Chapter 271

After the New Year, Zhang Ping'an returned to Procurement Section Two and began fighting side-by-side with his nephew Jia Dongxu. Aside from Wu Qiang, almost everyone in Procurement Section Two was his old subordinate.

"Hahaha, Ping'an, welcome back," Wu Qiang said with a laugh.

"Qiang Ge."

"Mm, aside from my daughter-in-law Moli whom you don't know, everyone else here is an acquaintance, so I don't need to introduce you, right?"

"No need, no need."

"Master," Wu Guohua also walked over at this time, and subsequently, the former members of the first group, Zhang Tiedan and the others, all came over to greet him.

"Mm, everyone, don't be so formal. Smoke a cigarette and take a break, then get back to whatever you need to do." Zhang Ping'an passed around cigarettes and then went to the office with Jia Dongxu.

Normally, Wu Qiang would be promoted to Logistics Deputy Director and Jia Dongxu would be promoted to Section Chief, but now a Deputy Director, Zhao Guoliang, had been parachuted in from above, supposedly to handle the Rolling Mill's upcoming expansion, which threw everything into disarray.

Zhang Ping'an did not know this person's background either, but fortunately, he was only replacing Cao Guodong's original work, responsible only for the cafeteria side of things.

Inside Li Huaide's office, his expression was very unpleasant; he only found out after the New Year that this Zhao Guoliang had been suddenly inserted.

Li Huaide had once asked his father-in-law, but his father-in-law told him directly not to interfere and just to do his own job well, which left him quite depressed, yet he was helpless to do anything about it.

When Zhang Ping'an was previously the Logistics Director, he had been responsive to everyone's needs, so regarding his current "downfall," most people felt sympathy for him.

"Director Cao, Director Zhu, why are there two Deputy Section Chiefs in this Procurement Section Two?" Zhao Guoliang asked with a puzzled look.

"Cough, that's a long story; you'll slowly come to know it in the future."

"That's right, Director Zhao. I am responsible for procurement, and I will complete the tasks as normal; you just take good care of the cafeteria side."

Since he started by finding fault, Zhu Weiguo would not indulge him. Moreover, looking at the current situation, it was hard to say whether he could take over the position of Logistics Director from Cao Guodong in two years; they were competitors, so naturally, there was no need to give him a pleasant look.

"Hehe, I was just curious, Director Zhu, please don't overthink it." Although Zhao Guoliang spoke with a laugh, his tone was not friendly at all.

"Director Cao, I'll be going first; I still have a pile of things to do."

"Alright, Old Zhu, go ahead and get busy."

Cao Guodong was also a bit embarrassed; he had no background and his ability was average, having purely relied on following Li Huaide to reach his current seniority.

He had even wanted to say just now that it was because he had taken someone else's spot that there were two Deputy Section Chiefs in the Second Section.

Now, facing two rather aggressive deputies, Cao Guodong regretted being the head director.

After Zhu Weiguo left the office, he hesitated for a moment, but still went to the Procurement Section to tell Zhang Ping'an.

"Section Chief Zhang, that new Deputy Director seems to have an opinion about you. We just held a small meeting of the three of us, and he was very concerned about why Procurement Section Two has two Deputy Section Chiefs."

"Alright, many thanks for the reminder, Director Zhu."

Zhang Ping'an didn't know this Zhao Guoliang at all, so why would he suddenly ask about this? Besides, wasn't it because of his own parachuting in that he occupied someone else's original spot?

Forget it, perhaps it's not aimed at me. I'm better off staying quiet than making a move right now; just keep a low profile and develop, Zhang Ping'an thought to himself.

However, Zhu Weiguo's words served as a reminder to Zhang Ping'an. Now, whenever he left the Rolling Mill, he kept his spatial scanning active to prevent anyone from following him, but it was clear he was overthinking it.

At one o'clock in the morning, Zhang Ping'an went to the Black Market again and saw that Tong Laosi actually hadn't left yet.

"Laosi, you haven't set off yet?"

"Mm, soon. We're planning to buy another batch of liquor, vegetables, and fruits from you to eat on the road. Prepare more for us tomorrow."

"Alright. I was just planning to finish dealing with things here and return to Jilin Province. But the temperature will be very high after you head south, so I'm afraid the ingredients won't be easy to store."

"Cough, don't worry, Divine Doctor brother, we stored plenty of ice in the cellar during the winter."

"..."

Damn it, they are truly extravagant. When people run away, they usually travel light, but these guys are eating, taking, and bringing everything along.

"Mm, as long as you are prepared," Zhang Ping'an had to reply insincerely.

The next day at dawn, Zhang Ping'an arrived at the trading point as promised. He looked around, waved his hand, and ten jars of twenty-jin liquor, two cows, eight sheep, one moose, ten wild boars, one hundred chickens and ducks, ten baskets of eggs, and thirty sacks of fruits and vegetables appeared.

"Divine Doctor brother, even a moose, what a good thing."

"Isn't it because I saw you were leaving? I took out all the best things I had at the bottom of my chest for you."

"Hahaha, good."

"Divine Doctor brother, let's meet again if fate allows."

"Good."

Zhang Ping'an held forty-some jin of Big Yellow Fish in his hands, but he felt no pleasure in making money, only the loss of having no more trading partners in the future...

Time flew to March, and the Rolling Mill began another round of expansion. The space for the pig farm was compressed by one-fifth, and the pressure on the Procurement Section increased significantly.

However, ever since the pig farm was established, the Procurement Section had indeed become quite slack. This pressure allowed everyone to rediscover the passion they had when they first went to the countryside to procure goods.

Zhang Ping'an had originally intended to give everyone some "chicken soup for the soul," but he didn't expect them to be so self-motivated.

Thanks to this expansion, Lao Jia obtained another work quota. He decisively gave it to Jia Youfu's family to repay Jia Daniu for his kindness. In the end, Lao Jia left his hometown amidst the thousand thanks of Jia Youfu.

As a Level 7 Worker, Lao Jia obtained a work quota, and Liu Haizhong, who was also a Level 7 Worker, naturally had one too, but he gave it to his youngest son, Liu Guangfu.

Yi Zhonghai, who was already a Level 8 Worker, naturally didn't miss out, and in the end, he sold it cheaply to Yan Bugui. Twenty-one-year-old Yan Jiefang finally had a formal job.

Jiabao and Jiabei would graduate from junior high school this summer, and with their grades, getting into a technical secondary school should not be a problem.

However, Yi Zhonghai wanted them to attend high school, just like He Yushui. He Yushui and Xu Xiaoling were both in their third year of high school this year, though it would be tough to get into university after the summer.

Because this expansion was only aimed at the production workshops and the logistics cafeteria, He Daqing also had a quota, which was eventually bought by Nan Yi and given to Damao.

Damao was just sixteen this year, just enough for the Rolling Mill's recruitment age, while his remaining younger brothers and sisters were still in school.

Over these years, Nan Yi and He Daqing had almost become close friends across generations in the Siheyuan, and Shazhu often complained about it.

"Dad, you and Nan Yi are about to become father and son."

"Get lost."

After being told this by Shazhu, He Daqing thought about it carefully and it really was true. The main reason was that their experiences were too similar: family background, childhood experiences, and now both having married virtuous widows.

He Daqing had originally not intended to take money, but in the end, under the insistence of Nan Yi and Liang Ladi, he accepted half of the market price, four hundred yuan.

Zhang Ping'an, fearing investigation, now went up the mountain to set traps, doing everything to make it look like he was putting in the effort.

Fearing that others would trace the source, he no longer handed over things like eggs, and the number of wild rabbits handed over was also reasonable; everything was kept as low-key as possible.

Anyway, Zhang Ping'an is currently trying his best to lower his own sense of presence; even if that Zhao Guoliang really was sent from above to investigate him, as long as he makes no mistakes and leaves no evidence, Zhao Guoliang will have no way to get started.