Chapter 304: Procurement in Pengcheng

Zhang Ping'an's scarred face twisted into a crooked smile; even Yi Zhonghai wouldn't recognize him, let alone strangers, so he turned his head and continued to sweep for goods.

On the evening of the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, Zhang Ping'an's family took gifts to visit Li Huaide's home.

"Li Ge, sister-in-law, wishing you an early Happy New Year."

"Hahaha, Ping'an, sister-in-law, you've come just in time. Let me introduce you: this is my daughter, Li Yuqing. Yuqing, this is your Uncle Zhang and Auntie."

"..."

Li Yuqing had heard the name Zhang Ping'an at her maternal grandmother's house, but she had never met him in person.

Seeing that he wasn't much older than her, she really couldn't bring herself to call him "Uncle," and then she looked at Li Aihua, feeling she looked somewhat familiar.

"Are you Sister Aihua?" Li Yuqing was quite pretty, taking after Xu Lijuan.

"It's me, Yuqing. It's been over ten years since we last met, hasn't it?"

"That's right, I even forgot you two had met when you were little," Li Huaide said, slapping his forehead.

"Then I'll call you brother-in-law."

"Hehe, that works too."

Zhang Ping'an didn't mind, though he figured Li Aihua wouldn't be used to being called "sister-in-law" by someone around her own age.

"How can that be?"

"Li Ge, it's all the same; let's just each use our own form of address."

"That's right, Lao Li. If Yuqing addresses her based on her relationship with Aihua, it's not wrong either," Xu Lijuan said as she led her son out.

"Uncle Zhang, Auntie."

"Hey, Xiao Dong."

Xiao Dong, Li Guodong, was Li Huaide's son and had just turned ten this year. Zhang Ping'an came over every holiday, so he was no stranger to Zhang Ping'an.

On the contrary, Zhang Ping'an always brought him delicious treats—dried sweet potatoes, maltose, hawthorn flakes, vegetable crackers, and other things not commonly seen on the market; he was always full of anticipation whenever he saw Zhang Ping'an.

This time was no exception; as soon as he arrived, he stared at Zhang Ping'an's satchel.

"Hehe, here you go."

Zhang Ping'an took out a few candied hawthorn and strawberry skewers; these were things Zhang Ping'an usually tinkered with in his space to coax children, and how could a child resist the temptation of sweets?

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang."

After Li Guodong took them, he only kept one skewer and obediently handed the rest to his sister.

"..."

"Ahem, Ping'an, Aihua, sit."

Li Huaide and his wife had originally thought they would only have one child, so they doted on their daughter, and now that they had a son, they doted on him just as much.

Consequently, the little brother had intended to challenge his older sister's authority, but he ended up suppressed by bloodline; now, in their family, only Li Yuqing could keep Li Guodong perfectly in line.

"Alright, Li Ge."

"Aihua, I really did make a good introduction back then. Although it took two years due to a twist of fate, you two were destined to end up together. Look at how well-matched you are now."

"Yes, and I must thank you, sister-in-law."

"What a cute little brother. Don't make your sister angry when you grow up."

"..." Li Guodong didn't speak; he rolled his eyes, only daring to grumble internally.

Before long, the three of them were chatting away about household matters. Although they left Li Huaide and Zhang Ping'an on the sidelines, they would ask for their opinions from time to time. The two men smiled helplessly and were forced to join the conversation group.

The group chatted so happily that they forgot the time; it was nearly nine o'clock when Zhang Ping'an's family finally left Li Huaide's house.

"Aihua, come over and chat with me often when you have time."

"Will do, sister-in-law."

"Ping'an, go slowly on the way back."

"Got it, Li Ge, sister-in-law, you two go back in."

On the afternoon of New Year's Eve, the Rolling Mill distributed wages, and everyone was full of joy. This year, everyone received a welfare bonus of one catty of fresh meat, so they could make meat-filled dumplings again.

After finishing the New Year's Eve dinner, Zhang Ping'an's family also started making dumplings. His younger brother, Zhang Xile, had been studying with Yan Bugui for the past few years and had already mastered high school knowledge.

Since there were no classes or work to attend anyway, he was also learning to be an Accountant from Yan Bugui.

Zhang Ping'an planned to see if he could buy an accounting-related job on the Black Market after the New Year so that his younger brother would have an internship opportunity; otherwise, it wouldn't do for him to be cooped up at home every day.

Previously, he had Bang Geng and Yuliang for company, but both of them had started working one after another in November, leaving him the only one among his peers still at home.

On the third day of the Lunar New Year, Yi Zhonghai's family and Qi Qingshan and his wife took gifts to the Jia Family to propose marriage.

Considering the state of Qi Qingshan and his wife, the two families directly set the wedding date for the end of the first lunar month.

Qi Qingshan and his wife were naturally full of gratitude; their trip had been to entrust their son and see their future daughter-in-law, and they hadn't expected such an unexpected surprise.

Due to the limited holiday time, Yi Jiabao took his family and Jia Donglai and the others back to Qi Family Village early on the fourth day.

On the morning of the fifth day, the group returned to Qi Family Village. After settling Qi Qingshan and his wife in, Jia Donglai gave the things his uncle Zhang Ping'an had brought to Qi Tongwei.

"Second Uncle, Second Aunt, this is the New Year's money and gifts my uncle asked me to bring for Tongwei."

"This... Donglai, thank Brother Zhang for me."

"Thank you, Godfather."

"Hahaha, good." Jia Donglai patted Qi Tongwei's head; he was now considered Qi Tongwei's cousin-in-law.

Over at the Rolling Mill, Zhang Ping'an had just started work when he was called over by Zhu Weiguo.

"Section Chief Zhang, let's step aside to talk."

"Alright, Director Zhu, please go ahead."

"It's like this: we have a batch of goods to be sent to Pengcheng, and the time is quite urgent. The people in Procurement Section 1 already had their tasks deployed before the New Year."

"Even the Section Chief has been dispatched, and now there is no one available, so I was wondering if you could... lend a hand."

Zhu Weiguo specifically emphasized that all section chiefs had been sent out, meaning to express that he was not practicing favoritism; after all, he had a prior record and was afraid Zhang Ping'an would misunderstand again.

"You mean for me to go?"

"Ahem, yes, because it requires the signature of someone at or above the rank of section chief, and you have experience and are surely familiar with the procedures."

Zhu Weiguo was the superior and could have originally arranged it for Zhang Ping'an directly, but now that they were both of the Li Huaide faction, he still had to respect the person's own opinion.

"Fine, when do we set off?"

"We have to leave at ten o'clock."

"So urgent?"

"Yes, this was specially approved by Factory Director Li; normal freight trains would do, but this is an expedited order, and the train schedule is too slow."

"That works, I'll go back and pack."

"Good, good, good."

Zhu Weiguo had not expected Zhang Ping'an to agree so readily; he had already prepared himself to be refused.

Zhang Ping'an first went to the Xicheng Branch Bureau to tell Li Aihua, and only then went home to pack his things.

"Grandpa, Grandma, Dad, Mom, I have to go on a business trip to the south; it might take ten days or half a month."

"Mm, alright, be careful on the road; you don't need to worry about things at home."

"Mm."

Zhang Ping'an brought a few thin garments, all made by Si Jie; over these years, his family had barely bought any clothes.

Zhang Ping'an kissed his son, took his parcel, and returned to the Rolling Mill; at this time, five transport trucks were already fully prepared for departure.

"Section Chief Zhang, there is still some preparatory work before departure; we will finish the inspection and be able to set off immediately," said Captain Hu.

"Good."

"Our journey this time is a bit long, taking about three to four days, and it's the south, where it's hot; Section Chief Zhang should prepare some thin clothes. If Section Chief Zhang hasn't prepared any, there is still time now."

"It's fine, I've prepared two pieces."

"That's good, please sit for a moment, we will set off right away."

"Mm, good."

Captain Hu was Hu Jianguo, the Hu Shifu who had picked up and dropped off Zhang Ping'an at the Steel Mill back in the day.

When Zhang Ping'an was serving as Logistics Director, he had promoted him to Deputy Team Leader of Transportation Team Three.

Therefore, even though Zhang Ping'an was now demoted to Deputy Section Chief, Hu Jianguo still respected him as if he were the Director.

At ten o'clock, five large trucks rumbled out of the Rolling Mill, and Zhang Ping'an felt excited inside; perhaps this time he would be able to see his wife and child from whom he had been separated for five years.