Shazhu didn't care about any of that. He strode over to Su Changshun in a few long steps, grabbed him by the arm, and blurted out: "What are you still standing around for, my goodness? Hurry up and come home with me to pack your things! Section Chief Zhao Shiwu from the Propaganda Section gave me a direct order himself. He told me to bring you straight to the factory first thing tomorrow morning, asked for you by name, and even said he'd personally take you to see Director Yang! We're talking about a special recruitment here, a special recruitment, you understand?"
Shazhu's voice was remarkably loud and clear, echoing both inside and outside the Supply and Marketing Cooperative.
"Section Chief Zhao said those paintings of yours are absolute masterpieces! They capture the true spirit of us working brothers, and the factory is in desperate need of propaganda backbones just like you. You'll get an office job, proper cadre status, and make a real contribution to the Four Modernizations!"
The expressions on the faces of those casual laborers in the warehouse, including Old Zhang, instantly shifted from doubt and mockery to a mixture of extreme awe and absurdity. They looked at Su Changshun as if he were a supreme master draped in a tattered burlap sack.
Director Wang hadn't expected the slap in the face to arrive quite this fast. His face flushed bright red, his expression a chaotic masterpiece of shock, shame, anger, disbelief, and the utter humiliation of being stripped bare in public. It made his entire chubby face twitch unnaturally.
Su Changshun turned slightly to face Director Wang, who stood frozen in place, his face turning a deep, dark purple as his mouth opened and closed without a sound.
Su Changshun's lips curved upward into a bright, clear voice, yet every single word felt like a sharp blade piercing straight into Director Wang's heart: "Director Wang, what do you think of this..." He used his eyes to signal the crowd that hadn't dispersed yet, his tone carrying a pitch-perfect mix of confusion and genuine consultation: "Do you suppose this... counts as finding a legitimate reason, and will it be enough to answer to Director Wang from the neighborhood committee?"
"You surely won't still accuse me of having a negative ideological attitude and resisting labor, will you?"
"Oh dear, what should I do now? The place I'm about to go to also seems to be a proper place for serving the people? Section Chief Zhao and Director Yang are both quite supportive of me contributing to the country..."
With that, he even mimicked the way Shazhu had made his report just moments earlier, offering Director Wang a wave of greeting that was three parts lazy and seven parts infuriatingly solemn: "Well then, I'll be off first, Director Wang. Thank you for your... spurring and cultivation over this past period. Rest assured, once I'm at my new post, I will certainly work hard to reform my ideology and not let down the earnest expectations of you... and my colleagues here at the Supply and Marketing Cooperative."
Suppressing a laugh inwardly, he thought: *Hah, getting slapped in the face this fast—has this bloodsucker Wang even processed it yet? See you never! Finally, I don't have to smell the mildew in this cooperative anymore. Spurring? I think you look more like a top that needs whipping.*
Without waiting for Director Wang's face to turn from purple to black and practically smoke with rage, he threw an arm around Shazhu's still-agitated shoulder: "All right, Zhuzi, let's go, let's go home and pack up. Make sure we don't embarrass the leaders of the Propaganda Section tomorrow." His tone was light and breezy, brimming with utter satisfaction.
Under the dumbfounded gazes of the entire Supply and Marketing Cooperative staff, the complicated looks from the casual laborers, and the sight of Director Wang looking as though he were about to pass out from fury, Su Changshun swaggered out the front doors of the cooperative with his arm around Shazhu's shoulder.
Behind them came the sound of Director Wang finally snapping, letting out a suppressed, heavy gasp, followed by the dull thud of an enamel mug being slammed hard against a desk.
***
On the way back to the Quadrangle Courtyard, Shazhu's smugness was impossible to hide, his mouth split from ear to ear. He kept boasting to Su Changshun that if it weren't for him, Su Changshun would never have made it into the factory. Su Changshun, maintaining his usual lazy demeanor, humored Shazhu all the way back. A sense of settled certainty lingered between his brows, and a faint smile played at the corners of his mouth.
The moment the two of them stepped into the Quadrangle Courtyard, Yan Bugui caught sight of their glowing, beaming faces, and his curiosity began to itch like a cat's scratch.
Spotting them, he immediately scurried over like a civet cat catching a scent, his face plastered with his habitual shrewd smile as his eyes darted rapidly behind his thick glasses from one to the other.
"Well, well! Zhuzi, Changshun, back already?" he asked, his voice dripping with deliberate warmth. "Judging by the high spirits on you two boys, you look like you're blooming all over. Did you pick up a lump of gold on the road or something?"
Yan Bugui deliberately chose the most worldly explanation, sounding like he was just teasing, but in reality, he was probing for information.
Right now, Shazhu was bursting with world-shattering good news and had nowhere to put it. Hearing Yan Bugui ask was like being handed a pillow just as he grew drowsy—how could his big mouth possibly keep it in?
"Ha! Third Uncle!" Shazhu waved a hand with feigned casualness, though his voice couldn't help but rise several notches, eager to make sure the entire courtyard heard him. "Pick up money? That's small change! Not even enough to fill the gaps between your teeth. Besides, am I the kind of person with such short-sighted vision?"
He took a deep breath, raised his chin slightly, and spoke at a slow, leisurely pace, every single word crisp and clear: "Let me give you a hint. This isn't just—"
He deliberately drew out his tone, milking the suspense for all it was worth, causing even Yang Ruihua, who was pretending to rinse a rag at the washing basin while actually pricking up her ears to eavesdrop, to halt her movements.
"—our courtyard's own brother Changshun." Shazhu clapped a hand onto Su Changshun's shoulder and pointed right at his face. "Starting tomorrow, he's going to be a proper cadre comrade at the Rolling Mill, a real intellectual working in the factory's Propaganda Section."
The moment the words "cadre" and "factory Propaganda Section" left his lips, the smile on Yan Bugui's face froze instantly. The hand holding his tea mug gave a violent jerk, splashing a small stream of boiling water out of the cup and scalding him so badly that he hissed through his teeth, completely forgetting to wipe it away.
Feeling that wasn't shocking enough, Shazhu dropped the ultimate blockbuster: "Section Chief Zhao from the Rolling Mill Propaganda Section requested him personally, and it's a special recruitment! Do you understand what a special recruitment means? He didn't take over someone else's spot—the factory practically begged him to come!"
"Boom—!"
Shazhu's final sentence was no different than tossing a spark into a pan of calm cooking oil.
The entire Front Courtyard seemed as though someone had hit the pause button, only to be violently reignited the very next second.
"A special recruitment? And a cadre?" Yang Ruihua stopped what she was doing, staring at Su Changshun in sheer disbelief.
"Good grief, the Propaganda Section? An office job?" An exclamation burst from someone's window, laced with a pitch-altered disbelief.
The neighbors who had previously been craning their necks from their doorways suddenly rushed over in a swarm. Their gazes were no longer stolen glances; instead, they were nakedly fixed on Su Changshun as if they were looking at a newly unearthed cultural relic.
In this day and age, getting specially recruited into a factory was rarer than a panda. In the eyes of the neighborhood, Su Changshun was just a dull fellow with no culture, no specialized skills, and someone who had previously made a living carrying heavy loads as a casual laborer. It would already be difficult enough for him to enter the factory as a regular apprentice—let alone getting specially recruited straight into a cadre position!
***
Early the next morning, Shazhu broke his usual routine and didn't sleep in. He put on his most respectable work uniform, dug out a pair of cloth shoes without any patches, and rushed over to keep watch at Su Changshun's doorway bright and early.
Su Changshun had also changed into a clean gray cloth outfit and brought along the sketches he had worked on late into the night—depicting workers toiling away, soldiers and civilians united as one, featuring sharp compositions and incredible visual tension. He carefully rolled them up and held them in his hand.
"Let's go, Master He!"
"Let's move, Administrator Changshun!"
The two young men marched proudly, shoulders squared and heads held high, under the complicated gazes of the surrounding neighbors—especially the glittering, sharp glints coming from behind the window of Yan Bugui's house in the Front Courtyard—heading straight for the Rolling Mill.
With Shazhu acting as a living signpost to lead the way, the gatekeeper uncle received the directive and didn't even ask a single question. Who needed an introduction letter when a leader's personal request was the best introduction letter of all?
The Propaganda Section was located on the second floor of the factory office building. Section Chief Zhao Shiwu was already waiting in his office, having thoughtfully placed a clean enamel mug on his desk.
The moment he saw Su Changshun walk in right behind Shazhu, the eyes hidden behind his thick glasses lit up instantly!
Su Changshun? In person, he looked even more spirited than Shazhu had described! His eyes were bright, his back straight... Ah, he actually had a bit of an intellectual aura about him! And the propaganda paintings tucked under his arm made his hands itch with anticipation.
"Hello, Section Chief Zhao!" Su Changshun greeted him with poised composure, his voice clear and resonant. Wearing an appropriate smile that struck the balance between not being intimidated and showing proper respect to a leader, he handed over the rolled-up paintings with both hands. "These are a few samples I put together overnight. Could you give me some pointers?"
Suppressing his excitement, Zhao Shiwu took the paintings and carefully unrolled them across his desk.
He looked through them one by one.
The first depicted the deep bond between the army and the people: soldiers helping local villagers carry water while an old peasant woman handed over a coarse pottery bowl, their expressions earnest and touching. The background featured an autumn harvest field, brimming with simple emotion and strength.
The second portrayed workplace safety as paramount: the composition was rigorous, with hard hats and clear, striking operational arrows, yet it didn't look rigid in the slightest. The intense focus on the central figure's face carried an infectious energy.
And the final piece showcased learning from Daqing in industry—a group portrait of steelworkers in various postures yet all pulling together as one rope, overflowing with a crushing, collective sense of strength!
"Good, wonderful!" Zhao Shiwu couldn't help praising every single piece as he looked at it. Finally, he stood right up, grabbed Su Changshun's hand, and pumped it vigorously, shaking Su Changshun's arm until it went numb, his face radiant with the ecstatic joy of someone who had just struck gold.
"Comrade Little Su, you are a true talent! This painting style of yours—it's my first time seeing anything like it, and holy cow, it looks practically alive! The themes pop, the compositions are brilliant, and there's genuine thought and power behind them. The propaganda value of these is worth a hundred big-character posters! This is exactly what we urgently need. Your capability is more than enough to take on the role of propaganda officer."
With a grand wave of his hand, he declared with boundless enthusiasm: "Let's go, Comrade Changshun! I'll personally take you to see Director Yang, bring your paintings along, and let the director have a look for himself. We'll get your special recruitment paperwork sorted out right now! Little He!"
He spun around to shout at Shazhu, who was still basking in the glow of *my brother is too awesome*: "You go back to your work. Add a meat dish to your lunch and put it on my tab. We're celebrating today—Administrator Su is officially one of us in the Propaganda Section from now on!"
"You got it, Chief! Don't you worry, leave it to me!" Shazhu grinned from ear to ear, looking even happier than if he had just received a promotion himself. He hurried off briskly, eager to rush to the canteen and brag about the great news of his brother's special recruitment.
Infected by Section Chief Zhao's infectious enthusiasm, Su Changshun felt his own blood surge. He picked up his propaganda paintings, took a deep breath, and met Zhao Shiwu's burning gaze: "Chief, I'm ready."
Zhao Shiwu laughed heartily and patted his shoulder: "Good lad, you've got a sharp head on your shoulders. Let's go... let's show the director a propaganda painting that'll make him fall in love at first sight!"
Leading Su Changshun as if he were carrying a priceless treasure capable of changing the destiny of the Propaganda Section, he strode purposefully toward the factory director's office.
The corridor echoed with the crisp, heavy footsteps of Section Chief Zhao and the steadily quickening, powerful beat of Su Changshun's heart.
Carrying loads at the supply cooperative? That was all in the past life. Starting today, he, Su Changshun, was an official propaganda officer at the Rolling Mill.