I Have A Store C30

Chapter 30: Commendation and Praise

Zhou Zhiming led a group to gather enough stones and then moved the mud bricks over, stacking them neatly nearby.

Today was just for material preparation—construction would officially begin tomorrow.

Old Master Zhou had checked the almanac, and tomorrow was an auspicious day to break ground.

Initially, Zhou Yimin wanted to treat everyone to an evening meal, but the old man stopped him. It wasn’t in accordance with the usual practice. They could have a hearty meal, making sure everyone was well-fed, but having two meals a day wasn’t appropriate.

Typically, when hiring laborers, people only provided one meal. If they gave two, it would break the unwritten rule.

Would other households provide one meal or two in the future?

If they provided just one, workers would call them stingy. If they provided two, who could afford that these days?

Zhou Yimin thought about it and found it made sense.

Lesson learned.

Truly, having an elder in the family was like having a treasure—his grandfather saw things clearly.

—

What Zhou Yimin didn’t know was that, in the afternoon, an official document was sent to the steel plant where he worked, addressed to Director Hu.

After reading it, Director Hu was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected such a talent in his factory. He immediately called over Director Ding, who managed logistics, to get more details.

“Zhou Yimin? He’s an excellent comrade. He only joined recently, but in just a short time, he’s successfully sourced meat for our factory multiple times…” Director Ding praised without reservation.

He always supported capable people in his department.

“Do you know that he has also improved a type of hand pump? The components were made in our factory. The higher-ups have confirmed its effectiveness—it’s very useful for alleviating drought conditions in rural areas across the country.

A ministry has issued an order for our factory to establish a dedicated workshop for manufacturing these pump components.

At the same time, we are to reward Comrade Zhou Yimin and formally commend him throughout the factory. Where is he now?” Director Hu said excitedly.

This was a huge win for their steel factory.

Director Ding: “…”

Wait, what?

Zhou Yimin just gave him a huge surprise! This was something to be proud of. Why hadn’t the kid mentioned such an important matter to him earlier?

“Director, I’ll go find out.”

It wasn’t like he could track the whereabouts of every logistics staff member at all times.

Director Hu started considering how to reward Zhou Yimin. The higher-ups had issued a 500-yuan bonus, but their steel plant should also show its appreciation.

After some thought, he decided to promote Zhou Yimin by two ranks, give him an additional 100 yuan bonus, and distribute various ration tickets as a reward.

He also instructed the publicity department to prepare announcements and ensure proper recognition.

Afterward, Director Hu convened a meeting with senior management to discuss setting up the new production workshop.

—

When Section Chief Wang heard about this from Section Chief Zheng, he was completely dumbfounded.

A procurement officer coming up with an invention?

And not just any invention—one that gained government recognition and was now set for mass production at their factory?

That was absurd! Was this a joke?

“This came straight from Director Ding just now. Where’s Xiao Zhou?” Section Chief Zheng asked.

Section Chief Wang: “He’s probably out in the countryside procuring supplies.”

He couldn’t just say that Zhou Yimin had skipped work early and gone home, right?

“Alright! Let me know when he gets back.”

Since Zhou Yimin wasn’t around, Section Chief Zheng didn’t stay long.

Section Chief Wang, however, was shaken.

At this rate, he might lose such a valuable employee! Zhou Yimin could even surpass him in rank soon.

Thinking about this, he realized he needed to work harder and strive for improvement himself.

—

Meanwhile, Master Chen in the workshop was just as stunned, thinking he had been caught doing something wrong.

He had been secretly using factory machines for personal projects, which was against the rules. If no one investigated, fine—but if he got caught, he wouldn’t be able to explain himself.

However, instead of reprimanding him, the workshop supervisor told him that the factory was setting up a new department, and he was being promoted to team leader in charge of producing the pump components.

Master Chen never expected to be promoted because of this!

As for the parts he had crafted for Zhou Yimin, the factory didn’t question it or even mention it.

He understood that this opportunity had come thanks to Zhou Yimin.

Feeling grateful, he went to find Yang Zhenhua—Zhou Yimin’s third granduncle from his courtyard.

“Old Yang, I owe you one. I’ll treat you to a drink sometime. Also, could you pass a message to Xiao Zhou? I don’t need any payment for those parts—just tell him thanks.

Oh, and those four sets of parts he requested will be ready tomorrow,” Master Chen said.

Yang Zhenhua was envious when he heard his friend had been promoted.

He had also heard the factory announcement earlier and felt proud of Yimin. In less than a month at work, not only had he secured a permanent position, but he had also been promoted twice!

“Alright, I’ll let him know,” Yang Zhenhua nodded.

—

The next morning, the first thing Zhou Yimin did after waking up was check the 1 yuan flash sale section in his store.

Today’s deals were 100 jin (50 kg) of millet and 100 jin of apples.

He bought both for 2 yuan without hesitation.

Millet was considered nutritious, though he wasn’t a fan of it.

Apples, on the other hand, were a luxury. While some areas in northern China grew them, they were still hard to come by for ordinary folks.

Many people didn’t realize that apples weren’t native to China—they were introduced from Europe in the mid-19th century, first taking root in Luochuan County, Yan’an City, Shaanxi Province.

For breakfast, he had white steamed buns and eggs.

“Grandma, I’m heading back to the city today. Don’t wait for me for lunch,” Zhou Yimin told his grandmother.

“Alright! Ride carefully,” she reminded him.

Her eldest grandson had a job at the city’s steel plant—he couldn’t stay in the village forever.

Zhou Yimin grabbed two deer antlers and headed outside. He saw Zhou Zhiming and his crew hard at work digging the foundation, so he handed out cigarettes before leaving.

Back at his courtyard home, he checked on Master Gu’s construction progress.

As soon as he arrived, a neighbor—Auntie Yi from the front courtyard—praised him for his talent, saying he had been promoted twice in just one month.

Wait…

“Auntie Yi, where did you hear that from?” Zhou Yimin was confused. When had he been promoted?

“You didn’t know? Your whole factory has been praising you! I heard it from Uncle Yi…”

Auntie Yi then explained the whole situation.

Zhou Yimin finally understood.

That government official in the Zhongshan suit worked fast!

“Auntie Yi, I have two deer antlers here. Could you ask Uncle Yi to process them for medicinal wine?

Oh, and I have two apples—someone gave them to me. Please take them and try them,” Zhou Yimin said, handing them over.

He knew Uncle Yi had knowledge of traditional Chinese medicine and often dried herbs in the courtyard, so he brought the antlers back for him.

When Auntie Yi saw the two large apples, she was stunned.

She had seen apples before, but never such perfect ones.

“You’re too polite! Alright, I’ll let Uncle Yi know when he gets back.”

She happily accepted the antlers and apples.

As Zhou Yimin passed the Xu family’s courtyard, he saw children playing and waved at them, handing out sunflower seeds.

“Thank you, Brother Yimin!”

The courtyard’s women watched with smiles, praising him warmly.

—