Upon entering the bedroom, I saw a middle-aged woman in a purple dress busy cleaning. A child beside her stared at the fruit on the table, drooling, but dared not touch it.
Lu Yuan coughed softly, then took out a bag of beef jerky from his pocket and gestured to the little boy who was swallowing hard.
A glint suddenly appeared in the other person's eyes, but then he turned to look at Section Chief Liu sitting in the chair, yet dared not come forward.
Seeing the embarrassment on Section Chief Liu's face, Lu Yuan smiled and said, "Section Chief Liu, it's just some homemade beef jerky. Take some for the child to eat!"
Section Chief Liu didn't want to see his child like this in front of others, and was about to refuse when he saw his child swallowing hard. He immediately coughed lightly to cover his embarrassment and said, "Hurry up and thank your brother!"
The little boy grabbed a handful of soy sauce beef jerky, said thank you, and ran back to his room.
As expected, Section Chief Liu was brewing tea. There was a tea tray and various tea utensils on the table, and the water in the teapot was about to boil again, filling the room with the aroma of tea.
After exchanging pleasantries for a while, the three got down to business.
Xiaoshan's father gently shifted his body, then smiled broadly at Section Chief Liu and said, "Section Chief Liu, look at my son-in-law, he has a friend who owns a factory that can manufacture a batch of rat traps. However, they're currently facing a severe steel shortage, so they're planning to purchase a batch of steel from our factory. What do you think..."
"Oh? You can produce rat traps? That's good news! But as you know, our factory's regulations are that all the steel we use is supplied to the municipality; it's really not easy to sell to other factories!"
"Uncle Liu, we don't want finished steel, just some scraps that you don't need."
Section Chief Liu's expression immediately softened, and Lu Yuan immediately understood that there was a hidden meaning in the other party's words. It was not easy to sell out, which meant that there was still a chance to sell out.
"Uncle Liu, look, I still have some fruit trees at home, and they'll be ripe soon. The children are growing a lot, and they can't do without fruit. You can't buy any outside either. Why don't I bring some home when the fruit is ripe?"
However, when Section Chief Liu's wife, who was mopping the floor half-heartedly, heard Lu Yuan say that there was still fruit at home, a look of surprise appeared on her face.
They had overheard the conversation and, seeing Section Chief Liu hesitate, immediately put down the mop and walked over with a stern expression.
"Old Liu, it's not easy for that young man to run a business. Besides, rat traps are a project that benefits the people. If you can help, then help him out. Xiao Wei is also a key member of our factory. We're all on the same side. Our parents can buy rat traps too!"
"Yes! Auntie, as soon as the rat traps are produced, I'll send you a few over immediately. The elderly in my family have difficulty walking, and it would be troublesome if they were bitten by rats. I've heard that those damn rats not only ruin food, but they also bite people when they're starving!"
Before Section Chief Liu could say anything more, he felt two sharp gazes fixed on his face. He gritted his teeth and said, "Sigh, you see, I have my difficulties too. After all, there are many people in the factory, and I have to bribe everyone, from top to bottom. It's not impossible for you to get those scraps, but..."
Having said that, the other party's meaning was quite clear. Lu Yuan immediately understood and said, "Uncle Liu, don't worry, there are still some vegetables at home. They'll be ready to harvest in a few days, and I'll bring them over to you then! Let the factory leaders have a taste too, because it's really impossible to do without vegetables."
After exchanging glances, Section Chief Liu finally sighed and said, "Well, since things have come to this point, it would seem a bit heartless of me not to help. I've decided to go back and report this to my superiors! Just wait for my news!"
Lu Yuan said with a look of surprise and delight, "Thank you so much, Section Chief Liu!"
The other party nodded and then invited the two to have some tea.
"Come, come, don't just sit there, have some tea. This is the finest Tieguanyin!"
After a few cups of tea, the other party stopped offering more. Xiao Shan's father stood up to say goodbye. The other party pretended to invite him to stay for dinner, but he politely declined. At that moment, Lu Yuan immediately wanted to go back and tell the people in the district about this.
So the two left the steel factory's residential area. After Lu Yuan dropped Xiao Shan's father off at home, he drove all the way back to Zone 3.
Once the steel issue was settled, the rest was relatively simple. No workers? Easy, there are tons of them online, and they're all highly skilled; go ahead and pick one.
In this apocalyptic era, many people are unemployed or have lost their jobs, and too many factories have closed down, resulting in a large number of employees being laid off.
After losing their jobs, these people immediately began to struggle to make a living, and job postings flooded the internet.
So Lu Yuan turned on his computer and searched online. He found a person named Chen Gang who fit the description perfectly. He was a senior technician, proficient in all kinds of lathes and CNC machines. Most importantly, he had been working for a long time and did not have high salary requirements.
The phone was answered immediately before it even rang once.
"Hello, I'm Chen Gang. May I ask which factory you work for and where you are located? I'm available anytime and can start work right now!"
"Um... it's like this, we're hiring someone who can operate CNC machine tools to make a batch of mouse traps. It's not a lot of work, and it might not be for long. I was wondering if you'd be willing to take on a short-term job?"
"Yes, yes, yes! I'm available anytime, even just for one day. I have over 20 years of experience in CNC machining and can work on all kinds of lathes. When can I start work?"
Lu Yuan didn't expect the other party to be in such a hurry, so he left his phone number and told them to wait for his notification. After all, the steel hadn't arrived yet, and the electricity hadn't been connected, so he could only wait for the goods to arrive before letting them come to work.
Two days later, Xiaoshan's father called Lu Yuan and said that the steel plant had a batch of steel scraps to process the next day, and asked Lu Yuan to bring people over to discuss prices and other matters.
So Lu Yuan posted a message in the group.
"We've already found the right one. The exact price depends on the quote from the steel mill. Anyone want to come along?"
People in the group immediately started responding.
In order to adhere to the principles of openness, fairness, and no corruption, several representatives were sent to accompany Lu Yuan, including Chen Ke.
The four of them rode in Lu Yuan's car all the way to the steel plant.
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