Chapter 252: Free Meal

Director Li led the rest of the staff as they waited to get on the truck. Director Li sat in the driver’s cabin, while the others had no choice but to sit in the truck bed.

Fortunately, there was no such concept as overloading yet, nor any rules against mixing people and cargo. Otherwise, he might’ve had his driver’s license revoked.

It wasn’t Director Li’s first time riding in a vehicle, but it was her first time in a truck. As for the other staff members, let alone trucks, for some of them, just riding anything motorized was a novelty.

Unlike in later years, sitting in the back of a truck wasn’t considered embarrassing.

Having a vehicle really made a difference. Normally, it would take at least ten minutes on foot, but with the truck, they arrived at the destination in under five minutes.

After Zhou Yimin parked the truck, everyone reluctantly got off. They were used to the long walks—this time the ride felt way too short. They hadn’t even warmed up their seats before it was time to get off.

On the ground, there was a large pile of miscellaneous items: tables, chairs, molds, and all kinds of equipment.

Director Li clapped her hands and said, “Comrades, let’s get to work.”

Thankfully Zhou Yimin had come with the truck to help. Otherwise, with this mountain of things, there was no way they’d finish moving everything before eight or nine in the evening.

Everyone got to work at once, scrambling to lift and carry. Zhou Yimin didn’t stay idle either and joined in to help with the hauling.

Director Li said, “Yimin, you don’t need to help—we already owe you a big favor for coming.”

“Aunt Li, no need to stand on ceremony. I’ve got something for you later too,” Zhou Yimin said with a smile.

Hearing that, Director Li didn’t insist further. After all, many hands make light work.

Everyone worked together to load up the truck. It quickly became clear that one trip wouldn’t be enough—they’d have to make two runs.

So Zhou Yimin helped make two deliveries. By around seven in the evening, they finally got everything moved into the processing factory. Everyone was thoroughly exhausted.

They hadn’t eaten much to begin with, and doing hard labor on an empty stomach left many of them struggling to hold on.

Director Li then said, “Everyone’s worked hard today. The cafeteria has already prepared dinner for you all—and this one’s on the house.”

To make this dinner more substantial, they’d even added some meat for extra energy. But she didn’t mention it outright—she figured it’d be a pleasant little surprise.

Zhou Yimin took the chance to excuse himself. “Aunt Li, I’ll head home now.”

He’d been helping move things too and was already getting hungry. When he got back home, he planned to sit down and have a proper meal.

“Where are you going? Come have dinner at Aunt Li’s place,” Director Li said.

After all the help Zhou Yimin had provided, not inviting him to dinner just wouldn’t be right.

Zhou Yimin didn’t refuse. In the city, he rarely cooked for himself. If there was a meal to be mooched, he’d mooch it; otherwise, he’d eat at the state-run restaurant.

He started the truck and drove Director Li to her home.

Luckily, the roads were still fairly wide, and her courtyard home wasn’t tucked away in some narrow alley. Otherwise, with his driving skills, he might’ve hesitated to navigate through.

Some expert drivers could park so close to the wall that there’d be less than a finger’s width of space. You could imagine how skilled they were.

Before long, they arrived at Director Li’s home. The sound of the truck drew the attention of many, especially the children.

Seeing the truck up close made them extremely curious. Trucks were rare sights, and seeing one up close was a real treat. The braver kids even reached out to touch it.

The adults, on the other hand, were envious of the driver.

Among the “Eight Key Jobs,” truck drivers ranked at the very top—even higher than sales clerks. Wherever they went, they were treated like VIPs.

Zhou Yimin didn’t stop anyone from looking. The trucks of this era were well-built, unlike the ones from certain island countries later on, where a light push could dent the body. These could take a real beating and still be fine.

Besides, people back then had a lot more respect for public property, especially for something like a truck. No one would dare intentionally damage it.

After parking, Zhou Yimin grabbed the two bags of milk powder he had prepared beforehand and followed Director Li inside.

When she saw what he was carrying, her expression lit up.

If it had been anything else, she might’ve politely declined. But milk powder? She couldn’t turn that down—if she did, her grandson might go hungry.

Zhao Zhenguo saw his mother come home with Zhou Yimin following behind and immediately stood up, calling out to his wife to make an extra dish.

“Brother Zhao, Sister-in-law, sorry to bother you today,” Zhou Yimin said as he handed over the milk powder.

Seeing the two bags, Zhao Zhenguo quickly said, “Yimin, really—thank you so much! We were just about to run out. I’ve been stressing about what to do when it’s gone!”

Even though his whole family held official positions, milk powder was just too rare. Even being a director didn’t make it easy to get.

“When you run out, just come find me. I can still get my hands on a few bags,” Zhou Yimin replied.

Zhao Zhenguo didn’t stand on ceremony. “Yimin, looks like my son’s going to be counting on you from now on.”

“What are you saying—don’t dump everything on Yimin,” Director Li scolded her son with a glare.

Zhao Zhenguo just chuckled sheepishly.

At home, there was no need to keep up appearances. Zhou Yimin wasn’t an outsider, so casual talk was fine.

“It’s nothing. That’s my nephew—we’ll call milk powder my treat,” Zhou Yimin said generously.

He only spoke that way with people he was close to and trusted.

As the conversation continued, Director Li brought up the matter of the processing factory. She had a lot to say about it—this was the first time the street office was trying its hand at running a factory, and they had zero experience. She was terrified of messing it up.

There were a lot of eyes on this—district-level leadership included. Everyone wanted to see how it would go.

If it worked, it could be a great way to ease employment issues and might even be promoted more broadly.

Half an hour later, Zhao Zhenguo’s wife called out, “Dinner’s ready.”

The meal was excellent by the standards of the time—three dishes and a soup. Most ordinary folks wouldn’t even eat this well during the New Year holidays.

After dinner, Zhou Yimin checked the time and saw it was getting late.

“Brother Zhao, Aunt Li, Uncle, Sister-in-law, it’s getting late and I have to go to the village tomorrow to collect supplies, so I’ll head out now.”

Zhao Zhenguo didn’t try to stop him. Instead, he handed over a small bundle and said, “Yimin, I know you have your own channels, but please don’t look down on these small things.”

Inside were a few apples and a two-jin piece of pork.

That was the best his family could come up with.

The apples in particular weren’t easy to get—he had managed to get them through sheer luck.

“Why would I? Thanks, Brother Zhao,” Zhou Yimin said with a smile, not refusing.

While these things weren’t much to him, fruit was considered a rare delicacy in the capital. Without the right connections, you couldn’t get it at all.

Transport wasn’t what it would be in the future—fruit had to be shipped all the way from the south.

Of course, apples didn’t count—they were abundant in the north.

(End of Chapter)