Chapter 81: Zhou Dazhong Starts His Job

Early the next morning, Zhou Dazhong arrived at Zhou Yimin’s house, carrying several large bags.

“Dazhong, come in and have breakfast,” Zhou Yimin called out.

“Uncle Sixteen, no need, I’ve already eaten!”

Just as he finished speaking, his stomach growled loudly.

At that moment, Zhou Dazhong was so embarrassed that he could’ve curled his toes through a three-bedroom apartment.

“Come in and eat something! Otherwise, you won’t last.”

The old man didn’t bother with politeness and scolded, “What nonsense are you talking? If your Uncle Sixteen tells you to eat, then eat!”

Though the words were harsh, Zhou Dazhong’s heart felt warm.

He had been feeling a bit nervous about starting work at the steel factory, worried he might mess up and embarrass both Uncle Sixteen and the family. But seeing how much his uncle cared eased his nerves quite a bit.

He quickly thanked him and went inside to eat steamed buns, though he didn’t touch the eggs.

Zhou Yimin handed him two eggs. “Eat up, don’t dawdle.”

Zhou Dazhong carefully picked up an egg, gently tapped it open, and chewed slowly. He hadn’t had eggs in quite some time.

After they finished, Zhou Yimin wheeled out his bicycle.

“Hop on. You’ll need to learn how to ride a bike from now on,” he said.

“Uncle Sixteen, I’ll just run behind you.”

Zhou Yimin rolled his eyes. “Run for what? Just get on! By the time you run all the way there, you’ll be dripping with sweat. Pack your stuff properly. You don’t need to bring thick clothes so soon—leave them here.”

Two sets of clothes were enough. Once he started at the factory, they’d be issuing him work uniforms.

In later generations, some people felt embarrassed about wearing work uniforms and avoided them when they could. But during this era, work uniforms were a symbol of pride, especially in rural areas.

At this time, work uniforms were typically made of coarse labor cloth, and the styles were unbelievably plain. But putting one on felt no less than wearing any world-renowned fashion brand.

Because a work uniform meant something—it meant social status. It meant being a paid worker with a non-agricultural household registration that came with access to state-supplied grain. Even though wages weren’t high, one person’s income could support an entire family.

In the countryside, if a household had a “big worker,” their words in the village carried serious weight.

You had to understand—workers not only received a monthly salary, but with their ration booklet, they could buy subsidized grain at the grain station. Moreover, workers were considered part of the leading class. In the eyes of farmers, a work uniform was akin to a cadre’s outfit.

Put it this way—even if you were a lifelong bachelor, wearing a work uniform and strolling through a village might just help you snatch the village beauty.

This wasn’t a joke. It actually happened.

Workers were that desirable.

“Grandma, later when Laicai comes, ask him to take Dazhong’s thick clothes back to his house.”

The old lady stood nearby, beaming.

“Alright, when Laicai comes over, I’ll have him take them to Dazhong’s place.”

Zhou Yimin continued to reduce his luggage.

“Also, towels and wash basins—the factory will provide those.”

That was the benefit of working at a big factory. Upon joining, they gave out all kinds of daily necessities. Some even had daycare centers, schools, clinics—everything an employee might need in life.

Now you understand why people would do anything to land a job at a factory?

Even the folks who had helped build Zhou Yimin’s house were full of envy when they heard, sighing over how great it was to be a worker.

Zhou Yimin gave Zhou Dazhong a ride to the steel factory and had a quick chat with the security guard at the gate to build some rapport.

After parking the bike, he brought Zhou Dazhong to see Director Ding.

“Does he want to work in procurement, or help in the kitchen?” Director Ding asked.

Zhou Yimin turned to Zhou Dazhong. “Dazhong, you choose.”

He actually had a choice? Of course Zhou Dazhong picked procurement! His Uncle Sixteen was a procurement officer too, and he could help him out.

“I’d like to work in procurement.”

Director Ding nodded and said to Zhou Yimin, “Yimin, take him to HR to complete the onboarding process.”

He also wrote an onboarding notice for Zhou Yimin to bring over.

“Alright, Director, I won’t keep you.”

Director Ding waved him off with a smile and joked, “Keep me? You’re hardly ever in the factory—eight days out of ten, you’re missing. Go handle the onboarding first!”

“Come on, I’ll take you to HR.”

Zhou Dazhong followed closely behind Zhou Yimin.

Only upon arriving at the factory did he realize just how well-connected his Uncle Sixteen was. Almost everyone they passed greeted him—they all seemed to know him.

“Sister Liu, this is my nephew. I’m here to help him with onboarding,” Zhou Yimin said, placing a handful of White Rabbit milk candies on HR’s Sister Liu’s desk.

She had been the one to process his own onboarding paperwork back then.

Sister Liu broke into a broad smile. “Yimin! You still remember your Sister Liu?”

She was, of course, happy to receive the White Rabbit candies, but even more so because Zhou Yimin still remembered her.

These days, Zhou Yimin was practically a celebrity.

Everyone wished they could claim some connection to him.

“Of course I remember! You handled my onboarding back in the day.”

Only then did Sister Liu glance at Zhou Dazhong. “This your nephew?”

“Yep! I rank high in the family. Dazhong, greet Sister Liu.”

“Hello, Sister Liu!” Zhou Dazhong quickly greeted her.

Sister Liu nodded with a smile, then looked over the onboarding notice and letter of introduction and promptly got everything processed. She even assigned him to the same section and department as Zhou Yimin.

On top of that, she issued a whole bundle of living supplies—bath tickets, towels, soap, work uniforms, and more.

Some of these were only given because of Zhou Yimin’s connections.

Zhou Dazhong couldn’t help but think, It really is easier when you’ve got someone in your corner!

With Uncle Sixteen around, everything was smooth.

He even received more items—and they were all brand-new. Some people didn’t get new uniforms when they joined. Sometimes, you didn’t even get to choose and might be stuck with something that didn’t fit.

“For housing, the factory still has some empty units. They’re located on these streets. Take a look and pick one.”

Again, this was thanks to Zhou Yimin.

Otherwise, even if there were vacant units, you’d have to wait for allocation—and no picking allowed. If you got stuck with a bad one, you just had to deal with it. But Zhou Dazhong got to choose.

Zhou Yimin scanned the list and noticed that a room was available in the courtyard right next to his own street.

“This one. Sorry to trouble you, Sister Liu.”

Zhou Dazhong didn’t say anything and let Uncle Sixteen handle it—his mother had told him to do just that.

“Alright! Take this and go find the street office. They have the key,” Sister Liu said as she handed over the proof of allocation.

“Thanks, Sister Liu!”

Both Zhou Yimin and Zhou Dazhong thanked her in unison.

“Let’s go meet our team lead. After that, I’ll take you to the street office to clean up the room. Starting tomorrow, you’ll report to the factory on your own.”

They went to meet Team Lead Wang, who was very welcoming. He gave Zhou Dazhong a few encouraging words, telling him to work hard and learn from Zhou Yimin.

“Yes, Team Lead!”

“Relax, don’t be nervous. Our team doesn’t have too many rules. As long as you meet the procurement targets, the rest of the time is pretty flexible,” Team Lead Wang said.

What he was thinking was: Just look at your Uncle Sixteen—he barely even shows up at the factory.

(End of chapter)