Chapter 156: Mother-in-Law's Work Arrangement

In the end, Li Huaide even carried the items and saw Zhang Ping'an downstairs; both bamboo baskets on the back of the bicycle were stuffed full.

"Alright Ping'an, Brother Li won't see you off any further, go back slowly."

"Sure, then I'll come see you and your wife another day."

"Mm, good." Li Huaide patted Zhang Ping'an on the shoulder before heading upstairs.

As Zhang Ping'an rode his bike, he checked the items in the baskets, thinking to himself that Li Huaide and his wife were truly generous: four cartons of China cigarettes, four bottles of Moutai, four cans of Milk Powder, four cans of malted milk extract, eight cans of canned food, and the rest were all premium pastries.

Even though Zhang Ping'an had stored most of the items in his space, Zhang Laohan was still taken aback when he saw the goods.

"Why did your section chief give you such a heavy return gift?"

"Ahem, I cured Section Chief Li's wife, and besides, our two families have a bit of a kinship connection." Zhang Ping'an briefly explained Li Huaide's background to his father.

"So there was that connection."

"Mm, Dad, you take these cigarettes back to smoke, but try to smoke as little as possible."

"Sure."

Compared to before, Zhang Laohan's nicotine addiction had indeed lessened a lot; originally, he would roll eight or ten cigarettes a day, which had a stronger kick than a whole pack you buy.

Now he basically doesn't smoke much at home, only when he's with his uncles and brothers in the village.

On the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an took a soft-shelled turtle and learned the dish "Overlord Parts with the Concubine" (a turtle and chicken stew) from He Daqing.

"Actually, this Huaiyang Cuisine is my junior fellow apprentice's specialty, but I've learned a bit of the basics; we common folk will just make do with it."

Zhang Ping'an knew this was just that old codger He Daqing being modest; for a Chef to reach his level, even if he didn't know everything, he was close enough.

"Brother He, don't put on airs, just tell me specifically how to make it."

"..."

"Ahem, sure."

"This 'Overlord Parts with the Concubine' is..."

Zhang Ping'an watched He Daqing's entire preparation process in detail, and with He Daqing's explanation, Zhang Ping'an had memorized all the steps; he would just need to practice and become proficient later.

"Done, I've memorized it all, thanks Brother He."

After leaving, Zhang Ping'an ducked into his space and began cooking according to He Daqing's steps; the first pot was just so-so, a generic taste; the second pot showed some improvement, the third pot... until the tenth pot, the flavor finally saw significant progress.

Done. The remaining nine pots couldn't be wasted either. Once he became the Section Chief of Procurement Section Three, he would have to celebrate somehow, so he would invite everyone for a meal—wouldn't this come in handy then?

In the blink of an eye, it was New Year's Eve. In the morning, Zhang Ping'an gave Wu Qiang a cloth bag containing one pheasant and one wild rabbit; Wu Guohua also gave him a cloth bag.

"Master, this is a small token of my appreciation."

"Haha, sure, you take these two cans of food home to eat."

"This..."

"Take it, work hard with your father in the future."

"Okay, Master."

In the afternoon, after receiving their wages, the New Year holiday officially began. Everyone's face was beaming with joy; this year, everyone was issued half a jin of pork, double the amount from last year.

Even though Procurement Section Two had contributed, it was mainly due to Zhu Jianshe's efforts in procuring five large fat pigs at the end of the year; otherwise, it would definitely have been the same as last year.

Returning home, Zhang Ping'an's parents had already prepared the meal, and Zhang Ping'an rolled up his sleeves and started eating.

The three-day holiday passed in a flash, and people in this era didn't have "holiday syndrome," still going to work full of energy every day.

That night, during Zhang Ping'an's post-coital clarity after playing cards:

"Xiao Ling, do your mother and second aunt know how to do math?"

"Why wouldn't they? My family's old medicinal herb business was half-managed by my mother and second aunt as accountants." Wang Xiaoling rolled her eyes at him.

"Hehe, I didn't know that."

"Brother Ping'an, why did you suddenly ask this?" Wang Xiaoling came back to her senses.

"Ahem, I estimate that in another month or two, your man will be a Section Chief."

"Really?" Wang Xiaoling sat up in excitement.

"Cover yourself with the quilt, don't catch a cold." It almost broke Zhang Ping'an's post-coital state.

"Oh, okay."

"The factory will establish Procurement Section Three then, and I will be the Section Chief, but I will definitely need a Recorder. You wait until you have time to go home and ask your mother about her willingness. Section Two doesn't have one currently, I don't know if I can fight for it, but if possible, I will also fight for your second aunt."

"Mm, Brother Ping'an, thank you." Wang Xiaoling lunged over and hugged Zhang Ping'an.

"Hiss~" No need to say more, the second war began.

The next day at noon, Wang Xiaoling went home and told her mother about this matter.

"Mm~ sure, but let's wait until everything is confirmed."

Wang Xiaoling's brother, Wang Jianjun, was not in Sijiucheng, and her mother was idle all day long; her second aunt at least had her grandson by her side and had something to do.

Two months later, the Rolling Mill underwent an expansion. This scale was unprecedented; the number of people more than doubled, directly reaching a large factory of ten thousand people.

At the same time, Lao Jia and other Intermediate Workers received another job quota, and Zhang Ping'an became the Section Chief of Procurement Section Three.

Procurement Section Three planned to recruit thirty-two people: one Accountant, one Recorder, and the rest were all procurement staff; Zhang Ping'an had three quotas.

Wu Qiang of Procurement Section Two listened to the factory broadcast in a daze; he didn't expect Zhang Ping'an to strike out on his own in just one year. Others were also filled with disbelief.

Zhu Jianshe of Procurement Section One was even more so; he had finally managed to get promoted to Deputy Section Chief by taking advantage of the year-end contribution and this expansion opportunity, but in the blink of an eye, Zhang Ping'an was a full Section Chief again.

"On what grounds? Second Uncle, on what grounds is he, Zhang Ping'an, like this?"

"He performed meritorious service for the factory; I only found out recently too."

Zhu Weiguo recounted the incident where Zhang Ping'an killed four wanted criminals before the New Year. Zhu Jianshe's eyes suddenly cleared, and he stopped clamoring.

"Ping'an, you cannot take Dongxu away; I will recommend him to be the Deputy Section Chief of Section Two."

Jia Dongxu was the main force of Procurement Section Two besides Zhang Ping'an. Originally, Zhang Ping'an's transfer meant the loss of a main force; if Jia Dongxu were to follow Zhang Ping'an to Section Three, then Section Two's performance would be more than half gone.

"..."

"Fine, I won't take it, but is anyone eyeing the Recorder position in the Second Section right now?"

"I'm planning to save it for my eldest daughter-in-law."

"Oh, that's fine, but you have to secure the Deputy Section Chief position for Dongxu, otherwise I'll transfer him to the Third Section."

"Yes, yes, yes, no problem." Wu Qiang knew Zhang Ping'an was securing benefits for his nephew, and he didn't mind it.

In the end, Zhang Ping'an secured the Recorder position and two Purchasing Agent spots for the Third Section; upon returning home, Zhang Ping'an told Wang Xiaoling this good news.

"That's wonderful, I'll go tell my mother right now."

"Alright, let's go over together."

Eighty-Fifth Courtyard, Wang Xiaoling's home.

"Mother, bring your identification tomorrow; from now on, you'll be a Worker too."

"Yes, yes, yes."

The next morning, Zhang Ping'an took his mother-in-law to complete the onboarding procedures, and it was only then that he learned his mother-in-law's name: Liu Shuhua, a native of Harbin.

"Mother, the Recorder's job is very simple: just record the daily purchase quantities and the money spent."

Wu Qiang used to be a Recorder at the Lou Steel Rolling Mill; Zhang Ping'an found Wu Qiang's old notes and simply copied the standard template.

"Good, this isn't difficult." The mother-in-law took it, looked at it, and understood.

The Accountant was a veteran from the factory's Finance Section, a woman in her forties named Tao Jing; the Deputy Section Chief was Xu Kun, the maternal nephew of Xu Lijuan, who was about the same age as Zhang Ping'an.

This arrangement by Li Huaide was excellent; the Xu Family must have connections, which would help relieve some pressure on the Third Section later on.