Transmigrating Through the Heavens: Starting with the Silly Pillar of the Courtyard

Chapter 31 Expansion of the Steel Rolling Mill

The steel rolling mill was expanded, and many new employees joined the four canteens.

The working group members have also been assigned to various key positions.

Team Leader Zhang became the first Party Secretary of the Steel Rolling Mill, and Deputy Team Leader Yang became the first Factory Director of the Steel Rolling Mill.

Li Huaide became the first logistics director of the steel rolling mill, a promotion made possible by his marriage to his partner in June.

Of course, the steel rolling mill is only a division-level unit now, so it is possible for Li Huaide to be promoted from a clerk to the position of director of logistics at the level of section chief.

Meanwhile, several workshops in the steel rolling mill were expanded, and several new workshops were added. Three thousand new workers were recruited at once, much to the delight of the Heli Subdistrict Office.

The recruitment of 3,000 people has solved the employment problem for a large number of young people. The neighborhood office is also at its busiest time now, with countless unemployed young people in the nearby alleys waiting for a job at home.

Ultimately, many people were afraid to go home at night, mainly because there were too many people coming to deliver gifts. Deciding who to send gifts and who not to send gifts was a matter of offending people.

But this is a happy kind of trouble, because steel mills naturally prefer to hire experienced workers. Newcomers need to be trained gradually.

Masters like Yi Zhonghai and Liu Haizhong naturally hope that they will take on more apprentices.

Liu Haizhong, heeding He Yuzhu's advice, took on more than a dozen apprentices at once. Yi Zhonghai dared not stop him and also took on five or six. However, he didn't really teach them; apart from Jia Dongxu, the others didn't learn anything.

Later, those people also realized that they couldn't learn anything from Yi Zhonghai, so they went to the workshop director to make a scene.

The workshop foreman was furious and immediately sent them to other master craftsmen. He harbored deep resentment towards Yi Zhonghai, and would certainly settle this score with him later.

Jia Dongxu was the first to suffer, frequently being criticized and fined. His carefree days were gone forever.

The crucial point is that Jia Dongxu is unaware that he's taking the blame for his master Yi Zhonghai, and his skills are indeed lacking.

The workshop director used to let it slide because of Yi Zhonghai, but now that Yi Zhonghai is disrespecting him, he certainly won't give him any face in return.

Yi Zhonghai saw it, but pretended not to know. Although he still considered Jia Dongxu as a backup plan for retirement, he wasn't as eager as before.

After learning that Luo Qiaoyun had given birth to a daughter, Yi Zhonghai planned to find a son-in-law to live with him in the family.

At that time, using their savings, houses, and their own daughter as bait, they will not be unfilial to them.

With this in mind, she wouldn't invest too much in Jia Dongxu anymore. Although Jia Zhangshi was clever, she didn't understand the complexities of human nature.

Yi Zhonghai never considered whether his future son-in-law was capable; even if he was, he wouldn't be able to control him.

He Yuzhu did not add any new members to the guesthouse under his management. Just as he and Liu Haizhong explained, the steel mill leaders did not have a high regard for the guesthouse.

The guesthouse mainly serves the factory workers; without it, many things would be inappropriate. Having the guesthouse helps resolve some minor issues.

He Yuzhu's small kitchen is quite quiet now, mainly because the factory has been too busy lately. The leaders are too embarrassed to come over for a private meal every day.

They only come over for special meals when entertaining leaders or colleagues from other units.

The special meals served as company receptions were not something just anyone could eat; even the leaders had to be of a certain rank.

First, they need to get Li Huaide's approval slip from the logistics department.

The label clearly indicates how many people are being entertained, how many dishes can be served, and even the specific amount of meat and vegetables that can be taken, with strict standards.

He Yuzhu cannot cook without the approval of the logistics department.

Unless He Yuzhu takes the initiative to assume responsibility and then goes to Li Huaide to obtain a supplementary approval slip afterward.

Of course, this usually only applies to a few key leaders in the factory.

After all, leaders are quite casual; they might decide to eat here on a whim. You can't expect a leader to get prior approval from the logistics department, so He Yuzhu has to bear some of the risks himself.

If the leaders deny responsibility afterward, these supplies will be considered He Yuzhu's own.

Of course, this situation will definitely not happen, otherwise the leader would lose face.

If you run into He Yuzhu, you can just accept your bad luck. The next time he comes, He Yuzhu can simply refuse to work.

Now that the steel rolling mill is state-owned, even Sha Zhu can talk back to anyone, so He Yuzhu isn't anything to be afraid of.

Of course, this is a rather extreme view. The leaders aren't stupid; it's just a matter of a police note.

The other middle-level managers didn't have that much influence. He Yuzhu only needed to complain a little, and everyone would understand.

This is how everyone does their job; we can't cause trouble for other departments. Otherwise, they'll come to you demanding you don't follow the rules and regulations. Will you comply or not?

Some people don't understand and insist on forcing He Yuzhu to cook first. At this point, He Yuzhu can choose to help or not.

He Yuzhu could judge for himself whether someone was being polite and pleading. He would be more accommodating if the other party pleaded kindly. But if they were arrogant and cursing, He Yuzhu would turn hostile.

He Yuzhu knew that many people thought he was a cook, which used to be considered a low-class profession.

Anyway, He Yuzhu knew that as long as he clung to Director Yang and Li Huaide's coattails, no one could control him for the next twenty years.

Nowadays, He Yuzhu and Factory Director Yang have a seemingly harmonious relationship, since He Yuzhu has never refused Factory Director Yang.

Even when the other party tried to persuade He Yuzhu to voluntarily reduce his salary, He Yuzhu did not make things difficult for them.

Factory Director Yang felt he had a lot of influence, and He Yuzhu listened to him a lot, so they were his people.

Although they wouldn't deliberately take care of him or give He Yuzhu any extra benefits, they also wouldn't make things difficult for him, and would even help him out.

Needless to say, Li Huaide and He Yuzhu were very close. For the sake of his wife, He Yuzhu secretly cooked at Li Huaide's house at least ten times.

Li Huaide initially offered He Yuzhu money, but He Yuzhu immediately turned hostile, saying that the other party did not consider him a friend.

If good friends help each other, is it okay to ask for money?

Li Huaide patted He Yuzhu on the shoulder, feeling touched, and thought he was a true friend.

Actually, Li Huaide didn't have much money at that time, and dating is very expensive.

He spent a lot of money on ingredients to treat us to a meal, and asking him to pay more would be putting my brother Li in a difficult position.

He Yuzhu knew this and later even lent the other party one million yuan. To this day, Li Huaide still takes out 50,000 yuan from his salary every month to repay He Yuzhu.

Who would have thought that before Li Huaide became wealthy, he couldn't even come up with a million?

Given their relationship, how could He Yuzhu possibly be afraid of others making things difficult for me, Fat Tiger?

He Yuzhu simply doesn't want to make more enemies; that doesn't mean he's a pushover.

After just a few exchanges, the steel mill's leadership knew that despite his young age, He Yuzhu was always cheerful and easygoing with everyone.

But when they turn their backs on someone, they can be quite formidable.

After falling out with a hot-headed junior manager, the punishment was swift: the manager was docked a month's salary. Following this, the factory commended He Yuzhu for upholding principles and defying authority.

Such a stark contrast, not too obvious, is something those who understand will understand.

With Secretary Zhang's support, Director Yang's backing, and the logistics director's assistance, everyone now knew that He Yuzhu had powerful connections.

The main problem was that the junior manager had just been transferred from outside, and he thought that a cook was something special. Plus, he himself had gotten a bit cocky and was trying to get attention from He Yuzhu.

He didn't know that back when the work group was still at the steel rolling mill, He Yuzhu was responsible for cooking large pots of food for the work group members every day.

Normally, when He Yuzhu showed a little favoritism to a few leaders, no one would notice anything amiss. It simply meant a little more meat in their bowls and occasional late-night snacks.

But after a few months, people are all human; they can't just eat from the bowl and then curse the cook.

Besides, will they no longer need He Yuzhu? No, on the contrary, they will need him even more in the future.

Even Director Yang, who initially looked down on He Yuzhu, can't live without him now. It's all because He Yuzhu's cooking is so delicious; not only does he enjoy it, but his superiors also love his cooking.

Every time a superior comes to inspect our work, after lunch, any unpleasant things that happened during the work are overlooked.

Even the most taciturn factory director Yang realized that having a highly skilled cook among his subordinates made many things surprisingly simple.

This was also the beginning of Director Yang taking the initiative to bring a cook to cook at the homes of high-ranking officials.

Even Director Yang is like that, so the other leaders aren't stupid.

Everyone has a few friends. When someone comes to your turf, you have to eat a good meal. That's about saving face. And for the sake of face, you can't afford to offend a good chef.

Otherwise, if you ever run into trouble, He Yuzhu will just give up and see what you can do then.

We won't slack off. Whether the taste is good or not, or to what extent, is up to who decides.

To be even more disgusting, do you know if there's saliva in the food you're eating?

Until a second cook more skilled than He Yuzhu appeared at the steel rolling mill, the leaders always needed He Yuzhu's help.

Not to mention that there are many factories in Beijing that are larger than steel rolling mills, and at least five companies have already invited He Yuzhu to work there.

We'll pay the salaries that steel mills can't, and we'll even promote people to ranks they can't.

That's how arrogant we are. While the steel rolling mill only caps on chefs at level five, we can go up to level three.

The salary is definitely over a million, and what's a section chief level? We're a high-ranking official unit; a section chief is about the same as a staff member.

The guesthouse is currently a section-level unit, and He Yuzhu serves as its director, holding the rank of section-level cadre.

Later, when the guesthouse is upgraded along with the steel rolling mill, it will become a deputy section-level unit. At that time, He Yuzhu can also take the opportunity to advance to the deputy section-level cadre position.

This process took several years; the steel rolling mill started in 52 and finally completed its public-private partnership in 64.

Lou Bancheng only completely withdrew from the power of the steel rolling mill at that time, and He Yuzhu was not in a hurry at all.

Whether he's a section chief or a deputy section chief, he's only in charge of these ten or so people, and he's also responsible for providing extra help to them.

Unless he's willing to teach others cooking skills and share his secret recipe, the private cooking service is still his responsibility.