Chapter 204
After a two-week business trip to Shanghai, Wu Zhengrong brought a children's bicycle with him when he returned to Binjiang.
The moment he saw the bicycle, the country bumpkin Wu Yuzhuo's eyes burst into unprecedented surprise and excitement.
After circling the bicycle a few times, Xiao Wu chose to forget the past and reconciled with her father.
When she was little, she had a precious little tricycle. She only rode it for two or three years before the seat was no longer big enough for her. A few months ago, she cleaned it inside and out and gave it to her fifth uncle's little sister.
Unexpectedly, not long after she gave away the old car, her father bought her a new car!
If she had known this, she should have sent it earlier!
The new car has a green body, a bit like a military vehicle, and it looks quite cool when riding in the compound.
Wu Yuzhuo is only 1.14 meters tall, but she feels that riding this luxury car makes her look particularly tall in the eyes of the children.
With the bicycle, she didn't even want to watch TV. She parked the bicycle in her room with great care and looked at it every night before going to bed.
Ye Manzhi went to her daughter's room to see the new bike. In fact, there was also this kind of children's bicycle in the light industrial products exhibition hall of the Canton Fair.
But the production of children's cars was small and the price was extremely high. This small car was only 40 yuan cheaper than a 28-inch bicycle, and she was reluctant to spend the 100 yuan.
Ye Manzhi stared at the bicycle in front of him and complained in his heart, if we talk about spendthrifts, it has to be Wu Zhengrong.
Dr. Wu doesn’t have much expenses on a daily basis, but all the big items in his house were bought by this spendthrift man!
She touched her daughter's cheek and said, "If you want to ride a bike, just ride it in the courtyard. Why do you have to go to grandma's house to show off?"
There are so many children in the family compound, it’s not enough for you to show off!
Wu Yuzhuo collapsed on the bed and complained, "Dad won't let me ride my bike in the compound!"
Wu Zhengrong refused to take the blame. "I just asked you to be more restrained and stop showing off your cats, dogs, and chickens everywhere!"
When the new car was bought, it didn't have a bell or a basket. After he installed the bell and the basket himself, the little brat wanted to put pear blossoms, sunflowers and big flowers in the basket and take them out for a ride in turn.
Wu Zhengrong saw through her plan and intervened in time.
Riding a bike in the compound can be considered a form of exercise, but it is unnecessary to do so with cats, dogs, and chickens, and it is too conspicuous.
Because he bought this bicycle for Youyan, the relationship between the father and daughter, and father and son in Zhou's family next door was in jeopardy.
Zhou Mo and Zhou Yi were young, and when they found out their friends had new cars, they also clamored for a bicycle.
These days at work, Chief Zhou has been treating him with disdain and accusing him of causing unrest in countless homes.
"My dad won't let me take Lihua for a ride in the compound," Wu Yuzhuo said, stroking Lihua's fur. "Then I'll take her to grandma's house. Lihua misses her, too! But grandma's house is too far away. I was exhausted before I even got there!"
The daughter looked really pitiful lying on the bed. Ye Manzhi looked at Wu Zhengrong with resentment.
"It's such a long journey, why didn't you stop her? What if the child gets tired out?"
Wu Zhengrong glanced at the paralyzed child and said without a trace of guilt, "If we don't let her try, she'll always be thinking about it."
His child is curious, brave and has a good memory.
She can remember several routes that she often travels back and forth.
If Wu Zhengrong didn't accompany her for a while and let her suffer a little, she might secretly ride her bike to her grandma's house at any time.
Keeper Xiao Wu ignored her father's words. He stroked Lihua's increasingly graying fur and said regretfully, "It's a pity that Lihua didn't get to see her grandma."
The couple exchanged glances and said in their hearts, your biggest regret is that you couldn't show off your success at grandma's house, right?
*
This time, breeder Xiao Wu was really tired. His legs were as soft as noodles and he couldn't even stand.
I stayed at home for three days and didn't go to kindergarten.
Wu Zhengrong saw that this was her new trick of skipping school, but he said nothing.
When the child can no longer lie at home, he will start clamoring to go to kindergarten.
Since her daughter was still pretending to be sick, when Ye Manzhi returned to her parents' home on the weekend, she asked Wu Zhengrong to accompany her to continue pretending and did not bring the child with her.
"President Liu, do you still have to do mass work on weekends?"
Entering the military industrial compound, Ye Manzhi greeted Liu Jinbao with a smile.
"Well, that's how grassroots work is," Liu Jinbao said with a loud yawn. "When the superiors give us a task, we have to complete it to the letter, no matter if it's the weekend or not!"
Ye Manzhi jokingly said, "Jin Baoer, you've become the president of our Guangming Street Commune, why are you still so listless?"
At the beginning of the year, Zhang Qinjian was transferred to Dongyang County as deputy county magistrate, and Liu Jinbao finally got the opportunity to be promoted to commune president, which made him the second-in-command of Guangming Street Commune, similar to the former deputy director of the street.
"I can't help it. I haven't had a good rest for several days!" Liu Jinbao said listlessly. "The city wants to mobilize educated youth to go to the countryside. The task has been assigned, so the commune must also mobilize! I've been arguing with and mediating with those parents these past few days. My head is buzzing."
Ye Manzhi asked: "How many places are there this year?"
In recent years, there has been a mobilization task of going to the countryside, and the city has to mobilize three to four thousand educated young people to go to the countryside every year.
If distributed evenly to grassroots units, each commune would have about one or two hundred indicators.
Liu Jinbao sighed, "We need to recruit 10,000 people this year. Guangming Street has a lot of educated youth, so we've been allocated 400 quotas. Hey, we calculated ahead of time, and all the unemployed young people on our street have to go to the countryside! These past few days, I've been battling wits and courage with the parents!"
Ye Manzhi lamented that grassroots work was not easy, and then said goodbye to President Liu.
She didn't think that going to the countryside would have anything to do with her family.
The children in the family are not old enough, so it is not their turn to deal with this kind of thing.
However, when she entered the house carrying the things she bought for her parents, she found that her house was full of people.
In addition to the eldest sister and her husband and the fifth brother and his wife, there were two unfamiliar lesbians.
Ye Manzhi nodded to the guests, walked over to Chang Yue'e and asked, "Why are there so many people at home? My second sister is not here?"
"Her in-laws weren't here because something happened. I called your eldest sister and fifth brother back. I didn't know when you'd be back from your business trip, so I didn't call you." Chang Yue'e whispered, "Those two are from the commune. They've been here several times, mobilizing our Maiduo to go to the countryside to receive re-education from the poor and lower-middle peasants."
"Maiduo hasn't even graduated yet, why would he go to the countryside?"
"I graduated from junior high school this year."
"Then he can still take the high school entrance exam. My fourth brother and his wife don't have high academic qualifications. Aren't they determined to let Maiduo go to high school?"
Chang Yue'e shook her head and said, "The Education Bureau didn't organize the junior high school to high school entrance exam this year, so there's no way I can go to high school!"
"How did it become like this!" Ye Manzhi frowned.
She has been busy with work at the company lately and hasn't paid attention to school issues.
I really didn't expect that even Mai Duo would go to the countryside to work.
"Not only Maiduo is going to the countryside, Xiaoting is also graduating this year. Your eldest sister said that people from their commune also came to mobilize Xiaoting to go to the countryside."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
Xiaoting is the second child in the eldest sister's family. She has very good academic performance. The eldest sister and her husband have very high expectations for their daughter and have always hoped that she can get into university!
If their studies are interrupted, wouldn’t that delay the child’s development?
"What are your plans for the two children?" Ye Manyi asked.
"Xiaoting wants to continue studying and doesn't want to join the production team," Chang Yue'e said. "That brat Mai Duo doesn't care. Several of his classmates have signed up to go to the countryside. If he can't stay in the city, Mai Duo wants to join his classmates in the production team."
During their private conversation, the fourth brother said impatiently, "Cadre Li, my family is from a poor peasant background. My children return to our hometown to work every year. Why should we go elsewhere to receive re-education from poor and lower-middle peasants? We can educate our children ourselves!"
“That’s the rule!”
"I don't care what your rules are," Fourth Brother said, waving his hand like he was shooing away flies. "You guys should go back first. You've been sitting in my house all night and all morning. If you're not sleepy, I am!"
As he said this, he was about to chase the person out.
The fifth brother stood up and walked with him to see the guests off. He said to the two commune cadres, "My son Ye Qifu is only 15 years old. He's such a young child, he eats a lot and works very little. If he goes to the production team, he will only add to the burden of the other members. If you really want to mobilize him, go find those unemployed young people who hang out in the compound all year round."
The two brothers pushed and shoved each other and sent the two young cadres out the door.
With a bang, the door closed.
Chang Yue'e breathed a sigh of relief and said to her daughter, "Finally, those two are gone! They came to our house last night to mobilize people, nagging and preventing Mai Duo from sleeping. The fourth brother drove Mai Duo back to the house and spent the whole night arguing with those two commune cadres."
Ye Manzhi: “…”
No wonder Liu Jinbao was yawning all the time. It seemed they had to stay in residents' homes for whole nights to mobilize them.
The eldest sister complained, "Why bother with these two? Mai Duo and Xiao Ting are both in junior high school. Normally, they should be in high school. We are determined to send our children to high school. If they can't pass the exam this year, there's always next year. What can they do to the children?"
"Yeah, since they haven't even gotten their junior high school diplomas yet, it's not like they've officially graduated yet, so let them stay in school!"
Listening to these people's plans, Huang Li suggested, "What if they can't go to high school next year? We can't let our children waste time in school forever, right? Schools are closed recently, and they won't learn anything if they stay in school. It's better to let them go to work!"
Coincidentally, these two children are from the legendary "Old Third Generation".
If we wait another two years, we will have to wait for six classes of high school students to graduate together.
By that time, there will be too many people and too few positions, and if you can't find a job in the city, you will really have to go to the production team to work.
The eldest sister was reluctant to let her fifteen-year-old daughter go to work, and she also wanted her child to go to college.
I don't like what Huang Li said.
But Ye Manzhi was still convinced by Huang Daxian's judgment and helped persuade him, "If there is a suitable job, you should let your children go to work early. Otherwise, the commune people will come to your house every year to mobilize you. Won't you find it annoying?"
Hearing this, the eldest sister asked vigilantly: "Laiya, have you heard any rumors?"
Ye Manzhi didn't hear anything, but nodded and said, "Try to find jobs for Xiaoting and Maiduo!"
"What can they do when they are so young?" the eldest sister muttered.
Wu Tongyue said: "Xiaoting and Maiduo both have good images. If they are willing to work as sales clerks in the supply and marketing cooperative, I can help arrange it."
The eldest sister nodded to her sister-in-law and politely declined, "Nowadays, all companies that recruit young people require a junior high school diploma. Xiaoting and Maiduo don't have a diploma, so it doesn't count as a proper junior high school graduation, and they can't get into many companies."
Being a salesperson is a good job in the eyes of most people, but in the eyes of my elder sister, it is just a job standing at the counter.
She was determined to get her child into college and get a stable job in the government, and she actually looked down on the job of a salesperson.
Instead of going to the supply and marketing cooperative to work at the counter, it would be better for Hu Jiannan to think of a way to get his daughter a job at their glass and enamel company.
But the crux of the matter is that the child cannot get a diploma for the time being.
Without a diploma, you only have an elementary school education and cannot get a job in any good company.
Chang Yue'e suggested, "Our meat processing factory doesn't have any educational requirements. Why don't we let Xiaoting and Maiduo work as temporary workers in our factory? After Laowu goes to work at the local specialty product company, there's only one accountant left in the factory. If Xiaoting and Maiduo study hard, they can become accountants in the future, too."
Two months ago, Lao Wu was admitted to the Finance Department of Binjiang Local Products Company.
With a better place to go, Chang Yue'e certainly couldn't let her son waste time in a small factory in the commune.
But after Lao Wu was transferred, she still hasn't hired an accountant.
When facing her own mother, the eldest sister says whatever she wants.
"Mom, your factory is under the jurisdiction of the commune. There are so many educated youth going to the countryside because they have no jobs. If you put all your grandchildren in the factory, expect other parents to report you. Not only will they not be able to work in the factory, but you, the factory director, might also be fired!"
Chang Yue'e: "..."
Forget it then.
She suddenly left home to work at an old age just to receive a pension when she retired.
If I lose my job, all the years I worked for before will be in vain!
"This doesn't work, and that doesn't work either. So what do you guys say we should do?"
The room fell into silence, and no one could come up with any good solution.
Ye Manzhi was also a little worried about the situation of her two children.
The biggest problem is not having a junior high school diploma. What kind of jobs can two 15-year-old teenagers with only primary school education do?
Not to mention Shuguang Factory, even food factories don’t recruit people with an education below junior high school.
As everyone frowned, my eldest brother-in-law, Hu Jiannan, spoke up, "I think we should let the two children stay in school. Without a diploma, they won't be officially graduated. The commune can only mobilize them, not force them to go to the countryside. Once the two children have their diplomas, it will be easier for them to find jobs. If we can't find an employer to take them, let Xiaoting take over my job!"
"That's a great idea!" Fourth Brother immediately praised him. "We can also let Maiduo take over my job, and I can retire and go home!"
Ye Shouxin scolded him, "You've only been working for less than two years, and I haven't even said I'm going to retire at my age, so why are you going to retire?"
"How can I compare with you? I'm not a model worker or an advanced worker, so it's not a pity to retire." The fourth brother flattered, "Dad, you should work harder and strive to become the deputy director of the workshop!"
He now seized the opportunity to motivate Old Ye.
My third sister-in-law was about to take the children to the third front, but he had less than three years of work experience, so he had no share when the food factory raised funds to build houses.
Now we can only hope that Old Ye will work hard to become the deputy director of the workshop and keep his house.
"Since school is closed, there's no point for McDougall to stay there. I'll take him to the factory tomorrow and let him learn to drive a forklift with me. After he gets his diploma, he can take over my job driving a forklift at the food factory!" Fourth Brother made his own arrangements. "Being able to hold the steering wheel is a great job. What's there to be dissatisfied about?"
As for him, if he doesn't have a job, then he doesn't have a job.
The commune mobilized educated youth to go to the countryside, but he had neither knowledge nor youth.
Even if he doesn't have a job, he doesn't have to go to the countryside to work in the fields!
*
The originally somewhat tricky issue was finally decided by Hu Jiannan and the fourth brother.
Ye Manzhi felt that what her brother-in-law said was just an excuse. It was not easy to take over the job of the supply and marketing section chief, and she would probably have to find other jobs for Xiaoting by then.
But the fourth brother really wanted Maddox to take over.
Then he will have a legitimate reason to retire and go home.
Mobilizing educated youth to go to the countryside is a city-wide task.
The trend of going to the countryside and mountains soon reached Anyang County.
The families of the workers at Factory 833 have been very anxious recently and have sent several representatives to the Shuguang Factory to inquire when jobs can be arranged for the remaining 240 family workers.
The factory leaders also knew that this was a major matter that concerned the children's lives.
Therefore, the jam factory was immediately asked to organize personnel to start the second round of recruitment examinations.
Kang Jian said, "The original agreement was to find jobs for 300 people within two years, and to gradually increase the staff as the jam factory developed. But the jam factory only has two production lines now, so how can we employ 300 people? I think this matter will eventually fall to our factory. Even if it's just temporary work, we have to find jobs for these children first."
Tian Chunshan, cigarette in hand, shook his head. "It's not easy. Once you recruit people, you have to pay them. Our factory is already fully staffed, and there's no extra work for them. We can't keep so many people employed for nothing, can we?"
"Then what do you say we should do? There's already a rumor going around in the family compound that if we can't find work for the families, they're going to write to Factory 833 and complain! Everyone, don't forget, most of our equipment is on loan! According to the original agreement, Factory 833 can take the equipment away at any time!"
"Why……"
Lei Wanyuan stood by the window smoking a cigarette and turned to ask, "Director Ye, what do you think?"
"Let's save the equipment first, otherwise what will happen to those production tasks?" Ye Manzhi said with a relaxed brow. "The children of Factory 833 are actually quite compatible with our Shuguang Factory. These children have always lived in the family compound and have grown up listening to their parents' stories. They identify with the discipline and culture of the military factory. If we're hiring employees, the children of Factory 833 and Shuguang Factory are the first choice."
“The key is that we can’t provide that many jobs!”
"Then let's create jobs!" Ye Manzhi said, "Director Kang and I brought back two televisions. Let's study it carefully and see if we can switch to producing televisions!"
Lei Wanyuan said regretfully, "We're fine with guns and ammunition, but most of the radar engineers in the lab have been transferred to the Third Front by Factory 833. The people left in Binjiang won't be able to produce a complete set of television production equipment in a short time."
“…”
At that time, Factory 712 sent out all its elite workers to imitate Soviet televisions, and it took a year to produce the first domestically produced television.
If Shuguang Factory wants to switch production, it must at least prepare enough scientific research personnel.
"If only I had stayed in Binjiang!" Huang He sighed. "He would have loved to have a TV!"
Ye Manzhi asked, "How about we recruit people from other units? Or ask the Labor Bureau for a few university graduates in related majors?"
The first person she thought of was actually Grandpa Wu.
But the old man is too old, and in recent years he has just been tinkering at home according to his own preferences.
I definitely can't adapt to the high-intensity work in the factory.
If Grandpa Wu gets involved because of her work, she won't be able to explain to her in-laws!
It would be best to recruit a few recent graduates with good grades.
Lei Wanyuan sighed, "Forget about the graduates. We've already applied to the Labor Bureau for university placement quotas, but it's already June and there's still no progress. I heard this year's placements will be postponed."
…
If you want to find technical talent, the best way is to recruit fresh graduates from research institutes or universities.
But the researchers and engineers from the institute probably won't come to work at the Shuguang factory easily.
The most reliable way is to choose university graduates in related majors.
Ye Manzhi decided to go back to the provincial university to inquire about the situation this year and whether he could be assigned a job!
She brought her daughter back to the provincial university.
A few days ago, breeder Xiao Wu's noodle legs recovered as before, but yesterday he suddenly lost a baby tooth.
The breeder Xiao Wu, who has a lisp, doesn't want to go to kindergarten again.
Ye Manzhi simply borrowed a bicycle and rode back to the provincial university with the energetic and strong Xiao Huoyazi.
Huoyazi drove Ye Lihua to the old house, while she went to the Industrial Economics Department to find Teacher Ouyang.
After hearing her purpose, Ouyang Jin said helplessly: "This year's graduation assignments will indeed be postponed."
Ye Manzhi asked: "When will it be postponed? Is there a specific time allocated?"
"It's hard to say!" Ouyang Jin whispered, "If your company is in urgent need of personnel, it's best to find another solution."
"Teacher, the main reason graduates stay on campus is to wait for assignments, right? If the assignment results are still inconclusive, can we invite a few students to intern at the factory first?"
Ouyang Jin frowned and thought for a moment, "It might not be impossible. I need to discuss this with the student himself and the dean of the relevant department."
Ye Manzhi had asked Grandpa Wu before, and the Provincial University's Department of Telecommunications Engineering and Department of Radio were both more suitable for researching televisions.
So, after leaving Teacher Ouyang's office, she walked along the campus's tree-lined path to the Department of Telecommunications Engineering and the Department of Radio Engineering to discuss matters with their leaders.
Several bulletin boards in the school were covered with colorful posters with all kinds of content.
Ye Manzhi avoided the noisy crowd and watched the bulletin board for a long time.
Many school leaders are on the list.
She even saw the names of the deans of the economics, mechanical engineering, and telecommunications engineering departments.
After standing in front of the bulletin board for a long time, Ye Manzhi started walking again and headed towards the office building not far away.
The door to the Telecommunications Engineering Department's office was open. She knocked lightly on it a few times and just as she said hello, a middle-aged man with a scraggly haircut answered. He then stood up and asked, "Director Ye, right?"
Ye Manzhi shook his hand and said with a smile, "Yes, hello Director Pan, I am Ye Manzhi from Binjiang Shuguang Machinery Factory, and I am also a graduate of our Provincial University."
"Well, come in and sit down. Ouyang just called me and gave me a general overview of the situation." Director Pan pulled a chair over. "What you're talking about is generally feasible. The school has always advocated for teachers and students to participate in grassroots labor, combining scientific research with production practice. As long as students are willing to go to the grassroots for internships, the Department of Telecommunications Engineering will not stop them."
Ye Manzhi's eyes quickly swept across his desk. Although he had already put the things away quickly, she still saw the word "review" at the top of the manuscript paper.
She weighed the pros and cons quickly in her mind, and the few seconds seemed as long as a century.
After quickly making a decision, she turned to the middle-aged man again and said with a smile, "Director Pan, I took the liberty of visiting you not simply to second an intern."
Director Pan pushed his glasses up and asked in confusion, "What else do you want?"
"The Binjiang Shuguang Machinery Factory is about to establish a television design studio dedicated to trial production of televisions. We are currently looking for a capable and experienced project leader," Ye Manzhi extended a sincere invitation. "Director Pan, would you be willing to come to our Shuguang Factory and serve as the director of the television design studio?"
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