Chapter 13 Acquaintance
In fact, this room was the dormitory where Xu Qiang’s father used to live in the factory. Moreover, Xu Qiang’s father also participated in the construction of this dormitory building, which made Xu Qiang somewhat emotional.

"The cafeteria is not far from here. When some people get off work, you can go with them to get food. There is a place to exchange meal tickets at the door. If you have any problems in the future, just go directly to your team leader or find me."

After Sun Yulin explained everything, he closed the door and left, leaving Xu Qiang alone in the room.

Taking the sheets, bedding and daily necessities received from the logistics department, Xu Qiang quickly made his bed, then took off his shoes and lay on it, and couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

From today on, he has become a worker in a state-owned enterprise. Thinking of the gap between his previous life and now, he can't help but feel a lot of emotion.

In his previous life, Xu Qiang was definitely a favored child. In 92, he was admitted to a university in Jilin with the second highest score in the county's college entrance examination. In the following years, he seldom returned to his hometown, and was wholeheartedly working hard for his own future.

In fact, the chemical industry is an asset-heavy, labor-intensive industry that requires a large number of industrial workers, but it does not have much demand for scientific researchers. In other words, the country did not attach importance to the research and development of the chemical industry at that time.

Fortunately, college students were still in high demand in the 90s, so Xu Qiang entered a scientific research unit right from the start. He worked as a researcher for two years, and then continued his studies, obtaining a master's and doctoral degree. By the time he was in his 40s, he had become a well-known fine chemical expert in China.

However, it was the first time for Xu Qiang to work as a grassroots worker in a chemical company.

"Jingle Bell."

The ringing of a car bell downstairs interrupted Xu Qiang's thoughts, and the loudspeaker in the factory area blasted the loud song "We Workers Have Power". Suddenly, the dormitory building began to become noisy.

Xu Qiang jumped up from the bed, opened the door and looked downstairs. He saw some workers who had just got off work parked their bicycles neatly in the garage downstairs, or brought their children or carried the freshly bought vegetables in their hands, talking and laughing as they went upstairs.

"Your old Zhao is really capable. He has only been working in the factory for less than two years, and he has already bought such a big Haiyan TV. This is the largest TV in our area..."

Xu Qiang was washing his face in the bathroom, while two women at the sink next to him were washing vegetables and chatting.

"What's his ability?" The other woman had a smug look on her face when she heard this, but she sighed and said, "He's not as good as your wife. He hasn't been promoted to a regular employee yet. I would say he's just stubborn. I asked him to give a gift to the leader, but he said he couldn't bring himself to do it..."

"It's not that easy to get a permanent job. There are more than 200 rotation workers in our workshop, and there are only two quotas for rural-to-urban workers each year. Unless you can be named a model worker of the factory, there is no chance at all. There are many people eyeing the quota. My old man suffered a serious work-related injury that year, and the factory gave him a quota for rural-to-urban workers to appease him. If it were now, don't even think about it..."

When Xu Qiang heard the words "agricultural to non-agricultural", he was stunned. When he was about to listen further, a few more people came in outside the water room.

"Qiangzi?" A young man came from behind and shouted in surprise when he saw Xu Qiang.

"Zhao Xuegong?" Xu Qiang was also stunned when he saw the person coming.

It turned out that this Zhao Xuegong was from the same village as him and was the eldest son of the brigade secretary Zhao Xigui.

In those days, naming was also very particular. Zhao Xigui's four sons were named "Xuegong", "Xuenong", "Xuejun" and "Xuewen" respectively. Among the four sons, except the youngest son who is still in the countryside, the other three have entered the Shengli Machinery Factory. Among them, the eldest son Zhao Xuegong has been converted to a full-time employee, while the second and third sons are only rotation workers like Xu Qiang.

Normally, the number of rotation workers recruited by Shengli Machinery Factory each year is very limited, at most four or five. However, Zhao Fugui stuffed all three sons into the factory at once. To put it bluntly, if there was no trick involved, no one would believe it. But in the village, no one dared to say anything, after all, Zhao Fugui was the head of the village.

Before, Zhao Xigui wanted to let his younger son replace Xu Qiang's place, which led to the quarrel in the beginning.

As for the factory, recruiting rotation workers is actually for the purpose of achieving "unity between the military and the people". As long as the relationship with the surrounding villages is good, it doesn't matter who is given the quota. The only goal is "harmony and stability".

"It turns out to be the stupid boy from the Xu family. Don't pay attention to him. Let's go and have a drink!" At this moment, a young couple came to the door of the washroom. The man in work clothes patted Zhao Xuegong on the shoulder and said.

"Hey... isn't this the kid from the Xu family? He's also come to work in our factory?" A woman following behind the man in work clothes said with some surprise.

The couple were none other than the village chief's third son, Zhao Xuejun, and his wife.

Actually, Xu Qiang also knew Zhao Xuejun's wife. His father had arranged a marriage for him and this girl. At that time, Xu Qiang was only 17 years old. The other party was the second daughter of the village chief of the neighboring village. They had already agreed to arrange a date for the marriage, but Zhao Xigui's family "intercepted" them. Although the matter did not become a big deal, it was an unspeakable shame for Xu Qiang's parents. Now Xu Qiang is a time traveler who has taken over someone else's home. Although he does not feel this kind of shame, he does not have a good impression of the Zhao family.

"Oh, hello." Xu Qiang replied politely.

This woman is of decent appearance and can be considered a pretty wife in the local countryside. No wonder the third son of the Zhao family would let his father interfere.

Marry a man to get clothes and food. The village chief's family is indeed much richer than the Xu family. It is human nature to despise the poor and love the rich. However, the woman was indeed a bit snobbish in breaking the contract.

"If you have something to say, please talk. We are from the same village." The eldest brother Zhao Xuegong said politely, then turned around and left with his brothers.

The Zhao brothers have always thought highly of themselves. When they were in the village, they looked down on Xu Qiang and often bullied him when they were young. However, these were all old things and Xu Qiang did not take them to heart.

Speaking of the few people from Xu Qiang's village who come to work in the factory, they are basically all in this chemical workshop. After all, the smell here is strong and regular workers are unwilling to come to this workshop. Meat is distributed here every month and no skills are required, so it has become a 'paradise' for rotation workers from rural areas, including rotation workers recruited from surrounding areas in recent years, all of whom have entered this workshop.

After washing his face in the bathroom, Xu Qiang picked up the lunch box he had just received and followed others to the cafeteria.

In fact, you can cook in the living area, but there are only a few stoves in the whole building. You have to wait for a long time before I cook. Single employees are too lazy to buy vegetables and cook for themselves, so they just go to the cafeteria to buy them.

The canteen of the chemical workshop is very close to the living area. From a distance, it looks like a larger warehouse. Once you enter, it is already bustling with people.

When Xu Qiang saw the dishes and prices written on the blackboard on the cafeteria wall, his eyes suddenly lit up.

Soup is 0.05 yuan, vegetarian dishes are 0.1 yuan, dishes with tofu are 0.15 yuan, dishes with meat are 0.2 yuan, stir-fried dishes are 0.25 yuan...

For staple food, most people eat 4 taels (rice and steamed buns weigh about half a pound).

Xu Qiang exchanged his meal ticket, ordered a meat dish and three steamed buns for 20 cents, found a seat, sat down and started eating.

In his previous life, Xu Qiang was also a person who had seen the world. He had eaten and drank with public funds from his company. When he worked as a technical consultant in chemical plants in various places, he was also a frequent visitor to high-end restaurants. However, the meal in front of him tasted particularly delicious to him.

The seasonal vegetable food of this time is really delicious. The meat tastes like meat and the vegetables taste like food. Unlike many things in later generations, which are full of technology and hard work, the vegetables and fruits fattened in greenhouses and the chickens, ducks and fish raised on a large scale only taste like seasoning no matter how you eat them.

Xu Qiang only spent 24 cents on this meal. If it was a big stew, it would definitely be cheaper. 50 or 60 cents a day would be enough, and the monthly food expenses would be only more than ten yuan. As a rotation worker who had just entered the factory, he could earn 34.5 yuan a month. No wonder the locals were scrambling to come to this factory to work!

In the final analysis, it is because Shengli Machinery Factory has had sufficient military orders in recent years, and all the workshops are running at full capacity. In addition, as a military enterprise, the rice, flour, meat and eggs supplied by superiors are much higher than those of ordinary state-owned enterprises. So that to outsiders, compared with other places, the workers at Shengli Machinery Factory are like celebrating New Year every day.

In addition to the canteen, there are also small restaurants on the streets of the living area, the so-called "57 Restaurant", which sells small stir-fried dishes at a slightly higher price. Some budget-conscious families basically do not eat there, but the business is very hot every day.

"Five champions, six six six! Seven tricks, eight horses..."

After finishing lunch and washing the lunch box, Xu Qiang passed by the "Wuqi Restaurant" and saw the three brothers of the Zhao family sitting by the window drinking and playing finger-guessing games. At this time, the three of them were drinking so much that their faces were flushed, and the food on the table was also quite rich.

There is no doubt that the Zhao family is well off. The three brothers have been working in the factory for several years. The factory wages are high. According to their current income level, they would definitely be considered "petty bourgeoisie" in future generations.

Xu Qiang just took a look and turned away. He needed to go back and rest immediately because he had to start the night shift tonight.

After returning to the room and lying on the bed, Xu Qiangyou began to think about the things at the peat field. Now he worked in three shifts in the factory and could only go to the peat field after get off work. It would be very hard, but fortunately the chemical workshop was close to the village and he could walk back.

All things are difficult at the beginning. Now Xu Qiang can only run between the factory and the peat field. In order to realize his entrepreneurial dream, he must make some efforts...

(End of this chapter)