Rebirth 78: After being jilted at the altar, I reached the pinnacle!

"Huh?" Li Hanliang was somewhat surprised.

You have to understand that in those days, that kind of atmosphere was serious. Even Zhang Yongsheng, the manager of a small breeding farm in Liangzhuang production team, had a bit of an official air about him. Not to mention the people in the county.

Just like Director Pei, whom they met yesterday, his work clothes were ironed perfectly and his hair was combed meticulously. With that kind of demeanor, people would believe he was the factory director, let alone just a director.

But this Uncle Zhou in front of us was wearing the same chef's uniform as everyone else, covered in grease, and he was obviously very approachable when interacting with everyone.

“Young man, I understand your concerns.” Zhou Weibing invited him to sit down at the table next to him, and then told everyone to go about their business.

There were no students in the cafeteria at the moment, and it was easy for the cooks to talk, except for the sounds of them cooking.

"The canteen in any organization is a lucrative position. All those directors and managers are relatives of the organization's leaders. Without connections, getting into the canteen is harder than climbing to heaven!"

Li Hanliang nodded repeatedly, "That's right, but I think our canteen is a bit different from other unit canteens. Everyone here is a worker."

“What kind of place is a technical school? It’s a place to cultivate pillars of the nation, not a place for people to climb the social ladder and take shortcuts!” Zhou Weibing said, slamming his fist on the table indignantly. “I know that employees from various units are scrambling to send their children to technical schools. People outside say that our technical school is full of children of employees.”

"But the children of us workers are upright and honorable. They should eat well, study well, and contribute to society in the future!"

Li Hanliang strongly agrees with this point. The principle of "education for all" and "recommendation of the virtuous without regard to kinship" applies. Although there are relatives of important figures in technical schools, the majority of students are children of ordinary workers from various factories.

Their lives are not wealthy, but they are eager to learn and willing to study, so adults should support them.

“Sigh,” Zhou Weibing lit his pipe, his aged and sharp eyes glancing out the window. “I’m only in charge of the canteen because of my status as a retired veteran. I can make sure the kids have enough to eat, but I can’t make sure they eat well. I’m a useless person.”

Li Hanliang understood. Zhou Weibing was transferred to this position after being demobilized from the military. The higher-ups probably thought that working in the canteen was a lucrative job, and that being with the children every day would be easy, so it was a good opportunity for him to retire comfortably.

But unexpectedly, the old man was stubborn and insisted on making a name for himself, which offended some people. Those shrewd people took away the canteen's purchasing power. Now he only has the power to manage the cooking, but he can't decide what ingredients to buy.

“The price of water-injected pork is more than half that of regular, good pork. They must have pocketed several hundred yuan from buying this batch of pigs, right?” Li Hanliang was shocked.

He recalled that back then, the TV stations were eager to report on the story of the first person to become a "ten-thousand-yuan household," but in reality, in some shady places, some people had already made a fortune. If they could be exposed to the public eye, there wouldn't be several "ten-thousand-yuan households" now.

The saying "Behind the red gates, meat and wine go to waste; on the streets, the frozen dead lie" truly applies to any era.

“Uncle, I understand what you mean,” Li Hanliang was a straightforward man. After figuring out the situation, he didn’t delay and directly promised Zhou Weibing, “Leave this to me, and I’ll find a way to help you win back all the purchases.”

"Young man, are you serious?" Zhou Weibing asked, somewhat surprised.

He was just confiding in the young man because he thought he looked kind. As for buying pork, he certainly couldn't rely on anyone else.

“Young man, I appreciate your kindness,” Zhou Weibing said, taking out a pen and paper from his work clothes pocket. “What I mean is, give me your number. Once I’ve sorted things out here, I’ll contact you and personally visit your pig farm. If your pork is good, I’ll definitely buy some.”

Li Hanliang was amused by him. "Uncle Zhou, how are you going to solve this? If I'm not mistaken, all your avenues have been blocked by the other party, right? Otherwise, you wouldn't be so interested in a small salesperson like me who has come to your door on my own initiative."

To break out of any impasse, there must be a fulcrum. Zhou Weibing couldn't find good pork to compare with, nor did he have any connections with pork vendors, which is why he's been stuck like this.

"Sigh..." Zhou Weibing sighed in shame. He really couldn't pretend to be strong at this moment, so he could only ask Li Hanliang, "Young man, do you have any ideas? Our principal is indeed quite capable. It's hard for ordinary people to beat him."

Li Hanliang laughed, "Uncle Zhou, don't worry, I'm not an ordinary person."

Even if Zhou Weibing hadn't said anything, Li Hanliang could have guessed that the principal's ability to brazenly make moves right under the veterans' noses meant he not only had guts, but also real power and a genuine disregard for others.

However, he enjoys taking on challenging tasks.

"Uncle Zhou, if you just promise me that once I get the purchasing rights back, Xiaoliangzhuang will take care of all the pork for our technical school cafeteria, how about that?"

Based on his observations, Li Hanliang was certain that the demand for pork at the technical school was twice that of the state-owned textile factory.

Most importantly, it is more stable than state-owned textile factories.

Zhou Weibing was still a little hesitant, after all, he hadn't seen the pork in Li Hanliang's hands yet. What if the quality was bad?

But now, all his doubts have been dispelled.

Having fought his way through the battlefield, he believed he had a good eye for people. This kid's sense of responsibility and willingness to make guarantees showed that he was definitely capable; and his willingness to act on a promise made only verbally demonstrated that he was a chivalrous and honest person.

"Alright! Brother Hanliang, I, Zhou Weibing, trust you!" Zhou Weibing immediately made the decision. "As long as you handle this matter, I'll buy you all the pork!"

Li Hanliang quickly waved his hand, "No, no, if you take it all, our factory manager won't agree. We have other buyers."

Zhou Weibing was amused by him and looked at him with admiration.

Li Hanliang didn't linger. He made an agreement with Zhou Weibing that it would be no later than five days before taking his leave.

After leaving the technical school, Liu Quanyou was very worried. "Boss, did you exaggerate just now? That's the principal of the technical school. Can we handle him? I think Uncle Zhou is quite honest. Don't try to fool him."

Li Hanliang glanced back at the vocational school and said firmly, "Don't worry, I can handle it."

However, before that, he had to take care of the most important thing.

Back in Xiaoliangzhuang, Li Hanliang went to the pig farm and bought two jin of pork. He told the accountant directly that it would be used for official business and for his own errands. Without saying another word, he borrowed Zhang Yongsheng's bicycle and headed towards the city.

As he passed by his own house, he noticed that the door was open, which was strange!

Thinking a thief had broken into his house, Li Hanliang slammed on the brakes, grabbed the pork, and rushed inside...