Chapter 262: Zhou Dafu Joins the Job

The sky brightened in an instant. Director Li and a group of subdistrict office clerks had already arrived at the processing plant. Several tables had been set up at the factory gate, and each clerk took a seat behind one of them.

Scenes like this didn’t feel strange to Director Li or the clerks from the subdistrict office.

After all, landing a job for free meant saving a lot of money. People would line up not just the night before, but even days in advance if necessary.

At that moment, Director Li shouted loudly, “Quiet! Everyone come to the clerks in an orderly manner to register. If anyone causes trouble or disobeys the rules, then sorry—this job opportunity won’t be yours.”

Some of the people in line had their own little plans, but hearing Director Li’s words dashed those thoughts. No one wanted to offend the clerks and risk losing their shot at a job.

That would be a real headache.

Soon, those at the front of the line began stepping forward in turn to register their personal information.

The information required wasn’t as complicated as it would be in later years, when it seemed like even your ancestors’ entire life stories had to be explained.

Back then, it was simple: name, education level, and class background.

Yes—class background.

At the time, your family’s class status was very important.

So the registration process went quickly, and the clerks were all experienced with this kind of work. There was no difficulty—each person’s information could be registered in under a minute.

Of course, this round wouldn’t be able to resolve unemployment for all the young people at once, but it could definitely take care of more than half.

According to the original plan, they were looking to fill five hundred positions. Any more than that, and they wouldn’t be able to balance the budget. If wages couldn’t be paid, then hiring more people would be pointless.

Most of the workers at the construction team were men. While it was said that women could hold up half the sky, when it came to physical strength, there was still a noticeable gap. Construction work mostly involved heavy labor, so at most they’d bring on a few women for more delicate tasks.

In truth, being able to place five hundred unemployed youths in one go already satisfied Director Li.

You couldn’t become rich overnight. As long as the processing plant developed well, even just a little overflow from the steel factory and the instant noodle plant would be enough to support hundreds of people.

After all, those two were massive factories with tens of thousands of workers. There was no fear of running out of work. Plus, there were still many other factories across the capital. If they could establish more collaborations, the youth unemployment problem that plagued her could eventually be solved.

Just then, an argument suddenly broke out, drawing everyone’s attention. Two people were in a heated dispute, and it looked like things were about to get physical.

Seeing this, Director Li felt her anger shoot to the top of her head. She shouted, “What do you two think you’re doing?”

This processing plant was her ticket to promotion—she couldn’t afford any mishaps.

Upon hearing her voice, the two men immediately separated.

They both started pointing fingers. “It’s his fault.”

Both instantly regretted their outburst. They were afraid they’d lose this hard-won opportunity just like that.

“Explain everything clearly. Everyone here saw what happened. If I find out you lied, you’ll have to deal with the consequences,” Director Li said sternly.

Frightened by her authority, the two men stammered out the whole story.

Turns out they had both been queuing properly at first, but when they noticed that Clerk Liao was handling registrations at the next table over, both tried to switch lines.

The reason? Everyone could guess—Clerk Liao was young, pretty, and unmarried. Both men were eyeing her.

Marrying a subdistrict office clerk would be a huge boon both personally and for their families.

Upon hearing this, the onlookers began commenting:

“These two really think toads can eat swan meat. Wishful thinking!”

“Exactly. As if Clerk Liao would be interested in either of them. If anyone’s a better fit, it’s someone like me,” one shameless guy chimed in.

The people nearby gave him side-eyes and quickly stepped away to avoid being lumped in with the bold-faced ones.

Director Li felt a bit exasperated after hearing their explanation.

She was well aware of Clerk Liao’s beauty. She then said sternly, “This time, since it’s your first offense, I’ll give you another chance. But if anyone breaks the rules again, don’t blame me for being harsh.”

“Thank you, Director Li. We won’t dare again,” the two quickly promised.

They each went to a different clerk to register their information—neither dared to approach Clerk Liao again, afraid of being mocked for lacking self-awareness.

After that little incident, everything went smoothly. People at that time still had some basic manners—no one tried to cut in line or cause further chaos.

Zhou Dazhong checked the time and saw it was about right, so he left a little earlier than usual. After all, he had to take Zhou Dafu to the HR department. The guy didn’t know his way around yet, and it might take forever to find it on his own.

Zhou Dafu hurried him, saying, “Dazhong, can you be a little more enthusiastic? Walk faster, will you?”

If the steel factory had already opened for the day, he’d have gone on his own. He was practically itching to get started. This was the job he had long dreamed of—and as a driver, no less—so he was especially excited.

“Alright, alright, I’ll walk faster, okay?” Zhou Dazhong replied helplessly.

Looking at Zhou Dafu now reminded him of his own first days—he, too, had started work full of energy. But over time, that fire would cool down.

The two of them walked briskly toward the steel factory, though along the way, Zhou Dafu kept urging him on.

If Zhou Dazhong didn’t have such a good temper, he would’ve ignored him already. Saying it two or three times was enough—but repeating it over and over? That was annoying.

When they arrived, the gatekeeper stopped them. Zhou Dafu had an unfamiliar face and wasn’t wearing the steel factory uniform, so the guard asked, “What are you doing at the steel factory?”

“He’s a new employee, here to report in. This is his letter of introduction,” Zhou Dazhong explained, handing over the letter.

The guard read it carefully and, seeing nothing wrong, allowed Zhou Dafu inside.

Zhou Dafu, like a villager entering the city for the first time, was curious about everything in the factory. Every now and then he would ask Zhou Dazhong about the factory rules, worried that a single misstep could cost him this hard-earned job.

Zhou Dazhong didn’t hold anything back. He told him everything he knew. After all, they were from the same village, and both had been brought in by Uncle Sixteen—he couldn’t let Uncle Sixteen lose face.

(End of chapter)