At Xu Damao's house, although Yan Fugui did not immediately agree to do anything, it did not affect his speed of eating and drinking. It wasn't until the third aunt came back and urged them to go home and sleep that Yan Fugui looked at the little bit of oil in his bowl with a reluctant expression.

It's almost 1961, and this is arguably the time when the country is facing the most severe food shortage. The Yan family's situation is slightly better than before, but they still go a long time without being able to afford oily or meaty dishes, which is why Yan Fugui has this attitude.

"Da Mao, you've entrusted such an important matter to Third Uncle. Can he handle it well? After all, many people on your side haven't been able to do it." After the Yan family members had walked away, Wang Minzhi asked with concern.

“Hehe, it’s hard to say. If we can’t complete it, it’s like failing to take the city. But Uncle San is one of the people inside the city. If we’re attacking the city, he can just open the city gates, which would make things much easier. At the very least, he can set some fires inside the city to disrupt the order and distract the defenders, which would also benefit our attack,” Xu Damao said.

“You could have just told me to make Uncle San a mole. But he’s just an ordinary teacher, can he really complete the task you assigned?” Wang Minzhi pouted.

"This third uncle is a master scheming man, scheming in the compound and at school. Don't underestimate him just because he seems unremarkable. If you give him the motivation, you never know what kind of motivation he might unleash."

"Alright, let's not talk about him anymore. The reward you gave me today wasn't enough at work, so let's continue." Xu Damao chuckled.

Over there, Yan Fugui, who was originally drunk, was completely sober as soon as he got home and sat at the table sighing.

"Dad, Xu Damao's request came true today, so Yu Like and I can both go to work at the auto repair shop," Yan Jiecheng said excitedly.

This kid, who was always being bossed around in the steel rolling mill workshop, had long dreamed of becoming a master craftsman and getting his hands dirty. Moreover, if Yu Li could also go to work, then the two of them would be both employed, going to and from get off work together every day, which would make many people envious.

“You’re still too green, kid. You think this is something easy to handle? If I don’t do it well, I’ll offend the school to death,” Yan Fugui scolded his son.

“Dad, if this were an easy thing to do, Xu Damao wouldn’t have specially invited you over for dinner, nor would he have agreed to help us solve our job problem.”

If it were easy, countless people would be scrambling to get it done.

Seeing that her father-in-law was backing down before even starting the ceremony, Yu Li, who was standing nearby, began to speak.

"That makes sense, but it's really difficult. You don't know, many companies, both inside and outside the steel mill, have tried to get their hands on that piece of land next to our school, but none of them have succeeded."

"Our principal is obsessed with setting up a middle school there. He'll retaliate against anyone who touches that land. He's been good to me; he even officiated your wedding. How could I possibly go against him?" Yan Fugui said, revealing his true feelings.

"Dad, I believe you. With your cunning, no one can make you suffer," Yan Jiecheng chimed in.

That night, Yan Fugui couldn't sleep a wink, thinking about how to deal with the land issue. The next day, as soon as it was light, he knocked on Xu Damao's door and discussed the matter with Xu Damao for more than half an hour.

"Uncle, it's a good thing I'm on your side, otherwise I'd be sold out and still have to count the money for you." Xu Damao commented to Yan Fugui as he left.

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

A few days later, an inspection team from the district education bureau visited Hongxing Primary School for study and exchange.

The inspection team members praised the teaching quality and achievements of Hongxing Primary School in recent years, and held the principal, Jiang Changkong, in high esteem.

"Principal Jiang is the first person in our district's education system to promote education and benefit society. Such a talent should go to bigger places and higher levels," commented a member of the inspection team.

It would be a lie to say Jiang Changkong wasn't happy about the praise from the district education bureau leaders. It's a genuine joy to have your work recognized by more people.

However, he had his own goals and his own shrewdness, especially since he belonged to the steel rolling mill, which was part of the metallurgical system, and thus on a completely different level from the district. Therefore, Principal Jiang remained very calm in the face of everyone's praise.

When the district education bureau visited Hongxing Primary School, they also discovered the large number of factory buildings, and some staff members even went to the edge of the factory buildings for a tour.

This made Jiang Changkong very uneasy. Could it be that the district also had its eye on that piece of land? It's true what they say: ten years of nurturing talent goes unnoticed, but one day of demolition brings it to the attention of the whole world.

Fortunately, the district inspection team only paid slight attention and did not inquire in detail, so Jiang Changkong was relieved. However, there were quite a few people who were interested.

The district education bureau had only been gone a few days when the steel mill's logistics department held another departmental meeting at Hongxing Primary School. These kinds of departmental meetings are often held in different locations; the main point is that everyone sits together afterwards and chats about life.

At the meeting, Xu Damao, as the head of the transportation department, did not attend but instead sent his deputy, Sun Lan, to attend in his place. At that time, Xu Damao was out visiting auto repair shops every day and was unwilling to attend even small meetings.

"Principal Jiang, I heard you rejected the auto repair shop's request to build a factory across the street from you?" Deputy Director Gao Jin asked during a casual chat in the middle of the meeting.

Jiang Changkong was also a veteran of the steel rolling mill. He knew that Xu Damao had an unusual relationship with the deputy director in front of him and thought that the other party was making trouble for him because he had not allowed the people from the auto repair shop to enter the school last time.

"Director Gao, it's not that we rejected the auto repair shop."

"We're a school with so many children running around. If we let so many outsiders bring in their machinery, it could endanger the children's lives. I can't bear that responsibility, neither can the auto repair shop, and neither can our steel rolling mill."

Jiang Changkong was a little angry. This auto repair shop was really persistent, haunting him all the time, so his answer at this moment was somewhat disrespectful to Gao Jin.

Little did he know that Gao Jin had been neglected so many times over the years that he didn't care about the other person's words at all and continued to talk with a smile.

"Oh, is that so? Then you've really lost out. I heard that after the auto repair shop is built, we're planning to cooperate with you to build housing and solve the employees' housing problem together."

After Gao Jin finished speaking, he fell silent. He had achieved his goal for the day, unaware that his words would spread like wildfire throughout Hongxing Elementary School. Afterwards, different versions of the story emerged.

Some versions say that the auto repair shop's cooperation in building houses was a sham, and the real purpose was to trick Hongxing Primary School into agreeing to build the shop; other versions say that the auto repair shop really wanted to build houses, but Principal Jiang disagreed, wanting to develop secondary education.

Some people over there said that if Principal Jiang and the land were to be transferred to the district education bureau immediately, it would be because they didn't want the auto repair shop to come in.