Chapter 166 – Teaching Them to Sing

“From now on, I can’t control the other sections or teams, but I hope that within our team, we’ll do our best to help one another,” Zhou Yimin said.

He was determined to twist Team Five into a single, united rope.

As soon as he said this, the members of Team Five all nodded in agreement.

They were more than happy to see this happen. After all, everyone has times when they can’t finish a task. If it were their turn to fall short and someone stepped in to help, it would be a blessing.

“Team Lead, you can count on us!”

Yu Xiaoguang and the others finally let out a sigh of relief—they now understood that this month’s task would be completed.

And for the first time, they were fully convinced by Zhou Yimin’s leadership.

Having someone like this as their team lead was truly a stroke of luck.

Zhou Yimin then turned to Liu Cheng and said, “Uncle Liu, about giving your position to your son—it’s best to think it over carefully. Doing that is a loss. Even if the job post stays the same, the work grade would have to start over from scratch.”

Which meant the pay would be completely different.

Liu Cheng could only smile bitterly. Of course he understood that.

But right now, his daughter-in-law was on bad terms with his son, upset that he didn’t have a job and worried their life wouldn’t be secure. When they got married, the Liu family had promised her that the son would be employed soon.

Now months had gone by since the wedding, and still nothing.

Wasn’t that a scam?

Yu Xiaoguang, being a middle-aged man himself, instantly understood Old Liu’s dilemma and asked, “Your daughter-in-law’s causing trouble?”

Liu Cheng gave a wry smile. “Of course she is. But I can’t blame her, either. We said it before the wedding—my eldest would be working soon. Back then, the distillery had openings, and I thought I could pull some strings with a bit of cash. It didn’t seem too hard… but someone else swooped in first.”

“Still, no need to rush into handing over your job. You’re in your prime. Our factory’s about to start producing rice cookers. That’ll surely bring another round of hiring. With a little money, getting a slot shouldn’t be too hard,” Zhou Yimin said.

He had a spot open for a purchaser at the research institute, but he couldn’t just give that away—even to a fellow team member.

Liu Cheng’s eyes lit up. “Team Lead, do you have any connections?”

It wasn’t just Liu Cheng—everyone perked up. Who didn’t have family in need of a job?

Only Zhou Dazhong remained calm. His youngest sister had been arranged by Uncle Sixteen to work at the instant noodle factory. His mother was still in the village and had no plans to come to the city just yet. His younger brother was still in school. So for now, his family wasn’t in urgent need of employment.

“I’ll ask around for you,” Zhou Yimin promised.

Liu Cheng and the others quickly expressed their thanks.

As long as they could find a good lead, the rest would be manageable.

Sometimes, it wasn’t just about having money. Jobs bought with money were usually prearranged positions—you had to know who was selling, and the money had to reach the right hands.

Back at the steel factory, just as Zhou Yimin was about to leave, he ran into Section Chief Wang Weimin.

“Went to Donglaishun and didn’t even invite me?” Chief Wang said with playful annoyance.

Zhou Yimin grinned. “Chief, we’re still waiting for that meal you owe us!”

He knew that the team members under him—who were once under Wang Weimin—were all eagerly anticipating Wang’s promotion banquet. So he just said it outright.

Chief Wang was speechless.

You all didn’t call me when you went to eat, but now you’re eyeing my treat?

Still, a promotion was a big life event. Hosting a meal to celebrate was only right.

“Alright, in a couple of days then. Same as always, come to my place. And this time, come empty-handed. Don’t bring anything,” Chief Wang said.

Naturally, Liu Cheng and the others showered him with flattery again.

When Zhou Yimin returned to the courtyard, Auntie One and the others quickly gathered around to ask how the new song was coming along.

“Yimin, how’s that song coming?”

It wasn’t that they were trying to rush him—it was just that time was tight, and there weren’t many days left to rehearse.

“We’ll start once the kids are back from school. I’ll teach them to sing,” Zhou Yimin said.

He’d have to teach it a cappella. There was no helping it—he didn’t know how to compose music, and finding someone who did would be troublesome.

He believed that once the song was out, someone would definitely set it to music later.

When the courtyard residents heard that the song had been written, smiles immediately lit up their faces. They knew Zhou Yimin never spoke empty words.

At the same time, they couldn’t help but feel a bit emotional.

Other people’s kids, huh…

A capable person really did excel in everything. Meanwhile, those with no talent couldn’t seem to get a single thing right.

When evening came and the schoolchildren returned home, the adults gathered them in the central courtyard. The central courtyard had the most space and sat right in the middle of the whole siheyuan. It was the best place to practice singing, and they didn’t have to worry about being overheard.

A dozen or so children stood in two rows, with the shorter ones in front.

The parents formed a circle around them, ready to enjoy the show.

Auntie One even shut the main gate at the front courtyard, afraid that outsiders might barge in and leak details about their rehearsal.

Zhou Yimin didn’t start teaching right away. First, he made sure the kids understood the rules.

“The song we’re learning—you’re not allowed to sing it outside the siheyuan for now, got it?” Zhou Yimin said.

The kids all chirped their agreement.

They really listened to Zhou Yimin. After all, only Brother (or Uncle) Yimin and Brother (or Uncle) Dapeng gave them treats on a regular basis.

“Don’t worry, Yimin. We’ve already reminded them too,” one of the parents added.

“Good. Let’s start learning the song. I’ll sing a line, you repeat it. We’ll try to get through it tonight. Then over the next few days, when you get back from school, you’ll sing it ten times, eight times—every day.”

He didn’t have time to come teach them every day—he’d be heading back to the village tomorrow.

Once everyone had quieted down, Zhou Yimin began:

“We are the successors of commun*ism.”

Right out the gate, it was a bombshell.

Elder One, Elder Two, Elder Three, and the others all had their eyes light up at once. These lyrics were excellent! Whether the tune was catchy or not didn’t matter—this kind of lyric would definitely win over the leaders.

The children echoed: “We are the successors of commun*ism.”

Zhou Yimin: “Inheriting the glorious tradition of the revol*utionary forebears.”

The elders’ spirits jolted again.

If it weren’t for fear of interrupting the lesson, they’d have started clapping already.

Suddenly, they became genuinely excited for the upcoming performance. At this rate, their siheyuan really might end up representing the entire subdistrict in the district-wide performance—maybe even make a splash in the capital.

The kids: “Inheriting the glorious tradition of the revol*utionary forebears.”

Zhou Yimin: “Loving the motherland, loving the people.”

…

The whole song was full of main-theme content—perfectly suited to the people of this era.

And everyone there loved it.

After one round of singing, applause broke out around them, led by Elder One.

In his mind, with this song, their siheyuan’s place representing the subdistrict onstage was all but guaranteed.

If they didn’t get picked, he’d seriously suspect some kind of corruption.

“Yimin, you really are amazing!”

“This song’s great—those brats are lucky.”

“Listen up! This song must only be sung in our courtyard until the performance. Understand?”

…

(End of chapter)