Chapter 297: A Dog-Blood Drama

Minister Gao hadn’t expected to gain something extra from this meal. It seemed that this young comrade’s abilities were even more impressive than the rumors suggested.

At that moment, Li Guang asked, “Comrade Yimin, are you interested in going abroad with me?”

After this exchange, he had developed a genuine liking for Zhou Yimin and wanted to take him abroad to broaden his horizons, which would certainly benefit Zhou Yimin as well.

“Elder Li, you can’t be poaching talent right in front of me.” Minister Gao joked.

He hadn’t expected Li Guang to make a move either. Clearly, Li Guang held Zhou Yimin in high regard—otherwise, he wouldn’t be trying to take him overseas after just one meeting.

Li Guang knew that his move wasn’t exactly proper, so he just gave an awkward smile.

Zhou Yimin politely declined, “Elder Li, thank you for your kind offer, but my grandparents are still here, and I need to take care of them.”

Li Guang was a little surprised. Zhou Yimin had refused without even a moment’s hesitation.

One had to understand—opportunities to go abroad weren’t easy to come by. Many people wanted to leave but had no way.

But this also revealed Zhou Yimin’s resolve. His filial piety was a good thing, so Li Guang no longer pushed.

Minister Gao finally relaxed after hearing Zhou Yimin’s response. To shift the mood, he assigned a task: “Yimin, can you work on developing that airbag you mentioned as soon as possible?”

If a seatbelt alone could bring the country such benefits, then combining it with an airbag—where the whole would be greater than the sum of its parts—would bring even higher returns.

Li Guang chimed in as well, suggesting they bundle the seatbelt and airbag together, which would also give them more say in pricing.

“Minister Gao, Elder Li, don’t worry. I’ll do my best to develop the airbag in the shortest time possible,” Zhou Yimin promised.

He raised a request of his own: “I’ll need the help of our senior technicians, and even support from other factories. That’s the only way to get it done quickly.”

After all, airbags involved far more complexity than seatbelts. Even with Master Kong’s help, it wouldn’t be easy.

“Yimin, don’t worry. I’ll instruct Director Hu to fully support you. Don’t concern yourself with other issues—just focus on developing the airbag,” said Minister Gao, ready to greenlight everything for him.

Zhou Yimin replied, “Good. With your support, Minister Gao, I’ll do my best.”

The meal was, all in all, an enjoyable one.

After the meal, Minister Gao had intended to take Zhou Yimin home, but Zhou Yimin declined, saying that a bit of exercise after eating would be better, and that he could just ride his bike back.

Minister Gao didn’t insist and instead took Li Guang back to the guesthouse.

The next morning, Zhou Yimin went straight to the steel factory. After all, he had made a solemn promise to Minister Gao and couldn’t take the task lightly.

As soon as he arrived, he headed straight to Director Hu’s office.

Even with Minister Gao’s backing, it was still only proper to inform Director Hu.

When he saw Zhou Yimin, Director Hu greeted him enthusiastically, “Yimin, Minister Gao already told me. You’ve really brought glory to our steel factory! If you need anyone, just let the workshop director know. I’ve already arranged it.”

With orders from Minister Gao himself, Director Hu wouldn’t dare go through the motions. Otherwise, there would be serious consequences.

“Great. With your support, Director, I’ll get to work,” Zhou Yimin replied. He was eager to get started on developing the airbag.

“Go on then! But remember to take care of your health while working,” Director Hu reminded him.

Zhou Yimin quickly made his way to the workshop, ready to ask the director there to assign a few veteran workers to help him.

Just then, Zhao Dezhi ran over, panting, “Team Leader Zhou, someone’s looking for you outside.”

Zhou Yimin was puzzled—who could be looking for him at this hour? Still, he made his way to the factory gate.

When he arrived, he saw three people standing at the gate, surrounded by factory workers and some idle folks who loved to watch a commotion.

Once people found out the trio was here for Zhou Yimin, their interest spiked.

Outstanding people always attract jealousy, and Zhou Yimin was no exception.

Although he was well-liked in the factory, that didn’t mean everyone adored him. No matter the era, there were always envious eyes.

They noticed that one of the three was a young woman, strikingly beautiful. Some onlookers immediately suspected a scandal—that Zhou Yimin had toyed with her feelings and she had come to confront him.

“This should be good,” someone whispered gleefully.

Another who had long disliked Zhou Yimin’s popularity sneered, “Exactly! I knew he wasn’t a good guy. Looks like he’s finally getting what he deserves.”

Since Zhou Yimin arrived, he had quickly become the ideal man in the eyes of many women in the factory. The girls in the publicity department and the infirmary all wanted to marry him.

That made many men in the factory jealous. Female workers were already few and far between, and even fewer were suitable for marriage. Now, they were all obsessed with Zhou Yimin. Some even compared their blind dates to him and found no one came close.

So, without realizing it, Zhou Yimin had gained many silent enemies—though he himself was unaware.

The young woman grew excited upon seeing Zhou Yimin and called out, “Comrade, I finally found you…”

With her words, those hoping to see Zhou Yimin fall flat were stunned.

Turned out, Zhou Yimin had saved someone.

Those hoping for a juicy scandal were sorely disappointed.

Worse still, this incident made him look even better.

A classic “hero saves the beauty” moment—played out by none other than Zhou Yimin.

Zhou Yimin looked at the girl and found her a bit familiar. After a moment of thought, he realized she was the girl he had saved yesterday on Bianyi Street. “Ah, it’s you. I almost didn’t recognize you—sorry about that.”

He hadn’t given the incident much thought at all.

“Comrade, if it weren’t for you saving me yesterday afternoon, I don’t know what I would’ve done,” the girl said emotionally.

Reputation was everything these days. If what happened yesterday had gotten out, no one would dare propose to her.

Ever since she came of age, she’d had countless suitors—but none caught her eye, so she remained single.

But yesterday, Zhou Yimin had burst into her life like a hero, and he had lingered in her thoughts all night and into today—leading to this very scene.

The hero-saves-the-beauty trope never gets old.

Of course, when the hero is handsome, the girl usually offers herself in gratitude. If the hero is ugly, the promise is often to repay him in the next life.

“There’s no need to thank me, Comrade. I believe anyone faced with the same situation would have stepped in,” Zhou Yimin said with a smile.

(End of Chapter)