Chapter 351

With everyone actively making suggestions, the idea that Zhou Yimin had proposed was quickly refined.

To prevent the same person from constantly ranking first, someone suggested a special rule: anyone who takes first place cannot participate in the next ranking round, to give others a chance.

It was obvious this rule was meant to counter those with Zhou Yimin’s help. Otherwise, if one person kept taking the top spot, others would lose hope and things would end up back where they started—with everyone slacking off.

Finally, Director Ding made the final decision: “Alright! We’ll implement it this way for now. If there’s anything that needs improvement, we can refine it gradually.”

Time was tight, and the tasks were heavy, so they had to first raise the amount of supplies being procured.

“One more thing—Section Chief Li, you need to strengthen your relationship with the slaughterhouse. See if you can get a bit more meat allocated.”

It never hurts to be prepared on two fronts.

Each slaughterhouse had some meat that wasn’t allocated to any official tasks—this was what all the factories were fighting for.

“Understood. I’ll do my best,” Section Chief Li responded immediately.

Though this task was very difficult—since too many people were after the same meat, and without any clever tricks, it would be hard to outcompete the others—effort and attitude were two different things. At the very least, leadership needed to see that you were making an effort. Whether it worked or not was another matter.

Hearing Li’s promise, Director Ding nodded in satisfaction.

Li was one of his trusted men. Whenever there was an easy task with room for success, Ding would hand it over to Li first. This made it easier to promote him later. Without any achievements, even if Ding wanted to promote him, it would be difficult.

“Alright, the meeting ends here. Everyone go back and pass the message along!”

Everyone nodded. Even without the reminder, they would have done so. After all, exceeding the task quota came with its own benefits, so there was no reason to hide the news from their subordinates.

Besides, this was too big of a change to keep secret anyway.

Zhou Yimin returned to his office and saw his subordinates still cleaning. He clapped his hands and said, “Everyone, come over. I have an announcement.”

Soon, the ten-man team led by Zhou Dazhong gathered. Though they were curious—he had just come back from a meeting—maybe there was some new notification?

Once everyone was present, Zhou Yimin said, “Director Ding just announced that the Procurement Department will now have a ranking system. If someone ranks first for six consecutive months, they’ll be promoted by one administrative level.”

Everyone, including Zhou Dafu, was instantly thrilled. A promotion meant a raise—no wonder the reaction was so strong.

But then someone remembered: with Zhou Dafu in the group, that top spot might never be theirs.

Wu Tian asked, “Section Lead Zhou, if someone keeps ranking first, does that mean they can keep getting promoted?”

If that was the case, everyone else might as well give up—it would only be possible for Zhou Dazhong to get promoted.

Zhou Yimin explained, “That’s not how it works. After being promoted, you won’t be eligible to compete in the next ranking. So don’t worry.”

Hearing this, Wu Tian and the others relaxed. Still, the idea of ranking first six months in a row felt impossible. One or two months might be doable, but six in a row? No wonder the reward was so generous.

Promotions were extremely hard to come by these days. Even with all Zhou Yimin’s contributions, he was still just a section leader. So, for everyone else, the bar was even higher.

Zhou Yimin had said what needed to be said. Now, it was up to them.

“Dazhong, come in with me for a moment.”

Zhou Dazhong followed him into the office, leaving the others to look at each other in silence.

Someone couldn’t help but say enviously, “I’m so jealous of Zhou Dazhong. He’s got Section Lead Zhou as his backer. He’ll definitely get promoted. That’s 2.5 yuan more a month—25 yuan a year. That’s like getting an extra month’s salary.”

No one could argue with that. Not everyone was lucky enough to have such a powerful backer.

Wu Tian didn’t join the conversation. Instead, he grabbed his bicycle keys and rushed out to procure more supplies. He wasn’t even thinking about taking first—he just wanted to make sure he completed the task.

The others weren’t surprised. Wu Tian had never really fit in with them anyway.

Inside the office, Zhou Yimin asked, “Dazhong, do you have any thoughts about what I just said?”

If he did, Zhou Yimin didn’t mind helping him out. After all, he had no shortage of supplies. Helping Zhou Dazhong take first place for six straight months wouldn’t be difficult at all.

“I do, but based on the channels I currently have, getting first is going to be tough. I might have a shot at top five though.”

No one could resist the temptation of a promotion and raise—unless you were some kind of saint.

Zhou Yimin could tell that Zhou Dazhong had been putting in work recently. Sure, he’d had help from time to time, but the real key was his own effort. He knew Zhou Dazhong often went out to far-off places for procurement—places others didn’t want to go because it didn’t seem worth the effort.

“Good. If you’re serious, then it’s settled. If you fall short at any point, let me know and I’ll cover the gap.”

Zhou Dazhong was overjoyed, though he still had concerns. “Uncle Sixteen, is this really okay?”

He was worried this might bring Zhou Yimin unwanted trouble. If a promotion came under such circumstances, maybe it wasn’t worth it.

He believed deeply in gratitude—without Zhou Yimin, there wouldn’t be a Zhou Dazhong today.

“It’s fine. One of the rules is in place specifically to guard against me,” Zhou Yimin said, unconcerned.

Zhou Dazhong bowed gratefully. “Alright. Thank you, Uncle Sixteen.”

With that, he headed out. He didn’t want to rely on Zhou Yimin too much—he had to give it his all too. He planned to venture further out to gather supplies.

After picking up some things from the Finance Department, he hopped on his bike and headed out of the city.

This time, he was heading even farther. The CP District was over an hour away by bicycle from the steel plant. A round trip would take three to four hours.

After biking for more than an hour, Zhou Dazhong finally reached the outskirts of CP District. The roads were full of potholes and difficult to traverse. If not for the good quality of his bike, it probably would’ve broken down.

That alone showed just how bad the roads were.

After riding a bit more, he saw a village ahead and quickly approached.

Just as he got close, someone stopped him. “Comrade, where are you from?”

The man who blocked him seemed unfamiliar with Zhou Dazhong’s face—he clearly wasn’t from the area.

“Comrade, I’m a procurement agent from the Steel Plant in Capital 49. This is my ID.” Zhou Dazhong was very used to this kind of situation.

If he didn’t explain things clearly, it could lead to serious trouble. Getting arrested would be the least of his worries—what if he got taken out with a single bullet?

(End of Chapter)