Chapter 7: Returning to the Factory to Report

“Where are you going? Come in,” Zhou Yimin called out.

He cracked an egg, ate the egg white, and left the yolk behind.

Only then did the three siblings, Laifu and his two sisters, dawdle their way inside, all the while watching the old lady’s expression.

The old lady repeated the same words, reminding the three little ones to always remember their big brother’s kindness, to listen to him, and not to be ungrateful, among other things.

“Eat up!” Zhou Yimin handed the egg yolks to the three kids—one for each.

In fact, he himself didn’t like eating egg yolks; they were too dry.

“Grandma! I have to run into the city later to take care of some business. Please tell the old party secretary that if you hit a wild boar, have someone transport it to the city to look for me—preferably with the village’s ox-cart. In a couple of days, I’ll come back to see you and grandpa.”

The old lady felt a bit reluctant when she heard that her dear grandson was going back to the city, but when she heard he would return in a couple of days, it eased her worry.

“Alright! Grandma will tell your grandpa,” she said with a smile.

Zhou Yimin didn’t dawdle either; after taking a sip of water, he set off, riding his bike back to Sijiu City.

At the same time, he checked his mental shopping app. Today’s flash sale had refreshed: it now offered 100 jin of rice and 100 jin of dried beef.

Without a second thought, Zhou Yimin spent two yuan to snag the deal.

100 jin of dried beef—what a huge profit.

He could take it to the black market, where it would go for five yuan a jin, and it would definitely sell out, especially since no receipt was required.

When he returned to the courtyard, he found that his shopping basket already contained 50 jin of eggs, which he planned to take to the steel mill as his report, since he hadn’t been back to the factory for two or three days.

Although the job of a procurement officer was relatively flexible, one still had to report in from time to time.

Of course, the most important thing was to meet the monthly minimum procurement quota.

He thought that with these 50 jin of eggs, if the village managed to catch a wild boar, he’d easily exceed his KPI for the month.

No sooner had he returned to the courtyard than Mrs. Xu appeared, carrying a pair of well-made cloth shoes and two yuan in change.

“Mrs. Xu! A pair of cloth shoes is more than enough! I even made a good profit,” Zhou Yimin said as he accepted the shoes without taking any money.

After all, a pair of cloth shoes was worth around five yuan.

At that time, cloth shoes were quite precious—they required “thousands of stitches” to sew a thousand-layer sole. With this pair of shoes, Zhou Yimin still owed Mrs. Xu some money, or something equivalent!

Mrs. Xu insisted, pressing them into his hands, “Not exactly—the cloth shoes are from me, Mrs. Xu. To be honest, I might want to buy some cornmeal or something from you later. Is that okay?”

She had another request in mind.

“Of course! Mrs. Xu, please wait a moment.”

Saying that, Zhou Yimin took out a small basket of eggs as a return gift—after all, one shouldn’t take advantage of a bargain.

Eggs were cheaper than meat but a bit more expensive than rice or other grains, costing around 0.3 to 0.4 yuan per jin.

“These eggs are what I procured. Take some back to help Dongzi and the others. Here, take them—if you don’t want them, you can take these shoes back too.”

Mrs. Xu, clutching the basket of eggs, felt a mix of emotions.

It was like receiving timely help in one’s hour of need.

“By the way, these cloth shoes are nice. Mrs. Xu, if you have time, please make me another two pairs. I’ll take them back for my grandparents to wear, and later I can exchange them with you for some grains.”

Grandpa and grandma already had clothes made by Auntie, but they lacked proper shoes. Originally, Zhou Yimin had planned to buy shoes from the store, but since Mrs. Xu was so skilled, having her make them was just as good.

It was a win-win situation—why not take the opportunity?

Hearing this, Mrs. Xu was delighted. She quickly nodded and asked what sizes were needed.

Mrs. Xu silently marveled—this child was truly filial! He even thought of his grandparents back in the countryside. Just this display of filial piety was enough to inspire envy.

Mrs. Xu eventually left with the basket of eggs, her step noticeably lighter.

Back at home, the little grandson rushed over, clinging to her leg, his eyes fixed on the eggs, which seemed to sparkle with delight.

“Be good, Dongdong. Remember to show proper respect when you see your brother Yimin—these were all sent by him. Tonight, grandma will make egg soup for you,” Mrs. Xu added, teaching the child the value of gratitude.

The little fellow nodded seriously, “Grandma, Dongdong understands. Last time, I even helped Yimin wipe his bicycle!”

The courtyard couldn’t hide too many secrets, and besides, Zhou Yimin’s deal with Mrs. Xu wasn’t kept under wraps—it was completely open. Soon, almost all the aunties in the courtyard knew.

“In our courtyard, only Yimin has extra provisions.”

“Yimin is so good at procurement! Better than that scoundrel from my family by far.”

“I have a niece working at a textile factory; maybe one day—”

Before she could finish, a well-informed aunt cut in, “What are you thinking? Old Zhou already arranged everything long ago.”

“Ah! Does Yimin have a girlfriend now?”

“Yes! Apparently, old Zhou mentioned it when he had drinks at my place.”

“That’s a pity. With Yimin’s qualities, marrying him would mean a life of ease!”

Right? With a bike, a house, and not a bad-looking appearance, plus a decent procurement job.

They thought that if food ever became too scarce, they’d buy a little from Yimin. They couldn’t just ask him for free or borrow—nobody would dare.

After tidying up his place and taking out the worn clothes for washing, Zhou Yimin, like any man, washed his clothes—scrubbing a few times, stepping on them, twisting them—until it was done.

Once finished, he locked the door and then headed off to the steel mill to report. Only the foolish residents of Shazhu’s courtyard would neglect the simple act of locking the door.

If something were lost, who would be held responsible?

Even if there were no thieves, if a stray cat wandered in and knocked things over, it would still be a loss!

The steel mill where Zhou Yimin worked was the largest in the capital—bigger than the Hongxing Rolling Mill where Shazhu worked—and had been established in the early Republican era.

With tens of thousands of workers, the factory’s grain consumption was enormous.

Therefore, their procurement department was divided into four sections, each with five units under it.

Zhou Yimin worked in the Fifth Unit of the Fourth Procurement Section, led by Wang Weimin, with ten members.

Wang Weimin was currently in a bind. The section chief had issued orders demanding that each unit find ways to increase their procurement, as the factory was beginning to face a grain shortage.

The canteen kept cutting down on the workers’ meals, and it was said that yesterday another worker had fainted. Fortunately, it didn’t result in a production accident this time.

But the procurement officers were in a difficult spot too. In the rural areas and communes around the capital, they’d run back and forth but couldn’t gather much food. Now, life in the countryside was even tougher than in the city.

To increase their procurement, the only option was to venture further away.

“Yimin’s back!”

Upon hearing a remark from one of his colleagues, Wang Weimin immediately turned his head and saw Zhou Yimin entering, carrying a large procurement basket on his back.

“Be careful—those are all eggs,” Zhou Yimin warned.

At the sound of that, everyone immediately rushed to help carry the basket.

“Whoa! So many eggs—Yimin, where did you procure them from?”

Wang Weimin was pleasantly surprised. Several hundred eggs were indeed a considerable haul.

“This time, I had to go a bit far, so I haven’t been back to the factory for the past two or three days,” Zhou Yimin explained.

Not only did Wang Weimin refrain from scolding him, but he also publicly praised him, “Good job, Yimin! Everyone, take a lesson from him. See? As long as you go further afield, there are still resources to be found.

Huh! What’s that below?”

(End of Chapter)

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#Notes

—KPI (Key Performance Indicator) is a measurable metric that tracks progress toward business goals. Common types include financial (profit margin), operational (efficiency), customer (retention rate), and employee (productivity). KPIs help organizations assess performance and make data-driven decisions. Want specific examples for your industry?