Chapter 199: Gaining a Bit of Credit

Director Ding got the answer he wanted and prepared to return to the steel factory.

Zhou Yimin quickly saw him off, and as Director Ding was about to get in the car, he discreetly stuffed two items inside.

“Take care, Director! I won’t keep you.” Zhou Yimin helped close the car door and gave him a wave.

Director Ding found it both funny and touching, but he didn’t reject the gesture.

When subordinates give you something, it’s a way of showing you’re their person. As for the gifts themselves, Director Ding didn’t care too much about those—what mattered more was Zhou Yimin’s attitude toward his leadership.

“Remember to come back to the factory tomorrow,” Director Ding said to Zhou Yimin.

He still needed to put in a good word for him.

He wasn’t the type to let his own people suffer. Any merit or benefits that belonged to his people—he would fight for them. Otherwise, they’d grow disillusioned.

“Got it!” Zhou Yimin nodded.

Director Ding signaled for the driver to go.

The car belonged to the steel factory. Usually, only the factory director and a few top leaders had the right to ride in it. But since the factory had sent him to investigate the performance of the threshing machine, they had let him use it this time.

After they were on the road, Director Ding opened the two items Zhou Yimin had slipped in: a foam box and a bag.

He opened the foam box first—and what he saw inside stunned even someone as well-traveled as Director Ding.

Inside was a pair of large lobsters, each as thick as a hand, probably weighing three to five jin apiece. Next to them were around a dozen abalone, each about half the size of a palm.

Director Ding had been to the southern coastal regions before, so he recognized these things.

Even in those areas, such seafood wasn’t common. They were quite rare and precious.

He immediately understood: Zhou Yimin must have access to some exclusive supply chain, or at least knew someone capable enough to transport these intact all the way to the capital.

This was premium stuff.

Truth be told, Director Ding couldn’t even bear to eat them himself.

“I’ll take these home to my father-in-law,” he thought.

Then he opened the bag—just peanuts.

As a leader, Director Ding quickly understood Zhou Yimin’s intention. He set the bag of peanuts aside and said to the driver, “Xiao Li, take this bag of peanuts home with you. They’re from Yimin.”

When Director Ding had opened the foam box and the bag, the driver, Li Fu, had sneaked a glance.

Hearing this, Li Fu lit up with joy. “Thank you, Director Ding!”

When there’s something to be gained, there’s no need to be shy. Clearly, Director Ding didn’t care much for the peanuts. After all, he was a man of taste.

But for Li Fu, those peanuts were a real treat.

Director Ding waved it off. “Why are you thanking me? They’re from Yimin.”

“Yes, yes. I’ll make sure to thank Comrade Yimin properly next time,” Li Fu replied enthusiastically, already knowing what to do.

…

After seeing Director Ding off, Zhou Yimin returned to the wheat threshing yard.

The threshing machine, powered by the villagers, was running fast. Bundles of wheat stalks were being fed into the machine, and the grains were quickly separated, pouring out from the back of the machine into a growing mound of wheat.

Someone nearby was gathering the wheat into piles.

Holding the grains, the old Party secretary smiled.

The threshing machine was even more effective than he had expected—it cleaned the wheat very thoroughly.

“At this rate, we can finish harvesting the wheat at least two days early,” the old secretary said.

Chen Hua, from the commune, looked at the three threshing machines and couldn’t help saying, “Secretary Zhou, Comrade Yimin. If these machines can be widely used, they’d be a huge help for both the summer and autumn harvests…”

His implication was clear—he wanted Zhou Yimin to hand over one of the machines so he could bring it back to the commune. Then he could report it up the chain and push for mass production to distribute it across the countryside.

Zhou Yimin understood what he was after. He just wanted to catch a bit of the spotlight and get some credit.

Reporting it would bring him benefits, even though the steel factory leadership would surely report it as well. But that didn’t prevent others from sharing in the recognition. Industry and agriculture were different departments.

And this threshing machine concerned both.

The steel factory’s report would go to the Ministry of Industry; theirs would go to the Ministry of Agriculture. The two wouldn’t conflict.

Since he still needed to give some face to the people from the commune, Zhou Yimin thought it over and nodded, pointing to one of the machines. “Sure. Take this one back to the commune.”

Chen Hua cupped his fists in gratitude. “Thank you, Comrade Yimin. Don’t worry, the commune won’t take it for nothing. And if you ever need anything in the future, just come find me.”

A favor repaid with a favor—that’s how it worked.

“Alright. If anything comes up, I’ll definitely come to you, Brother Chen.”

That was exactly the promise he wanted.

Now that he had someone in the commune, things would be even more secure.

Chen Hua was overjoyed. He stopped overseeing the work and called over two or three villagers to help him haul the machine back to the commune.

On the way out, he said something to the old Party secretary. Whatever it was, the old man was grinning ear to ear. Zhou Yimin knew it had to be something good.

“Secretary, what’s got you so happy? Come on, share the joy!” someone nearby asked curiously.

But the old man just gave a playful scold and told everyone to get back to work. Then he leaned over and whispered to Zhou Yimin—Chen Hua had told him they could fudge the numbers a bit during the wheat harvest report.

That was basically an open invitation to stash away some grain.

For Zhoujiazhuang, this was great news. When the time came to turn in grain to the state, they wouldn’t have to hand over so much, which meant they could keep more for the village. Having grain in hand gave them confidence.

Even if they didn’t get that machine back, it was worth it.

“We should stay in touch with Chen Hua,” Zhou Yimin said.

“Absolutely,” the old secretary agreed with a nod.

Now that they had someone in the commune, Zhoujiazhuang would have support if they ever wanted to do anything in the future—and a warning if anyone from the commune ever tried to mess with them.

Back at the steel factory, Director Ding first reported to Factory Director Hu and the other leaders, focusing on the performance of the threshing machine and emphasizing its importance to China’s agriculture.

Especially in the vast rural areas, it could greatly ease the burden of labor for farmers and speed up both summer and autumn harvests.

“Good! The Party secretary and I will report this to the higher-ups. As for the specifics, we’ll hold a meeting tomorrow morning—everyone must attend on time,” said Factory Director Hu.

Soon, a large-scale harvest campaign would kick off across the north, so they needed to get this people-benefiting tool into production quickly to aid the farmers.

After that, Director Ding didn’t stay at the factory.

He brought the seafood straight to his father-in-law’s house.

Earlier, he had checked—the lobsters were still alive. Such fresh lobster was extremely rare in the capital.

He suspected that even if he gave them to his father-in-law, the old man might not eat them himself either. More likely, he’d use them as a gift to gain greater advantage or political capital.

Who knows—he might even use it to climb one step higher.

(End of Chapter)