Siheyuan: Breaking up with Shazhu at the beginning

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Return home after dinner.

He and Yi Qiu Shui were reading in the study.

Since they got married, Yi Qiu Shui would drag him to the study every night to read classical books.

At first he thought his wife was simply interested in traditional culture, but he found out that she was obsessed with it to a certain level.

Day after day, she pestered him to answer her strange questions, which made him overwhelmed.

Despite this, in order to pursue his dream, he could only pretend to be interested. After all, men always have something to pursue.

Yang Jun held a history book in his hand, opened the page, and glanced at the time - it was almost ten o'clock in the evening.

"I'm going to do something," he said.

Yi Qiu Shui was stunned when she heard this, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and her bright eyes stared at him with confusion.

Afraid of being misunderstood by her, Yang Jun quickly explained: "Old Li has some things to deal with. I will be back soon. You should rest first and don't wait for me."

"Okay, go ahead." Yi Qiu Shui nodded slightly.

He held Yi Qiu Shui's delicate face in his hands, kissed her forehead goodbye, and walked out the door with a reluctant expression.

The third uncle had already bolted the gate of the courtyard. Yang Jun did not disturb his elder, but just gently released the bolt, started the car and left the mansion.

The car sped out of the alley and drove towards the warehouse that had been rented before.

When they were still two blocks away from the warehouse, they happened to meet Wang Erwa who was doing his night patrol.

Yang Jun stopped the car and greeted the security personnel, then took Wang Erwa aside to talk.

"Is there any problem?" he asked with concern.

Wang Erwa was wearing a military coat, his hands tucked into his sleeves, trembling as he said, "I couldn't even see a ghost in this cold wind."

"Then we still need to be vigilant. I'll go over and take a look first."

Stepping on the accelerator, Yang Jun quickly rushed to the warehouse.

After arriving at the place, Yang Jun did not turn on the lights immediately. Instead, after adjusting to the darkness for a few seconds, he reached out and found the switch on the wall. He gently pulled it, and suddenly the entire warehouse lit up.

There was a lot of dust on the floor of the warehouse after a few days, but Yang Jun didn't care much about it. He went straight to the warehouse and entered his space in a flash.

Since he bought a full pound of food last time, he has packed the remaining food into bags for easy removal, with each bag containing 150 pounds.

All in all, two large tonnes of grain would require about thirteen or forty sacks, but out of consideration, he still took a dozen more bags in case of emergency.

When he came back to his senses, he saw that the warehouse in front of him was already filled with bags of grain.

Looking at the full store of grain, he felt more at ease.

He firmly believed that with this batch of supplies, Li Tiezhu would definitely be able to get through this difficult period.

After putting the grain in place, Yang Jun did not stay any longer. He turned off the lights, closed the door, and drove away from the warehouse.

On the way back, they passed by Wang Erwa and threw the key in their hand to him. Without any extra words, the two of them went straight back to the courtyard.

After parking the car outside the yard, Yang Jun glanced at the clock and found that the round trip took less than an hour.

Just as I was about to walk into the courtyard, the door was unexpectedly opened from the inside.

"Soldier boy, are you back?" The third uncle, wearing a coat and a woolen hat, appeared in front of him with a smile on his face.

The third uncle still hasn't changed his habit of haggling over every penny. He thinks he can buy an apprenticeship position with only 300 cents. That's just a daydream, right?

Now is the critical moment of the merger of the two factories. Not to mention 300 points, even 3,000 yuan may not be enough to buy the status of a temporary worker.

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The third uncle wanted Yang Jun to pay 300 yuan to find an apprentice position for Yan Jiefang, but Yang Jun made it clear that he could not agree to his request.

It's not just about the amount of money, it's about the principle.

No matter how precious the jadeite was, Yang Jun never accepted money from others. Would he be tempted by such a small amount of money? He was not short of money, and he would not find jobs for others just for money. He even had his own considerations behind providing job opportunities.

Especially at such a sensitive moment as the factory merger, he did not want to attract attention because too many eyes were focused on him.

Yang Jun returned the money and said to the uncle solemnly, "It's not a price issue, it's just that there's really no way to do it."

Xiaojun, please be kind and help the third uncle.

Jiefang is old, already 18 years old. If he can't find a proper job, it might be difficult for him to find a wife in the future.

Seeing that the children of the Yan family made the third uncle worried, Yang Jun said:

Indeed, it is difficult to get Yan Jiefang into the factory at present. So, you wait for two or three more months.

There are plans to build a steel plant recently, which will certainly require a large number of employees.

Until then, I will definitely save a spot for you.

"Xiaojun, is this true?" The third uncle pulled the corner of his clothes and said excitedly.

Yang Jun calmly broke free from his hand and took a step back to avoid his enthusiasm: "Uncle, I would never lie to anyone but you.

You don't have to worry about it. I will definitely reserve a place for Jiefang when the time comes."

Yang Jun knew very well that if he didn't give the third uncle a definite answer, he would continue to pester him.

But this is not a problem. Once the new steel plant is completed, it will inevitably absorb some of the technical backbones of the steel rolling mill, and the recruitment of remaining employees will begin. By then, it will be no problem to give Yan Jiefang a chance to be an apprentice.

Xiaojun, thank you so much.

Let’s put it this way… It’s too late, Uncle San, please don’t disturb your rest.

The third uncle was overjoyed, knowing that the matter was settled. He no longer bothered about the three hundred dollars and turned away.

When he returned home, he found that the light in the study was still on and Yi Qiu Shui was still waiting for him.

Didn’t I tell you to take a rest first?

Yi Qiushui stretched and said lazily, "I'm just worried about you."

"I'm just discussing work with Lao Li. There's nothing to worry about." As she said this, she pouted her lips and spread her hands, as if she was acting coquettishly.

In desperation, Yang Jun had to bend down, carry her on his back and go upstairs to bed.

From then on, Yang Jun decided to go out less often at night so as not to let Yi Qiu Shui worry too much.

...

After work the next day, there were still meetings all day long.

As the date of the factory merger approaches, there is a lot of preparation work to be done. Meetings in the morning and afternoon to report on the progress of the work are indispensable links.

In fact, other tasks can be handled with ease, but the real estate department is the most challenging.

With thousands of people suddenly joining in, arranging accommodation became extremely difficult.

It is easier to solve the housing problem for leading cadres, as most of them have families and enjoy allocated houses; the real trouble is the housing problem for ordinary workers.

The slums in the old city had long been used up in the competition among various departments, and now there were no extra houses for them.

Once the equipment workshops where the workers originally lived are merged, having them travel long distances back and forth will obviously have a serious impact on production.

As the deputy chief of housing management, Yang Zilou has been busy with this matter these days.

He used his free time to lead the workers to tidy up several warehouses that stored miscellaneous items.

The warehouse was cleared of clutter, cleaned thoroughly, and only basic whitewashing was done, and it became a large space for accommodation.

Although it is a bit crowded to accommodate hundreds of people and there is almost no room to stand, it is a helpless choice under the current emergency situation.

They intended to solve the root problem, so Yang Jun and several other leaders held a meeting and decided to build two employee dormitory buildings.

Although there was sufficient supply of steel and concrete and construction could have started at any time, they had to postpone the work because the weather was still too cold to be suitable.

Once the temperature is suitable in spring, construction will begin immediately.

After lunch, Yang Jun took the opportunity to drive to the place under renovation.

When I stepped into the yard, I saw a busy team of workers with more than ten people added, and the decoration team that Lao Wu was in charge of also received some reinforcements.

I haven't been here for a few days, and the house is almost finished being renovated.

Thanks to the strength of everyone, the decoration of each room is almost completed, and the only step left is laying the floor.

Lao Wu placed several large boilers indoors, and the hot charcoal accelerated the drying process.

Yang Jun inspected each room one by one and was quite satisfied with the overall decoration. He estimated that at this rate of progress, they could move into the new house tomorrow evening.

All the windows were replaced with large glass blocks, and if it weren't for the frames, they could almost be mistaken for floor-to-ceiling windows.

The bluestone paths in the courtyard were all brand new, and the original mossy stones were moved aside by the workers.

Stepping on the new bluestone, Yang felt it was solid and stable, without any sense of emptiness or awkwardness.

At this time, Lao Wu handed him a cigarette and said, "Brother Yang, come here at this time tomorrow morning, and we can conduct the acceptance inspection."

Taking the cigarette and putting it in his mouth, Yang Jun didn't ask any further questions and directly asked Lao Wu to light it.

Afterwards, he expressed his gratitude to the workers for their hard work: "Master Laowu, you have worked hard. I will treat you all to a meal to express my gratitude when the time comes."

However, Lao Wu smiled naively and said, "Don't worry about it. Brother Yang just needs to take good care of us. Don't worry about the food. I'll be grateful for a hot meal."

Yang Jun noticed a painter who was painting their damaged door, and pointed at the man and said, "Master Lao Wu, tell him to paint only the inside, no need to paint the outside."

When Lao Wu heard this, he understood what he meant - there was no need to show off his wealth.

He knew that wealthy homes often had elaborate decorations on the outside, but there might be something very different hidden inside.

He nodded in understanding and walked over to the painter to give instructions.

In the evening, when Yang Jun returned to the factory, he met Jiang Haitao in the office who came to convey the meeting notice.

The agenda of this meeting was still to discuss the merger. The difference was that Li Huaide became the host and he proposed a specific plan on how to arrange the employees in the machine repair workshop of the merged factory.

After the two factories are merged, some of the possible redundant parts include maintenance technicians.

The idea proposed by Deputy Director Li was to hold a skills competition, where the winners would be retained and the rest would find their own way out.

This plan immediately aroused objections from the participants.

Considering that these positions represent the livelihoods of many workers and their families, laying off hundreds of employees would be a heavy blow. Such a major decision must be carefully considered and not made rashly.

Finally, Yang Jun made a suggestion.

He advocated that everyone stay and encouraged them to take a few apprentices and require them to start working immediately.

With the establishment of the iron and steel plant, many technical talents will inevitably be drawn from the rolling steel plant.

It is obviously not advisable to lay off employees on a large scale due to temporary difficulties.

What should we do if the ironworks needs to be reassigned technical personnel but there is no one here to send?

Technicians are key to the proper functioning of an ironworks.

Yang Jun's idea was strongly refuted by Li Huaide, who believed that there was an oversupply of technical personnel and retaining all of them would bring tremendous pressure to the rolling steel mills.

He even believes that even if the iron and steel plant does need technical support in the future, they can hire them back.

Since Li Huaide proposed a comprehensive cutback, Yang Jun understood his strategy.

Li Huaide, a veteran with decades of experience in the workplace, certainly knew that all this was just a joint plan by Yang Jianguo and Yang Jun, who were trying to use this opportunity to exclude themselves.

Originally, Li Huaide was Yang Jianguo's first choice to take over, but now he was inserted into the competition with Yang Jun. How could he be willing? He tapped the tip of his pen on his notebook, lowered his head and thought for a long time, then slowly spoke:

“If Director Yang can properly arrange these technical personnel, I have no objection.

But if the arrangement is not good, I don’t advocate that the rolling mills bear so many unproductive mouths.”

Yang Jun understood that without a reasonable plan, not only Li Huaide, but even the top management might object to leaving behind a bunch of idle people.

After frowning and thinking for a long time, he suddenly thought of a labor employment model in later generations - labor dispatch.

So he proposed:

"We can implement a redeployment plan. Aren't local agricultural machinery stations short of manpower? We can send technicians there to guide the work and reduce the expenditure of the rolling mill at the same time."

At this time, the concept of labor outsourcing was not yet clear, and there was usually no direct economic connection between enterprises and individuals.

Therefore, people working at the agricultural machinery station are nominally affiliated with the rolling steel plant, but their actual salary comes from the agricultural machinery station.

Yang Jun's proposal was eye-opening. Although it opened up a new way of working, some people had doubts about the future operation.

Lao Yuan questioned: "When the contract expires, all the technicians will be withdrawn. Will the agricultural machinery station agree?" Faced with this question, Yang Jun confidently answered: "Why not? Our technicians can start working directly and we can also help them train new talents.

For them, it’s pie in the sky.”

Others also agree with Yang Jun's point of view, believing that it will not only reduce the pressure on rolling steel mills, but also retain excellent talents.

After seeing everyone's reactions, Li Huaide had no choice but to nod in agreement reluctantly.

Even though he knew this was just a superficial job, he still had to maintain it as it didn't lead to a falling out.

After the meeting, Yang Jun returned to the office and called Jiang Haitao.

He handed over some cash and shopping receipts, and told him to go to the market to buy ingredients, but not too much, just enough for three tables of wedding banquets.