Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 350

"It will take about 5 more days."

"Let's leave it at that then, and talk about it when they get back."

He Yuzhu had never dealt with that Deputy Factory Director Nie before. If he went directly to ask him to send two more workers, he would definitely be refused. It would be better to wait until Lao Yang came back before going to ask him for help.

After discussing this matter with Director Li, He Yuzhu took charge of selecting apprentices.

Even for ordinary temporary jobs, there are plenty of people signing up, let alone learning technical skills in a machine factory—it's one of the most enviable professions.

After the news of the machine factory on the street recruiting temporary lathe operators was officially announced, it quickly attracted a large number of people to apply.

He Yuzhu had some hesitation before learning the technology, but now that he had mastered the basics of lathe operation and understood what kind of personnel he needed to recruit.

The master directly selected 50 apprentices as the examiners.

"Isn't 50 too many?" Li Hongying asked.

He Yuzhu said, "At that time, we will work in two shifts, with two apprentices for each machine, plus those on rotating shifts."

He Yuzhu had previously considered a three-shift system, since it's easy to sell any product nowadays, especially machinery, which is in high demand and short supply.

However, we shouldn't take too big a step at the beginning. We should start with two shifts to train apprentices first, and then gradually increase the number of employees to three shifts.

"Okay, we'll do it your way. When can the master chef arrive?"

“I’ll start by teaching the basics, and then in five or six days, a master craftsman from the steel rolling mill will come over.”

He Yuzhu explained that he recruited fifty junior high school graduates. At present, primary school only lasts for five years and junior high school for two years. However, many people start school at the age of seven or eight. Therefore, the apprentices he recruits now are children aged fourteen, fifteen, or sixteen.

He Yuzhu was very troubled by this group of rebellious teenagers, but there was nothing he could do. The older kids didn't have enough knowledge and couldn't learn as quickly as the younger ones.

Gather everyone together, then give them a speech:

"From now on, you must strictly discipline yourselves. Anyone who fights or violates the rules will be expelled and sent back to where they came from. The neighborhood committee will no longer arrange employment for you. Do you understand?"

"I understand!"

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Today, let's clean up the factory first, and then we'll have a concentrated study of basic knowledge. Don't think that you've already got this job just because you've come in to study. Anyone who fails the study will be sent back first."

Finding a job these days isn't easy, so He Yuzhu won't let them into the factory so easily. There are bound to be some slackers who can't work honestly, and if they are found out, they'll all be fired.

After discussing it with Factory Director Shen, He Yuzhu decided that he would only be responsible for training them and leave everything else to Old Shen.

He Yuzhu was teaching his apprentices in the workshop when he suddenly heard several cars approaching and stopping in front of the machinery factory. He was puzzled and said, "Wait here, I'll go out and take a look."

There are no cars on the street. Li Hongying always rode a bicycle when she came here. Why would any car stop here?

As He Yuzhu left the workshop, he saw a Jeep parked outside the factory gate. A man wearing a Zhongshan suit and with a slicked-back hairstyle got out, looking very much like a leader.

Then I saw a familiar-looking person coming down. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it was Li Huaide in his younger days.

Although it was the first time He Yuzhu had met Li Huaide, he recognized him at first glance. He found it strange that Li Huaide and a leader had come to the machinery factory.

The staff is not fully staffed at the moment, and the machinery factory under construction does not yet have an old man to guard the gate, so the gate is usually locked.

"Comrade, could you please open the door? We need to come in for an inspection," Li Huaide said to He Yuzhu after glancing at the heavily guarded gate.

He Yuzhu walked to the gate but didn't rush to open it. Instead, he asked, "Excuse me, who are you...?"

"This is your Fifth District Chief, Guo, who has come to inspect the work."

He Yuzhu was very skeptical. Normal inspection work would definitely notify the local departments. How could a deputy district head come directly to the factory?

This so-called District Chief Guo is only a deputy. As far as He Yuzhu knows, the head of the district is not surnamed Guo.

Moreover, they brought Li Huaide with them. He is the deputy director of the steel rolling mill. These two must have ill intentions.

This is obvious; otherwise, the two of them would never have come to this small machine factory.

What could a machine factory possibly have to attract them?

These two workshops and a dilapidated courtyard? Besides these, there are only about 20 lathes in the workshops.

It's obvious that their target couldn't be this dilapidated yard; it could only be those 20-odd lathes.

He Yuzhu quickly guessed their purpose, and now he was even less likely to open the door for them, so he asked, "Do you have a letter of introduction?"

"A letter of introduction?" Li Huaide asked in surprise.

He Yuzhu said, "Of course, without a letter of introduction, how would anyone know who you are?"

"You're quite a thoughtful young comrade. Open the door and let us in."

He Yuzhu shook his head: "It's a joke. Without a letter of introduction, no one can get in."

Knowing they were smug, He Yuzhu naturally wouldn't be polite to them.

Li Huaide was furious. He had originally planned to come over without contacting the street office first, and if he could intimidate the people at the machinery factory with his identity, he could take the lathe away first.

Since the inheritance has been finalized, all of these machine tools belong to the steel rolling mill. We can deal with the neighborhood committee later and just hand over the money to them.

After all, you can't buy machine tools even if you have money now, so he got more than 20 extra machine tools, which is a great achievement.

I never expected that when I arrived, the gate would be locked, and I was turned away.

"Why are you so stubborn, comrade? Do you think just anyone can ride in a Jeep these days?"

I originally thought that I could just drive in without any problems and then intimidate people with my identity, but I didn't expect there to be no gatekeeper here and a young man came out.

"Where are your factory leaders? Tell them to come out."

"The factory leaders are away on business, so I'm in charge right now. You say you're leaders? Without a letter of introduction, they definitely won't let you in."

He Yuzhu said, "Unless you bring Li Hongying, the director of the street office, along."

Li Huaide still clung to a sliver of hope and said a few words, but He Yuzhu neither nodded nor opened the door.

He was furious, and then District Chief Guo, feeling wronged, showed his work ID.

He Yuzhu didn't reach out to take it, saying, "Who knows if the document is real?"

"you..."

"What do you mean, 'I'? You should all go back. I'm not opening this door anyway."

District Chief Guo was so angry he almost twisted his nose. He sheepishly put his work permit back in his pocket. It was infuriating that a district chief like himself couldn't even enter a factory within his own jurisdiction.

"Let's go. I want to ask Li Hongying how she manages things."

He Yuzhu watched as the two of them got into the jeep and went back before entering his office, picking up the receiver and starting to make a phone call.

There were no dial-up phones available at that time, so they had to use a dial pad, and were quickly transferred to the street office.

"Sister, just now, District Chief Guo and Li Huaide from the steel rolling mill came to the machinery factory together."

"What? Why would those two go to the machine factory?"

He Yuzhu said, "I guess Li Huaide wanted this batch of lathes."

Li Hongying thought about it and realized that there seemed to be no other purpose. Otherwise, it would have been impossible for her to send District Chief Guo to inspect a machinery factory that had not yet been established.

"Tell me the details of what happened, and tell me where they are."

"I didn't let them into the factory, so I should go find you now."

He Yuzhu recounted what had just happened.

"I understand, I'm coming right now," Li Hongying said.

"Then you mustn't take the main road and run straight into them."

"Don't worry, I came here via a back path."

Since the two sides were quite far apart, Li Hongying did not rush over immediately, but instead called her husband first.

Lin Changzheng first praised He Yuzhu a couple of times, then the couple discussed it for a while. Li Hongying put down the phone, put on her mask, picked up her office bag, and hurriedly left the office.

After getting on the bicycle, I didn't take the main street, but instead went through alleys and side streets. I arrived at the machinery factory without encountering any jeeps.

After meeting He Yuzhu, the two discussed the matter, which He Yuzhu called a contingency plan. Only then did Li Hongying return to the street.

District Chief Guo was getting a little annoyed, but that's life these days. It's hard to find someone once they've left. Once they're gone, you can't contact them at all. All you can do is wait here. Fortunately, the wait isn't long.

"I'm so sorry, District Chief Guo. I went out for a bit earlier. Why didn't you call me before you came down for your inspection?"

District Chief Guo said, "You've come just in time to hear that a machinery factory has been set up in the neighborhood. So today we invited an expert to come and give us some guidance."

"Thank you so much, District Chief Guo."

If I hadn't learned from He Yuzhu that Li Huaide was in charge of logistics at the steel rolling mill, I would have believed he was an expert.

"Let's go to the factory first."

When District Chief Guo visited the machinery factory again, he received a different treatment; in addition to a jeep, there was also a convoy of bicycles following behind.

Since she was his direct supervisor, Li Hongying brought quite a few people with her to accompany her.

This time, He Yuzhu didn't say much and readily opened the door without asking to see the letters of introduction from District Chief Guo and Li Huaide.

Li Huaide wanted to say something to him, but he felt that the other party was too low-class and not worth arguing with. He just snorted and went into the factory smugly.

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "If you can take away even a single screw today, I'll consider it a loss."

Chapter 257 Robbery

Of course, District Chief Guo wouldn't directly say that he came to steal the machine tools. Under Li Hongying's guidance, many people toured the factory. The building wasn't large, with only two workshops, each containing more than 10 lathes, all of which were currently sitting quietly without being started.