Chapter 739

Procurement outside the plan was not allowed in principle.

But everyone knew about this kind of thing.

Even when it reached the higher-ups, they would turn a blind eye.

The village chief took the introduction letter and smiled kindly:

"Easy, easy!"

"I will certainly support the work of our worker brothers."

"It's almost mealtime, too."

"Let's eat first."

Liang Ladi hurriedly said: "Uncle, Comrade Weiguo will come home with me to eat."

The village chief smiled: "Then come over after you've eaten."

Cao Weiguo followed Liang Ladi home.

He met Liang Ladi's parents and brothers.

He presented the pastries, candied fruits, and two bags of brown sugar he had brought.

These gifts made the Liang family incredibly enthusiastic.

It also surprised Liang Ladi a little.

Previously, these things had all been kept in the satchel.

She didn't even know what was inside.

These gifts didn't look like much.

But they were all rare and good things in the countryside.

Let alone the countryside.

Even in the city, they were hard to come by.

Having accepted the gifts.

The two families enthusiastically treated Cao Weiguo to a meal.

They even specially steamed a few pure cornmeal buns.

Seeing that everyone else was eating mixed-grain buns.

Cao Weiguo felt a bit embarrassed.

He gave the cornmeal buns to the children.

He insisted on eating the mixed-grain buns with them.

The "pampered" Cao Weiguo couldn't eat more than one.

These mixed-grain buns were dry and scratched the throat.

He truly couldn't swallow them.

After the meal, Cao Weiguo followed Father Liang to the brigade.

Upon meeting, Cao Weiguo slipped them two packs of Da Qianmen cigarettes.

And then stated a generous procurement price.

The village chief immediately became incredibly enthusiastic.

He actively called on the villagers to bring out the good things in their homes.

However, Cao Weiguo's threshold for procurement this time was high.

He wanted chickens, ducks, meat, eggs, white flour, and game.

As for dried sweet potatoes, cornmeal, wood ear mushrooms, and vegetables, he didn't want any of them.

After half a day of scraping together what they could, they still hadn't filled a horse-drawn cart.

After loading the collected items, Liang Ladi came over carrying cornmeal.

On the way back, Liang Ladi rode in the horse-drawn cart.

The one driving the cart was Liang Ladi's fourth uncle.

He didn't need to carry Liang Ladi.

This made things much easier for Cao Weiguo.

The speed was also much faster.

They returned to the rolling mill before the end of the shift.

Deputy Factory Director Li and Director Fang ran out of the office.

Looking at the twenty-some chickens, three crates of eggs, five sacks of white flour...

And learning that Cao Weiguo had run all the way to the remote Liang Family Village to procure them.

This made the two leaders shower him with praise.

Praising his courage to take responsibility!

Praising his hard work and struggle!

Praising his lack of fear of hardship!

They said a whole basketful of praise.

In particular, Director Fang also privately expressed his gratitude.

After all, this matter had a lot to do with him.

Cao Weiguo running around outside was also doing him a favor.

After the supplies were counted and put into storage, Liang Ladi's fourth uncle drove the cart away.

Director Fang found Cao Weiguo: "Weiguo, let's have a few drinks tonight."

With Director Fang personally extending the invitation, Cao Weiguo naturally had to respectfully comply.

After work, the two of them rode their bikes away together.

This surprised many cadres who saw them.

Director Fang was notoriously difficult to get along with.

He had never shown a smiling face to anyone.

He never participated in the factory's dinner parties, either.

He wasn't close to any of the factory's leading cadres.

But today, he was chatting and laughing with Cao Weiguo.

And they even rode their bikes away together.

This made people feel surprised and unexpected.

Director Fang brought Cao Weiguo to a tavern at Da Qianmen:

"Section Chief Cao!"

"This little tavern is no ordinary place!"

"This little tavern is the first model to participate in the public-private partnership."

"The owner of this little tavern, Xu Huizhen, is also no ordinary woman."

"After she took over the tavern, she swore in public that she would never sell watered-down liquor."

"Not only was she the first to stand up and participate in the public-private partnership."

"She also organized the first literacy class and even appeared in the Russian newspapers."

"Don't look at this tavern as small; it's often packed to the rafters."

Hearing Director Fang's words and looking at the bustling little tavern.

Cao Weiguo's eyes lit up: "Oh! Then I must taste their liquor."

Director Fang smiled and said: "I guarantee you won't have made the trip in vain."

After parking their bikes and entering the tavern, there were already quite a few guests sitting inside.

"Landlady!"

"Four liang of liquor!"

"A plate of century eggs, a plate of peanuts, a plate of pig's head meat..."

Director Fang found a seat and ordered the dishes; he was clearly a regular.

The landlady standing behind the counter smiled and teased:

"Old Fang! It's been a while since you've been here!"

"What? Is your wife keeping a tight rein on you again?"