Siheyuan: Xu Damao's New Life

Xu Damao started making phone calls as soon as he returned to the office. With his promotion to this level, the salary naturally had to follow suit. The new office was not only more spacious than the previous one, but also had a small lounge, and was fully equipped with telephones and other facilities.

"Director Liu, I'm Xu Damao from the steel mill. When will the batch of prizes that our factory ordered last time be delivered? We will have the competition this Saturday."

"What? It's already been prepared and will arrive on Thursday? Okay, I'll arrange for someone to receive it then.

Also, we need to add some more orders, this time it’s for next month’s chess and card activities, can they be shipped together?

Well, there aren’t many things, so let’s go with the plan. We will also ship a batch of parts to you on time.”

"Director Shao..."

These were mainly prizes for the sports meeting, mainly small prizes such as towels and enamel cups printed with the names of the places in the steel mill's competitions. Add to that some notes and physical rewards provided by the factory, and the prizes were complete.

Originally, this matter should have been taken care of by the logistics department, but Wang Jinshan pushed it to him in the name of training him. Xu Damao knew that it was for the purpose of expanding his own network, so he took it over.

After hanging up the phone, Xu Damao was a little speechless. This person was just a little tired. In the past, another deputy section chief had been recuperating for a long time and rarely came to the factory. When would another deputy section chief come to help him share the burden? He missed the days when he was a deputy section chief and slacked off.

Soon, Zhao Lijun's voice came from the loudspeaker:

"Dear workers, please note that in view of the poor quality of the food in the new canteen, the factory leaders have decided to cancel the punishment of Comrade He Yuzhu being demoted to a workshop and to reallocate him to the eighth canteen, with a chef grade of ten. I hope everyone will take this as a warning, work hard, and contribute to the country's construction."

"The sports meeting held by the factory will be held on time this Saturday. I hope everyone will sign up and participate actively. You should also strengthen your exercise and strive to get a good ranking. There are many prizes waiting for everyone this time. In addition, in order to take care of the majority of middle-aged and elderly comrades, the Propaganda Department plans to hold a chess and card event next month. The specific time of the event will be notified next time. Please pay attention to the notice board for specific projects. Special thanks to Comrade Liu Haizhong for his valuable suggestions! I hope everyone can learn from Comrade Liu Haizhong and contribute ideas and suggestions for the development of the factory!"

The two notices were broadcast three times in a row, sparking heated discussions among everyone.

Sha Zhu: "Did you hear me? I'm going back to the cafeteria. Whoever wants to do this sand casting work can do it. Anyway, I'm not going to do it anymore!"

This sentence happened to be heard by the director of the foundry workshop who was passing by, "Shazhu, what are you talking about? Who are you talking to? Everyone, take a break first, let Shazhu do it alone."

Sha Zhu wanted to slap himself in the face. It would be better not to be spoken such a rude word!

"Director, I was wrong. I just wanted to talk nonsense. Next time, brothers, I will definitely give you more food when you go to the eighth canteen." Then he took out cigarettes and passed them around. Others learn from their mistakes, but Sha Zhu finally learned from his mistakes ten times, which can be considered a change.

"Okay, today's progress is relatively fast, let's take a break first. You, Shazhu, have to finish today's work and report to the cafeteria tomorrow!"

As for Yi Zhonghai, his thoughts were not only a bit excessive but also a bit crooked. Sha Zhu was obviously abandoned by Director Yang and was treated so badly by Li Huaide, while Xu Damao was Li Huaide's die-hard supporter. This time, Sha Zhu was able to return to the cafeteria with the approval of Li Huaide. If Xu Damao had insisted on it, Li Huaide would definitely not have agreed.

Could it be that Xu Damao realized his past mistakes and wanted to reconcile, so he sent a goodwill signal to Sha Zhu and himself? Well, it seems necessary to find time to have a good talk with Xu Damao and test the waters.

Liu Haizhong was teaching skills to a new apprentice in the workshop. He couldn't help but show his joy when he heard the last broadcast.

"Did you all hear it? I was thanked on the radio. Chief Xu and I are from the same hospital, and it was me who proposed to Chief Xu the idea of ​​holding chess and card activities suitable for middle-aged and elderly people!" Liu Haizhong's expression was seven parts proud and three parts reserved.

The apprentices around him had been in the factory for a few months, so how could they not know what kind of personality Liu Haizhong had? They surrounded him and praised him.

"Okay, stop flattering me. I'll explain this difficulty to you again."

The workers in the factory were also talking about it.

"I heard that the prizes this time are very rich. In addition to towels, tea mugs and enamel cups, there are also various tickets, even bicycle tickets and watch tickets."

"Hey, your news is outdated. I knew it a long time ago. You didn't know there were still tickets for the electric fan. I've already signed up!"

"Fuck, why didn't you tell me?"

"You didn't ask!"

"Chief Xu is really concerned about us working class people. What kind of people are these leaders who are so fat and bloated?"

"Hush, don't say that. If your boss hears it, he will make things difficult for you."

"This chess and card activity is still good. At my age, running and jumping are really not suitable for me. I plan to sign up for chess and bring back a prize."

"Come on, you're a lousy chess player, and your level is not as good as mine."

"How can you talk like that? I don't believe it. I'll go home and play two rounds after get off work!"

"We agreed that the loser will have to drink!"

"Dad, father-in-law, if you two want to drink, just tell me. I'll be the one buying the wine no matter if we win or lose. Why are you making so much trouble?"

"hey-hey."

"Hahaha..." There was a burst of laughter all around.

It was Saturday, the day of the sports meeting. The large square in front of the office building was already crowded with people and colorful flags fluttering.

Some superiors and factory leaders were already sitting on the rostrum. The highest-level leader and Director Yang gave enthusiastic speeches, and then announced the official start of the first sports meeting of the steel rolling mill.

The large square that can accommodate 10,000 people is divided into several areas. The outermost area is divided into several tracks for long-distance running, short-distance running and relay races; the inside of the square is divided into several areas for high jump, long jump, shot put, wrestling, etc., as well as rope skipping, which is the most popular among ladies.

Xu Damao eliminated the hurdles and javelin events due to their technical difficulty and relatively high risk.

All the young people in the factory's offices who did not sign up were pulled over by Xu Damao to serve as referees and recorders. Almost all the people in the Propaganda Department crowded into the small radio station to write scripts and be ready to take over the broadcast at any time.

As for Xu Damao, he was the referee of the rope skipping, drinking soda while enjoying the beautiful scenery. Who said he was the most senior in the propaganda department now? It was already a bit hot in May, and plus he had to exercise, hehe, it was so rough and rippling, you know! Especially when several recognized beauties in the factory appeared here, the men all laughed knowingly.

When Sha Zhu was a child, he learned wrestling on the overpass for a while. He was very confident in his skills. For a long time, he was known as the God of War in the Siheyuan Courtyard because of his wrestling skills. So this time he signed up decisively and entered the semi-finals very smoothly.