Siheyuan: I am different He Yuzhu

The Jia family did not hold a banquet on the day of Jia Xiaodang's full month birth. On the one hand, it was because of the shortage of supplies, but the more important reason was that Jia Zhang despised Xiaodang because she was a girl and did not pay attention to her, so she did not want to bother to hold a banquet for Xiaodang. Although there was no banquet in the courtyard, Jia Xudong still invited his master Yi Zhonghai and the aunt to have a decent meal at his home.

After dinner, all the women had left the table, leaving Jia Xudong to drink with Yi Zhonghai. Jia Xudong poured Yi Zhonghai a glass of wine and said carefully, "Master, I heard from the workers in Liu Haizhong's workshop that Liu Haizhong has signed up for the Level 5 forging exam in May, and I heard that Liu Haizhong has a good chance of passing it this time."

Yi Zhonghai took a sip of wine and said calmly, "I have also signed up for the Level 5 fitter exam in May."

Upon hearing this, Jia Xudong said happily, "Master, you will definitely pass the Level 7 Fitter exam this time. Master, I'd like to toast you to celebrate your passing the Level 7 Fitter exam in advance."

"Xudong, Master, I haven't taken the exam yet, so I can't say now whether I will take it or not. It won't be too late for you to congratulate me after you pass the exam." Yi Zhonghai said with a conceited look on his face.

"Master, who are you? Master, you never do anything without confidence. Since you have signed up for the Level 7 fitter, you must be confident that you have passed the exam. Drinking a celebratory toast is not a foregone conclusion. I am just celebrating for you in advance." After saying that, Jia Xudong poured another glass for Yi Zhonghai.

"Master, why do you think the new factory director gave the task of building the steelmaking workshop to He Yuzhu? He Yuzhu is the director of the logistics department and he doesn't understand steelmaking production. With so many people in our factory, why did they give such an important task to him?" Jia Xudong picked up a peanut and put it into his mouth and asked.

"Xudong, don't tell anyone what I'm going to say next when you go out." Yi Zhonghai warned Jia Xudong earnestly.

"Master, don't worry, I promise I won't say anything nonsense." Jia Xudong patted his chest and promised.

"After our factory's former Secretary Wang and Director Zhang were transferred to the ministry, the new director and secretary should have been promoted from the two deputy directors. However, the higher-ups transferred new directors and secretaries from other places. The two deputy directors were not promoted, and the people below were not promoted either. So everyone was holding their breath and preparing to give Director Yang a warning. The reason why Director Yang gave the task of building the steelmaking workshop to He Yuzhu was because when he assigned the task, no other cadres were willing to take it, so the new Director Yang had no choice but to give the task to He Yuzhu."

"So that's how it is. I was wondering why He Yuzhu was chosen over so many other cadres. Master, why is He Yuzhu willing to do it? Isn't he afraid that other cadres will isolate him?" Jia Xudong asked.

"Before Secretary Wang was transferred, he was in charge of logistics. He Yuzhu didn't interact much with other cadres, so he definitely didn't care about their opinions. After all, the most powerful people in the factory are Director Yang and Secretary Gao. If it were you, would you listen to Director Yang or the two deputy directors?"

"I definitely listened to Director Yang. After all, Director Yang is a higher official."

"So now that Director Yang has spoken, He Yuzhu has no choice but to take it on."

"Then He Yuzhu must have offended all the cadres and everyone will isolate him." Jia Xudong said gloatingly.

"Xudong, He Yuzhu is a cadre now, so you should stop saying such things in the future. If He Yuzhu hears it, it will easily offend him."

"Master, this is my home. I dare not say this outside. He Yuzhu is very powerful now. He is a director. He may even become a factory director in the future. How dare I say this to his face? I can't wait to curry favor with him. It's a pity that he is very arrogant and doesn't want to pay attention to me, his old neighbor."

"That's for sure. His identity is different now. If he doesn't put on airs and smiles at everyone, what will he do if someone comes to him for help? You will be the same when you become a leading cadre." Yi Zhonghai said with emotion.

"By the way, Master, do you know that I saw He Yuzhu's uncle Cai Quanwu's brother-in-law in the second workshop." Jia Xudong suddenly remembered something interesting and spoke.

"Really? What does he do now?" Yi Zhonghai asked curiously.

"I asked someone and found out that he is now an apprentice fitter in the second workshop. Master, do you think Cai Quanwu's brother-in-law was arranged by He Yuzhu to work in our factory through the back door?" Jia Xudong looked at Yi Zhonghai with suspicion.

"Probably not. Even though He Yuzhu is now the director of the Logistics Department, he doesn't have the ability to arrange a worker. He is more like a factory director or a secretary." Yi Zhonghai thought for a moment and answered seriously.

"How did Cai Quanwu's brother-in-law get into our factory? I haven't heard that the factory is recruiting workers." Jia Xudong said with a look of doubt.

"I think someone bought the successor position. It seems that several people in the second workshop retired last year." Yi Zhonghai said after recalling.

"Is that so? How much money will Cai Quanwu's brother-in-law have to pay to work in our factory?"

"I heard from others privately that it seems to be about 700 or 800 yuan."

"This is so much. It's more than two years' salary for a regular employee, and almost three years if you include the apprentice."

"It's really not cheap. There's no demand for this kind of product. It doesn't matter. You can't buy it at all."

"Well, it's a decent job after all. By the way, Master, do you think you will recruit a group of workers after the steelmaking workshop is built?"

"That's for sure. But most people can't do the work in a steel workshop. It's more tiring than blacksmithing. The monthly food allowance for steel workers is a maximum of 56 kilograms." Yi Zhonghai said with a sigh.

"Wow, there are so many, almost as much as an ordinary person's two-month food ration." Jia Xudong said in surprise after hearing this.

"Don't underestimate him because he has a lot of food. He works hard and eats a lot. Take Liu Haizhong in the backyard for example. He only has 50 kilograms of food a month. But it's not enough. He has to eat an egg every day. Don't think I don't know that he secretly went to the pigeon market to buy eggs. I just didn't want to tell anyone."

When Jia Xudong heard Yi Zhonghai talking about the black market, his expression froze slightly. He smiled awkwardly, picked up the wine glass and took a sip of wine, then pretended not to care and said, "Master, there are many people in our courtyard who go to the pigeon market. But to be honest, it's because there is not enough food at home, so we go to the black market to find some. We can't starve."

"Yes, that's why I pretended not to know. Otherwise, if the street office knew about it, I would have kept it a secret. Xudong, you should have been there quite a lot, right?"

Jia Xudong was stunned after hearing this, and quickly explained: "Master, I have no choice. You also know that I am the only one in my family with a city hukou and food rations. If I don't go to Pigeon City to find some food, my family will starve to death."

Yi Zhonghai interrupted Jia Xudong and said, "Xudong, I'm not saying that it's bad for you to go to Pigeon City. I just want to remind you that if you go to Pigeon City, you must pay attention to safety and be careful not to be caught by the police. There are too many people going to Pigeon City at the moment, and the government actually turns a blind eye. Otherwise, if you think Pigeon City can continue to operate, it would have been banned by the government long ago."

"Okay, I got it, Master. I'll be careful." Jia Xudong nodded seriously. "By the way, Master, you said He Yuzhu has such a big appetite. How does he survive on his 29-jin monthly ration? I've never seen him go out at night." Jia Xudong suddenly thought of He Yuzhu's amazing appetite, so he asked.

"If you hadn't told me, I really wouldn't have noticed it." Yi Zhonghai touched his chin and began to calculate. After a while, he said, "Although He Yuzhu's rations are low, his salary is high. With a salary of more than 100 yuan a month, he can buy whatever he wants. But I guess he should have asked other people to buy food for him in private. After all, he is a cadre. If he is caught, the impact will be significant. Besides, his cousin is the manager of the tavern outside Daqianmen. It's not easy to sell something in a tavern where all kinds of people gather. Besides, He Yuzhu is a cadre. He must have more meat and side dishes every month than us. If nothing else, just look at the cadres in the factory who don't have a bicycle."

"Oh, it's so good to be a cadre. The salary is so high. I wish I were a cadre." Jia Xudong said with envy.

"It's not easy to be a cadre. He Yuzhu just got a good time back then. If he wanted to become a cadre from a chef now, it would be basically impossible. It's very difficult for workers to become cadres now."

"Master, if workers can't become cadres, then why is Liu Haizhong in the backyard still thinking about becoming a cadre?" Jia Xudong asked, pointing to the backyard.

Yi Zhonghai took a sip of wine and said disdainfully: "It's not that workers can't become cadres, but the chance is too small. It can be said that ordinary workers have little chance of becoming cadres. Unless they have made significant contributions, it is difficult for them to become leading cadres from the status of workers. Liu Haizhong went for that slim chance. Humph, if it was that easy to become a cadre, I would have become one long ago."

Jia Xudong nodded and continued, "Yes, Master, you are much better than Liu Haizhong. Even you failed to become a cadre. I think his efforts are in vain. Master, you don't know that ever since Liu Haizhong became a team leader, when I greeted him in the yard more than once, he put his hands behind his back and pretended to be a leader, as if he was so great. Even He Yuzhu, who became a director, didn't have such a big airs as him."

Yi Zhonghai couldn't help laughing out loud and mocked: "Haha, Liu Haizhong is a monkey in human form! He thinks he can become a leader by imitating the leader's appearance. It's ridiculous!"

After Master Yi Zhonghai and his apprentice finished a bottle of Sanlouzi, Yi Zhonghai shook his head and said, "Xudong, it's getting late, and we've finished the wine. I'll go back first, and you should get some rest too."

"Master, let me see you off." Jia Xudong helped Yi Zhonghai up.

"It's okay, it's just a little bit of wine, I'm not drunk yet. Besides, it's just two steps away, I can go back by myself." After saying that, Yi Zhonghai pushed Jia Xudong away and walked towards home with steady steps.