stay and listen for a while longer, but she couldn't skip making lunch. Otherwise, it would be too outrageous if word got out that Zhou Zhiqiang was working for her son but couldn't even afford to eat.

After Mr. Wu's wife left, Zhou Zhiqiang continued, "Mr. Wu, I am now the deputy head of the technical department at Dafeng Machinery Factory. Because the factory will be expanding in the second half of the year, we need to recruit a lot of workers."

"I've done some good work for the factory, so the factory leaders allocated two job slots to me and one to Brother Xiaojun, so he can come with me to Beijing to work as a laborer." Zhou Zhiqiang had planned to give away the two slots from the beginning; he couldn't find suitable people to sell them.

He definitely couldn't go to the black market; it was a mixed bag, and he'd be scammed and wouldn't be able to find anyone. Besides, the public-private partnership had only been going on for a few years, so while the jobs were valuable, they weren't worth the price they would be a few years later.

A salary of 500 is considered high, but Zhou Zhiqiang and his wife earn more than 100 a month, and can save several hundred to nearly 1,000 a year.

It's not worth taking such a big risk for such a small amount of money.

His wife had no relatives on her own side, and he was not familiar with the neighbors, so he thought of the village chief's nephew.

Zhou Zhiqiang hadn't thought of Wu Xiaojun at first; it was only after hearing Teacher Wu talk about Wu Xiaojun that he came up with this idea.

Giving one or two gifts is the same as giving them away, so why not give them both to acquaintances? Zhou Zhiqiang remembers both of them anyway, and they are both good people.

After listening to Zhou Zhiqiang's words, Wu Ming understood that Zhou Zhiqiang was doing well in Beijing and had come back to find them after getting the quota. This made the middle-aged man so excited that his eyes turned a little red.

"Zhiqiang, a job isn't cheap. Even in a rural town, it costs two or three hundred."

“Teacher Wu, you’ve been taking care of my meals since junior high school, and you’ve never told me how much the meals cost, so there’s no need to say those things.”

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "If you have no other objections, then this matter is settled. I will return it to you after I get the certificate from the factory."

Although the official recruitment period is until August, it should be possible to start earlier. I'll ask about it then.

"Then, Zhiqiang, I'll leave Xiaojun in your care."

Wu Ming slapped his thigh and said, "I'll tell Xiao Jun tonight that he'll listen to you when we get to Beijing. If you see him doing something wrong, beat him up."

If he doesn't listen to you, then let me know, and I'll deal with him."

Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand and said, "No need, no need, Teacher Wu. Brother Xiaojun has a good personality. He will definitely do well in the city."

Lunch was quickly prepared, and Mr. Wu's wife, who was in the kitchen, heard that her son's move to the city was now a certainty, and kept urging Zhou Zhiqiang to eat more at the table.

The little pheasant he brought seemed to be entirely placed in his bowl, and he even fried four or five eggs.

This meal felt almost like celebrating the Chinese New Year.

After having lunch at Wu's house, Zhou Zhiqiang didn't linger. He declined Wu's and his wife's invitations to stay, and rode his bicycle towards Hongqi Village.

He only has one day to rest, and he can't travel after dark, otherwise it would be too dangerous, so he needs to finalize things as soon as possible and then rush home for dinner.

Not long after, Zhou Zhiqiang arrived in Hongqi Village from Sanhe Township.

Just then, the village chief's family had finished eating. Hearing the knock on the door, they came to open it and saw that it was Zhou Zhiqiang. They thought he had come back for some reason.

I haven't heard of any trouble from Zhou Yongliang's family recently. They have had a few arguments at night, but it's always because there's no one to work in the fields. It's too much of a strain for Zhou Yongliang to do all the work by himself.

Zhou Yongliang wanted his father, Zhou Liumu, and his son to work in the fields with him, but neither of them wanted to, so the three generations of grandfather, father, and son started arguing at home.

The noise was quite loud, keeping the nearby neighbors awake.

The village chief assumed Zhou Zhiqiang had returned because of this matter, but before he could say a few words, Zhou Zhiqiang waved his hand, indicating he wasn't interested.

“Village chief, I didn’t come back because of the Zhou family. I came to ask if you would be willing to let your grandson go to the city to work. If you are, I can take him to the city.”

　Asking for a monthly ticket!

　　There is another chapter in the afternoon

　　
　
(End of this chapter)