Chapter 99: How Did an Outside Factory Get the Advantage?!

A day later, the students put on their school uniforms, and the entire atmosphere of the school transformed.

The uniforms were simple and modest in design, somewhat similar to the military training outfits seen in later years.

The older kids and the very young ones alike were envious of their siblings who got to wear brand-new clothes. The younger children yearned to grow up quickly so they could start school, eat good food, and wear new outfits.

Those who had aged out of school could only feel regret—they had missed their time.

There was no doubt about it: the children of Zhoujiazhuang were fortunate.

Zhou Zhigao was well aware that the level of care their school gave its students wasn’t something even schools in the city could necessarily match.

Sure, the teaching environment in the city might be better, and the quality of the teachers couldn’t be compared to what the countryside had. But which city school provided free meals? And cheap uniforms?

In all the surrounding villages, not a single one offered anything close.

Zhou Yimin hadn’t gone back to the city. He had stocked Da Peng’s room with enough goods to sell for several days.

What he didn’t know was that over at Zhao Zhenguo’s noodle factory, the leadership was in a complete panic.

And it wasn’t just their factory’s management—somehow, word had gotten out, and a high-ranking official had suddenly paid them a visit, inquiring about the progress of their instant noodle development.

Progress? What progress could they possibly have?

They had been working through the night, failing over and over again.

The two words “foreign exchange” carried massive weight.

Just hearing the news had prompted the higher-ups to send someone down. Clearly, they had caught wind of the fact that instant noodles were becoming popular overseas, and they were thrilled.

High-tech products might be beyond them, but surely instant noodles were doable, right?

If they could export them, they could generate precious foreign exchange and also help alleviate the country’s current employment difficulties.

After all, if they could start producing instant noodles for export, wouldn’t the noodle factory have to increase its output? That meant expansion, obviously!

What used to be a few hundred employees could very well become a factory of several thousand.

The higher-ups had already begun discussing the topic of instant noodles.

“Still no results?” Factory Director Yang lit another cigarette. He had stayed up late with the others the night before.

Zhao Zhenguo, sporting dark circles under his eyes, nodded and said, “If you pour boiling water over it, it just turns into mush.”

“Maybe… you should go find your cousin?” Director Yang was starting to feel the pressure.

At first, when the factory was just experimenting slowly, he had been content to wait. But now that higher-ups were watching and expecting results, the pressure was immense.

It was obvious how seriously the top brass were taking the development of instant noodles.

More precisely, they were taking foreign exchange very seriously.

As a factory director, he understood their urgency.

All across the country, industries needed foreign currency to buy equipment, especially for major research projects. Whether it was machines, technology, or raw materials, they were heavily reliant on imports.

Zhao Zhenguo stubbed out his cigarette, stood up, and nodded. “Then I’ll head back.”

“Go on, you’re not much help hanging around the factory anyway.”

Zhao Zhenguo: “…”

Why say the painful truth out loud?

“Wait a second!” Director Yang suddenly called out to Zhao Zhenguo, pulled open his desk drawer, and took out a wad of ration tickets—including one for a sewing machine.

“You’re going to ask someone for help empty-handed? Take these.”

Zhao Zhenguo didn’t stand on ceremony. He grabbed the tickets and even glanced at what else was in the drawer.

Director Yang laughed and cursed, “Get outta here! That’s all I’ve got. Once your cousin solves our factory’s problem, of course he’ll get a generous reward.”

As long as instant noodles got made, everything else was negotiable.

Zhao Zhenguo went to the steel factory first—after all, it was work hours, and most people would likely be there.

Unfortunately, Zhou Yimin wasn’t your average worker.

Team Lead Wang was surprised. “Looking for Yimin? Who are you to him? What’s this about?”

These days, Zhou Yimin was the treasured gem of the purchasing department—no, the logistics department, or even the whole steel factory!

Seeing that this guy was from another factory, Wang became wary.

Trying to poach someone?

Not a chance.

Zhao Zhenguo laughed awkwardly and explained, “He’s my cousin. A few days ago, he…”

He gave a quick summary.

Team Lead Wang: “…”

He was speechless.

Inventing things at the noodle factory now? What kind of nonsense was this? What was there to develop about instant noodles? Just to save a little time while eating? Who the hell didn’t have time to eat? What people lacked was noodles, not time!

Why waste energy developing that?

He felt like Zhou Yimin was getting distracted from the real work this time.

With all that time and energy, wouldn’t it be better to bring back a couple of wild boars? It had been a while since the guy had sent any game meat back to the factory, and Wang had gotten used to it.

“My cousin—is he in the factory or not? Tell him to come out and see me. The higher-ups are waiting for him back at the noodle factory!” Zhao Zhenguo had no choice but to name-drop the higher-ups to pressure Wang into letting the guy go.

Team Lead Wang was stunned. One instant noodle recipe had actually gotten the attention of the top brass?

“What kind of noodle could be that important?”

Zhao Zhenguo was silent for three seconds, then spat out two words: “Foreign exchange.”

Team Lead Wang’s eyes went wide in disbelief.

He understood, but he didn’t dare believe it. Even their steel factory didn’t have a single exportable product—what made a noodle factory think they could?

“He’s not in the factory. He hasn’t come in these past two days.” As he spoke, Team Lead Wang was also a little annoyed.

Zhao Zhenguo was exasperated: If he’s not even here, why did you talk my ear off?

Goddammit!

What a waste of time and saliva. Why didn’t you say so sooner?

Zhao Zhenguo turned on his heel and headed to the siheyuan where Zhou Yimin lived. They had eaten there together once, and Zhou had given him the address.

Meanwhile, Team Lead Wang immediately went to Director Zheng’s office.

“Knock before you come in,” Director Zheng barked as Wang barged in. He wasn’t pleased, and he kicked him back out to knock properly and learn some manners.

Wang opened his mouth, but had no choice—he turned around and knocked.

“Come in. If you’ve got something to say, spit it out.”

“Director Zheng, big news,” Wang started.

“What big news?”

Director Zheng didn’t believe it. If something serious had happened, he would have heard about it first—he had the higher rank, after all. Any information would come through him first.

So what could Wang possibly know before him?

“I heard Yimin’s come up with a noodle recipe that could generate foreign exchange. Just now, someone from the noodle factory came looking for him, looking all anxious, said some leader is waiting on him,” Wang rattled off in one breath.

Director Zheng’s face mirrored Wang’s earlier expression—not just similar, but exactly the same.

“Why didn’t you say something sooner if it was this big? Still dawdling like that? Where is Yimin?” Director Zheng was suddenly panicking too.

No one understood better than them just how valuable the words “foreign exchange” were.

How the hell did some other factory get the advantage first?!

Wang was silently bitter: You’re the one who made me go back out and knock again!

“He’s not in the factory. Hasn’t been here the past two days.”

“Then go find him!”

Director Zheng, meanwhile, headed straight for Director Ding.

(End of Chapter)