Siheyuan: Bringing Warehouses to 1959

The days working in the steel rolling mill office can only be described as leisurely, and are completely different from being a worker.

I arrive at the office early in the morning and do nothing else. If I don’t have breakfast at home, I go to the cafeteria first and eat a big steamed bread in the cafeteria. Then I go to the office and clean the place slowly, wiping the chairs and so on. After finishing these, I go to get water to make tea, or just get a large glass of boiled water.

Anyway, after all this, almost all the time has passed.

Zeng Wangcai is a newcomer, and his main job now is copying and writing. It seems that the work is very heavy, but in fact it is the most leisurely job in the Propaganda Department. It does not require thinking and can also practice writing.

His calligraphy was not only recognized by Zhou Hongbo, but also by some leaders in the factory. He heard this from Zhou Hongbo, who said that relevant leaders had seen the notice posted on the bulletin board.

But if it's just writing a notice, that's probably the most that can be done.

Zeng Wangcai went to work and chatted and slacked off with his colleagues in the department. He has not been working there for long, but because of his generosity, he has now become the most popular person in the department.

Everyone likes to take advantage of small benefits, and Zeng Wangcai likes others to take advantage of small benefits the most. Once there is an opportunity, these small benefits will be accumulated and become a big offer.

After walking around the department, Zeng Wangcai, as usual, walked to the next room, carrying the same enamel pot as others. Since he came, the large room next door has become much quieter.

He had just picked up the pen and wrote a few words when Zhou Hongbo's follower Xiao Wang came to call him, saying that Zhou Hongbo had returned from a meeting and asked him to come over.

"Oh, here I come!" Zeng Wangcai put down his brush and walked back to the office slowly.

He thought Zhou Hongbo was going to hold a meeting, but he didn't expect that he would summon him alone.

"Chief, are you looking for me?" Zeng Wangcai came in and greeted him.

After working for nearly half a month, Zeng Wangcai has learned a lot about Zhou Hongbo. He is a cadre who is a bit pedantic and old-fashioned, but at the same time he has many advantages. He does not have the sense of superiority that some current cadres have. He is also relatively upright, has strong professional skills, and is not good at flattering.

Zeng Wangcai heard this when he was chatting with his colleagues in the department. They said that if Lao Zhou hadn't had a bad temper, he would have been the factory director by now. They also said that if Lao Zhou hadn't been an excellent writer and had published articles in many magazines and newspapers, he would have been demoted long ago.

As for Zhou Hongbo, he is very satisfied with the newcomer Zeng Wangcai so far, and even likes him. First, Zeng Wangcai can unite his colleagues, which is the benefit of giving out small benefits. Nowadays, being able to unite colleagues is not the same as uniting classmates in self-evaluation in elementary school. This is very important. Second, Zhou Hongbo feels that Zeng Wangcai is hardworking and willing to do the copying work that others in the department are annoyed with and try to shirk. Zeng Wangcai is happy to do it.

Zeng Wangcai didn't think there was anything wrong with copying. He could practice calligraphy for free, but he still had to pay for the pen, ink, paper and inkstone when he got home.

With these two points, Zeng Wangcai became a good comrade who is down-to-earth, hard-working, serious and responsible.

Now Zhou Hongbo wants to give Zeng Wangcai a benefit to see Zeng Wangcai's abilities in other aspects and whether Zeng Wangcai has the ambition to improve himself.

"Comrade Wangcai, please take a look at this document that has just been issued, study it, and tell us what you think about it." Zhou Hongbo picked up a document from the desk and handed it to Zeng Wangcai.

Zeng Wangcai, who had no chance to come into contact with this in his previous life, took it and looked at it carefully.

It turned out that this was a document of relatively high standards. In view of the current serious situation, the higher-ups required all departments to unite and overcome the difficulties together. At the same time, they required the propaganda departments of all units to do a good job in spiritual propaganda.

If there is not enough material, we can make up for it with spirit. This is the mainstream idea.

When it comes to the factories below, the Propaganda Department is required to write materials or articles and submit them, which is a bit like writing reflections after learning. If nothing unexpected happens, there will be no major problems with what is written. For the promotion of the factory, excellent articles will have the opportunity to be published in internal publications, and it is even possible for them to be published in newspapers.

After reading the document, Zeng Wangcai did not look up, he was thinking.

To be honest, in addition to the warehouse, he actually brought other skills from his previous life, such as writing. He was a master of writing, and his income from writing on the platform besides being a security guard was many times more than that from his main job. He later thought about writing online articles, but gave up after seeing other authors being scolded by readers in the comment section.

He clearly remembered that there was an author who wrote Siheyuan fan fiction. Because the first book made a mistake, readers called him a scumbag and asked his entire family to be cursed. This was simply because the mistake was not his own. Later, the author quickly wrote a second book, learned his lesson, and stopped making mistakes. As a result, he was scolded even more miserably.

But writing is different now. It is not as simple as getting scolded. One mistake is a mistake. Things written down in black and white are far more terrifying than saying the wrong thing.

"How is it? Have you finished reading it?" Seeing Zeng Wangcai didn't say anything, Zhou Hongbo asked, "I want you to write this material on behalf of our Propaganda Department and our factory. Of course, don't feel any pressure. I will check it for you. Just hand it in to me before the end of get off work this Saturday. It doesn't matter if you don't write it well. I will write it too. You should seize this opportunity."

Zeng Wangcai knew that this was indeed an opportunity, one that came with risks as well as opportunities.

As for the risks, Zeng Wangcai feels that they are controllable, just like when he was writing in his previous life. He should be careful not to touch on sensitive words. The subject matter is also easy to deal with. He can use metaphors, or write about things that seem important at the moment but will not trigger fatal risks.

Thinking of this, Zeng Wangcai had a general idea in his mind.

"Thank you for your trust, Section Chief. I will ensure that I complete the task." Zeng Wangcai took on the responsibility.

"Very good!" Zhou Hongbo affirmed Zeng Wangcai's sense of responsibility, "Next, I will ask you to reduce the copying work appropriately. You just need to be responsible for writing the materials this week."

"Okay, Chief!" Zeng Wangcai agreed again.

In fact, there is another unknown reason why Zhou Hongbo asked Zeng Wangcai to write this thing. There are many writers in the propaganda department of the steel rolling mill, but none of them can really write good things and be valued by their superiors. Otherwise, they would not stay in the propaganda department of the steel rolling mill.

Rather than saying that Zhou Hongbo gave Zeng Wangcai a chance this time, it would be more accurate to say that this was more of a test. The level of this task was not low, and while Zhou Hongbo asked Zeng Wangcai to write the materials, he would actually prepare a copy himself in case of emergency.

After returning to the office, Zeng Wangcai continued to practice calligraphy next door. He continued to practice calligraphy for free until noon. Only when the factory loudspeaker sounded did he go back to get his lunch box and eat with his colleagues.

Zeng Wangcai walked towards the cafeteria with an aluminum lunch box under his arm, talking and laughing. The sun was very hot at noon, but that couldn't stop people from eating.

"Hey, Wangcai, what's that delicious smell?" Little Li, who works in the same department, smelled the tempting aroma from Zeng Wangcai's lunch box.

"Fish, salted fish, share some among you guys later." Zeng Wangcai said with a smile.

Oh, I have to pretend to play chess again... Zeng Wangcai thought.