Vol. 1 - Ch. 9 - Comrade Huo has worked hard

Huo Feng was certainly more than competent enough for the job of being a driver, but he still had some concerns about going out to work, just as he resolutely gave up a bright future and chose to retire to take care of his sick mother. Because of his mother's situation, he needed to always be by her side.

No one knew a son better than his mother. Li Shumei knew what her son was thinking just by looking at his expression. The self-loathing that she couldn't control reappeared, and her tone of voice became hurried.

"You don't want to go again, right? I told you that I'll be a burden as long as I'm alive because of my illness. You're a man in your twenties, and you've been accompanying me and taking care of me all day long, and you can't take care of anything else! This job is so good, it’s close to home, with a good salary and nice benefits, and isn’t tiring. If there weren't so few people in the village who could drive, they would have been scrambling for it long ago, and you wouldn't have had the chance to be chosen. I'm putting this out today. If you don't go, I won't eat anymore in the future, and I'll just wait to die. When I die, I'll apologize to your father in the underworld, and I'll be the sinner of the old Huo family!"

As she spoke, Li Shumei started to cry. Huo Feng stood silently beside the bed, knowing that he had no choice but to obey today. If he didn't go, he was afraid that he would really plant a knot in his mother's heart.

After Li Shumei finished crying, Huo Feng wet a towel from the shelf at the door and handed it to her to wipe her face. He said in a deep voice, "I’ll go to sign up this afternoon. I’m not sure whether I’ll be selected or not. Isn't it said that the recruitment requirements of the food factory are high? If I’m really hired, I must focus on work. Mom, you have to promise me one thing. Pay Aunt Chun next door to come and take care of you. Only then will I feel at ease."

Li Shumei usually didn't want to trouble others. Paying someone to take care of her wasn’t in line with her frugal character, but her son had compromised. She knew that this was the best solution they could think of at the moment.

She and Ji Chundi had been neighbors for decades, and their relationship was so good that they had never quarreled before. In addition, the two daughters of the other family were married, and the son worked in the county and didn’t live at home. She was relatively free most of the time. When Huo Feng was in the fields and couldn't go home in a short time, he would ask her for help.

"Okay, let's do this first."

After wiping her face, she handed the towel back and said worriedly, "Don't wait until the afternoon. Anyway, you have nothing to do now. Go and sign up first, so as not to have too many troubles."

Huo Feng set out from home and rode his bicycle to the food factory in a quarter of an hour. The two villages were not far apart geographically, but there was a lake in between, and it took a long detour to cross the lake.

The gatekeeper was lying on a chair listening to a recording. The humming opera sounded so loud that he didn't notice it even when Huo Feng was standing in front of him. Huo Feng had to turn down the volume. The gatekeeper thought it was a boy from the factory who had done something naughty. When he turned around, he saw a tall stranger.

"You're a scary guy. What are you doing here?"

"I heard that your factory is recruiting drivers, so I came to apply."

"Oh, driver."

The gatekeeper looked at Huo Feng again and felt that the physique of this young man was not like a driver, but more like a fighter. He looked quite regular, with thick eyebrows and a straight nose.

He pointed to a row of two-story buildings not far away and said, "Go to the third room on the second floor, someone inside will take you to test drive the car."

Huo Feng nodded and thanked him. He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out a cigarette, and handed it to the old man. The old man took it without hesitation. Huo Feng struck a match and lit it for him, then asked, "Uncle, are there many people getting interviewed these two days?"

The old man took a puff of the cigarette and exhaled white mist. He had a much better impression of the young man in front of him. He thought Huo Feng was a man who knew how to deal with things.

"Not many, you are the sixth one. Only one of the first five left a phone number to wait for notification, and the other four were rejected on the spot."

Huo Feng was a little surprised to hear this, "Oh? Your factory has very high interview requirements."

The old man said, "The factory director said safety first regardless of whether you drive well or not. Those who liked to drink were definitely not allowed to pass."

After saying this, the old man realized that he had let the cat out of the bag, and squinted at Huo Feng, "Young man, if you drink, you can't lie."

Huo Feng smiled and agreed, "Uncle, don't worry, I don't drink anyway."

After saying this, he took out his driver's license from his pocket, which contained his military driver's license that was replaced after he retired to reassure the old man. He deliberately kept it as a souvenir.

"I’m a retired soldier, and drinking in the army is against discipline."

The old man took the driver's license, squinted his eyes at it for a long time, and finally gave it back to Huo Feng with a "Wow" as his favorability for the you man rose.

In the eyes of the people, soldiers were a symbol of glory and greatness, and even Huo Feng's tall figure and flat head looked more amiable to him now.

"You’re a soldier, so there’s no problem for you to come and apply for the job. Our factory director said that the factory gives priority to veterans."

Huo Feng was about to leave, but he stopped and asked curiously after hearing this. The old man smiled and waved his hand, saying, "Isn't that normal? Political review is required to join the army. How can we not recognize the country's approval?"

Huo Feng smiled. He was a little curious about the factory director. He thought that even if he didn't get the job in the end, he would find a chance to get to know him, not for anything else but for the other party's trust because he was a veteran.

However, at this point, he didn't know that the factory director was a young and beautiful female comrade which led to him almost making a fool of himself when they met later.

The people who interviewed Huo Feng were Hu Huiying and Ye Wei, who knew a little about driving skills. An expert could tell whether he was good or not with just one move. He stunned Ye Wei with a parking drift, and he wanted to regard him as an idol.

He said to Hu Huiying excitedly, "Sister Hu, this guy is amazing, and he's a veteran. He fits the requirements of the factory director perfectly. I think we don't need to let him go back and wait for a notification. How about we record it on the spot?"

Hu Huiying was disgusted by his blabbering and replied with pursed lips, "Who said 'we' to you? I'm the human resources manager. If you keep making noise, go back first."

Although she was also very satisfied with Huo Feng, she felt that recording on the spot was not reserved enough. Besides, the factory director was out on business and was not in the factory. In the end, the factory director had the final say on who to choose.

After Huo Feng drove a lap and got out of the car, Hu Huiying cast him a look of approval. Even though she already preferred him in her heart, she still asked him to go back and wait for a notification.

Huo Feng wasn’t disappointed. He was still very confident in his driving skills.

"By the way, try not to travel far these two days. If we have any news, we’ll notify you by phone at any time."

There was a truckload of goods that would be delivered the day after tomorrow. Hu Huiying took precautions in advance, fearing that she would miss the most suitable driver.

"Okay."

When Huo Feng left, Ye Wei rushed to see him out of the factory, even though the factory gate was more than 200 meters away and anyone with eyes could see it.

"Brother Huo, I’ll dare to call you Brother Huo because you‘re a few years older than me. Your driving skills are really amazing, better than the driving instructors at the driving school."

Ye Wei was 23 years old this year, so he was indeed younger than Huo Feng. He usually worked very steadily in the warehouse, but he didn't expect that he would show his true colors when he met someone he was interested in. He was too lively, which suited Huo Feng's temper as the younger man reminded him of a new recruit who had just entered the army for training.

Thinking of his comrades in the army, Huo Feng's expression softened, he didn't find Ye Wei annoying and occasionally responded with a few words.

"Brother Huo, don't worry. I'll say a few good things for you when the factory director comes back. When we become colleagues, can I learn to drive from you? The factory director said she wanted to train me to run sales. The tuition outside is so expensive, so why not learn from you instead? Can you give me a discount?"

Huo Feng laughed. This young man said whatever he thought was quite funny, which made him have a funny idea. "Okay, then it depends on whether you can come. As for the tuition, I'll give you a 50% discount."

Ye Wei said "Ah" and couldn't help stretching out his hand to calculate how much it would be after a 50% discount. A driver's license would usually cost two to three thousand.

Huo Feng got home after his usual meal. He was going to make some noodles, but Li Shumei was not in a hurry. She asked him whether he had been hired.

"They said to come back and wait for the notice. There will be news tomorrow at the latest."

Li Shumei was a little disappointed. She really hoped that her son could have a formal job. Although the family now had land and her son had received a considerable amount of allowance after retiring from the army, she always felt insecure for him.

"Mom, calm down and don't think too much. Didn't you always teach me that what's supposed to happen will happen?"

After saying that, Huo Feng tucked her in and turned around to go out to cook.

Not long after Huo Feng left, Shu Ping returned to the factory. She went out today to sign at the police station. The trial date for Jiang Hai and Gu Zhihong's case had been set. Both parties had hired public prosecutors. Shu Jun helped deal with many things before, but today there were important materials, and both the plaintiff and the defendant must be present.

The Jiang family also came today. Since the 130,000 yuan was paid back, there had been no movement. When they met today, they knew that Jiang Hai would definitely go to jail as long as the case went to court. They were so scared that their faces turned pale. They didn't dare to have any fluke mentality. After signing, they pulled her and begged for a long time, saying that the house had been sold and they would give her the remaining money after the loan was collected.

Shu Ping would naturally not say no. No matter how much she was given, she would accept it. The lawyer just told her the general situation. The assets that Jiang Hai transferred and embezzled, there was evidence that it was as high as 630,000 yuan. It turned out that he had also secretly sold the factory's machines.

"Director, this is the interview today. There’s a retired soldier named Huo Feng who has very good driving skills. He has driven armored vehicles and tanks in the army. He’s also very upright and has no bad habits."

Hu Huiying handed Huo Feng's personal information to Shu Ping. The sonorous and powerful handwriting jumped out of the paper. It was said that the handwriting reflected a person’s character. Shu Ping could roughly guess the personality of this person through his handwriting.

However, Ye Wei, who promised to speak well of Huo Feng, broke his promise. He went to the cafeteria to eat and was not seen at all.

Of course, for such a "big thing" as an interview, the director would not specially call him over to ask for his opinion.

"Then let him start tomorrow. As for the salary, the probation period is 400, and after three months, 580. Two days off, overtime is not counted. He’s also responsible for the maintenance of the car. The expense reimbursement follows the process. There is nothing else, just like the employees in the factory."

Hu Huiying wrote down the key points and nodded. This salary was considered quite high in the local area. It seemed like the director was really satisfied with this new driver.

She didn't know that what Shu Ping was thinking was that in hiring a veteran who could drive and work as a security guard at the same time, would it be unsafe to ride in his car? It was like one person doing multiple things, killing two birds with one stone. Could you hire two people with a salary of 580 yuan?

Huo Feng reported to the food factory early the next morning. He was a little surprised when Hu Huiying asked him to sign the contract. As far as he knew, several factories in town were very casual in recruiting people nowadays. The employees were all people they knew, and no one was afraid of anyone running away. There were not many such formal ones.

What was even more surprising was that when he saw the salary column, it was 400 during the three-month probation period and 560 after that. This was definitely a high salary in the local area.

Hu Huiying saw that he had looked at the contract for a long time without signing, and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, do you have any questions?"

"No, it's just that the salary, isn’t it set too high?"

Hu Huiying burst out laughing, "This is the first time I’ve heard someone complain about a high salary."

Huo Feng also felt that the question he asked was stupid. It was clearly written in black and white, and it couldn't be that they accidentally wrote it wrong.

"This was decided by our factory director. She was very satisfied with you. Excellent talents deserve this salary."

Huo Feng was inevitably inspired by the ambition of "A man will die for his confidant" to be so trusted by a factory director he had never met before. After leaving the army for more than a year, what he missed the most were the comrades he had been with day and night. Today, as a member of the food factory, he would treat the food factory as the second "37th Company" and respect the factory director as the company commander and political commissar.

When he saw the true face of the factory director with this mindset, a confused and unbelievable expression that he rarely had appeared on his cold and resolute face. The factory director turned out to be such a young and beautiful girl!

He had never been a gossipy person and had no time for gossip. Li Shumei, the only person around him who knew the truth, only cared about whether he could enter the factory smoothly and didn't care about anything else.

However, Li Shumei herself wasn’t a person who liked to gossip, and Huo Feng followed her in this regard.

"Director, this is our new driver Huo Feng. He has come to report today."

After introducing Huo Feng, Hu Huiying turned around and introduced Shu Ping, "Xiao Huo, this is our Director Shu. From now on, your work will be arranged by the Director."

Shu Ping was satisfied only when she heard that he was a retired soldier yesterday. Today, she was even more satisfied when she saw the real person with a strong and tall physique. She took the initiative to extend her right hand and smiled, "Comrade Huo, welcome to Hongyuan. From now on, we’ll be comrades in the same trench."

Huo Feng was dazzled by her bright smile. He was half a beat late to shake hands before reacting. He felt a little hot in his ears. If his skin had not been tanned, he would have made a fool of himself.

He only heard himself reply in a low voice, "Hello, Director Shu. It’s my honor to join Hongyuan."

Fortunately, he pretended to be calm and self-assured, but his inner nervousness and panic were revealed from his unnatural expressions and movements. However, Shu Ping did not think that way. She thought he was just an introverted and shy person, and instead treated him with more enthusiasm and care.

"Your job this morning is to get familiar with the car first and drive to the car dealership for inspection in the afternoon. Tomorrow, there’ll be a truckload of goods to be delivered to Luochuan. I’ll let Ye Wei go with you."

Huo Feng had no objection to this arrangement. He even wanted to say that he could repair the car. He could take a look at the inspection first, and then go to the car dealership if parts needed to be replaced.

However, he had just arrived and many things were still unclear, so he didn't get too enthusiastic.

The truck of the food factory was a diesel truck from Jiefang Siping. It had a cargo capacity of two tons and its performance was the best among similar trucks. However, no matter how powerful it was, it could not compare to the armored vehicles of the army. Huo Feng got to know it after driving it once. He saw that the car was a little dirty, so he found a bucket and a rag in the garage to clean it.

Shu Ping wrote the work plan for the next stage of the food factory in the office. Since the bread production line was definitely going to be added, the relevant machines had to be purchased quickly. When she went to the workshop to find Zhu Yunlong, she saw Huo Feng who was concentrating on washing the car outside the courtyard wall.

Serious men were the most handsome, and Huo Feng was good-looking, with firm features and sharp edges. He was 1.86 meters tall, with broad shoulders and long legs, and he was very eye-catching when he stood there.

It was human nature to love beauty. The opposite sex that Shu Ping saw every day in the factory was either quite old or not mature enough like Ye Wei. Huo Feng was the only one who met her taste. A handsome young man.

Shu Ping was just passing by and didn't want to say anything to him. There was a truck between them. Who knew Huo Feng had such sharp hearing? He immediately stood up with his rag. He was taller than the back of the truck.

When their eyes met, Huo Feng was stunned for a moment. He just heard the footsteps and happened to be tired of wiping, so he stood up to take a look. He didn't expect it was her.

Fortunately, Shu Ping's impression of him was that he was not good at speaking, so she took the initiative to find a topic, "Comrade Huo, you’ve worked hard. The car is very clean."

It was the first time that Huo Feng met such a person. She was quiet and beautiful, with a cheerful and generous personality. She could manage a factory with dozens of people so well. All the employees praised her.

Huo Jun smiled at her. There was a shallow dimple on his right cheek. Just when he wanted to say something, Shu Ping had already waved and left. He could only stand there and watch her back. She turned a corner and he couldn't see her anymore before he came to his senses.

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