Siheyuan: Becoming a cadre after graduating from technical secondary school

It was already past twelve o'clock when the ancestor worship was completed. When the Lin family returned to the ancestral hall, more than a dozen square tables had already been set up.

As the most promising young man of this generation, Lin Zongxuan was fortunate enough to get a seat at the main table.

When the wine was just getting hot, Lin Shuming suddenly started to toast Lin Zongxuan at each table, and as he did so he apologized: "Sanwazi has been studying away from home for the past few years, and has become estranged from the clan. He finally came back, and his job is stable, so I quickly brought him back to see us."

Lin Zongxuan followed his father with a confused look on his face, calling a circle of uncles and aunts, and also recognizing a circle of brothers and nephews. When he came back from toasting, even with his alcohol tolerance, he couldn't help but feel a little confused.

Father Lin accompanied him with a smile, saying nice things all the way, as if he was familiar with everyone.

It was not until he returned home in the evening that Lin's father, sitting drunk in the main room, told Lin Zongxuan the truth that he had to drag him back to his hometown to worship his ancestors today.

"I bought the pig from a villager and told everyone it was lost."

"Why?"

Lin Zongxuan was a little confused. A pig cost dozens of dollars these days, and the Lin family could only buy half a pork chop at most during the New Year.

Lin Shuming took out a cigarette box from his son's pocket and sneered disdainfully: "Look at you, you don't even know how to distribute the cigarettes when you go back."

"Family, family, if not family, where does the family come from?"

"You went to Shen City to study for four years, and you haven't been back home for three years. The situation has not been good in the past few years, and gossip has already spread."

Father Lin changed his tone and taught earnestly, "You are going to be a cadre. If you are promoted in the future, the higher-ups will examine you. Your interpersonal relationships in the factory are important, but your interpersonal relationships with relatives are not important?"

"This time, your father will make it up to you. Next time we go to the ancestral grave, you will be the one to go."

"Of course, there is a second point. I don't know how you lived in Shen City, but when I came back this time, I always felt that you were weird."

Lin Zongxuan's brain shook violently and he lowered his head.

Father Lin sighed and continued, "If it weren't for your future, who would be willing to let you go to a place where you are unfamiliar with for a few years by yourself, making you estranged from your family."

"It's fine for our family, but look at the neighbors in the courtyard. They act like strangers every day. Someone in the courtyard told me about this before."

"dad,,,"

Lin Zongxuan was a little embarrassed and wanted to explain, but was interrupted by his father again.

"Son, you can only be considered grown up when you have something to worry about."

,,,

On Monday morning, Lin Zongxuan had just woken up when he heard someone whispering in a clear childish voice at the door:

'A few plum blossoms stand at the foot of the wall, blooming alone in the cold. I know from afar that it is not snow, why, why, why'

"Because there is a subtle fragrance."

Mother Lin passed by with a gloomy look on her face and slapped Lin Keke hard on the head.

"Ah, ow, ow, ow"

Well, Lin Zongxuan’s first day at the steel rolling mill began with his sister’s crying and neighbors greeting each other.

It was not until Secretary Xiao Lin came back from washing up and jokingly gave Lin Keke a Cuban candy that the little crybaby stopped crying.

Seeing that Lin Keke was treated so well despite being so stupid, the two brothers Liu Guangtian and Liu Guangfu who were standing at the door of their house looked at each other and started howling at the same time.

Soon, everyone in the courtyard heard them howling like ghosts and wolves, accompanied by the sound of sticks hitting them and the curse of the second uncle Liu Haizhong coming from the backyard: "Stand still, or I'll break your legs if you cry again."

The third uncle who was in the front yard grumbled, "Why does Liu Haizhong beat the child regardless of the time of day? Is it necessary just for a bite of egg?"

Well, it turns out to be the 60s version of 'Who Moved My Cheese?'

Just as the situation with the second uncle had calmed down, the Jia family in the middle courtyard started to suffer from famine again. Qin Huairu chased the stick out of the house with a big broom and happened to run into her mother-in-law gargling.

Jia Zhang hurriedly stopped Qin Huairu, hugged her crying grandson, and said sarcastically, "Some people beat their children so early in the morning. It would be better to save their energy for the evening to add another boy to our family."

As soon as these words came out, the Jia couple immediately became the focus of the whole courtyard. Qin Huairu's face turned red with shame and she turned around and went into the house.

Jia Dongxu was left with an awkward explanation: "Mom, Banggeng got 19 points in math this time, and he changed it to 79."

"What's wrong with 19 points? Didn't the Lin family fail every day when he was the same age as Banggeng? Banggeng is still young, doesn't he blame his mother for being uneducated?"

"Cough cough."

The old man of the Lin family coughed lightly and knocked the ground twice with his walking stick, which frightened Jia Zhang so much that she hurried back to the house.

The whole-institute meeting the day before yesterday seemed to have opened Pandora's box, making the originally quiet Red Star Courtyard become "lively".

Amidst the chaos, Lin Zongxuan hurriedly finished his breakfast and set off before others.

Hongxing Siheyuan is only about half an hour's journey from the steel mill. The closer to the steel mill, the more chaotic the living environment is. There are people selling breakfast, door paintings and firecrackers everywhere. Lin Zongxuan can even see horse-drawn carriages running in the morning, which has never been seen in later generations.

Walking from the clustered slums to the scattered shantytowns, Lin Zongxuan felt grateful for his good fortune in traveling through time to the Lin family. At least he had no worries about food and clothing.

Lin Zongxuan was tall, with each step reaching more than one meter. He walked at a fast pace, and in half an hour he had reached the Third Steel Rolling Mill in Sijiu City, where it usually took several old men an hour to walk.

At this time, the workers were still sparsely present. The two young security guards I saw last time were still at the door. When they saw Lin Zongxuan, they thought he looked familiar and said with a smile, "It's you, brother. You're here to report today. Which department are you in?"

Lin Zongxuan took out his work permit and a box of Daqianmen and handed them to the security guard on duty, saying with a smile, "I was assigned to the purchasing department."

When the security guard saw the name and information on the work permit handed over, his eyes widened immediately, thinking that real people don't show their faces.

This was a real cadre, not like Xu Damao who dressed in formal attire every day but was at the same level as them. His attitude immediately became much warmer, and he quickly explained to Lin Zongxuan the way to the Personnel Department.

Lin Zongxuan took back his ID and thanked the guard, then walked towards the Personnel Department according to his instructions and his memory from the past few days.

Arriving at the Personnel Department, Lin Zongxuan knocked on the door and asked, "Excuse me, who should I contact for the new employee to report?"

But everyone in the office was busy with their own things, as if they didn't hear his question, so Lin Zongxuan had no choice but to ask again, "Excuse me, is Section Chief Xu here today?"

A fashionable girl in her early 20s raised her head and asked in surprise, "What do you want to talk to Deputy Section Chief Xu about?"

"I'm here to report for duty. I want to ask him what the procedure is for reporting to the purchasing department."

"From the purchasing department."

The girl looked at Lin Zongxuan carefully, and her eyes suddenly lit up when she saw his heroic features.

"There's nothing to do right now. I'll go with you to handle the formalities."

Lin Zongxuan pretended not to notice the mountain of documents on the girl's desk and thanked her with a smile.

In fact, last week, with Director Yang's secretary personally leading the way, the formalities had been almost completed. After Lin Zongxuan went to meet Deputy Section Chief Xu, he learned that all he needed to do was have an official clerk from the Personnel Department take him to the Purchasing Department to meet the Section Chief.

As for the formal work arrangements, Director Yang has already informed Section Chief Li, and everything will be arranged by him.

"I'll go. I happen to be very familiar with the purchasing department."

A girl dressed fashionably, no, Lin Zongxuan already knew her name—Li Zhihua volunteered.