Sha Zhu was detained by the security department for 10 days. During those 10 days, Sha Zhu became like a beggar.

It wasn't just Shazhu who changed, but also the Jia and Yan families, because they both had new additions to their families.

In the Jia family, Qin Huairu's third child, Huaihua, was born as expected. Because it wasn't a boy, Jia Zhangshi was so angry that she didn't care for her on the spot, taking her son and going home to sleep. In the end, Yi Zhonghai had to call an older woman to take care of her.

Meanwhile, Yan Jiecheng finally succeeded in his blind date, and his partner was still Yu Li. On the day of the blind date, Xu Damao, out of curiosity, went to see her. Yu Li was tall and thin, with slightly protruding cheekbones, and a very bony figure. He couldn't see anything pretty about her.

But that's understandable. A beautiful girl, especially one with an urban household registration, why would she marry into the Yan family? You see, beauty is an asset in any era, giving one many choices.

Both families were celebrating a happy occasion, but being stingy by nature, neither made any special gestures in the courtyard.

"Uncle, aren't you going to say anything about this big event in your family?" Xu Damao teased Yan Fugui.

"No, that won't do. After our two families have set a wedding date, we'll definitely invite everyone in the compound to have a good time." Yan Fugui was very happy, feeling that he had accomplished a major task for his parents.

To be honest, Old Yan is truly pitiful. He spent his entire life sacrificing his own comfort to raise his children to adulthood. However, due to issues with their education, none of his children have been dutiful to him since they grew up.

Seeing the happy events happening one after another in the compound, especially the eldest son of the Yan family who successfully found a match, while Sha Zhu, who was a few years older than him, was still locked up in the security department, the deaf old lady couldn't sit still and pulled Yi Zhonghai to discuss it.

“Zhonghai, you need to address Shazhu’s problem. Look at him, he’ll be 25 by the New Year, practically an old bachelor. If he doesn’t find someone now, it’ll be even harder for him to find someone later.” The old lady still felt sorry for her grandson.

“Grandma, who isn’t worried about Sha Zhu’s situation? Think about it, I’ve introduced him to a few people, but he doesn’t like them. What can I do? All the matchmakers in the neighborhood know that there’s a Sha Zhu in our Hongxing Courtyard. He’s not good-looking, but he has extremely high standards. Nobody wants to take on Sha Zhu’s job.”

Yi Zhonghai spat. At this time, Old Yi was still thinking about finding a suitable woman for Sha Zhu to settle down with, so that they would have someone to help them when they got old. But Sha Zhu's standards were really high; he was completely more interested in Qin Huairu's looks than Sha Zhu himself.

"Sigh, I can see that with Qin Huairu around, Shazhu can't settle down. Why don't we try to matchmake Shazhu and Qin Huairu in Zhonghai?" The old lady was quick-witted, thinking that Qin Huairu was a fertile woman and it wouldn't be a bad deal for Shazhu to be his wife.

"Grandma, you can't say that outside. If Jia's sister-in-law hears it, she'll definitely come after you." Yi Zhonghai thought to himself, "Goodness, this old lady's idea is really something else."

"I'll just tell you about it," the old lady said.

“Actually, I’ve had the same thought as you, but it’s simply impossible if Jia Zhangshi is around. With Jia Zhangshi’s personality, anyone who makes a move on her daughter-in-law is considered to be taking away her retirement, and she will fight them to the death,” Yi Zhonghai said.

After discussing it for a long time, the two decided that they had no choice but to continue looking for a matchmaker, even if it cost more money.

-------------------------------------

"Section Chief, look, the dispatch room is all staffed. Can I come back now?" Peng Shitou, the deputy section chief of the transportation section, approached Xu Damao, thinking about returning to work.

Previously, Xu Damao had transferred Peng Shitou and several others to help out in the dispatching office because there weren't enough staff. This arrangement took a long time, until recently when the factory leadership finally approved a recruitment plan, and five new people joined the dispatching office.

The reason the Political Department was willing to submit the Transportation Section's plan to the meeting was not because Qiao Erbao had given in, but because the Logistics Department was targeting the Political Department every day, bringing the relationship between the two sides to a near standstill.

Finally, internal disagreements arose within the Political Department, with several deputy directors plotting a rebellion. Ultimately, the Minister of Political Affairs was forced to submit the plan directly. For him, helping Qiao Erbao could only go so far; any further and his own position would be in jeopardy.

As soon as they found someone, Peng Shitou immediately came to Xu Damao to ask to return. During his time helping out in the dispatch room, Sun Lan treated him like a regular clerk, keeping him extremely busy every day. He had mentioned to Xu Damao several times before that he wanted to come back, or find someone else to replace him, but Xu Damao always brushed him off with the excuse that leaders should set an example.

"Here's what we'll do. You can help the dispatcher train the newbies over there. Once they're up to speed, you can come back. I estimate it'll be in about 10 days at most. Lao Peng, you've done so much so far, and the leaders are praising you for being so dedicated to the grassroots. You can't let us down at the last minute." Xu Damao gave him a pep talk.

As for why it's been about 10 days, it's because since the political department and logistics department reconciled, Xu Damao has formally recommended Sun Lan to higher authorities for the position of deputy section chief. We expect to hear from them in the next few days.

With Sun Lan keeping the other side in check, Xu Damao wouldn't have to worry about the stability of the rear and could do other things.

"Fine, I'll work a few more days and train the new guy." Peng Shitou was actually quite dissatisfied, but he couldn't argue with the powerful figure behind him; his backer had already retired, so he could only resign himself to working a few more days. Fortunately, this time it was only 10 days, and it would be easy to get through it if he just endured it.

Whether it was the Political Department trying to ease tensions with the Logistics Department, or Sun Lan herself exerting effort, the investigation into the deputy section chief was quickly initiated.

This time, only Sun Lan was included in the evaluation, so it was just a formality. Putting aside Sun Lan's family background, her contributions to the dispatching office over the years alone deserve promotion. These past few years, it's thanks to Sun Lan that dispatching has been upheld; otherwise, the factory's vehicle transportation would be a complete mess.

The Political Department held a routine talk with Xu Damao, and Xu Damao also spoke highly of Sun Lan.

"Section Chief Xu, congratulations! You're going to make another contribution this time," said Meng Jian, the head of the Cadre Section.

"No, Section Chief Meng, it was Sun Lan who promoted me, why are you congratulating me?" Xu Damao felt confused.

“We’re all brothers, why are you keeping this from me? The logistics department already reported the matter of the cars you guys managed to collect to the factory leaders, and they say the next meeting will discuss how to reward you,” Meng Jian explained to Xu Damao.

"This is nothing to mention, it's all work." Although he said that, Xu Damao was still quite happy.

Since connecting with the branch office, Huang Shu and his team have repaired five vehicles. Of these, two were given to the branch office, one to the security department, and the transportation department kept two for themselves. The branch office even sent a letter of thanks to the steel rolling mill, which pleased the factory leaders for a while. They just didn't expect the factory to give them a reward.