Chapter 333

Because he was a little too excited, Wang Weimin forgot to knock and directly pushed open the office door.

Director Ding, who was working at his desk, was startled by the sudden intrusion. When he saw it was Wang Weimin, he held back the urge to scold him and asked, “Section Chief Wang, do you have good news?”

If it wasn’t good news, then don’t blame him for lashing out.

But seeing how excited Wang Weimin was, he figured it had to be good news.

Wang Weimin did not disappoint Director Ding. “Director Ding, Yimin said he has two hundred jin of fruit and some coconuts. He asked if the factory wants them. I took the liberty of saying yes to the whole lot.”

“Good, good! You made the right call this time.” Director Ding was also visibly excited.

He hadn’t expected the fruit problem that had been giving him a headache to finally be resolved. It looked like he could finally give a proper report to the higher-ups.

There’s no helping it—rank always crushes reason, and that holds true no matter where you go.

“Did Yimin say when he’d bring the goods back?”

Wang Weimin replied, “Yimin said he’s heading out now to bring it back. On my way here, I already told Finance not to get off work too early. They need to help him record the inventory before they leave.”

Even though he didn’t technically have that authority, he leveraged the situation. The head of the Finance Department, upon hearing that Zhou Yimin was procuring such important supplies, immediately agreed. Even if it was quitting time, they would wait for Zhou Yimin to return and finish the paperwork before clocking out.

Some of the finance staff had complaints, but there was nothing they could do. Orders had already been given, and it wasn’t impossible that these supplies would benefit them as well later.

Everyone in the factory knew that around the New Year, the factory would distribute one jin of pork along with some peanuts and sunflower seeds. Since it involved personal benefits, even if there were some grumbles, no one dared voice them openly.

Slacking off now, if taken seriously, would mean obstructing the distribution of New Year’s benefits and disrupting worker unity.

“Good, you handled it well.” Director Ding was quite pleased with Wang Weimin’s arrangements.

He also planned to wait until Zhou Yimin brought the goods back so he could see them with his own eyes before leaving.

Zhou Yimin brought the authorization slip to the Transport Division. When Zhou Dafu saw him, he quickly came up to greet him. “Uncle Sixteen, are you here to see me?”

“No, I’m here to borrow a truck,” Zhou Yimin replied casually.

“Dafu, where’s your master?”

Li Feng, who had heard Zhou Dafu’s loud voice, realized Zhou Yimin had come to the Transport Division and stepped out from the side. “Team lead Zhou, what brings you here?”

“Captain Li, I’m here to borrow a truck. Here’s the slip,” Zhou Yimin said unhurriedly, pulling out the note signed by Wang Weimin.

Li Feng took the slip but didn’t even bother to read it. He directly asked, “Which truck do you want? Just take whichever one you like.”

He had full confidence in Zhou Yimin’s driving skills. Otherwise, he wouldn’t allow him to pick freely. Trucks were valuable assets now, and if anything went wrong, he would be held responsible too.

They went way back.

Besides, he knew very well what kind of standing Zhou Yimin had in the steel factory.

“If only I could just take a truck out whenever I wanted,” Zhou Dafu sighed on the side.

He dreamed of the day he could drive back to Zhoujiazhuang and strut around in style.

Li Feng spoke up, “Haven’t even learned to walk and already dreaming of running?”

Zhou Dafu, hearing that, quickly got back to repairing and maintaining vehicles. He hadn’t even mastered basic repair work yet, so he wasn’t qualified to learn to drive.

“This one’ll do,” Zhou Yimin said casually, picking a truck at random.

He was just going to pick up some goods. Any truck would do.

Li Feng shouted, “Dafu, come fill up the tank for Team lead Zhou!”

Zhou Dafu, hearing this, immediately fetched a barrel of diesel and a funnel from the fuel storage.

Fuel was precious. Without a funnel, diesel could easily spill during pouring and go to waste.

It wasn’t long before the tank was filled.

Zhou Yimin then drove the truck out in grand fashion.

He first drove to a sparsely populated area, got out, and loaded two large pigs’ worth of pork, 250 jin of strawberries, and 100 coconuts onto the truck.

The 100 coconuts were flash deals he’d snatched up from a store earlier today—just right for bringing to the factory.

To avoid attracting attention, he covered the strawberries and coconuts with a cloth. When entering the factory later, he couldn’t let anyone see them. Otherwise, that 250 jin of strawberries and those 100 coconuts wouldn’t be safe.

Even the factory leaders couldn’t openly act privileged. If word got out, there’d be serious trouble. Though everyone knew leaders and workers got different gifts, they couldn’t make it too obvious.

After covering everything up, he circled around for over an hour. Seeing it was getting late—winter nights came early—he decided to head back to the steel factory.

Director Ding and the entire logistics team were waiting by the gate, keeping their eyes on the distance, watching for Zhou Yimin’s return.

Just then, headlights appeared in the distance.

Wang Weimin said, “Director Ding, that should be Yimin coming back.”

In less than five minutes, Zhou Yimin’s truck appeared at the steel factory gate. Seeing the welcoming crowd, he was about to get out when—

“Yimin, no need to get out. Just drive straight to the weigh station,” Director Ding called out.

There were too many people around. If word about the fruit got out, they’d be in deep trouble.

Zhou Yimin nodded. “Alright.”

The gate guards didn’t even consider searching the truck. With so many leaders waiting for it, they weren’t about to cause trouble. Even if they wanted to score some points with the higher-ups, this wasn’t the time.

Zhou Yimin drove the truck to the weigh station.

The weigh station staff saw the two massive pigs—each looked like it could easily be over 250 jin, maybe even 300.

The results came quickly: 620 jin of pork, 250 jin of strawberries, and 100 coconuts.

The total cost came to 1,282 yuan. A receipt was written up so Zhou Yimin could collect the cash from Finance.

Soon, Director Ding and his group arrived. When they saw the fresh strawberries and coconuts, their eyes lit up.

“Yimin, you really came through! You even managed to get such rare strawberries,” Director Ding said excitedly.

“Just lucky, all luck,” Zhou Yimin said modestly.

Looking at the pile of goods in front of him, Director Ding finally felt the weight lift from his shoulders. The task the Factory Director had assigned was finally complete. With over 200 jin of strawberries, every leader could get a little taste.

Just enough to enjoy the flavor. Eating their fill was still out of reach. Given the poor state of transportation, many things spoiled before they even reached the capital.

Even Director Ding had never seen strawberries this fresh.

(End of Chapter)