Chapter 558: Preparing to Reclaim Wasteland

"Then why not investigate him?" Chen Xueru asked.

He Yuzhu sighed: "Yan Jiefang and Liu Guangtian are both minors; even if caught, there's no way to sentence them. Xu Damao might be hiding behind the scenes helping to fence the stolen goods, and those who lost things don't dare say what they lost, so how can we convict him?"

Chen Xueru shook her head lightly: "This Xu Damao hasn't learned anything else, but he's quite sharp at finding loopholes."

He Yuzhu put his arm around her shoulder and said: "That's what you call a parasite of society; every era has them."

Chen Xueru suddenly lowered her voice: "Zhuzi, I've been feeling lately like someone is watching me from the shadows. Are they bad people?"

"Exactly! Exactly! Someone has been following me too," He Yushui chimed in eagerly.

He Yuzhu shook his head: "Yours aren't bad people; they were sent by the state to protect you. I offended an evil force recently!"

"Brother, you have to compensate me!" He Yushui's eyes darted around, and she immediately held out her small hand.

"What do you want to do?" He Yuzhu asked.

"Our choir wants to go to Beidaihe for fun, you should sponsor us a bit!"

"Is 200 yuan enough?"

"Enough!" He Yushui grabbed the money and ran off.

Chen Xueru watched He Yushui's retreating figure and said: "This girl, she's had opinions about me lately."

He Yuzhu laughed: "She told me, saying you aren't as generous as you used to be."

Chen Xueru shook her head: "I'm a Manager at the garment factory, I only make a little over a hundred yuan a month, and I still have to subsidize my parents, where would I have any money left?"

He Yuzhu patted Chen Xueru's shoulder: "Our family isn't short on money, no need to scrimp."

Chen Xueru sighed: "Nowadays, having money alone is useless; you need coupons to buy anything."

"I'll go to the black market at night to exchange some. From now on, if Yushui asks you for money, just give it to her, otherwise all the kindness you showed her before will be wasted!" He Yuzhu laughed, "Dealing with kids is just like that; you were so good to her before, but if you don't give her money now that she's older, it's like all your previous work was for nothing!"

"You finally understand!" He Yuzhu said.

After he finished speaking, he pulled a large leather suitcase out from the study.

Chen Xueru opened it to see it was full of brand-new ten-yuan bills. She touched them lightly and said: "These past two years, I've only watched the state make money, while what I actually got in my own hands was so little, I felt quite unbalanced. Now, I finally feel better."

The next day, He Yuzhu was called to the Rolling Mill.

As soon as Lao Yang saw him in the office, he didn't even brew tea, getting straight to the point: "Zhuzi, your superiors have promoted you. You are now the Deputy Factory Director of the Red Star Rolling Mill main plant, concurrently serving as Deputy Chief Engineer and Director of the Tractor Factory."

He Yuzhu said expressionlessly: "Is this what you call a promotion? I was already a Deputy Factory Director at the Lingnan Tractor Factory."

Lao Yang was so angry he slapped the table: "Can those be the same? Ours is a department-level position! Yours over there is a division-level position!"

"Leader, if you promote me here, do I still go back to Lingnan or not?"

"Go back, keep the Consultant title. Your main work needs to shift over gradually." Lao Yang caught his breath, "To tell you the truth, it was Bureau Chief Liu—now you have to call him Deputy Minister Liu—who specifically requested you to run between both sides. You kid, you were in high demand during the war, how are you still so in demand in peacetime?"

He Yuzhu grinned: "Who told you I'm so capable."

Lao Yang nodded: "It's lunchtime, come eat with me, consider it me welcoming you back."

In the cafeteria private room, just as the dishes were served and the door opened, He Daqing walked in with Li Huaide.

After returning from the aid project, Li Huaide was promoted to Deputy Director of the Logistics Department.

As soon as he entered, he enthusiastically shook hands with He Yuzhu: "Zhuzi, you're finally back, Siqiang has been mentioning you every day!"

It must be said, Li Huaide had much more confidence after returning; it seemed his father-in-law had already begun grooming him.

Returning from this aid project, only He Daqing remained in the position of Logistics Department Director without moving, and he felt somewhat disappointed inside.

After the meal, He Yuzhu returned to the Siheyuan.

Xu Damao was sitting in a wheelchair, blocking the entrance and chatting with Yan Jiefang.

He still had white gauze wrapped around his head, and Xiaomei stood to the side pushing the wheelchair.

He Yuzhu asked with a smile: "Damao, can you handle your own bowel movements?"

Xu Damao glared at him and cursed: "Go to hell! You must be feeling pretty happy inside, right!"

He Yuzhu warned: "If you don't want people to know, don't do it. Watch yourself, kid."

He Yuzhu left after saying that.

"Bah! Playing mysterious!" Xu Damao cursed.

Three days later, the case was solved.

The five Zhang brothers were all arrested, and it was said the maximum sentence would be ten years.

Zhang Baofang ran to the Xu Family to plead for mercy. Xu Damao sat in his wheelchair, crossing his legs, and demanded two hundred yuan before he would write her a letter of forgiveness.

Yan Jiefang began spreading news in the courtyard: "Damao didn't lose out from getting beaten this time."

East Cross Courtyard, under the grape trellis.

He Daqing took a gulp of beer and sighed: "Zhuzi, grain in the factory is getting tighter by the day, everything requires coupons, and I can't just conjure it out of thin air. Can you think of a way for me?"

He Yuzhu looked at him: "Dad, do you have anyone in the factory you trust absolutely?"

He Daqing was stunned, put down his glass, and sat up straight: "You can get grain?"

He Yuzhu said: "Even if I get you some grain, it's just a stopgap measure. I have a permanent solution, do you want to try it?"

"What solution?"

"I read a document at Lao Yang's place that encourages large factories to send people to Beidahuang and the West to reclaim wasteland!" He Yuzhu said.

"This shouldn't be my responsibility, right?"

"I'll go find Secretary Liu and have you made Deputy Factory Director in charge of this specifically," He Yuzhu said. "Before autumn next year, I can guarantee you'll bring back three million catties of grain."

He Daqing slammed his glass onto the table: "Three million catties! Divided among ten thousand people, that's three hundred catties each! This is reliable! But who do we ask for the startup capital?"

"Why else would I need you to be Deputy Factory Director? You can borrow it from Liushi Trading Company," He Yuzhu said.

"This feels a bit like buying an official position," He Daqing shook his head.

"If that's how you want to understand it, then don't do it!" He Yuzhu said flatly.

"I'll do it!" He Daqing finally made up his mind and said firmly.

"Dad, you need to find someone you can trust to go to the Northeast and keep an eye on things."

He Daqing thought for a long time: "What do you think about Erkui and Shunzi? Those two Guards of mine are just holed up in the canteen right now, unhappy."

"Shunzi has a loose tongue; let Erkui go," He Yuzhu said.

"Just Erkui alone?"

"I'll talk to Lao Yang about recruiting two hundred people from the outside; they work for two years, and upon returning, they get a formal employee quota."

He Daqing asked again: "What if people in the factory want to go?"

He Yuzhu laughed: "Dad, tomorrow we'll settle it with Lao Yang, and you can post the notice. I bet you, not a single person will sign up."

He Daqing thought about it and nodded: "I wouldn't go either."

The next day, He Yuzhu took He Daqing to find Lao Yang.

Once he finished speaking, Lao Yang made the final decision on the spot.

He Yuzhu didn't leave the office and called Guangzhou directly; they said Secretary Liu had just returned to the capital.

He hung up the phone and rushed over.

In the Deputy Minister's office, Secretary Liu personally brewed him a cup of tea.

"You came looking for me just as I walked in the door; you called Guangzhou, didn't you?"

He Yuzhu nodded and didn't beat around the bush: "Red Star Rolling Mill is short on grain. I thought of a way: have the Logistics Department my dad manages organize manpower to go to the Northeast to reclaim wasteland."

Secretary Liu didn't react immediately: "Haven't you been importing grain from abroad all along? Wouldn't it work to just allocate some to the Rolling Mill?"

"The grain shortage might not be a one or two-year issue, and buying grain from abroad forever isn't a long-term solution. I've calculated that two hundred people going to reclaim wasteland, equipped with the Seeders and Harvesters produced by our Tractor Factory, can bring back three million jin of grain in a year, enough for the whole factory to eat."

Secretary Liu was silent for a few seconds, looking at him: "Zhuzi, tell me the truth, do you think there will be a famine in the next few years?"

He Yuzhu didn't dare say he had the ability to predict celestial phenomena, so he changed his phrasing: "Since the founding of the country, the population has grown by over one hundred million. Even without a famine, if we don't reclaim wasteland, it won't be enough to eat."

Secretary Liu slammed the table hard: "I'll go back to Guangzhou in a few days to keep an eye on things. I'll give you five months; you go organize the reclamation. Can you manage to increase that three million jin base by five times?"

"I can!" He Yuzhu said firmly.

"That's great!" Secretary Liu said.

"Can my dad be given the position of Deputy Factory Director? He can borrow the money; the factory won't have to spend a single cent," He Yuzhu said.