socalfunplaces Page 242
Page 242
Tian Zao thought for a moment and said, "You know my neighborhood committee doesn't have much money, but we have plenty in our neighborhood. We'd take as many machines as we can, let alone just one wooden one."
He Yuzhu asked, "Is there enough money in the neighborhood to pay for the goods? Can I get other machines?"
"This? To be honest, it's not much money."
Tian Zao was just making a casual boast, but he didn't expect He Yuzhu to actually say that there would be new machines.
Feeling his boast had been exposed, he said somewhat angrily, "Why are you always undermining me? And do you really think you can get other machines?"
“Really, Elena said there are rice milling machines, flour milling machines, candle making machines, and printing machines. There are several machines this time. If I hadn’t studied Russian with her for a while, I wouldn’t have asked me.”
"Keep them all; the street authorities will definitely need them."
"But does the neighborhood committee have the money to pay?"
Chapter 180: Obtained the Level 1 Chef Certificate?
“We’ll figure out the money problem. If that doesn’t work, we’ll ask the district for help. Right now, there’s a shortage of machines everywhere. As long as we have these machines, we can set up a small factory in the neighborhood. Not only will it solve the employment problem, but it will also make money. We’ll have money soon.”
There's a massive construction boom across the country right now, but there's a shortage of machinery, and the streets simply can't find any to buy.
Tian Zao was happy for a while, then asked, "You're not lying to me, are you?"
“My sister, how could I joke about something like this? That machine really exists. The procedures can be completed very quickly, and the goods can be picked up.”
He Yuzhu had previously thought that importing goods would be easy, but he never expected that the goods would be detained when they arrived at the Beijing freight station.
It's not that they've seized the goods, they're just temporarily not releasing them. After all, these are privately imported goods, and there's no precedent for this. When Elena went to pick them up, they kept saying they needed to study the matter, and more than a month has passed and they still haven't managed to get the goods out of the freight station.
He Yuzhu also contacted the three people he had met on the train and learned that they all had affiliated companies. Only then did He Yuzhu realize the difficulty of clearing customs for his goods.
Elena has been working on this matter recently, and fortunately, her superiors have given their approval, so it is said that it will be cleared soon.
He Yuzhu planned to take this opportunity to take the machine out of the space and put it in the warehouse, as long as Elena and Tian Zao could not meet.
He Yuzhu could then use Elena's name to explain the origin of these machines.
After all, these were all old machines used in Moscow, and no one could find fault with them when they were installed on Elena's head.
Tian Zao said happily, "Okay, then don't give this batch of machines to anyone else. I'll go find Sister Li. Keep them for our neighborhood. If it works out, you can have whatever benefits you want."
He Yuzhu had no intention of selling these machines elsewhere. They were all equipment suitable for building small factories in the neighborhood, and he originally planned to hand them over to Tian Zao to handle.
He Yuzhu took the certificate and went to the driving school's assessment office outside the city. There was no theory test at this time; instead, they tested fault diagnosis first.
You can only drive a car if you know how to repair it first.
Therefore, you can only get your car repaired before you can take the driving test.
First, you need to determine the cause of the malfunction, then you need to repair it yourself, including patching and changing tires, and performing maintenance on the car.
The assessment covered a lot of material, but He Yuzhu was proficient in all of it. He completed each item correctly before he could drive.
He Yuzhu applied for truck driving and bus driving, which were then divided into two categories.
There is still a significant difference in wages between the two; a level four truck driver earns two yuan less than a bus driver.
The first-level truck driver's salary is 81 yuan, while the first-level bus driver's salary is 4 yuan more, reaching as high as 85 yuan.
However, He Yuzhu does not need a passenger car driver's license; he only needs a truck driver's license to drive a sedan.
After passing the car repair exam, the next test was on driving a truck. The requirements were even stricter than in later years. To be honest, He Yuzhu didn't have much driving experience.
But who can blame him for having a 360-degree view of the truck's status and location, even while sitting in the cab?
Even with their eyes closed, they can perfectly perform various tests such as reversing into a parking space and parallel parking.
Without making a single mistake, he completed the truck driving test with a perfect score.
Even the examiner asked, "Which organization are you from?"
"I am from the Sanhai Neighborhood Committee under the Fifth District."
"Just a neighborhood committee?"
"Yes."
"Why don't you come work for our Ministry of Public Security and drive the cars for the leaders? I think your driving skills are really good."
"You're too kind. There are many people with better skills than me. My level is not good enough. Besides, I'm a chatterbox, I like to brag, and I like to drink. I'm not good at driving small cars."
He Yuzhu never expected that his perfect exam results would lead to a poaching attempt. He was living such a carefree life that he definitely didn't want to go to work.
He quickly pointed out a few minor flaws and declined the job offer.
Holding the newly issued driver's license, the cover of which was made of cardboard wrapped in gray cloth, with "Automobile Driver's License" printed in traditional Chinese characters on it, a red five-pointed star below, and the name of the Ministry of Public Security below that.
Once opened, the top left corner displays the words "Driver's License Motto," followed by four slogans: "Take good care of your vehicle," "Save fuel," "Drive cautiously," and "Obey the rules."
At the very bottom is the name of the Beijing Public Security Bureau's License Plate Management Office.
On the right is a one-inch black and white photo of He Yuzhu, which includes his name, age, gender, and occupation: a first-class truck driver.
Below that are items such as "family background" (farmer) and "origin" (worker), as well as place of origin, address, and affiliated unit.
The inner pages also include information such as education and work experience.
After admiring his newly issued driver's license, He Yuzhu rushed off to take the carpentry exam.
When I arrived, I learned that the accurate term was carpenter, which was also divided into 8 levels. However, level 1 was the lowest, with a monthly salary of 31 yuan, while level 8 was the highest, with a salary of 93 yuan.
After paying the registration fee, I entered the woodworking factory's yard, where they were assessing the woodworking workers.
Unlike taking a chef's exam, there are no acquaintances here; you can only honestly participate in each assessment.
Start with the basics, and only after passing the first level can you move on to the next. Do it one by one.
Start with the simplest stools and move on to more complex furniture, then carve and paint the furniture.
I took the exam for two days in a row before I finally got my Level 8 carpenter's certificate.
The last part of the exam is on antique appraisal, which is quite simple. There are various antiques, books, jade, porcelain, and so on in a large case.
You must select three antiques and describe their age and characteristics, and then identify three fakes and give them a score.
Of course, the more you can choose, the higher your score will be.
In fact, He Yuzhu also has another skill, which is calligraphy, but this belongs to artists, and He Yuzhu is too lazy to take the exam.
Being able to appraise antiques wasn't a big deal, after all, people's family backgrounds were relatively low, and in times of political upheaval, no one would criticize someone for being able to appraise antiques.
But if you become an artist, things might change.
When He Yuzhu returned with the Level 2 antique appraisal certificate, Xu Huizhen was somewhat numb and simply offered her congratulations as usual.
On the contrary, He Yushui was very surprised. She put all the documents together and looked at them for a long time, smiling the whole time.
Then he said, "Brother, you're amazing. Our dad went through a lot of trouble to get a Level 3 certificate. He even got drunk that night."
He Daqing stood by, glaring angrily. The Level 3 certificate was a testament to his abilities. Although it wasn't as good as He Yuzhu's, the monthly salary was still 71.5, and life would be much easier from now on.
"You little girl, you make it sound so easy. This is already quite a lot, enough to support you all."
He Daqing was already very satisfied. The monthly wage of more than seventy yuan was something he had never dared to imagine before.
Fortunately, he listened to advice and returned from Baocheng, where he married a young and beautiful wife and learned to cook from his son.
After two or three years of hard work, I finally got the certificate.
He Daqing had another worry: "Zhu Zi, do you think the steel mill can pay me such a high salary when I have such a high rank?"
The steel rolling mill is a collective unit. According to regulations, the highest level of cooks in the canteen can be level six. After all, it is a large-scale operation, and there is no need for a higher level.
"Don't worry, steel mills would be eager to hire you with this skill, how could they possibly not want you?"
"But the highest salary a chef can receive is level six, that's written in the rules. The steel mill isn't any different, so why should they make an exception for me?"
He Yuzhu said, "There shouldn't be any problem. There are restrictions on chefs, but we can give you other titles and pay you a higher salary, then everything will be fine."
"Besides, if we don't keep you here, where will they find another level-three chef?"
There are plenty of low-level chefs, but it's hard to find mid-level chefs, as they all work for companies or restaurants.
Although He Daqing is only a level three chef, he is still considered a high-level chef. He could become the head chef in some restaurants and lead a group of apprentices.
Why not hire a qualified Level 3 chef? Let them go and find another one.
Unless they've lost their minds, the leaders of the steel rolling mill wouldn't make such a wrong choice.
Besides, He Daqing had worked in the steel rolling mill for many years, and he really wouldn't be used to a different place.
Moreover, there are many advantages to staying in the steel rolling mill. There are many people here, and if employees or leaders have a wedding, funeral, or other important event, they will naturally think of asking the canteen chef to cook for them.
If you offend them and they make things difficult for you every day, it's not worth it if they give you less food.
Moreover, the steel mill provided ample hospitality; the leaders had special meals every day, and He Daqing could also bring back a lunchbox every day, supporting his wife and children by providing them with meat without spending any money.
If it were a smaller company, there wouldn't be such lucrative opportunities for personal gain.
Therefore, He Yuzhu still supported He Daqing staying in the steel rolling mill. By the time the tenth year had passed, the situation in the steel rolling mill was relatively peaceful, and Director Li's methods were not drastic, so they could get through it safely.
"You mean they'll make me a leader?"
He Daqing was very excited when he thought of this. After all, his family had been farm laborers for three generations. In the past, cooks were considered a low-class profession that served others and had a low social status, even lower than that of ordinary people.
He Yuzhu said, "I guess they'll give you a position as deputy director of the canteen, or a sinecure in the union, so you'll be a leader and no longer be limited by the cook's salary."