Chapter 14: The Watch Voucher

“You guys came at the right time. On your way back, help me take this stuff back with you,” Zhou Yimin said, pointing at the hand-operated water pump and drill rods.

Zhou Dafu and the others looked over but couldn’t tell what it was.

“What is it?”

Bringing it back wasn’t a problem.

“A water pump. You wouldn’t understand even if I explained it. Just help me transport it back.”

Fine! Zhou Dafu and the others didn’t ask further and loaded the metal parts onto the ox cart before following Zhou Yimin toward the steel factory.

Upon arriving near the steel factory, Zhou Yimin pointed at an open space. “Wait for me there.”

One advantage of the villagers was that they were obedient and didn’t ask too many questions.

Zhou Yimin slung the sika deer, wrapped in a burlap sack, over his shoulder and walked into the factory. The security guard, though unsure what was inside the sack, knew it was supplies for the factory and let him pass without questioning.

On the way, Zhou Yimin ran into a colleague who had also returned from procurement.

Judging from his expression, it seemed like he didn’t have much luck and was feeling down.

“Yo! Yimin, you got something good again? What is it?” His colleague was a bit envious. Zhou Yimin’s luck was simply too good.

That’s right! Finding supplies these days was all about luck.

Zhou Yimin whispered, “A deer. Brother, help me notify the section chief.”

Chen Yugang’s eyes widened.

A deer?

More meat?!

Just a few days ago, they had managed to bring in two wild boars, and now there was a deer. This was record-breaking performance. At this rate, even Director Ding from the procurement department might start paying special attention to Zhou Yimin.

Making a good impression on the leadership made promotions much easier.

“I’ll go right away!”

Chen Yugang immediately ran toward the office of the Fifth Section of the Fourth Procurement Division.

“Section Chief, Section Chief, big news!”

Section Chief Wang was smoking when Chen Yugang burst in, shouting. He frowned. So undisciplined—what kind of behavior was this?

“Yimin brought back a deer! You should go now!”

“What?!”

Section Chief Wang was so shocked that the cigarette fell from his mouth. He quickly stomped it out and rushed out.

He had started seeing Zhou Yimin as a lucky charm.

How long had the kid even been on the job?

Eggs, jerky, two wild boars—and now a deer? All rare and valuable supplies!

“Yimin, well done.” He found Zhou Yimin, his eyes fixed on the deer that had already been dumped out of the burlap sack.

“It’s all for the factory and the country. No trouble at all.”

Section Chief Wang chuckled to himself. This kid knows how to talk. He’s got potential.

He pulled out a cigarette. “Here, have one. You young folks have real drive.”

Soon, the logistics team arrived. The usual routine followed—processing, weighing, registering, and payment.

Venison was much better than pork.

In ancient times, deer were common in the lower Yellow River region, Shandong, and Jiangsu-Zhejiang areas. Since they were easy to hunt, venison was a staple meat.

By the Song Dynasty, deer had become rare in central China, making venison less common.

However, deer were still plentiful in the northern grasslands, and tribes there regularly hunted and ate them. The practice continued under the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties. When the Jurchens entered central China from the northeast, they made eating venison an imperial tradition.

During the Qing Dynasty, deer meat was highly valued. Since it was rarer and more expensive than pork, beef, or mutton, it became a prestigious gift among the elite.

That tradition continued to the present day—venison remained more valuable than other meats.

So, naturally, the factory’s regular workers wouldn’t get a taste of this deer. It would likely be reserved for entertaining VIPs and senior officials.

“Net weight: 96 jin. We’re pricing venison at 3 yuan per jin, so that’s a total of 288 yuan. Count it.” The finance officer quickly handed over the money.

The price was slightly higher than Zhou Yimin had expected. He knew venison was expensive but hadn’t anticipated it being this expensive.

He took the money and pretended to count it twice.

“288 yuan, all correct! Thanks.” He pocketed the cash.

Guess I’ll have to send more potatoes to Zhoujia Village. Can’t be too greedy.

Section Chief Wang walked over and patted Zhou Yimin on the shoulder. “Good job, keep it up. You’re officially confirmed as a permanent employee now.”

With this level of performance, how could they not confirm his position? Otherwise, it would be demoralizing.

“Thank you, Section Chief!”

Zhou Yimin thanked him but wasn’t particularly excited. As long as he had the title of procurement officer, he didn’t care about promotions. He wasn’t relying on that salary to make a living.

Of course, getting a promotion was still ideal.

A higher salary would allow him to make purchases openly without raising suspicion. If his income was too low but he spent lavishly, how would he explain it?

“No need to thank me. You earned it. Oh, and here’s a watch voucher—Director Ding specifically rewarded you with it.” Section Chief Wang handed Zhou Yimin a ticket.

Earlier, he had visited both Section Chief Zheng and Director Ding’s offices.

A watch voucher? Nice.

Zhou Yimin accepted it without hesitation.

He did need a watch.

He could even buy one for his grandfather to keep track of time.

After leaving the factory, Zhou Yimin returned to a hidden spot and used the store system to purchase 5,000 jin of potatoes, stacking them there. He added an extra 1,000 jin this time.

Once everything was set, he stepped out and waved to Zhou Dafu and the others. “Come over here.”

Zhou Dafu and the others drove the ox cart and pushed their wheelbarrows over. When they saw the piles of sacks, they didn’t ask questions and immediately started loading them onto the carts. But soon, they realized something was off.

“Uncle Sixteen, this is more than 4,000 jin. We can’t fit it all.”

The ox cart and wheelbarrows were already overloaded. The old ox kept snorting in protest.

“This time, it’s venison. The steel factory’s leadership liked it, so they gave an extra 1,000 jin.”

“Not enough space? I’ll borrow a tricycle from the factory. I was planning to visit the village anyway.”

Their procurement division had a few tricycles specifically for their use.

When the villagers heard that the steel factory had given them an extra 1,000 jin of potatoes and that Zhou Yimin was coming back with them, they were overjoyed.

“That’s great!”

Not long after, Zhou Yimin returned with a tricycle. Section Chief Wang had personally approved it, telling him he could use it whenever he wanted.

By now, Zhou Yimin was a top performer. He frequently secured wild game for the factory. What was a tricycle compared to that?

Didn’t he deserve it?

The others helped load the remaining potatoes onto the tricycle.

“Who here knows how to ride a tricycle?” Zhou Yimin asked.

He had no intention of pedaling it himself—too tiring.

“Me! Me! Me!” Several people raised their hands at once.

To them, riding a tricycle was prestigious—like driving a car in later generations.

“You can take turns,” Zhou Yimin decided, keeping things fair.

He let Zhou Dafu and the others go ahead while he returned to the courtyard house to grab a few things.

“Go on! I’ll catch up with you soon.”

(End of Chapter)