Chapter 135: Celebrating the New Year in the City

"Brother-in-law, look at this..."

"Big brother, I really do have another pack; I'll send it to you when I have a moment."

"Good, then after we finish eating, I'll drive you back and pick it up on the way."

"..."

Li Huaide felt this trip was well worth it. It seemed this little brother Zhang Ping'an was indeed reliable, and he was even more convinced that he hadn't made a mistake in bringing up Zhang Ping'an's name for the Advanced Individual award this morning.

At noon, Zhang Ping'an went back and put the "kitties" from the bamboo basket into the courtyard.

"Ping'an, is this a wild cat?" Grandfather asked.

"Uh, maybe? I saw they were quite obedient, so I bought them back to catch mice," Zhang Ping'an then petted the two little fellows.

"Go on, don't hurt anyone, and dig out all the mice in the house."

The two Lynx scurried into the house obediently, and soon several mice were bitten to death and carried out.

"This..."

In Old Man Zhang's eyes, wild cats were difficult to tame; it was common for them to scratch or bite people, so how could they be this obedient?

"Grandfather, these might be wild cats."

"Hmm, they don't look like wild cats being that obedient; they might be a crossbreed."

Afterwards, Zhang Ping'an opened the door to the Ear Room, and the two little fellows scurried in again. Before long, a row of two large and eight small mice were peacefully lined up.

"Hmm, not bad, not bad." Zhang Ping'an then packed up all the mice and threw them into the trash heap.

"Grandfather, do you think you could use this pile of wood to make a nest for these two little fellows?"

"I can." He had learned a thing or two from his father when he was young; although he couldn't make large furniture, building a nest was easy.

After some hammering and sawing, a small wooden house took shape in Zhang Dadan's hands. Zhang Ping'an stuffed some wheat straw inside, and the two little fellows crawled in, "meowing" inside; they seemed very satisfied with the nest.

"Grandfather, it looks like they are very satisfied with this new home."

"Hmm."

Zhang Laoyezi was clearly also very satisfied with the Lynx's performance, which gave him a great sense of accomplishment, and he subsequently used wooden stakes to make two bowls.

Zhang Ping'an immediately filled them with water for the two little fellows. Feeding them meat was impossible, at least not within the old man's sight.

"From now on, play in this courtyard, and go to that wheat field to poop."

"Meow, meow."

After playing with the two little fellows for a while, Zhang Ping'an went to the Rolling Mill to work. Only when he arrived at the Procurement Section did he realize the atmosphere was off.

"What's the situation, Dongxu?"

"I don't know, it was like this when I arrived."

"Ahem, Team Leader, it seems Zhu Jianshe's Advanced Individual award fell through."

"Li, doesn't that mean the Advanced Individual is my uncle?" Jia Dongxu said excitedly.

"Hmm, that should be right. Anyway, Zhu Jianshe has been pulling a long face since he came in, and the Section Chief's expression isn't good either."

"If you ask me, this Advanced Individual should have been our Team Leader's. Zhu Jianshe only procured pork, but look at our Team Leader—he has chicken, duck, fish, meat, and eggs, all much richer than his, and the quantity isn't small either."

"Exactly, exactly."

"Ahem, don't say things that are detrimental to unity in the future."

"Right, right, it has a bad influence. Let's just talk about it in private."

"..."

Zhang Ping'an hadn't expected Li Huaide to be so effective and actually give this Advanced Individual award to him.

However, what everyone just said was also right; it was mainly because he was excellent, and Li Huaide was just doing a favor. After all, if he didn't have dazzling achievements, Li Huaide wouldn't have been able to push him forward. Thinking about it this way, Zhang Ping'an felt at ease.

At the Workers' Auditorium in the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an received the large Advanced Individual certificate, an enamel mug, and the "chicken soup for the soul" poured by the leaders.

"Whose child is this? So excellent, I wonder if he has a partner?"

"Ahem, he already got married in May, so you all can stop thinking about it."

"What a pity."

The people in the Siheyuan saw the enamel mug in Zhang Ping'an's hand, and their eyes turned red with envy; this was all honor.

Liu Haizhong in the show had received an Advanced Individual award, and every time there was a big meeting, he would hold that enamel mug, with the four large characters "Advanced Individual" facing the crowd, showing it off at every moment.

In the Procurement Section:

"Zhang Ping'an, I won't lose to you next time." After the morning's depression, Zhu Jianshe was revitalized again.

"We are all serving the fellow workers. I actually hope the next Advanced Individual is you; that would prove you procured more supplies, and the fellow workers would enjoy more benefits."

"Comrade Xiao Zhang said that well, very profoundly. Isn't our logistics department just here to serve the fellow workers?"

"Director Li."

"Director Li."

"..."

"Hmm, our comrades have high awareness. We are all members of the logistics department and should naturally shoulder the heavy responsibility of the factory's food supply. Your Procurement Section is the most important of all. In the next few years, I hope everyone can work together to do a good job in logistics."

"Clap, clap, clap." Secretary Liu took the lead in applauding. You have to say, for a leader's secretary, this level of perceptiveness was absolute.

Li Huaide pressed his hands down, signaling everyone to stop. Secretary Liu was the last one to stop.

No wonder some people often say that the leader might not remember the first person to applaud, but they will definitely have a deep impression of the last one to stop. Zhang Ping'an indicated he had learned something.

Li Huaide gave some more encouragement and then made some deployments for the coming year before leaving the Procurement Section with satisfaction.

After work in the evening, Zhang Ping'an showed the large certificate to his family, and the whole family was incredibly excited.

"No, this is Ping'an's first individual Advanced award. I'll make a frame tomorrow. Eldest, you go buy a piece of glass tomorrow, and we'll mount it."

"Done."

"Grandfather, Dad, is this really necessary?"

"How could it not be? This is an honor."

Zhang Ping'an still underestimated how much people in this era valued honor; in his past life, these things were a dime a dozen at advertising agencies.

"Good grandson, don't you worry about it, just leave it to your grandfather."

"Alright then."

At night, while everyone was fast asleep, Zhang Ping'an cut a dozen strips of meat and snuck them to the two Lynx; they had only drunk some Space Water today and were starved, devouring the food with "Awoo, awoo" sounds, and Zhang Ping'an petted them a few times before returning to his room to sleep.

On New Year's Eve, Zhang Ping'an still handed in thirty wild rabbits before slacking off, just waiting to collect his wages in the afternoon before going on holiday.

Over at the Siheyuan, Yan Bugui had already begun his annual spring couplet writing activity early in the morning; from starting with only two or three households, now the entire courtyard, almost every family, exchanged for spring couplets here with Yan Bugui.

It was indeed an exchange, after all, the red paper and the brush and ink all cost money, didn't they? Everyone would give a handful of melon seeds or a handful of peanuts.

Yan Bugui's family wasn't actually short of these few peanuts and seeds now, but he couldn't give them away for free either, so no one knew who started it, but that was how the current practice of giving peanuts and melon seeds came about.

Everyone who received a couplet would praise him with, "Teacher Yan, what great calligraphy," and Yan Bugui's vanity was greatly satisfied; this was also his biggest motivation for writing the couplets.

"Little Yan, give me two pairs as well," Zhang Laohan said, then grabbed a handful of peanuts and placed them on the side.

"Done, Zhang Shu, please wait a moment."

As expected of a language teacher, he did have a foundation in literature; the couplets for the more than twenty households in the Siheyuan were truly not repeated.

After collecting his wages and finishing work in the afternoon, Zhang Ping'an deliberately left the factory with Wu Qiang and tossed the prepared pork and rabbit into Wu Qiang's bicycle basket.

"Qiang Ge, I won't go to your place, okay?"

"This kid," Wu Qiang felt a warmth in his heart; Zhang Ping'an had not distanced himself from him just because he was no longer in a key position.